City of King Yu.
Imperial Palace, Zhengde Hall.
"His Majesty!"
"Since yesterday, the Lu family has purchased a large amount of grain. More than a hundred merchants in the north and south of the Lijiang River have charged grain at high prices, causing the price of grain to rise three times in just a few days!"
"This move will endanger the country. Your Majesty, please make a decision as soon as possible!"
Right Prime Minister Shen Li bowed his hands respectfully, with a look of worry that could not be concealed on his face. Chen Qinghe, the Minister of Household Affairs, also bowed his hands and said: "Your Majesty, now, the price of food has suddenly risen, and the Lu family's malicious hoarding of food will inevitably cause turmoil. Please make an edict from your Majesty." , let the Lu family open a position!"
"This is inappropriate!"
Cai Ji, the Secretary of the Ministry of Punishments, frowned and walked out of the queue, saying solemnly: "The increase in grain prices is not controlled by the Lu family, and the grain bank's collection of grain does not violate national laws. If the imperial court rashly intervenes, I am afraid that the world will criticize it."
"Master Cai, do you know what it means for food prices to triple?"
"Why!"
Emperor Yu's face was as cold as ice, and there was a hint of anger in his eyes. He tightly grasped the golden chair he was sitting on with both hands, and said in a serious voice: "The Lu family collects grain at a high price, which is suspected of manipulating grain prices."
"Food is a matter of national importance!"
"My lords, do you have any good ideas?"
Hearing Emperor Yu's question, Lin Qiushi, the left prime minister, also had a serious face, stretched out his sleeves and said: "Your Majesty, since the founding of the country by Yu the Great, the Lu family has monopolized the world's grain stores. In the opinion of the minister, the imperial court opened a market to sell grain."
"Prime Minister Lin, if the imperial court goes down personally, wouldn't it be competing with the people for profit?"
"Besides, the Lu family has not violated the national law. As the saying goes, if there is a sale, there is a purchase. The price of food is determined by the market. What does it have to do with the Lu family?"
"Could it be that the Lu family has offended someone?"
All the officials were talking a lot, and one-third of the civil and military officials in the court actually spoke for the Lu family. Emperor Yu's face was also gloomier than ever before: "This matter is serious, we can discuss it later."
"Is there still a book to be played?"
"Retreat if you have nothing to do!"
Emperor Yu waved his sleeves, while Wei Ying watched everyone leave, walked to the steps below, and stepped forward to stop several officials.
"Two Prime Ministers, Your Majesty wants you to go to the Imperial Study Room."
"Lord Zheng, stay..."
"Lord Zhuge..."
…
Royal study room.
Emperor Yu sat in front of the dragon table and drank three cups of tea in a row. His eyes fell on the long sword hanging next to him. The sullen look on his face did not disappear. He drew the sword suddenly, with a cold light overflowing, and said in a cold voice: "Is there any news from the north? ?”
"Back to Your Majesty, Master Ji Sui and Jin Yiwei have taken control of the soldiers in the two counties."
"Haha!" A sneer appeared on Emperor Yu's lips: "No wonder, the Lu family is warning me!"
"Very good!"
"They think I am a soft persimmon and will look at their faces."
"Forget it, despite the turmoil in the world, I want to have a chance encounter with the Lu family to see whether I, Dayu, will die first, or the head of his Lu family will fall first."
As soon as Emperor Yu finished speaking, Wei Ying walked in quickly, cupped her hands slightly and said, "Your Majesty, just now an urgent report was sent from the Jinyi Guards, from His Highness King Yong."
"My lords are already waiting outside the palace."
"Send the letter to me first."
"yes!"
Wei Ying enshrined Ning Fan's autograph, and the anger on Emperor Yu's face softened a lot. It seemed that he didn't even notice it. After hearing the news about his second son, the raging anger in his heart seemed to calm down a little.
After opening the letter, Emperor Yu read it very carefully, with a touch of emotion on his face, and said sadly: "I guessed that the second half of the year was not easy, but I didn't expect that it would be so difficult for him."
"good!"
"When this child grows up, he knows that he has to worry about me."
"One hundred thousand shi of food, although it is not much, it is still the second son's wish."
"That's all..."
After Emperor Yu muttered to himself, he smiled a little, looked at Wei Ying and said, "Let them all come in!"
"yes!"
Not long after, the prime ministers on the left and right, the ministers of various ministries, and the newly appointed Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Civil Affairs came to see him.
"Let's talk about it. How should we deal with the Lu family's affairs?"
"His Majesty!"
Shen Li was the first to speak, with a bit of anger on his face: "The Lu family's move did not take into account the common people in the world or the court. Now, the price of food has increased threefold, and winter is about to begin. The lives of ordinary people have It will definitely be more difficult.”
"At ordinary food prices, ordinary people can barely live and feed themselves. Now, the Lu family is purchasing food on a large scale, and families all over the world are responding. It is obvious that they have evil intentions."
"Old minister, please order me. The imperial court will open warehouses to release grain and maintain grain prices."
Chen Qinghe shook his head slightly, looked at Shen Li and said: "Prime Minister Shen, last year I, Dayu, fought for many years. Now the grain reserves in the court are not abundant. They store grains to deal with famines. If we open the warehouse to release grains at this time, if there is a disaster, What should be done?"
"Hmph, the Lu family has always controlled the food lifeline of my Dayu. Your Majesty, in my opinion, we should legislate to limit food prices."
All the ministers spoke one after another, but Emperor Yu's face was calm and unperturbed. Instead, his eyes fell on Zhuge Liang, who had been standing in the corner and had not spoken.
"Kong Ming, what do you have in mind?"
"His Majesty!"
Zhuge Liang slightly cupped his hands and looked around, with a courteous expression on his face: "Since the founding of the country by Dayu, the grain market has been controlled by the Lu family. When the Lu family harvests grain, the price of grain rises sharply. And every autumn harvest, the Lu family opens warehouses to release grain. Food prices plummeted, and the Lu family took the opportunity to make purchases."
"In the past years of famine, the Lu family would manipulate food prices, eat steamed buns with human blood, and drive up food prices. They used this to hold the court hostage and treat everyone in the world like grass."
"My minister, I have little knowledge, but I also know that food is related to the foundation of the country. If the people in the world can't even eat, they will rise up."
"Now, the Lu family's granary is full, and the people's rice vat is drying up. With food prices soaring, the people cannot eat food. They will only blame the court for being incompetent, not the Lu family for storing food."
"Long-term pain is worse than short-term pain. The Lu family's troubles endanger the country. I suggest that the Ministry of Household Affairs open a market and sell grain at a fair price."
Zhuge Liang's words were instantly recognized by Shen Li, and Lin Qiushi nodded frequently. Although the forces behind the case are intertwined, these people who are currently involved in the case may be favored by Emperor Yu, and at least they can still handle the big things right and wrong.
"Yes!" Emperor Yu nodded, looked at Chen Qinghe and said: "In this case, the household department will make arrangements to open a grain store. However, before that, there is one more important matter to discuss with you."
"Look at this information!"
Emperor Yu handed over all the evidence found by the Jinyi Guards to the ministers. Lin Qiushi and Shen Li each took some and distributed them to everyone. For a moment, the entire hall fell into silence, and Lin Qiushi's expression became extremely solemn.
Shen Li also began to breathe rapidly, with a look of anger on his face. The rest of the people all had shocked expressions on their faces and remained silent for a long time.
"Your Majesty, these..."
"The evidence is conclusive. Some of the evidence was presented by Jin Yiwei, and some were discovered after Ji Sui went north. I also sent people to conduct a secret investigation, and there is no mistake."
…
