Ye Yui couldn't help but kiss Gu Xianting: "Xianting, you are great!"
Gu Xianting was a little embarrassed by the kiss and said softly: "Sister Yui, my face is dirty."
"It's okay." Ye Yui said and kissed Gu Xianting hard again, unable to express his love and affection for her in his heart.
As night fell, a group of uninvited guests came to the brightly lit Suzhou Granary.
Their clothes were filthier than those of the Wuxi people who had traveled hundreds of miles, and their disheveled faces were tired and haggard. They looked neither like beggars nor beggars. Looking at the barn where grain was piled high, they suddenly fell to the ground and burst into tears.
"You unscrupulous businesswomen, give back my son's life."
This cry immediately caused others to start crying and wailing.
what happened?
The originally bustling scene suddenly became quiet.
Ye Meixun was curious when he saw this and walked quickly.
Zhu Shide was also very puzzled. He secretly thought that something was wrong. Just as he was about to follow him to find out what happened, a Jiangnan grain merchant pulled him and whispered: "Mr. Zhu, please don't go there."
Zhu Shide asked curiously: "What's going on?"
The grain merchant whispered in Zhu Shide's ear.
It turns out that in order to win this food war, grain merchants from all over the country colluded with the government to forcefully purchase the rations from the people at low prices.
The price war could not defeat the cloth merchants led by Tantai Heqing, so these grain merchants used their connections to pull strings.
After hearing this, Zhu Shide said angrily: "Who asked you to do this?"
Someone responded: "Master Zhu, this is what you ordered."
"Yes, you said it, rob as many as you can, and every household will be spared."
Zhu Shide remembered that he was at a disadvantage at that time. In order to restore the disadvantage, he issued an order to seize food by any means. He felt depressed and thought it was over.
He turned around and walked to a corner, and whispered to his confidants: "Find a way to deal with these twenty or so people. We must not let them see the sun tomorrow."
This matter could be big or small, especially since Ye Meixun was here, she would first silence her and then pretend to be stupid.
Ye Meixun approached and asked, "What's wrong with you?"
The woman who was crying the most sadly looked up at Ye Meixun when she heard the sound. She saw that he was dressed in silk and satin and looked extremely noble, but she gritted her teeth and cursed: "It's you, a group of unscrupulous and evil businessmen who colluded with the government to collect goods at low prices."
He is worse than a robber who steals our food rations. He doesn't leave even a grain of rice for me. It's pitiful that my child, who is only a few years old, has to starve to death like this."
Ye Meixun was shocked when he heard this, his face changed drastically, and he blurted out: "Then why don't you spend money to buy food?"
One man gritted his teeth and said, "You have even robbed me of the rice at home. Where can I buy food? All the food shops in the city are closed. You beasts, do you know how many people have starved to death?"
When Ye Meixun heard this, his whole body trembled violently. He didn't know whether it was because he was filled with anger or excessive guilt, but he fainted directly.
Even though Ye Meixun fainted, the eyes of these people staring at him still showed hatred, the kind of hatred that was deep in the bones but helpless.
Upon seeing this, Ye Yui trotted towards her father.
Xie Fu felt uneasy, wondering if He Qing was also involved in this kind of thing. Gu Xianting was considerate and said softly: "Don't worry, sir, Sister He Qing is not this kind of person."
Xie Fu felt a little relieved and was planning to step forward and ask in detail. If there was any responsibility of his own, he would take it.
At this time, the crowd moved suddenly and took the initiative to move out of the way. Several government officials led the way carrying official lanterns.
When everyone saw the person coming, they all said, "Mr. Lu."
It was Lu Tao, the governor of Suzhou, who came earlier. Lu Tao had heard reports earlier that a large number of people were pouring into Suzhou. Knowing that they were bringing grain to the Suzhou granary, he ordered his subordinates to monitor closely and report to him if there was anything unusual.
In the evening, Lu Tao was greatly surprised to see that the motorcade of civilians was still there.
As the governor of Suzhou, he should come over and take a look at such a big movement no matter what.
Lu Tao smiled, as if he had seen the Suzhou plague
A scene where soldiers and civilians come together to fight against the epidemic.
Those few people couldn't help but retreat when they saw Lu Tao, who looked like an official, and the majestic government officials around him.
There was such a mix of people that Lu Tao didn't pay attention to the more than 20 people at first. When he saw the actions of the more than 20 people, he looked around and found that no one among the more than 20 people dared to meet his gaze.
Obviously these twenty people were afraid of him. Lu Tao felt uncomfortable. He wanted people to be afraid of him, but not these ordinary people. He smiled and said, "Why are you so afraid of me?"
The twenty or so people looked at each other and secretly sized up Lu Tao, but no one made up their minds on the spot.
Lu Tao saw that many of these people had bruises on their noses and faces, and had obviously been beaten. He smiled and added, "The only ones who are afraid of me are those who are prostitutes and commit crimes."
Lu Tao definitely has the weight to say this, and everyone from the powerful to the petty thieves.
At this time, Ye Meixun had just woken up under Ye Yui's kneading, and immediately cheered up and said hello to Lu Tao: "Master Lu."
Lu Tao nodded: "Mr. Ye, everyone is gathered here. Did something happen?"
Ye Meixun looked at the twenty or so people and said, "Master Lu is here. If you have any grievances, please tell Master Lu."
More than 20 people were dubious, not knowing whether Ye Meixun's words were a sign of confidence or whether he really wanted them to express their grievances.
Ye Meixun added: "This is Mr. Lu Taolu, the governor of Suzhou. He is an upright man."
Not every official can be trusted and will make decisions for the people, but Lu Tao is absolutely trustworthy.
When more than 20 people heard the word "Lu Tao", they immediately knelt down and said, "Please Master Lu, please make the decision for the villain!"
The frightened woman burst into tears instantly.
Lu Tao's voice was both soft and deep: "Get up and talk."
The woman stood up and said, "The woman is from Chuzhou."
Lu Tao exclaimed: "Chuzhou is hundreds of miles away from Suzhou, why come here all the time?"
"The women of the common people had nowhere to go to redress their grievances. I heard that Mr. Lu, the governor of Suzhou, was just and selfless, so he came to Suzhou to redress his grievances."
Lu Tao sighed: "I am deeply honored. Tell me what grievances you have."
The woman described how the local grain merchants colluded with the government to forcefully buy their rations at low prices. If they resisted, they would be severely beaten. Eventually, the children at home would starve to death.
After hearing this, Lu Tao's face darkened and he said loudly: "Okay, I will make the decision for you after I find out the facts!"
What the people are most afraid of is this sentence of ascertaining the facts. After searching and searching, the truth is finally confused. The woman cried and complained: "Sir, every word of a common woman is true, and there is absolutely no lie."
Lu Tao said nicely: "Don't be impatient for a moment. I can't just listen to what your family says. We need to investigate and deal with it in accordance with the law. I hope you understand."
Why should an official explain to the people in such a pleasant manner? In addition, Lu Tao had a good reputation, so these people believed him.
A man with an old wound on his face asked: "Sir, you are the governor of Suzhou, can you manage the officials of Chuzhou?"
Lu Tao smiled proudly: "I can't control it. Of course, someone will. Don't worry."
A government official next to Lu Tao said loudly: "My lord is a third-rank official, but the governor of Chuzhou is only a fifth-rank official. You don't care."
The governors are also divided into grades, according to Shangzhou, Zhongzhou and Xiazhou, which are respectively the third grade, the fourth grade and the fifth grade.
Suzhou is Shangzhou, and the governor of Suzhou is an official of the third rank, while Chuzhou is a lower state, and the governor of Chuzhou is only an official of the fifth rank. There is a huge difference.
More than 20 people thanked him happily.
Lu Tao said calmly: "You will follow me to the state capital now. I will rely on you to testify in person in the future."
When these people heard this, they hesitated. Lu Tao was unhappy when he saw this, and said in a deep voice: "Why, are you feeling guilty?"
The man with a bruised nose and swollen face stood up boldly: "Sir, please tell me bluntly, we trust you more than you, but not others."
Lu Tao has been an official for so many years. Some things don’t need to be explained too clearly. He knows what they are worried about. He smiled and said: "I will say something in front of everyone present now. If you are here
If anything goes wrong in the state capital, I, Lu Tao, will pay for it with the head on my neck."
Apart from Lu Tao, who else has such courage? Once these words came out, how could these people who came to complain have any reason not to believe it?
Xie Fu smiled, Mr. Lu always puts his own head on his neck to pay for it. Is your head on your neck so worthless?
"Mr. Xie, why are you laughing?" Lu Tao had already seen Mr. Xie.
When Fu Xie heard Lu Tao's call, he stepped forward and raised his hands: "Master Lu."
Lu Tao asked repeatedly in a very familiar tone in front of everyone: "Mr. Xie, why were you laughing just now?"
Xie Fu smiled and said: "I feel sorry for you, sir, you don't take the head on your neck seriously."
Everyone was shocked when they heard this. You dare to say this. Lu Tao said it was fine for himself, but others were not allowed to make a joke about it.
Lu Tao smiled: "I heard that the person in charge of purchasing grain from various places in Jiangnan East Road is Miss Tantai. I wonder if Miss Tantai was involved in forcibly purchasing people's rations at low prices?"
Everyone sighed secretly in their hearts, not sure what Lu Tao meant by this.
Xie Fu said: "We have to wait for your lord to investigate clearly. If we have broken the law, your lord will punish us."
Combined with the joke about Lu Tao's head just now, is this a provocation?
Lu Tao said solemnly: "No matter who it is, I will never show mercy."
Xie Fu responded: "It should be so."
The conversation between the two made everyone confused, and they all whispered to inquire about Xie Fu's details.
Xie Fu didn't have a good reputation in the business world, and generally the best way to find out a person's background was his family background. Unfortunately, no one present knew Xie Fu's family background.
After asking around, I found out that this person was Tantai Heqing's best friend.
Isn’t Tantai Heqing’s lover Li Shaodian?
Oh, could it be that he is Li Shaodian?
They all looked at Xie Fu. Li Shaodian was a figure living in legend, but it was difficult for people to connect him with reality.
At this time, Lu Tao changed his title: "Shaodian, these people?"
Several grain merchants around him heard this and exclaimed, it was really Li Shaodian. No wonder Lu Tao was so close, and they immediately started whispering.
Xie Fu responded: "I brought food here."
Lu Tao said: "There are too many people. It's a bit cold at night. Let's get them settled and let them go back tomorrow."
After all, if there are tens of thousands of people, just maintaining order, even if all the government troops are dispatched, they should not be able to take care of it.
Xie Fu nodded.
After Lu Tao finished his instructions, he left with more than 20 people. Originally, he was just taking a look, but he didn't expect to gain something unexpected.
