Shen Ling naturally had reason to be proud.
Because on the first day when food prices rose, he bought 600 kilograms of grain from the grain store and piled it up at home. No matter how much the grain stores outside increased prices, this food would be enough to feed the Shen family for a year and a half. of.
Now, whether it is the rise in food prices or the closure of food stores that do not sell food, it has nothing to do with him.
When Shen Yi heard the news, he was stunned for a moment.
Although he was one of the promoters of this matter, he did not expect that things would develop to this point.
According to his original estimate, once the Jiangdu grain price issue escalates, then the feather-loving magistrate Chen will attack grain merchants for the sake of the reputation of the government and his own reputation, and raid the homes of several grain merchants to serve in the imperial court. majesty.
If Magistrate Chen is unwilling to offend these squires, Master Lu will write a letter to the capital to add fuel to the fire, completely ignite the fire, and force Magistrate Chen to take action against these grain merchants.
In Shen Yi's view, no matter how rich they were, Ma Yuanwai and other grain merchants would only be beaten and had no room to fight back in front of Chen Yu, the prefect of Jiangdu.
What he never expected was that these grain merchants in Jiangdu would be so stubborn. Not only did they close the grain shops and force the government, but now they even went to the capital to sue the prefect Chen!
In fact, if you think about it carefully, this matter is very reasonable.
These grain merchants are not pure businessmen. They also have people in the court and even in the Ministry of Household Affairs. They naturally know how much money the Ministry of Household Affairs has given to buy grain this time.
With the prices from the Household Department and comparing them with the grain prices given by Jiangdu Yamen, we can naturally know that Chen Fuzun took money from them.
Originally, this kind of thing was regarded as an unspoken rule in the officialdom. Since the prefect's yamen had taken over, it was normal to get stuck one by one. But now the prefect Chen, the yamen's prefect, wants both money and reputation. After taking the money, he still wants Let the grain merchants in Jiangdu grit their teeth and suffer this loss. Naturally, these grain merchants in Jiangdu cannot agree.
The reason why they closed the grain store today is because today is the three-day deadline given by Magistrate Feng. According to Magistrate Feng's requirements, the price of rice in the grain store in Jiangdu City today must not exceed four cents or one tael.
This price is still about double the usual rice price, but because rice is brought from other places, this price can no longer satisfy grain merchants like Ma Yuanwai.
These grain merchants gathered together to discuss, and simply closed the grain store this morning. They were also clamoring to go to the capital to file a lawsuit against Magistrate Chen for embezzling public funds from the Ministry of Revenue.
After listening to Shen Ling tell the general story of the matter, Shen Yi lowered his head and thought for a while, then lowered his eyebrows and said: "It seems that these grain merchants in Jiangdu have a lot of power behind them and are not afraid of the local government at all. Now... they are officially The fight begins.”
Now Shen Yi has become a bystander in this fight, but as a bystander, he can accept it no matter what the outcome of the fight between the two sides is.
After all, grain merchants like Ma Yuanwai are not good people, and Jiangdu officials like Chen Yu and Feng Lu are not necessarily good officials. When the two sides fight, if the Jiangdu grain merchants lose, then they will help Shen Yi get revenge. If it is Chen Yu The defeat of the Jiangdu prefect is a big deal...
At worst, Shen Yi will just find another opportunity in the future.
As a person who has traveled through two lives, Shen Yi is still somewhat confident in his heart. He is very confident that even if the court buys food does not happen this time, it can take as short as one or two years and as long as three to five years. With his own strength, he can It can bankrupt the Ma family.
It's just a matter of time.
Thinking of this, Shen Yi stood up and first touched Shen Heng's head to indicate that he should go to school first. After Shen Heng left, Shen Yi looked at Shen Ling again and said with a smile: "Brother, regarding the closure of the grain store, what do you think?" What do you think?"
Mr. Shen curled his lips first, and then said: "Let me tell you, our Jiangdu grain merchants did not make any big mistakes. Didn't they do business honestly before the imperial court bought grain? The imperial court transferred all the grain merchants from Jiangdu to So much grain has been taken away, and the officials are still lining their own pockets. If these grain merchants have any way, they will not be willing to go against the government."
"It's okay now. The grain store is closed, and they have completely broken up with the government."
Shen Ling looked at Shen Yi and said: "Our Jiangdu is so close to the capital. We can go back and forth in a day with a fast horse. The news that all the grain stores in Jiangdu are closed will soon reach the capital. If the imperial court knows about Jiangdu Big chaos, Chen Fuzun’s official hat..."
"I'm afraid I can't keep it!"
"Third brother, it's easy."
Shen Qilang clasped his hands on his front sleeves, looked at Shen Ling, and said with a smile: "This prince of our Jiangdu may not be a fuel-efficient lamp. He must also have connections in the court. Maybe in a few days, these Jiangdu Grain merchants are about to start having trouble.”
Shen Yi inquired about the information about Chen Yu, the prefect of Jiangdu. This master was a Jinshi in the eleventh year of Yuanping. He was only twenty-five years old when he was awarded the Jinshi. By this year, in the fifth year of Hongde, he was only thirty-five. He is only 2 years old, and more importantly, this Master Chen is a student of Yang Xiangguo in the capital.
Having said this, Shen Yi also stood up and stretched: "Third brother, let's just watch. The result of this fight is expected to come out within three to five days."
After saying this, Shen Yi paid the money for breakfast, said goodbye to Shen Ling, and set off back to the academy.
He needed to go back and talk to Master Lu about this matter, not that he needed Master Lu to do anything. After all, he had found a topic that he could talk about with Master Lu. How could he make himself familiar with the dean in front of the dean? A little favorability.
…………
Just when Shen Yi was leaving the city, the plump county magistrate Feng Lu had already arrived in the study of the magistrate's office. The fat magistrate Feng was trembling slightly, and he faced his master. Chen Yu, who was sitting on the throne, cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, today I inspected various grain stores in the city as agreed three days ago, and found that not only did they not lower their prices, but most of them have closed their doors and stopped selling grain."
Magistrate Chen was lowering his head to write something at the moment. Hearing this, a sneer appeared at the corner of his mouth: "They are unwilling to sell. Some willing people come to Jiangdu to sell grain. I have asked people to write down all the ones that are closed today. As long as the government is still in Jiangdu, it will keep an eye on them to see if they really shut down and stop selling food!"
After saying this, Chen Fuzun said expressionlessly: "The grains that I have transferred from other places will be delivered to Jiangdu in a short time. At that time, the yamen will sell this batch of grains, and they will all be sold at cost prices. "
County Magistrate Feng was hesitant when he heard this. He looked up at Chen Fuzun again and said cautiously: "Master Fuzun, besides this matter, there are other things..."
"And they sued me, right?"
Chen Fuzun did not shy away from this matter, but said lightly: "Two days ago, a censor impeached me in the court. It won't be long before the court's supervisory censor and people from Dali Temple will arrive in Jiangdu. , investigate this matter thoroughly.”
Having said this, Master Chen smiled coldly: "They will investigate this matter thoroughly."
When County Magistrate Feng heard this, he didn't dare to say anything more and left with his head lowered.
Chen Fuzun sat in his seat for a while and then left the magistrate's office. Not long after, he came to the second floor of a small red building by Yudai Lake and found Mr. Zhao who was enjoying himself in Wenwen Township.
After seeing Mr. Zhao, Chen Yu explained where he was from. Mr. Zhao got up from the bed and looked at Chen Yu while putting on his clothes. He smiled and said: "Your Majesty, please be patient. It's just a few unscrupulous businessmen making trouble. It's nothing. event."
"I will return to the capital today and go to the Ministry of Household Affairs to explain this matter to you."
