A long while.
Ji Heng's hot water has been boiled.
He made a cup of light tea for Fusu, and then sat leisurely in the courtyard.
At this time.
Wei Sheng hurriedly ran in and said loudly: "Sir, the situation is not good. Now the people in the city seem to be a little crazy. Some people even started to secretly allude to the imperial court, and even criticized the government. What's more, He also called on others to surround the major merchants in the market.”
"Sir, what should we do now?"
Fusu frowned.
He turned his head and glanced at Ji Heng, knowing that Ji Heng had guessed correctly again. This time the matter had been delayed for too long, long enough for changes to occur.
but.
He wasn't going to delay it any longer.
It’s no longer necessary.
No matter whether it is the Young Mansion or the Tingwei Mansion, if they are blocked again, he will not be merciful, and it is not true that he has not done anything in the past few days.
He said coldly: "Immediately send an order to Shi Lu of Tingwei Mansion to lead a group of officials to immediately deal with the rumors that suddenly spread in the city. These rumors must be curbed."
"At the same time, the news will be released to the outside world."
"I, Fusu, are aware of this matter and are discussing with various government agencies to handle it."
"I will give an explanation to the people of Guanzhong in the near future."
"No." Wei Sheng said quickly.
Just when Wei Sheng was about to send a message, Ji Heng suddenly spoke.
He said calmly: "Now things have undergone some changes, so we can no longer deal with them according to the past solutions. We should be serious, strict and quick."
Hear the words.
Fusu frowned.
He didn't know the specific method.
Ji Heng said: "In addition to your previous instructions, you must also notify the officials of the Internal Affairs Bureau to arrest those who stir up trouble, troublemakers, and slanderers. The leaders must be severely punished."
"The hurricane starts at the end of Qingping."
"Such a violent situation must not spread into disaster."
"If such aggressive posture is not properly handled, it will eventually form a stormy undercurrent, and the people's hearts will be complicated. Once these rumors fall into the ears of the world, they will most likely be affected by the world. At that time, the people's hearts will change, and they will want to attract people again. It will also be a lot more difficult for the people."
"It's even more difficult to get trust."
Fusu nodded.
He already understood Ji Heng's thoughts.
Only by severely punishing those who cause trouble can we carry out effective strikes. Only by arguing and refuting rumors will ultimately be of no use. Only by punishing those who cause trouble can we effectively curb it and avoid further consequences.
But all this treats the symptoms rather than the root cause.
The only real solution is to resolve this matter once and for all.
Fusu's eyes moved slightly.
He lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then changed his words: "Go and deliver the order as Mr. Ji said. In addition, change what I said before in the near future to today before dusk, and the government will provide a solution."
"No." Wei Sheng said quickly.
After Fusu finished his instructions, Wei Sheng hurriedly went to deliver the message.
Fusu looked solemn. He was sitting in the courtyard, took out a blank bamboo slip, pondered for a moment, and began to grind it. Ji Heng's words woke him up.
He cannot proceed step by step.
It must be done quickly and strictly.
He clicked the ink and began to write.
He must express his attitude, and the best way to express it is to make the situation of the Huai County shipwreck incident known to the public some time ago.
Deal with merchants seriously.
In addition, it must be announced immediately that the government will take over the matter of salt and iron. The government has long been aware of the fierce public opinion in the area and has been studying it secretly. Before sunset, relevant solutions will be provided.
Let the people not panic, don't panic, let alone be deceived by traitors.
After thinking it through.
Fusu wrote down what he had to do one by one.
He is not impatient.
He knew that the matter should be resolved as soon as possible.
But speed has its limits.
Some processes can be faster, but they cannot be saved.
Not long after.
White notices were posted at the entrances of major markets and under city walls in Xianyang.
It was filled with neatly cleaned fist-shaped characters. Under the vast white wall, two small officials in soap clothes stood three feet away from each white notice, and kept announcing loudly: "The eldest son is passing the order, and the people are salt and iron." The missing matter has been made known to the Young Master, and the Young Master is discussing the solution with the Shaofu and other officials, and it will be announced before sunset."
"The court will not sit idly by."
"."
The clerk's voice was very loud.
The contents of the notice soon spread to all directions.
Within half an hour, crowds of people surged under the major city walls. The literate scholars stood on the stone piers and mounds, chanting loudly the notices on the white cloth walls.
The crowd burst into cheers and applause from time to time.
But there are also some doubts.
Under high walls.
The farmer, who didn't know a word of Chinese characters, had a nervous look on his face, and asked uneasily: "The eldest son is really so kind to help us solve the salt and iron matter?"
The clerk said loudly: "The eldest son is discussing with the young master."
"The eldest son is just one person. Although he is a born nobleman, how can he produce salt and iron? In the end, it has to be solved by the young master. The young master is in charge of the mountains, rivers and seas of the world. There is no shortage of salt and iron in the treasury. Salt and iron are reserved by the imperial court and cannot be easily mobilized, so it took some time."
"Besides."
"It is inconvenient to publicize matters involving the DPRK."
"But the eldest son has already known the recent situation in Guanzhong."
"Second and third sons, please rest assured."
"If you don't believe it, you can wait under the city wall for a while. When it gets dark and dusk, the government will post the specific solution. Then you will know it at a glance."
"But there are some things to say up front."
"Anyone who dares to slander the imperial court, criticize the imperial court, or even incite people to attack the government and rob merchants from now on, the eldest son has also made it clear that he will be severely punished."
"Second and third sons, don't make mistakes."
There was a lot of discussion around.
But few people dispute this.
But some people still asked uneasily: "Is the Shaofu really good at taking action? How much salt and iron can the Shaofu provide? Will the price of salt and iron provided by the Shaofu be higher than usual?"
"."
Real and realistic questions were asked one after another.
But the clerk didn't answer.
Just let them wait for the court announcement.
An hour later.
There are already mountains and seas of people under the major city walls. More and more people are flocking to the vicinity of the city walls. The carriages and horses that were originally staying at the horse racing field are also squeezed out by the crowds. Even so, more and more people are coming.
Everyone who came near, regardless of their level of knowledge, basic skills, or illiterate people, stood straight in front, staring at the big wall with white cloth and black characters with red faces, looking hard at it, hoping to figure out something from it. Some other explanations.
Even if he really didn't know a word, he kept urging the people around him, trying to explain the black words on the white cloth to him in detail.
the other side.
Hua Ji, who works in the Internal Affairs Bureau, is arresting people all over the city.
But compared to the bustle of the city wall, what Hua Ji did did not attract too many people's attention, and not many people cared about it.
Inside a mansion in the city.
He Yao has returned slightly panicked.
As soon as he entered the room, He Yao couldn't help but cursed.
"Bao Qin!"
"Cruel and heartless, stupid and unethical."
"Death!"
Zhang Liang looked at He Yao curiously and asked puzzledly: "Brother He, what's wrong with you? Why do you have so much resentment?"
He Yao took a deep breath and said with a look of fear on his face: "Didn't I listen to your suggestion and spread all kinds of news in the city? But I never thought that people around me would find out. I didn't pay attention at first, because those words were too It’s nothing, it’s the truth, but even if it’s the truth, it’s not tolerated by the Qin Dynasty, and it didn’t take long for the government to start arresting people.”
"All the people I arranged in front of me were arrested."
"If I hadn't been smart and quickly got into the crowd, I would have been in trouble."
"It is better to defend the people's mouth than to defend the river."
"It is simply ridiculous for the Qin Dynasty to try to block the world's public opinion."
Zhang Liang frowned.
He shook his head secretly, but didn't say much.
He asked: "I just heard someone in the restaurant say that the government has responded. Does Brother He know how the government responded?"
He Yao sneered and said disdainfully: "What other response could there be?"
"It just means that the government knows about it and is thinking of a solution. A solution will be given before dusk."
"It's all high-sounding empty talk."
"This alone makes the people of Qin very excited. Now there are crowds of people under the major city walls, all waiting for the government to come up with a solution at dusk."
"I just want to see what solution Bao Qin can come up with."
"Can Fusu really make salt and iron?"
"Did Qin Ting really announce this?" Zhang Liang's face darkened.
He Yao looked confused and said: "Of course it is true. I have seen that notice with my own eyes."
Zhang Liang sighed softly and said, "We may not gain much from our visit to Xianyang this time."
"Why?" He Yao was stunned.
He couldn't understand Zhang Liang's words more and more.
Even if Qin Ting responds, so what? The mood in Guanzhong has been aroused for a long time. How can Qin Ting calm it down easily? Moreover, he had already arranged all the things ordered by Zhang Liang. When things get more serious, Guanzhong will easily fall into chaos.
How could such a great opportunity go unrewarded?
Zhang Liang could see He Yao's doubts. He shook his head and said, "I have just recalled what Qin Ting did for more than half a year, and I have initially concluded that Qin Ting has made changes in how he deals with the world. He is no longer eager for success, but I started to figure it out slowly, and I am afraid that Qin Ting is not doing nothing about this matter in Guanzhong, but has been doing something."
"It's just not known to outsiders."
"It has been more than ten days since the shipwreck in Huai County, but Qin Ting has never made any statement. After lying dormant for so long, how can he continue to let it go? The encounter you mentioned earlier is probably something Qin Ting deliberately revealed. Fangs.”
"And this is just the beginning."
"If you think about Qin Ting's response carefully, you can already detect some clues from it."
"Qin Ting has already made all preparations."
"Right now, we've pretty much done all the work behind the scenes, so we're just starting to close the net. There's no need to keep fussing about it."
Zhang Liang was very sober.
He knew that he could no longer insist on going in.
He Yao frowned.
He did not speak in a hurry, but recalled the notice posted by the government. He thought about it several times in his mind, and a solemn look suddenly appeared in his eyes.
He had realized the key.
Qin Ting seems to have already made a plan.
He looked at Zhang Liang and asked, "How should we deal with it now?"
(End of chapter)
