Xiang Chen continued: "After the market closed yesterday, we collected a total of 4,700 shi of rice and spent more than 28,000 taels. The banks and pawnshops were basically closed in the afternoon. They must open today no matter what, otherwise there will be a big fuss.
It will affect the reputation of the Chen family, and we can hardly afford it."
Chen Su was responsible for settling the accounts and said: "We have raised a total of gold and silver, which totals 65,000 taels after discounts. Yesterday we raised another 15,000 taels from banks and gambling houses, and transferred 3,000 taels from neighboring counties. The three of us
People lent a total of 9,000 taels, and raised a total of 92,000 taels. A total of 84,000 taels were used, and the remaining eight thousand taels were scattered among the bank employees and the gangster disciples."
Chen Yanyin laughed and said: "That's enough. The grain stall is about to open this morning. I ordered you to go down and continue buying. When there is still a little grain left, let people go and make trouble. The excuse is that I can't buy grain. I want to make the city
The common people all know that the government has no food left!"
Xiang Chen stroked his beard and asked with a smile: "Why are you making trouble?"
Chen Yandao: "You can make any kind of trouble, as long as no one is killed. I have secretly taken care of the police officers guarding the food stalls, and I will not be harsh to the troublemakers. If the food stall closes early, let your people follow."
Come to the government office and continue the trouble!"
Xiang Chen immediately turned around and went out to tell his men to act according to the plan. One of Chen Yan's men hurriedly ran over to tell Chen Yan that Zhang Luyao informed the officials of the ninth grade and above in the yamen to come to the yamen lobby to discuss matters, and they are waiting for you, Mr. Chen Yan.
Chen Yan replied: "You go back and tell Zhang Luyao that I am feeling cold and unwell and will not go this morning. I hope he will approve my resignation as soon as possible. But please report to me at any time what matters have been discussed."
After the man left, the three of them drank tea and chatted for about a quarter of an hour. People from all walks of life came to report that food was soon coming from everywhere. Those gangsters took the opportunity to cause trouble, deliberately cut in line, insulted and beat people who were buying food normally.
, there was a moment of chaos in the city.
After a while, the second group of people who came to report said that there were many Quanzhen Sect members at the food stall, and the disciples of the Jinling Sect took action to stop the troublemakers. However, although they were better at martial arts, they still had fewer people, so both sides were evenly matched and had a lot of food.
It has been sold out, and one grain stall was robbed of hundreds of taels of official silver by gangsters.
Chen Yan was very proud after hearing this, and then a Yamen servant came to report that the prefect lobby had just begun to discuss matters. Hearing that there was a commotion at the grain stall, the prefect was furious and sent people from the arrest room to arrest the people. The next news told Chen Yan and the others
To my surprise, it turned out that some more grain had been transported from the east and west gates, totaling about two thousand shi. The people responsible for escorting the transportation were actually disciples of the Jinling Sect. However, they had Zhang Luyao's warrant, and the city defense did not dare to stop them.
Two thousand tons of grain have been distributed to five grain stalls. More than a dozen of the gang members were injured, and more than 40 people were arrested by the police who arrived. Because there was food again, the gang had no reason to cause trouble anymore.
The city was calm again. Chen Yan was also at a loss and asked the two of them what to do. However, Chen Su was more decisive and said: "It should be the Jinling faction that has brought food overland again. Now it's hard to ride a tiger, so we can only buy them short."
Only with the stored grain can we sell it at a high price, but we still have to buy it!"
Xiang Chen also advocated buying more, and Chen Yan said with a bitter face: "I think so too, but two thousand shi of rice costs more than 10,000 taels. I am really short of money, and I can only take out another two thousand taels at most."
, can the two of you contribute four thousand taels each? I can give you a little less afterwards."
Xiang Chen and Chen Su looked at each other, nodded in agreement, and the three of them sent people to get the money. After about half an hour, the food stalls were about to sell out again, but the next news directly shocked the three of them.
The east and west gates each brought in two thousand shi of grain! As usual, it was Zhang Luyao's order.
When someone came to the government office to report, Zhang Luyao informed officials at all levels in the government that in order to relieve the victims and help the people, he had borrowed 20,000 tons of tax grain from the navy and distributed it to various places, asking the officials to perform their duties.
Appease the people's hearts and wait for the imperial court's holy will to provide relief.
Chen Yan murmured: "How is it possible? Impossible! How dare the navy lend out so much food without a military order or an imperial edict?" Then as if he was awakened, he immediately sent people to investigate the newly arrived food inside and outside the city.
Where did it come from? Let people go to the dock to find the navy to find out.
Chen Su said anxiously: "Cousin, it seems that Zhang Luyao has sunk the boat. The navy does not need to sell his face. What if it is Jin Yan who came with the ship this time? After all, Jin Yan is the prince and grand master.
, must the prince be used to control the water division? If Zhang Luyao really borrowed 20,000 shi, wouldn’t we lose all the food we bought? It’s better to take advantage of the current high price and sell it as soon as possible. In the future, the price of food will only increase.
It’s getting lower and lower, and in less than half a month, it will be back to more than ten cents per pound.”
Xiang Chen also completely lost his direction and said: "Yeah, anyway, Zhang Luyao and the others embezzling official rations privately is a capital crime. Let's take back the money we put down first. You are trying to find out the information. What's wrong with you?
In half an hour, Zhang Luyao's four thousand stones in the city will be sold out again."
At this time, the gangster disciples who had no silver in their hands came to ask for instructions on what to do. They also said that many people who had previously wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to hoard food and increase the price were already selling food in various places in the city.
Chen Su and Xiang Chen also repeatedly urged Chen Yan to make a decision early. Seeing Chen Yan sitting dumbly and speechless, Xiang Chen had no choice but to give his own orders and start selling in the city at the price of fifty cents per catty. But after a while, more people kept coming.
According to the newspaper, the price of grain is falling rapidly. At first, private sellers sold it for more than 40 cents per catty. Later, including government grain stalls, the price continued to drop. At noon, the price of rice had reached 25 cents per catty.
With a "bang", Xiang Chen banged the table and wailed: "Twenty cents will be sold!" The loud noise made Chen Yan agitated, but he calmed down at this moment and asked everyone to stop selling food immediately and signaled
Chen Su and Xiang Chen sat down, and then he slowly sat down and said calmly: "Don't worry, you two. It seems that we still underestimated Zhang Luyao. He still dared to risk his life, but since he acted like this
, as long as we firmly grasp the fact that he arbitrarily used official funds to enrich his own pockets, we will not be afraid of being able to implicate Jin Yan and the prince. As long as we complete the important affairs of the family and try our best to recover the losses, the family will not care too much.
"
Xiang Chen interjected: "How can we recover from such a huge loss? Our annual income in Jiangling City is less than 20,000 taels..."
"Listen to me," Chen Yan said helplessly: "There is not much population in the city, and after selling food for a day and a half, how much can we sell if we sell it in the city? One thousand stones? Two thousand stones?
?What the hell is that? The matter is at this point, what's the point of being anxious? Let's wait for the news first to find out whether Zhang Luyao really borrowed 20,000 shi, and don't be fooled by him." Chen Su asked: "What if?
If we really borrowed 20,000 shi, what should we do?"
Chen Yandao: "Then sell it to the right person. The Navy's behavior is not good, and the official rations are so short, I think if we return them eight thousand dan, they dare not refuse. Also, Liu Jin'an doesn't want to
Can we gain a good reputation? Can we not return the eight thousand taels and lend him another fifteen thousand shi of rice? Didn’t he originally donate 20,000 shi? Donating now is a timely help, and we will donate that amount in half a month.
It's the icing on the cake. The 15,000 shi now and the 20,000 shi in half a month are definitely not the same. If I were Liu Jin'an, I would definitely be willing to exchange 20,000 shi of new rice for the more than 10,000 shi of old rice, let alone eight more shi.
The benefit of a thousand taels. In this way, we can reduce a lot of losses. We can even gain another connection by trading with the Liu family! If it is done, I will ask the old man for a reward."
Chen Su said: "I think it's feasible. It seems that the loss is inevitable now. Chi Yuan is recuperating at my house. I can let him know the situation first. Anyway, we used silver to buy food privately. The purpose is to force Zhang Luyao to make mistakes. Really?
It’s definitely too late to ask for instructions on everything.”
Xiang Chen said: "Maybe it's not that easy. There has been so much activity in buying rice in the past two days. Chen Yang is still his apprentice. It's impossible for him to not know about it at all. He didn't want to share his share of the pie. Now let him do it for us."
It’s more difficult to speak.”
Chen Yandao: "Don't worry so much, I just want to inform you that if the white scarf thief escapes anyway, he will definitely blame me. Let's not be impatient and wait for news from outside the city."
In just a cup of tea, people who went to inquire about the sources of food outside the city reported that various disaster relief sites have begun to provide porridge again, and a lot of food is being transported to Yuantong Temple and other places in the suburbs. Look at the food stored in several disaster relief sites.
, the total number must be more than 10,000 shi, and it is all new rice. Judging from the bags containing the rice, they are exactly the same as the rice bags that entered the city yesterday. They are indeed official grains coming off the dock. The transportation and care of the grains are basically carried out by the whole government.
The disciples of the True Sect and some young victims were in charge.
Chen Yan said: "It seems that Zhang Luyao did not panic. He indeed borrowed a large amount of official rations from the navy. He is seeking death himself. Don't blame my men for being ruthless." Then he said to the policeman who came to report: "You come right away.
Bring some brothers, and then find a group of city gentry and scholars in the city. Go to various collection points separately and secretly bring back some empty bags. Let the city gentry and scholars see it with their own eyes. They may be asked to testify. Remember to wear regular clothes.
, don’t attract other people’s attention.”
The officer had just left after receiving the order. The people who went to the dock also came back and reported that the officers, soldiers and civilians on the dock were sorting out the boats and carrying supplies. They would lift anchor and set off in an hour. I wanted to see the naval escort officer, but was
I was told that there was a meeting going on and I didn’t see anyone.
Chen Yan gritted his teeth and said: "These despicable guys, knowing that lending so much grain will definitely drive down the price of grain, they dare to charge us so much money. Sooner or later, they will have to pay the price!" Then he waved away the subordinates who came to report, and turned around.
He turned to Xiang Chen and Chen Su and said, "The person who tied the bell must be tied to untie the bell. It can't be delayed. The Liu family and we have not raised our heads to see each other. I don't believe they dare to cheat our money. Mr. Xiang, you and I will go to Dangui immediately."
I'm looking for someone from the Liu family. Cousin, please talk to Chi Yuan about the situation first. If he asks why you didn't tell him earlier, just say that he was worried about his injury and didn't dare to disturb you without permission."