Dahan first prince

Chapter 166 The assassination of Gu was definitely not what King Zhao did!
Speaking of this, Chen Ping no longer has any worries about Shaofu's monopoly on Guanzhong grain.

All that remains is the last question.

"At home."

"The matter of the Shaofu's storage of grain on behalf of the people, I already know the details, and this strategy of the family is really perfect!"

"However, I still have a doubt, please solve it at home."

With a warm voice, Chen Ping smiled lightly and cupped his hands to Liu Ying. Although there was still a little doubt on his face, the worry and solemnity before had already disappeared from Chen Ping's face.

"—The Shaofu will store grain on behalf of the people. We should build enough granaries in the summer and autumn of this year."

"However, the income from storing grain on behalf of the people will be harvested in the autumn of this year. When the people get the grain in the fields, they can enter the government and warehouses."

"In this way, the Shaofu should first pay money and grain to build the warehouse, so that during the autumn harvest, the grain of the people in Guanzhong can be collected and stored in the warehouse."

"May I ask my lord: where does the money and grain consumption for building the warehouse come from?"

As he spoke, Chen Ping pondered again, looked at Xiao He, and then asked Liu Ying: "And now, in the middle of the year and early spring, the Shaofu will store grain on behalf of the people until the end of the autumn harvest."

"However, now in Guanzhong, food prices are on the rise, and the family has ordered Xiao Xiangguo to widely distribute political documents to prohibit merchants from buying and selling food."

"Although the family has ordered the Shaofu to set up a grain market in the south of Chang'an to sell rice to the people at a fair price, how can the Shaofu have enough grain for the half-year-old people in Guanzhong?"

"What's more: If you want to specialize in grain and rice, the grain market can't be kept in Chang'an alone, but should be spread widely in Guanzhong."

"Where should the expenses for this grain market come from?"

Hearing Chen Ping's repeated questions, Liu Ying's face was still the same relaxed and indifferent look before, she only smiled lightly and turned her head to the side, looking at Xiao He with a little teasing.

"Xiao Quite also has doubts about this matter?"

When Xiao He nodded with a stiff smile, Liu Ying didn't make any more detours, patted her knees lightly with both hands, and got up from the soft couch.

Stepping forward with her hands behind her back, she sighed in the direction of the palace gate, and Liu Ying put all the answers to this question in front of Chen Ping and Xiao He.

"A while ago, Prime Minister Xiao issued a government decree in Guanzhong, prohibiting merchants from collecting grain and goods; and restricting grain merchants in Guanzhong to Mi Jia, who should sell all their rice grains before Jiawu (the first day of the new year) in the spring and March."

"In the past few days, there have been hundreds of grain merchants Mijia who have sold all their stored grain in Shaofu at a par price of two thousand renminbi."

"Gu has also sent an order to the Shaofu: All the grain sold by the grain merchant Mijia and the grain stored in the Shaofu must not be sent to Chang'an."

"You only need to keep it in the original storage warehouse, send the chief officials of the Shaofu [-] shi, bring a few officials and assistants there, check the number and collect it, and then sell it to the local people, that's it..."

However, when Chen Ping and Xiao He heard this, their faces showed some strange expressions.

"This······"

The meaning of Liu Ying's words, the two of them naturally understood.

——The grain merchants in Guanzhong, after selling the grain in their hands to the Shaofu, did not need to move the grain out of their own granaries;

Instead, the Shaofu sent officials to check and accept directly at the door, and then did not move the grain away, but kept outside the granaries of those merchants, and sold the grain to the people bit by bit.

Only in this way...

"How did the Shaofu get the money to pay the grain merchant Mi Jia?"

Hearing that Chen Ping asked again, Liu Ying only smiled slightly.

"Since the grain was first sold to the people, and the proceeds from the grain sales were used to pay the grain merchant Mijia."

As soon as these words came out, Chen's weirdness on the plane finally completely condensed into reality.

Listen to what Liu Ying said?
——The grain of the merchants, after being sold to the Shaofu, was still kept intact in the granaries of the merchants!

It's just that the person guarding the granary has changed from the previous merchant's servants and servants to the official assistant of the Shaofu; the owner of the grain in the granary has also changed from the previous merchant to the Shaofu.

Under this premise, the Shaofu had to sell the grain first, before they could use the money from the grain sales to settle the payment for the grain merchants.

In other words: This is basically the Shaofu helping the merchants to sell food to the people.

It's just that the price of food, from the original nearly four thousand yuan, was forcibly reduced by Liu Ying to two thousand yuan per stone by relying on the prestige of the prince and the official status of the Shaofu.

"You are worthy of being His Majesty's son..."

With a slander secretly, Chen Ping lowered his head in secret.

For the rest, there is no need for Liu Ying to continue to answer.

In the next six months, the merchants' food will inevitably be sold to the people in Guanzhong with the 'help' of the Shaofu.

And after that?
With the existence of the "Forbidden Jiatun Grain and Cargo Grain Order", merchants can no longer engage in grain trading, so what is the use of merchants spending huge sums of money to build and maintain those granaries?
In order to stop the loss, the merchants had no choice but to sell the granary to Shaofu, and even gave the granary to Shaofu for nothing out of the consideration of "spending money to buy peace of mind"!

In this way, the Shaofu will store grain on behalf of the people, without even building a granary, and directly and seamlessly take over the "production tool" of the grain merchants - the granary, and the role of the grain merchants in the grain market. up.

As for Liu Ying's behavior, which can be called a robber, the businessmen may only grit their teeth and swallow their blood...

——For food matters, Liu Ying, the prince, almost lost her life!

Focusing on this point alone, absolutely no one would dare to stab at the official grain camp!
Under the Han Dynasty's national policy of "agriculture is the foundation and business is the end", the social status is extremely low, and merchants who are slightly below the peasants and slightly above the slaves have absolutely no right to say "no".

However, Chen Ping always felt a little awkward if the Shaofu was really asked to rob the merchants of their granaries...
"Uh······"

He murmured in embarrassment, and when Liu Ying looked at him with a smile on his face, Chen Ping bowed his hands stiffly.

"It is quite appropriate for His Highness to plan like this."

"Only in this way, the grain merchants in Guanzhong in the past will no longer be able to use grain as a business in the future; the granaries they built before will no longer be useful."

"Why don't you order the Shaofu to buy the granary of the grain merchant Mijia at a 'par price', so that the Shaofu can store grain on behalf of the people in the future?"

"In this way, the cost of building a warehouse can also be saved..."

Saying this with a little guilty conscience, Chen Ping lowered his head with dodge eyes, and quietly waited for Liu Ying's reply.

Hearing Chen Ping's words, especially Chen Ping biting the word 'parity' a little loudly, Liu Ying also quickly realized what Chen Ping really wanted to express.

——Your Highness, this Shaofu is also an official department after all, so it's really inappropriate to "take" the merchants' granaries, right?

——How about spending some money?
——At least put on a show so that no one will say that Shaofu is a robber, right?
As for Chen Ping's question, Liu Ying was already prepared.

"What Qu Nihou said is reasonable."

"In the future, the grain merchants in Guanzhong, Mi Jia, will all make their business as goods. The granary he built must not be abandoned."

"The Shaofu is in the Han Dynasty and Jiuqing, and all of them give money and grain, and they get the 'people' money for nothing."

Following Chen Fangcai's example, he lightly bit down the accent on the word 'min', and saw Liu Ying sitting back on the head with a carefree attitude.

"For this matter, I have already ordered the Shaofu to spend all its internal money to buy the granary of the grain merchant Mijia!"

"The Shaofu also calculated that the warehouse built by Mi Jia, a grain merchant in Guanzhong, allocated [-] yuan in internal funds, and all the bento can be owned by the Shaofu."

After saying these words with an extremely calm face, Liu Ying looked up at Chen Ping with a gentle smile that was harmless to humans and animals.

After hearing Liu Ying's words, Chen Ping and Xiao He's expressions froze again.

"With all the money in the house, one hundred million yuan was used to buy the warehouses of Mijia, a grain merchant..."

Looking at each other tentatively for a while, Chen Ping and Xiao He confirmed the guess in their hearts at the same time.

—— Today's Shaofu doesn't have a hundred million yuan at all!

To be precise, there is no one hundred million and a half taels...
"Although Your Majesty has occasional unrestrained acts, he is more cautious than state affairs."

"Even if merchants are displeased, even the edict of 'Jiaren are not allowed to wear silk or ride in carriages' is still not in such a place..."

Each sighed softly, and Xiao He and Chen Ping saw a faint worry in each other's eyes at the same time.

"Wait for your Majesty to succeed, and the crown prince succeeds, I'm afraid he will be even worse than your majesty, the evil merchant..."

They silently mourned for the merchant class for three breaths, and Chen Ping and Xiao He put the matter aside together.

——Businessman, it's nothing more than a lowly career. It's already a great deal of face for the current prime minister Xiao He and Qu Nihou Chen Ping, who has five thousand households in the city, to observe three seconds of silence.

And in the words of "silent mourning", Xiao He smelled something abnormal from Liu Ying's plan.

"Buying grain dealer Mijia's warehouse with money and three pearls..."

"Shaofu's lead money is three baht, but it's far more than one hundred million yuan?"

"Could it be that even the Shaofu bought the rice from the grain merchants, and the family also wanted to pay with three pearls..."

Liu Ying knew nothing about Xiao He's thoughts.

If she knew, Liu Ying would probably walk forward with a smile and put her hand on Xiao He's shoulder: How could Xiang Xiang think so much of being alone?

How can I use three baht to buy food from merchants alone~
Even if it is, you can't spend all three baht...

At any rate, it is three baht money, half two baht and half each...

As the three of them fell into short-term thoughts in a tacit understanding, the hall also returned to a moment of silence.

And this moment of silence was finally broken by the thoughtful Chen Ping with a deep murmur.

"Um······"

"In this way, there will be no more problems..."

Talking softly to himself, Chen Ping raised his head and bowed his hands to Liu Ying in a serious manner.

"With regard to the grain and rice franchise, I no longer have any confusion."

"What the family said today, the subject must remain unchanged, and report to His Majesty face to face."

Hearing Chen Ping's words, Liu Ying nodded with a gentle smile, and added casually: "When I return to Handan, please ask Qu Ni Hou Daigu to ask for an imperial edict from my father."

Seeing that Chen Ping was slightly puzzled, Liu Ying smiled shyly.

"As the saying goes: only names and utensils, not fake people."

"Although I have the power to supervise the country today, the order "Prohibition of Merchandising and Grain" is still an imperial father's edict to the world."

"In this way, the name can be upright, the words can be followed, and the order of the monarch and his ministers can't be messed up..."

Hearing Liu Ying's words, Chen Ping just smiled dumbly, and bowed his hands to accept the order. His evaluation of Liu Ying in his heart couldn't help but went up to a new level.

After a while, Chen Ping looked at Xiao He with some doubts, finally gritted his teeth, and placed the second mission of this trip in front of Liu Ying.

"This time, I returned to Chang'an with festivals, and asked about the grain and rice franchise in person at home on behalf of His Majesty. It is only one of them."

"In addition, His Majesty has another oral order, and the envoy will pass it on to the family..."

As he said that, Chen Ping couldn't help but looked at Xiao He again, with a faint solemn expression on his face.

Seeing this, Liu Ying also understood, she winked at Chun Tuo who was beside her, and after a while, only Chen Ping, Xiao He, and Liu Ying were left in the huge main hall.

Seeing Chen Ping hesitated for a moment, he finally got up with a serious face, and bowed his hands to Liu Ying heavily.

"Your Majesty said: This time, Changling Tian's family has hooked up with Mi Jia, a grain merchant in Guanzhong, to drive up grain prices and make huge profits. King Zhao is also involved!"

"Geng's family was assassinated in Changling, and there may be King Zhao and him..."

Before Chen Ping finished speaking, Liu Ying and Xiao He stared at Chen Ping in surprise.

Seeing that Chen Ping continued in a calm tone: "Your Majesty said: The prince is strong, but now he has the burden of supervising the country, and he is the elder brother of the princes of the clan."

"As the so-called elder brother is like a father, the king of Zhao is wrong now, and the punishment and punishment of the king of Zhao should be decided by the family..."

After saying that, Chen Ping raised his head with a stern expression, and looked straight into the depths of Liu Ying's eyes.

"Your Majesty ordered: The responsibility for King Zhao's crimes must be decided immediately!"

"Being punished by the King of Zhao, I wish I could return to Handan as soon as possible, and meet His Majesty..."

Hearing Chen Ping's repeated words, Liu Ying could no longer see the relaxed and freehand expression on Liu Ying's face.

Almost without thinking, Liu Ying suddenly got up from her seat and looked at Xiao He in shock.

"This matter, Marquis Feng knows?!"

Seeing Liu Ying's posture, Xiao He's expression froze a little, and he straightened up from his seat with a little guilty conscience.

"At home."

"On the day the family was assassinated, the minister got the queen's order and brought the jailer to the Potian family's house."

"In the Tian family's house, I got some letters and tokens from King Zhao's travels to Tian's family; although there is no word about the 'assassination of the prince', but there is a lot of food prices, but it is often mentioned..."

Speaking of this, Xiao He couldn't help but tremblingly wiped the cold sweat on his forehead, and then bowed his hands to Liu Ying.

"It's related to King Zhao's brother-in-law, and it's also involved in the turmoil in food prices and the assassination of the prince. I dare not make any claims, so I have to write a book and play it, so as to ask His Majesty to judge..."

Hearing Xiao He's words, Liu Ying only thought for three or two breaths before raising her head again.

"Where is Zhao Wangxing in Tian's master letter and letter?"

Xiao He hurriedly cupped his hands: "All are sealed in the Prime Minister's Mansion, and no one knows about them except ministers, Your Majesty, and Empress..."

As soon as Xiao He finished speaking, he threw Liu Ying away!

"Such letters must not be kept!"

"Chun Tuo!"

He let out a high-pitched voice with anxiety on his face, and when the little eunuch Chuntuo leaned over and walked into the hall, he saw Liu Ying waving her hand again irritably.

"This matter must never be known to the two of you..."

"Go alone!!!"

Saying that, Liu Ying trotted down the long steps, grabbed Xiao He's hand, and made a gesture to go to Xiangfu.

Just after taking a few steps, Liu Ying stopped her steps thoughtfully, then hurriedly turned around, and came to Chen Ping anxiously.

"When Qu Nihou returned to Handan, he asked Daigu to speak to his father in person."

"—The incident of being assassinated alone is definitely not the work of King Zhao!"

"The fact that the price of grain in Zongguan is soaring, it should be the mother family of King Zhao, that is, the relatives of the Qi family. It has absolutely nothing to do with King Zhao!!"

As she said that, Liu Ying did not forget to take out a piece of pure and flawless jade pendant from her bosom, and regardless of Chen Ping's refusal, she forced it into Chen Ping's sleeve.

"When we return to Handan, please ask Qu Nihou Daigu to speak kindly to King Zhao in front of his father."

"Lonely, thank you Qu Nihou first..."

After saying that, Liu Yingman bowed his hands to Chen Ping solemnly, then turned around and grabbed Xiao He's arm again, regardless of Xiao He's sixtieth age, ran towards the Xiangfu...
　10:30~
　　There is an hour and a half left, and I can't finish writing the next chapter before 12 o'clock~
　　It should be sent out between one o'clock and 01:30, brothers who have something to do tomorrow can sleep first~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)