I have lived forever since the end of Qin Dynasty

Chapter 66

"It's too expensive. A fish costs twenty and a half taels. I might as well go down the river and fish it myself."

"That's right, but fish can be caught in the river, but rice can't be planted now. A stone of rice costs 150 and a half taels. I can't even get so much money out of my bone marrow."

"If it's really impossible, I can only dig wild vegetables outside the city to survive."

"Now outside the city is the camp of the Chu army, who dares to run out of the city recklessly."

"That's right, if those Chu people didn't care about them after they came, these dog merchants wouldn't be so arrogant."

……

The further you go into the market, the more similar exchanges there are.

The words of those who left the market empty-handed were full of complaints, but their eyes were quite helpless, not knowing how to go back and face their wives and children at home.

"Xiang Zhuang, did you hear that?" Chen Luo murmured with the words of displeasure surrounding his ears, "These merchants in Puyang City are crazily taking advantage of the loopholes in the original rules, thinking that there is no one to govern the market, but they let us Chu people take the blame."

When he bought fish before the uprising in Daze Township, he bought five fish for thirty and a half taels, but now the vendors in the market are actually asking for twenty and a half taels for one fish.

Simply insane!

Even Xiang Zhuang, who is not sensitive to this kind of data, frowned: "That's true. I'm afraid most people in Puyang can't afford such a price of food."

Chen Luo nodded expressionlessly: "That's right. Besides, our army is going to march north in a few days, so if no one takes care of this kind of chaos, I'm afraid it will last for quite a while.

That would be a pretty scary thing.

The poor people in Puyang City will starve to death in large numbers because they cannot afford food.

But when the resentment of the common people has accumulated to a certain extent, when faced with the choice of starving to death or resisting, they will definitely explode like Chen Wang Fenqi back then.

As for their targets at that time, I'm afraid it's not just these merchants, but also us who destroyed the original order in the city. "

After listening to this analysis, Xiang Zhuang felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, and broke out in a cold sweat.

If the army of Chu State leaves and there is a civil uprising in Puyang City, wouldn't that cut off the army's retreat and at the same time block the grain road?

On the way to the north, wouldn't they be in a dilemma, and the consequences would be disastrous.

Xiang Zhuang instantly understood why the chill in Chen Luo's eyes came from.

He took a deep breath and said, "Brother Jiang, this matter must be dealt with seriously. Let's mobilize the army and arrest all these merchants who are sitting on the ground and raising prices!"

As for the process of asking the superior for instructions, he simply skipped it.

After all, Chen Luo was in front of him now, and he was quite dissatisfied with what those merchants did just by looking at his expression.

The entire Chu army in Puyang City was under the jurisdiction of Gui Chen Luo in name.

Chen Luo glanced around at the stalls selling food, and handed over the personal letter at his waist: "Go yourself quickly. Remember to bring enough people, at least to surround this market, and no merchants who dare to suck the blood of the people here will not be let go."

The tone was calm, but what he said revealed a faint bloody air.

"Go alone... Should I stay here with you first? My duty is to protect you. What if something happens to you after I leave." Xiang Zhuang hesitated.

Chen Luo shook his head: "I just stayed and continued to ask about the price of grain, so as not to accidentally hurt the merchants who were selling normally after I surrounded the market.

What's more, I'm not stupid. Before you come, I won't conflict with these merchants, so don't worry. "

Even if there was a conflict, he, who single-handedly killed Qin Bing on the battlefield, would he be afraid of those hooligans brought by these merchants?

Xiang Zhuang then nodded: "I'll go back quickly."

After finishing speaking, he shouted "excuse me", squeezed through the crowd, and headed for the gate of the market.

After Xiang Zhuang left, Chen Luo saw that the sun was still early, so he went to the grain merchants one by one to inquire about the price.

It is not empty talk that the people depend on food.

If other supplies are not available, such as cloth and seasonings, most people in ancient times could still bear it, but if the basic food is missing, it will become the source of countless uprisings in history.

But after some investigation, Chen Luo was secretly startled.

None of those grain merchants sold according to the regulations on the "parity list" at the beginning of the month.

The average price of rice has tripled, that of bean has increased by an average of five times, and that of rice has increased by an average of four times...

Due to differences in regions and times, it is normal for grain prices to deviate, especially the price of grains that are highly demanded by the people in their daily lives, which will be adjusted and changed as the relationship between supply and demand changes.

For example, in "Historical Records: The Chronicle of Qin Shihuang", it is recorded that the price of rice in Guanzhong rose to over [-] yuan a stone in a short period of time. It can be said that no one could afford it for a while.

But that is a special case, the situation after a disaster.

According to the stable grain price in normal years, a stone of rice can be bought for as little as a few dozen and a half taels.

Although Puyang City suffered from military disasters, the Chu army moved quickly and did not siege the city for a long time, or even fought too much, and defeated Puyang City.

Therefore, without too much damage, the soaring food prices are not the result of external factors, but the greed of those merchants.

Letting out a breath slowly, Chen Luo said to himself: "Fortunately, he didn't stay idle in the mansion. Otherwise, if the troubles in this place are first revealed, but no one finds out, wouldn't it be a big deal."

"No." He frowned slightly, and found another doubtful point, "According to the logic, how can there be no one to supervise the first opening of the market? But why didn't anyone report the price of food?"

In an instant, he understood that there was probably a mystery behind this incident.

The chaos in this market may not only be due to the superficial greed of the merchants, which crazily raised the price of food.

The more likely situation is that there is collusion between the government and the business behind the scenes, and the two parties in collusion make profits together and make a lot of money. In the end, only the people in Puyang City need to suffer.

"It seems that there are still people in the Chu army who have a good plan. They want money but not life." After thinking it over, Chen Luo sneered.

But at this moment, exclamations suddenly came from a distance.

Chen Luo, who was originally in a state of contemplation, raised his head and looked towards the turmoil. He suddenly found many people running towards him with panicked expressions.

"What happened?" Chen Luo pulled a man who ran to his side, and asked quickly.

The panic-stricken man took a breath, and when he saw Chen Luo's unfriendly appearance, he replied honestly: "There is someone wielding a sword over there, trying to kill someone."

When the sleeves were loosened, he walked away quickly without looking back.

And Chen Luo narrowed his eyes, walking against the crowd cautiously towards the place where the accident happened.

(End of this chapter)