At the end of the Han Dynasty: a stingy husband from his hometown

Chapter 183 A Shocking Conspiracy, Soaring Food Prices

What really broke Tian Feng's defense was not just being appointed as Lujiang County by Zhou Qi.

There is also Zhou Qi's sentence: Sir, you can bring your family with you when you go.

How much trust does it take to do this.

Today is a troubled time. In order to prevent their subordinates from becoming bigger or rebelling, the princes will almost always keep the officials of the frontier and the family members of the leading generals under their noses as hostages.

This kind of thing is almost always an unwritten rule.

Now, Zhou Qi not only boldly appointed Tian Feng as the governor of Lujiang County, but also asked him to bring his family members with him.

As such.

No matter whether Tian Feng fled back to Jizhou with his family, or separatist regime, or directly dedicated Lujiang to Yuan Shu, he no longer had any worries.

Of course, Tian Feng is not a stupid person.

He knew that Anfeng County was the place where the cavalry generals made their fortune, and Lujiang County was the headquarters of the Lujiang Zhou family.

Unless they can get the support of the entire Lujiang Zhou family, anyone who dares to rebel in Lujiang will end up no better than Lu Bu.

Zhou Qi didn't even need a large army to conquer, as long as he led the cavalry to attack, he could quickly put down the rebellion.

Moreover, Tian Feng is also a loyal person, Zhou Qi treats him as a national scholar, he will naturally be heartbroken, and he will not hesitate to do so, how could he have a rebellious heart?
Zhou Qi couldn't help being overjoyed when he saw Tian Feng bowing to the ground, knowing that he had won the other party's allegiance.

He hurriedly helped Tian Feng up, held his hands tightly, and said with some excitement: "If Mr. is willing to help, I will have no worries!"

Zhou Qi was indeed excited, but he was not unable to control his emotions.

As a monarch, he deliberately showed such an agitated expression in front of his subordinates, but it would make his subordinates feel grateful.

Whether it's a pretense or a sincere one, this trick never fails.

Since Tian Feng had planned to surrender to Zhou Qi, he naturally wanted to give him a certificate of surrender and immediately said: "I have something to say, I don't know whether I should say it or not."

Zhou Qi said hastily: "Sir, you have something to say, but it's okay to say it, I will listen with all my ears."

Tian Feng pondered for a moment and said: "Now the northern princes are rising together and conquering each other. They fight every day, so that the Central Plains is broken and the people are displaced."

"Compared to it, the south is relatively stable, so refugees and gentry flock here."

"Although this can strengthen Yangzhou's strength, it will also greatly restrain a part of Minggong's energy, and he will not be able to send troops to expand in a short time."

"Yuan Shao in the north is fighting with Gongsun Zan. Within a few years, the winner will be decided."

"Although Gongsun Zan gained a temporary advantage, without the support of the gentry, he will be defeated by Yuan Shao sooner or later."

"Once Yuan Shao defeats Gongsun Zan, he can easily occupy the four prefectures of You, Ji, Qing, and Bing. With the toughness of the people of You and Bing, and the prosperity of the people of Qing and He, you only need to cultivate for a few years, and you can get 20 elite soldiers. Food and grass are countless."

"At that time, there is Cao Cao who is Yuan Shao's minion. If he leads his troops south, who in the world can compete with him?"

Hearing this, Zhou Qi couldn't help but marvel at Tian Feng's eyes.

However, although Tian Feng's strategic vision was good, his ability to recognize people was a bit lacking.

He misjudged Yuan Shao.

Yuan Shao now only occupies Jizhou, his heart has not yet expanded, and he is still cautious every day.

Once Yuan Shao defeated Gongsun Zan and occupied the four northern states, the wildness that had been suppressed in his heart for a long time began to swell wildly.

At that time, Yuan Shao would not follow Tian Feng's idea of ​​resting and recuperating for a few years before going south to eliminate the princes.

He would rush south without sufficient preparation.

The second person Tian Feng misjudged was naturally Cao Cao.

This is actually not to blame Tian Feng.

Except for Zhou Qi, a time traveler, and a few people with outstanding vision, who would have guessed that Cao Cao is the final big boss?

Today's Cao Cao has not yet occupied the entire Yanzhou, and has always been Yuan Shao's hardcore follower.

Who would have thought that this Yuan Shao's younger brother would eventually become Yuan Shao's biggest enemy?

However, Tian Feng's worry was not wrong. Whether it was Yuan Shao's unification of the north, or Cao Cao's defeat of Yuan Shao and occupation of Yuan Shao's territory, they were all very big threats to Zhou Qi.

Tian Feng continued: "The north is chaotic, and the princes are powerful. It is not the best policy to rush to fight with them."

"Duke Ming wants to conquer the world, so you might as well take advantage of the quarrel between the northern princes and attack Jingzhou first, and then take Yizhou."

"In this way, Duke Ming can completely occupy the south, occupy half of the country, and have a population of more than 500 million."

"If you get Yizhou, you can attack Longxi to get a place to raise horses, then train fine cavalry, and then go to Liangzhou to recruit tough and good-for-war Qianghu to fill the army."

"To each other, if the north cannot be unified, Duke Ming can take Guanzhong first, and then sweep the world."

"Even if the north is united, Duke Ming can still compete with it."

Zhou Qi heard the words, smiled wryly and said: "Although that is the case, the mountains in Yangzhou are rampant and need to be suppressed with soldiers and horses."

"And with the influx of countless refugees, we also need money and food for resettlement, so we won't be able to expand for at least a few years."

Zhou Qi's current neighbors are Yuan Shu, Liu Biao, and Tao Qian.

Xuzhou was excluded first.

Because Xuzhou is the place of the Four Wars, and there is no danger to defend, once Zhou Qi captures Xuzhou, he will face Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, and may even start a long-term tug-of-war with the two. This is not in line with Zhou Qi's strategic policy.

As for Yuan Shu, he is powerful now, has Sun Jian as his minion, and has the support of the Runan gentry.

If Zhou Qi wants to attack, he must lead a large army to attack, and the outcome may even be difficult to determine within several years.

After all, no matter how bad Yuan Shu is, he is still a direct descendant of the Yuan family in Runan. He has not yet declared himself emperor, and has not yet reached the point of betraying his relatives.

How difficult it is to annex it.

As for Liu Biao, he was not an easy man. Although he was not aggressive enough, he was more than capable of defending the city.

If he wants to attack Jingzhou, he must use a large army to conquer it. Zhou Qi can't mobilize so many soldiers and horses, and he doesn't have food and grass.

Moreover, the relationship between Zhou Qi and Yuan Shu is delicate now, once an army is raised to attack Jingzhou, there is no guarantee that the other party will not take advantage of the fire.

It was precisely after understanding all this that Zhou Qi thought of developing first, managing Yangzhou well, and then waiting for the opportunity to expand when the world changed.

However, Tian Feng said: "The troubles of the mountains and the mountains cannot be fixed in a day. Soldiers and horses stationed in various places must not act rashly, otherwise the previous plan will inevitably come to naught."

"There are so many refugees, why didn't Duke Ming select young and strong people from among them and train them into an army?"

Zhou Qi sighed: "Yangzhou is not short of soldiers, but what it is short of is food and grass."

"If there is no food and grass, how can we train the army?"

Tian Feng pondered for a long time, with a struggling expression on his face, then suddenly raised his head to look directly at Zhou Qi, and asked, "Does Duke Ming believe me?"

Looking at Tian Feng who was a bit puzzled, although Zhou Qi couldn't figure out his thoughts, he still nodded heavily and said, "I'm more confident than sir."

Tian Feng pressed on with every step, and said: "How much can Ming Gong trust me?"

Zhou Qi was silent.

He remembered what he had learned about Tian Feng during his time together, as well as Tian Feng's deeds in history, and finally said with firm eyes: "Sir, if you have anything you want, as long as I can do my best, I will definitely help you."

After hearing this, Tian Feng smiled, and his smile was very bright.

He bowed deeply to Zhou Qi, and then said: "I want to ask the lord for one person, one thing, and money."

Zhou Qi asked strangely: "Who? What? How much food?"

Tian Feng said: "The person I want to ask for is Zhang Liao and Zhang Wenyuan who just surrendered to Duke Ming. This man is both wise and brave, and I will be very useful."

Hearing this, although Zhou Qi didn't know what Tian Feng was going to do, he couldn't help but marvel at the other person's eyes.

Zhang Liao is indeed a man of great use.

"The thing I'm asking for is something that can represent the identity of Duke Ming, something that can be seen by Zhou Cheng, the captain of Jiangxia County, as if seeing Duke Ming himself."

Zhou Qi frowned slightly. Although he didn't know what kind of medicine was sold in Tian Feng's gourd, he still took off his jade pendant and handed it over.

Tian Feng took the jade pendant, but found that its texture was not as good as expected, and there was a faint trace of variegation inside, with a character "Zhou" engraved on the front and a character "Qi" engraved on the back.

Zhou Qi looked nostalgic and sighed: "Gold is valuable, jade is priceless."

"My family is in decline. Although my grandfather is a poor man from the countryside, he doesn't have much money left in the family."

"This jade pendant was bought for me by my grandfather after he heard the news of my father's death when I was 12 years old."

"Except for a very few people, no one knows what this jade pendant means to me."

Although these are the experiences of his predecessor, Zhou Qi inherited the memory of this body, so he naturally knows the importance of this jade pendant.

Hearing this, Tian Feng solemnly put the jade pendant into his arms.

He took a few deep breaths, and said, "I heard that Liu Biao donated a million shi of grain and grass, and Jiangxia County still has 50 shi of grain and grass left. I need to secretly transport the 50 shi of grain and grass to Lujiang."

When Zhou Qi heard this, he couldn't help being shocked and said in a voiceless voice: "Without this food and grass, it would be difficult to resettle the refugees in Jiangxia County."

Tian Feng looked at Zhou Qi and said, "With Zhou Jing there, Jiangxia cannot be in chaos."

Zhou Qi asked: "Sir, why do you want so much food and grass?"

Tian Feng took a deep breath and whispered in Zhou Qi's ear for a while. Zhou Qi became more and more shocked as he listened.

Then he looked at Tian Feng, and said dryly: "Sir, you have to think about it clearly. If you really do this, you may have enemies all over the world."

Tian Feng, on the other hand, smiled and said: "If it is beneficial to Ming Gong's great cause, what's the harm in giving up the fame of this body?"

Zhou Qi was moved in his heart, saluted Tian Feng, and said, "Sir, you have been wronged."

"If you want to transfer 50 stones of food and grass from Jiangxia, the jade pendant in your hands is not enough. I also need to sign the documents myself."

"And if you want to secretly transport food and grass, the newly recruited soldiers from Lujiang County are not reliable."

"I asked Zhang Liao to lead two thousand soldiers from Bingzhou, Gao Shun to lead one thousand soldiers, and Zhou Cheng to send his confidant Jiangxia barbarian soldiers to help escort them together. Only in this way can we be safe."

"And it's not enough just to have food and grass, and a lot of money is needed. I will find a way to secretly allocate it for my husband."

Seeing Zhou Qi trusting him so much, Tian Feng couldn't help being moved, and had the thought of dying for his confidant.

Next, Zhou Qi's personnel arrangement shocked everyone.

He appointed Tian Feng as the governor of Lujiang County, and Zhang Liao, who had just surrendered, as the captain of Lujiang County, and let Zhang Liao lead two thousand Bingzhou elites to Lujiang.

Not only that.

Gao Shun, who had been leading the trapped camp to guard the center, was actually sent to Lujiang this time.

Zhou Qi's appointment caused an uproar among his subordinates, and many people came to remonstrate, saying that Zhang Liao was a new candidate and should not be entrusted with important tasks.

The major aristocratic families in Jiangdong also complained about Tian Feng's appointment as the governor of Lujiang County.

Because since Lu Kang's death, the major families have long coveted the post of Lujiang county guard.

In fact, they have been fighting openly and secretly for this position for a long time.

But he didn't expect that the peaches would be picked by Tian Feng, an outsider.

Facing everyone's dissuasion, Zhou Qi ignored it.

He summoned Zhang Liao and had a long secret conversation with him.

Before leaving, Zhou Qi patted Zhang Liao on the shoulder and said: "I promoted you to the rank of Captain of Lujiang County, which is an exception. Many generals are dissatisfied. If this can be done, no one under my command will dare to discuss this matter. "

Zhang Liao worshiped the ground, and said with tears of gratitude: "Thanks to Ming Gong's great love, Zhang Liao will repay it with death!"

Exactly.

Some people are overwhelmed.

For some people, the white head is like new.

The relationship between Zhang Liao and Lu Bu is like the latter. Even though they have known each other for a long time, they still haven't made friends.

But after Zhang Liao met Zhou Qi, he knew what a wise master is and what a mind is, and only then did he feel overwhelmed.

Zhou Qi helped Zhang Liao up, and said with a smile: "I still count on you to help me charge forward on the battlefield, kill the enemy and make meritorious service, but you are not allowed to die!"

Zhang Liao bit his lip tightly and nodded heavily.

It is said that after Tian Feng and Zhang Liao went to Lujiang to take office, Xiang Hong returned to Shouchun with his cavalry.

Tian Feng was extremely talented, and quickly cleaned up the mess left by Lu Bu.

Fortunately, Lu Bu's occupation of Lujiang was short and did not cause much damage.

But what makes people feel strange is that not long after Tian Feng arrived in Lujiang, the food price here began to rise slowly.

Especially after several rivers in the territory flooded and some fertile fields were submerged, the price of food began to soar like a wild horse running wild.

Tian Feng has repeatedly introduced policies to restrict the price increases of major families and grain merchants, but with little effect.

In a short period of time, the grain and grass in Lujiang County seemed to be very scarce, and there were even mysterious buyers who bought up all the grain and grass in the hands of major grain merchants in advance.

For a time, there were complaints in Lujiang County.

Tian Feng had no choice but to let Zhang Liao lead his troops to Jiangxia County to buy grain at a high price.

Gao Shun led the camp, while maintaining order, while training the five thousand soldiers selected by Xiang Hong.

Seeing that the price of food in Lujiang County has increased several times in a short period of time.

As long as a large amount of food appears in the territory, it will be sold out quickly.

Zhang Liao's soldiers and horses who went to Jiangxia County to buy grain have not yet returned, and the price of grain in Lujiang has risen to the point where ordinary people can't afford it.

Fortunately, Lu Kang has managed Lujiang County very well in these years, and there is a lot of food and grass in the government treasury.

Tian Feng hurriedly opened the official warehouse and gave porridge to the people who could not afford food every day.

With government relief, these people could barely avoid starving to death.

With the skyrocketing price of food, the aristocratic families in Lujiang County who had stored food at home also began to stockpile their goods, and even joined together to deliberately raise the price of food.

Is the big man short of food?

There is no shortage, and it is only ordinary people who lack food.

Is there a shortage of food in Yangzhou?

There is no shortage, and it is only ordinary people who lack food.

Is Lujiang County short of food?
There is no shortage, it is only ordinary people who are short of food.

Although the grain output of this era is far inferior to that of later generations.

But the population in this era is also small.

If we really want to calculate the per capita arable land, I don’t know how much more it was in the late Han Dynasty than in later generations.

If it is divided equally, it is no problem to feed the whole population with food.

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, very strange things happened in some places.

That is, during the famine years, instead of rising, food prices fell.

Why did something so contrary to the laws of the market happen?
Because the land and the means of production are all in the hands of aristocratic families.

As for ordinary people, they live in poverty, and there is no money left in their families. No matter how high or low the food is, the common people cannot afford food.

The grain and grass piled up in the houses of the aristocratic families are like mountains, and the warehouses can't put it down. The new grain can't be eaten up. If the old grain is not sold, it may go bad.

Wealthy families don't lack food, and they don't buy old food.

Homes without money, old food can not afford.

In this way, the old grain in the family's family could not be sold, so they had to reduce the price to promote it.

This led to the strange thing that food prices did not rise but fell during the famine years.

There is no shortage of food in Lujiang, and the food in the families of aristocratic families is piled up like a mountain.

Just imagine.

Like Lu Su, the gentry whose family fortune has begun to decline can donate [-] shi of grain and rice at one time.

In some places, the wealthy families, or those merchant families, how much food will they have in their homes?

These people keep the new grain for emergency use, and they will find opportunities to sell the old grain at a high price as much as possible.

When the price of grain in Lujiang County had just risen, these aristocratic families and merchants couldn't wait to sell the old grain, for fear that the grain price would fall again after the sale was late.

After all, as a rule, the government will never allow food prices to rise too much, otherwise it will affect local stability.

But what they didn't expect was that the market was like a bottomless pit. No matter how much food they took out, it would be quickly sold out.

These people certainly earn a lot of money.

But people are always lacking.

Seeing that the price of grain is changing day by day, those aristocratic families and merchants who sold their old grain in advance are like sharks smelling blood.

They connected with each other and stopped selling grain. Instead, they united and started buying grain at a high price. As long as there was a little grain in the market, they would quickly buy it at a high price.

It was for this reason that the grain price in Lujiang County began to gradually get out of control, and even rose to an appalling level.

Not only the aristocratic families and merchants in Lujiang County, but also the big families in other counties and counties in Yangzhou who had surplus grain, after hearing the news, they all transported grain to Lujiang one after another, hoping to take the opportunity to make a fortune.

Some families even brought in new grain.

In order to prevent food from flowing out of Yangzhou, Zhou Qi strictly prohibited food takeout.

Although some people take the risk of selling food, most families dare not do so.

It is for this reason that food prices in Yangzhou have been relatively stable.

During this drastic change in Lujiang, all the families seemed to be sharks who smelled blood, and they all went to Lujiang with food, hoping to take the opportunity to eat steamed buns made of human blood.

　Tomorrow should be able to restore the previous update time, 0:[-] every day

　　
　
(End of this chapter)