Chang'an City was besieged by the northern barbarian army for several days.
At first, the people in Chang'an City didn't think it was anything.
After all, Chang'an is a majestic city in the world. The city is extremely strong and there are tens of thousands of troops in the city.
In the eyes of the common people, the prairie barbarians went south just to catch the autumn wind.
They beat the autumn wind and left in confusion when they saw that they could not take advantage of Chang'an City.
But now more than a month has passed, almost two months, and these barbarians have no intention of evacuating. Are they going to fight them to the end?
What the fuss is about!
Over time, people's minds will inevitably change.
Grain prices skyrocketed for a while, and as time went by, the situation intensified, and the court had to intervene in grain prices.
"This must be someone with ulterior motives secretly driving up prices to disturb people's hearts."
Jia Xingwen, the bad person's yamen, said angrily. .
"Wangcai, why don't you go find out more about the situation and find out who is secretly driving up prices."
Zhao Xun said with a serious expression.
Although Emperor Xianlong did not leave the case of price gouging to bad people, Zhao Xun instinctively wanted to pursue this matter to the end.
There was no other reason. He wanted to do something for the people of Chang'an.
Rice is expensive in Chang'an, so living there is not easy.
Even during the price parity period, food prices in Chang'an were far higher than elsewhere.
Now that Chang'an is under siege, people with ulterior motives are secretly driving up the price of food, so that the price of food has risen to a point that is unacceptable no matter what.
Zhao Xun must find the person behind this and bring him to justice.
"Okay, I'll take care of this."
Wangcai patted his badge and promised.
First of all, he was sure that it was not his Pan family who was hoarding food and driving up food prices.
Businessmen pursue profits, but the Pan family loves money and has their own principles.
The biggest principle is to value integrity and never make it difficult for the country to make money.
…
…
There are many grain stores and rice shops in Chang'an City, but overall there are only a few that are on the market.
Others are some scattered shops, small and small.
Being able to drive up and control the price of grain in Chang'an City is enough to prove that this person has extraordinary abilities, so he must be a famous grain merchant.
After Wangcai's investigation, the three most suspected families were the Sun family, the Zhuang family, and the Gu family.
"Brother Mingyun, if nothing else goes wrong, these three companies are driving up food prices. We need to test which one it is."
I have to say that Wangcai's ability to do things is still very strong. It only took half a day to figure out the situation.
"Sun family, Zhuang family, Gu family..."
Zhao Xun muttered silently, his eyes becoming sharp.
"Okay, let's search from house to house to see if there is a large amount of food stored in their granaries."
Jia Xingwen suggested.
"no."
Zhao Xun shook his head and said: "Without evidence, even the government cannot forcefully come to the door. Otherwise, where is the national law?"
Although this era is ruled by humans, Zhao Xun still has his own persistence.
In other words, Emperor Xianlong was not a human being, so he could not learn not to be a human being.
"What should we do?"
Wangcai had a bitter look on his face, he didn't know what to do.
"It can be traced secretly."
Zhao Xun paused and said, "Wangcai, do you have a way to put people in their store?"
"Do you still need to arrange it? They all have secrets from our family in their shops."
Wangcai spread his hands and said crisply.
Seeing Wangcai's proud face, Zhao Xun was extremely surprised.
"You are planning ahead for a rainy day."
"In our business, we need to be prepared for a rainy day. Only by keeping an eye on all directions, listening to all directions, and being able to get all the news can we continue to do business for a long time."
In front of Zhao Xun, Wangcai had no need to hide it, and simply said truthfully: "Actually, other companies must have insiders in our store, and we are well aware of this."
"Then you won't find out the inside story?"
Zhao Xun felt puzzled.
"What are you trying to find out? Why don't you ask them to get some wrong information?"
Wangcai seems very confident.
"I see."
Zhao Xun suddenly realized.
"But in this case, how can you guarantee that the information you obtained in other people's stores was not intentionally made known to you by others?"
"There is really no guarantee, but you have to give it a try."
Wangcai sighed and said, "It's better than having a black eye."
"Well, then you should try it first."
…
…
Daming Palace, Zichen Hall.
Emperor Xianlong was in a very gloomy mood.
Food prices in Chang'an City have skyrocketed recently. Even though the court intervened and suppressed it many times, it still couldn't control it.
If this continues, the situation will be completely out of control before long.
"Obani, what do you think I should do now?"
Emperor Xianlong had never experienced such a difficult situation in the past thirty years since he ascended the throne as Jianzuo.
Today's Chang'an City is experiencing real internal and external troubles. Although Emperor Xianlong is trying to support himself, he doesn't know how long he can support himself.
"Your Majesty, the best policy is to remain unchanged in response to all changes."
Zheng Jie said very respectfully: "The imperial court can observe in secret, but it is not appropriate to come forward directly. Only by letting them show the fox's tail can the imperial court be able to liquidate."
Emperor Xianlong shook his head and said: "In normal times, of course I can do this. But not at this time. There are barbarians outside who are watching with eager eyes, and there are speculative people inside who want to do evil. If I allow them to deceive people's hearts, the consequences will be disastrous. "
Emperor Xianlong really didn't dare to let things go.
The imperial court's prestige has been greatly reduced. If it can no longer control food prices, it will surely lose people's hearts.
"Perhaps we can first find a scapegoat to appease people's hearts."
"Your Majesty, now we have to take a long-term approach and catch big fish. The court must keep calm in order to catch the person behind this."
Zheng Jie insisted: "Your Majesty, you must hold back."
"That's all, just do as you say."
Emperor Xianlong sighed and said: "Next, I will let both the bad guys and the internal guards investigate in secret to see who can find out the results first."
Although Emperor Xianlong finally agreed to Zheng Jie's suggestion, he still held back.
Zheng Jie wanted to make the secret guard responsible for the whole process, so that the inner chamber supervisor could keep the case firmly in his hands.
But Emperor Xianlong wanted to let the bad guys also be investigated together.
The bad coach Feng Hao is not in Beijing now. In Zheng Jie's opinion, this is his best opportunity to expand his power.
It turned out that Emperor Long had no intention of delegating power and intended to promote Zhao Xun as Feng Hao's successor.
This Zhao Xun did indeed perform very well and handled several cases very appropriately.
It seems that His Majesty is still worried about him.
Even the old slave who has been with him all his life cannot make him absolutely reassured.
Is this the top level of emperor's mental skills?
Zheng Jie claimed to have a clear conscience, but at this time he could only smile bitterly.
That's all, he will try his best to do things for Emperor Xianlong, and as for other things, he just needs to be more open-minded.
…
…
After returning to Shazhou, Anxi Protector Liu Lin finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Shazhou is the closest important town to the Western Region, and both Yangguan and Yumenguan are within the jurisdiction of Shazhou.
The two great passes in the south and north are the dividing line between the Central Plains and the Western Regions. Exiting the pass means entering a foreign country, and entering the pass means entering the Central Plains.
Along the way, Liu Lin has tasted all the ups and downs of life.
He thought about giving up several times, but the support from Feng Hao and others made him finally grit his teeth and persevere.
He also successfully led the Anxi army to the sandbank.
Except for a very small number of soldiers who were killed or injured, most of the Anxi Army soldiers were unscathed, which can be regarded as a miracle.
"Dadu Protector, it's not that the general's rescue was in trouble, but that he didn't know that the thieves in the Western Regions had such wild ambitions. If Lord Feng hadn't used the teleportation technique to report the news, all the Shazhou boys would have been kept in the dark."
Shazhou garrison envoy Lu Yong complained.
"..."
Liu Lin was silent for a moment, and then sighed and said: "You know people but don't know their hearts. As the old saying goes, people who are not of my race must have different hearts. I didn't believe it at first, thinking that I could influence them, but now it seems These guys are just a bunch of white-eyed wolves, they can’t be raised well at all.”
In Liu Lin's mind, Zhou Dynasty has always been the image of the Celestial Kingdom. And small city-states like the Thirty-six Kingdoms of the Western Regions should bow down before the Zhou Dynasty and act as if all the nations have come to court.
But the reality is completely opposite.
On the surface, these foreign countries are respectful, but whenever they get a chance, they will show their ugly fangs and bite them like crazy.
This time Liu Lin finally learned the lesson. From now on, he will never trust Hu people easily again.
Not only did he not believe it, he would also write to the court, asking the court to be wary of the barbarians in Chang'an City.
After all, there are tens of thousands of barbarians in Chang'an City, which is too many people.
"Hey, I heard that the situation in Chang'an is not optimistic either."
Lu Yong has heard a lot of news from Chang'an recently. Although the details are quite different from the details in the Ministry of War newspaper, the general situation is similar.
"How many people from the northern barbarians came?"
Now that he has successfully escaped from trouble, Liu Lin can finally breathe a sigh of relief. However, the situation in Chang'an was not optimistic. As a military general, he was still concerned.
"It is said that there are more than 100,000, and some say it is 200,000. But no matter which one it is, it cannot be underestimated."
Lu Yong swallowed a mouthful of spit, and then continued: "Right now, Chang'an City is surrounded by people, and it is impossible to escape in a short time. The general heard that the Demon Sect was also involved, and even the high priest of the Demon Sect came. ”
hiss!
Hearing this, Liu Lin took a breath, then clenched his fists and said angrily and hatefully: "How on earth does that guy Wang Zhongyi do things? As long as he can put more thought into defense, it is impossible to let the northern barbarian god He bypassed his defense area without anyone noticing."
"Don't blame me, General Protector. I have heard a saying that Wang Zhongyi nourishes the bandits to respect themselves."
Lu Yong lowered his voice and said.
"Respect yourself by raising bandits? Are you saying that Wang Zhongyi deliberately let the northern barbarians go south?"
Liu Lin shook his head when he heard this and said: "This is impossible. Although Wang Zhongyi is confused about some small things, he will never make mistakes in such a major matter that concerns his wealth and life. Do you think this is a joke? If someone catches him If you find evidence, it is a serious crime to confiscate your family and exterminate your clan."
In the Zhou Dynasty, the most serious crimes, which could be as serious as confiscating the family and exterminating the clan, were collaborating with the enemy and treason.
If Wang Zhongyi collaborates with the enemy and treason, none of his family members in Chang'an City will be able to escape.
Dozens or even hundreds of people all rushed to the market entrance and had their heads chopped off. It was a bit scary to think about it.
Is Wang Zhongyi such a cold-blooded and hard-hearted person? Can he watch a whole family die because of him?
Liu Lin doesn't think so.
"Then how to explain Wang Zhongyi's actions? He actually led his troops to serve as king, but after arriving in Gyeonggi Province, he did not fight with the demon sect monsters and the northern grassland barbarians. If he really meant it, why was he so timid?"
Lu Yong obviously doesn't like Wang Zhongyi, and every point he picks is very targeted.
"That's all, the court will decide this matter, so we don't have to worry about it."
Liu Lin sighed and said: "The top priority right now is how to arrange the 80,000 Anxi troops. We are guest troops in Shazhou after all. It's okay to stay temporarily for ten and a half months, but it will inevitably cause gossip after a long time."
Liu Lin's words were actually testing Lu Yong to see Lu Yong's attitude towards their temporary stationing on the sandbank.
Lu Yong is also a human being, so why can't he hear the hidden meaning?
He paused and said: "What did the Protector say? We are Pao Ze, so naturally we have to help each other. Although Shazhou is not your jurisdiction, you are always welcome. You can rest assured, as long as I, Mr. Lu, Being the guardian of this sandbank for one day will definitely not reduce the food and clothing expenses of the Anxi Army."
Lu Yong said this with a pinched neck and patted his chest, which can be described as impassioned.
Liu Lin was very satisfied with what he heard, and nodded and said: "That's good, that's good. Lu Yao knows that horse power will win over people's hearts over time. It is Liu's good fortune to meet a loyal and brave man like General Lu .”
...
...
After several days of treatment, Feng Hao's injury has recovered.
Although there is still a long way to go before returning to full strength, he is basically out of danger for his life, and the next step is only a matter of time.
For a practitioner, forcing the soul to leave the body is very dangerous at any time.
Feng Hao had no other choice at the time, otherwise he would not have chosen this path.
The situation at that time was one of survival from death. If the wizards' spells could not be interrupted, all of them, including Feng Hao, would die.
So Feng Hao could only take a gamble.
As a result, he won the bet, and the price he paid was a severe loss of vitality.
But it is better to lose your vitality than to lose your life.
If you lose your vitality, you can make it up again. If you lose your life, everything will be over.
Now Feng Hao doesn't have enough strength to use the teleportation technique. The first thing he needs to do when he regains his strength is to contact Zhao Xun in the capital.
It is said that Zhao Xun now exercises the power of bad coach on his behalf.
Of course he trusts Zhao Xun and Feng Hao.
From the first moment he saw this child, Feng Hao concluded that this child was not ordinary.
After a period of training, Zhao Xun fully demonstrated the talents that a bad person should have.
He has his own way of solving cases and investigating them, and he can always surprise Feng Hao when everyone is at a loss.
Therefore, Feng Hao also raised Zhao Xun as a direct descendant.
But it's one thing to solve a case and investigate it, but it's another thing to direct others to do things.
Feng Hao was worried that Zhao Xun was too inexperienced to convince the bad guys.
None of those three purple-robed delinquents are fuel-efficient.
…
…
