As Wang Xiaolie spoke out, Han Shizhong's men cheered. The words he scolded Peng Tan and others were harsh.
Peng Tan stood there, unable to be hit or scolded, and for a moment he didn't know what to do.
Wang Xiaolie secretly shook his head. It was a good thing that Ding Jin was defeated by the Jin army in the first battle, and he had nothing to do with him anymore. If you really stay with this kind of person, you will be in trouble in the future.
Seeing that there were more and more people watching, Wang Xiaolie said to the people around him: "Let's go. Don't mess with this kind of thing. Seeing that there are many people selling goods over there, let's go over and ask about the price of rice first. "
Together, they crossed over the fighting Peng Tan and others and arrived at the market in front of Xiangguo Temple.
Since the Jin soldiers broke through the city, Kaifeng has become much more depressed than before, and many markets have been abandoned. Only in front of Xiangguo Temple, it has an important location and is still the most important market in the city. And unlike before, everything is available here now, including firewood, rice, oil and salt.
When they arrived at a rice shop, Wang Xiaolie took people in. A boy came up quickly and saluted Wang Xiaolie and others.
Wang Xiaolie asked: "What's the price of rice now?"
The boy said: "Go back to the official, today's rice is eleven thousand. Our shop only accepts cash, no credit."
Wang Xiaolie took a breath of cold air. A bucket of rice costs eleven thousand, which is dozens of times the price of rice in peacetime. There are five to six hundred men in his army, and they only have the gold and silver given by Zongze. How many days can they eat if they buy rice?
Seeing that Wang Xiaolie was silent, the boy said: "My lord, the price of grain in Kaifeng City is like this. Now the water transportation is blocked, and it will rise in the future. If we were not allowed to stay behind to prevent us grain stores from closing, the master would have closed the store. Just wait for the price to go up.”
Wang Xiaolie nodded. Pulling Yang Shen aside, he whispered: "The price of rice in the capital is so expensive, how can we afford to live there? I was rewarded with some gold and silver by staying behind a few days ago. You should make a careful calculation and buy more rice. Don't let the soldiers It makes me sick to my stomach."
Yang Shen said: "People of Xiaoshe don't have to worry. In this season, copper coins are the least valuable, and the price of gold and silver is higher. I have asked several rice shops in the past few days to find the best price, and use gold and silver. Buy rice.”
Wang Xiaolie nodded. I don't know if what Yang Shen said is true, and I feel a little unsure. I carefully asked about the price of rice and wheat in the store, and promised to send someone over in the afternoon to buy some rice back with the money.
After leaving the rice store, Wang Zhong said: "There are hundreds of thousands of troops in Kaifeng city. Rice is so expensive, what will they eat?"
Wang Xiaolie shook his head: "Where did the hundreds of thousands of troops come from? Just look at the price of rice and you will know that most of the leaders reported false numbers. If there are really hundreds of thousands of people, how much does it cost to buy rice every day? There are mountains of gold and silver. There’s not enough there either.”
Zongze wanted Zhao Gou to return to Beijing, so the memorial was inevitably exaggerated. He said that there were one million troops in the capital. How could we believe this number? It's just that the leaders reported that there were 100,000 people, and that they reported 200,000 people. He just reported it. If the Bianhe River is blocked, rice from the south cannot be transported, and the city of Kaifeng cannot support the one or two hundred thousand people. The price of rice has dropped to 11,000 bucks. This is because the imperial court has made many efforts to transport rice.
After asking a few more rice shops, the prices were roughly the same, so Wang Xiaolie stopped asking. As long as there is food on the market, the army cannot actually starve. If you don’t have money to buy it, why don’t you grab it with a knife? Most of the troops in Kaifeng City are like this now. Wang Xiaolie didn't want this. Based on the memory of his previous life, he hopes to bring out a civilized army and trade fairly. It's just that the situation is serious, and it's hard to say what will happen next.
After walking for a while, Wang Xiaolie suddenly said: "Do you think the price of rice in surrounding counties is also so expensive?"
Wang Zhongdao: "No. I don't know how many people have gathered in Kaifeng Mansion now. How can it be like this in the surrounding area? Does Xiaoshe people mean to go to other prefectures and counties to buy food? When we passed by Zhengzhou, there was less than 5,000 buckets of rice there. .”
Wang Xiaolie nodded: "That's what I have in mind. Buy more food so that you won't panic."
After speaking, Wang Xiaolie shook his head. The current situation is really uncomfortable. As a guest soldier in Kaifeng City, it is difficult to find food and accommodation, and life is really difficult. It's impossible to count on Zongze, and he doesn't have much money in his hands. There are so many armies in the city, how many can he manage?
I looked around for other things, and they were all expensive. At this time, it seems that money is no longer money.
After leaving Kaixiangguo Temple, we arrived at the south bank of Cai River. Wang Xiaolie turned around and looked at the other side and sighed: "How can we stay in Kaifeng like this? The most important thing is to renovate the Bianhe River and open it for water transportation. Without food from the Jianghuai River, sooner or later there will be trouble."
Yang Shen said: "What Xiaoshe said is right. But now in Kaifeng, where is the manpower? The left-behind department can't get the money."
Several people walked towards Tielin camp while talking. Thinking about what he saw just now, Wang Xiaolie was in a bad mood. He is different from Ding Jin and others. Those people live day by day, but Wang Xiaolie thinks long term. Obviously, Kaifeng is not a place to stay for a long time.
Where are you going? Wang Xiaolie has thought about this issue countless times these days and has been unable to decide.
Last year, when the Jin army went south, the Song Dynasty lost a lot of cities. Now the Jin army has just retreated, and there are a large number of places north of the Yangtze River without soldiers and officials. As long as you lead troops there, you can easily occupy it. As long as it can be defended, the court will admit the reality and issue an official complaint.
Precisely because there were so many choices, Wang Xiaolie couldn't make up his mind. The place chosen must not only be dangerous to defend, but also have arable land and be able to attract people. Only when there is land and people can we develop and grow in the future and truly make a career.
With all his worries on his mind, Wang Xiaolie returned to Tielin Camp.
As soon as they entered the camp gate, a soldier crossed his hands and said, "Xiaoshe people, Commander Yue Fei is visiting. He is waiting in the camp."
Wang Xiaolie heard this and said hurriedly: "Go tell General Yue quickly and wait a moment. I will go back and clean up before going to meet you!"
The soldier accepted the promise and ran away.
Wang Xiaolie said to the other three: "Yue Fei is a rare good general, so don't neglect him. Wang Zhong goes and prepares some good tea and will be back soon."
Wang Zhongdao: "Xiao Sheren, this Yue Fei has never heard of his name before, and he is a deserter under Wang Taiwei. What's so special about him? If Wang Taiwei knows about it, I'm afraid he will still blame you."
Wang Xiaolie said: "What kind of person is Taiwei Wang? He will blame these things! You don't understand these things, just go and prepare tea."
After returning to his residence, Wang Xiaolie picked up the items and picked them up a bit. After leaving the door, holding on to the door frame, I couldn't help but feel a little lost.
This era can be said to be full of famous generals, and the most outstanding among them is naturally Yue Fei. His bravery and loyalty are unparalleled by others. If you can get help from such a person, there will be many benefits in the future.
But Yue Fei is different from Ding Jin and others. Although he served under Wang Yan for a period of time and became homeless, he always followed the regular army of the Song Dynasty. If Wang Xiaolie's memory is correct, Yue Fei should still follow the left-behind Secretary to the south after Zongze's death. After a few years of wandering around, he was appreciated by the court, promoted along the way based on his military exploits, and eventually became a large army. Such people will only follow the court.
After thinking for a while, Wang Xiaolie shook his head. Who are you? He only had five or six hundred soldiers and had only fought a few victorious battles. How could he attract a good general like Yue Fei? It's better not to think about these things now, just keep the personal connection.
In this chaotic era, the world is changing too fast. Trying to have everything planned out is just delusion.
