Early the next morning, all the landlords and gentry in Fucheng received invitations from Yuan Wai Lu, saying that they wanted to discuss disaster relief matters together.
The prefect also received the invitation.
In fact, disaster relief should have been his job as the prefect, but he was used to pretending to be dead, using the excuse that he was sick because of the prefect Lingbi and was bedridden.
But when faced with Lu Yuanwai's invitation, his illness immediately healed.
He knew very well that in Yanhua Mansion, he was the highest official in name, but in fact, it was Lu Yuanwai who was the talker.
Even though Lu Yuanwai is now without an official position, his influence in the court has always been there. It can even be said that as long as Lu Yuanwai says a word, his position as the prefect will be in jeopardy.
Not long after, the wealthy gentry and dignitaries from Yanhua City gathered in the Lu Mansion. Those who couldn't come also sent important people from their families to participate.
Member Zhao looked distressed and sighed as he sat in his seat.
Rich Man Wang on the side asked curiously:
"Brother Zhao, what's wrong with you?
Even if Yuan Wai Lu came today to make us lose money, as long as everyone works together and throws in some money and food, it will be enough to deal with it. There is nothing worth sighing about. "
"Hey, Brother Wang, Zhao is not doing it for this matter, but something happened in my family, and it's possible that there is a demon!"
"Oh, a monster? Didn't Brother Zhao invite the mage to have a look?"
"I have invited, monks and Taoists have invited me, incense has been offered in the City God's Temple, and Bodhisattvas have also worshiped, but it still doesn't work."
"What kind of monster is so powerful?"
“I would say it’s not amazing, it’s just annoying.
The monster that appeared in the house is very strange, and it doesn’t do anything bad, it just likes to kick people’s butts..."
"Kick someone's ass?"
"Yes, for some reason, the monster can't be caught. No one knows where it is.
He always kicks people in the butt without warning.
Hey~~What evil have I done!
I was thinking for a while that if I donated more food, the Bodhisattvas and Taoists would bless me and help me contain this monster! "
"Brother Zhao, it's not okay to donate too much. You have to advance and retreat with everyone, and you can't break the rules!"
"You...hey, okay!"
Member Zhao sat with a sad face and stopped talking.
Everyone waited for a while, no one dared to look impatient, they were all waiting for the rightful owner to appear.
After a while, Yuan Lu, the prefect, and a man in his thirties who looked like a Confucian scholar were seen walking over, talking and laughing.
Everyone recognized Yuan Wai Lu and the prefect, but they did not recognize the strange Confucian scholar.
Lu Yuanwai smiled and sat on the main seat, the prefect sat on the second seat, and the Confucian scholar held the junior ceremony and stood beside Lu Yuanwai.
After Lu Yuanwai took his seat, he greeted everyone and said hello.
Everyone quickly stood up and returned the greeting.
After everyone sat down, Mr. Lu first said a few off-topic remarks to everyone, and after paying attention to everyone's current situation, he got to the main topic.
"I called everyone here this time, saying it was for disaster relief..."
Before Mr. Lu finished speaking, Mr. Wang stood up first.
"Exceptor Lu, you don't need to say more. We all believe that we should save the people from the fire and water. However, Wang's family has meager financial resources and is in a difficult situation. I'm afraid we won't be able to do much.
To show his kindness, Wang is willing to donate 20 shi of food to help the victims! "
With the rich man Wang at the beginning, everyone else also started talking, and basically no one had more than 40 dan.
This amount of food is not even enough for the people here, and it is not embarrassing to say it.
But all these people are crying out for poverty.
I thought that under such a collective confrontation, Yuan Lu would look displeased, and by then I and others would add some more food, and the matter would be over.
Unexpectedly, when member Lu heard this, he burst into laughter.
Everyone was puzzled, thinking that member Lu was laughing in anger, and they couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. After all, this person was really someone who was not easy to mess with.
Rich Man Wang was a little timid, stood up and said with a smile:
"Executive member Lu, do you think this is okay? Wang is willing to increase the amount to 200 shi of grain."
Others also spoke up and asked for more food.
Officer Lu laughed for a while and did not answer anyone's words. He just pointed at Mr. Bai beside him and introduced him.
After hearing that it was Mr. Bai who had become famous recently, the faces of a group of wealthy squires were not very good.
What they hate the most is this kind of person. As long as this kind of person helps the victims, he will definitely cut out the flesh from their bodies. It’s strange that they like him!
After Mr. Bai briefly introduced himself, he walked to the center of the hall and said with a smile:
"Everyone, my uncle just wanted to say that calling everyone here this time is called disaster relief, but it is actually to take advantage of the chaos and make a fortune!"
As soon as these words came out, the scene could be heard.
A wealthy man immediately said:
"No, although we dare not say that we are all good people who help the world and save people, we must never do such a thing as making money for the country!"
Others also refuted it, saying that it would be difficult for the country not to make money.
When Mr. Bai saw this, his expression did not change, but he despised these people even more in his heart.
After the disaster started, you people were the only ones who worked hard to hoard food and buy low and sell high. Now you still have the nerve to say that the country will be in dire straits if we don’t make money.
It’s really a typical example of being both upright and upright.
"Since you all don't want to enrich the country, how about we lower the price of food on the market together?"
After hearing what Mr. Bai said, everyone was dumbfounded, and no one answered, and everyone looked like it had nothing to do with them.
Price reduction, what a joke.
Now that food prices are high, they can make a lot of money. It is absolutely impossible for them to lower prices.
"Since you are not willing to lower prices, then stop telling lies about not making the country richer. Be careful if you talk too much and evil spirits will come to your door!"
When Mr. Bai said this, Zhao Yuanwai's face suddenly turned pale. It felt like it was really possible!
Could it be that I have done too many things to my detriment?
Seeing no one replied, Mr. Bai said:
"Wansheng would like to ask you to double the current price of food this time. What do you think?"
Everyone was shocked when they heard this.
I didn’t expect this person to be so evil. The current price of food has risen to a very ridiculous level. If it doubles again, then...
How tempting!
Everyone felt like they could hear their own heartbeats. If this doubled again, they would really make a lot of money!
Everyone looked at Yuan Wai Lu and the prefect in unison.
These two are the ones who can talk today.
Officer Lu and the prefect both smiled and nodded.
Only then did everyone realize that the matter was tacitly approved by Yuan Wai and the prefect. Could it be that they also wanted to take advantage of the national crisis to make a fortune?
After having this guess, everyone immediately felt that they had guessed it right and it was really possible.
Let’s just say, there is no one in the world who cannot be moved by benefits!
"Not only do we have to raise food prices, but now so many disaster victims have flowed into Yanhua Prefecture, this is a God-given opportunity and we must make good use of it."
After everyone heard what Mr. Bai said, Rich Man Wang couldn't help but ask:
"I wonder if there is any good opportunity?"
Mr. Bai took out a scroll and unfolded it. The painting showed a wasteland not far from Fucheng.
Mr. Bai pointed to the wasteland and said:
"Everyone, please tell me, in normal times, how much money would it cost to build a manor here?"
Rich Man Wang took one look and said directly:
"It's still a hundred thousand taels at least!"
"But now, if we leave it to the disaster victims to build it, we don't have to pay a single tael of silver. You only need to provide them with a good meal, and then you can build a manor. What do you think?"
When everyone heard this, their eyes lit up.
These days, no one would not like to have an additional manor under their name.
To build a manor, I only need some food and building materials, almost completely eliminating labor costs. This...
What a great thing!
Soon someone understood that Mr. Bai's ultimate goal was actually to relieve the victims.
But at this time, no one objected anymore. They all looked at each other and felt that this was feasible.
Rich Man Wang coughed dryly:
"I have always heard of Mr. Bai's name, but when I saw him today, he was really extraordinary.
But there is one thing Wang needs to correct.
What we do is entirely to relieve the victims. As for the construction of the manor, it is entirely because we feel sorry for them and give them a way to survive. It is definitely not selfish! "
Hearing this, the others began to speak righteously. In an instant, they all turned into benevolent people who were concerned about the country and the people.
Mr. Bai did not expose their claims this time, but praised these people against their will.
The matter was quickly finalized, and the next step was for these wealthy country gentlemen to determine the location and territory of the manor.
Everyone had a tacit understanding and left the best location to Yuan Lu, and no one dared to compete for it.
In this way, Yanhua Prefecture began a large-scale construction project that had not been seen in decades.
Generally speaking, large-scale construction projects mean a waste of people and money.
But this time, the large-scale construction projects in Yanhua Mansion are actually saving lives.
These wealthy country gentlemen had no enthusiasm at all for building bridges and paving roads, but they were very enthusiastic when it came to building their own manors. Without Mr. Bai's mobilization, they took the initiative to recruit refugees and let them contribute to their efforts.
Of course, food prices have also doubled, making people dizzy.
Soon, grain merchants from other places heard the news that grain prices in Yanhua Prefecture were higher than gold, and they all frantically dragged grains into Yanhua Prefecture, hoping to make a big profit.
At the beginning, everyone’s food prices were high, so we couldn’t see anything.
But it didn't take long for a problem to be discovered.
There is too much food coming to Yanhua Mansion...
When there is too much grain and the price is high, it cannot be sold.
At first, the grain merchants discussed together and never lowered the price.
But it didn't take long to discover that this method didn't work.
Because food has a shelf life, especially if it is transported all the way, it is no longer well preserved.
Now it is obviously impossible to transport it back. In desperation, grain merchants have no choice but to lower their prices...
It was not until December that the famine was barely stopped.
Although this famine survived, countless refugees died. A rough estimate is that at least nearly a million people died in this famine.
Countless families were broken up and people died.
Mr. Bai, who had been busy for two months, came to Yuan Lu's study again.
Member Lu smiled and said:
"My dear nephew, you should be the first to be able to solve the disaster this time!"
"I don't dare. This junior just put in a little effort. It's thanks to uncle that you have been running through it all. This crisis can be successfully overcome."
After the two chatted for a while, Member Lu suddenly said mysteriously:
"My dear nephew, do you know who made the most money during this Gyeongju famine?"
"They should be those grain merchants and wealthy gentry!"
"No, it is the prime minister and the queen's family who make the most money."
"them?"
Mr. Bai looked surprised and a little confused.
"The world is hungry and Gyeongju is full. This saying has been circulated for hundreds of years. Do you really think it is a lie?"
Let’s put it this way, under normal circumstances, Gyeongju would not have died of nearly a million people due to famine, let alone three months of drought, even three years of drought.
In fact, as early as five years ago, the people in the current dynasty were constantly taking away the food in Qingzhou and using various methods to turn Qingzhou into an empty shell of food.
Finally this year, we experienced a severe drought.
Taking advantage of this severe drought, the people in the government used their power to cut off the channels for Gyeongju victims to obtain food from outside.
After that, they asked the grain merchants they supported to sell grain at a high price, which was really worth gold, forcing the people of Gyeongju to flee.
But in the end, only a small part escaped, and most of the remaining ones were drained of their last trace of value. "
"...You are saying that this disaster, which killed and injured nearly a million people, was not a natural disaster, but... a man-made disaster?"
Mr. Bai's voice was trembling,
"They, how dare they...
How dare you..."
"Hey~~The emperor is weak, the traitorous prime minister is in power, loyal ministers are deposed, the government and the public are in turmoil, the officials are forcing the people to rebel..."
Member Lu also sighed.
"Several of my students at court were exiled."
After hearing this, Mr. Bai sat slumped in his chair. He no longer felt the joy of successful disaster relief and just sighed:
"Xu Guo, it's over!"
...
