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

Chapter 184
In just half a month, Lujiang County has become a dynamic place.

Not only the big families, tycoons, and merchants in Yangzhou, but also those in Jingzhou and Yuzhou who had surplus grain, all took notice after hearing that the price of grain in Lujiang County had soared.

The rulers of Jingzhou and Yuzhou relied too much on the gentry, so they were not as strict as Yangzhou in controlling the delivery of food within the territory.

All of a sudden, many food transportation teams rushed to Lujiang, hoping to take the opportunity to make a fortune.

Of course, there are still some people who are still sane and are still on the sidelines, unwilling to go to Lujiang to sell grain easily.

After all, food is bulk cargo, which is very inconvenient to transport, and the losses along the way are also quite huge. Unless the price really rises dramatically, it is very likely that you will lose money during transportation.

The most important thing is that these grain merchants from other states are also worried that after they transport all the grain to Lujiang, the price of grain there will drop again.

In this case, wouldn't it mean that everything is lost?
But now in Lujiang, food prices are completely out of control. With the cooperation of major families and merchants, the price of food is skyrocketing almost every day. Once a businessman from other places sells food, it will be sold out soon.

Don't underestimate the financial strength of these big families. They join together to drive up food prices, and they are definitely a force that cannot be underestimated.

Seeing that the price of grain had risen to a very exaggerated level, Tian Feng, the governor of Lujiang County, finally couldn't sit still, and directly summoned all grain merchants, big and small, and aristocratic families together.

He said to everyone: "Now more and more grain is shipped to Lujiang, which is enough for the local people in Lujiang. The price should not rise to such an extent."

"I also ask you to show your noble hands to help the government to stabilize the food price. Tian Feng thanked you on behalf of the people of Lujiang County!"

After finishing speaking, Tian Feng bowed deeply to everyone present.

When everyone saw this, they all sneered secretly in their hearts and did not answer.

If the current governor of Lujiang is still Lu Kang, or someone from other big families in Yangzhou, they will definitely give this face, even if they make money, they will not make things too ugly.

However, this time the major families competed for the post of Lujiang County Sheriff, but in the end Tian Feng, an outsider, was allowed to pick the peaches, and the major families naturally refused to accept it.

They did not dare to vent their grievances on the cavalry generals, but they could dismount Tian Feng, an outsider.

Once the food price in Lujiang County is out of control, there will be complaints in the territory, and the major families can take the opportunity to impeach Tian Feng and make him lose the post of Lujiang County Governor.

At that time, Zhou Qi will also appreciate the power of the major families. Presumably, the post of Lujiang county guard will only be held by the major families in the end.

It is for this reason that major families will join forces with grain merchants to drive up grain prices.

They not only want to make money, but also get Tian Feng away.

Seeing that no one answered, Tian Feng's face gradually darkened.

He looked around at everyone and said in a deep voice: "I have asked Zhang Liao, the captain of the county, to go to Jiangxia County to buy grain. If you don't know how to buy it when it is ready, wait until the grain and grass from Jiangxia arrive and you will lose all your money. But just No wonder I am.”

When everyone heard this, their faces changed slightly.

They were also a little worried about this matter. After all, Liu Biao gave Jiangxia County a million stones of food and grass, and everyone knew about it.

Even if they have consumed a lot by now, they should keep some. If Zhang Liao really shipped a large amount of grain from Jiangxia, they would not be able to swallow so much grain at the current price of grain in the market.

In this way, if these grains are allowed to flow into the market, it will inevitably impact the existing grain prices and cause grain prices to plummet.

Tian Feng's words finally made some people waver.

After everyone dispersed, many grain merchants began to sell grain secretly.

At the beginning, the major families wanted to continue to devour the grain, but they did not expect that more and more people were selling grain. The major families and big businessmen no longer had much money in their hands due to the high price of the grain.

Seeing that food prices are starting to plummet wildly day by day, many people cannot hold on and plan to take the opportunity to sell their food supplies.

Inside the Sheriff's Mansion.

Listening to Gao Shun's report, Tian Feng couldn't help showing a little smile on his face.

After that meeting, the grain began to plummet. Tian Feng took the opportunity to let Gao Shun and others collect grain secretly, and the grain in various treasuries had piled up like a mountain.

Gao Shun couldn't help being amazed, and said: "Sir, you really are a great talent. After buying low and selling high, the treasury has accumulated more and more food and grass."

It turned out that the biggest behind-the-scenes manipulator of the soaring grain prices in Lujiang County was Tian Feng himself.

With the original grain stock in Lujiang, even if some places were flooded, even if there was no support from other places, the price of grain would not rise much.

Tian Feng obtained a lot of money from Zhou Qi, and asked Gao Shun and others to pretend to be ordinary people or grain merchants to buy grain secretly.

Almost all the low-priced food in Lujiang County was swept away by Gao Shun and others.

Because of this, it gave others the illusion that Lujiang County was short of food, causing food prices to skyrocket.

When the major families and grain merchants united to raise the price of grain to a terrible height, Tian Feng asked Gao Shun and others to start secretly selling grain.

After all the grain in hand was sold, the treasury became a mountain of money.

At this time, Tian Feng planned to suppress the price of grain again, and then continue to buy grain at a low price.

This led to the previous meeting.

The major families and grain merchants were worried that Zhang Liao would transport the grain and the grain in their hands would not be sold. This caused everyone to panic and the price of grain began to fall continuously.

After the grain fell to a certain level, Tian Feng began to secretly buy grain again, until all the money he earned before was spent, but he still couldn't stop the trend of grain decline.

Tian Feng looked at Gao Shun, shook his head and said, "What is this little grain?"

He put his hands behind his back and said, "Food prices can continue to rise."

"This time, I want it to rise to the sky!"

Gao Shun said with some confusion: "Now that food is on the decline, and the money in the government treasury has been exhausted, how can we drive up food prices?"

Tian Feng smiled slightly and said, "Counting the time, it should be almost done."

Two flowers bloom, one branch each.

But it was said that Zhang Liao went to Jiangxia with two thousand Bingzhou troops to buy grain.

never thought.

Zhou Cheng, captain of Jiangxia County, learned that it was Zhang Liao who came to Jiangxia to buy grain, and he couldn't help being furious.

He slapped the case and stood up, shouting: "Huang Shao has been with Ming Gong for a long time, and I have always been friends with him. Zhang Liao killed Brother Huang in a sneak attack. Ming Gong not only pardoned his crime, but also entrusted him with important tasks."

"It's hard for me to say whether I'm a man or not, but Zhang Liao doesn't want to buy a grain of grain from Jiang Xia!"

Zhou Qi, as the lord, these subordinates, even though they have complaints in their hearts, they dare not say anything more.

After all, Zhou Qi wanted to kill Zhang Liao at first, but Zhou Yu and Dian Wei interceded and spared Zhang Liao's life.

In any case, Zhou Qi had done enough with his gestures, and his subordinates had nothing to say.

However, their resentment towards Zhang Liao naturally cannot be dispelled so easily.

Just like in history, Gan Ning shot Ling Cao to death, and Sun Quan not only did not kill Gan Ning, but entrusted him with reuse.

Ling Cao's son Ling Tong, no matter how angry he was, would only turn his hatred towards Gan Ning, but he did not dare to say that Sun Quan was not the right one. Instead, he was loyal. In the battle of Xiaoyaojin, he risked his life to protect Sun Quan and was the last one to retreat.

The status of Zhou Cheng, Xiang Hong, Chen Wen and others is probably equivalent to Ling Tong in history.

Annoyed, Zhou Cheng immediately asked someone to drive to the Sheriff's Mansion, and persuaded Zhou Jing to forbid food delivery in the country, on the grounds that all parts of Jiangxia had just suffered floods and that they needed to leave enough food to appease the refugees.

Zhou Jing is an old man, so he quickly understood Zhou Cheng's plan.

However, the two belonged to the same clan, and Zhou Cheng was the most respected by the chariot general, Zhou Jing naturally did not want to offend Zhou Cheng for the sake of Zhang Liao, a new general.

So, Zhou Jing quickly issued this order, and when Zhang Liao came to visit, he refused to see him on the grounds of illness.

Zhang Liao had no choice but to visit Zhou Cheng again.

When Zhou Cheng learned about Zhang Liao's visit, he couldn't help but sneered and immediately ordered his servants to stay behind closed doors.

"Wait, General!"

never thought.

At this moment, the groom who was rescued by Zhou Cheng before made a sound to prevent the servant from leaving.

Zhou Cheng turned his head to look at the coachman, his eyes were full of doubts.

Li Wen, the coachman, has been diligent and taciturn every day since he came to Zhou Mansion.

Zhou Cheng didn't expect that the other party would suddenly stop him today.

His face darkened slightly and he asked, "What do you mean?"

Li Wen bowed deeply to Zhou Cheng, and then said: "General, because he hated Zhang Liao for killing Huang Shao, why did he close the door?"

Zhou Cheng is a man of loyalty, if not for this, he would never have acted like this.

He snorted coldly and said, "So what?"

Li Wen took a deep breath, looked directly at Zhou Cheng, and said, "May I ask the general, are Huang Shao and the general related by marriage, are they close friends, or have they saved the general's life?"

Zhou Cheng heard the words, but he was a little puzzled: "Neither, but what does it matter?"

Li Wen said seriously: "Since General Cheqi is willing to fight against all opinions, pardon Zhang Liao's crime of killing Huang Shao, and entrust him with a heavy responsibility, it shows that General Cheqi is very optimistic about this person and thinks highly of him."

"Why does the general think that he can achieve his current status?"

"Just because the general is from the same family as the general of the chariot and cavalry, and grew up together since childhood, this is the fundamental reason why the general is trusted."

"On the other hand, Huang Shao's writing is not as good as his acting skills, his martial arts is not as good as Dian Wei and Xu Chu, and his command of troops is not as good as Xu Huang's. The one he relies on is just a long time following the general of chariots and cavalry."

"In order to stabilize his position, he established good relationships with all the generals."

"General, have you ever thought about whether General Chariot and Cavalry would like this kind of behavior?"

"Dian Wei, Xu Chu and other chariot generals are close ministers, but like generals, they are friendly with Huang Shao?"

When Zhou Cheng heard this, he woke up suddenly and felt cold sweat dripping down his back.

Previously, he only cared about himself as a loyal and heroic person, so he did not shy away from others' deliberate friendships.

After being reminded by the carriage driver in the mansion today, he felt that something was wrong.

Today's Zhou Cheng can also be regarded as a general who holds a heavy army and separates one side.

What do those in power fear most?
That is the real powerful generals under him, colluding with each other, this is the most deadly problem.

Previously, Zhou Cheng and Huang Shao had always been on good terms with each other, and both supported their troops.

Even Xiang Hong and Chen Wen, who were good friends with Huang Shao, were generals with real power.

These people are all very close friends, although they are all Zhou Qi's confidantes, it is inevitable that they will not be suspected by the superiors.

Seeing Zhou Cheng come to his senses, Li Wen continued: "With the relationship between the general and the chariot general, there is no need to have too many contacts with the rest of the generals."

"When a general sits on one side and does his duty well, he will never lack glory and wealth in this life."

"The price of food in Lujiang County has soared this time, which raises many doubts. Has the general ever thought about why Zhang Liao came to buy food?"

"Does Tian Feng not know the relationship between the general and Huang Shao?"

"When you asked Zhang Liao to come and buy grain, weren't you afraid that the general wouldn't agree?"

When Zhou Cheng heard this, a chill flashed through his heart, and he thought to himself: "Could it be that Duke Ming asked Tian Feng to borrow Zhang Liao's hand to test me?"

The more Zhou Cheng thought about it, the colder his body became, and a lot of cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

Seeing this, Li Wen comforted him: "You don't have to think too much, the general, there may be other deep meanings here."

"In my humble opinion, the general only needs to do his job well, and he doesn't need to think too much."

Hearing this, Zhou Cheng took a deep look at Li Wen and said, "What you said before involves many secrets of the Chariot and Cavalry General's Mansion. Where did you get it?"

"Who are you anyway?"

The characteristics of the generals under Zhou Qi's command and the relationship between them, except for the major princes and the generals under Zhou Qi's command, others may not know these.

But now, a coachman beside him is telling these things, how can Zhou Cheng not be suspicious?
Li Wen was silent for a long time, then sighed: "I'm just a dead person, I have absolutely no malice, why should the general ask the truth?"

Zhou Cheng looked at Li Wen for a long time, and finally did not continue to ask, but said to his servants: "Call Zhang Liao into the mansion."

Lujiang County, Shu County.

However, it was said that major families and large grain merchants, fearing that Zhang Liao would transport grain back from Jiangxia, and some small families also violated their covenants and began to sell grain, causing the price of grain to plummet.

Even though Tian Feng took advantage of the plummeting grain prices and secretly purchased grain on a large scale, Lujiang County still had too much grain and was still unable to stop the declining trend of grain.

Seeing that the strategy of hoarding grain and raising the price of grain is almost impossible to carry out, the major families and big grain merchants are planning to start selling grain even though they know that they will lose a lot of money if they sell it now.

Unexpectedly, a very exciting news suddenly came from Jiangxia today.

That is, because of the floods in Jiangxia County, Zhou Jing, the governor of Jiangxia County, ordered a ban on food takeout in Jiangxia County. Zhang Liao, the captain of Lujiang County, did not buy a single grain in Jiangxia.

The appearance of this news immediately caused an uproar in the Lujiang grain market.

Grain prices, which had been on a downward trend, started to stop falling due to this news and started to rise again.

Representatives of major families and major grain merchants gathered together, their faces were full of excitement, but some people still asked worriedly: "Is this news true or false? Logically speaking, Zhou Jing shouldn't have made such a move. That's the right thing to do."

One of the representatives of the aristocratic family said with a smile: "I have sent people to inquire about this matter, and it is indeed true."

The other person also smiled and said: "I also heard more confidential news. The reason why Zhou Jing issued such a ban is because of Zhou Cheng, the captain of Jiangxia County."

"Zhou Cheng had a close personal relationship with the late Lujiang County Captain Huang Shao. Huang Shao was killed by Zhang Liao. How could Zhang Liao buy a grain of grain when he went to Jiangxia?"

When everyone heard this, they suddenly realized, and then they all laughed out loud.

One of them said: "It's really a road that never ends!"

The other person smiled and said: "Brother, what you said is wrong. Heaven has a path that is unparalleled, but the path that is unparalleled is the path of Tian Feng and Zhang Liao."

Everyone laughed out loud.

After they confirmed that the news was true, they no longer had any worries. Those aristocratic families and businessmen who had sold grain crazily because they were worried about the arrival of grain from Jiangxia all regretted it and began to buy grain on a large scale again.

In just three days, the price of grain in Lujiang County has far exceeded its previous peak.

Even so, the price of food in Lujiang County continues to soar, and there is almost no food for sale on the market.

After receiving the news, nearby counties and even large grain merchants in Jingzhou and Yuzhou finally made up their minds.

They purchased grain locally and then hired caravans and ships to sell the grain to the Lujiang River.

All of a sudden, caravans gathered in Lujiang County, and grains from various places piled up like mountains.

Rao is so.

Grain prices are still like an unbridled wild horse. Once grain appears on the market, it will be purchased quickly.

Almost all the big businessmen and aristocratic families in Yangzhou participated in this feast of shorting grain.

Not only did they want to take the opportunity to make money, but they also wanted to drive Tian Feng away completely.

And they firmly believe that in these troubled times, as long as they have food in their hands, they are not afraid of not being able to sell it.

Jiujiang County, Shouchun, Cheqi General's Mansion.

These days, the memorial to impeach Tian Feng appears on Zhou Qi's case like snowflakes.

Especially the major families in Jiangdong, as well as the local officials in Lujiang County, have continuously written letters to impeach Tian Feng, saying that his governance is improper, so that the price of grain in Lujiang County has soared, and the people have no money to buy food, and there are many complaints.

Many officials asked Zhou Qi to remove Tian Feng from the post of governor of Lujiang County and replace him with a virtuous and virtuous person, so as to stabilize the price of food in Lujiang County and return the people to a stable life.

Even, under the signal of the major families, some officials directly recommended talents to Zhou Qi.

Seeing the mountains of memorials piled up on the case table, Zhou Qi sneered and didn't even bother to take a look at them.

In his heart, however, he was a little annoyed.

Although everything was designed by Tian Feng, if these aristocratic families had no ambitions, things would not have developed so smoothly.

Zhou Qi felt that he was already very kind to the four wealthy families. Most of the official vacancies in the territory were filled by the wealthy Yangzhou families.

As for the candidates for the governors of each county, except for Jiangxia County, all of them were in the hands of the major families before.

Now he just launched a Tian Feng, which has attracted so many people to hear the news, and has completely angered Zhou Qi.

He suddenly slapped the table and shouted: "Yangzhou is under my rule, so I can't make a decision on who to appoint as the governor of Lujiang County?"

To be honest, Zhou Qi was a little dissatisfied with Zhang Liao's incident.

He felt that he usually pampered his subordinates too much, so that they forgot their dignity.

As a monarch, since he is determined to subdue Zhang Liao, and his posture is already sufficient, as a subordinate, he should know how to read people's faces and know when enough is enough.

He sent Zhang Liao to Lujiang this time, and it might be that he secretly beat Zhou Cheng.

If the other party cannot tell clearly what should be done and what should not be done, Zhou Qi will make appropriate adjustments in hiring people in the future.

People like Dian Wei and Xu Chu who keep themselves clean and never form parties with other generals are naturally the most valued group of people.

In addition, people like Xu Huang, Zhang Liao, and Gao Shun who are capable and know how to be ministers will also be reused.

Don't think Zhou Qi is ruthless or too suspicious.

As a monarch of one side and a prince of one side, it is natural not to think about issues the same as ordinary people.

What he needs is balance and complete control, not collusion between his powerful generals and their irreversibility.

Even the closest people under his command would absolutely not allow this.

When Zhou Qi was alive, it was naturally impossible for these people to betray him.

Once something happened to him, these powerful generals who formed a party with each other would become a very terrifying force, and could even influence who would inherit Zhou Qi's foundation. This matter had to be guarded against.

However, Xiang Hong, Chen Wen, Zhou Cheng and others are all his confidants, and they themselves are very forthright and like to make friends with heroes.

But Zhou Qi couldn't be too blunt.

He glanced at Xi Zhicai, and said with deep meaning: "Zhicai has time, so he can drink tea with those close generals under Gu's command."

"It's so comforting to see them loving each other and feeling like brothers!"

Hearing Zhou Qi calling himself "solitary", Xi Zhicai's heart skipped a beat.

This title, Zhou Qi almost never treats people close to him like this.

Because of this, it will appear more formal and distant.

In a flash of thought, Xi Zhicai understood the implication of Zhou Qi's words and couldn't help but sweat dripping down his back.

"only!"

Xi Zhicai didn't let out a long sigh of relief until he left the cavalry general.

He looked at this magnificent mansion with complicated eyes, and finally sighed slightly.

Companion is like a tiger.

The heart of an emperor is unpredictable.

Although Zhou Qi is still courteous to corporals and seems to treat others with sincerity, Xi Zhicai can feel that his city is getting deeper and deeper, and his emotions and anger are invisible.

If you can see his emotions, it may not be the other party's real emotions, maybe it's just Zhou Qi expressing it deliberately and wanting you to see it.

"Those who are ministers should indeed abide by their duties. Just like today's Han Dynasty, the reason why it has declined so much is that it is inseparable from the fact that it has a relationship with the powerful families."

"Maybe their intentions are not bad, but if things continue to develop, sooner or later they will get out of control."

Only then did Xi Zhi find out that Zhou Qi wanted to use his own hands to beat those people.

Zhou Qi did this not because he had any grudge, but because he wanted to continue to reuse these people.

Otherwise, he only needs to keep his face and gradually take their power aside and leave them idle. There is no need to do anything extra.

"Duke Ming has given me a problem."

Xi Zhicai smiled bitterly to himself.

This kind of thing is thankless.

It can't be felt by others, this is Zhou Qi's instruction.

We also need to let them understand the serious consequences that their actions may bring.

"Ming Gong can entrust this matter to me, which is also a kind of trust. I will definitely do it well."

　There is a lot of controversy about the section about collecting Zhang Liao, so I will explain it here.

　　You can't use the eyes of ordinary people to guess the mind of the monarch. The monarch is not the boss of the company, but the king, who controls the power of life and death as well as the glory and wealth of his subordinates.

　　To put it bluntly, if the old people around Zhou Qi hadn't been close to the protagonist, with their background and ability, they wouldn't be able to make a name for themselves in their lifetime.

　　Zhou Qi can replace them at any time, but they are nothing without the protagonist, so he must distinguish his priorities and his own position. If he wants to defeat his superiors and influence the monarch's employment, there is no need to use such people.

　　Don't think that the protagonist is cold-blooded and suspicious. Fighting the world is not just playing tricks, not a happy enmity.

　　Liu Bei's reputation is good. In order to check and balance Zhuge Liang, he successively launched Pang Tong, Fazheng, and Li Yan.
　　Zhuge Liang also knew how to be a minister, and he gave in to Pang Tong, Fazheng, and Li Yan, and finally seized Li Yan's power only when there was sufficient evidence.

　　A person's vision can determine how far he goes. As a time traveler, if the protagonist kills Zhang Liao for Huang Shao, he is not worthy of fighting for the world.

　　Moreover, the main character's posture has been completed. What else do the subordinates want to do? Will the next mistake lead to second thoughts?If this is really the case, just kill them all.

　　Does a person who doesn't know how to be a minister keep it for himself?

　　At least so far, the protagonist has never treated any of his subordinates badly, and Huang Shao is no exception. Otherwise, what qualifications does he have to take that position?

　　
　
(End of this chapter)