Under the sky

Chapter 280

Kunlun year 91, July
"Is this a portrait of Saint Talish?" Prince Bailey looked at the portrait on the wall, which showed a man kneeling and taking out his heart. He admired, "Is it from Suma Batu?"

Hillidegg nodded, poured two glasses of wine, and handed one glass to Prince Bailey. He held the wine glass and admired the exquisite image formed by the fine lines of the hair braid with Bailey: "In the era of Shengyin, heretics continued to persecute the god Sa. Believers. During an invasion, Talisy came to the blind King Osi and pretended to be a betrayer to show them the way, hoping to trick them into death. In order to win the trust of King Osi, he did not hesitate to dig out the heart to prove that he was not lying. There is a statue of Talish holding his heart and guiding the way in the silent prayer garden heading to the Saint's Temple. He turned back to look at King Ossi to see if the blind team had followed."

Prince Bailey nodded: "I am familiar with this story. Tarich gave his heart in order to make the enemy go astray."

"This painting was given to me by Gulthas last month and was replaced yesterday. If you like it, I can send it to your house." Hillidegg said.

"No, I can afford better ones." Prince Bailey drank the wine. "The money I earned in the past few months alone is enough to buy dozens of famous paintings."

"Are there any objections from other princes?" Hillidegg asked.

"All the princes are happy to be able to make money, especially my brothers. You know, Tucker only believes in his Gao Luoqi, and he can do the same to us brothers." Prince Bailey poured another glass of wine,

"It's just a replacement of Arien, there is no difference to everyone. You actually want to go against the Priesthood? I hope Tucker will get used to the wandering life. He should have a group of good subordinates. Remember to give him Gao Leqi, he needs a think tank. "

Hillidegg put down the glass of wine that he had not taken a sip from: "Don't you need it? I mean, do you have a candidate for the chief consul?"

"You mean me... Of course, I've been thinking about it lately. To be honest, I haven't thought of it yet. There are a few candidates, but... they're not that good."

"I hope this problem won't trouble you for too long." Hillidegg said, "Would you like to stay for lunch?"

"No, Gao Leqi is still waiting for me to hold a meeting to ask where the food is." Prince Bailey laughed.

This is the nobles of Nabu Batu. They are short-sighted, selfish, get something for nothing, have no wisdom to match their power, and no pious faith. After Prince Bailey left, Hillidegg opened the window and poured the whole glass of wine into the flower garden. superior.

■

More than [-]% of the grain in Nabu Batu is purchased by the nobles from other places, and the rest is produced in Batu. The nobles use palace guards to protect the grain trucks from refugees and bandits, transport it to Nabu Batu, and sell it at a markup based on the cost. To the grain merchants, the grain merchants resell to the people of Batu at a stipulated price.Uniform grain prices can stabilize Nabu Batu's grain supply and eliminate merchants' concerns about monopoly. Even most residents of the sheep dung pile can afford to eat grain.

Food shortages were unthinkable in the past.More than half of the businesses in Naibubadu have closed their doors. Barley cakes, mutton rolls, and fruit stalls are all gone. The food will be sold out as soon as it is put on the stall.

Tucker ordered the price of grain to be leveled, but the princes still sold grain to grain merchants at a price that was [-]% higher than the market price.However, grain merchants were required to sell to the people at market prices. Grain merchants who could not bear the losses were unwilling to put the grain on the shelves and flowed the grain into the black market, where they made [-]% of the profit.

There was still no rain in Batu in July, and the people who were looking forward to the Yanabhata Festival turned from joy to worry, and then fear, especially since this was the first Yana Navata Festival after the return of the Son of God, and the whispers gradually turned to There was a lot of discussion.

Fear of starvation has gripped Nabu Batu.People's response to the Son of God is still enthusiastic, but the graffiti on the walls of Nabu Batu has gradually changed. Some people have graffitied on the face of the Son of God to express their dissatisfaction, while others have painted civilians lying upside down in front of the Son of God to starve to death.

Colachi no longer looked elegant. He and Tucker loudly asked the princes why food had disappeared from Nabu Batu. The princes headed by Prince Bailey still insisted that drought and plundering by refugees were the main reasons for the rise in food prices. .Tucker roared at the meeting that he knew the refugees did not rob the grain truck, but Prince Bailey and others denied the accusation, leaving Tucker helpless.

Gao Leqi promised to use the treasury to subsidize the prince's losses, and asked the princes to sell grain at the usual price, ease the burden on the people of Batu, and implement tax cuts.This should assuage public dissatisfaction, he thought, until the time of the Governing Council.

"Grain still continues to flow into the black market." At the ruling meeting, Yu Zhengping reported secondly, "Grain dealers don't want to lose money, so they only sell a small part of it, and the rest flows into the black market. The price of grain on the black market is twice as expensive as on the market, and it is very Popular."

"Catch them!" Tucker shouted, "Confiscate all this food and sell it to the people at a fair price!"

"We can't arrest so many. This is Batu with a population of 80." Saisi, the director of the prison department, said, "Everyone in the prison department is patrolling, but there are too many secret places, and the public security has begun to deteriorate. There are also sheep It’s a dung heap, there’s no way to arrest anyone there. And even if the Prison Department soldiers catch the black market grain trade, they won’t obediently hand over the grain. Most of them will accept bribes and take some of the grain home with them.”

Sisi cannot prevent this situation because the soldiers cannot buy food.

"Replace half of the prison department's salary with food calculated at market prices." Gao Leqi said, "Add bonuses and penalties to make them more diligent."

Finance chief Jia Ti said: "That will push up black market food prices because the risk has become greater."

Yang Yan kept listening. After rescuing Monduke last time, Gao Leqi was finally willing to let him participate in political discussions. The main reason was to show his goodwill. The other reason was that the situation was too bad. He hoped that Shenzi could use his identity to reverse some of the problems. situation.

But when faced with a power struggle, Yang Yan found that his wisdom was far from enough.He had no experience in dealing with political affairs, nor did he know how to deal with conspiracies. All he had was the identity of the Son of God. At this moment, the feeling of powerlessness he felt when he was in the pass resurfaced, making him feel disgusted.

"Is there really not enough food?" Yang Yan asked, "Is the drought so serious?"

"Son of God." Yu Zhengping bowed respectfully, "There must be disasters. The dry crops outside Batu will undoubtedly make this famine worse. Although I really hope that there will be snow and frost now, a few months of drought will not It has such serious consequences.”

"Do you suspect that the nobles are hoarding food?" Collegiate asked, looking at Inspector Woolf.

Woolf shook his head: "I checked, the nobles did not hoard food, and the account books and warehouses were reconciled."

Wang Hong said: "Maybe they are hiding, but we don't know where."

Woolf still shook his head: "Speculation cannot solve the problem."

Tucker was furious: "It must be Hillidger who did it!"

"Speculation doesn't solve the problem," Woolf reminded Tucker again.

After the meeting, Yang Yan asked Gao Leqi: "Why would these princes help the Priesthood? Hilidege hates the nobles the most. What good will the fall of Arien Palace do to them?"

"Some people only see the immediate benefits." Gao Leqi said, "For the nobles, Tucker's fall just means that they will be replaced by Arion, and they don't have to bear the risk of confrontation with the Priesthood."

"Some of them are Tucker's brothers!" Yang Yan was extremely puzzled.

"The traitor Muen even sank his brother into the river with his own hands." Gao Leqi obviously felt that this question was too naive.

What else can you do?Yang Yan thought of the village where Wu Erding made sacrifices, the village where a sheep was killed to offer sacrifices to him even though he was starving.The only thing he has now is the identity of the Son of God, so he must make good use of this identity.

"I want to pray for the people in the square." Yang Yan said.

Gao Leqi raised his eyebrows. This was a good way to alleviate public dissatisfaction and buy more time.But he still has some concerns.After getting along with each other for more than half a year, he knew Yang Yan's character very well. He didn't know if anything would happen if Yang Yan came into contact with the people. He reminded: "This is a good idea, but the Son of God can never give away food to the people. Please remember this.”

"Why?" Yang Yan asked.

"You'll know after you go and see it," Gao Leqi said.

A huge tent was set up in the square in front of Arien Palace. Under the protection of the palace guards, Yang Yan prayed for the people in the tent.In order to prevent Yang Yan from saying the wrong thing, Gao Leqi specially asked Wang Hong to stay with him.This is not an easy job. Yang Yan listens to the prayers of every resident-mostly praying that the drought will end quickly and that the Sa god will grant food.

The queue to pray for blessings from the Son of God is several miles long. They line up before dawn every day. A believer who came to pray piously prostrated himself in front of Yang Yan. Yang Yan gently touched his head and said, "May Father God bless you." .”

"I also hope that God Sa will remove the hand that blinded the eyes of the Son of God as soon as possible." The man murmured.

Yang Yan couldn't help being stunned and asked: "Wait, what did you say?"

The man was about to get up and leave, but he didn't expect the Son of God to call him and said calmly: "They... the people on the street said that the drought and lack of food were because the Son of God was deceived by others."

This must be Hillidger's trick to blame the crime on Arien Palace.Yang Yan said: "I have not been deceived by anyone. Everything I do is in accordance with the arrangements of Father God."

The man was driven away by the guards before he could reply. Just as Yang Yan was about to stand up and ask questions, a mother in ragged clothes walked forward quickly with her child in her arms, crying: "Please pray for my son, Son of God."

Yang Yan hugged the child, and Wang Hong behind him took a breath.

It was a child who had just turned one year old. He was so hungry that he was skin and bones and had purple spots on his body.This child was about to die, with only one breath left. It wouldn't be surprising even if he died immediately in Yang Yan's arms.

Yang Yan held the child in his left hand and placed his palm on the child's face.Obviously, what this child needs is not prayers, but food.

"Please Father God..." Yang Yan couldn't say it. What was the meaning of such a blessing?Just a little food, a little food, this child won't die!

"What's this child's name?" Yang Yan asked, his voice trembling.

"Gail." The woman replied, tears streaming down her face. "My child's name is Gail. We come from the sheep dung pile and we waited in line all day to get to you."

"Please Father God... bless..." Bless a corpse?Obviously I have something more useful than blessing, as long as I give him some food...

What the hell!Yang Yan shouted: "Guard!" Wang Hong's eyes twitched, he stepped forward and held Yang Yan's hand, and whispered: "Pray for him, I will handle the rest."

Yang Yan took a deep breath and tried to keep his voice calm: "Please Father God bless Gale so that he will not suffer and get through the difficulties. Also bless this mother so that she can be safe and happy."

The mother took the child and left happily with tears.

Wuerdin Xiaoji said that hope can help people survive suffering.So if you can't endure the hardship, is hope a scam?

Wang Hong walked up to a guard, whispered a few words in his ear, and the guard left.Wang Hong walked back to Yang Yan and whispered: "I sent someone to secretly deliver food to that mother, but you have to know that it won't help."

"That's it for today." Yang Yan stood up, turned around and left. Wang Hong followed quickly: "What's wrong?"

"Praying for blessings won't help," Yang Yan said.

Yang Yan and Wang Hong returned to Arien Palace and passed by the garden when they saw a few soldiers gathering in the corner and not knowing what they were doing.Yang Yan glanced at Wang Hong, who was also confused. The two stepped forward, and before they could ask any questions, they saw a soldier pouring unfinished mutton soup into the ditch.

In order to ensure the loyalty of the palace guards, the soldiers guarding Arien Palace had too much food to eat. There was not only mutton in the ditch, but also noodles, half-eaten barley cakes, and spoiled fruits.This is living water. The water flow will flush the food residue out of the palace. Even if there are large pieces left, they will be swept away by the servants who clean the garden. There is only the amount that has just been poured in, but I also know that this will not be the first time. .

Yang Yan was furious and strode towards the meeting hall.Gao Leqi was in a meeting with Chief Financial Officer Jati and was startled when he saw him barging in.

Yang Yan said angrily: "Why is there food in the ditch?"

Gao Leqi said politely: "Son of God, please wait a moment. Jati, please continue."

"There is still the most important issue at hand." Chief Finance Jati said, "Money. If we want to subsidize the 'losses' of the princes..." He emphasized the word loss, "it will be a huge sum of money, and the national treasury cannot cope."

"I know." Gao Leqi said, "Find Prince Hu Gen."

Wang Hong couldn't help being startled when she heard Prince Hu Gen.After seeing Jiati off, Gao Leqi asked Yang Yan: "The Son of God came back so early, what happened?"

"I ask you, why is there food dumped in the ditch!" Yang Yan's anger did not subside at all.

"That's right." There was no surprise on Gao Leqi's face. "It's normal for unfinished food to be thrown away. Shouldn't we wait for it to rot and stink?"

"There are so many people in Batuli who have no food to eat. Why don't you use the extra food to help them instead of throwing it away?!" Yang Yan simply couldn't understand.

Gao Leqi shook his head: "Son of God, let me calculate an account for you. Even if the entire palace guard of Batu is included, how many people are there? Five thousand? Six thousand? How many people are there in the entire Naibuba? 80 Thousands. Even if each of these 6000 people saves a whole piece of barley cake for each meal, and 80 pieces of barley cake are distributed to [-] people, can each person get a bite? If it is not distributed equally, then who can get it and who can't. Come on, who will decide? Will those who don’t get a share be even more angry? Son of God, I understand your good intentions, but worrying about whether the palace guards can eat all the food will not solve the problem."

"Arrest the princes who are hoarding food and ask them to hand over the food. If one of them doesn't pay, one will be chopped down, and if the two don't, two will be chopped off!" It's not that Yang Yan doesn't understand what Gao Leqi said, but he has witnessed the behavior of Batu residents with his own eyes. He couldn't calm down in the tragic situation, "I want to see how hard their heads are!" "We need the support of the princes." Gao Leqi said, "Killing is just a meaningless vent, it will only push them further." To the House of Priests.”

"The residents of Batu are starving!" Yang Yan roared, "They must be stopped!"

Gao Leqi pondered for a while and said: "Son of God, please calm down. Let's wait until we see Prince Hu Gen tomorrow to discuss everything."

Yang Yan left angrily, and even Wang Hong couldn't hold him back.

The next day Gao Leqi invited Prince Hu Gen, and Yang Yan attended the meeting, somewhat hoping to use his identity as the Son of God to force Prince Hu Gen.

The old prince is short and thin, with a short beard on his chin. If it weren't for the rich clothes, he would look like an old man on the roadside.The old prince was received by Tucker himself. Tucker was very polite to him and prepared a collection of wine.

The old prince touched his heart with his left hand to greet the Son of God. Yang Yan nodded and said, "May Father God bless you." Tucker immediately invited him to take a seat.Seeing Tucker pouring wine for him personally, Yang Yan thought to himself, everyone who wants to borrow money is the same, even if you are Arien, you have to grovel.

It started with a few greetings, and the old prince said, "Since you became Arien, our uncle and nephew rarely see each other."

Tucker said: "Uncle Wang's family often held banquets in the past, and my father and I often attended the banquets."

Hu Gen smiled and said: "Yes, Luce likes banquets. Since his death, your father and I have rarely seen each other."

Yang Yan saw Tucker's expression change, and he didn't know about Luskale.It turned out that after Luce's death, Prince Hugen hated the group of rebellious slaves and wanted to kill them all as a sacrifice to his son. However, Wang Hong volunteered to go to the pass to be a flame, and Gulthas ordered Tucker's father to buy the group of slaves on his behalf.Tucker's father did not dare to disobey Gulthas and could only negotiate with Hu Gen. Of course Hu Gen was unwilling. Tucker's father could only force Hu Gen to hand over the slaves. The two sides were in a stalemate, although Hu Gen was forced by Tucker. His father forced him to hand over his slaves, but he never interacted with Arien Palace again.

Tucker sighed: "I often miss cousin Luce too."

Hu Gen said: "Really? As long as you have this heart."

Gao Leqi hurriedly found a topic to talk about. After a few words, he got down to business: "The Prince of Labor is here to ask for your help."

"I think so." Prince Hugen said, "Is it because of the high food prices in Batu?"

"We want to stabilize food prices, but the state coffers are not full."

Prince Hu Gen sneered: "It turned out that I wanted to borrow money."

Gao Leqi explained: "It's not just about borrowing money. We suspect that nobles are taking the lead in raising food prices. Have you heard anything, Prince?"

"What do you mean?"

Tucker said: "A prince must have colluded with the Priesthood to deliberately raise food prices and want to cause trouble for Arien Palace! Did Uncle Wang hear the news?"

Prince Hu Gen thought for a while and said, "I haven't been doing anything for a long time. Dai Zhuo and Meng En are taking care of the mutton and grape business."

Yang Yan took a step forward and said: "The prices of mutton and grapes that Prince Dai Zhuo and Prince Meng En are responsible for have also increased. They cannot be unaware of it."

Hu Gen said: "The noble sons of Sa Shen, Dai Zhuo and Meng En are two stupid children who only follow blindly. If someone is really manipulating the price of food, they will just follow other princes."

"Those are all the people of Batu, and they are also your people, the prince!" Yang Yan suppressed his anger and asked, "Are you going to let the people of Batu starve for that little money?"

"Small money?" Prince Hu Gen said, "The Son of God may be aloof and doesn't know how big these transactions are, big enough for Arien Palace to borrow money from me."

Gao Leqi knew that he was pretending to be stupid, and each of these damn descendants of traitors could not wait to sink their brothers to the bottom of the river, but he did not want to make the situation too tense, so he said: "The prince and Arien are brothers and sisters. All forces in Arien should unite to fight against the House of Priests."

"I think Dai Zhuo will know who is behind this price increase." Tucker said, "We don't want to pursue other people's actions. As long as we catch the mastermind, I will give the whistleblower a generous reward."

Prince Hu Gen raised his eyebrows: "What are the benefits?"

Gao Leqi said: "Your two sons can take over all the business of the chief criminal." This is a very good price, and it will definitely make his two sons richer.

Tucker said: "Uncle Wang, if you ask your two cousins ​​to come forward to testify about who manipulated the price increase, Arien Palace will not treat your children badly."

"I heard that Nadia lives in Arien Palace?" Prince Hugen suddenly said something irrelevant, "Can I meet her?"

Tucker and Gao Leqi looked at each other. Yang Yan noticed something was wrong and asked, "Nadia is just a commoner. What does Prince Hu Gen want from her?"

"She used to be my slave. I miss her a little." Hu Gen said. "I also want to see her parents and brothers. Please call them together."

Gao Leqi couldn't figure out what Prince Hu Gen was up to, so he had to call Wang Hong.After a while, Wang Hong arrived, and Gao Leqi said: "Nadia, Prince Hu Gen wants to reminisce with you."

Wang Hong raised her eyebrows in disdain when she saw Prince Hu Gen. She still stepped forward and bowed: "Nadia, see the prince."

Prince Hu Gen asked: "Why are you the only one here?"

Gao Leqi explained: "Munduke is injured, Mira has to take care of him, and their son is not here, so I asked Miss Nadia to come and reminisce with the prince."

"Miss?" Prince Hu Gen snorted coldly and looked at Wang Hong, "Long time no see. She is quite beautiful. Has my son ever slept with your mother?"

These words were extremely offensive, and Yang Yan's expression immediately changed.Wang Hong was about to reply when she saw Gao Leqi standing behind Hu Gen and telling her to be silent, so she had no choice but to swallow her anger and say nothing.

Prince Hugen turned to look at Tucker: "Your father Lot turned against me because of her. He never dared to disobey Gulthas in his life, and he didn't even avenge his own nephew. How dare you go against the Priesthood? ?”

Tucker said: "Just because my father has been suppressed by the Priesthood, my uncle and my father are at odds. My uncle should help me fight against the Priesthood."

Hu Gen said: "If you want to borrow money from me and ask Dai Zhuo for help, you must first return this family of slaves to me."

Yang Yan was taken aback and asked in a deep voice, "What do you mean?"

Hu Gen said: "The Son of God doesn't know that this is the enemy who killed my son Luce. I want their family to be buried with Luce."

Tucker and Gao Leqi's expressions changed, and Yang Yan said in a deep voice: "The prince may not know that she is an important staff member of mine."

"The Son of God should have better staff." Prince Hu Gen said, "Her most suitable job is that of a prostitute and a slave, not a think tank."

"What did you say!" Yang Yan ignored Gao Leqi, who was standing behind Prince Hu Gen and waving and winking, and said loudly, "Insulting her is insulting me!" As he said this, he strode forward. If Tucker hadn't stopped him, he would have been there. He punched Prince Hugen in the face.

No, it's not possible. He was already ready to punch, but Tucker pulled him away. Tucker whispered: "You are the Son of God, pay attention to your identity."

Yang Yan said loudly: "In the name of the Son of God, I will send your son's soul into the ice prison until you apologize to this girl!"

Cursing others into the Ice Prison is the most vicious curse in the Sacred Cult, not to mention that these words come from the mouth of the Son of God?Prince Hugen was so angry that his whole body was trembling, and he shouted loudly: "Tak Yarian, I hope you can make a wise decision and hand over their family to me in exchange for my support!"

Gao Leqi said: "They are already free people, not slaves. I have no right to hand them over to anyone."

"Farewell!" Hu Gen said angrily, "I hope you can think of other ways!"

Hu Gen was determined to leave, but Tucker couldn't hold him back, so he had to see the guest off. When he came back, he couldn't help complaining to Yang Yan: "Why can't you bear it?"

Yang Yan said angrily: "If I hadn't endured it, I would have beaten them long ago!"

Tucker said: "If I hadn't stopped you, you would have hit someone!"

Yang Yan said angrily: "If I hadn't endured it, could you have stopped me?"

Gao Leqi only felt a headache: "Without the support of Prince Hu Gen, we will not be able to survive."

"They are driving up food prices, why should we give them money? We should force them to cough up the money!" Yang Yan said angrily, "Find the leader, ransack his house, and use his property to subsidize the people of Batu. !”

Gao Leqi knew that Yang Yan was right, but the right thing was often difficult to do, and sometimes, the right thing itself was wrong.

"I don't care what you think!" Yang Yan said, "We can't do nothing. People outside are still hungry! We are under control everywhere. What's the use of the prince's support at this time? Without the support of the people, the priesthood can always Attack in!"

"Catch a few princes, who cares?" Yang Yan said angrily, "Behead, behead his mother!"

Gao Leqi pondered for a long time. Although Yang Yan's method was rough, it was not completely useless. It was not necessary to behead, but it was still possible to capture a few princes.He said: "It's not impossible. Let's start with the three princes Mejia, Luo Xu and Zhan En."

"Why the three of them?" Tucker wondered.

"Betraitors have a bad habit, that is, they are used to betrayal." Gao Leqi said, "Mega is cowardly, Luo Xu is poor, and Zhan is greedy. They are the gaps in the armor. I want to pry them open from here."

Everyone dispersed, and Yang Yan walked with Wang Hong. Yang Yan was still angry and couldn't stop cursing, and suddenly noticed that Wang Hong had a different look on his face.When Wang Hong looked at him, her eyes evaded and her face turned pale. Yang Yan asked, "What's wrong with you?"

Wang Hong said: "Do you think Tucker and Gao Leqi will betray us?"

Yang Yan was suddenly shocked. He had never believed in powerful people. Although Tucker seemed honest and harmless, if he really threatened the Arien Palace, he felt that Tucker would betray Wang Hong in order to obtain the help of Prince Hu Gen.The rich and powerful all think the same way. They only have eyes for themselves and no true feelings.

"If Tucker betrays you, I will definitely help you." Yang Yan said, "I'm not like you, I plan everything."

"If...save my parents and younger brother." Wang Hong grabbed Yang Yan's hand and begged, "Protect them."

Yang Yan said solemnly: "I will not abandon anyone." He said resolutely, "You are all my friends, and I will not abandon my friends."

■

"As a last resort, we must hand over Nadia's family to Prince Hugen." Gollach said.

Tucker was surprised: "But they are free people!"

"We will hand them over to Prince Hugan privately, and Prince Hugan will not say anything. He will take revenge on them, be kind, and I will suggest that they be killed and handed over to Prince Hugan."

"Yang Yanha Jin will definitely not agree." Tucker said, "He will fall out with us!"

"That's no longer cooperation. We have to put the Son of God under house arrest." Gao Leqi walked to the door and once again confirmed that there was no one around.

Tucker jumped up: "What did you say?"

Gao Leqi said: "If we let the price of food continue to soar, we will be in trouble soon, and Arien Palace will not be able to save it. I sincerely hope that we will not reach that point."

(End of this chapter)