Chapter 56 Fifty-five

Hu Cheng was a little worried at first, and he didn't dare to follow through. Li Chengqian gave the order to die, and promised to take care of himself alone if something went wrong.At this time, Fang Long, the crown prince's holy family, is in full swing, and this matter is to flatter the emperor. Of course, it will gain a lot of glory if it is done. Hu Cheng hesitates again and again, and finally agrees. Dou Yi was sitting on a mahogany chair, drinking tea with his eyes closed, when Dou Fu walked in and reported to him that there were grains sold in the market these days!Dou was startled, opened his eyes and asked: "Oh! That's strange, is there a lot?" Dou Fu replied: "A lot, at least a hundred thousand stones flowed into the rice market." Dou Yiteng stood up from the chair He got up, glanced at the butler, and said with a puzzled face, "Such a big handwriting?" Dou Fu told Dou Yi that he had sent someone to check, and it was official food, Yangzhou rice with a clear water.

This surprised Dou Yi even more, and asked, "Have you figured out who is in charge?" Dou Fu pointed eastward with his hand.Dou was taken aback: "In the east?" Dou Fu nodded.Thinking about it, Dou thought it could only be him. Now the emperor asked the East Palace to supervise the grain payment at the border and clear the water transport. Who else can spare so much grain except the prince?It seems that he is envious of the current grain price in Chang'an, and wants to sell the grain in his hand to make a fortune, and then use the money he earns to cover his warehouse after the Longshou Canal is repaired.Thinking of this level, Dou Yi slowly returned to the chair and sat down, sighing deeply.With such a disturbance in Donggong, his wishful thinking was completely in vain.

Dou Fu observed the master's face, and said in a tentative tone: "Master, if the dragon's head canal is opened, the grain transported by water can come, and the goods we stockpile in the warehouse will be considered as worthless. In my opinion, Let's not wait any longer, let's throw it away, the price will probably come down in two days." There was a thunderclap in the sky, and then it rained.Dou Yi raised his face, a heavy sense of failure enveloped his heart, after a long time, he uttered a sentence: "Then throw it away." At this moment, the door creaked, and Dou Gui, a family member, walked in and said, "Master, butler, there is a letter from Longshouqu." Dou Ai asked listlessly, "How is the situation?" Dou Gui replied, " The crown prince recruited another three thousand civilian husbands, and the opening has been blocked." Dou Yi said with a heavy heart: "Oh, it's too late to throw it away, and I missed a good market for nothing."

But Dou Gui went on to say: "The mouth is blocked, but the water level in the Longshou Canal still hasn't risen, and the water transportation still hasn't passed." Dou Yi's face changed, and he asked why. The government is also investigating.Dou Yi calmed down a little, and said to himself, "That's strange." Since he hadn't worked it out, he didn't miss the market, so he changed his mind about selling the stored grain, and turned to Dou Fu and said: " Then let's stock up on our goods again, don't rush to sell." The lack of water transport is a blessing for Dou who has a lot of food, but it is a disaster for Donggong.Li Chengqian paced back and forth anxiously in the palace, while Chang Sheng, Hu Cheng, Heng Lian and others stood aside with bitter faces.Chang Sheng apologized and reported to the prince. He sent people to investigate along the river all night, and the matter was finally clarified. It turned out that there was a small opening in the area of ​​the Dragon King Temple in the lower reaches of Huazhou. This opening destroyed more than a hundred feet at once, so even though the western opening was blocked, the Longshou Canal was still blocked.

Li Chengqian's face paled in shock: "More than a hundred feet? How long will it take to block it?" Chang Sheng replied that it was close to the main road of the Wei River and the opening was wide, so it might take a month or two.It was like a clap of thunder, and Li Chengqian sat down slumped, already panicked. These days, the food in Nancang was coming out very quickly, and by the day before yesterday, there were only 100,000 shi left.Everyone is like this. It is the most difficult to take the first step when doing risky things, but after taking this step and tasting the sweetness, you will not look back.Seeing boxes and boxes of money coming in, Li Chengqian got carried away. He heard the rumor that the water transport was going to be repaired. The price of rice dropped for two days in a row, so he asked Hu Cheng to take the remaining 100,000 shi from the Nancang. The rice will be sold soon.Hu Cheng originally wanted to suppress the one hundred thousand stones and not make a move no matter what, but he couldn't hold back the prince, so he had to do so in the end.By this morning, there were only seven or eight thousand stones left in the warehouse.

But at this time, the Ministry of Household and the Ministry of War came with official documents, asking Taicang to immediately ship 10,000 shi of military rations to Jingzhou. Hu Cheng was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot, and kept urging: "His Royal Highness, the Ministry of Household and the Ministry of War There is no need to delay the matter, not to mention that this batch of grain is distributed to Chai Shao. If it cannot be brought out, it will be a big mess." Li Chengqian understood what he meant, and Chai Shao had always been close to Li Ke, the king of Shu. Missing his rations, the consequences are really unimaginable.He said weakly, "Why don't you go to the market and buy some for emergency?"

Hu Cheng shook his head and said: "In today's market, it's easy to sell thousands of shi of grain, but it's hard to buy it in. No matter how expensive the price is, it won't be all in place within three to five days." Li Chengqian stomped his feet anxiously and muttered He said: "What should I do!" Seeing Li Chengqian's anxious look, Chang Sheng blamed himself again: "This matter is all my fault, it is my minister who harmed His Highness." Li Chengqian looked at Chang Sheng and said: " Alas, what's the use of talking about it now?" Chang Sheng said: "I have three or four thousand stones of food stored in my camp, Brother Hu, send someone to transport it quickly and deal with Chai Shao first, don't let them catch it Hold the handle."

Li Chengqian asked: "Then what do your troops eat?" Chang Sheng replied: "This, I will find a way." After a few confidantes come over, let them stop doing anything from now on, just go to the market to collect grain, and store as much as they can in Nancang for emergency.Heng Lian said with some worry: "Your Highness, there are not many good grains in Chang'an City right now! They are just grains that have been soaked in water, which are prone to mold. This mold can easily cause trouble." Li Chengqian was a little crazy Loudly said: "That has to be collected, I'm afraid there will be no such goods in a few days!"