Lin Gao Qiming

Chapter 1381 Min's Rice Official's Rice
Shopkeeper Liu saw something bad, and shouted: "Brothers copy the guys, knock on the door!" He had already grabbed a whistle stick.

The guys picked up sticks together and fought desperately—they were both guys and thugs, and they had a wealth of fighting experience. Everyone knew that they had encountered a great crisis, and they all cheered up. Fighting outside, driving the crowd away.

The people became even more furious. They seemed to have forgotten why they came here, and the anger and sorrow they had been feeling for many days erupted like a torrent.The person who was knocked down got up, and regardless of being beaten to the head with blood, he rushed forward desperately, holding the stick with his hand and fighting with the guys.Already starved to the point of sallow and emaciated, he was dying, and he didn't know where he got so much strength, he knocked down several guys in a row.

As soon as the guys fell down, they were immediately submerged in the crowd, kicked and punched, and their screams were quickly drowned out by the roar of the crowd.

Shopkeeper Liu saw his fellows being knocked down one by one, his subordinates retreated step by step, and more and more people gathered outside, he panicked in his heart, knowing that he had provoked public anger today.

In the past, he would have given up on the loss in front of him and run away, but here is a family business he managed to secure.In the Mikuli behind alone, there are seven or eight hundred shi rice, and there are more than 1000 taels of silver and a lot of soft goods.As soon as I run, I have nothing!
He gritted his teeth, pulled out a Burmese knife from the hidden compartment under the counter, and shouted loudly: "Brothers, Liang Qingzi! Shoulder together—"

Before the words were finished, a few bags of lime were suddenly thrown from the crowd, shopkeeper Liu was hit hard on the face, and the shop was immediately filled with white ashes, and the guys who were hit by the lime didn't care about any "real guys" anymore , covering his face and howling, stumbled and ran back.

The commotion of the people flowed through the gate of the rice store in an instant like water breaking through the embankment, and the crowd poured in like mercury pouring down the ground.Someone chased and beat the fleeing man with a stick, someone pushed down the rice hoard and filled the bag with rice, and the white rice was pushed to the ground one by one, and the white rice flowed like water, and people rushed into it. In the white "rice river", fish to your heart's content.Some people carried cloth bags, and some took off their clothes to pack them. The people in the inner circle were grabbing rice, and the people outside were desperately trying to get inside.A strong young man just picked up a straw bag worth a stone of rice and ran out.

Some of them didn't grab the rice, and led people directly to the backyard to intercept shopkeeper Liu, while others smashed open the cash box, and quickly poured the silver and copper coins in the cash box into the prepared sacks.Those who approached and wanted to take advantage of the chaos were immediately kicked out.

Hao Yuan ignored the cash drawer and didn't want rice. He jumped onto the counter in three steps at a time, and shouted loudly: "Folks, please don't make a mess, take them one by one, don't waste them in vain! The rice here It belongs to our common people!"

His voice was loud, very sonorous.Even in this chaotic environment, it instantly overwhelmed the noise in the store.The common people inside and outside the store stopped commotion for a while, and turned their attention to this person.

"There is a lot of rice here, and there are more rice in the back! Don't waste all the rice! There are still many poor people who have no food outside. After you take the rice, go out and tell the people nearby to come and get it! This It's all the blood and sweat of our people!"

There was a burst of applause from below.Hao Yuan jumped off the counter and hurried to the back.There were seven or eight rice shop guys lying here and there in the yard, some of them were still humming, and some of them had stood up straight.

Shopkeeper Liu's face was covered with ashes, and he was pushed down under the eaves of the corridor, screaming unwillingly, his face was already bloody.Bloody hands and body.

"Did you tell me?"

"Recruited." One of the young men smiled contemptuously, "The shopkeeper Liu also claimed to be a hob meat that is not afraid of killing, and said everything before cutting off five fingers."

Speaking of which, a few people have already moved out a few small boxes from the back room, and the heavy ones are obviously money.

"Send Shopkeeper Liu on the road." Hao Yuan ordered, "Don't see blood!"

As soon as the words were finished, a strong man standing behind shopkeeper Liu swung a stick and hit him hard on the back of the head. Shopkeeper Liu didn't even cry out, and his mouth and nose were bleeding.

"I don't care about the rice in the shop. Now everyone is occupying the entrance of Miku, no one is allowed to take rice casually, and line up to pay the rice per head! No matter adults or children, everyone will give a bucket!" Hao Yuan ordered.

Outside, the people who got the news flocked. Although there are seven or eight "cops" who "help" in the yamen in the town, they are good at bullying the people on weekdays. It is impossible to go out and face the mob. There was a "civil upheaval", let alone maintaining order, and they didn't even dare to show their faces. Only a few people rushed all the way to Lin'an County to report to the officials.

When people in the town and neighboring villages heard the news, they all came with baskets of rice bags. Hao Yuan led his men to press the rice in front of the rice bank. In less than half a day, all the rice in the rice shop was distributed.

Lin'an County received the news, and the county magistrate quickly sent Dian Shi to take Ma Bukuai to suppress it. Unexpectedly, they found that the bridge was burned on the way.Had to take a detour.When they arrived, the entire rice store had been smashed to pieces, except for a few unlucky people who were wandering in the empty store, hoping to find something, there was nothing left - even the dustpan, There were no baskets, reed mats, or even door panels left, all of which were looted.

Grabbing rice is like eating rich households. It is not uncommon in years of frequent famines, but this time several people died. Lin'an County did not dare to neglect and reported the situation quickly.

However, the Rice Disturbance spread like a plague throughout northern Zhejiang.

At this time, in several prefectures in northern Zhejiang, the dissatisfaction of the people has long been like dry wood poured with oil.The rice grabbing operation in Dongguan Town is undoubtedly tantamount to setting fire to it.Over the next ten days or so, people rioted successively in the counties of Hangzhou, Huzhou, and Jiaxing in northern Zhejiang, and Wujiang in Suzhou in southern Zhili, destroying or looting more than 200 rice shops.The entire Jiangnan area was shaken.

China Merchants' ship to Liaodong had set sail as early as the end of July: Wu Zhixiang shipped [-] shi of rice as promised.It made Zhao Yingong look at him with admiration.On this day, he specially invited him to a banquet in the Shanghai headquarters, nominally to settle accounts with him, but in fact he intended to further test his cooperation.

Food and wine are naturally all Wu Zhixiang's favorite "Australian flavor" and Cantonese taste, and Wuzhou's famous dish "paper-wrapped chicken" is also indispensable-of course, this kind of paper-wrapped chicken does not exist in Wuzhou.It whetted the appetite of this young master Wu, who had been wandering in the south of the Yangtze River for more than half a year.

When the wine was half drunk, Zhao Yingong asked him how to settle the payment.Should we give him one ticket together, or divide the ticket into several tickets.

"I have a list here," Wu Zhixiang took out a piece of paper from his arms, on which were written the "Temple Numbers" of a certain church, and under each "Temple Number" were different numbers written in Suzhou codes.There are as few as three hundred and ten thousand.

Zhao Yingong knew that this must be the list of household officials who participated in the reselling of grain.After a rough look, there were about twenty people.If you have a lot of money, you are probably an official in the household department, and if you have a little money, you are at least an official like a warehouse ambassador in Qingjiangpu.

"Okay, is it Deron's ticket or..."

"All of them were typed into Delong's notes. Delong's notes are exquisite and beautiful-much better than the rotten paper in the Shanxi house." Wu Zhixiang was very happy after completing the "big event", "another 1000 taels of cash."

"Okay." Zhao Yingong immediately called a master who specialized in money and finance, and billed one by one according to the list.Then he ordered someone to pick up 1000 taels of silver and put them in a box to bring them together.

All the bills were issued, and the cash was only 5 taels. Zhao Yingong was a little puzzled and asked:
"What about the rest of the money? Am I going to cash it or..."

"The rest of the money is my capital." Wu Zhixiang said with a smile, "China Merchants will count me as a share."

Zhao Yingong nodded: "It's easy to say! It's just your father's side..."

"It doesn't matter." Wu Zhixiang shook his head and said, "I'm in charge of this matter." He said jokingly: "I can't get into the shares of Zi Zihao now, and China Merchants must let me buy a share. "

Zhao Yingong laughed a few times, but did not answer.Although knowing her identity would not be a secret to someone like Wu Zhixiang who has been dealing with Guangzhou Station for a long time, it would be too rash to say so in person.

However, it is acceptable for the other party to buy shares--now China Merchants is very tight on money, and it is a good thing to pay less than 1 taels.Now expressed willingness to accept shares.

Wu Zhixiang was in a good mood, and he drank a few more glasses, and he couldn't help but become less cautious when speaking.smiled and said:
"Speaking of which, brother Zhao was able to raise so much food this time, thanks to a certain boss."

Zhao Yingong's heart moved, and he knew that this must be because the wine talk probably contained some important information, so he didn't say much, just drank with a smile on his face.

Sure enough, Wu Zhixiang babbled and said many things incoherently. It turned out that the purchase and sale of this batch of grain went so smoothly, not only because of the officials from the Ministry of Households and Water Transport who distributed the fertilizer, but also from the Nanjing Chief Secretary Yamen. ——The matter that China Merchants is trying to get enough rice was specially disclosed to them by the people in the chief secretary's yamen in Nanjing.

"Otherwise, brother, I'm not Zhuge Liang. How could I predict things so well that your brother wants to buy so much rice?"

Zhao Yingong was secretly shocked: This is the rhythm of the plaintiff and the defendant!While holding his neck and refusing to give Mifei a discount, he asked someone to come forward to contact the black market rice sold at high prices... The methods of these gangsters to make money are really ruthless!
Needless to say, most of the rice shipped by Wu Zhixiang probably came from the Nanking treasury—the food and salaries that should have been allocated to Guan Ning.

(End of this chapter)