Yu Yanfeng remained calm and said in a low voice: "I don't know. Your Majesty only asked me and Liu Tong'en to wait at Lingyang Pier. After midnight last night, people started sending food over."
"The leader at the time looked to be around thirty, with an ordinary face and dressed as a merchant. He claimed to be a grain merchant from Jiangnan, and his accent was indeed from there."
"I said a few words to him, but Liu Tongen was following him all the way, so I couldn't do much inquiring, but I have seen the people escorting the grain, and they don't look like the guards of ordinary merchants."
After Yu Yanfeng finished speaking, he glanced at the imperial army escorting the food over there.
"Liu Tong'en was extremely dissatisfied with me, and His Majesty didn't trust me too much. Although he beat and scolded Liu Tong'en, he did not tell me the truth about the food issue this time. He only asked me to escort Liu Tong'en with him. However, he secretly revealed that he wanted me to spy on Liu Tong'en. the meaning of."
Qian Baokun said: "Since the intention to monitor is born, it means that trust is no longer the same as before. Xiao Yan's method is actually effective."
Whether they are masters, servants, or monarchs and ministers, they are most afraid of being jealous.
Emperor An is not an open-minded person. Once suspicion arises, he will make mistakes everywhere.
The rift between them grew day by day, and it was only a matter of time before he and Liu Tongen turned against each other.
Yu Yanfeng naturally knew this, so he was not anxious at all and just said to Qian Baokun:
"There is one more thing. I need to bother Shangshu Qian and talk to Duke Dingguo."
"There are some questions about the origin of this gold. Although it was apparently transported from the palace, Eunuch Feng said that His Majesty does not have so much gold in his private treasury. Most of it is precious objects such as rare curios, jade, calligraphy and paintings, but I saw the gold being taken out of the private treasury with my own eyes."
"I feel that either His Majesty is hiding something from Eunuch Feng and has been wary of him for a long time, or else there is a secret passage in the palace that even we are not aware of."
If the gold was in a private treasury, it meant that Feng Lai had never fully trusted Emperor An, and Emperor An was on guard against him.
If Emperor An had someone send it in in advance and then take it out from the private treasury in front of everyone, then if he and Feng Lai were able to send the things into the treasury without telling him and Feng Lai, then there must be other places of entry and exit in the palace, which would be very important to them. That's not a good thing.
Qian Baokun's face became solemn: "I will tell Xiao Yan about this."
…
Since the rebellion of King Pingshan, everyone's eyes have been on the army going south to counter the rebellion. Marquis Wenxin and others cannot hide the fact that they took people to the granary in the south of the city to collect food.
When the people from the Ministry of War got money from the Ministry of Household Affairs the next day, and the Ministry of Household Affairs also began to purchase grain from abroad, the previously stagnant preparations for the war started to move again. Everyone who had previously known that the extremely poor household department in the treasury had no money available knew that It was revealed that Emperor An used his private treasury to subsidize the Ministry of Household Affairs.
…
In the Prince's Mansion, the Prince smashed everything on the floor.
"Where did your father come from so much food? Ten thousand stones of food, how big a noise would it be if you wanted to transport it into the capital? Even the official ships were moved, how come you don't even have any news!!"
After he knew that the Ministry of Revenue was out of food, he secretly asked people to exchange all the little silver in their hands for grain, and only waited for the Ministry of Revenue to be in trouble before using it to help them rescue them, thereby winning over Marquis Wenxin and Nan Xiaping. With the heart of a rebellious soldier, even if his father could come up with money by retreating ten thousand steps, he had already given orders to the grain merchant in Beijing. As long as he delayed and refused to sell grain, any more money would be a joke.
At that time, whether he uses it to attract people's hearts or takes the opportunity to sell it to his father to make a fortune, it will be a good thing.
But where did my father get so much food? !
"That idiot Cui Qi, didn't he say that no one in the capital has so much food!"
The staff next to him whispered: "Your Highness, this food came to Beijing on an official ship, or was escorted by the two commanders of the Forbidden Army in person. Your Majesty is afraid that it was raised from other places..."
"Go and find out where this food came from. Tell Chuiqi and let him find a way to clean up the food in Lone's hands."
He previously gave Di Tao a large sum of money to send to the northwest, and later gave a lot of money to Shezhou to win people's hearts, but now he is already stretched thin.
If the grain cannot be sold at a high price and is thrown into his hands, then he really can't get any money in his hands. How can he win over the courtiers for his own use? !
…
Liang family.
After Liang Guangyi heard that Emperor An had solved the siege of Hubu, he said to Feng Qiuli: "Thirty thousand gold and ten thousand stones of food. Your Majesty's plan is really a good idea."
If it were normal, this would be nothing at all. A few people could easily get it together, but it was not easy for a few people who had just been severely injured by having their bones knocked out and their marrow sucked out.
And if the war continues, these 30,000 gold may not be enough. If it is delayed for a long time, there will be a steady stream of holes in the back...
The white stone in Liang Guangyi's hand fell on the chessboard with a bang: "Your Majesty really used the family as a money bag."
Hearing this, Feng Qiuli said: "Isn't he like this in his early years? He relied on the Lu family to turn himself around from a useless person, and relied on the Lu family's help to reach a high position. Once he came to power, he drove the Lu family to death, and not even half of the people from the side branches were left. Who can compare to him in terms of ruthlessness and ruthlessness?"
Placing the black piece next to the white piece, Feng Qiuli sighed:
"Fortunately, Lord Wang reminded the Grand Master that day, so you were on guard. Otherwise, our family might have been tricked by His Majesty, and the whole family would be drained to make up for the hole in the Household Department."
Liang Guangyi thought of the high-sounding words Emperor An said to him that day, and was filled with disgust: "He also said that he would let me attack Yin Bao for him, and promised to give him military power afterwards, but he did not want to think about what might happen to the counter-rebellion army if something goes wrong. , How many people's livelihoods have been affected, if it is discovered, my reputation will be ruined in one day."
Feng Qiuli said: "Isn't that what your majesty has in mind? He wants to drag you and the family into trouble."
"Now he is fighting fiercely with the prince, and Xiao Yan is suppressing him again. Whenever he is in trouble, he thinks of the family's blessings, but forgets how he allowed Xiao Yan to kill us all."
Liang Guangyi recalled what Emperor An had done before, with a cold expression on his face: "Emperor An behaved repeatedly and kept everything in sight. If the aristocratic family continues to rely on him, the Lu family may end up in the future. On the contrary, although the prince is incompetent, he is easy to control."
"He contacted the Cui family privately and secretly stockpiled food behind Xiao Yan's back. He had previously bribed the family's courtiers to work for him. It seems that he is not completely attached to Xiao Yan. If he could win him over, it would be better than helping Emperor An regain power over the family. It’s more beneficial.”
Feng Qiuli's eyes flashed slightly: "What the grand master said is true, but Xiao Yan is strong and the old things have just been settled. If he knew about our plan to attack the prince, I'm afraid he wouldn't let it go..."
Liang Guangyi's face wrinkled when he thought of Xiao Yan's methods.
You really have to be careful about this, otherwise Xiao Yan might be able to bite off their bones if he grabs the handle.
Liang Guangyi put down the chess pieces and talked about other things: "That Wang Huailu is pretty good, he has some eyes, and he has been in his current position long enough. Let him move."
