The first-class concubine of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 147 The Five Families
Zhuge Pi's hesitant expression did not escape Liu Wei's eyes, so at this time, Liu Wei smiled and asked, "Master Zhuge, what do you want to say?"

Zhugepi hesitated for a moment, and finally said: "My lord, the reason why the price of food in Xingwang's mansion has increased so much is not because there is no food in Xingwang's mansion, but because someone deliberately raised the price."

It doesn't take Zhuge Pi to tell Liu Wei that Liu Wei knows this. Although King Xing's Mansion has just finished the battle, as far as Liu Wei knows, after Pan Mei captured the city of King Xing's Mansion, he was ruthless to the people in the city. In the capital city, it is absolutely impossible to store grain without a few years.

But since Zhugepi spoke up, Liu Wei couldn't let him say, since he had decided to use him, he had to make him feel that he was no different from other people, and that's the case for all the generals and everyone else.

"So from Master Zhuge's point of view, who are the people who want to raise the price of grain?"

As soon as Liu Wei asked, Liu Yi who was next to him immediately said, "Who else is there, it must be those grain merchants from other places. On the way we came, we often saw those grain merchants escorting grain."

Liu Yi is now Liu Wei's personal servant for the time being, and he can't get used to Zhuge Pi, an old Southern Han master book being reused by his young master, so he has a lot of criticism.

And right after Liu Yi spoke, Zhuge Pi heard something was wrong from Liu Yi's tone, so he didn't rush to answer, but slightly raised his head to look at Liu Wei, Liu Wei saw him like this, and smiled slightly: " It's okay, just tell me."

Zhuge Pi nodded, and then continued: "Although the ruler of the Southern Han Dynasty is desolate and innocent, but as the capital of the Southern Han Dynasty, the wealth of King Xing's Mansion is absolutely unmatched by other places. The food stored must be a drop in the bucket."

Liu Wei nodded slightly: "I have heard about the richness of the Southern Han Dynasty before I came here. Lord Zhuge, please continue."

"After the fall of the Southern Han Dynasty, there were many more refugees in King Xing's mansion. Seeing this opportunity, many grain merchants raised their prices one after another, and grain merchants from other places also poured in, but even so, it was nothing more than raising the price of grain. It’s only twice the price, and the reason why the price can be four times or even five times the current price is because of the five families of the Xingwang Mansion.”

"The five major families?"

Zhuge Pi nodded: "The five major families of King Xing's Mansion control most of the financial resources of King Xing's Mansion, and their land accounts for half of all the land of King Xing's Mansion. Compared with the food reserves of their five major families, I am afraid it is nothing compared to the big witch."

After hearing this, Liu Wei couldn't help being surprised, he didn't expect that the five big families of King Xing's Mansion were so rich and powerful, controlling most of the financial resources, such people are not easy to offend.

"Since the five major families have food, why don't they sell it?"

Zhuge Pi smiled: "It cannot be sold."

"It can't be sold, why can't it be sold, don't they make money if they have money?" Liu Yi couldn't understand Zhuge Pi's habit of not finishing a sentence.

But Zhugepi didn't care, and said with a smile: "The five major families have sold their grain, which has hit the market, and the price of this grain can't be raised so high. If they don't sell it, there will be less grain on the market. If there are few, the price will be high. Although many poor people cannot afford it, some families can still afford it.”

"But the money didn't come into their hands?" Liu Yi couldn't understand Zhugepi's words more and more, but Liu Wei smiled lightly. He knew very well that since the five major families didn't release food, there must be other ways to get the money.

"No, the money is in their hands in the end. Those who just came to Xingwangfu may not know it, and others may not know it, but before Mr. Liu came here, his subordinates have investigated. For these grain merchants, every time they sell a stone of grain, they have to give [-] Wen to each of the five major families. The price of a stone of grain!"

When Zhugepi said this, Liu Yi immediately understood.

"That is to say, the five major families can get money from the grain merchants in Xingwang's mansion without paying grain?"

"Exactly!"

After Zhugepi finished speaking, everyone was astonished. The five big families could get money without releasing food.
Just when everyone was surprised and angry, Zhugepi continued: "This is only one aspect. In fact, the five major families also secretly support grain merchants. The money they make by raising grain prices is no less than that earned by grain merchants from other places." .”

After Zhugepi finished speaking, he stood aside. Liu Wei glanced at him and showed a slight smile. He felt that he had made the right bet this time. Be cautious, otherwise, how could he have investigated the food problem before they came?

"It's really my honor that Master Zhuge told me this, but I still have some doubts, please ask Master Zhuge to clarify."

"My lord, please speak, as long as the subordinates know, they will know everything."

"The foreign grain merchants need to distribute one hundred coins to the five major families for every sale. Are they forced by the five major families?"

"It's not really persecution, it's just that they colluded with businessmen. If they didn't do this, no one would be able to raise the price of food so high. Now that they are like this, even though they have distributed dividends to the five major families, they are still more expensive than usual. Earned several times more."

Liu Wei nodded slightly, and then asked again: "I don't know if these five big families are all those five big families?"

"The five major families of King Xing's Mansion are the Peng family, the Jiang family, the Qin family, the Wen family, and the Zhuang family. Among the five major families, the two heads of the Peng family, Peng Jiu, and the Jiang family, Jiang Jie, have the best relationship. Wen Lei, the head of the Wen family, It has the best relationship with the owner of the Zhuang family, Zhuang Yan, while the Qin family is in a weak position, and the owner of the family is Qin Jun."

Zhugepi talked about the five big families with countless treasures, and Liu Wei continued to ask after listening, "What is the relationship between the five big families?"

"Peng Jiu, Jiang Jie, Wen Lei, and Zhuang Yan are very hostile. They often fight openly and secretly. Because the Qin family is weak, neither side dares to offend."

Liu Wei nodded: "That's easy, as long as there are conflicts between them, we can find a breakthrough."

Everyone felt at ease when they heard Liu Wei's words, thinking that as long as Liu Wei thinks the matter is easy to handle, it must be resolved, but at this moment, Zhuge Pi shook his head: "Master Liu's words are wrong, the five big Although the family has conflicts with each other, once they encounter foreign enemies, they are unanimous. If the adults want to move them, I am afraid that they will soon become one. When the Southern Han court wanted to tax us more, the five of them would They got screwed together, and for a while, the entire Xingwang Mansion was in chaos because of them, and the court had no choice but to give up."

Hearing what Zhuge Pi said, Liu Wei couldn't help frowning slightly.

"But if they don't move, the common people will have no food to eat, and if there is no food to eat, some people will take risks. In this way, it will be difficult to govern the Xing Wang Mansion."

Zhugepi smiled lightly: "Your Excellency's words are correct, but according to my subordinates, the matter of Xingwang's Mansion is not difficult to solve."

Zhuge Pi spoke very confidently, and Zhan Qing, Liu Yi and the others couldn't help but be astonished. They felt that the matter of Xing Wang's mansion was going to be a big deal, but Zhuge Pi said that it was not difficult to solve. Is he too self-righteous?
Liu Wei was not surprised, but only smiled slightly, and asked: "Oh, then please Master Zhuge to clarify your doubts again."

Seeing that Liu Wei didn't doubt what he said, Zhuge Pi felt even more grateful in his heart, and quickly said, "Thank you for your trust. In fact, in the eyes of my subordinates, the current situation in Xingwang's Mansion can be resolved from serious to serious. The most serious is The common people have no food to eat, the worst is the escape of the Witch Sect to Qiongzhou Island, and the rampage of thieves in the meantime."

Liu Wei nodded, and then signaled Zhuge Pi to continue talking.

"If the people have no food to eat, they will cause trouble and revolt. The people are water, and they can carry or capsize boats. If they lose the hearts of the people, it will be difficult. Therefore, this matter should be the first thing to be solved. The witch sect fled to Qiongzhou Island. If they wait for their power to develop, they will definitely be difficult to deal with, and there will be many obstacles to Sir Xingwang's future governance, but it will take time for them to develop, and even if Sir wants to encircle and suppress them, it will take some time to prepare, so the subordinates I feel that the affairs of the Witch Sect can be solved gradually; as for the bandits, they are in the middle, although they make trouble, but it is not enough to affect the overall situation, as long as the problem of eating for the people of the Xing Palace is solved, Lord Liu can find an opportunity to deal with them."

After Zhuge Pi said these things in this way, everyone felt that the situation in Prince Xing's Mansion became much clearer.

After hearing this, Liu Wei nodded slightly: "Master Zhuge's words are worthy of my office, Mr. Zhuge will not only be the master of the government office, but also the official's think tank. , you can find Mr. Zhuge."

When Liu Wei said this, everyone was shocked again.

Originally, Liu Wei let Zhuge Pi remain as the chief bookkeeper and they already felt that they were very polite to him, but now they let Zhuge Pi's position be higher than their old subordinates, how could they be convinced?
Zhugepi was also surprised, he felt that Liu Wei had treated him favorably by letting him be the director, and now he was called his husband, and asked him to be a think tank, how could he bear it?So after Liu Wei finished speaking, he already knelt down on the ground: "My lord, you must never force me to do so. This subordinate is an old bureaucrat in the Southern Han Dynasty. It is a blessing to have my lord not abandoning me. How can I be so valued by my lord? Besides, The subordinates have only talked a few words in a boastful manner, but they have not yet achieved a single inch of merit, so how can they bear the title of sir?"

After Zhuge Pi finished speaking, Liu Yi hummed softly from the side: "You still have self-knowledge."

But at this time, Liu Wei smiled lightly, and helped Zhuge Pi to stand up: "Mr. Zhuge, don't belittle yourself. From the few words you just said, I have already seen that you are a great talent. If you refuse to accept it, then you have nothing to do." Give all your heart to this official, and refuse to serve this official anymore."

"This……"

Zhugepi was even more excited, at this moment, Liu Wei smiled again.

(End of this chapter)