Li Zhi, don't be a coward

Chapter 315 Bait Hidden Hook
Wang Shifu is a very self-disciplined person.

His clothes are always ironed properly, his hobbies are pitifully few, he never drinks alcohol, he is not lecherous, eats and goes to bed on time every day.Even the love for his wife is just right, neither too much nor too little, neither salty nor weak.

The same is true of his attitude towards outsiders. He will never see when he is enthusiastic or excited. Of course, on the other hand, no matter how much he hates someone, he will never write his emotions on his face.

Even he doesn't remember when he developed this habit of self-discipline. Maybe it was when he hurt himself by studying scriptures by candlelight, or maybe it was the day when his future with the woman he loved was forcibly separated by his elders.

In short, he is only in his 30s, and his heart has already been buried in the soil. The so-called "self-discipline" is probably the breathing that comes through the soil of the grave.

Wang Shifu led the guards to patrol the city of Bingzhou.

The city has not been peaceful these past few days, and Wang Shifu has not slept through it for a long time because of his duties as the governor's mansion.

Walking in the familiar city of Bingzhou, Wang Shifu looked ahead expressionlessly.

An officer behind him couldn't help but said: "Don't drive, Wang. I heard that Bingzhou is about to lose its hold. If Governor Li doesn't get food, the whole city will be in chaos. Is it true?"

Wang Shifu said coldly: "Be good at your job, and don't spread stories without reason. From ancient times to the present, the word 'heard' is a knife for destroying countries and killing people. The knife should be hidden in its sheath."

The officer said with a bitter face: "The city is in chaos, and the officers of the governor's mansion can't handle it. Don't drive me to patrol the streets with us every day. You should know our hard work. Didn't Governor Li ask to transfer the governor of Ningshuo?" The frontier army from the government? Why don't you send some frontier troops to Bingzhou City..."

Wang Shifu said indifferently: "Everything in the city is determined by the governor, and the governor has his own reasons for how to act. You just have to do your job with your heart. I will report your difficulties to the governor truthfully."

The guard showed joy, and hurriedly thanked: "It's still Wang Biejia who is considerate of his subordinates, following Wang Biejia as an errand, the villain is at ease."

There was a commotion at the end of the street ahead, Wang Shifu squinted his eyes, and there was a grain store where the crowd was noisy.

Wang Shifu's heart tightened, he unconsciously grasped the iron ruler around his waist, and said in a deep voice, "Something happened ahead, go and have a look!"

After speaking, Wang Shifu quickened his pace and took the lead in rushing forward.

…………

In the evening, when Li Qinzai was pouring himself a drink in the governor's mansion and enjoying the quietness, the servants of the governor's mansion rushed to report that Wang Shifu was stabbed on the street and seriously injured.

Li Qinzai was startled, and hurriedly walked towards the atrium.

Wang Shifu was covered in blood. He was carried back by someone.Li Qinzai leaned over and saw that his eyes were closed tightly, his face was pale, and there were two cuts on his arms and back. He seemed to have been stabbed in the back unprepared.

"What's the matter?" Li Qinzai asked the guard with a serious face.

The guard's eyes were red, and he said in grief and indignation: "Wang Biejia personally patrolled the street with the villain, and just happened to encounter a riot among the people in the grain store in the west of the city. Wang Biejia led us forward to mediate and suppress the suppression. As soon as the crowd was separated, some miscellaneous people stormed from behind. There was a surprise attack, and Wang Biejia was injured..."

"Has the murderer ever captured it?"

The guard said guiltily: "The murderer ran away. There were too many people and the scene was too chaotic. I couldn't get out of the crowd, so I could only watch him rush out."

Li Qinzai hummed, and said: "Quickly invite the doctor, and also, send someone to Wang Biejia's mansion to invite his family..."

At this moment, Wang Shifu opened his eyes, and said weakly, "Inspector Li..."

Li Qinzai hurriedly said: "Wang Biejia is injured, don't waste your mind, let's have a good life and rest, and I'm still in Bingzhou City."

Wang Shifu shook his head: "Inspector Li...the thieves who assassinated the lower officials today must not be ordinary people. The attack was decisive and the timing was very good. The city is full of dangers, and Inspector Li should also be careful."

Li Qinzai said with a smile: "don't worry, king, I always cherish my life."

Wang Shifu showed a wry smile: "Bingzhou is in a difficult time. The official wanted to go through the difficult times with the governor, but I didn't expect..."

"You have tried your best, don't think too much, take care of your injuries, and leave the rest to me."

Wang Shifu sighed and fell asleep again exhausted.

Watching Wang Shifu being carried away, Li Qinzai stood in the yard pondering.

Liu Asi said worriedly: "Five young man, the two hundred operas assigned to you by the old man, now there are only about thirty people guarding you, and the rest of the people have been assigned other errands by you, the villain suggests , please transfer the frontier army who dug the canal into the city."

Li Qinzai shook his head: "The frontier army cannot enter the city at this time."

"Why?"

"The game has been set up. If the frontier army enters the city, it will scare the fish that are about to take the bait. After a few more days, the net will be collected."

Liu Asi sighed helplessly, looked towards the door, and said softly: "Fortunately, this guy in Bingzhou City is a good driver, he can be seen as a good official..."

Li Qinzai smiled: "Yes, he is indeed a good official."

…………

Three days later, a convoy full of food slowly entered Bingzhou City.

As soon as the grain truck entered the city gate, the common people already knew about it, and they were overwhelmed with surprise. They spread the word to ten, ten to hundreds, and they all came out to watch the excitement.

There is not much food, only a few thousand catties, but the people are still cheering.

For them, it is a good thing that a grain merchant is willing to enter the city, which shows that things have turned for the better.

The grain merchants mixed in the convoy seemed to be frightened by the enthusiasm of the people of Bingzhou. They were greeted in the street as soon as they entered the city gate. They have been merchants for half their lives, and they have been stared at and humiliated. How have they ever received such preferential treatment?
Trembling and ordering the convoy to stop, the grain merchant is hesitating whether to leave the city as soon as possible, the people in this city seem to be abnormal...

The common people seemed to have seen the intention of the grain merchant, the crowd quickly passed the gate of the city, and then...continue to line the road to welcome.

The escape route was cut off, the grain merchants became more and more panicked, and the drivers and guys in the convoy also panicked, and they gathered together shivering and hugging each other to keep warm.

When he was hesitating whether to kneel down and beg for mercy or resist desperately, the crowd was separated, and Liu Asi walked over with several followers.

"Where did you come from?" Liu Ahsi asked, pointing to the grain merchant.

"The villain is from Fenzhou..." The grain merchant saw that he should be from the government, and replied honestly.

"The governor's office wants your food." Liu Ahsi said without any doubt.

The grain merchant hesitated for a while, but did not dare to speak.

Liu Asi frowned: "What's wrong? Don't you just sell grain? Why don't you like it when someone buys your grain?"

The grain merchant said cautiously: "This official, I wonder how much you bid?"

"The grain in Bingzhou City is sold at a par price, four cents a liter..."

The grain merchant was shocked: "Impossible! The villain will not sell, please let me wait for a way out, if I don't sell it, I won't sell it!"

Just as he was about to turn around, Liu Ahsi grabbed him and said harshly, "What's the matter with you? You're asking for a lot of money, and you don't understand the reason for paying back the money when you land? You're still a businessman."

The grain merchant said with a bitter face: "The villain really can't open his mouth to pay back the money. The price you gave is too low. There is a severe drought this year, and the price of grain has skyrocketed. Which city in the north of the Tang Dynasty still has grain for four cents a liter?" Sell……"

Liu Asi slapped him and said, "You give me a price!"

The onlookers urged one after another, staring longingly at the grain truck.

The grain merchant gritted his teeth and said, "To tell you the truth, the villain came from Fenzhou for these few carts of grain. If you don't make any money, at least you will have to pay... [-] Wen."

Liu Ah Si was stunned: "Fifty Wen...a liter?"

"Correct."

Liu Asi was furious: "Why don't you go grab it!"

The grain merchant said cautiously: "If the business fails, Mo Xiangqiang, the villain is wrong, he shouldn't have entered this city gate, the official sent me to do my best, how about letting the villain go?"

"What's the rush! Pay me back, six cents a liter, and I'll take your food, how about it?"

The grain merchant shook his head: "Fifty penny, one penny is essential."

"I'm giving you shame, I'll beat you to death!" Liu Ada was furious.

The grain merchant said stubbornly: "It's easy to beat the villain to death. You can just grab it without spending a penny. Anyway, if it is less than fifty cents, you will lose a lot of money. The villain's whole family can't live. If you die, you will die."

"Ba Wen!"

"Fifty!"

"Ten texts!"

"Fifty!"

The common people watched anxiously as Liu Ah Si was bargaining with the grain merchants, and seeing Liu Ah Si jumping around violently, he resisted the temptation to beat him several times.

There were several fierce quarrels, during which Liu Ah Si kept sending people to the Governor's Mansion to ask for instructions. After going back and forth several times, under the threat of Liu Ah Si and the compromise of the grain merchant, the two sides finally reached a consensus.

Forty cents a liter, the sky-high price of grain was collected by the governor's office into the official warehouse.

As the deal was finalized, the crowd erupted in earth-shattering cheers.

A commoner asked anxiously: "Brother official, we Governor Li spent forty renminbi to buy grain, how much will we sell it to our common people?"

Liu Asi smiled: "As Li Inspector said, we should still sell at a par price, four renminbi for a liter. In a catastrophe year, money or not is the second priority. The most important thing is not to starve to death."

Speaking of which, Liu Ahsi puffed up his chest, and said proudly: "Our Inspector Li is highly valued by the emperor. When he took office, the emperor allocated a lot of money from the Chang'an treasury to him..."

"So, although Bingzhou is short of food, it is not short of money! Inspector Li will find a way to raise food from all over the country, and will never let Bingzhou suffer from famine. Don't worry, elders."

After a moment of silence, the crowd burst into cheers again.

After the cheers, everyone bowed in the direction of the governor's mansion, shouting that Governor Li is benevolent and righteous, and loves the people like a son.

In the noisy crowd, Liu Ahsi and the grain merchant met inadvertently, and separated instantly.

…………

The sky-high price of forty cents per liter of grain was the price given by the Governor's Mansion of Bingzhou City.

It was impossible to hide the news, especially since the deal was concluded in public, and the bargaining process was watched by the common people.

Some unidentified people in the crowd also saw it, and after the fun, they dispersed, and the news flew out of the city and rushed to various places.

The next day, several cities around Bingzhou, such as Fenzhou, Hengzhou, Xingzhou, etc., knew that Bingzhou spent [-] Wen to buy grain at a high price, and that the governor's office came forward to buy it, and the money and goods were settled face to face.

There is another piece of news that is quietly spreading in various cities.

Because the governor of Bingzhou Li had forced the local grain merchants to go too far, causing the merchants to flee, the governor finally tasted the consequences, and the city of Bingzhou also appeared in chaos.

Governor Li couldn't calm down anymore, so he decided to stabilize the situation in the city at all costs, and he didn't hesitate to spend huge sums of money to raise food for this.

According to the original words of Governor Li, "This is no longer a matter of money or not."

One is the real grain price of forty cents a liter, and the other is the governor who is struggling to raise food.

The combination of the two messages further proves its authenticity.

Grain merchants from all over the world finally couldn't sit still.

(End of this chapter)