October has passed and entered November. The weather is getting colder and it has started to snow in Guzang County. It snowed heavily all night, and Guzang County was completely covered in white and covered with silver. It was particularly enchanting and had a different scenery.
In a residence in Nancheng, Guzang County.
Cai Jingshan was wearing a big cloak and was warming up on the stove. Although there was snow falling outside, it did not affect Cai Jingshan at all.
Cai Jingshan was a native of Gaochang State. He was born in the Household Department of Gaochang State and served as the minister of the Household Department.
He came to Guzang County on the orders of Ma Yan, specifically to disrupt Guzang County and completely destabilize Guzang County. On this basis, Cai Jingshan still has to make money in Guzang County and squeeze out the money accumulated in Guzang County.
Ma Yan brought Qu Guang back to Gaochang Kingdom before, and told the emperor of Qin's treatment and Lin Feng's bad behavior. After the incident was reported, King Qu Yan of Gaochang was furious and was ready to send troops to retaliate.
However, Ma Yan dissuaded him.
It would be unwise for Gaochang State to send troops to fight against Da Qin, because the other countries in the Western Regions would like Gaochang to fight against Da Qin. Regardless of whether both sides suffer, or Gaochang loses, it will be beneficial to all countries in the Western Region.
The development of Gaochang State in recent years has threatened some countries in the Western Regions.
Ma Yan was well aware of human nature and that all countries looked at their own interests, so his suggestion was to ask all countries to join forces to attack Da Qin. As long as Da Qin is defeated, Gaochang will not benefit and will allow other countries to divide the benefits.
Ma Yan hopes to use profits to drive countries to serve. But this idea came to nothing. People from all countries were not stupid and did not want to be used by Gaochang State. They all refused to send troops, causing Ma Yan's plan to fail.
Ma Yan was still unwilling to give in, and finally formulated a plan to disrupt Guzang County and make Lin Feng completely lose face in Guzang County. Therefore, Ma Yan formulated a plan to disrupt the food supply and extract money from Guzang County. With Qu Yan's consent, he arranged for Cai Jingshan to come.
Cai Jingshan is the Minister of Household Affairs and is good at business operations.
Therefore, it was Cai Jingshan who came.
In October, Cai Jingshan traveled around Weiwu County with one hundred thousand taels of silver, buying large quantities of grain. Because food prices were relatively low, I bought a large amount of food.
In November, Cai Jingshan arrived in Guzang County and waited for all the grain to be delivered.
While Cai Jingshan was warming up on the stove and drinking hot tea, I couldn't help feeling that the quality of Daqin's tea was so good. According to the current way of drinking tea in Da Qin, tea is no longer boiled, but brewed. Although the tea is a little astringent, it soon becomes sweet and the tea has a rich aroma.
While enjoying tea in Cai Jingshan, there was a sound of footsteps.
A thin warrior entered.
The warrior's name is Sha'ang, and he is a master in the innate realm. In Gaochang, the innate masters are already very good. The master is the pillar of the country and cannot be easily used. In Guzang County, Sha'ang was not only responsible for protecting Cai Jingshan, but also responsible for executing Cai Jingshan's orders.
Sha'ang bowed and said, "Master Cai, your arrangement has been completed. As of today, the last batch of grain has been safely delivered to Guzang County. The cheapest grain we bought costs seven cents per catty. Most of them cost ten cents per catty, and the last batch cost thirteen cents per catty. Our current grain is about three million catties, and we spent about thirty-five thousand taels of silver."
"Okay, that's good."
Cai Jingshan's eyes showed a hint of joy,
It finally happened.
Cai Jingshan's plan was simple. He purchased grain from Weiwu County in large quantities and then sold it at a high price, earning a huge price difference.
This is to squeeze money out of Guzang County, and at the same time use the opportunity of selling food to disrupt the food supply.
He still has plenty of money in his hands.
If you have money and food, things will naturally work better.
Cai Jingshan said in a deep voice: "Sha'ang, arrange for our spies to spread the news in the local areas. It is said that Lin Fengzhang scolded Prince Qu Guang and Prime Minister Ma Yan of Gaochang Kingdom before, which made King Qu Yan of Gaochang furious. Gaochang Kingdom On the other hand, we are already gathering troops and horses, preparing to attack Da Qin and enter Guzang County."
"Here!"
Shaon agreed, turned around and left.
Cai Jingshan's mouth was full of smiles.
Lin Feng, how would you respond?
When news of the coming war spread, local people would inevitably hoard food and even stop selling food. At this time, food prices will rise rapidly. He wanted to see how Lin Feng dealt with this matter?
Lin Feng will definitely be exhausted.
This is Cai Jingshan’s judgment.
There was deep expectation in Cai Jingshan's eyes, and the news spread throughout Guzang County in a short period of time.
The local people are the most gossipy.
People were talking about it one by one, and it was spread from one person to another. In a short period of time, the news spread throughout Guzang County and even spread to the surrounding areas.
The grain merchants in the county and even other merchants reacted quickly.
Everyone knows that when war comes, there will inevitably be a shortage of food. As a result, there were many people buying food, and in the evening, food prices began to rise. Originally, the price of grain in the market today was twelve cents per pound. Because of the spread of the news, the price of food suddenly rose to fifteen cents per pound.
It is foreseeable that food prices will continue to rise tomorrow.
The Zhang family was in the grain business, so Zhang Feng's house got the news quickly. He learned the details and was very surprised.
Gaochang State wants to attack Da Qin?
This is unlikely.
Although the Gaochang State is strong, no matter how strong it is, there are no tigers or monkeys in the mountains to call it the king. The Gaochang State only dares to show off its power in the Western Regions and never dares to provoke the Qin Dynasty. Even if Qu Yan was angry because of what happened to Qu Guang and Ma Yan, he would not attack.
Zhang Fengfu became wary.
Be careful.
Zhang Feng's Mansion immediately arranged for someone to prepare a carriage and go to the county government office. Now when Zhang Feng Mansion goes to the county government office, there is no need to wait and he can enter the county government office directly.
This is the privilege possessed by Zhang Fengfu and Ma Teng.
Zhang Feng's Mansion arrived at the study. After Gao Xiaoyu's announcement, Zhang Feng's Mansion quickly entered. When he saw Lin Feng, he bowed and said directly: "Master Marquis, I got a piece of news from the public that King Qu Yan of Gaochang was angry at Qu Guang and Ma Yan have been dealt with, and troops and horses have been mobilized at the border to prepare to attack Liangzhou."
"This news spread like wildfire in Guzang County, even causing price changes."
"The price of food in the city soared to fifteen cents per catty this evening. Originally, I didn't know about this popular news. It's just that the food business is sensitive, so I heard someone's report and came here to report it. This is a serious matter. , please Lord Marquis deal with it as soon as possible, otherwise it will easily cause trouble."
Lin Feng's brows rose, a little surprised.
Gaochang State wants to attack Da Qin. Does Qu Yan have the courage? He didn't believe it.
Lin Feng continued: "The news mentioned by Mr. Zhang is very timely. But when it comes to the war between Gaochang Kingdom, is there any more information?"
"there is none left."
Zhang Fengfu shook his head and replied seriously: "After all, it is just a rumor, there are no more sources."
Lin Feng said: "Thank you Mr. Zhang for this matter. I will investigate. It doesn't matter if the price of food rises. I bought a large amount of food in October and opened a warehouse to sell it to stabilize the price of food."
Zhang Fengfu asked: "Master Hou, do you need the Zhang family to follow? In October, the Zhang family also collected a large amount of grain, which was all stored in the granary."
Lin Feng smiled and said: "You can sell it if you want. The price is set at twelve cents per catty. Now that the price has been stabilized, the government will sell it at twelve cents."
Zhang Fengfu said: "I will make arrangements now. Starting tomorrow, the Zhang family's grain will be sold for twelve cents per catty."
Lin Feng said: "Go and get busy."
"I obey the Lord Marquis's instructions."
Zhang Fengfu bowed and bowed before saying goodbye and leaving.
Lin Feng immediately arranged for Cui Yuantu, Huan Suzhi and Han Yan to come for discussion. When the three of them arrived, Lin Feng talked about the rumors and the rising food prices, and asked: "What do you think this is going on?"
Huan Suzhi thought for a moment and took the lead: "Everyone in Guzang County knows the identity of the Marquis. No one in Guzang County dares to spread rumors wantonly, and no one dares to disrupt the order of the market."
"So today's rumors must be deliberately spread by people from outside. Further analysis, if it is simply spreading rumors, I don't think it is true, because it has no meaning. Considering the rise in food prices, my judgment is that it is most likely that someone wants to Take advantage of the opportunity."
"In other words, the grain is sold at a high price. Further inference, in October, grain prices in Weiwu County and even Liangzhou were not high. Although the government also stabilized prices, they were not as thorough as Guzang County."
"Perhaps, someone purchased a large amount of grain from other places and then sold it in Guzang County. Because Qu Guang and Ma Yan of Gaochang State had trouble in Guzang County, so they used Gaochang State as an excuse to attack. effect."
"The former envoys of Gaochang State, Ma Yan and Qu Guang, were going to Xianyang as envoys. Who knew that in Xianyang, His Majesty not only refused the marriage, but also directly scolded Qu Guang and Ma Yan. They have a grudge and may arrange for someone to come make trouble."
"Back to the topic, I don't believe it and think it's impossible for Gaochang State to attack Da Qin."
Huan Suzhi talked eloquently, with a gleam of wisdom in his eyes, and continued: "Compared with Xia and Jin, Da Qin has many shortcomings. When it comes to the severity of the army's offensive, Da Qin is unique. It dares to compete with Jin and Xia. I judge that it is impossible for Gaochang State to attack Da Qin. On the contrary, it is possible that Gaochang State arranged people to cause trouble. "
Han Yan sat below, listening to Huan Suzhi's eloquent analysis, with a look of wonder in his eyes.
sharp!
Huan Suzhi is really amazing.
He is worthy of being a famous scholar in the Jin Dynasty.
Han Yan was also a counselor. After hearing what Huan Suzhi said, he nodded and said, "Master Marquis, I humbly agree with Mr. Huan's analysis."
Cui Yuantu said: "It is winter now, and there is indeed no possibility of war. Traveling in the ice and snow requires extremely high marching requirements. In addition, there is no news in Liangzhou. It is just that the news suddenly spread in Guzang County, which is also supported by side evidence. It is impossible to start a war. If we really want to start a war, it will be absolutely silent, and the opponent's front will smash it down with a hammer. How can there still be a war? Therefore, the war is fake. "
Lin Feng nodded and said: "In that case, we just need to investigate who is causing trouble behind the scenes and determine whether it is someone from Gaochang Kingdom."
Huan Su said: "That's what it means."
Lin Feng said: "Brother, you lead the people to investigate the matter. Try to find out the news tomorrow morning. Han Yan will give you his full assistance."
"Here!"
Huan Suzhi answered immediately.
Han Yan also answered.
Lin Feng looked at Cui Yuantu again and said: "Uncle Cui, you are ready to open a warehouse to sell grain. Tomorrow morning, sell the grain in the granary at the price of twelve cents per catty to keep the price down. Grain is expensive. We cannot let the people suffer."
"Here!"
Cui Yuantu also replied.
Lin Feng said: "Go and get busy."
Cui Yuantu, Huan Suzhi and Han Yan went down together. Now that night has fallen, they cannot find out the situation for the time being. We need to investigate, and we will conduct further investigation tomorrow morning, and follow the clues to investigate the situation.
