Afterwards, Lu Chen worked on the memorial until evening.
dusk.
The sky was filled with fire and clouds, and it was brilliant.
Walking out of the study, Lu Chen punched his waist, then looked at San De who was waiting on the side and said, "I have invited several major grain merchants in the imperial capital to a banquet. They should be here too, right?"
Sande lowered his head and was speechless. "Back to Your Majesty, there are three major grain merchants in the imperial capital. The Shen family, the Zhao family, and the Zhou family. The head of the Shen family said that he had a stroke and was unable to move around. He apologized to Your Highness for not being able to come to the banquet. .”
"The shopkeeper of the Zhao family said that the head of the Zhao family is out on business and is not in the capital. Finally, the Zhou family did not reply."
"Oh Well!"
There was a hint of coldness in Lu Chen's eyes: "Even a few grain merchants dare not take me seriously!"
There is no doubt that someone has already said hello to these three grain merchants, otherwise Lu Chen believes that these three people would not be so bold.
As for who it is, you can figure it out with your toes.
"Sir, since they don't come, I will personally visit you!"
Lu Chen waved his sleeves.
"yes!"
San De made arrangements immediately.
A quarter of an hour later.
Prince Nian marched out of the imperial city in a mighty manner, escorted personally by a hundred of the most loyal Jinyi guards selected by Sande.
After leaving the Imperial City, the convoy immediately headed to the nearest Shen family.
As soon as the convoy left the imperial city, news was received within the cabinet.
After hearing this, Ji Wuye just snorted indifferently.
"With the temperament of this prince, I am afraid that he will go on a killing spree again, so let him kill him!"
"The more he kills, the more he kills. He thinks this is to establish his authority? It's ridiculous! He has already offended the scholars, farmers, and merchants. Now he wants to offend the merchants again. How stupid!"
"The new official has three things to do when he takes office, so let him have some fun first."
"Yes." The attendant bowed.
…
Soon, the motorcade arrived at Shen's house.
The Shen family had already received the news that Lu Chen was leaving.
They could ignore the prince's orders, but they didn't have the courage to turn them away and ignore the prince's personal visit.
When Lu Chen arrived, the head of the Shen family, Shen Wansan, and several servants were already waiting respectfully outside.
"Shen Wansan, a common man, pays homage to His Highness the Crown Prince. His Highness the Crown Prince is a thousand years old!"
Shen Wansan immediately led others to kneel down and perform rituals.
On the carriage, Lu Chen looked at Shen Wansan coldly: "Didn't Boss Shen suffer from a stroke? How can he still get up to greet me?"
Shen Wansan's scalp suddenly started to sweat, and he answered bravely: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is here to make the humble abode shine, and the common people's illnesses will be much better immediately, so I came to welcome His Highness."
Lu Chen smiled: "So, now that I'm here, I can still treat people?"
Shen Wansan felt that the flattery was in place, and immediately smiled and said: "Of course, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has the body of a dragon, and his blessings are endless. Whoever you visit will be blessed!"
However, the next moment Lu Chen received a cold drink.
"You are full of lies! Shen Wansan, you are so brave, you dare to deceive me!"
Shen Wansan trembled all over and was immediately frightened to the point of peeing.
Your Highness, the Crown Prince, doesn’t play by the rules!
"The common people don't dare!" He shouted hurriedly on his knees.
"Why don't you dare!" Lu Chen snorted angrily: "You pretend to be sick to deceive the emperor, one of the lowest businessmen, but you are sitting in the third house, blatantly violating the great ritual system, treating the great ritual law as five things, This is the second crime! Hoarding and gathering, maliciously raising food prices, causing people to live in poverty, this is the third crime!"
"Come here, behead the head of the Shen family in public, and ransack his house to enrich the treasury!"
Shen Wansan was immediately dumbfounded.
Is this His Highness the Crown Prince so cruel that he beheads his family and confiscates his family?
Immediately, he knelt down and begged for mercy: "Your Majesty, please have mercy on me. Please have mercy on me. How dare the common people violate the etiquette and laws? This house is only rented by the common people. The rise of the grain family is also forced by the situation. The common people have no choice but to do so!"
Chen An looked at the Jin Yiwei on the side: "Didn't you hear what I said?"
All the Jinyi guards reacted, hurriedly bowed and said yes, and immediately stepped forward to grab the person, unsheathing the demon sword.
Seeing this, Shen Wansan was completely panicked. His Highness the Crown Prince was serious!
"Your Highness, please spare my life!" He cried, feeling extremely regretful that he should not have listened to the words of those above.
He obviously didn't go to the banquet and offended the prince.
"Spare your life? Even if I can spare your life, how can the people of the world spare your life? Natural disasters continue and the people are in dire straits. As the largest grain merchant in the capital, you hoard so much that the people cannot afford to eat three meals a day. Rice...such a crime, God cannot forgive him!"
Some words, impassioned.
The shocked people passing by on the surrounding streets were all shocked. Did His Highness the Prince actually consider the people so much?
Due to collusion between government and businessmen, food prices have already risen ridiculously, and public dissatisfaction has already boiled over, but no one dares to protest.
"Our Highness, the Crown Prince, is so kind..." someone called out.
"Your Highness is merciful..." Immediately, there was a shout, and all the people were filled with tears of excitement.
Finally, someone is willing to consider these common people!
Without wasting too long, Lu Chen went to the Zhao family while the Shen family was crying.
And many people followed him all the way. What Lu Chen did was very satisfying today.
To Lu Chen's surprise, the Zhao family's door was still closed, as if no visitors were expected.
"How brave!" Lu Chen laughed.
He made such a big noise, and the Zhao family still dared to have such an attitude. This is something they can rely on!
"Sande, who is the backstage of the Zhao family?"
"Back to Your Highness..." Sande immediately replied: "The daughter of the head of the Zhao family married the son of the chief assistant Ji Wuye as a concubine."
"I see, no wonder you are so courageous." Lu Chen nodded, then waved his sleeves: "Search the house! The men will be sent to the army, and the women will be infiltrated into the Jiaofang Department!"
"Yes!" San De swallowed, and couldn't help but click his tongue in his heart. His Highness's methods were too sharp, and he would kill at will!
Then, Lu Chen went to the last family, the Zhou family.
To Lu Chen's surprise, before he arrived at Zhou's house, he saw a woman wearing a plain skirt, with a delicate face and a dignified and elegant temperament leading people to welcome him.
Sande said: "Your Highness, this woman is the eldest lady of the Zhou family and also the chief shopkeeper of the Zhou family. The son of the Zhou family is useless, but the daughter is the one who takes the lead."
"The Zhou family is a little different from the Shen family and the Zhao family. The Shen family and the Zhao family were wealthy businessmen for their ancestors, while the Zhou family was just a small businessman at first. Under the care of the eldest lady of the Zhou family, it gradually became one of the three major grain merchants in Kyoto. One of the merchants.”
"oh?"
Lu Chen raised his eyebrows and his eyes fell on the eldest lady of the Zhou family.
I didn't expect that a woman could have such ability.
The eldest lady of the Zhou family also came to the carriage, knelt down respectfully and said: "Daughter of the people Zhou Qianqian, pay my respects to His Highness the Crown Prince. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is a thousand years old!"
"The daughter of the people is willing to donate all the food stored by the Zhou family to help the victims!"
