This time, the knights were also sad.
One hundred coins and one stone was not too high in a year when food was in short supply.
But the people of Yanzhou have become accustomed to the life of forty coins and one stone.
After all, prices here were originally the lowest in the country.
The people in the capital who buy each issue of the newspaper account for one-tenth of the total population in the capital.
The number of people in Yanzhou who buy newspapers is less than one-forty!
One hundred coins and one stone is too heavy a burden.
Moreover, the price of grain per stone soared from forty to one hundred cents in a few days.
The person who raised prices so frequently was their respected Marquis of Lanling, Liang Xiao.
"By doing this, Marquis Lanling, isn't it just a signal to the rice merchant? This will make it even less likely for the rice merchant to sell, right?" The knights couldn't help but feel discouraged.
As knights, they eliminate violence and make certain social contributions.
But this contribution is negligible in the face of the harm caused by soaring food prices.
Xiahou Qingyi just looked at the announcement, his eyes a little disappointed.
Will he... become the kind of person who is just a slave to the common people?
Just when Xiahou Qingyi was feeling sad, a knight from outside came to report urgently.
"Chief, the Prefect's Mansion suddenly started selling grain!"
Everyone stood up suddenly: "Is it true that Marquis Lanling is preparing to enrich his own pockets as the rumors say..."
"No, no, no!" The knight shook his head and hurriedly explained, "The food in the Prefecture still sells for sixty coins and one stone, but each household can only buy one bucket per day. The food has been distributed to all parts of the city! These They were all purchased from rice merchants at original prices!”
Everyone was surprised and happy: "It turns out that we wrongly blamed Marquis Lanling!"
Xiahou Qingyi breathed a long sigh of relief and his eyes became gentle.
But soon everyone started to worry again.
"The prefect's mansion only has 400,000 shi of food at most, right? How long can it last?"
While everyone was discussing, another knight rushed into the inn, looking anxious.
"Chief! Bai Longying is missing!"
Xiahou Qingyi's eyes changed and he stepped forward quickly.
Xiahou Liuyuan asked urgently about the situation.
"We can't find any trace of Bai Longying anywhere. We can only see some horse hoof prints outside the guardrail in the mountain!"
After hearing this, Xiahou Qingyi immediately set off and rushed back to his village.
The increase in food prices has made everyone in Yanzhou Academy more and more angry.
More and more students publicly expressed their hunger strike to protest Liang Xiao's price increase.
As for whether they are really on a hunger strike, only they themselves know.
Just like Duanmu Yan, her face is still glowing when she appears in front of everyone.
"Are you really on a hunger strike?"
In the ancestral home of the Higashino family, Higashino Xuanji was so angry that his beard was trembling.
He originally thought that Dongye Luoyue would not be able to last long if he started a hunger strike after going to have a good meal.
As a result, she really didn't drink a drop of water all day long.
Dongye Luoyue looked haggard, gritted his teeth and said, "My child, you do what you say!"
"What does Liang Xiao have to do with you that he needs to be treated like this? Just because of Nangong Ning?" Dongye Hongji said angrily.
"Knowing people but not their hearts, facts speak louder than words, and the people of Yanzhou will live in dire straits because of him!" Dongye Luoyue said angrily.
"But the prefect's mansion started selling grain for sixty cents and one stone, which at least shows that he has not enriched his own pockets. Please don't cause trouble for him and our family." Dongye Xuanji said.
Dongye Luoyue said aggrievedly: "He is now the governor of Yanzhou. If you protect him like this, will you still betroth me to him in the future?"
Dongye Xuanji was stunned.
Dongye Hongji curled his lips and said: "You worry too much, people will look down on you."
"Uncle!" Dongye Luoyue burst into tears of grievance.
Dongye Hongji walked away with a puff of sleeves. Before leaving, he turned to Dongye Xuanji and said, "Father has already said, wait and see what happens and don't make any extraneous matters. No matter what Liang Xiao does, as long as it does not directly harm the interests of the Dongye family, there is no need to worry about it."
Dongye Xuanji had no choice but to finally fire all the guards responsible for guarding Dongye Luoyue and replaced them with a group of people.
His instinct told him that if he allowed this girl to continue her mischief, the Higashino clan would also be involved in the whirlpool.
But he had no reason to restrict his daughter's social activities. After all, Yanzhou's literary circle was open, and everyone would know if there was any trouble.
"Duanmu's family, Duanmu Yan, is really harmful to people!"
While the grain of one hundred coins and one stone aroused public resentment, Liang Xiao asked the prefect's mansion to sell the grain at the original price, which finally calmed the public anger.
Another group of landowners came to Liang Xiao to sell their land.
They really can't bear the chain reaction caused by soaring food prices.
The price of land has not dropped significantly yet. When food remains at 150 cents per dan for a long time... it will be a matter of time before the people flee.
For a family of five, one month's income may not be enough to buy food. If this continues, who can withstand it?
After Liang Xiao understood the situation, he smiled and said: "Three days later, the price of food will reach 150 yuan!"
But the news has already grown wings, flying to all directions outside Yanzhou.
After reading the news, Youzhou Biejia Gongyang couldn't help but laugh.
"This son is seeking his own destruction! Youzhou will also be affected by the collapse of Yanzhou!"
A large number of rice merchants gathered in the surrounding towns outside Yanzhou County.
Each family has at least 500,000 shi of food in hand!
This time, they paid a high price of thirty coins and one stone to purchase grain from those farmers.
How could the farmers withstand this temptation? They kept the remaining grain and sold everything they could.
Including the freight and other costs of transporting the grain out of Yanzhou, their total cost of purchasing grain is about fifty cents per stone!
If the grain is transported to Yanzhou again, it will cost about seventy cents per stone!
The amount of grain and grass consumed by the cattle and horses pulling the cart is also not a small amount.
They accept orders from their families and are waiting for food prices to rise.
Now, the price of food has risen to one hundred cents.
“I don’t know who this expert is, but he has such influence that he can cause a food shortage in Yanzhou!”
"I heard that he is the son of the Tuoba clan, Tuoba Jun! Please don't spread the word..."
"As expected of the two heroes of the Tuoba clan, they can control Yanzhou so well..."
After these rice merchants learned about the situation from the family, they were still not in a hurry to sell the grain.
"Tuoba Jun said that if the price of rice is less than 120 yuan, he will not sell it!"
"When the rice price exceeds 120 Wen, we will continue to transport grain in, work together as a team, and force the Prefect's Mansion to sign a contract to keep the rice price above 120 Wen, at least for half a year!"
"Without food, the prefect's mansion will collapse. It's only a matter of time before it collapses! Yanzhou no longer has enough food to supply the people!"
The rice merchants gathered together and had a lively discussion.
Everyone sees a bright future.
One hundred and twenty coins per stone, the profit doubled.
In this way, the people's livelihood in Yanzhou is in decline, and collapse and civil unrest will be a matter of time!
The limited amount of grain arranged by the Prefecture to be sold in various urban areas has been snapped up by the people.
Everyone wants to hoard food and start saving money.
The Prefect's Mansion has only sold it once recently, which is not enough for three days.
Early the next morning, Liang Xiao took a carriage and came to the streets to understand the people's sentiments, and then made an announcement in public.
"The price of food is still too low. Let it go up again!"
"One hundred and fifty coins and one stone!"
The officers, soldiers and people around were all shocked: "One hundred and fifty coins?!"
In the distance, a student from Yanzhou Academy finally roared angrily: "Even at the risk of beheading today, I want to ask you Liang Xiao: are you worthy of the people!!"
Liang Xiao ignored the shocked and angry people and just went home.
"The prefect has issued an order to increase the price of rice to one hundred and fifty coins per stone!"
Liang Xiao returned to the prefect's mansion. Before he could sit down, Lei Hong rushed over to report.
"Master Marquis! A scout has come to report that hundreds of Beihu cavalry were found thirty miles north of the city. Their purpose is unknown!"
