Li Qian was Liang Chongyi's top aide. He had followed Liang Chongyi for many years and made suggestions for Liang Chongyi. Liang Chongyi trusted him very much. He discussed all major military and political affairs with Li Qian and generally would not ask other aides.
If Shen Chenzhou wants to have a say in major affairs, he must replace or get rid of Li Qian.
The intelligence station originally planned to kill Li Qian directly, but the head of the Huang family, Huang Yuan, told them information that Li Qian might have been bribed by the court. Miao Qi immediately decided to change his strategy and let Liang Chongyi deal with Li Qian himself.
Shen Chenzhou opened the box and found a note inside. There was only one person's name on the note, Luo Xiaonian.
"Who is this Luo Xiaonian?"
"He is Li Qian's brother-in-law and concubine's brother. It was he who revealed Li Qian's identity at the wine table. Li Qian has been named the uncle of Nanyang County by the imperial court. He will be promoted from the fifth rank to the imperial court and will be appointed as the governor of Xiangzhou in the future. "
Shen Chenzhou pondered for a while and said: "It seems inappropriate for me to report this matter. It is best to let Liang Chongyi know in a roundabout way."
Miao Qi shook his head, "You are not the only one who has Liang Chongyi's alternate staff. The other two are also eager to replace Li Qian immediately. Besides, Li Qian has been suppressing you. It is normal for you to counterattack. You have exposed Li Qian's old background, and Liang Chongyi will be even more powerful." I want to reuse you. Besides, it was Huang Yuan who discovered Li Qian’s secret. You were the person recommended by Huang Yuan. It is completely reasonable for Huang Yuan to tell you this secret."
Shen Chenzhou was right when he thought about it. If he didn't take the initiative, he would end up making wedding clothes for others.
He nodded, "What you said makes sense, let me think about it!"
Miao Qi smiled again and said: "Mr. Shen, you can ask Huang Yuan for details. The incident happened in Qingfeng Restaurant."
"I see."
Shen Chenzhou couldn't stay for long, so he turned and left the shopkeeper's room.
In the afternoon, Li Qian, Liang Chongyi's chief aide, learned that Shen Chenzhou wanted to make a lot of money, which made him very angry. He did not discuss such a major matter with him, so Jiedushi agreed immediately.
Li Qian didn't pay much attention to the emergence of new staff Shen Chenzhou at first, but as Shen Chenzhou's talent continued to show, in addition to his excellent financial management, he also advised Liang Chongyi to wait and see what happened and not to follow the court's instructions and hastily intervene in the Bashu Incident.
Facts have proved that Shen Chenzhou was right. If Liang Chongyi followed the imperial order and rushed to Xiazhou, a fierce battle would definitely break out with Lei Wanchun's army. Lei Wanchun's main force had already entered Xiazhou, and Liang Chongyi would definitely end in a disastrous defeat.
For this reason, Liang Chongyi publicly praised Shen Chenzhou's foresight more than once, which made Li Qian very uncomfortable.
It was also after this incident that Li Qian finally realized that Shen Chenzhou would become his biggest threat.
Two months ago, Li Qian sent people to Tangyin County in Xiangzhou to inquire about Shen Chenzhou, but found nothing. Tangyin County had been destroyed by the war, and only ruins remained in the entire county. Zhongxian, which originally had thousands of households, now There were only more than a hundred households left, all of them were old, weak, sick and disabled. The people were either going to be massacred or fled.
In the official room, Li Qian was trying his best to persuade Liang Chongyi to give up the big money plan.
"Your Majesty, it takes time to mint money, and it also requires manpower and material resources. I'm afraid that after we have worked so hard to mint the money, the big money will stop circulating. Wouldn't we be in a hurry? What's more important is that after the big money is issued, prices will definitely skyrocket. You may not be able to buy so many things, which means a rising tide lifts all boats, but it’s still the same thing.”
Liang Chongyi was also a little moved. If prices skyrocketed, he would not be able to buy anything.
"Let me think about it again, you go first!"
Li Qian retreated, and Liang Chongyi paced back and forth in the room. He also felt that making big money was risky. If prices in Chang'an soared, big money wouldn't be able to buy anything.
Thinking of this, Liang Chongyi ordered: "Go and invite Mr. Shen here quickly!"
Not long after, Shen Chenzhou hurried over, bowed and saluted, "I'm sorry to see you, Your Majesty!"
"No need to be polite, Mr. Shen, please sit down!"
Liang Chongyi asked Shen Chenzhou to sit down and asked his men to serve tea.
He said to Shen Chenzhou: "I'm thinking about big money. Once the court issues big money, prices will inevitably rise sharply. In fact, big money can't buy cheap things. After calculation, the price is similar to ours. So what's the point of casting big money? What’s the meaning?”
"Your Majesty, the imperial court will not make too much money. They also want to make a little bit first to test the water. That's why I said this is an opportunity. If we get ahead, then we will be the first to loot the wealth, not the imperial court. Wait for the imperial court After reaction, a large amount of supplies have been shipped out of Chang'an."
Liang Chongyi shook his head, "Sir, how do you know that the imperial court doesn't mint much? They issue big money because the finances can't solve the problem and they need to save money. If they start minting money now, how can they get their salaries? I think it's very risky to mint big money. What if after I finish casting the money, the court orders to stop the circulation of large amounts of money because of public dissatisfaction? Wouldn’t we be dumbfounded? So I decided to cancel the plan to mint large amounts of money. I don’t want to take this risk.”
Shen Chenzhou was hit head-on, and he realized that his influence on Liang Chongyi was far less than that of Li Qian. It must have been because of Li Qian's words that Liang Chongyi changed his mind. How could the court stop the big money? Circulation, at most, stops casting.
Even if prices rise sharply, the cost of big money is still low! Why can’t Liang Chongyi see this?
With a thought in his mind, Shen Chenzhou suddenly realized this was an opportunity to report on Li Qian. He no longer persisted and took a step back and said: "If you are afraid of risks, then it's okay not to make big money, but I suggest you build it first." Fence to prevent the imperial court from looting us."
"What do you mean?" Liang Chongyi asked confused.
"Your Majesty, the reason is very simple. A dou of rice in Chang'an costs two hundred cents, and we have a dou of rice that costs fifty cents. Then a large number of Chang'an merchants will inevitably come to Xiangyang to purchase grain and various materials. On the contrary, we cannot purchase materials from Chang'an. In the end, It will lead to a severe shortage of supplies in Jingxiang, which in turn will drive up prices in Xiangyang and cause public resentment to boil."
Liang Chongyi was stunned and asked for a long time: "What should we do?"
"Of course there are ways. Either follow the example of Longyou and list grain, pig iron and other items as strategic materials and strictly prohibit cross-regional transportation, or we can raise the price of goods in Xiangyang first and make it unprofitable for guests from Chang'an."
Liang Chongyi thought for a while and said: "The former method is better. It is simple and effective. Mr. Shen will write a draft and I will order it to be implemented immediately!"
Shen Chenzhou smiled bitterly, "It's best for the prince to ask Li Qian first. If he hears that it's my plan, he will definitely oppose it. Just like the big money plan, once he objects, it will be over."
Liang Chongyi waved his hand, "Sir, just go ahead and write the draft, I know it well!"
"I humbly obey orders!"
Shen Chenzhou took two steps, then pretended to hesitate and said: "There is something that I didn't want to say because I was afraid of offending Li Qian, but since Li Qian has been targeting Beizi, I don't want to hide it for him."
"whats the matter?"
"There is a man named Luo Xiaonian. Does the prince know him?"
Liang Chongyi thought for a while and said: "This name sounds familiar. I think I have heard of it. What happened to him?"
"This man is said to be Li Qian's brother-in-law. He bragged in the Qingfeng Restaurant a few days ago that his brother-in-law was granted the title of county uncle by the imperial court and was dismissed from the fifth rank as an official. The imperial court also promised his brother-in-law to be the governor of Xiangzhou. This is the head of the Huang family What he told me was heard by many people present. Maybe he was bragging about himself, but what if it is true? I suggest that the prince should investigate quietly, just to be prepared."
After saying this, Shen Chenzhou bowed, turned around and walked away.
Liang Chongyi's face suddenly became extremely ugly. He understood what Shen Chenzhou meant. Li Qian had been bribed by the imperial court.