At the gate of the government office, the guards responsible for guarding Cao Shun and his safety couldn't bear it any longer, so they all comforted him.
"Sir, you'd better go in and rest for a while!"
Unexpectedly, Cao Shunhe didn't appreciate it. He just shook his sleeves, turned his eyes to the visitor, and then asked.
"The people are still waiting at the door. As their parent officer, how can I go in and rest alone?"
"What is your intention to deliberately sow discord between me and the people?"
Facing Cao Shunhe's questioning, the guard suddenly knelt down on the ground and said with a trembling voice.
"Sir Governor, I am wronged! I was thinking about your health, and just now..."
"Okay, you don't have to say anything anymore. If you want to go back to the government office, just go back!"
"I want to stay with the people in the city."
Cao Shunhe interrupted the guard impatiently and spoke.
"Yes, Lord Governor!"
Seeing that Cao Shunhe had made up his mind, the guard did not dare to say any more words for fear of irritating him and causing unreasonable disaster.
"Okay, Lord Governor, you are really a good official who makes decisions for the people!"
"My lord governor, please pay me your respects!"
Cao Shunhe's actions also successfully attracted the support of all the people present.
"Look, there's a carriage coming over there!"
"There are many guards around!"
"That seems to be the carriages of the big salt merchants in the city!"
Among the many people present, there were still some well-informed people, and they immediately recognized the carriages belonging to the big salt merchants in the city.
Soon, three luxuriously decorated carriages stopped at the entrance of the government office. Liang Hong, Li Yide, and He Jin got off the carriage with the help of their servants.
"Bah, profiteer!"
"My Lord Governor, please don't let them go and put them in jail!"
"Yes, Lord Governor, vent your anger for us!"
As soon as these three people got off the carriage, they were verbally criticized by many people at the scene.
After being suddenly insulted like this, the expressions on the faces of the three of them were not very good-looking, and Li Yide looked even more gloomy, secretly clenching his fists.
"You guys are here?"
At this moment, Cao Shunhe saw several people coming and asked with a smile on his face.
"I've met the governor!"
After the three of them looked at each other, they saluted respectfully towards Cao Shunhe.
"It's okay, everyone, get up! Do you know why I came to you this time?"
Cao Shunhe looked away from these people, raised his eyebrows, and asked.
"Reporting to the governor, since we received your news, we have been rushing to the government office non-stop."
"We already had a general understanding of what you told us on the way here."
"We don't know about the increase in salt prices in the city!"
Liang Hong stood up and explained to Cao Shunhe.
"Oh, so I have wronged you, right?"
When Cao Shunhe saw this, he couldn't help but feel a little funny in his heart, but his expression remained normal as he asked.
"Don't you dare, Lord Governor, I've been wronged!"
"When I learned the news from the subordinates you dispatched, I was extremely surprised and quickly sent people to investigate."
Li Yide on the side gritted his teeth and continued.
"Oh, what are the results of your investigation?"
Cao Shunhe raised his eyebrows and continued to ask.
"Report to the Governor, we have investigated clearly what happened!"
"It turns out that some of the shopkeepers under me were greedy for profit and secretly raised prices without telling us."
"Right now, these shopkeepers have been controlled by us and handed over to the government."
Liang Hong didn't dare to look directly into Cao Shunhe's eyes, and stared at the ground as he explained.
"Well, that's good. Since you can explain the matter clearly, I will feel relieved!"
"Let the shopkeepers who raise prices without authorization be handed over to the government as soon as possible."
Cao Shunhe took in the expressions on several people's faces and then added another sentence.
"Yes, Lord Governor!"
After listening to Cao Shunhe's instructions, several people responded with respectful expressions on their faces.
"Sir Governor, now that the matter has been explained clearly, can we go back?"
He Jin on the side, after noticing the angry eyes of the people behind him, his whole body was like a light on his back, and he immediately asked Cao Shunhe.
Unexpectedly, Cao Shunhe seemed to have not heard He Jin's appeal, pointed at the countless people gathered outside, and said loudly.
"This matter is beyond my control. You might as well ask them if they are willing to let you leave like this?"
As soon as Cao Shunhe finished speaking, countless people gathered around him, as if in response to his words, looked at the culprits who caused the high price of salt in the city with extremely angry eyes, and waved their arms vigorously and shouted loudly road.
"I don't want to! I don't want to!"
The angry shouts of the people around them made the guards responsible for protecting the safety of these salt merchants feel quite nervous and could not help but tighten their weapons.
If the people lose control and take action directly, then the guards on the scene alone will be far from being able to protect the safety of a few people.
"Lord Governor, what do you mean?"
Seeing that the situation was becoming increasingly serious, Liang Hong, who had always remained calm, could not help but feel a little panicked in his words at this moment.
"My officer's meaning is already obvious. You might as well ask these people, what do they want most right now?"
"Perhaps, after you meet their requirements, you can leave directly."
Cao Shunhe walked up to the three of them with a smile on his face and spoke condescendingly.
"you!"
Li Yide couldn't help but glared angrily when he saw Cao Shunhe's behavior.
"What, you want to take action against me?"
A mocking smile appeared on Cao Shunhe's face, and he asked immediately.
"Where is it, Lord Governor, please calm down!"
Liang Hong on the side saw this and quickly stepped forward to smooth things over.
"Since you don't dare to take action, then don't embarrass yourself in front of me, do you understand?"
Cao Shunhe saw the expression on Li Yide's face and said coldly.
"Thank you very much, Lord Governor, for your teaching!"
Li Yide suppressed the anger in his heart, gritted his teeth, and replied.
"Looking at your good attitude in admitting your mistake, I will spare you this time."
After Cao Shunhe glanced at Li Yide, he immediately walked in front of the people, turned his eyes to the three people, and said loudly.
"Now, it's time for you to make a decision!"
Facing Cao Shunhe's naked threat, the three people's faces were full of bitterness, and they secretly said in their hearts: "If I had known this, I wouldn't have come here."
If they could not meet the demands of the people at the scene, I am afraid that the three of them would not be able to walk out of the government office alive today.
For a long time, the three of them looked at each other, and finally Liang Hong stood up and said loudly.
"Everyone listen to me, I understand everyone's difficulties!"
"I, Liang Hong, am not the kind of profiteer who only knows how to hoard and make huge profits! The price of salt in the city remains high now, and the burden on the people is very heavy."
"Now, I have decided to release all the salt in stock so that the price of salt in the city can return to the previous level as soon as possible."
After Liang Hong paused for a moment, he then turned his gaze to the many people present and said loudly.
"That is to say, you only need seven cents to buy a pound of salt!"
"What?"
Everyone present was shocked by the news and could not say a word for a long time.
"Are you crazy?"
Li Yide looked at Liang Hong's back and could no longer suppress his anger. He then stepped forward and asked.
"I'm not crazy, it's just that the people in the city are really having a hard time."
Facing Li Yide's question, Liang Hong looked calm and responded immediately.
At this moment, countless people gathered outside the government office couldn't help but cheered after hearing the news from Liang Hong!
Cao Shunhe on the side frowned. He had already seen the tricks that several people wanted to play.
"Since the price of salt is seven cents per pound, we will simply close all the shops in the city and stop selling salt for the time being."
"As time goes by, people will have no salt to eat and will have to buy high-priced salt again!"
In this way, he can get out of here without breaking his promise.
(End of chapter)
