Chapter 27 Chapter Twenty-Seven
Zhe Ziyu scolded him, but the man in Tsing Yi was the only one who should say yes, so Zhe Ziyu suppressed his anger and sighed regretfully: "Taking advantage of the shortage of food and people's hearts are unstable, if Li Yu raises troops at this time, there is still time. As long as Once Tang Bing launched, it would be worse for Song State at present, and the hearts of the people in Kaifeng were shaken. Zhao Kuangyin would not dare to put all his eggs in one basket and use troops against Han State again.
Once the crisis in the Han Dynasty was resolved, the situation in the world changed instantly. Zhao Kuangyin had to spend another seven or eight years to re-arrange this game of chess.It's a pity that Li Yu is a man who bears the body of a man and the power of an emperor, but indulges in pleasure, has no ambitions, a piece of mud that can't support the wall, and is not as good as a woman like me! "
The man in Tsing Yi hesitated and said: "Miss, what if our Fugu sends troops...?"
Zhe Ziyu shook his head and said, "The vassals in the Northwest only want to protect themselves from being annexed, and they don't have the strength and ambition to compete with Song Yi. Now in the Central Plains, only the Tang State can fight the Song State. If Tang State sends troops, it will fail. Although Song State's plan to annex Han State angered Song State, it would be safe instead.
But my Fuzhou is not successful, Fuzhou is only a state, how can I compete with Song Dynasty?What's more, being restrained by the Qiangs outside, the Li family is sitting in the land of five states, and only wants to be his Caotou king. If the prefectures are not self-reliant and take the initiative to use troops against the Song Dynasty, maybe Xiazhou will rush ahead of the Song army Capture Fuzhou and pick up a big bargain. "
She thought for a while and said: "We only have a few spies in the Central Plains, and we can't help anything. Now that the situation has been settled, whether we can solve the situation and how to solve it is beyond our control. Li Yu is short-sighted, isn't he A heroic lord, it is absolutely impossible to ask him to send troops. Lin Huzi has 70,000 soldiers, but it is useless. However, it is still possible to ask him for a little help. The military training on the Yangtze River has exacerbated the tense atmosphere in the Jianghuai area, so Zhao Dezhao may make it more difficult to calm down the matter."
"Yes! That villain stepped back and waited for orders." The man in Tsing Yi nodded in acceptance, got up quietly and retreated.
Zhe Ziyu watched his back disappear on the stairs, and his black eyebrows frowned slightly: "I thought, I was separated from you by mountains and rivers, and there was no possibility of seeing each other again. There are so many twists and turns. I set up this difficulty for the Song Dynasty, but in the end it was you who came to solve the situation, can you solve it?"
She raised her eyebrows, and said not without resentment: "When you fled for your life in Guangyuan, it was our Zhe family who helped you get ahead; it was the Zhao family who put you in Luling, troubled internally and externally, and survived a near death. Give it to you." Helping you, it is my Zhe family who will help you to be prosperous; after you succeed, it will still be the Zhao family who will seize your power and try to kill you. .”
She sighed, and muttered to herself: "In the officialdom of the Song Dynasty, you have suddenly emerged, and you can be regarded as an anomaly. Among the civil officials, you are an outlier, and among the military officers, you are still an outlier. Whether it is the official family, the king of Jin, or the prime minister. "Among the three forces, you are not a direct descendant. Even if you have made this contribution, if you have no foundation and stand on the cusp of the storm, you are at your own risk. This time, you were set up by profiteers in Sizhou. If you really fail, It may not be your luck. Yang Hao, please do it yourself..."
"How much food has Mr. Liu raised now?" Yang Hao asked with concern.He had to be introduced by the prefect of Deng, and then he knew that the member in his early fifties who came with him was Liu Xiangzhi, a big grain gentry in Sizhou, and the uncle of Mrs. Deng Zhifu. This person must have a good understanding of the grain market in Sizhou, so The three of them arrived at the second hall, chatted for a while, and Yang Hao went straight to the point. Liu Yuanwai was in his early fifties, but he looked about sixty, with a long and narrow face that was thin and full of wrinkles, his complexion was rough and dark, his hair and beard were gray, and he did not look like a pampered rich gentleman at all. If you change him into coarse clothes, he will be like an old country farmer squatting on the head of the field. This old farmer frowned, and a deep "Chuan" appeared on his forehead, like a ravine. He shook his head, sighed heavily, and said slowly: "My lord, the prefect of Sizhou is my nephew." Son-in-law, you don’t have any elbows, if you can help me, why not help me? But now, the food is really hard to harvest, I’ve been running around for the past few days, and the harvest is less than four thousand shi!" He patted his thigh and said bitterly: "That uncle Zhou Wang, who is rich and heartless, has done bad things. With him here, the grain market in Sizhou will never be peaceful, but Zu Yang is too indulgent to him..." Deng Zuyang said with some embarrassment: "In front of the court envoy, don't make such complaints. The government also knows that Uncle Zhou Wang is not very polite, but he has lived in Sizhou for more than ten generations. The Zhou family's children are all over Jianghuai, all walks of life. The industry, the government, and the local government are deeply rooted and deeply rooted. He has not done anything too extraordinary, and he can't grasp the evidence of his crimes. How can we punish him?" Liu Xiangzhi glared angrily and said, "Is this still called having no evidence?" He turned to Yang Hao, his eyes became eager: "Master Yang, Uncle Zhou Wang covered the sky with one hand, and it has been a long time since he controlled the Sizhou grain market. He intercepted and bought a lot of grain. Now there is a shortage of grain in the grain market. It's not because of the lack of harvest, but because he contacted many grain gentry and jointly manipulated the market, harvesting as soon as there was grain, so that there was no grain to sell in the market, and the grain price increased steadily. This man has a lot of money, and he is also a There are a lot of tricks." Yang Hao cheered up, and hurriedly said: "Mr. Liu, tell me slowly, what means does he have for collecting grain? Why can't the official warehouse collect grain, but he always has grain to collect?" Liu Xiangzhi said: "My lord, they brought the grain to Sizhou. The official storehouse has to evaluate the grade according to its quality, and then weigh it into the warehouse. The Zhou family has a lot of money in the local area, and many small officials in the store have received it. Their advantage is that some of them are related to the Zhou family. At this time, they will deliberately lower the price, and the lower the price, the better. Naturally, the grain households are unwilling to sell grain to the official warehouse. At this time, there were many helpers and brokers hanging around the official warehouse all day long, chatting with them and introducing them on their behalf. Uncle Zhou Wang was able to receive the grain into his own hands at a slightly higher price than the official warehouse.Grain households from afar, people and land, need to find a helper, and they are directly taken away by them. As for small grain households, hey!Not to mention, those rascals are following around and making false threats. They are afraid of causing trouble, so how dare they not sell food to them? " Yang Hao interrupted and said: "The subordinate officials in the official warehouse colluded with the grain gentry, knowing it well, but can't stop it?" Deng Zuyang sighed and said: "To be honest, my lord, when I first took office, I had a real headache for a long time in order to store food for the official warehouse. However, although the joints are clear, the warehouse staff and even many servants are not exchanged. It was changed, even if it was changed, the person who was replaced was still the same. The government could only issue orders, but it couldn't spare itself to be a treasury official in the shopping mall every day. My wife's uncle used to do some small business, but later became a grain gentry, and ruled him by law. This is like a tiger's mouth grabbing grain, buying as much grain as possible from other grain gentry, ensuring that the official storehouse should be stockpiled. food quantity.Every year, although the consumption is higher than the current price, compared with other states and counties, Sizhou has paid the least. " Yang Hao's heart moved, and he suddenly thought of the method he used to let the farmers supervise each other when distributing seeds in Bazhou, and then he gave up his idea. The situation in this state is much more complicated than that in a village, where everyone is of equal status The peasant households in this area are really invincible in fighting for their own several acres of land, and no one is afraid of the other.But here it involves a wide range. With class, superiority, strength, and many things, you know the bad government, but you can't think of a suitable countermeasure. It is impossible to prevent it. This kind of activity also has to start from the system, and this is not his authority, nor the scope of authority of the prefect of Sizhou. Yang Hao didn't think he would be able to change the ills of thousands of years of collusion between the officialdom and the market by himself. The problem of food shortage in Kaifeng was the solution he proposed, but now he only wants to complete his own task. , forcing those grain gentry to spit out the grain obediently, only to seize their illegal activities in exchange for forcing them to sell grain. So now he just wants to start from this aspect, but after thinking about it for a while, he can't help but feel a little disappointed. Even if you know that the official storehouse price is low, you can't catch it. The quality of the food depends on the eyes of the treasury officials. Open your mouth, there is no fixed rule, you say he is wrong, it is because everyone has different judgment standards, why is there a mistake?As for the purchase of grain by the grain gentry, one is willing to buy, and the other is "willing to sell", and there is also no evidence that can make them submit obediently. Yang Hao asked with some annoyance: "Then, now that the government is suppressing grain prices, and the prefect Deng has sent tax collectors to guard traffic arteries and impose heavy taxes on smugglers of grain and rice, have those grain gentry ever settled down? Are they raising prices or selling food?" Liu Xiangzhi said with certainty: "Yes, there must be. People like Uncle Zhou Wang, if he doesn't earn a few buckets of real money a day, he is just a money fan who is not happy all day. How could he look helplessly at the grain and rice in the warehouse? Will it be turned into gold or silver? It's just... I have only been a grain gentry in Sizhou for about two years, and I have far less connections than him. In addition, everyone knows that I am a relative of the magistrate, so I don't know how to call him in some connections. I know, I... I know that they must have illegal activities, but there is no real evidence." Yang Hao couldn't help being silent when he heard this. Liu Xiangzhi said again: "However, with such suppression by the government, the large-scale grain and rice transactions will definitely be affected. As long as they don't know the details of the amount of grain in the official warehouse, they will definitely give in before the autumn harvest and will obediently hand over the grain at a fair price. from." Yang Hao said with a wry smile: "That's what I said, but this strategy is too risky. Once they are more calm than the imperial court, the cost at that time will be much higher than now." Seeing that Liu Xiangzhi also showed an embarrassed expression, Yang Hao hurriedly said: "Wei Wang Qiansui is just worried. No matter what, the method you two are thinking of is currently the best way to deal with those profiteers. I hope it will succeed. No matter what, Liu Yuan Wai came here today and told many secrets about the grain market frankly, Yang is very grateful." Liu Xiangzhi smiled and said: "It should be, it should be, the helper is to help our prefect, and Liu will naturally do his best." Yang Hao cheered up and together with Deng Zuyang sent Liu Yuanwai out of the mansion in person. On the opposite side, in an alley, a figure in rags and rags who looked like a beggar was timidly walking this way. Suddenly, he saw three people appearing in front of him. At the gate of the yamen, Yang Hao said goodbye to Deng Zuyang and Liu Xiangzhi with a smile on his face, and watched them get in the car and leave before returning to the yamen. Seeing Yang Hao and Liu Xiangzhi being so intimate, the beggar couldn't help being surprised, and immediately showed timidity.At this time, a few idlers on the street had noticed him, he quickly lowered his head, turned around, and walked towards the opposite alley as if nothing had happened. Yang Hao and Deng Zuyang returned to the government office, and Deng Zuyang resigned and went to the back house. Yang Hao returned to the lobby and sat down, looked at the swaying and powerless servants, waved his hands with a wry smile and said, "You all go to the porch to rest, if someone beats the drum, Then come to Shengtang to wait on you." Those yamen servants had already stood so that their legs were numb, and when they heard this, they hurried away as if they had been pardoned.The more Yang Hao thought about it, the more annoyed he became, he punched hard on the big case and said: "These profiteers, can it be that I really can't punish you?" Bi Su yawned at the side, and lazily said: "If you can't fix it, you can't fix it. This world belongs to their old Zhao family, but do you think the prince is in a hurry? The prince spends all day in the backyard hooking up with a broken piano The daughter of the Deng family. This misfortune was caused by Master Chu, the envoy of the Third Division, but do you think he is in a hurry?The cat is in the room all day long, wishing to leave this matter to others.The prince is not in a hurry, and the third envoy is not in a hurry, but you are in a hurry to get angry, what's the matter with you here?Even if you fail to raise food, it is not your fault. " Yang Hao said: "You can't say that. It's fine if I didn't intervene in this matter, but what if I don't make this plan? Maybe there are capable people in the court who will come up with a better way. Now that the officials have obeyed me If the food is not sufficient, even if only one person dies of starvation, I will not be able to explain it away, and I feel uneasy." He sighed for a long time, and said: "However, if you can earn one million guan, and you let him only earn 500,000 guan, how many people in the world are willing to do so? Now I want them to hand over the food obediently." They are not three-year-old children, they can be coaxed to hand over the fruits in their hands with a few good words, the only way to catch them is to force them to submit, but this evidence, heh ! They know that we are here for food, why are they willing to show their feet and wait for us to catch them?" Bi Su rolled his eyes, and said in a strange way: "The government, are you afraid that there will be no justification for the crime of entering the people? For food, they bribed the officials in the warehouse and oppressed the grain households. Even if they don't exist now, they have happened before. I think there are always a few old cases recorded in the official archives for bully actions such as beating, smashing, looting and burning? If you still can't find evidence, then let them do their dirty work." "Ok?" "You are an official, why are you so talkative, right and wrong, right and wrong, is it up to you? Tsk, I have seen a lot of things like unjust, false and wrongly decided cases. I am not the one who slandered you as officials." "That's right! Why am I like a donkey, tied by a rope like grain, and only know how to circle around the millstone, haha, I was harmed by the legal society, haha, when smart people can't figure out a way , The method that the fool came up with is really the most effective, I will ask Chitose for an order." Bi Su rubbed the back of his head, looked at his back in surprise, and it took him a long time to realize: "Stupid... me?"
Zhao Dezhao gave the original residence certificate of Deng Zhifu, and moved to the side room next to him. He returned to the mansion, first went to his own room to change his clothes, and then went to meet the prince. Just after changing into casual clothes and walking into the hall, his daughter heard the news Come here.Deng Zuyang smiled and said: "Daughter, didn't you go to Qingling Temple to offer incense today, and you came back so soon?" Deng Xiu'er said: "Father, my daughter went to Qingling Temple to offer incense, and encountered an incident. When she heard that Daddy was back, she hurried over to report to Daddy." "Oh? What's the matter?" Deng Zuyang asked after taking a sip of herbal tea. "Father, when my daughter went to offer incense today, I happened to meet a family praying in the temple, burning incense and worshiping, weeping uncontrollably. When my daughter asked curiously, I realized that it was my third cousin who committed the crime." Deng Zuyang was taken aback, and hurriedly asked, "What did your third cousin do?" Deng Xiu'er said angrily: "The third cousin is in the business of lending money. The family's field was flooded in the autumn flood last year. Because they couldn't pay the taxes, they borrowed five pennies from the third cousin. Forty-five guan, even if there is a bumper harvest this autumn, I am afraid that the family will not be able to save a penny, and all of it will be returned to the cousin, but who knows that the rice that is about to mature in his family two days ago has met someone's misfortune and was secretly stolen. He set it on fire and burned most of it. When his cousin heard the news and knew that he could not repay the debt, he forced him to come to the door, took advantage of the fire and robbed him, and asked him to pay the debt with land. The daughter has already made a marriage agreement. The cousin may want land or someone, but he will not let go, forcing the man to nowhere, and the whole family almost hanged themselves, it is really miserable." Deng Zuyang blushed when he heard this, and slapped the table and cursed: "You bastard, how dare you do such an unrighteous act, come, come, bring me that beast." His lips trembled in anger, He picked up the cup and wanted to drink tea, but just as the cup touched his lips, anger rose, and the tea cup hit the ground hard, and it fell to pieces with a "slap". "What's the matter, what's the matter, you yelled as soon as you came back?" A slender woman in red came out from the back hall. Crested boots, slender waist, round chest, and the charming charm of a mature woman, but the corners of the eyes are slightly raised, revealing a bit of sharpness and shrewdness. Seeing her coming, Deng Zuyang flicked his sleeves and said angrily, "Isn't that your precious nephew doing something good?" The woman was puzzled, so Ms. Deng hurriedly stepped forward and explained the reason behind it. When Mrs. Deng heard it, she disapproved and said, "What a big deal I am. As for you getting angry? To make money and lend money, you are willing to fight and suffer. In cities, from remote prefectures and counties to the Shoushan area, where is there no money lending? This matter does not hinder the king's law, right? There is no prohibition of money lending in the laws of the Song Dynasty. You can't just leave it alone, can you?" Deng Zuyang said angrily: "Ma'am, you have to be kind and righteous when lending money, right? He takes away people's lives and wants to take the opportunity to blackmail their daughters into concubines. This is a deceitful act." Mrs. Deng was very displeased, and said suddenly: "What do you mean by taking people's lives and extorting their daughters as concubines? There are rules for lending money when lending money. Liu Zhong lends money, and the money doesn't belong to him. I have to pay interest to Qian Min on time, if the account is not returned, isn't Qian Min not looking for trouble for him?" Deng Zuyang shouted: "If you didn't blindly protect him, I don't think he has such courage, hum! Lending for profit, lending for profit, I will investigate this matter myself. If I know that he set the fire, I will definitely I won't spare him!" Seeing her husband's stern voice, Mrs. Deng was stunned for a moment, and then began to cry: "No one else said anything, but you put the shit bowl on the top of your relative's head first. Well, now that you are an official, don't you think so?" My Liu family is going to be next to you, isn't it? You were so poor that you had no room and no land. Did I, Liu E, ever dislike you? Your parents died early, and your uncles and brothers regarded you like a passerby, and you went to Beijing to rush for the exam You can’t even afford the money, who paid for it for you? It was my uncle who sold the old cow in his family to make up enough money for you, otherwise you can be named on the gold list? Can you have the glory of today?” Deng Zuyang's momentum was three points lower, and he lowered his voice and said, "You...what are you talking about? The second uncle became a grain lord, the third uncle was a head catcher, didn't the uncle also ask someone to arrange to buy penny to be a warehouse Are you an official, when will I stop feeling grateful for Liu Jiaende?" Mrs. Deng said aggressively: "Grateful? If you are really grateful, you will not make use of the topic today and make a fuss about my nephew. Lending money for interest is also a risk. Borrowing money knowing that the interest is high is not doing a good deed, and it is not good. Of course compensation is required. If Zhong'er likes his woman and is willing to pay off the debts and marry that woman as a concubine, the family must be voluntary to do so. Didn't they rob people's daughters by force? If you say you are poor, then you don't need to change the debt?" Deng Zuyang was completely suppressed by his wife's arrogance, and he was speechless.At that time, lending usury was indeed a kind of behavior allowed by the government, and not only people lent money, but also temples and Taoist temples often lent money to the common people, so that the spectacle of a group of monks and Taoists coming to collect debts was occasionally seen.It is open and legal for officials to lend money to individuals. Needless to say, even local governments have secretly embezzled money from the treasury and handed it over to money makers for profit. Deng Zuyang had just arrived in Sizhou, because the former magistrate, who had a long history with the Zhou family, was impeached and dismissed by the imperial officials. He didn't stick to the rules and appointed private individuals wantonly. The Liu family made great efforts to consolidate his position. In order to support his wife's second uncle Liu Xiangzhi, he became a big grain merchant against Uncle Zhou Wang. At the beginning, he also held the treasury in his own hands, secretly transferred the money to the bankers for loans, and earned huge interest as the capital. It can be said that he is not a stupid official, but Liu Zhong His behavior really made him very angry. But now my wife is inexplicably angry. The help and kindness of the Liu family to him is indeed too great. Deng Zuyang was a little discouraged, and he couldn't help thinking: "I should call Liu Zhong secretly, tell him not to do such injustice, and forgive that family. He has been doing this for a while, but now he has offended Madam, so why bother?" Seeing that her father was scolded by her mother for silence, Deng Xiu'er wanted to help her, so she stepped forward and said, "Mother, I can't blame my father for this matter, my cousin..." "Shut up!" Mrs. Deng gave her daughter a hard look, "Back then your mother had no milk, and your sister-in-law raised you. How dare you tell your cousin about it?" Deng Xiu'er reluctantly said: "Mother, my daughter didn't mean to embarrass my cousin, it's just that the family is too pitiful." At this moment, a Qinglang's voice at the entrance of the hall laughed and said, "Has Governor Deng returned? What's the noise?" Deng Xiu'er looked back, and saw a handsome young man with hairpin in a bun, wearing a gold crown with jeweled pearls, and a light-white gown with silver trim, and a four-clawed python embroidered on the robe, standing at the entrance of the hall with a smile, his pretty face flushed suddenly , she already thought that this person is the Wei Wang Zhao Dezhao with whom she played piano for several days. This prince is really handsome. Zhao Dezhao and Deng Xiuer played piano music together, and their yearning became more and more intense. Hearing the noise in this room today, he had an excuse to show up, so he couldn't help but walked over. When he saw the girl in the hall looking back lightly, Zhao Dezhao's feet were like stepping on clouds. , the soul fluttered around, and immediately stayed there. What a beauty, the white plain is the lower skirt, and the moon is the upper skirt, which makes her look like a beautiful jade carving. The narrow-sleeved short jacket, the floor-length skirt, and the tight half-arm jacket with peacock pattern and brocade brocade, two A bead is just on the protruding part of her delicate chest, and she wears a green unadorned shirt embroidered with partridges on her shoulders, as if she just came back from outside. Her appearance is not the kind of stunning beauty, but she has the charm of Jiangnan women, with slender and long moon eyebrows, a small nose, thin red lips, looking at each other for a moment, both of them have a feeling of being frightened. "Ah, it's just... It's just some family trifles. I didn't expect to alarm the lord, and the lord forgives me." When Deng Zuyang saw Zhao Dezhao coming, he rushed forward to salute.Mrs. Deng hurriedly wiped her tears, forced a smile and came forward with her husband.But Deng Xiu'er turned sideways, with her head half down, gave a clever blessing to Zhao Dezhao, and was about to hide in the inner room. Zhao Dezhao was going to help the Dengs and his wife, but when he saw that the longing man was about to avoid him, he coughed quickly: "Meeting in a private house, why are there so many etiquettes, please hurry up, Mrs. and Mrs. Deng, ah! Who is this girl?" Deng Xiu'er had already retreated gracefully to the side of the bookshelf, and was about to flash behind the screen, the prince suddenly asked her identity, but it was inconvenient to leave, she leaned forward, then stopped again, leaning back and forth, It becomes a landscape, standing there beautifully, as if it is a scroll on the bookshelf that still exudes the fragrance of ink. Seeing that Zhao Dezhao no longer asked the reason for their quarrel, Deng Zuyang secretly rejoiced, and hurriedly said: "This is the little girl, Xiu'er, Xiu'er, come and meet the prince." Deng Xiu'er glanced at Zhao Dezhao again, her heart was beating wildly, and she came forward slowly, and was about to worship Fuli, when Yang Hao came in a hurry, entered the door and looked around, but didn't see the delicate situation in the hall, and hurriedly said: "Ah! , the Lord Futai is here, the prince is also here, great, great, Yang has come to ask for orders again!"
"How much food has Mr. Liu raised now?" Yang Hao asked with concern.He had to be introduced by the prefect of Deng, and then he knew that the member in his early fifties who came with him was Liu Xiangzhi, a big grain gentry in Sizhou, and the uncle of Mrs. Deng Zhifu. This person must have a good understanding of the grain market in Sizhou, so The three of them arrived at the second hall, chatted for a while, and Yang Hao went straight to the point. Liu Yuanwai was in his early fifties, but he looked about sixty, with a long and narrow face that was thin and full of wrinkles, his complexion was rough and dark, his hair and beard were gray, and he did not look like a pampered rich gentleman at all. If you change him into coarse clothes, he will be like an old country farmer squatting on the head of the field. This old farmer frowned, and a deep "Chuan" appeared on his forehead, like a ravine. He shook his head, sighed heavily, and said slowly: "My lord, the prefect of Sizhou is my nephew." Son-in-law, you don’t have any elbows, if you can help me, why not help me? But now, the food is really hard to harvest, I’ve been running around for the past few days, and the harvest is less than four thousand shi!" He patted his thigh and said bitterly: "That uncle Zhou Wang, who is rich and heartless, has done bad things. With him here, the grain market in Sizhou will never be peaceful, but Zu Yang is too indulgent to him..." Deng Zuyang said with some embarrassment: "In front of the court envoy, don't make such complaints. The government also knows that Uncle Zhou Wang is not very polite, but he has lived in Sizhou for more than ten generations. The Zhou family's children are all over Jianghuai, all walks of life. The industry, the government, and the local government are deeply rooted and deeply rooted. He has not done anything too extraordinary, and he can't grasp the evidence of his crimes. How can we punish him?" Liu Xiangzhi glared angrily and said, "Is this still called having no evidence?" He turned to Yang Hao, his eyes became eager: "Master Yang, Uncle Zhou Wang covered the sky with one hand, and it has been a long time since he controlled the Sizhou grain market. He intercepted and bought a lot of grain. Now there is a shortage of grain in the grain market. It's not because of the lack of harvest, but because he contacted many grain gentry and jointly manipulated the market, harvesting as soon as there was grain, so that there was no grain to sell in the market, and the grain price increased steadily. This man has a lot of money, and he is also a There are a lot of tricks." Yang Hao cheered up, and hurriedly said: "Mr. Liu, tell me slowly, what means does he have for collecting grain? Why can't the official warehouse collect grain, but he always has grain to collect?" Liu Xiangzhi said: "My lord, they brought the grain to Sizhou. The official storehouse has to evaluate the grade according to its quality, and then weigh it into the warehouse. The Zhou family has a lot of money in the local area, and many small officials in the store have received it. Their advantage is that some of them are related to the Zhou family. At this time, they will deliberately lower the price, and the lower the price, the better. Naturally, the grain households are unwilling to sell grain to the official warehouse. At this time, there were many helpers and brokers hanging around the official warehouse all day long, chatting with them and introducing them on their behalf. Uncle Zhou Wang was able to receive the grain into his own hands at a slightly higher price than the official warehouse.Grain households from afar, people and land, need to find a helper, and they are directly taken away by them. As for small grain households, hey!Not to mention, those rascals are following around and making false threats. They are afraid of causing trouble, so how dare they not sell food to them? " Yang Hao interrupted and said: "The subordinate officials in the official warehouse colluded with the grain gentry, knowing it well, but can't stop it?" Deng Zuyang sighed and said: "To be honest, my lord, when I first took office, I had a real headache for a long time in order to store food for the official warehouse. However, although the joints are clear, the warehouse staff and even many servants are not exchanged. It was changed, even if it was changed, the person who was replaced was still the same. The government could only issue orders, but it couldn't spare itself to be a treasury official in the shopping mall every day. My wife's uncle used to do some small business, but later became a grain gentry, and ruled him by law. This is like a tiger's mouth grabbing grain, buying as much grain as possible from other grain gentry, ensuring that the official storehouse should be stockpiled. food quantity.Every year, although the consumption is higher than the current price, compared with other states and counties, Sizhou has paid the least. " Yang Hao's heart moved, and he suddenly thought of the method he used to let the farmers supervise each other when distributing seeds in Bazhou, and then he gave up his idea. The situation in this state is much more complicated than that in a village, where everyone is of equal status The peasant households in this area are really invincible in fighting for their own several acres of land, and no one is afraid of the other.But here it involves a wide range. With class, superiority, strength, and many things, you know the bad government, but you can't think of a suitable countermeasure. It is impossible to prevent it. This kind of activity also has to start from the system, and this is not his authority, nor the scope of authority of the prefect of Sizhou. Yang Hao didn't think he would be able to change the ills of thousands of years of collusion between the officialdom and the market by himself. The problem of food shortage in Kaifeng was the solution he proposed, but now he only wants to complete his own task. , forcing those grain gentry to spit out the grain obediently, only to seize their illegal activities in exchange for forcing them to sell grain. So now he just wants to start from this aspect, but after thinking about it for a while, he can't help but feel a little disappointed. Even if you know that the official storehouse price is low, you can't catch it. The quality of the food depends on the eyes of the treasury officials. Open your mouth, there is no fixed rule, you say he is wrong, it is because everyone has different judgment standards, why is there a mistake?As for the purchase of grain by the grain gentry, one is willing to buy, and the other is "willing to sell", and there is also no evidence that can make them submit obediently. Yang Hao asked with some annoyance: "Then, now that the government is suppressing grain prices, and the prefect Deng has sent tax collectors to guard traffic arteries and impose heavy taxes on smugglers of grain and rice, have those grain gentry ever settled down? Are they raising prices or selling food?" Liu Xiangzhi said with certainty: "Yes, there must be. People like Uncle Zhou Wang, if he doesn't earn a few buckets of real money a day, he is just a money fan who is not happy all day. How could he look helplessly at the grain and rice in the warehouse? Will it be turned into gold or silver? It's just... I have only been a grain gentry in Sizhou for about two years, and I have far less connections than him. In addition, everyone knows that I am a relative of the magistrate, so I don't know how to call him in some connections. I know, I... I know that they must have illegal activities, but there is no real evidence." Yang Hao couldn't help being silent when he heard this. Liu Xiangzhi said again: "However, with such suppression by the government, the large-scale grain and rice transactions will definitely be affected. As long as they don't know the details of the amount of grain in the official warehouse, they will definitely give in before the autumn harvest and will obediently hand over the grain at a fair price. from." Yang Hao said with a wry smile: "That's what I said, but this strategy is too risky. Once they are more calm than the imperial court, the cost at that time will be much higher than now." Seeing that Liu Xiangzhi also showed an embarrassed expression, Yang Hao hurriedly said: "Wei Wang Qiansui is just worried. No matter what, the method you two are thinking of is currently the best way to deal with those profiteers. I hope it will succeed. No matter what, Liu Yuan Wai came here today and told many secrets about the grain market frankly, Yang is very grateful." Liu Xiangzhi smiled and said: "It should be, it should be, the helper is to help our prefect, and Liu will naturally do his best." Yang Hao cheered up and together with Deng Zuyang sent Liu Yuanwai out of the mansion in person. On the opposite side, in an alley, a figure in rags and rags who looked like a beggar was timidly walking this way. Suddenly, he saw three people appearing in front of him. At the gate of the yamen, Yang Hao said goodbye to Deng Zuyang and Liu Xiangzhi with a smile on his face, and watched them get in the car and leave before returning to the yamen. Seeing Yang Hao and Liu Xiangzhi being so intimate, the beggar couldn't help being surprised, and immediately showed timidity.At this time, a few idlers on the street had noticed him, he quickly lowered his head, turned around, and walked towards the opposite alley as if nothing had happened. Yang Hao and Deng Zuyang returned to the government office, and Deng Zuyang resigned and went to the back house. Yang Hao returned to the lobby and sat down, looked at the swaying and powerless servants, waved his hands with a wry smile and said, "You all go to the porch to rest, if someone beats the drum, Then come to Shengtang to wait on you." Those yamen servants had already stood so that their legs were numb, and when they heard this, they hurried away as if they had been pardoned.The more Yang Hao thought about it, the more annoyed he became, he punched hard on the big case and said: "These profiteers, can it be that I really can't punish you?" Bi Su yawned at the side, and lazily said: "If you can't fix it, you can't fix it. This world belongs to their old Zhao family, but do you think the prince is in a hurry? The prince spends all day in the backyard hooking up with a broken piano The daughter of the Deng family. This misfortune was caused by Master Chu, the envoy of the Third Division, but do you think he is in a hurry?The cat is in the room all day long, wishing to leave this matter to others.The prince is not in a hurry, and the third envoy is not in a hurry, but you are in a hurry to get angry, what's the matter with you here?Even if you fail to raise food, it is not your fault. " Yang Hao said: "You can't say that. It's fine if I didn't intervene in this matter, but what if I don't make this plan? Maybe there are capable people in the court who will come up with a better way. Now that the officials have obeyed me If the food is not sufficient, even if only one person dies of starvation, I will not be able to explain it away, and I feel uneasy." He sighed for a long time, and said: "However, if you can earn one million guan, and you let him only earn 500,000 guan, how many people in the world are willing to do so? Now I want them to hand over the food obediently." They are not three-year-old children, they can be coaxed to hand over the fruits in their hands with a few good words, the only way to catch them is to force them to submit, but this evidence, heh ! They know that we are here for food, why are they willing to show their feet and wait for us to catch them?" Bi Su rolled his eyes, and said in a strange way: "The government, are you afraid that there will be no justification for the crime of entering the people? For food, they bribed the officials in the warehouse and oppressed the grain households. Even if they don't exist now, they have happened before. I think there are always a few old cases recorded in the official archives for bully actions such as beating, smashing, looting and burning? If you still can't find evidence, then let them do their dirty work." "Ok?" "You are an official, why are you so talkative, right and wrong, right and wrong, is it up to you? Tsk, I have seen a lot of things like unjust, false and wrongly decided cases. I am not the one who slandered you as officials." "That's right! Why am I like a donkey, tied by a rope like grain, and only know how to circle around the millstone, haha, I was harmed by the legal society, haha, when smart people can't figure out a way , The method that the fool came up with is really the most effective, I will ask Chitose for an order." Bi Su rubbed the back of his head, looked at his back in surprise, and it took him a long time to realize: "Stupid... me?"
Zhao Dezhao gave the original residence certificate of Deng Zhifu, and moved to the side room next to him. He returned to the mansion, first went to his own room to change his clothes, and then went to meet the prince. Just after changing into casual clothes and walking into the hall, his daughter heard the news Come here.Deng Zuyang smiled and said: "Daughter, didn't you go to Qingling Temple to offer incense today, and you came back so soon?" Deng Xiu'er said: "Father, my daughter went to Qingling Temple to offer incense, and encountered an incident. When she heard that Daddy was back, she hurried over to report to Daddy." "Oh? What's the matter?" Deng Zuyang asked after taking a sip of herbal tea. "Father, when my daughter went to offer incense today, I happened to meet a family praying in the temple, burning incense and worshiping, weeping uncontrollably. When my daughter asked curiously, I realized that it was my third cousin who committed the crime." Deng Zuyang was taken aback, and hurriedly asked, "What did your third cousin do?" Deng Xiu'er said angrily: "The third cousin is in the business of lending money. The family's field was flooded in the autumn flood last year. Because they couldn't pay the taxes, they borrowed five pennies from the third cousin. Forty-five guan, even if there is a bumper harvest this autumn, I am afraid that the family will not be able to save a penny, and all of it will be returned to the cousin, but who knows that the rice that is about to mature in his family two days ago has met someone's misfortune and was secretly stolen. He set it on fire and burned most of it. When his cousin heard the news and knew that he could not repay the debt, he forced him to come to the door, took advantage of the fire and robbed him, and asked him to pay the debt with land. The daughter has already made a marriage agreement. The cousin may want land or someone, but he will not let go, forcing the man to nowhere, and the whole family almost hanged themselves, it is really miserable." Deng Zuyang blushed when he heard this, and slapped the table and cursed: "You bastard, how dare you do such an unrighteous act, come, come, bring me that beast." His lips trembled in anger, He picked up the cup and wanted to drink tea, but just as the cup touched his lips, anger rose, and the tea cup hit the ground hard, and it fell to pieces with a "slap". "What's the matter, what's the matter, you yelled as soon as you came back?" A slender woman in red came out from the back hall. Crested boots, slender waist, round chest, and the charming charm of a mature woman, but the corners of the eyes are slightly raised, revealing a bit of sharpness and shrewdness. Seeing her coming, Deng Zuyang flicked his sleeves and said angrily, "Isn't that your precious nephew doing something good?" The woman was puzzled, so Ms. Deng hurriedly stepped forward and explained the reason behind it. When Mrs. Deng heard it, she disapproved and said, "What a big deal I am. As for you getting angry? To make money and lend money, you are willing to fight and suffer. In cities, from remote prefectures and counties to the Shoushan area, where is there no money lending? This matter does not hinder the king's law, right? There is no prohibition of money lending in the laws of the Song Dynasty. You can't just leave it alone, can you?" Deng Zuyang said angrily: "Ma'am, you have to be kind and righteous when lending money, right? He takes away people's lives and wants to take the opportunity to blackmail their daughters into concubines. This is a deceitful act." Mrs. Deng was very displeased, and said suddenly: "What do you mean by taking people's lives and extorting their daughters as concubines? There are rules for lending money when lending money. Liu Zhong lends money, and the money doesn't belong to him. I have to pay interest to Qian Min on time, if the account is not returned, isn't Qian Min not looking for trouble for him?" Deng Zuyang shouted: "If you didn't blindly protect him, I don't think he has such courage, hum! Lending for profit, lending for profit, I will investigate this matter myself. If I know that he set the fire, I will definitely I won't spare him!" Seeing her husband's stern voice, Mrs. Deng was stunned for a moment, and then began to cry: "No one else said anything, but you put the shit bowl on the top of your relative's head first. Well, now that you are an official, don't you think so?" My Liu family is going to be next to you, isn't it? You were so poor that you had no room and no land. Did I, Liu E, ever dislike you? Your parents died early, and your uncles and brothers regarded you like a passerby, and you went to Beijing to rush for the exam You can’t even afford the money, who paid for it for you? It was my uncle who sold the old cow in his family to make up enough money for you, otherwise you can be named on the gold list? Can you have the glory of today?” Deng Zuyang's momentum was three points lower, and he lowered his voice and said, "You...what are you talking about? The second uncle became a grain lord, the third uncle was a head catcher, didn't the uncle also ask someone to arrange to buy penny to be a warehouse Are you an official, when will I stop feeling grateful for Liu Jiaende?" Mrs. Deng said aggressively: "Grateful? If you are really grateful, you will not make use of the topic today and make a fuss about my nephew. Lending money for interest is also a risk. Borrowing money knowing that the interest is high is not doing a good deed, and it is not good. Of course compensation is required. If Zhong'er likes his woman and is willing to pay off the debts and marry that woman as a concubine, the family must be voluntary to do so. Didn't they rob people's daughters by force? If you say you are poor, then you don't need to change the debt?" Deng Zuyang was completely suppressed by his wife's arrogance, and he was speechless.At that time, lending usury was indeed a kind of behavior allowed by the government, and not only people lent money, but also temples and Taoist temples often lent money to the common people, so that the spectacle of a group of monks and Taoists coming to collect debts was occasionally seen.It is open and legal for officials to lend money to individuals. Needless to say, even local governments have secretly embezzled money from the treasury and handed it over to money makers for profit. Deng Zuyang had just arrived in Sizhou, because the former magistrate, who had a long history with the Zhou family, was impeached and dismissed by the imperial officials. He didn't stick to the rules and appointed private individuals wantonly. The Liu family made great efforts to consolidate his position. In order to support his wife's second uncle Liu Xiangzhi, he became a big grain merchant against Uncle Zhou Wang. At the beginning, he also held the treasury in his own hands, secretly transferred the money to the bankers for loans, and earned huge interest as the capital. It can be said that he is not a stupid official, but Liu Zhong His behavior really made him very angry. But now my wife is inexplicably angry. The help and kindness of the Liu family to him is indeed too great. Deng Zuyang was a little discouraged, and he couldn't help thinking: "I should call Liu Zhong secretly, tell him not to do such injustice, and forgive that family. He has been doing this for a while, but now he has offended Madam, so why bother?" Seeing that her father was scolded by her mother for silence, Deng Xiu'er wanted to help her, so she stepped forward and said, "Mother, I can't blame my father for this matter, my cousin..." "Shut up!" Mrs. Deng gave her daughter a hard look, "Back then your mother had no milk, and your sister-in-law raised you. How dare you tell your cousin about it?" Deng Xiu'er reluctantly said: "Mother, my daughter didn't mean to embarrass my cousin, it's just that the family is too pitiful." At this moment, a Qinglang's voice at the entrance of the hall laughed and said, "Has Governor Deng returned? What's the noise?" Deng Xiu'er looked back, and saw a handsome young man with hairpin in a bun, wearing a gold crown with jeweled pearls, and a light-white gown with silver trim, and a four-clawed python embroidered on the robe, standing at the entrance of the hall with a smile, his pretty face flushed suddenly , she already thought that this person is the Wei Wang Zhao Dezhao with whom she played piano for several days. This prince is really handsome. Zhao Dezhao and Deng Xiuer played piano music together, and their yearning became more and more intense. Hearing the noise in this room today, he had an excuse to show up, so he couldn't help but walked over. When he saw the girl in the hall looking back lightly, Zhao Dezhao's feet were like stepping on clouds. , the soul fluttered around, and immediately stayed there. What a beauty, the white plain is the lower skirt, and the moon is the upper skirt, which makes her look like a beautiful jade carving. The narrow-sleeved short jacket, the floor-length skirt, and the tight half-arm jacket with peacock pattern and brocade brocade, two A bead is just on the protruding part of her delicate chest, and she wears a green unadorned shirt embroidered with partridges on her shoulders, as if she just came back from outside. Her appearance is not the kind of stunning beauty, but she has the charm of Jiangnan women, with slender and long moon eyebrows, a small nose, thin red lips, looking at each other for a moment, both of them have a feeling of being frightened. "Ah, it's just... It's just some family trifles. I didn't expect to alarm the lord, and the lord forgives me." When Deng Zuyang saw Zhao Dezhao coming, he rushed forward to salute.Mrs. Deng hurriedly wiped her tears, forced a smile and came forward with her husband.But Deng Xiu'er turned sideways, with her head half down, gave a clever blessing to Zhao Dezhao, and was about to hide in the inner room. Zhao Dezhao was going to help the Dengs and his wife, but when he saw that the longing man was about to avoid him, he coughed quickly: "Meeting in a private house, why are there so many etiquettes, please hurry up, Mrs. and Mrs. Deng, ah! Who is this girl?" Deng Xiu'er had already retreated gracefully to the side of the bookshelf, and was about to flash behind the screen, the prince suddenly asked her identity, but it was inconvenient to leave, she leaned forward, then stopped again, leaning back and forth, It becomes a landscape, standing there beautifully, as if it is a scroll on the bookshelf that still exudes the fragrance of ink. Seeing that Zhao Dezhao no longer asked the reason for their quarrel, Deng Zuyang secretly rejoiced, and hurriedly said: "This is the little girl, Xiu'er, Xiu'er, come and meet the prince." Deng Xiu'er glanced at Zhao Dezhao again, her heart was beating wildly, and she came forward slowly, and was about to worship Fuli, when Yang Hao came in a hurry, entered the door and looked around, but didn't see the delicate situation in the hall, and hurriedly said: "Ah! , the Lord Futai is here, the prince is also here, great, great, Yang has come to ask for orders again!"