Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 452 How to store grain in the official warehouse
gallop all the way,
Shen Zhongxin arrived in the palace in a carriage. After checking the token at the palace gate, he ran directly into the Hubu Pavilion and shouted after entering the house;

"Miao Langzhong, Manager Su, you two will lead the accountant in the hall and follow me to inspect the official warehouse."

Miao Gongze and Su Yang looked at each other in confusion, and asked,
"Master Shen, what happened? I'm going to check Jingcang tonight! Is it too urgent?"

"So what! Why, Master Miao has any questions."

Shen Zhongxin asked back with a straight face, and his eyes were fixed on Miao Gongze, never leaving.

"I don't dare, I just have doubts because it's late at night and I'm afraid that my lord will be tired from hard work."

Mr. Miao saw that Mr. Shen's expression was not right, and he was heartbroken by being stared at, so he hurriedly responded.

"I'm not tired, just follow along,"

"Yes, my lord."

When Shen Zhongxin saw Mr. Miao, his eyes did not dodge. He thought he was not a picky person, so he called the two of them out of the hall.

Shen Zhongxin took the token from the Ministry of Household Affairs and went to the duty room of the Imperial City Division. He immediately requested that in the name of the ministry, people from the Imperial City Division and the Forbidden Army be mobilized to escort them to inspect the capital warehouse.

The person on duty happened to be Liu Chen, the deputy of the Imperial City Department, Qianhu. When he saw it was Mr. Shen, the minister of household affairs, he stood up to greet him,

"What kind of wind has brought Mr. Shen here? There are few visitors. Sir, please take a seat."

Shen Zhongxin did not sit down, but when he saw Liu Qianhu here, his expression softened slightly and he said;
"I'm not going to sit down anymore. There's an emergency tonight and I need people from the Imperial City Department to accompany me and people from the Forbidden Army to protect me. This is the order from the Ministry to mobilize troops."

Liu Qianhu's heart tightened. What happened? They mobilized troops in Dauchi. This was a big deal. He took the token and checked it to confirm that it was true. He asked,

"Master Shen, it's so late. Where do we need to lead the troops?"

"Go to Jingcang and check the granary, Liu Qianhu, please hurry up and leave immediately."

Shen Zhongxin's face was gloomy and impatient.

Liu Chen's heart skipped a beat. The Minister of Household Affairs was going to check the capital warehouse. Could it be that there was something wrong with the capital's official warehouse? I'm afraid it was not a trivial matter. Seeing Shen Zhongxin so anxious,
Immediately shouted outside,

"Yu Baihu, immediately assemble the Imperial City Guards on duty and send someone to tell Mei Yizheng, Deputy Chief Qian of the Imperial Army, to assemble the Imperial Army and be on standby."

"Yes. Lord Chihu."

The guards of the Imperial City Division who were on duty immediately ran out to make arrangements. Liu Chen also picked up his saber, put on his helmet, and stood up.

"Master Shen, please come, we will be assembled in a moment."

"Okay, just follow me."

Shen Zhongxin didn't waste any time, and led the people out of the inner room, heading straight for the palace gate, followed by the Hubu Hall official behind him.

Beijing,

northeast corner,
The important place of Jingcang,

In the attic of the warehouse yamen, there was a lot of laughter and laughter, and the noise could be heard far away.

In the inner hall of the attic, Cui Dehai, the household doctor, and a group of subordinates, as well as the officials on duty at the warehouse, were having a banquet. Of course they were not drinking, so the taste was not good in everyone's mouth. Tian Fangzheng, the official of Liangtai, finished a mouthful of meat. , he flattered Master Cui Dehai and said,

"Master Cui, you really care about the imperial court. It's so late that you are still here personally. It is really a blessing for the imperial court. I am deeply moved and moved by this official."

"That's right, what Mr. Tian said is absolutely true. Mr. Cui is a veteran in the Ministry of Household Affairs. If it were not for his teacher, how would it be his turn to serve Mr. Shen?"

Treasurer Zhou Ji was even more nakedly flattering. He dared to say such things. He thought Cui Dehai would scold him, but he didn’t know that Mr. Cui slapped his thigh and sighed,

"Who says it's not the case? I have worked hard in the Ministry of Household Affairs and made great achievements. Now that I encounter someone who is unkind, I can only stay here in Jingcang, eating and waiting to die."

Seeing that Mr. Cui was in a bad mood, Tian Fangzheng couldn't make Mr. Cui unhappy. He glared at the treasurer fiercely. He really didn't want to lift the pot, so he came over to laugh with him.
"Your Majesty, what you said is wrong. I heard that the Ministry of Household Affairs Department works overtime day and night. This place is not clean, and there is a lot of money. Besides, Sir, I have put a lot of thought into the things you asked me to prepare before. I got it out for you, sir."

"Oh, you actually made it. Stop hiding it. Take it out and show it to me."

Looking at the mysterious grain order, Cui Wenhai was also anxious to see what he had produced. Now that Enke was about to come, he tried to think of a way to offer an auspicious object and present it to the emperor, trying his best to show his meager loyalty.
"Yes, sir, come here, bring the things up."

After saying that, the yamen from the granary walked in carrying a bulging tree. The tree was still covered with red cloth. Cui Dehai walked down impatiently, looked around and asked,

"What is this?"

"My lord, I really don't know what to say. I think it is a tree with abundant crops and a wonderful uncle."

After saying that, he pulled off the red cloth. It turned out to be an ordinary tree with grains planted on it. It was lush and beautiful. People around him came over and nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, it's really amazing,"

"What auspiciousness."

"Sir, the five grains of arboriculture are rice, millet, wheat, millet, and millet. These grains are tied to a tree so that they can prosper and coexist. The lushness of the tree can lead to the prosperity of the grains. Isn't this a way to enrich the country and the people? What a strong image."

Tian Fangzheng circled around the tree and introduced it in a serious manner. Cui Dehai nodded frequently.

"Haha, Mr. Tian is careful. This is auspicious and auspicious."

"Yes, sir, as the saying goes, grains are the source of nourishment. According to the opinion of the lower officials, if you want to feed the people, grains cannot be the source of nourishment. If you want to feed the country, grains cannot be the substitute. It will be a good idea to open Enke in a few days. One day, the emperor will definitely declare his decree to the world. If Lord Cui can present this grain tree to the emperor before then, it will definitely increase the auspiciousness, please the emperor's heart, and let the scholars of the world know Lord Cui."

"Hahaha." "Haha"

The treasurer was even more flattering and boastful. Cui Dehai was already smiling and couldn't help himself.
Cui Wenhai looked at the grain tree in front of him and felt something.

"You guys, come and take a look. This grain tree seems to be planted with ears of grain. It is actually a symbol of the hearts of all people. Let's see if it looks like the Umbrella of All Peoples."

"Like, like."

"It's so similar,"

"Master Cui is absolutely right."

The people around him kept nodding, and strangely enough, they looked more and more like each other, just as everyone was laughing and laughing.

suddenly,

A man in black dressed in night clothes broke in from outside. His face was covered, leaving only a pair of eyes. He was very strong and capable, and everyone in the hall was shocked.

I have my own guard official scolding me,

"Where did the thief come from? He dared to break into the important place of Jingcang without permission. He is tired of living. Come on, arrest him."

"Yes, my lord,"

With a shout, a large number of soldiers poured in from outside and surrounded the man with long knives in their hands. Unexpectedly, the man in black laughed "haha" and looked at the soldiers around him with disdain. Then he looked at the tree in front of him and laughed. ,
"Haha, Mr. Cui, you are so forgetful. Why did you forget me in such a short time? The tree is a good tree, and the food is good food. It is also auspicious. Mr. Cui really put a lot of thought into it. When there is nothing here, Mr. Cui may have risen to prominence since then, but if something happens, Mr. Cui may not be safe."

Cui Dehai's face was ugly. As the saying goes, if you don't do bad things, you won't be afraid of ghosts knocking on the door. Although this person is not a ghost, Cui Dehai is worried about something happening. He took a look at everyone's reaction. They were all frightened. On a rope Grasshopper, if he dies, he will die in a row. He immediately scolded him.

"Get off all the way."

"Yes, my lord,"

The soldiers guarding the granary responded. The man in black nodded with satisfaction and replied,

"Master Cui is quite sensible!"

"May I ask who you are, and what advice do you have here?"

The man in black snorted and walked up to Cui Dehai. He took a closer look at Mr. Cui's official uniform. He saw that it was covered with patches every bit, and the clothes he wore underneath were also patched. However, it was extremely simple. Instead of understanding this person's face, he was really deceived.

"Humph, I don't take advice seriously. Master Cui is very careful in everything he does. Even the clothes he wears, he has to pretend to be impeccable in front of his confidants. He admires and admires him."

Cui Dehai narrowed his eyes and said coldly,
"If your Excellency says so, then please go back. It's not outsiders' turn to tell Cui what to do. He's just talking about three or four things."

"If you really want me to leave, Mr. Cui will not regret it. A certain family is here for important matters. In this case, a certain family is leaving."

After saying that, the man in black really turned around and wanted to leave, but Cui Dehai couldn't really let him go and shouted hurriedly,

"Your Excellency, wait a minute, stay here for now,"

"Ha ha,"

The man in black laughed, stopped and replied,

"Master Cui is still wise. People who are wise don't tell secrets. I'm here to earn money. When the money is in place, a certain family will say, but if it's not in place, don't say anything. And you can tell Master Cui that the matter is urgent. After the time of three sticks of incense has passed, A certain family should just run for their lives, I'm afraid they won't be able to earn the money."

Cui Dehai felt nervous, but then he thought about it and found that he really had no clue. The warehouse supervisor Zhou Ji came over quickly and whispered,

"My lords, it's okay to listen first. It's better to tell if it's true. If it's not true, there are so many soldiers outside. I'm afraid he might escape."

Tian Fangzheng also agreed and advised,

"My lord, it would be best if you listen."

Cui Dehai also nodded,
"Okay, Your Excellency, you can tell me first. If something really happens, I will lose your money."

"Haha, they all say that Mr. Cui is desperate for money. The rumors are indeed true. In this case, it is not surprising that a certain family asked for more money. Hand the 5000 tael of silver notes to your hand, otherwise Mr. Cui will be waiting to be sent to prison."

The man in black was not angry, but laughed loudly. The lion opened his mouth and asked for 5000 taels of silver. People around him looked at the man in black with blank eyes. He really dared to ask for it.

Cui Wenhai had a dark face. He originally wanted the soldiers to capture this man and torture him severely, but according to what he said, the time for three sticks of incense has almost passed the time for one stick of incense. What should he do?

Seeing the man in black looking confident, Cui Dehai gritted his teeth, took out a 5000-tael banknote from his arms, walked up to the man,

"I hope your news is important, otherwise you won't be able to get out tonight,"

"Master Cui, don't worry. Since a certain family is here, they must have a complete plan. I will give it to you or not."

The man in black looked at the banknote in front of him and was not in a hurry. He stretched out his hand and waited quietly. Cui Dehai had no choice but to smash the banknote into the man's hand.

"It's better for Mr. Cui to be happy. In this case, a certain family will not waste time. Mr. Cui, listen up. Shen Zhongxin, the Minister of Household Affairs, is coming tonight with people from the Imperial City Division and soldiers from the Forbidden Army. Mr. Cui has a good idea. What should I do?"

When Cui Dehai heard the words Shen Zhongxin, his heart skipped a beat.
"He will come as soon as he comes, what should I be afraid of!"

(End of this chapter)