Although the treasury is tight in terms of money and food, supplies for thousands of people are not harmful.
Cheng Guoxiang did not complain in front of the emperor, which surprised Zhu Youxiao. He had just seen Cheng Guoxiang's bitter face, and he was really worried that Cheng Guoxiang would come out to complain.
"This matter must be done as soon as possible without delay!"
After the matter was settled, the Qianqing Palace suddenly became quiet. This made Zhu Youxiao puzzled. Didn't it mean that there were many political affairs? Why are everyone silent now?
Zhu Youxiao set his sights on Wang Xiangqian, the head of the civil service and the Yuanfu of the Cabinet. Wang Xiangqian felt that the emperor was looking at him and took out a memorial from his sleeve:
"Your Majesty, there is another memorial here, also about Liaodong!"
Wang Chaofu quickly went down the steps and took the memorial from Wang Xiangqian, and quickly presented it to Zhu Youxiao.
He wondered what could be so mysterious.
After he read it carefully, a trace of anger flashed across his face.
This memorial was also written by Xiong Tingbi, but it was not good news.
Since the last time Zhu Youxiao had the Li family confiscated and exterminated, all the generals and warlords in Liaodong were in danger. They were afraid every day that the emperor would attack them next.
Zhu Youxiao originally wanted to use this incident to suppress their arrogance, but he did not expect that it had the opposite effect. Not only did he fail to suppress their arrogance, but it made them unite to fight against the imperial court.
Liaodong seems to be calm now, but in fact there is an undercurrent. According to Xiong Tingbi's report, the grain merchants and large households in Liaoshen are now buying grain at high prices, with the price being 50% higher than usual.
At this time, in Liaoshen, except for military rations, all other food has been gradually concentrated in the hands of these wealthy businessmen. I am afraid that there is not much food left in the homes of ordinary people.
Their acquisition did not go smoothly at first. Food is too important. Food is life. Even these illiterate civilians know this truth.
These big businessmen saw that the common people did not buy their account, so they joined forces to play tricks.
They purchase at 20% higher than the market price, and then drag each other on. You buy mine today, and I will buy yours tomorrow. Then they wait a few days to push down the price of grain, and these drags are priced lower than the market price. Buy it back at 30% of the price, and then find someone to promote it everywhere.
After doing this several times, the people gradually began to believe it. After all, it was all just money. Who wouldn’t be jealous?
Moreover, these ordinary people who only know how to farm may not be able to earn so much money after working hard for a year, so some people who are blinded by money are fooled.
They, the first batch of people to be fooled, were extremely happy after reaping the benefits. They showed off to everyone how much money they made from selling grain today, which made other people jealous.
Their free publicity has been a big help to these big businessmen, because ordinary people know that there is no businessman, and most of them do not trust businessmen, because they are often bullied by them.
But if someone from the same class, and these people are probably your relatives, friends or neighbors, brag about it in front of you, the line of defense they insist on will immediately fall apart.
Most people began to sell grain tentatively. If they sell a little today, they will first see how the market goes and whether they can really buy it back at a low price.
When the big businessmen saw that the fish had taken the bait, they were not in a hurry to close the net. They knew that now was not the best time. After all, when it came to playing tricks, they were the best of the best. How could these uneducated farmers be them? opponent?
So these big merchants increased their prices again, directly to a full 50%. This made the common people who were so excited about the money that they took out the remaining grains at home and sold them, leaving only a little ration. Anyway, they could be lowered by then. Repurchase at a reasonable price, no panic at all.
After Xiong Tingbi learned about the incident, he quickly sent people to investigate everywhere, but no progress was made.
Xiong Tingbi knew that the matter was definitely not simple, so he immediately wrote a detailed memorial and had it sent back to Beijing overnight.
And this was reported three days ago. It was his wedding three days ago, and all the officials were on vacation. Three days later, something might have happened in Liaodong.
Zhu Youxiao did not get angry as usual, but quickly adjusted his state and maintained a gentle smile.
These days, he has studied history books and understood a truth. No matter what he does, he must stay calm and deal with it calmly. He must not mess up his position, otherwise he will definitely lose.
He gently placed the memorial on the imperial desk and said to the ministers:
"You were so cautious, I thought the sky was falling!"
After Zhu Youxiao finished speaking, the nearly ten ministers below all showed incredulous expressions, especially the three bachelors in the cabinet, who glanced at each other secretly.
Isn't this a big deal? If you don't pay attention to this, it will trigger civil unrest and chaos. Your Majesty actually said it so easily?
Seeing the panic on their faces, Zhu Youxiao said again:
"I know what you are worried about, but you are all important officials of the imperial court, and you cannot look at affairs with a pessimistic eye."
"I have already made some guesses about what Xiong Tingbi told me. The people behind it are probably caused by these big businessmen and the general. They are worried that they will become the next Li family, so they did this."
Second Assistant Xu Guangqi stepped forward and said:
"What your Majesty said is absolutely true. The forces in Liaodong are complex, and the generals and generals are unknown. What Xiong Tingbi has done cannot and will not be dared to be done by them alone. It must have been planned and agreed upon by them."
"Such a major event also requires close cooperation between these forces, otherwise it will be impossible to accomplish it!"
"I dare to assert that the people who planned this matter are definitely not these big businessmen. I am afraid that the masterminds behind this are these generals who have been hereditary for many years. I am afraid that many civil servants who are in charge of inspections are also involved, otherwise they will not proceed so smoothly. .”
Xu Guangqi's thinking is indeed different from ordinary people's. He can see the problem at a glance. He is worthy of being a great man who has made his name through the ages due to his ability.
At this moment, Zhu Youxiao felt that he was not fighting alone. Finally, someone agreed with him.
"Mr. Zixian is right, and I think so too. If they dare to do this, they must have been fully prepared, even if they are willing to fight to the death with the imperial court. And what they want, from my point of view, is to make the imperial court Just like during the Zhengtong and Chenghua years, we usually compromised with them so that the court would give them more rights and interests."
"It's a pity that they thought wrong. I am not the Emperor Xianzong who gives up when encountering obstacles, and I am not the Emperor Yingzong who makes this mistake of national policy and allows them to do whatever they want!"
After saying this, Zhu Youxiao had a ruthless look in his eyes. The mistakes Yingzong made in the Zhengtong Year would be corrected by his grandson in the Apocalypse Year.
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