When Zhang Xi received Liu Ba's first letter, people who came to Chang'an to escape famine from all over the country had already arrived in Chang'an City.
Zhang Xi immediately asked Chen Zhi to arrange for these people to move into the vacant houses of aristocratic families. At the same time, he ordered people to distribute hot water and food, and took out the few fire charcoal in the inventory to temporarily accommodate these people.
There is nothing we can do, everyone is here, and if they are not properly accommodated, even Zhang Xi will not be able to bear the freezing to death.
Moreover, Zhang Xi immediately went to visit these people and inquire about their needs. At the same time, he organized all the medical workers in Chang'an City to treat these people free of charge and treat frostbite, typhoid and other diseases.
By the way, Zhang Xi also conducted an investigation among the people.
Zhang Xi also asked the names of the local officials who escorted the people to Chang'an along the way and asked Chen Zhi to record them. As for the local officials who ignored the people and even expelled them, Zhang Xi also asked them. Chen Zhi wrote it down.
This is part of the performance appraisal.
The feelings of the people fleeing the famine are the most real and they are the least able to lie. They are the ones who know best who treats the people well and who does not take them into consideration.
Now is the disaster relief period, and everything is focused on stability, but after the disaster, Zhang Xi will not be soft-hearted, and will be waiting to settle accounts one by one.
After settling the first batch of people, Zhang Xi began to have a headache. What to do with the second batch of fleeing people who were about to arrive in Chang'an.
Chen Zhi was already ready for the opening of the palace complex in Chang'an. He only needed the emperor's edict to arrive before it could be opened to the common people. Zhang Xi even thought that if it didn't work, he would not wait for the emperor's edict. If there was any problem, he would be able to handle it on his own. .
As for the grain reserves, Chang'an still has some. If it doesn't work, he can use Zuo Fengyi's county soldiers' rations. Zhang Xi still has this right.
The problem is Huotan. Today's Huotan, including those contributed by those aristocratic families, has less than a thousand kilograms in stock, but now it will be about a month before the end of winter.
It's definitely not enough.
With the letters sent by Liu Ba, Zhang Xi knew more or less how to negotiate with those aristocratic families, and how much capital he had in his hands. With guidance, Zhang Xi once again invited those aristocratic families to have a meal. .
Just, let's bargain.
Oh, by the way, Huang Quan also joined the negotiation this time, and with Huang Quan's help, Zhang Xi at least does not have to face the Guanzhong families alone. At least there is someone willing to help Zhang Xi bargain.
Although Huang Quan said that he represented the interests of the Shuzhong family, to a certain extent, Huang Quan did not want to purchase grain smuggled from Guanzhong at five times the price of grain in Shuzhong.
After all, it is impossible for the price of food in Shu to rise along with the trend. Who dares to raise the price rashly? Zhuge Liang's knife really dares to kill people.
If this is done, the only possible result is the devaluation of the five-baht coin, which will result in the devaluation of copper ore.
Therefore, Huang Quan strongly agrees with Liu Ba's suggestion in this regard. The five-baht coin is legal tender and it is absolutely not allowed to change the purchasing power at will.
As for the Shu brocade, Huang Quan extremely agreed with Liu Ba's suggestion.
Shu brocade is a luxury product. Every time a Shu family sells Shu brocade to others, they have to pay a high transaction tax.
But why are you here in Guanzhong, the Guanzhong family sells Shu brocade to Guandong without charging taxes, and the Shuzhong family is required to supply the goods to your Guanzhong family first, and then collect the money after you complete the smuggling? !
The imperial court will not care about this when collecting taxes. This means that the Shuzhong family will have to pay a heavy tax before receiving the payment for the Shu brocade. After all, if the Guanzhong family delays the payment for a while, won't the Shuzhong family have to pay compensation? Is it miserable? !
Huang Quan could not agree with this matter, no matter whether he was from the perspective of a prominent Shu family or a court official.
Therefore, in Huang Quan's view, the tax levied on bulk luxury goods in Guanzhong is indispensable, and the court must treat everyone equally. Of course, if the court makes the decision and can lower the tax standard for Shu brocade, then the Shu family will be able to accept it. .
With less tax, if you sell it to the Guanzhong Family at a slightly cheaper price, you can still make some money.
But if Huang Quan does this, the Guanzhong family won't do it.
Who would be happy to have this opportunity that was originally a good opportunity to catch the White Wolf out of hand, but was abruptly messed up by this barbarian from Shu?
Originally, after Hu Zun's persuasion and the fact that the Guanzhong aristocratic families did control the external smuggling channels, Zhang Xi was a little tempted, and the rest was just a matter of bargaining over the price of the grain.
But who knew that Huang Quan, a barbarian from Shu, had stepped in and interfered with this matter and paid taxes? ! Why do you still have to pay tax after smuggling it? !
Who could be so heartless as to come up with such a bad idea? !
Of course the Guanzhong family would not agree.
But if you don't agree, then don't agree. After all, this matter is a good opportunity to make a fortune. Moreover, even if the food is smuggled in, even if it is not sold to the Han Dynasty, it will not hurt if these Guanzhong families hoard it themselves. These days are still in troubled times. No one really thinks they have too much food.
Therefore, the Guanzhong aristocratic families are still fighting hard, especially hoping that Zhang Xi can come forward to finalize the matter.
After all, the governor of Yongzhou was Zhang Xi, and he didn't seem to understand much about this kind of transaction. He was definitely easier to fool than Huang Quan, that barbarian from Shu.
As long as Zhang Xi was persuaded, he would have nothing to do with the rest, even if Huang Quan jumped in again.
Therefore, a group of Guanzhong aristocratic families once again went to discuss matters with Zhang Xi through Hu Zun.
We can discuss the purchase price of grain later, but we definitely cannot collect taxes. This is smuggling and it is not normal trade. How can we collect taxes? !
Zhang Xi was immediately happy. He suddenly discovered that Huang Quan's intervention was actually not without any benefit.
Therefore, Zhang Xi quickly asked Hu Zun to pass a message to these Guanzhong aristocratic families on his behalf, talking about the taxation matter. This can be discussed, but now, the top priority of the Yongzhou Governor's Office is disaster relief and peace of mind, so this matter Son, let’s wait until the disaster relief is over before we talk.
Then, Zhang Xi asked Chen Zhi to pretend to be inadvertent and pass the news to the outside world, saying that the imperial court had learned about the matter and was preparing to send officials to be responsible for negotiating the matter and would arrive in Chang'an soon.
Chen Zhi had to tell Jiang Wan about this matter.
It's not that Zhang Xi doesn't trust Jiang Wan, it's mainly because everyone now knows that Jiang Wan is an upright person. This kind of leaking gossip is not in line with Jiang Wan's usual style.
Chen Zhi is the depressed one. After all, I am also the grandson of Xu Jing, a famous person in the world. No matter what, I still have to face it.
But regarding this matter, Chen Zhi couldn't help but think about who made Chen Zhi restless. His current status was not obtained by relying on Xu Jing, but by Zhang Xi.
In this regard, Chen Zhi is still very "moral." Chen Zhi is very aware of who he eats and who he works for.
And as Chen Zhi's gossip spread, within three days, the Guanzhong family came to visit.
It is said that they could not bear to see the suffering of the people. In order to show the responsibility of the local gentry, they were willing to provide another one thousand catties of fire charcoal and two thousand catties of charcoal to the Yongzhou Governor's Office to relieve the victims.
I'm so angry with Zhang Xi. These aristocratic families are really the ones who don't let go of the eagle when they see the rabbit.
One thousand kilograms of fire charcoal, plus two thousand kilograms of charcoal, is indeed a lot, at least enough for the people who came to Chang'an City to escape famine for five or six days. But what's the use, there is still a month until spring.
If the spring starts later this year, the fire carbon and charcoal will not be enough.
Actually, Zhang Xi also understood what the Guanzhong families meant, which was to tell Zhang Xi to settle the matter of smuggling food as soon as possible. As long as this rule was settled, the family would be able to solve the heating problem for the people fleeing the famine in the future.
Even if the amount of fire charcoal is not enough, when these aristocratic families spend the winter, who doesn't store a large amount of charcoal? If they take out the charcoal, it will be enough to support the fleeing people for a month.
Looking at the fire charcoal and charcoal sent by the family, and then looking at the second batch of victims who had arrived in Chang'an, Zhang Xi was really angry and anxious, thinking that it was really not possible. In order to resettle these people, would he suffer a temporary loss this time? !
But if this concession becomes a routine, it will not be so easy to get back the lost benefits next time.
Zhang Xi was very hesitant, hesitating whether to care for the people in front of him first. Just when Zhang Xi was hesitating, Liu Ba's second letter arrived.
Of course, it is impossible to rely on Liu Ba's second letter to help. After all, Liu Ba's second letter is just a supplement to the previous letter. It details this official smuggling behavior and methods. I recommend it by the way. Just found a suitable candidate.
Although Fei Yi has great talent, he is still in Jingzhou and will not be able to fly to Chang'an for a while.
What really made Zhang Xi breathe a sigh of relief were the people who came with this letter.
He is the son of Fu Xu, Fu Qian, who is now serving as the minister of Huangmen, and can be regarded as Liu Chan's confidant.
Fu Qian came to convey the emperor's decree regarding the opening of the palace complex in Chang'an to resettle the victims.
As for this matter, Zhang Xi rushed it to Chengdu with military horses. Zhuge Liang did not hesitate at all. He directly approved it and sent it to the palace. He explained the interests clearly and gave it to Adou to give the order.
When Adou saw that there was such a good thing about gaining fame for nothing, he immediately ordered Zhongshu to issue an edict, and then asked Fu Qian to be sent to Chang'an immediately.
Anyway, Adou also knew that he would not be able to visit Chang'an in a short time. Those palaces were empty, so they might as well be used to win over the people.
However, Fu Qian's arrival still brought to Zhang Xi what Adou privately meant - it was okay to open it to the common people, but the valuable items inside had to be put away first and cleaned afterwards to prevent any damage or loss.
In short - the house is still mine, I will still live in it in the future, and I have to clean it up.
Well, it fits Zhang Xi’s understanding of Adou very well.
Adou is not a wise king, but he is not a mediocre ruler either. He is just an ordinary Shoucheng emperor who loves to play.
In prosperous times, this kind of emperor is not a big problem. He is just an established king, but in troubled times, he will die.
Of course, this is not what Zhang Xi expected. After all, he is something that even a god like Zhuge Liang cannot handle. How high can you expect from him? !
What really reassured Zhang Xi was not the emperor's edict, nor Liu Chan's private instructions, but Fu Qian's telling Zhang Xi that the prime minister had already set off from Chengdu and came north to Chang'an when he left Beijing to deliver the edict.
If not for anything else, just for the smuggling matter that Zhang Xi discussed with the family.
Zhuge Liang really couldn't bear to let Zhang Xi do such a complicated thing, so he entrusted the government affairs to Pang Tong and Fazheng, who had just returned to Chengdu, and went north to take charge of the overall situation.
Well, Zhuge Liang is coming, and this is what makes Zhang Xi really feel relieved.
(End of chapter)
