Yu Anran's expression changed after hearing these words.
He only heard that some people in the court were dissatisfied with Yang He's stay in Henan, but he did not know that the situation in the court had reached a point where Yang He had to be forced to leave Henan.
Since someone in the court wants to move Yang He, and Yang He has not won a victory since he came to Henan to put down the rebellion, if there are no important ministers in the court to help him, leaving Henan has become a foregone conclusion.
Thinking of this, Yu Anran decided to join forces with Magistrate Lin.
It doesn't matter if he fails. The worst he can do is offend the governor Yang He. But with the current situation in Henan, it will be a matter of time before Yang He steps down.
"The Sword Comes"
But if the matter is done, even if he does not get much practical benefit from this general judge, as long as the name of the court minister behind Magistrate Lin can be remembered, everything will be worth it.
As Yu Anran showed his good intentions, the atmosphere at the table became heated.
The two squires at the table were toasted several times by Yu Anran, intentionally or unintentionally.
The party was over only after the wine was half drunk.
The two squires who were satisfied with their drink were so drunk that their eyes were blurred and their legs were shaking as they walked, swaying from side to side. They were helped out of the restaurant by servants at home.
When only Magistrate Lin and Yu Anran were left on the table, the eyes of the two people, who were already half drunk and half awake, regained clarity almost at the same time.
"Is Anran sobered up?" Magistrate Lin looked at Yu Anran with a smile.
Yu Anran said with a smile: "Isn't Futai sober up too?"
"Ha ha!"
Magistrate Lin held his beard and laughed.
The leftovers on the table were quickly removed by the restaurant waiter and replaced with fragrant tea.
"Why did Futai end up with these two people?" Yu Anran held hot tea in his hand and looked at Magistrate Lin.
As a general judge, he understood the Kaifeng prefect in front of him.
He has the arrogance of a scholar. Although he is not the kind of person who does not understand the world, he looks down on the local squires from the bottom of his heart. Therefore, he is not close to the local squires, at least not to the extent of specially inviting colleagues. The place where you can eat at the table.
"I didn't find them, they found me." Magistrate Lin took a sip of tea and added, "They also specially entertained you and me with this banquet."
Hearing this, Yu Anran frowned slightly and said: "These two people have extraordinary backgrounds. They can take the initiative to entertain you, not just for Yang He's sake!"
Even though the prefect is a local high official, in the eyes of some squires with background and strength, a prefect may not take them seriously.
On the contrary, if local officials like the prefect want to have good political achievements in the local area, they must rely on these local squires with backgrounds.
Like the two people who just left, they have connections with the imperial censors in the capital, and there are people in their families who are officials in the capital. Such backgrounds are much better than those of a local official like Magistrate Lin who has no background.
"Yang He's matter is just an excuse. In fact, even without us, Yang He would have stayed in Henan for a short time, and it is true that some people in the court were dissatisfied that Yang He had made no achievements in Henan." Prefect Lin said.
Yu Anran asked: "What are they going to do?"
As the magistrate of Kaifeng Prefecture, he knew very well about these country squires and local sticks. It was impossible for these people to do anything bad.
Even if Yang He is taken away, there is no guarantee that the imperial court will not send another governor to Henan.
"Food." Magistrate Lin whispered two words.
Hearing this, Yu Anran frowned and said, "Aren't the current food prices high enough? Since the rebels besieged the city, the food price has more than doubled. Aren't they still dissatisfied?"
War is the easiest way for some people to take advantage of opportunities to make a fortune.
So when he heard Magistrate Lin mentioning food, he immediately understood that the squires in the city wanted to take the opportunity to drive up food prices.
"Kaifeng Fucheng is besieged by rebels. Food from outside the city cannot be transported in. The food in the city is used less and less, so the price will naturally increase. It is understandable." Prefect Lin said disapprovingly.
No matter how high the price of food is, as the prefect of Kaifeng Prefecture, he will not be short of food.
Yu Anran frowned and said: "Hundreds of thousands of people in the city need to eat. The price of food has risen too high. Once the people can't afford food, there will be trouble in the city."
"So you are also on Yang He's side, supporting the suppression of grain merchants and forcibly suppressing grain prices from rising?" Magistrate Lin raised his eyebrows.
Yu Anran choked up after hearing this, but still said: "Although Yang He has made no achievements in suppressing rebellion, I support the matter of stabilizing food prices. Stabilizing food prices is beneficial to the defense of the city."
"If Yang He listens to my words, gather 20,000 soldiers and horses in the city and go out to fight, and wipe out the thousands of rebels besieging the city in one fell swoop, not only will the siege of Kaifeng Fucheng be lifted, but the grain merchants in the city will not have the opportunity to take advantage of the opportunity to drive up grain prices. It's a good thing, but Yang He is unwilling to accept my suggestion for his own selfishness, which shows that his love for the people is nothing more than a sheepish act." Magistrate Lin said with an annoyed look.
Obviously he still held a grudge against Yang He for driving him out of the Yamen lobby.
Yu Anran felt that she still had to explain a few words to Yang He. After all, letting grain merchants drive up grain prices would not be of any benefit to defending the city.
If something went wrong in Kaifeng City, he, the general magistrate of Kaifeng City, would also be affected. After all, he and Yang He had common interests in defending the city.
He said: "Although Yang He did not choose to go head-to-head with the rebels outside the city, he still decided to send an elite force out of the city to attack the rebels outside the city. As long as it succeeds, the siege of Kaifeng Fucheng will most likely be lifted."
"Isn't this the method I proposed? It shows Yang He's hypocrisy and unwillingness to give any credit to others." After hearing Yu Anran's words, Magistrate Lin became even more angry.
He was angry that Yang He had used his strategy, but pushed him away as the person who made the plan, without giving him any chance to share the credit.
Yu Anran saw that his persuasion was not only useless, but also made Prefect Lin hate Yang He even more.
This made him feel helpless.
But he still doesn't want food prices to rise too much. After all, too high food prices are harmful to all, so he still hopes that Prefect Lin can reach a consensus with him on food prices.
He had no choice but to continue to persuade Magistrate Lin, saying: "Whether we can defend the city of Kaifeng is related to our wealth and life. Letting grain merchants drive up grain prices at will is really not good for the defense of the city."
"Do you think you and I alone can stop the rise in food prices?" Magistrate Lin asked back.
After hearing this, Yu Anran immediately smiled bitterly.
Even though he was the general magistrate of Kaifeng Prefecture, he couldn't control those grain merchants at all.
Yang He was able to force the grain dealers not to raise grain prices wantonly because Yang He had the support of the commander-in-chief Chen Yongfu and had soldiers at his disposal. When Kaifeng Fucheng was besieged, Yang He had the final say in the entire Kaifeng Fucheng.
Even if those grain merchants have connections in the capital, water from afar cannot quench their thirst.
