Zhu Han thought that Liu Song's reaction would be more intense.
As an upright official, if he has no reaction to such high food prices, then there is a big problem.
But Zhu Han didn't expect that Liu Song's reaction would be so strong.
Others may think that what Liu Song said about dying here was just talk.
Zhu Han knew that this little old man could really do such a thing.
If this doesn't satisfy Liu Song, this guy will really die in front of him...
Although Zhu Han was not afraid, no matter how high Liu Song's reputation was, it could not be higher than him or Zhu Yuanzhang.
Although there will be a lot of trouble, for Zhu Han, it will not cause any damage to his muscles and bones.
But once Liu Song dies, the government affairs in Yanjing will probably not be easy to handle.
For the time being, Zhu Han could not imagine that someone with the same abilities and moral qualities as Liu Song would come into contact with his position.
"Master Liu, please don't be impulsive. I am doing this for the benefit of the people in the disaster area." Zhu Han explained hurriedly.
"The four taels of silver and one stone of food are also for the benefit of the people affected by the disaster in Datong?"
Liu Song curled his lips disdainfully: "Your Majesty is doing something good for the people. Please forgive me for not understanding this."
Zhu Han was speechless, don't think that you are great because you are a loyal minister, but that you can mock me, the prince, just because you are a loyal minister.
Believe it or not, this king...
Well, Zhu Han really has no good way to deal with people like Liu Song.
After all, no matter what Liu Song did, he did not have selfish motives involved.
Sometimes, this person seems rigid and unreasonable. That is because Liu Song lived in this era, not because of his lack of ability.
"Master Liu." Zhu Han asked sternly: "In this situation, which one do you think is more important, money or human life?"
Liu Song said categorically: "Of course human life is important."
"But Your Majesty, please don't change the subject. It's impossible for ordinary people to afford four taels of silver and one stone of food. Even if life is more important than money, ordinary people simply don't have that much silver to buy food."
Liu Song looked like I don't have much education, but don't try to fool me.
Zhu Han was quite pleased. Although Liu Song was dissatisfied with his decision, he did not lose his mind.
I still know how to be reasonable.
At that moment, Zhu Han patiently explained: "Master Liu once served as a local official, so he must have experienced famines, right?"
Liu Song still had a nose, not a nose, not an eye: "Of course, thanks to Your Majesty, even a humble minister once took charge of one's side."
"Because of this, Wei Chen is more aware of the importance of maintaining food price stability during the current disaster."
"Only when food prices stabilize, can people's hearts stabilize."
"Food is the most important thing for the people. If the price of food cannot be guaranteed, the people in the disaster area will only be panicked and the consequences will be disastrous."
Zhu Han nodded solemnly: "What Mr. Liu said makes sense. If possible, the most important thing the court does in a year of great disaster is to stabilize food prices."
"As long as food prices are stable, people's hearts will not change."
Liu Song thought that Zhu Han had listened to his advice, and his expression softened slightly: "Since the prince knows..."
Before he finished speaking, Zhu Han asked with a half-smile, "It's just that I don't know if Mr. Liu noticed it."
"In areas with serious disasters, the government can use force to restrict grain merchants from selling grain."
"But every time like this, the grain merchants' food suddenly becomes insufficient."
"We can only buy a few dozen buckets of rice every day, and they won't sell even an extra grain of rice."
"The government can control the price of food, but if someone says there is no food, the government can never force them to continue selling food, right?"
"There seems to be no grain in the grain store, and the people can't even buy it with money."
"But there are a lot of grains on the black market. In order to survive, ordinary people have to pay high prices to buy grains on the black market."
"Moreover, the stricter the government's control, the higher the price of food on the black market."
Zhu Han's words were like sharp knives piercing Liu Song's heart.
Because Liu Song understood that everything Zhu Han said was right.
He has experienced these scenes personally.
The more the government controls food prices, the higher the price of food will be.
On the surface, prices are indeed under control. All grain stores will sell grain at prices set by the government.
But as Zhu Han said, those grain shops couldn't sell much in a day.
They try to sell as little as possible, and if they sell even a little, they close immediately.
"To deal with these damn profiteers, of course the government will use thunderous methods, and there must be no tolerance at all!" Liu Song roared murderously.
Only halfway through his words, Liu Song sat back dejectedly.
Of course he has done this kind of thing.
They directly used thunderous tactics to kill those grain merchants who were driving up grain prices, and even ransacked their homes.
But what’s the result?
Although he obtained a lot of food, the food was of little use to the people affected by the disaster.
Moreover, it also makes those grain merchants more careful and cautious.
In this case, the price of food on the black market has actually increased.
Seeing that Liu Song had figured out the key, Zhu Han patiently said: "Master Liu, now do you understand my king's painstaking efforts?"
"At times like this, the most important thing is not the price of food."
"No matter how expensive food is, as long as there is food for sale and food can be purchased, everything will be fine."
"I know that you look down on businessmen. However, businessmen are definitely the most capable group of people."
"The time and cost spent by merchants on transporting the same grain to the disaster area will be far less than that of the imperial court."
After a pause to give Liu Song some time to digest, Zhu Han continued: "Of course, the premise is that these businessmen can make money, and the profits they make are beyond their imagination."
"To make money, these people will do anything."
"Believe it or not, as soon as this price appears, all the merchants in the Ming Dynasty will risk their lives to transport grain to Datong."
"As long as there is enough food, price is not a problem at all."
Liu Song seemed to vaguely understand something, but the Confucian education he had received over the years made it difficult for him to accept this approach of putting profit first in everything.
"But Your Majesty, even if there is enough food, how can the people in the disaster area afford such a high price?"
Zhu Han laughed loudly: "Master Liu, after all you have served as a local official."
"Whether the people can afford the price of food actually depends on whether there is enough food in the local area."
"If there is so much food that it cannot be sold, what do you think the result will be?"
This time Liu Song only thought for a moment and understood what Zhu Han meant, and said in surprise: "I understand, Your Majesty, since the grain has been transported to Datong, those merchants will naturally not be willing to transport the grain back."
"In order to sell the food as quickly as possible, they will naturally choose to lower prices."
"Wait a minute..." Liu Song seemed to suddenly think of something, and then said in embarrassment: "But Prince, haven't you said before that the minimum price of grain shipped to Datong is four taels of silver? "
"Of course the grain merchants tried their best to transport the grain to Datong because of this temptation, but where is the minimum price set by the government, they cannot lower the price casually."
Zhu Han was truly speechless for an honest man like Liu Song.
Sure enough, ability is one thing, but brain is another.
"Master Liu, the prices set by our government are too low, and those businessmen can take advantage of the loopholes and sell the grain at high prices."
"In this case, our official prices are too high, so they can naturally think of ways to let people buy food at prices far lower than the official prices."
"At this time, the only thing our government has to do is to turn a blind eye."
Liu Song frowned slightly: "But Your Majesty, will those businessmen be dissatisfied if this happens?"
Hearing Liu Song's worries, Zhu Han sneered: "At the current price, they can make a lot of money even if they only sell it for half a month. If they are still dissatisfied with the imperial court, it means they don't know how to do it." Anyway."
At this point, Liu Song finally understood Zhu Han's "painstaking efforts".
Previously, Liu Song thought that Zhu Han was deceived by lard, and even thought about enriching the country when the people of Datong were suffering.
Only now do I understand that Zhu Han had other motives for doing this.
After all, he had served as a local official, and he was not one of those nerds who only studied books.
I soon understood the importance of money and human life.
Once this official price appears, it can indeed attract a large number of businessmen to transport grain to Datong.
As long as there is enough food, more people will survive.
Although Liu Song still couldn't accept it emotionally, he could figure it out as long as the people could survive it.
After thinking about it, Liu Song's old face turned slightly red.
For the sake of the people of Datong, His Royal Highness even gave up his own reputation.
But he ran up to the King of England and threatened His Royal Highness with life and death. It was really inappropriate.
"I am so reckless, please forgive me, Your Majesty." Liu Song stood up, bowed deeply to Zhu Han and apologized.
Zhu Han waved his hand angrily: "No problem, get up. I know that Mr. Liu has no other intentions. He is just worried about the people of Datong."
If they didn't know Liu Song's temper, other officials would have dared to jump out and play against him at such a critical moment.
Zhu Hanzhen didn't mind, giving a profound lesson to those guys who ask for names to buy straight people.
Liu Song sat down again and said with some regret: "The prince's use of profit as bait has indeed greatly solved the food crisis in Datong."
"It's just that in the beginning, the people may have a difficult time."
After all, the price of food was four taels of silver and one stone. Even as an official, Liu Song felt that it was a bit ridiculously high.
After hearing Liu Song's words, Zhu Han blinked in confusion: "What do you mean, Mr. Liu?"
Liu Song was also confused: "The prince's four taels of silver and one stone of food are not something ordinary people can afford."
"Before the grain merchants lower their prices, of course the people have to tighten their belts and live a better life."
When Zhu Han heard this, he immediately said angrily: "Liu Song, your job as a parent official was really for nothing."
Hearing Zhu Han comment on himself like this, Liu Song suddenly felt a little unconvinced.
Although he doesn't think that he is a talented person.
But I think that when I was serving at the local level, I did my best and never dared to slack off.
No matter where he left his job, Liu Song's official reputation has always been quite good.
Now, all the achievements he had made in the past were rendered worthless by Zhu Han.
Liu Song naturally felt very unconvinced.
Looking at Liu Song's expression, Zhu Han knew what he was thinking, and said angrily: "I told you, you are still not convinced, right?"
"We are the government, why do we want the people to buy food at the original price?"
"In order to compete for the quota of these ten suppliers, the grain merchants have worked hard and donated money and materials to squeeze in."
"The donations they make are for the people in the disaster areas."
"For those people who are really in difficulty, the court can use the grain donated by grain merchants to distribute it directly to them."
"And for those people who have a certain amount of property but are not that wealthy, the court can also provide them with certain subsidies when they buy grain."
"In this way, although they still spend more than usual on buying food, it won't be much more."
"In addition, the imperial court now has so many projects to do, so it directly recruits workers in Datong to provide relief through work."
"When you pay them wages, you also provide them with a meal. In this way, the people who consume the most food in the family will consume greatly less food."
"With such multi-pronged measures, the burden on the people is naturally much greater than before the disaster, but it is still within the tolerance of the people."
"Tell me, why do you want the people to really spend four taels of silver to buy the most expensive food?"
Liu Song felt as if there was a thunderbolt striking down from the sky and piercing him right through.
It turns out that this is the case, and it can still be like this.
If things can really progress as Zhu Han said.
Although food is very expensive, the people's affordability does not seem to be as great as imagined.
The disaster in Datong this time was far more serious than the disasters Liu Song had experienced before.
Liu Song thought that even if the court handled it properly this time, it would be a serious injury.
But after Zhu Han's continuous efforts, such a severe drought seemed to be nothing at all.
In the past, the court often had to invest a lot of manpower and material resources in disaster relief, and the results were not very good.
But Zhu Handi just raised the price of food casually.
At first, Liu Song thought that the price would have to be borne by the people.
However, in fact, people don't actually need that much money to buy food.
Although the government also needs to pay some money to purchase food.
But the money used to come from the government.
Moreover, during times of famine, grain merchants were almost always on the opposite side of the government.
Now he has become a good helper for the government.