C30

In July, the Pingyang Mansion in Shanxi Province was affected by the torrential rain. At this time, they had just received their summer rations, and quite a number of homes had been flooded along with their food supplies.

He had to pay taxes on one side, but the house was out of food. If he couldn't live on, how could he pay taxes on the house? Although the first Whip Law was abolished, it was still used to collect silver for taxes. Now, if they wanted to pay taxes, they could only sell their children and sell their women. However, if they sold their sons and daughters to pay taxes, the victims would not be able to survive. What could they do?

They could only beg for food from nature. Shanxi was a place with a large population, and there were only a few people. Some of the tens of thousands of victims turned to their relatives, some simply abandoned their status as free people and their title deeds, and went to work as sharecroppers.

Speaking of which, Zhu Yuanzhang's family was also tenants at the end of the yuan, and they even had debts. The family ran about dodging the raids, and they also had to find a place to live as a tenant.

Some of the remaining victims went to the mountains to beg for food, some simply joined the army or became bandits, while the remaining twenty thousand people brought their families and formed groups outside of a few counties of the Pingyang Manor.

It is benevolent to be exempt from taxes, but the government record of Kaixian is over. This was a disaster caused by the opening of the river. At that time, there would be a large group of unlucky people who would be pursued by the authorities. The imperial government didn't know anything about this matter. Even if they did, they would just hand it over to the local government to settle it.

In a short period of time, two Emperors had died. The Red Ball case and the Imperial Palace move case were all powder keg cases, which led to the battle between Donglin Party and the other factions. This was a battle that concerned the line of government. It was not over until one side died. It was just tens of thousands of people, how could it be more important than tens of thousands of people?

Two months had passed, and the weather had gradually turned cold. Every day, the victims would die from starvation, and the number of people who died was quite a lot. Because the group of people who were digging in the mountains had no food, they could only run down to the county town.

Sun Hee led five soldiers to the south. They went down in a boat with Fenshui. Along the way, they asked about the price of food in an attempt to buy the cheapest food.

"Sly business!"

Hearing the price of food in Taiyuan city, Sun Hee's face turned cold. Before the third month, he had collected 1 stone of food for 8 silver. Now, it was 1 tael of food for 3 taels of silver. This amount of food had increased by 5 taels of silver, which was only half a tael.

It was estimated that the price of grains would soar to 2 taels in the spring, and 3 taels in the spring. It was not surprising.

The three boats swam downwards. Sun Hee couldn't understand it at all: "The food collected before March, how long ago was it? The grain market is not short on food, how could it rise to such a high level!"

His estimate was one stone for one tael of silver. This was his bottom line. Otherwise, if he brought the refugees north, they might lack food.

Returning from Tai Yuan Manor, Liu Liangzuo waved his fan and smiled mockingly, "Sir Sun, you might not know, but Tai Yuan Manor really doesn't have much food left. There's food here, but not enough. "

"Elementary Scholar, don't keep us in suspense. If you have something to say, just say it."

"Does my lord know the value of one stone of grain outside the city?" 1 stone of food was sold for a lot of money, or was it wine that was being brewed for a lot of money? Other than selling the wine to the outside, there was indeed not much food stored in the Tai Yuan Manor. It is said that every year at the beginning of spring, Shanxi merchants would head south to transport rations to fill up the lack of rations. "

Sun Hee heard this and his eyes turned cold, "Damn it, he's actually selling food for Tatar!"

Liu Liangzuo waved his fan and laughed, "Sir Sun, you are wrong again. The imperial government has tacitly agreed to sell food to the Northern Duke. Otherwise, there would be large quantities of food coming out year after year, how could the officials in the imperial court not know about it? It was said that a snowstorm had struck a few years ago, and millions of cattle and horses had been frozen to death. If they are not given a chance to live, these hungry and mad Tatar will surely go south to fight for food. "

Not used to Liu Liangzuo's way of speaking, Sun Hee coldly snorted and said: "This water is so f * cking deep! "Elementary Scholar, let's not talk about matters that are far away from home. Tell me, do you have any way to buy cheap food?"

This errand originally belonged to Sun Hee, and Liu Liangzuo had come over because he could read. Liu Liangzuo didn't have much experience. After working for two days, he was played around by the merchants in Xinping Fort. Thus, he resigned from his position and concentrated on surrounding Zhu Hongzhao.

This time, Sun Hee went south to recruit refugees, Liu Liangzuo shamelessly followed, hoping to gain some credit. Secondly, he wanted to make a trip back to Pax Romana to show off in the castle.

Pretending to smile so arrogantly, this way of doing things made Sun Hee extremely disgusted. Liu Liangzuo still doesn't know, laughed and said: "I have a close friend Gao Jie in Pingfen Pingyao County, his father is the manager of 8 big family, have a lot of grain in his hands. If the price of the grains on the way south is not to your liking, you can buy some from Uncle Gao. "

"Then I'll be troubling Brother Liu." Sun Hee cupped his fist in gratitude while Liu Liangzuo smiled humbly. At first, I suggested that Young Master recruit refugees in order to build up the population with his Qingyang Manor, but Master wanted to temper Young Master's skills in governing the people, so he allowed me to recruit thousands of refugees to head north. The two hundred silver taels did not count as a contribution to the refugees. If we could recruit even more refugees, no matter if it's the Master or the Young Master, they would look at us in a new light. "

These were the words that came out of Liu Liangzuo's heart. Hearing this, Liu Liangzuo nodded slightly and frowned: "With so many refugees taking us in as their servants, I'm afraid there will be people gossiping about us."

"What are you afraid of!" In the whole world, which one of the not a servant of my young master's imperial family bloodline? The tenants of the various seignior were probably more than a hundred thousand, what kind of thing was my young master's taking in a few thousand servants? Once Young Noble or Old Master has rendered meritorious service, it is not impossible for His Majesty to become a seignior. "

This sentence was a bit far, but it was very possible for the two of them. As long as Zhu Yisu and his son performed meritorious military service and had powerful troops under their command, the imperial government might very well replace the authority of the army with the authority of a king.

The fleet continued its way south, passing Taiyuan Palace before arriving at Fenzhou. Sun Hee sent someone to check on the price of the grains while leading more than ten riders to pay a visit to his brother, who was serving as Patrol Officer.

Liu Liangzuo brought five cavalryman s to Ping Yao County to find his good brother Gao Jie. Gao Jie was the same as him, not someone who could read books. Unfortunately, the old man in the family was pressing on and had a common topic. The two of them got to know each other when they were travelling, but they became best friends after one came and two came.

Ping Yao County was bustling with activity, not inferior to Daizhou City. This place was one of the main camps for the Jin Nan Shanxi merchants, so naturally, it developed extremely well.

The soldiers guarding the gate were slightly different from other places. The only difference was that they were better dressed, so their spiritual appearance wasn't too different.

It was noon, and the guards at the south gate were particularly uncomfortable under the sun. Apart from the two of them who were taking the money, the rest of them were gathered around the tea house outside the city, hanging off their horses on the table.

"Haha, Old Zhang is good!" Holding the hand of Song Gongming, he had blinded his brother, Lu Junyi! If we can't fight, if we can't fight, if our brothers admit defeat, who will be in charge? "

The handsome young man wearing a six petal watermelon hat and a blue robe was not very lucky, but the gambling item was not bad. He laughed heartily as he pushed the copper coins on the table to the flag general and the two flags on the left and right, respectively.

"Brother Gao is straightforward. Who else is in charge of our Old Zhang's office?"

There were a total of four people in the manor. One person could be in charge of the manor, while the other two could be in charge of the manor.

"The horse bandits are here!"

A man shouted on the public road outside the city, causing chaos among the pedestrians. The guards in the tea house who were gambling with tea were also in a mess. They rolled up the gambling stakes on the table and ran while covering their heads with their hands.

Liu Liangzuo brought five cavalryman s to the south gate of Pingyao County. They saw abandoned wheelbarrows, carrying sticks, pickaxes, cabbages, and even two or three shoes that had been left behind …

The city gate creaked shut and smoke rose from the city walls. Liu Liangzuo and the five cavalryman looked at each other in silence. After a long while, the cavalryman burst out laughing. This Pingyao Xiong Bao has collapsed, and actually treated our Fringe Town's soldier as a horse bandit! "

cavalryman mocked him, "We, 956, have even closed the city gates. Damn, I heard that there are shops all over Pingyao City, and the cellars of the entire city are filled with such large gold, silver, and winter melon spindles! "Can this bear's guts hold?"

"To think you guys can still smile. Go to the city and pass on your military credentials, or else all the brave villagers will gather and annihilate us like bandits."

Liu Liangzuo took out his cast-iron identity plate, his hundreds of letters, his military records, and his transfer documents with the seal of Commander and gave them to a cavalryman.

However, after giving them a closer look, they really did look like bandits. The clothes were all regular clothes, not battle gear. Everyone wore a mask in order to cover up the flying dust. It was no different from a horse bandit's attire.

Kuangsheng went over to the awning and sat down, slapping the Qi's Sword on the table. Liu Liangzuo shouted domineeringly: "Shop owner, come and make some tea to quench your thirst!"

An old man stuck his head out shakily from the corner and asked, "What kind of tea would a man like to drink? Was it the tip of Xin Yang's hair, or the Longjing of the West Lake? There's also oolong tea and watermelon in this store. "

"Your father is the next of kin to the previous emperor!" Glaring at the old man who treated him like a bandit, Liu Liangzuo waved his hand and said, "Hurry up and open a big watermelon. The old man will reward you. It's best if you do it in the well."

The old man's neck shrank. He would definitely bring a big dripping watermelon.

The watermelon was put down, revealing a young and handsome face. Liu Liangzuo was surprised for a moment before he said happily, "It's really fate. I came here to look for Brother Gao. Could it be that Brother Gao has the ability to predict the future?"

Gao Jie smiled bitterly, put down the watermelon and took out the Qi's Sword that Liu Liangzuo had placed on the table. He examined it for a moment, then cut the watermelon with his knife and placed one of his feet on the chair: "If you have the ability to predict the future, then you will be a laughingstock if you don't come outside the city today."

It turned out that the old man couldn't get away. Gao Jie's shoes had been stepped on, so he could only hide in the tea shop.

Liu Liangzuo laughed out loud, his laughter causing him to stagger backwards and forwards, "This Pingyao's guts are too small. If this brother were to bring a hundred riders along, wouldn't 9 cities have fallen?"

"No, Pingyao will not open the gates even if the entire city dies in battle. This brother here, what's wrong with your blade? I heard you say that the previous emperor was Feng Baihu, so I'll give you a detailed explanation. "

"It's a long story, but in short, it is appreciated by a noble. To tell you the truth, I've come today to give you a chance to get rich. Brother should have heard that East Datong Road Commander switched people, little brother coincidentally caught up to this storm. "

Eating watermelon, the two of them had not seen each other for half a year and talked about everything. Gao Jie knew the purpose of Liu Liangzuo's visit. He patted his chest and promised, "Isn't that just two hundred stone worth of food? If we can get Lord Commander's appreciation, my father can offer us 5 stones of food, not taking a single cent! "

Liu Liangzuo hurriedly said, "No way, Uncle is the steward of eight families. It's not easy to save up some money. "Compared to the market price, it's about 90% lower, able to transport 12 thousand refugees north."

"Brother, you are not a businessman, so you do not understand this opportunity. That Sun Hee is also a fool, if the East Road Commander's name, this grain rich people are willing to provide. Compared to the trading road, what is a mere few hundred stone worth of food? "