Amid the storm, the New Year of the twelfth year of Chongzhen has arrived. At this time, more than half a month has passed since the Qing troops besieged the city!
But right now, in Jinan City, not only is there no Chinese New Year atmosphere at all, but there is a rumor circulating, 'Jinan City's grain reserves are running low!'
Almost overnight, the price of grain and rice in Jinan City skyrocketed several times. People almost flocked out and gathered in front of large and small grain and rice stores, spending their savings just to buy more grain and rice.
, make a living!
Within a few days, many grain and rice stores had been robbed and smashed, hundreds of people were killed and injured, and the city of Jinan was in turmoil!
On the front line of the North City, Liu Ruyi leaned against the warm stove inside the city gate, patiently listening to Liu Hanyi describe the changes in the city!
"Ruyi, the governor's office is simply short of manpower, and it has been difficult to control the situation in Jinan City. My Liu family's rice shop has also suffered a serious impact. Fortunately, our Liu family has a large number of people, so nothing serious happened! However, if this continues
, I'm not too sure, this, something big is going to happen sooner or later!" Liu Hanyi looked haggard, his eyes were blood red, it was obvious that he had been tortured a lot!
Liu Ruyi gently held the dagger in her hand, pondered for a long time, and then said: "Brother, where did this news come from? Do you have any clues?"
"This, I don't know this either!" Liu Hanyi shook his head tiredly and explained: "As expected, almost all the grain and rice trading houses in Jinan City have been affected. Everyone only cares about protecting their own lives. There are really some people.
It’s hard to tell whether it caused harm or not!”
Liu Ruyi nodded slightly. Although he had already expected that Dorgon would not sit still and wait for death, Liu Ruyi did not expect that he would take the wrong side of the sword. It was not a head-on confrontation, but a game like this.
Trick!
Although this move may seem vulgar, but looking at it now, its lethality is undoubtedly huge!
"Brother, is there anything going on at Prince De's Mansion recently?" Liu Ruyi asked seemingly unintentionally.
"Prince De's Mansion?" Liu Hanyi was stunned, "I didn't pay attention to this, but the old guy is not having a good life now! I heard yesterday that the old guy was smashed to pieces in two grain and rice stores in the city.
The loss is not small!"
Liu Ruyi nodded silently.
In fact, Jinan City is located in the heart of Qilu, spanning north and south, and has prosperous commerce. It is the intersection of "Southern Grain" and "Northern Grain"!
In this era, grain transportation basically relied on waterways. If grain from Huguang and Jiangnan was transported to the capital and Liaodong, Jinan City was the only place to pass! Although the Qing army came with a fierce force this time, it does not count the food that Liu Ruyi had stored in advance.
Grain and grass, the inventory of the grain and rice merchants in Jinan City can last for several months, or even half a year, so there is no big problem!
After a long silence, Liu Ruyi suddenly smiled softly, with a strong murderous intent in his eyes, "Brother, you have to pay more attention to this matter. If there are any clues, inform me immediately! As for the situation in the city, I will send troops immediately
"Maintain, I want to see who dares to jump out and give me eye drops at this time!"
………………
In the Qing army's tent, Dorgon looked at the news from the spies in Jinan City, and a sneer gradually appeared on the corner of his mouth. These wise men, whatever they hear, is like rain, and things are going much smoother than they imagined!
Duduo was not as patient as Dorgon. When he saw things going so smoothly, he couldn't help but said: "Brother, since these smart dogs have messed up the situation, why don't we work together to capture the city directly, and the sons and daughters can also
I have a place to take a good rest!"
Dorgon glanced at Duduo, smiled and shook his head, "Fifteenth brother, everything has its own priorities! This is like going to hunt black bears in the mountains. If we shoot arrows one by one and cut the flesh with a knife, then the black bear will
It won’t be too painful, but if on the contrary, you want to kill it with one blow, you will definitely encounter a strong counterattack from it, and the gain will not be worth the loss! The Erlangs under our command have been on the war for too long, and they have begun to miss their hometown.
, I don’t want to risk the lives of the warriors just for this moment of pleasure!”
"But, that man is about to enter the customs. He has sent people over and over again to urge us to go north and meet him. If we stay here for too long, I'm afraid he will cause trouble for us again!" Duduo said bitterly.
Pointed to the north!
Dorgon's face was also slightly cold. Huang Taiji had appointed him as the commander-in-chief when he entered the customs this time, but perhaps he couldn't worry about the two brothers from the bottom of his heart. Huang Taiji had decided to enter the customs soon and personally inspect this place.
The results of the second entrance!
At present, General Yangwu Yue Tuo has led his troops to Pinggu to join Huang Taiji's forwards. In the heart of the Ming Dynasty, only the rest of Dorgon's troops are left!
"He is him, and we are us! Fifteenth brother, you can send people first to escort the hundreds of thousands of people and livestock gathered in Linqing to Pinggu and stop his mouth! As for Jinan City, we are not in a hurry.
Just spend it slowly! However, if my prediction is correct, there will definitely be results in the city within three days!" Dorgon said somewhat conceitedly!
"Yes, brother! The day before yesterday, Yue Tuo's second son Luo Luohong came to deliver a message. I asked him to lead the headquarters to escort them! However, if we escort these materials on such a large scale, I am worried that the Ming army in Dezhou City will
Attack them behind their backs!" Duduo said hesitantly.
Dorgon laughed loudly, "Dezhou City, haha? It's just a bunch of rabble. Even if I don't take action, Emperor Chongzhen will take action for me! Just go and do it!"
"yes!"
………………
Towards evening, a layer of frost suddenly fell in the sky, and the frost spread on the road. As the cold night wind passed by, it quickly condensed into ice, and the weather suddenly became much colder!
At this time, in the inner house of Zhang Laocai, the boss of Jibei Commercial Bank, located on the bank of Daming Lake, the warm stove dispelled the winter chill. The red candles illuminated the room brightly. There were exquisite dishes on the table.
No one moved their chopsticks!
"You evil beast~~, look at the good things you have done, why don't you kneel down in front of me!" Zhang Laocai's face was ashen, his fat body was trembling, and his small eyes were almost desperate!
On this New Year's Eve, he specially ordered the kitchen to prepare a table of delicious dishes to celebrate this not-so-harvest year with his family. But who would have thought that as soon as he sat down, he heard his precious son inadvertently say something
He opened his mouth, and a biting chill instantly spread from his spine. He hurriedly evacuated his wife, daughter, and family members, leaving his eldest son in the room!
"Dad~, I, what's wrong with me? Are you, are you so angry?"
Although Zhang Laocai had many wives and concubines, he only had two sons. The eldest son was born to his first wife when he was not yet prosperous. He was twenty-seven and eighty-year-old this year and was named Zhang Yongfu, which means eternal wealth. Although the name is vulgar, it is full of Zhang's character.
Lao Cai's love for his son! His youngest son was born to a concubine he bought from Jiangnan a few years ago. He is only four years old this year and is still a suckling baby!
The person speaking at this time was none other than Zhang Laocai’s eldest son, Zhang Yongfu!
"What an evil beast, what an evil beast! I, Zhang Laocai, have been famous all my life. Why did I give birth to a prodigal son like you? What an evil act! What an evil act!" Zhang Laocai beat his chest and stamped his feet, tears streaming down his face. A few months ago, he
He had just returned from doing a big business deal outside the Great Wall, but he accidentally caught a cold. He lay at home for several months. During this period, all the business under his name was handed over to his eldest son Zhang Yongfu!
Although Zhang Yongfu is usually a playboy and is also known as a prodigal son in Jinan City, Zhang Laocai loves him because he is the son of his late wife and loves him so much that he does not take his minor problems to heart. However,
Unexpectedly, just inadvertently, he, he, actually caused a huge disaster for himself!
"Dad~~, what is going on! If you don't tell me, my child, I don't know what mistake you have made!" The pampered young master Zhang has long been used to facing his father's harsh criticism. At this time, he also
I didn't care, I just acted like a spoiled child as usual!
"You, you still said that!" Zhang Laocai looked around carefully. It was pitch dark outside the door, and not a single figure could be seen. Only then did he feel relieved. He grabbed Young Master Zhang's ears and asked in a low voice.
He said, "Does the price of food in the city have something to do with you these days?"
"Oh~! Dad! I thought it was some big deal? It's just such a big deal! Are you so angry?"
Young Master Zhang suddenly relaxed and said with some pride: "Dad, this is the inside information given to me by a friend. The Qing troops are currently besieging the city and Jinan is in short supply of grain and rice, so I have resorted to some tricks! Haha, Dad,
Guess what? The price of grain and rice is soaring! In just these few days, I have sold one-third of our Zhang family’s grain stock! Hahaha! Dad, Dad~~! You
My son is going to be successful! This time, we may make a net profit of three to four hundred thousand taels!"
After Master Zhang finished speaking, he puffed up his chest proudly, as if he was waiting for praise from his shrewd father!
But Zhang Laocai slapped him hard on the face, and with a 'wow' sound, a large mouthful of blood couldn't help but spit out from his mouth!
"You, you, you evil beast! I, I don't have a son like you! Oh God! What mistake did I, Lao Zhang, make! You, you want to punish me like this!" Zhang Laocai couldn't help but
Crying loudly!
Young Master Zhang was a little confused now, and said tremblingly: "Dad, dad, what on earth is going on? Did my son do something wrong?"
Zhang Laocai wiped away his tears and kicked Young Master Zhang hard, "Not only did you do something wrong! You just want to put my old Zhang family into a place of no return!"
"Dad, Dad, don't scare me?" Young Master Zhang also felt a little guilty at this time, "We, we just sold some grain at a high price. As for, is it like this?"
"Bah! You bastard!" Zhang Laocai grabbed Young Master Zhang's lapel and said, "Sold some grain? When the hell did you fail to sell it? Why did you choose this time to return it to those..."
Zhang Laocai suddenly stopped talking, grabbed Young Master Zhang's ear, lowered his voice and asked, "Who else knows about you and your friend?"