Lady Wan Guan

Jiang Wanning said goodbye to Gu Zhouting, because Yang Xu brought people here, and she was going to where Yang Xu stayed.

Gu Zhou stopped and asked Yang Xu where he was staying, and then whispered: "Pay attention to safety. If you have anything to do, come to me at the government office. I will come over to you after I have dealt with it."

Jiang Wan Ning nodded: "Okay!"

The place where Yang Xu settled was a bodyguard agency. The Zhenyuan Bodyguard Agency was opened by a friend he made when he was traveling in the world. There were branches all over Daqi.

Mr. Wen was also there, everyone gathered in the meeting hall, and Yang Xu talked about what happened after arriving here.

"I shipped the first batch of grain to Yunzhou for sale, and it was all sold quickly. The second batch and subsequent grains were all in Dengzhou, and only [-]% of the grain was sold, and the rest was confiscated by the government. "

Jiang Wanning was stunned: "Why did the government confiscate our food?"

Mr. Wen's smile was helpless and sarcastic: "We are said to disrupt the market. The price of food in Dengzhou has risen from one to eight taels per stone to today's 17 taels and one stone. We sell it at three to five taels per stone, which is disrupting the market."

Jiang Wanning was speechless. The officials in Dengzhou Prefecture were more stupid and bastards than she imagined.

"Our food is still with the government?"

"Yes, Brother Luo's people have been keeping an eye on it for me. The food is piled in the government office." Yang Xudao.

Brother Luo, Luo Zhiyong, is the talker of the Dengzhou Zhenyuan Escort Bureau.

"As long as the grain is still in the government office, we can get it back." Jiang Wanning is not worried about this. This batch of grain also includes Gu Zhouting and Ji Yunchen's share.

“Is Dengzhou really so short of food?”

Mr. Wen said: "I have understood that there is actually no shortage. The grain in the Pingyi warehouse has not been used yet. There are also many grain stores in the hands of large households in Dengzhou City, and many grain merchants have recently shipped grain. It's just that they sell it." The price is too high and ordinary people cannot afford it.”

Just as he was talking, Xiao Pan brought someone back.

It was the person Jiang Wanning asked Xiao Pan to keep an eye on.

"Ms. Jiang, this brother's surname is Chen, Chen Song, from nearby Chenjiatun." Xiao Pan introduced.

Chen Song looked at the people in this room warily, and finally his eyes fell on Jiang Wanning: "What do you want from me?"

Jiang Wanning smiled warmly: "I am a doctor and have some spare money at home. I know there is a food shortage here, so I shipped some food here. This is shopkeeper Yang, Mr. Wen, the accountant."

Jiang Wanning introduced them one by one.

But Chen Song's attitude became more and more indifferent. In his opinion, the profiteers who shipped grain were no different from local corrupt officials and big businessmen. They didn't care about their life and death at all and only wanted to make unconscionable money.

After hearing what she said before, she always thought about the people, and he thought she was a good person, so he agreed to come and meet her.

"I have nothing to say to you." Chen Song turned around and left.

"Brother Chen, wait a moment." Jiang Wanning stopped him: "Listen to what I have to say."

Chen Song paused.

"We transported grain here to help the people on the border, not to make money. Just because we sold grain at a fair price, all our grain was confiscated by the government, which amounted to 26 tons."

Chen Songmeng turned around and said in surprise: "So you are the merchant who was banned by the government for selling cheap grain?"

Jiang Wan Ning nodded.

Chen Song bowed his hands and saluted: "My wife is of high righteousness." Many people in Dengzhou knew about this matter. Because they knew it, they became even more desperate and understood that the government did not want to care about the lives of the people at all.

"Now that Mr. Gu and the Prince are here, I will definitely get my food back. Together with the disaster relief food from the court, the food shortage in Dengzhou will definitely be solved."

Chen Song looked excited. If what this lady said was true, then the people of Dengzhou would be saved.

Jiang Wanning changed the topic: "But as you saw today, some people don't want the court to interfere in Dengzhou's affairs. Therefore, if we want to truly solve Dengzhou's problems, I'm afraid it will take a lot of trouble. The key is, We came from afar and don’t know much about the situation in Dengzhou.”

Chen Song understood: "What does Madam need from Chen? As long as it is for the people of Dengzhou, Chen and Chen's group of brothers are willing to help Madam."

Jiang Wan Ning's expression became serious: "I do need your help with something here."

At the Dengzhou government office, Lord Qiu, the prefect, waited in the hall seemingly respectfully, facing the cold-faced imperial envoy's questioning.

“Why doesn’t the government open warehouses to release grain?”

"Your Excellency, you don't know. The land in this border area is barren. It originally produces little food. It is really overwhelming to have to bear most of the military rations for the Zhenbei Army. I dare not open a warehouse to release food easily. If it is the court's disaster relief food, If the allocation is delayed, Dengzhou will fall into a real food shortage."

Just two words, crying poor.

Gu Zhouting snorted: "As far as I know, Dengzhou is the granary of the northern border, and the land is not considered barren. Before the thirteen northern states were ceded, Dengzhou's grain production was the highest among all the 22 northern states. , accounting for almost [-]%.”

"Master Qiu took up the post of governor of Dengzhou after the thirteen northern states were ceded, right? Why did Dengzhou's food production decrease so much after it was in your hands, and its fertile soil turned into a barren land?"

Gu Zhouzhi had done enough homework. Before setting off, he had found out the details of all the officials in the nine states in the north, as well as the grain output reported over the years.

Mr. Qiu was trembling: "It's the official's choice of words. It cannot be said that the land is barren. In fact, after this place became a border pass, it was in turmoil. Although you, Dayuan, signed a treaty with Daqi to solidify the north, they still often came to harass you, so the population decreased." The situation is so severe that even if there is land, no one is cultivating it, and grain production has dropped sharply.”

"What is the population of Dengzhou now?"

Mr. Qiu said without hesitation: "The current registered population in the city and ten villages outside the city is 16 in Badun, which is far from the 7000 population in its heyday."

The population dropped by nearly half, which made Gu Zhouting take a breath: "Have these reduced people left or died and closed their accounts?"

The household registration system in Daqi is not irregular. Even if the refugees move to live elsewhere and re-register their household registration, they must indicate their source.If there is really an exodus, it can be found out with some effort and time.

Mr. Qiu said: "They are all there. This official has not been counted yet. It is really because the government office is short of manpower."

"What about...the big households in the city? There is always food in the hands of the big households, right?"

"Yes, but those big households have some backgrounds. Even though the lower official is a provincial official, he can't order them to release grain, can he?"

"What's the price of food in the city now?"

Lord Qiu hesitated and his voice weakened: "17 Liang."

Gu Zhouting looked at him coldly, anger burning in his chest, and he wished he could kill this guy on the spot.

But we can't cut it now. There are still many places that need the cooperation of this bastard prefect. Let's wait until the matter here is resolved and then settle the score with him!

Just as he was talking, someone came from outside to report: "General Lu is here."

Gu Zhouzhang gave a faint sneer. Lu Yiming arrived very promptly to suppress the mob. Now he has been sitting in the government office for more than half an hour. He sent someone to invite him, but he came late.