Chu Huairen was taken away, and the sound continued for a long time.
"Master Qingtian!" Someone shouted.
"Thank you sir for upholding justice..."
The people knelt down in unison and were very moved, even crying.
They didn't expect that they would really deal with this profiteer. In the past, it was just a formality and a few scoldings.
Real punishment is rare.
This is also the reason why these profiteers dare to be so unscrupulous.
"Fellow folks..."
Fang Jue wanted to speak, but the people's voices were too loud and overshadowed him.
So, he had to wait until the crowd's voices gradually became quieter, then he smiled again:
"Fellow fellow villagers, please get up quickly. We are all older than me. How dare Fang accept this great gift? Isn't this going to offend me?"
As he spoke, he raised his hands to signal everyone to get up.
After everyone got up and saw that their moods had stabilized, he preached:
"Chu Huairen is driving up the price of food, making it difficult for the country to make money. The evidence is conclusive and he has been imprisoned. I have temporarily decided to confiscate all his food... to use it for the victims of the Suzhou disaster!"
"From now on, four porridge sheds will be set up in the southeast, northwest and northwest of the city. Porridge will be provided for free from early morning to sunset every day. Each person can receive two bowls per day."
Fang Juedao: "Although there are some shortcomings, I ask for your understanding. The disaster relief food from the court will arrive in a few days. It will be much better by then."
"Thank you sir!"
"It's good to have porridge, and I have two bowls a day!"
"The profiteer has a lot of food, why don't he distribute it to everyone, but give him porridge?" someone murmured.
Many people saw that Chu Huairen's grain team entered the city from two directions, with at least several thousand dan.
Fang Jue pressed the button, and the crowd's noise stopped, and he said with a smile: "I'd better explain it, lest some villagers think that Chu Huairen has a lot of food, why he only has two bowls of porridge a day, and they think it's me who is ignorant.
.”
"Who said that!?" Someone present was displeased and shouted angrily, "It's good to have porridge, I don't want you to pay a penny!"
"That is, you are a greedy person. How can a good official like the Young Master be greedy for your few kilograms of food?!"
"Li San, was it you who muttered just now? I heard it. I'll beat you up if I don't!"
While he was talking, a fight broke out in the crowd.
When the Yu Lin army went to separate the people, the man named Li San had been beaten into panda eyes.
"I, I didn't mean that..." Li San pursed his lips in grievance, but he didn't dare to be too tough.
"Ahem." Fang Jue and others almost couldn't hold it back. Li San's appearance was really funny.
The person who took the lead in beating Li San said: "Your Majesty, this Li San's words are inappropriate and insulting to your reputation. I'm venting my anger on your behalf!"
Fang Jue waved his hand and smiled without saying a word.
This man is also smart, so Li Sanbo doesn't dare to defend himself, which shows that the relationship between the two parties is unusual.
He was afraid that he would offend Li San, so he beat Li San first to avoid being punished.
"I don't feel that stingy." Fang Jue said with a smile.
Then he said: "I'd better explain the explanation just now to everyone."
"Chu Huairen does have a lot of food, but there are too many people in Suzhou. Dear fellow villagers, is there more than just one Suzhou city in Suzhou?"
Um?
Some things that I had not thought about suddenly became clear to me.
Yes, Suzhou is more than just a Suzhou city.
This is just the main city, there are more than a dozen small and large towns, and dozens of villages, with more than 100,000 people.
Now that the disaster has hit, the victims between Suzhou and Liangzhou have also poured into Suzhou, and there are even more people.
How could it be possible with the little food that Chu Huairen had.
After the disaster relief grains from the imperial court arrived in Suzhou, they had to be arranged to be distributed to various places. This process also took time, and the people's stomachs couldn't wait for this process.
If you don't give porridge, the food won't be enough to share, and even if you share it, you won't be able to support the court's disaster relief, and you will starve again.
"Young Master's words are right, and I will definitely accept them," someone said.
"Suzhou was hit by disasters in more than one place. The Beiliang army destroyed everywhere, which is shocking."
"I didn't expect that Suzhou is not just Suzhou City..." Some people who had lived in the main city for a long time suddenly blushed.
Li San also knelt down quickly and said, "You are just a common man. Please forgive me, young master."
"No problem." Fang Jue waved his hand and motioned for him to leave.
"Fellow folks, hurry back and get the utensils. The porridge will start cooking in a moment. Those who arrive first will eat first!"
"Then go quickly!"
"Hurry, hurry, hurry..."
"Oh, don't squeeze me!"
The crowd dispersed in a hurry, rushing back to get their things, for fear that they would be behind others later.
After the crowd dispersed, everyone gathered around.
"Young Master is so majestic today!" Cheng Jie said with a smile.
"That's called a sharp gaze. He could see through Chu Huairen's tricks at once. I would have fooled him." Lin Bei said in admiration.
Bai Qing had already gone to interrogate Chu Huairen, and Fang Jue looked at the two of them:
"Okay, enough is enough of the flattery."
The two immediately stood upright.
Fang Jue smiled and said, "Did you hear what I just said?"
"I heard it, young master, please give me your instructions!" Lin Beidao said.
"Okay, the Yulin Army listened to the order and ordered your troops to immediately take over Chu Huairen's grain, control the Northern Chamber of Commerce, and liquidate all the grain in Suzhou."
"From now on, we will distribute food and send it out of the city immediately to provide disaster relief everywhere."
After saying that, the two of them took their orders.
Fang Jue said: "I would like to remind you two, don't be stupid at this moment, otherwise you will not be spared lightly!"
"Don't worry, young master, I won't disappoint you!" Lin Bei said righteously, "Whoever dares to reach out to these grains, you don't have to worry about it, I will personally chop his bastard!"
Nodding, Fang Jue waved his hand: "Go and get ready."
"Oh... But Young Master, there is Beiliang Army outside the city. Will it hinder our actions?" Cheng Jie said.
Fang Jue shook his head: "The Northern Liang army can enter the pass at most 20,000 people. That day, they took away more than 10,000 people in Luoyang outside the pass. We captured 6,000 outside Liangzhou City..."
"In addition, the Beiliang army that blocked the road and was killed by us along the way, even if there are still no more than two or three hundred people left."
Lin Beidao: "Then I will send two hundred cavalry everywhere, and there will be no mistakes."
Compared with infantry, cavalry has a huge advantage, not to mention that under this situation, the remaining Beiliang army will probably start to starve.
…
Suzhou government office.
Chu Huairen was brought here, and the Yulin Army's military camp was set up nearby, so it was naturally inconvenient for the two to mix.
The crime committed by Chu Huairen should be interrogated and dealt with by the Yamen, so naturally he would be brought to the Yamen.
When Fang Jue arrived at the dungeon of the state capital, Bai Qing reported with great interest:
"Sir, this guy has a tough mouth, which is better than many people."
"Oh?" Fang Jue was a little surprised, "A businessman who is greedy for wealth can be so harsh. It seems that the matter behind him is too big for him to dare to say a word."
Bai Qing smiled and said: "What's interesting is that this guy wants to bribe me, and the price he's asking is not low."
Chu Huairen, who was tied to the torture rack, trembled even more when he heard these words.
How can there be people who don’t like money?
Chu Huairen didn't understand.
"Oh?" Fang Jue said with a smile, "How much does he charge?"
"At first it was ten thousand taels, but later it was raised to one hundred thousand taels. To be honest, I was a little tempted." Bai Qing tutted.
One hundred thousand taels. With Bai Qing's rank, eight lifetimes of salary would not reach this amount.
Fang Jue rolled his eyes and said, "Can't you agree first, then refuse to acknowledge the debt after he gives you the money, and then give him a good blow?"
"Ah?" Bai Qing was stunned, but he didn't expect Fang Jue to be more coquettish than him.
Allen Chu was even more frightened when he heard this.
Is it really okay for you to say this in front of me?
"Is this possible?" Bai Qing nodded and said seriously, "I've never done this before, so I'll give you a lesson. I'll try it next time."
"Well, a boy can be taught." Fang Jue nodded with satisfaction and didn't mind leading others astray.
After joking, Fang Jue asked:
"What did he recruit?"
Bai Qing became serious, and the surrounding soldiers of the Xuanjian Division had already been dismissed by him.
"Young Master, this is really a big case... The entire Northern Chamber of Commerce is involved, and only An Daolun's Tai'an Company is immune."
Bai Qing said solemnly: "These businessmen banded together and deliberately raised the price of grain. The contract stated that one tael of silver per dou, but in fact when sold to Chu Huairen, one tael of silver was sold for half a stone."
"Twenty percent of the remaining ones are given to various companies... As for the rebate you mentioned, they have already had regulations and have actually formed a standard system."
Bai Qing told Fang Jue that those profiteers in the Northern Chamber of Commerce have rules for how to calculate rebates.
"In this way, those businesses legally made several times the profit, and let Chu Huairen make more than ten times the difference... Even if something happens to Chu Huairen, there is no conclusive evidence between them, and no one else can be implicated."
"Every time I become the first person, it's different..."
After hearing this, Fang Jue nodded and opened his eyes.
Although he was familiar with these methods, the details were still worth learning.
Madhu, so treacherous!
"Who is the big fish of the Northern Chamber of Commerce in the capital?" Fang Jue asked the key question.
Bai Qing said: "King Wei."
"Is it this King Wei again?"
"Why is he everywhere? He pretends to be an idle prince in the capital, but he has such a thorough layout outside?"
Fang Jue finally understood why no one investigated this kind of thing and always ended in vain.
Anyone who found out about King Wei would have to pretend not to know.
Fang Jue sneered: "He wants to kill me. It seems that he is not only worried that I will steal the position of chief minister of the cabinet, but more importantly, he is afraid that I will find out these things, right?"
"Chu Huairen deliberately came to Suzhou a few steps early, so I had to break away from the large army and rush to Suzhou as quickly as possible... so that I was intercepted and killed by the Beiliang army on the way."
Fang Jue looked at Bai Qing: "Do you think it's too much of a coincidence?"
"I have suspected it for a long time." Bai Qing was not surprised.
