A fire in Congxing Fucheng caused panic among the people in the city. Although the fire was controlled and stopped spreading due to the efforts of the government and the people, the fire in the granary gradually weakened and was extinguished until three days later.
Most of the more than 100,000 shi of grain originally stored in the warehouse had been reduced to ashes. Only a small part of the warehouse was lucky enough to survive. Chen Ping stood by and made a visual inspection, and estimated that it would not exceed 30,000 shi.
"Let me tell you, your lord, the number found is about twenty-seven thousand stones."
The clerk stepped forward to report the news. After hearing this, Yang Anguo sighed and waved his hand, then turned around and greeted Chen Ping.
"Go back to the Yamen. The remaining 20,000 to 30,000 shi of food are not worth their while."
Chen Ping nodded to express his understanding, and followed Yang Anguo back to the Yamen. When they came to the study, they both sat down in silence. After looking at each other, Yang Anguo couldn't help but ask.
"What do you think these people will do next? The enemy is in the dark and I am in the open. I am really unable to resist this thousand-day defense against thieves!"
Chen Ping pursed his lips and thought for a moment, Pi Xiu and his group must have hundreds or even thousands of people. Such a large group of people would have to eat and drink a lot of money every day. In the past, they could get thieves from gentry from other states and Lingzhou.
Supplies were obtained, but now as the government's blockade becomes increasingly tight, the gentry who originally collaborated with the thieves are either being coaxed or warned.
In other words, Pixiu has lost the ability to cause trouble in Lingzhou for a long time. Now he is just living without roots and struggling to his death.
When his thoughts came to this point, Chen Ping asked: "Are you anxious, Sir?"
"It's not us who should be anxious now, but Pixiu and the others. Sir, please don't forget what Pixiu's purpose is in Lingzhou."
Yang Anguo just wanted to choke and said, "Of course you're not in a hurry." Then he thought about Chen Ping and Pi Xiu's revenge for killing their masters and swallowed it back. When he heard Chen Ping's reminder again, his eyes suddenly became clear and he calmed down to think.
Yes, what is Pixiu’s purpose?
He bribed the natives at all costs to seduce the natives, and when that failed, he sent people to venture into the city and set fire to it. This style of behavior was completely contrary to the previous caution of this organization!
Yang Anguo looked at Chen Ping and saw Chen Ping's clear eyes piercing people's hearts. He tried to say: "A fight between trapped beasts?"
Chen Ping applauded, "That's it! Pixiu is now a caged bird and a fish in a net. Whether it is to kill me for revenge or to report to the superiors, he will be eager to make a move and force us to take action, because this
It’s related to their grand plan.”
"Although I don't know exactly what these people's plans are, judging from the current clues, this organization obviously wants to stir up chaos while His Majesty is seriously ill. Unfortunately, Lingzhou has become the target."
Chen Ping continued: "Pixiu was ordered to come to Lingzhou. This is the only possibility. But he is also very unfortunate because I am also here."
The more Yang Anguo listened, the clearer his heart became. He rubbed his hands and asked, "Yes, that's it. Then our response is to keep delaying it?"
Chen Ping nodded but then shook his head: "Didn't Mr. Yang also say that you can only be a thief for a thousand days, but there is no reason to guard against a thief for a thousand days."
"The best defense is offense. We have Gong Heng's account books and diaries in our hands. Even if the smuggled grain is burned, we can arrest everyone related to the case with reasonable evidence. But being able to arrest does not mean that we have to arrest , as long as there is this deterrent, Pixiu will have nowhere to hide in Lingzhou."
"When the time is right, adults can..."
After listening to Chen Ping's explanation, Yang Anguo smacked his lips and sighed at the ingenuity of the plan. Then he gritted his teeth, stamped his feet, slapped the table and shouted.
"Just do it! You have been teasing me so many times, do you really think I am gentle and kind enough to be deceived? Today, even if I give up my black gauze hat, I will catch these traitors and bring them to justice!"
Being fucked by Pi Xiu several times, Yang Anguo's true temper was also brought out. He was almost at the age of becoming an official and had nothing to be afraid of.
What's more, with Chen Ping by his side, Yang Anguo simply didn't care about the impeachment, and now he only wanted to maintain the stability of Lingzhou and prevent Pi Xiu from succeeding.
If someone in Pixiu's organization would impeach him in the court in the future, but he has been in the officialdom for many years, doesn't he have relatives, friends, old classmates, and friends?
At a small scale, this matter is to protect the safety of tens of millions of people in Lingzhou; at a big scale, it is related to the situation of the world!
......
Time passed day by day, Chen Ping and Yang Anguo were waiting for Pi Xiu's next move, and they were also waiting for Tang Hao to return with his troops.
But during these days of waiting, a discordant sound came out of nowhere in Congxing Mansion City, and the sound became louder and louder.
"Master Fu, Master Fu, the price of food in the city suddenly doubled today!"
When Yang Anguo heard that his newly promoted Hufang Dianshi came to report in a hurry, he stood up suddenly.
Grain prices are what ordinary people are most concerned about. However, Lingzhou has been doing well in recent years, and grain prices have not fluctuated for many years.
So much so that when there was a fire in the granary, he never thought that there would be a sudden increase in food prices. After all, the imperial treasury is empty now. It is not a drought or flood. Each state has a certain amount of food storage. One hundred thousand shi of food is not a small amount. , but not enough to shake food prices.
"Suddenly? Please explain it clearly to me!"
"My lord, you have a clear warning! There was an increase yesterday, but it was not very big, so we didn't dare to report it easily. Only now..."
Yang Anguo suddenly stepped out and walked out. He didn't need to listen anymore. Rather than listening to what these petty officials said, he wanted to go to the city to see the actual situation in person.
"By the way, go tell Mr. Chen about this!"
"This matter is not simple!"
After leaving these two words, Yang Anguo strode out of the door. When he was done, he picked up the sword hanging under the screen and took it with him. Although he was over fifty years old, he was not afraid to draw his sword to kill the thief. p>
When Chen Ping, who was in the room in the backyard of the Yamen, learned about the sudden increase in food prices, his eyes widened. He pinched his temples and thought for a while before he couldn't help cursing.
"So cruel, so cruel!"
Chen Ping was shocked and angry. He was extremely angry that Pi Xiu had played such a sinister trick. He colluded with the natives to cause rebellion for the sake of military disaster, and burned grain to raise food prices for man-made disaster. This guy didn't regard the people of Lingzhou as human beings at all! "I thought that the purpose of setting fire to the food was to destroy evidence to show off my power. I didn't expect that this was just a pretext to create a food shortage in Lingzhou, causing people to panic and rush to buy food."
When Zhao Jin heard this, he immediately became furious and spat fiercely: "This person is a ruthless person. If he succeeds in his scheme, Lingzhou will undoubtedly be in chaos!"
Luo Li leaned against the door without saying a word, but his eyes were cold and intense.
Chen Ping nodded. This was the first time he had encountered this situation. When he thought that the modern state machinery in later generations would be unable to control the panic buying caused by the people, his mood became heavier.
"If it's just spreading rumors, that's fine. As long as you open warehouses to stock up on grain and seek help from local gentry, the crisis can be resolved. At worst, you can ask neighboring states for help, but..."
Chen Ping murmured with an ugly face, and his words were suddenly picked up by Luo Li.
"Just what you can think of, Pixiu can also think of, since he took action, he must have taken action in other aspects."
Chen Ping raised his head and looked at Luo Li, and opened his mouth but no words came out.
When Zhao Jin heard this, he became excited and shouted: "We can't just sit back and wait for death! No matter what others have done, we must do our best to remedy it and fight with them!"
After that, he grabbed Chen Ping by the collar and shouted: "Chen Ping! You came out of the fields. You can't forget the hardships of the people. If you can't control the spread of panic buying, Lingzhou will be doomed!"
”
This sentence was like an enlightenment to Chen Ping. He cleared up the chaos in Qinglingtai and his eyes became firm again.
"Brother Zhao, don't worry, I, Chen Ping, have never had the word "retreat" in my dictionary.