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

60. Tea House

The world is in chaos, and the evil talk takes the lead

~

The price of grain was rising every day. The general manager of the Shangshu Mansion of the Ministry of Justice noticed that someone was deliberately raising the price of grain. Several grain sellers were suspicious. They only sold a certain amount of grain every day, and every time the price of grain rose, they took those few grains. The person was captured.

After a period of torture, he said that he learned from one person that the grain was reserved in the imperial warehouse, and he was only responsible for selling it. Some people stole it, some transported it, and some people established connections.

The manager then said:"Buy the grain directly to us."

"Yes, but the price cannot be controlled, it is set by them."Grain seller

"who are they?"General Manager

"I don’t know, they were all transporting food in the middle of the night and couldn’t see clearly. They were carrying weapons, and they looked like people from the Dongfu Army."Grain seller

"You said you want a large number."General Manager

"I once mentioned that they only give me so much each time. If I don’t do it, someone else will do it. They require that I buy it at a place they designate. It seems like someone is watching me."Grain seller.

Seeing that grain prices are getting higher and higher, the gentry of Dongdu gather in teahouses. In the bustling area, there is a lot of traffic. You come and I are well-informed. The teahouses here have always been a place for all parties to exchange information. Wu County After resting for a few days, my father-in-law felt bored and went to the teahouse to drink tea during the day. At night, he went to the brothel opposite under the guise of a housekeeper to find women. One time, he accidentally mentioned something about Wu County in the teahouse and attracted many people. The more he talked, the more energetic he became, and the more he talked, the more divine he became. Soon, he added fuel to the fire again and again and spread the news among the gentry in the eastern capital. At first, many people died in Wu County, and then gradually became the story of people in Wu County. They were all dead, and then half of the people in Chenzhou were dead. There were uncollected corpses all over the place. Gradually, a trend developed. The gentry felt that a food shortage was imminent. They believed that the price of food would rise sharply, and those who originally sold food began to grab it. , thinking about making huge profits in the future. With the participation of the gentry, the price of food in Dongdu suddenly skyrocketed. They began to rob the ministers, and some even sold their private houses cheaply to exchange for money to rob food. In order to grab grain,

Su Su went to the grain depot every day to check. At first, the grain decrease was very slow. After the grain price became high, Su Su went to the grain depot to check. , Su Su's heart became more and more nervous. Soon, the remaining grain reserves were only enough to sustain the court for a few months. She made a lot of money, but the money could not be melted for food. Su Su's heart always felt like this She complained, and wanted to stop several times, but finally endured it. She didn't want to see that there was no grain in the warehouse, so she never came again.

~

The south is an important commercial area and is particularly sensitive to price fluctuations in the grain trade. When grain prices in Dongdu City change, some wealthy gentry families transport grain to Dongdu City. Now they regret selling too early.

On this day, many people gathered in the teahouse again, discussing how much more food prices could go up. Mrs. Fang came up unsteadily.

"Old Master, why haven't you come to have tea these days?"

"How can I have the leisure to drink tea?"Mr. Fang's tone was filled with sadness.

"Oh, what troubles the old man so much?"

Mr. Fang sang a ballad again:"When a woman enters the court, there will be chaos in the court, the fortune in the future is unknown, and the Blue Lake is in turmoil.……"

"Why are people still singing this song?

Mr. Fang glanced at him and said,"Although no one sings with my mouth, I have to sing in my heart.""

"oh? How to explain this?"

Mr. Fang said swornly:"Last time, I said that disaster is bound to happen. Can you remember it?"

"Is the old man talking about the Chenzhou disaster?"

"Exactly, Dongfu is unlucky, otherwise the price of grain would not rise. How could you all transport grain to the east?"Mrs. Fang

"Sure enough"

"The old man was right again"

"The old man is so amazing"

"Will it spread to the south?"one of them asked

"Chenzhou is so far away from us, and there is Dongdu and the capital of the royal city in the middle. Shouldn't it spread here?"Another person wondered

"That being said, even if it doesn't spread like this, it will still be relevant if a large number of people in Chenzhou die."Mrs. Fang

"What does it matter?"

"What is Chenzhou rich in?"Mr. Fang started to sell things off again.

"grain rice"

"What will happen if there is no one to farm?"Mrs. Fang

"That’s why people in Dongdu are hoarding food, causing food prices to rise."

"Old man, is it really that serious?"

"If the old man says it's serious, it must be serious."

"The old man is a relative of the Minister of the Ministry of Finance, so he naturally has inside information."

"It's true that the imperial court blocked the news, so Nanfang didn't know the specific situation in Chenzhou. If it weren't for someone in my court, I wouldn't know. Now Chenzhou City is full of mourners. If this continues, Chenzhou cannot be saved."Mrs. Fang

"Old man, so many people really died"

"It's incredible that so many people died."

"So many people died, why didn’t you hear anything about it?"

"Chenzhou is still sealed. Why is it? I am afraid that the news of death will spread, and I have just received a letter from the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue."As he said this, Mr. Fang took out the letter.

Everyone took a look and found that it really came from the Shangshu Mansion. It was a letter from the general manager.

"This song is the voice of God. Now Dongfu is really unlucky. Unluckiness is disaster."Mrs. Fang

"Under such a disaster, will food prices rise sharply?"

"Is it possible to avoid rising food shortages as the food shortage approaches?"

"If it's going to go up, it's going to go up."

"All of you are big business owners who have been engaged in grain trading for many years. Naturally, you understand better than me the principle that rare things are valuable. After finishing speaking, Mr. Fang stood up and went downstairs, muttering:"Today there will be a rise, tomorrow there will be a famine. The country will have no food, and the people will perish."……"

After Mr. Fang left, the wealthy squires continued to discuss each other. Although they did not doubt what Mr. Fang said, hoarding large quantities of food was not a trivial matter after all, so they were still very cautious. When a disaster occurs in Chenzhou, victims would flee in all major disasters in the past. Nowadays, we have not heard of any victims fleeing to Dongdu City. Even if Chenzhou City is sealed, I am afraid only the people inside really know how many people died in the city. If the new Grain has not been greatly affected. Now there is a grain ban. Grain cannot be bought in Blue Lake. How much more can you make by hoarding grain? After all, the price of grain is good now. You can make a lot of money by transporting it to Dongdu. Everyone's mind is flashing White money.

The wealthy squire was about to go home after drinking tea. The market was bustling with people coming and going, and everyone was busy bargaining in front of the shops. Everything was in order. A ragged warlock caught their attention. He was very inconsistent with the prosperity and peace of the market. As he walked, he muttered:"If the female governor doesn't go, the disaster will continue."……"

From time to time, he would stop in front of a stall and try to beg. The shopkeepers would stop him because they were afraid of affecting their business due to his dirty appearance. The pedestrians would avoid him when they saw his crazy talk and thought he was a lunatic. When they heard the warlock mention the disaster, they couldn't help but be curious, so they stopped the warlock and asked. The warlock saw that a few well-dressed people were interested, but kept silent. The wealthy squire immediately understood, and made the warlock eat and drink, change his clothes, and then gave him some broken copper coins. The warlock then said that he was Yuan Warlock, who was assisting the governor of Chenzhou, the brother of the Minister of Hubu. When the original governor was in power, He exorcised evil spirits and observed Yin and Yang and Feng Shui, so that Chenzhou could be disease-free and have good weather for many years.

A squire asked:"Why are we in such a difficult situation now?"

"The new governor is a female prostitute, and there is no room for poverty. Chenzhou has no protection from the Taoist priests. When the yang goes away, the yin rises, evil spirits arise, and misfortune falls."Yuan Warlock said aggrievedly.

"Since the Taoist priest came from Chenzhou, how is the situation there?"

"If it dies, all the people will die, and they can't seal it."Yuan Warlock.

After learning about the situation in Chenzhou, the large squire households in the south stopped transporting grain to Dongdu and began to hoard grain. With their participation, the price of grain in Dongfu was rising, and they were all planning to Make a lot of money in the future.

The gangster's brother-in-law also sent the gangster a message, saying that the opportunity to make money had arrived, so the gangster and many of his younger brothers used all the money to hoard food, and even competed with those wealthy squires.

Among them, Li Yuanwai was the shrewdest, sniffing After seeing something, he secretly found Warlock Yuan again, hoping that Warlock Yuan could open an altar to cast spells to bless this place. Every time he opened the altar, many people were attracted. Warlock Yuan had an idea and drew a talisman, called the Fu Talisman, which he claimed could ward off disasters and provide refuge. You can get it with just 1 money, and Yuan Warlock said that he did not rely on it. The wealthy gentry and ordinary people from all over the country came to buy it, but a lucky charm can only guarantee nine days. The so-called Double Ninth Festival, the yang comes, and there is a lucky charm. They found comfort by sticking it on the door. With the help of Li Yuanwai, Yuan Warlock's business was extremely prosperous.