Everyone laughed.
Feng Dong is right, once he is involved, he will only get deeper and deeper.
Escape?
impossible.
Cheng Zheng said with a relaxed look: "When should we act?"
Everyone looked at Feng Dong.
Feng Dong closed his eyes slightly and rubbed the smooth bamboo stick with his palm. He pondered for a while and then slowly said: "It can only be done when spring plowing begins. The amount of salt and iron stockpiled by the government is not enough now, and we don't know the details of the salt ponds and mines." The situation is specific, so it cannot be delayed for too long and the plan must be advanced.”
“It’s most suitable when spring plowing begins.”
"First, the water flow is basically back to normal before spring plowing, making it easier to sink the ship."
"Secondly, after the ship sank, the lower-level Guizhou leaders would be greatly frightened and would be very anxious to buy salt and iron, which would invisibly put pressure on the government."
"Thirdly, no one can tell clearly what changes have taken place in the Wei River after a winter, so some accidents are inevitable."
"But you have to trust the people on the ship."
"It must also be arranged properly."
"This matter is related to the survival of our family, and is also related to the wealth of up to a thousand gold. There is no room for any problems. There is still a certain period of time before the spring plowing in February. I will arrange this matter after I wait."
"The fewer people who know about this, the better."
Cheng Zheng and others nodded.
How could they not know the truth?
How could they dare to be careless when it was a matter of their own survival?
Cheng Zheng looked around and said in a deep voice: "During this period, we have met too many times. We will try not to gather together in the next few months. If something happens, just let us know in secret. The government is busy with internal affairs during this period. There is no time to take care of us, but that may not happen later.”
"We will try our best not to leave anything to say to the government."
"in addition."
"What we are discussing this time is to cross the boat together."
Hear the words.
Everyone laughed.
They understood what Cheng Zheng meant.
This is to announce the matter in advance to avoid future investigation by the government.
"Yes, yes, yes."
"Let's cross the boat together, haha."
"We've decided on this, who can criticize us?"
"."
Amidst the laughter, dozens of graceful dancers entered the lobby, dancing gracefully and gracefully in front of everyone, and were then directly embraced by businessmen such as Cheng Zheng.
The sound of silence is endless.
Mid-February.
The spring rain falls, the peach blossoms bloom, the oriole sings gracefully, the eagle disappears, the cuckoo cries everywhere, the swallows return to their nests, the thunder wakes up the dormant insects, and also wakes up the sleeping earth.
Rebirth.
People who had survived the harsh winter got up early and started repairing their doors and windows.
A lively look.
At this moment, the originally quiet fields suddenly remembered the sound of rapid horse hooves, and the messenger galloped away from the road, leaving only the nearby residents with confused faces.
Xianyang.
The court meeting has just ended.
This "Letter of Heng" sent from Hanoi County finally appeared in the Great Qin Court.
Not long after.
The eldest son Fusu, the court captain Meng Yi, and the young master Du He appeared in Xianyang Palace.
Ying Zheng sat high on it.
He threw the 'urgent letter' on the case under the case and said bluntly: "Take a look."
Everyone looked at each other in shock, but they didn't know what happened.
Fusu stepped forward, picked up the bamboo slip, looked at it intently for a few times, his expression suddenly changed, and then quickly handed the bamboo slip to Meng Yi. After Meng Yi and Du He had finished reading, their expressions also changed slightly.
Ying Zheng said: "You have all seen the contents on the bamboo slips."
"A ship from Hedong County, loaded with tens of thousands of tons of salt and iron, ran aground and sank in Huai County. Almost all the salt and iron accumulated in Guanzhong during the winter sank into the water. Now that spring plowing is about to begin, something unexpected happened. What do you think of this?"
Meng Yi thought for a moment, then bowed and said, "Return to Your Majesty."
"I think something is fishy."
"In winter, heavy snow blocks roads and it is difficult to transport salt and iron. Therefore, the salt and iron produced in various places can only be stored in one place so that they can be transported to counties by waterway after spring."
"In the past, when merchants operated the business, salt and iron rarely had trouble."
"Now the imperial court has just implemented the 'Guan Shan Hai', and a large number of transport ships have hit the rocks and sank. What's even more strange is that all the merchants have chosen to travel at the same time."
"I think there is something fishy about this shipwreck."
"I request your Majesty to order a strict investigation."
Ying Zheng raised his head slightly and looked at Shaofu Du He.
Du He frowned and thought deeply, and said: "Your Majesty, I also think there is something fishy about this matter, but the top priority right now is to solve the upcoming spring plowing."
"Nothing can happen to spring plowing."
“In winter, local people in Guizhou don’t go out at home.”
“Less salt and iron have no effect.”
"But spring plowing is about to begin in less than half a month. Suddenly a large amount of salt and iron fell into the water. Once this news comes out, it will inevitably cause panic in the local government. People will be powerless without salt, and it will be difficult to cultivate the land without iron. Neither. The impact on local Guizhou leaders is too bad."
"It will also greatly affect this year's food production and output."
"If there is unrest due to lack of salt and iron, it may be detrimental to the current situation."
"I believe that the first priority should be to solve the demand for salt and iron."
Ying Zheng raised his forehead slightly, looked at Fusu, and said, "Fusu, what about you?"
Fusu took a deep breath, bowed and said, "Go back to my father."
"I believe that people's livelihood should be the top priority. The local area is young and strong, and there is a shortage of salt and iron. The only old, weak, women and children left in the area cannot cultivate so many fields. Therefore, the shortage of salt and iron must be solved as soon as possible."
"It must not affect spring plowing."
"Otherwise."
"My son also agrees with Meng Tingwei's opinion."
"There is something fishy about this shipwreck, and this matter should be investigated rigorously."
"The merchants were obsessed with interests. They took away the salt ponds and mines for the imperial court last year. They may not accept it in their hearts. It is very possible that they did some tricks in secret."
"My son, I think we should pay equal attention to both."
"We must not only solve the shortage of salt and iron, but also suppress the arrogance of merchants."
"Father, please give me a clear warning."
Ying Zheng took a deep look at Fusu and said: "I have given you an order from the Shaofu to govern the Su Nei Shifu and the Tingwei Mansion to join hands with Fusu to thoroughly investigate the shipwreck in Hedong County and work together to solve the local salt shortage." A matter of iron.”
Hear the words.
Fusu's heart trembled, he cupped his hands and said, "My son, I accept your order."
"I obey your order."
"I obey your order."
Not long after.
Fusu and the others left the palace.
Meng Yi said in a deep voice: "Hedong County is hundreds of miles away from Guanzhong. I believe that officials should be sent immediately to Huai County, Hedong to investigate the situation on the spot. At the same time, I also believe that we should immediately send orders to the counties near Guanzhong and go to all counties in Guanzhong." Transport salt and iron to relieve the salt and iron shortage in the customs."
"In addition, these merchants should be strictly supervised."
Du He said: "I believe that the top priority is to block the news to prevent this matter from being known to the public."
"Once it becomes known to the people, and there is a lot of looting, I am afraid it will cause even greater chaos. Moreover, the people do not understand the specific situation. If they are instigated by others, conflicts are likely to break out. Civil fights are already frequent, and often due to competition, There have been many battles over water sources, and now I’m afraid it will be even worse.”
"Young Master should decide as soon as possible."
"also."
"Master Cheng previously warned that there are still a lot of surpluses in the major salt ponds and iron mines in Guanzhong. Now they are being hurriedly transported to various places. They can barely cope with it for a while. However, the gap of salt and iron in Guanzhong is huge and it may be difficult to fill it in a short time."
"With public opinion boiling, it may be difficult to calm down this matter."
Duhe looked worried.
He saw the matter clearly.
The difficulty in this matter is not only the lack of salt and iron, but more importantly, the panic among Guanzhong and Guizhou leaders. Daqin is already very talented, and suddenly encountered this 'natural and man-made disaster'. I don't know how many Guizhou leaders will worry about their livelihood this year. Once If someone takes advantage of you, the consequences are really unpredictable.
The tight strings of the people may not be able to be stretched.
This is the most deadly.
Once the imperial court fails to handle it well, Guanzhong is likely to be in chaos.
Fusu looked solemn.
How could he not know how difficult this matter was.
But as the eldest son of Great Qin, how could he be deterred?
Moreover, his father entrusted him with such important responsibilities, how could he let his father down?
anyway.
This matter must be properly resolved.
Fusu cupped his hands and said: "I also ask the two important ministers to return to their respective offices immediately, mobilize all manpower, and transport as much salt and iron as possible to Guanzhong to fill the vacancy in Guanzhong. At the same time, we will strictly investigate this shipwreck. If it is really man-made, Daqin will never tolerate it. .”
Meng Yi and Du He handed over their hands and left in a hurry.
Fusu paced back and forth.
He actually didn't want to go to Ji Heng, but the situation was urgent. If he handled it improperly and caused greater panic in the area, Guanzhong might be in chaos.
Stability is more important than anything else.
This is what Ji Heng told himself.
His current ability is not enough to deal with this matter.
I really don’t dare to act rashly.
He looked around, sent someone to notify Wei Sheng, and asked him to bring two bottles of wine to Ji Heng's residence immediately, while he hurried towards Ji Heng's residence.
Xicheng.
Ji Heng lived a very leisurely life these days.
Every day I would warm myself by the fire in the house and cook myself a vine pepper fish from time to time. Although the taste is not as good as that of later generations, it is already very delicious compared to the current world.
Of course, the price of mountain pepper is not low either.
It is a precious spice after all.
Even Ji Heng didn't dare to be too extravagant.
The iron pot made by the royal craftsmen of the First Emperor had already been sent over. This iron pot was not as good as that of later generations, but it was actually not much different from the iron pots of the Northern Song Dynasty.
But this is the result of the collective efforts of everyone.
Therefore, general comparisons cannot be made.
This alone is enough to prove that the manufacturing process of the Qin Dynasty was already amazing. It was just that the iron ore mined in the mines had more impurities and the quenching temperature was insufficient, which led to the low quality of the ironware. However, this does not mean that The forging technology mastered by Qin Dynasty was low.
And this also strengthened Ji Heng's idea.
The Qin Dynasty actually possesses a huge treasure. If all of it can be opened, the fate of the Qin Dynasty may be completely changed, and the Qin Dynasty at that time can be said to be destroying the old and establishing the new.
"call"
Ji Heng blew on the hot soup and took a sip while it was hot.
Warm and heart-warming.
At this time.
Suddenly there was a rapid knock on the door.
Fusu's voice followed closely.
"Mr. Ji, Fusu has something important to discuss, which is related to the stability of the country. Please give me your advice."
The previous part was a bit rough, but now that the main foreshadowing is over, it will gradually become more exciting later on.
The changes in Da Qin officially begin now.
(End of chapter)
