Lao Zhu nodded and waved to Zhu Biao to explain to Han Du in detail.
"Han Du, it's like this..."
After Zhu Biao finished speaking, Lao Zhu asked calmly: "What do you think about this matter?"
When Han Du heard Lao Zhu's question, he couldn't help but raise his head and glance at Lao Zhu. Then he lowered his head and thought deeply. After a while, Han Du asked: "What does the emperor mean?"
Lao Zhu waved his hand to interrupt Han Du and said, "You don't have to worry about what I mean. I just want to hear your opinion now."
Han Du thought for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said: "Your Majesty, this fire... no matter how I look at it, it doesn't seem to happen naturally, but rather it seems to be man-made."
"What should I say?" Lao Zhu didn't show any joy or disappointment, but looked calm.
"Your Majesty," Han Du said thoughtfully, "a place that can store millions of tons of grain must be very large and cannot be smaller. Such a grain-rich land is already heavily guarded. Even if a fire breaks out accidentally, It will be discovered in a very short period of time, and the possibility of a full-scale fire is very small.”
In a pitch-dark night, in an important place like a grain depot, as long as there is a trace of fire, it can shine far away and be easily discovered. How could a fire be formed under such circumstances? It had been nipped in the bud a long time ago.
Lao Zhu also felt that this matter was strange, so he hurriedly called Han Du back. Now after listening to Han Du's words, he couldn't help but nod his head, and suddenly asked: "Then you mean, this fire was man-made?"
"Nine times out of ten." Han Du nodded, this was his idea.
Lao Zhu was silent for a moment and continued to explain to Han Du: "These grains were purchased by three commercial banks."
Seeing that Han Du was listening attentively, Lao Zhu continued: "At first, the Qintian Supervisor came to report that there would be a drought this year. So I asked the Ming Dynasty Royal Grain Industry to start harvesting grain. It went smoothly at first, but then suddenly Three commercial banks came out to buy grain from the Ming Dynasty Royal Grain Industry, causing grain prices to rise rapidly and making it increasingly difficult to collect grain."
After a pause, Lao Zhu continued: "Out of various considerations, I asked the Ming Dynasty Royal Grain Industry to stop purchasing grain and let the three commercial banks do it. I thought that as long as the grain is still in the Ming Dynasty, I will spend more money. It’s just money. I didn’t expect that something like this would happen.”
Spend money?
Han Du gave Lao Zhu a strange look. If Lao Zhu was a man willing to spend money, he would not pay such a small salary to all officials.
How stingy is Lao Zhu? Let's put it this way, regardless of Han Du being a Beijing official, if he only relied on the salary from the court, Han Du could only support his family. There was still only one Uncle Mu, and if he had three wives and four concubines and children and grandchildren, it would be really difficult to even support the family.
Based on Han Du's understanding of Lao Zhu, I'm afraid Lao Zhu has never thought about using money to buy back the grain, right? If the court is really short of food then, wouldn't it be better to just send troops to surround the grain depot? What would it cost? In Lao Zhu's eyes, these merchants all raised pigs at home. If they don't slaughter them for meat when they are fat, do they still keep them for the New Year?
What Lao Zhu thought was so beautiful was that he could get millions of tons of grain without spending a penny. Maybe he felt happy when he saw the three trading companies continuing to collect grain. But man's calculation is not as good as God's calculation, and reality gave him a slap in the face.
"I won't hide it from you," Lao Zhu glanced at Han Du, "I did send people to secretly keep an eye on the grain depot from beginning to end, but it was only to see if any grain was quietly transported away. I didn't expect that, A fire like this can happen suddenly.”
"What about the owners of these three trading houses?" Han Du asked.
After hearing this, Lao Zhu sighed, "They are all dead. They all committed suicide by taking poison."
Han Du was stunned for a moment and suddenly asked: "Why?"
"I said my property was ruined and I couldn't live anymore." Lao Zhu glared at Han Du. "I arrested the others and put them in prison, including the family members of these three people and the shopkeepers of the three firms. They were interrogated. After some research, there was nothing useful at all. These people seemed to really not know what was going on. Originally, I thought that the fire was man-made, but after interrogation, it didn’t seem like it. If it was man-made, it couldn’t be If these three bosses can do it themselves, the people below will not know the situation at all, right?"
Even if the three of them did it themselves, it would be impossible for the three of them to ignite such a huge fire in such a large grain depot.
After Lao Zhu finished speaking, he looked at Han Du doubtfully.
Han Du thought for a while and suddenly said: "Have you ever thought about it, Your Majesty? With so much food, it is worth more than two million yuan. Who would be willing to burn it on fire? Even the lives of the three bosses are at stake. Pay it in?"
"So, you also think this is not man-made, but a coincidence?" Lao Zhu sighed helplessly.
"No!" Han Du shook his head.
Under Lao Zhu's puzzled gaze, Han Du explained: "Weichen feels that this is man-made."
Seeing the searching look in Lao Zhu's eyes, Han Du said: "This is a million tons of grain. Even if it is purchased by these three companies, it will be enough to consume all their family wealth. No one would be willing to part with such a large property. However, What if they have no choice but to do it?"
Ordinary people might think that with these three people’s huge net worth, who could force them? But two words suddenly popped up in Lao Zhu's mind, "Dead warrior!"
Only a downright dead man can abandon his family and career, and even his life.
Lao Zhu's expression suddenly became solemn, his eyes flashed with a faint light, and he asked Han Du in a deep voice: "So, who do you think can send such a person?"
"Your Majesty, giving up millions of tons of grain is not something ordinary people can do." Han Du's face gradually became serious, "If such a large amount of grain can be sold in the future, it will cost at least four to five hundred dollars." Wan Guan's income. Being able to give up such a huge amount of wealth naturally has a bigger plan."
"Go on, what's the plan?" Lao Zhu said in a deep voice.
Han Du took a deep breath and said: "Your Majesty, the news of this year's severe drought has spread to all parties. Everyone knows that this year's food harvest will definitely be poor. At this juncture, millions of tons of food have been burned. If this When the news spread, what did the emperor think the world would look like?"
"Drought and food shortages are associated with famines. Food prices are soaring and people are panicked!"
In just two sentences, Han Du described to Lao Zhu a scene at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, bringing his thoughts back to his experiences as a boy.
"Shut up!" Lao Zhu suddenly roared.
Han Du immediately closed his mouth tightly and looked at Lao Zhu in fear.
