After more than ten days, just as Wang Zhongsi expected, the allied forces of Tubo and Tuyuhun gathered on the eastern battlefield to provoke and attract the attention of the main force of the Tang army.
Tuyuhun, who lived in the Moli area, surrendered and formed a double-team on the Tang army from the middle line.
Li Guangbi, An Sishun and other northern feudal generals were ordered to lead their troops westward, and the Tang-Tibet War in Tianbao's Five Years suddenly became intense.
However, the entire Liangzhou City did not seem to be affected by this war in the slightest. The city was still full of literati reciting poems, merchants doing business, and singing and dancing to promote peace.
On this day, Zhou Jun was working in the Exchange Department as usual. After inspecting the market and adjudicating several commercial disputes, he returned to the office and read the merchandise catalog brought up by his subordinates before leaving the shop.
After flipping through a few pages, Zhou Jun asked the subordinate: "In the past few days, the city's income from wheat, rice, cattle, sheep, milk, etc. has been low. What's going on?"
The assistant official replied: "Zhou Jiancheng, it is the turn of spring and summer right now, there is no harvest, and new grains have not yet come on the market; there is another war in Longyou, and the passage of caravans is blocked, so there is less grain coming into the market."
Zhou Jun nodded, feeling that these reasons were reasonable, so he didn't pay attention to this matter.
After letting go, Zhou Jun returned to Jinzhai, handed the horse to his servant, and entered the front yard. He happened to see Hedari training the falcon, so he asked: "How is it? Are you getting used to it?"
Hedari nodded and said: "Zhou Lang, I live here very well."
Zhou Jun looked Hedari up and down, and said with a smile: "A young man of your age, whether in Uihe or in the Tang Dynasty, should have children, but why have I never seen the woman you said you liked?
"
Hedari scratched his head and said with some embarrassment: "When I was in Mobei, I saw that the women in the Tang Dynasty books were well-educated and sensible, so I thought it would be best to marry a Tang woman as my wife. But when I came to the Tang Dynasty, I saw
I have known many women from the Tang Dynasty, but I always feel that something is missing."
Zhou Jun smiled again and said: "What's missing...Do you think you have a very high vision?"
Hedari: "I'm stupid and can't explain it. Maybe I haven't met the right person yet."
Zhou Jun smiled and said a few more words. Just as he was about to walk inside, he saw Qiu Yong walking in from the gate.
The old soldier Qiu Yong saw Zhou Jun, came over and saluted.
When the latter saw the wine bag in his hand, he asked, "Are you going to Dongfang to get wine again?"
Qiu Yong shook the wine bag, shook his head helplessly and said: "Dongfang's Shaochun has increased by seven yuan per pound today. I asked the store why, and the other person only said that the grain for brewing is a lot more expensive."
Zhou Jun was stunned after hearing this, thought carefully for a moment, and asked Qiu Yong: "How many times has the price of wine increased?"
Qiu Yong: "Three times, the first time was ten days ago, and today is the third time. After three increases, the price of Shaochun is 40% more expensive than before."
A thought flashed through Zhou Jun's mind. He quickly asked the concierge to prepare his horse, mounted the horse and returned to the Exchange Office.
Zhou Jun found the subordinate official on duty in the Exchange Bureau and asked the latter to bring him a list of commodity prices in Liangzhou City in recent days.
After careful comparison, Zhou Jun took a breath and said to himself: "That's it."
At the same time, the Kang family in Liangzhou was in the hidden hall in the side courtyard.
The head of the Kang family, Kang Zongchang, and the other heads of the nine Zhaowu surnames sitting in the court asked: "How is the matter going?"
A patriarch surnamed Cao said: "The Cao family borrowed the names of Tongluo merchants and Lingzhou merchants to purchase in batches and gathered a large amount of rice and millet on the Liangzhou market. Today, the price of japonica rice has increased by another 20%, and the supply has been sold out in the south of the city.
Already."
A patriarch surnamed Shi said: "The Shi family bought the wheat flour from Shenwu and Changsong Tuncang. I think less than half of the wheat villages in the five counties of Liangzhou have gone into the Shi family's grain depot."
Another head of the Mi family said: "I sent all the caravans in my family to the Panhe, Jialin and other trade routes, set up checkpoints, and bought all the cattle and sheep shipped to Liangzhou to ensure that no livestock would enter Liangzhou City.
"
…
After listening to the speeches of many clan leaders, Kang Zongchang smiled and said: "Food has long been scarce in the north and south markets in the city, and many restaurants and rice shops have no food to sell. If this continues, it won't take long for Liangzhou City to be destroyed.
There will be chaos."
Someone worriedly asked: "If there is chaos in the city and Wang Zhongsi gives an order to lead the army back to the city, what will we do?"
Kang Zongchang: "The military envoys in Hexi Province had to leave for the westward journey due to the tight fighting on the front line. At present, the Tang Dynasty was fighting fiercely with the coalition forces of Tibet and Tuyuhun, so there was no time to pay attention to things here. Even if Wang Zhongsi divided his troops and returned to the city, once he arrived,
The army's rations and pay are already insufficient. How can there be any surplus to cope with the food shortage? Secondly, the front line is half a month away from Liangzhou City. Not only does it take a long time to go back and forth, but it also gives the Tibetans an opportunity to take advantage of it. How to choose? Wang Zhongsi
Naturally, we can distinguish clearly."
Someone asked again: "What if Wang Zhongsi ordered the food to be transferred from another place?"
Kang Zongchang sneered and said: "Adjusting grain? How does he adjust grain? Liangzhou City is surrounded by desert on three sides, and it is thousands of miles away from the nearest Lanzhou. At present, the new grain has not yet been launched, and the Longyou trade road has been cut off. Even if other state capitals adjust
Food, plus transportation, will take several months, so how can we solve the current food shortage?"
Some people are worried: "There is a disaster relief granary in Liangzhou City. What if the city orders the opening of granaries to release grain to alleviate the food shortage?"
Hearing the words "disaster granary", Kang Zongchang burst out laughing, and everyone looked puzzled.
At this moment, An Qiping, the head of the An family who had been silent, said to Kang Zongchang: "Mr. Kang, there is a food shortage in Liangzhou. If the court investigates this in the future, how will the younger generations of our family deal with themselves?"
As soon as An Qiping said this, the patriarchs of the nine Zhaowu surnames present frowned.
Among the many families of the nine surnames of Zhaowu, there are many younger members of the family who serve in the Tang army or in the state government. There are petty officials who record affairs in the government, and there are also generals like An Sishun who serve as military envoys.
The grain shortage in Liangzhou could certainly damage Wang Zhongsi's reputation and arouse the imperial court's distaste for him, thus resisting the commercial tax reform.
However, if the imperial court held him accountable afterwards, he was afraid that all the officials in the city would be punished.
Kang Zongchang said: "Wang Zhongsi increased business taxes. Although it seems that the increase is not much now, this move is like cutting flesh with a knife, and it is like throwing a stone to ask for directions. If we swallow our words now, then Wang Zhongsi will benefit, and maybe we will directly do it next time
Seize our property!"
"Therefore, if there is gain, there must be loss. If we want to protect our money, we must give up part of the gain appropriately. This is true in business, and the same is true in strategy."
Seeing the hesitation on the faces of some clan leaders, Kang Zongchang added: "The fundamental purpose of using the food shortage as an excuse this time is not to make money, nor to be an enemy of the Tang Dynasty, but to warn Wang Zhongsi not to harm the interests of the Sogdians."
!”
"As long as the food shortage in Liangzhou City causes civil strife and the court is angry with Wang Zhongsi, then our goal will be achieved. At that time, we can divide a small amount of the food collected in the camp and give it to the government and then to the people.
, firstly, you can claim credit from the court, and secondly, you can win the hearts and minds of the people."
When the clan leaders heard this, they felt a little relieved and nodded in agreement.
Only An Qiping, the head of the An family, sighed softly, closed his eyes and stopped talking.
Seeing that no one had any objections, Kang Zongchang said: "Tomorrow, the clan leaders will not only speed up the harvesting of food, but also spread two rumors: First, it is said that Wang Zhongsi's army, in order to collect food and pay, will gather food before leaving.
Most of the grain in the city was confiscated; secondly, in the south of Liangzhou City and the Longyou area, due to the Tubo's eastward march and harassment by horsemen, most of the trade routes were interrupted, and grain merchants were unable to go north."