Knight of the Blue Lagoon (The Past of Tao v)

53. When hoarding food, everyone has their own agenda and no sense of righteousness, and everyone is crazy about profit.

~

Thinking of Dao Zhi's resignation a year later, the Minister of Civil Affairs was humming a ditty in the courtyard. A maid coughed a few times and looked a little sick, and then ordered him to be expelled from the house.

The steward begged:"Master, please spare her. She has been in the house for many years, and she has only neglected it because she has been cold these two days."

The Minister of Staff said firmly:"What do you know? Do as I say. Everything in the house will be ignored." Anyone with a cough or typhoid fever will be driven out of the house immediately."

The manager looked nervous:"What happened to the master?"

"If the world is going to be in chaos, the government must not be in chaos. The soldiers who are working outside are all recruited back. No one is allowed to go out at will, let alone let outsiders in. In addition, we need to buy some food and grass. We need to reserve food. The manager looked panicked:"

Master, is this going to be a war?""

"fight? If there's a war, it's easy. Go quickly and don't make any noise."The official minister ordered to

"Sir, do you want to inform the other two ministers?"

"What's the notice? It's too busy, just buy some food, just in case."The Minister of Civil Affairs hummed a ditty again.

The manager had no choice but to do as the master said and close the door of the house.

~

People from the Shangshu Mansion of the Ministry of Justice saw the steward of the Shangshu Mansion of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and his servants shopping for grain on the street. They came forward to inquire out of curiosity, but hesitated and did not explain the reason. Feeling that they were deliberately prevaricating, they thought something was fishy and went back. After reporting it to the master, the Minister of Punishment immediately became suspicious.

Madam Shangshu asked:"He is not short of food. Why buy food?""

"The Minister of the Ministry of Personnel did not discuss anything he wanted to do."The Minister of Punishment was stomping around the house.

"What happened? Don't get so angry that you drink some water first."Madam is very worried. In the past year, the master has always been suspicious, doubting this and guessing that.

The Minister of the Ministry of Justice took the tea cup, held it for a while, and suddenly threw it on the table. Thinking of the way the Minister of the Ministry of Affairs looked up, he seemed to understand what he meant. What's the plan? He said to himself:"It turns out that this move he made is fast enough. He is very cruel.""

"What's wrong with him, Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs? Aren't you sworn brothers?"The lady was confused.

"One day they shouted for unity, but they did this secretly. Now they are all looking after their own affairs, and they are still brothers."The Minister of Punishment kept moving around, making his wife panic:"Master, what is going on?"

"I'm afraid Dongfu Country is going to be in chaos."

"Chaos, what's the chaos? Is there anyone who wants to raise an army to rebel?"The more she listened, the more confused she became.

The Minister of the Ministry of Punishment suddenly stopped and said,"What kind of rebellion are you planning? The Minister of the Ministry of War is your Majesty's man. Come on, come and call the manager."

The manager hurriedly arrived, and the Minister of Punishment ordered:"Go, go buy food quickly."

"How much food to buy? asked the steward

"Use all the money in your house to buy grain. Buy as much as you can."

"Why buy so much food? There is enough food in the house."General Manager

"Yes, there is no war, so what kind of food can we buy? Moreover, we still have all the food from last year."Madam doesn't understand either.

"I'm afraid that Dongfu State will be short of food this year. None of the doctors from the Imperial Medical Office are here. What can a bad old man in charge of medicine do? If Chenzhou dies like this, and the imperial court has no surplus food, there will be a shortage of food."

"The disease was so serious. Did the Minister of Civil Affairs secretly not allow the Imperial Medical Office to go there?"Madam, I understand better.

"It’s not him or anyone else. Although the people in the Imperial Medical Office are drafted by the Ministry of Rites and reported to the Ministry of Personnel, promotions and promotions must be approved by the Ministry of Personnel before they can be officially included in the list."

"Even if they die, they can't all die?"lady

"They are so scared that they are running around in panic. Now is the farming season. If we miss farming, this year's new grain production will be greatly affected."Shang Shu of the Ministry of Punishment

"So food prices are going to rise."Madam."

The Minister of Punishment said to the general manager:"Go and buy food quickly before the price of food rises.""

"Master, do you really spend all your money on food?"The general manager confirmed

"If you are asked to go, go quickly. Why are you asking so many questions?"The lady reprimanded.

Before the steward left the door, the Minister of Punishment called him back again:"You can't buy it in a big way or buy it secretly. People in the mansion are not allowed to go out for unnecessary reasons recently."

"Why is this?"General Manager

"Don't ask why, just go."The lady said impatiently

~

The general manager of the Ministry of Industry and Industry Minister's Office hurriedly reported the secret purchase of grain by the other two ministers, and the Ministry of Industry and Industry Minister summoned the staff in the office for discussion.

An older staff member hesitated and asked:"Is the news accurate? The two ministers should not be short of food?"

"It's accurate. After getting the report, I went to check it myself. It was indeed someone from their house."General Manager.

The middle-aged staff member asked:"Can your Excellency go to their house to find out some news?"

"It was useless to visit. Since the eldest brother and second brother were gone, everyone had changed. Even if I went there, I wouldn't hear anything."The Minister of the Ministry of Industry.

The old staff thought for a while:"As far as I know, although the governor of Chenzhou has been changed, many people in Chenzhou were recommended by the Ministry of Personnel. The Minister of the Ministry of Personnel knows more about this matter. Both of them are When it came to purchasing grain, the matter in Chenzhou must have been serious. It was definitely not a few hundred people who died, but tens of thousands. It seems that famine is inevitable. Food in hunger is more valuable than gold, so we should also stock up on food."

Young staff member:"Famine? There was a great famine a few decades ago. At that time, there was a war and chaos. People were displaced, had no fixed homes, and farmland was abandoned. There is no sign of war now, so how could there be a food shortage?"

Old staff member:"Not only wars can cause famine, but floods and droughts can also cause food shortages. People starved to death during the last flood. There is no way to stop the disaster today, and it will definitely be several times worse than last time. Today, the Minister of War He is just a warrior, how can he compete with the sky? These are not within the scope of his responsibilities. Death will continue. Once farming is blocked and there is a food ban, he cannot sell it and cannot buy it when there is a shortage of food. In Dongfu, Food is limited, and I think there will definitely be a food shortage. This is an opportunity to stock up on food."

The middle-aged staff suggested:"Since famine will occur, famine will breed mobs, and mobs will lead to unrest, we should also strengthen the defense of the mansion."

Old staff member:"Yeah, but how strong can a refugee with an hungry stomach be? The key is to store food and not panic if there is food at home."

Young staff member:"I'm afraid it's inappropriate for us to do this when the country is in crisis."

Middle-aged staff member:"This is a precautionary measure. We purchased food legally and legally. We didn't steal or rob, so why not?""

The other staff members began to criticize the young staff member's benevolence towards women. The Minister of the Ministry of Industry glanced at the young staff member and said:"Dongfu Country belongs to King Dongfu, and famine should not starve us. The old staff member took a step forward and said,"Sir, the former Minister of War was too arbitrary. Since Dao Zhi took over, we have been unable to control the Dongfu Army. If the hungry people rebel, Dongfu will be in turmoil. Without food and grass, the morale of the army will be weakened." The Minister of the Ministry of Finance is not in charge, the Minister of the Ministry of Justice is very suspicious, and it is difficult to achieve great things. The Minister of the Ministry of Affairs is very selfish. They have been secretly gathering strength. There are many people in various Taoist governments. Now the Minister of the Ministry of Affairs is the most powerful. Strong, whoever has food in times of famine will win the hearts of the people. Even if the government is still stable, you can make a lot of money from selling the food, and you will not lose anything. People must eat if they want to live."

Middle-aged staff member:"That makes sense."

The Minister of Industry turned around, thought for a while and asked:"Should we also stock up on food?"

The old staff member said:"The top priority is to stockpile a large amount of grain, including rice chaff, and expand the government troops. Chaos can be defended, and stability can help sell grain. The steward immediately prepared a carriage to buy grain. On his way out, the concubine of the Minister of Industry stopped the steward and said,"Give this letter to my brother. You know where it is.""

The concubine gave the manager some money.

"I know, Madam, don’t worry."General manager.

After passing the market, the manager came to the antique shop run by my concubine's so-called brother. He kept silent. After seeing his aunt, wife and brother flattering each other, the manager said:"This is what our aunt secretly asked me to deliver to you. Yes, our master doesn’t know.

My brother immediately understood and took out some money and handed it to the manager:"Thank you, manager."

After reading the letter, my brother took out some money and said,"Since it's a private message between brother and sister, my brother-in-law doesn't have to know about it, what do you think?""

"Of course, the master will not interfere with brother and sister's private messages."The general manager and his brother gave a hypocritical smile.

When buying grain, the general manager took a detour and told the brothers at home to stock up on food quickly. My concubine's brother went to the brothel and asked them to stock up on food quickly. The

Minister of the Ministry of Personnel was buying food secretly, and the Minister of the Ministry of Justice was buying food secretly. To buy grain, the Minister of Industry and his family were shopping in a large area. The grain trade between Dongfu and other countries has been interrupted. The amount of grain circulating in Dongfu is limited, and the price of grain soon fluctuated. In Dongdu City, Some gentry with surplus grain began to sell grain because of the high prices. Grain merchants in the south were worried and complaining about the obstruction of the trade route on Blue Lake. They keenly sensed the change in grain prices in Dongdu and began to transport grain from other places to Dongdu.

~

Undercurrents in Dongdu City, the aura of death hangs over Chenzhou. One of the people who entered the city died, and soon everyone in the courtyard died one after another. From abnormality to death, Li Langzhong carefully observed every change, including chills, coughing, fever, mania, vomiting, shortness of breath, and then skin ulcers. They tried Several medicines were ineffective, and he died of respiratory failure a few days later. One patient only lived for 6-7 days in total. The disease was indeed very severe and came on too quickly.

Li Langzhong couldn't stop him at all. Many corpses were transported out of the city every day. Yuan Warlock initially shouted to enter the city. There were not enough houses in the city to give priority to the elderly and the weak. When it was his turn, Suosuo kept looking at him and asked him to continue. Waiting outside the city, he saw that more people died inside the city than outside the city, so he stopped clamoring to enter the city.

Dao Zhi no longer cares about the affairs of Dongdu. They focus on the disease disaster in Chenzhou. Li Langzhong's methods have not been effective. The deaths are intensifying. A steady stream of victims are coming from outside the city. The people in the north of Chenzhou are getting more and more panicked.