son-in-law

Chapter 531 Chapter [-] Abandoned Son and Carp
The lit awning boat rowed across the small river on the street not far away, looking down from the upstairs of Zhuji, there were people passing by on the street. Vendors wave kites in their hands at passing children.The night in Bianliang is getting darker in the swaying starlight.

Ning Yi's fingers tapped on the railing.

"When the Prime Minister's Office considered the candidate for the deputy envoy of Hedong Road, there were several other considerations. But frankly speaking, the situation of rising food prices on Hedong Road is very serious. This time is different from the past, and we want to do disaster relief. Well, many people will be offended. Liu Congming is indeed an old official who has an old relationship with Qin Xiang. He will try his best to help him in this disaster relief, but his efforts are limited. "

He paused for a moment: "I have been fighting for many years in the officialdom. If you say that officials are honest and upright, it is not uncommon. If you say that you have not caught any bad habits, then there are really very few. Liu Your lord doesn't touch the two. Of course, if you want to say that he is a bad official, it is not necessarily true. If it is just a general chaos, with his foundation in running Hedong for several years, he needs to rectify the management of the officials, and even kill a dozen or so. An obedient lower official, he can show this courage, but this time, he is more than enough. Because there will be many people offended, these words are Mr. Yao's evaluation of him. "

"So in the end, the prime minister's side can only take the second place, thinking that if you have an upright temperament, it is best not to be afraid of offending others. Go to Master Liu, and only take care of the most important one. And Master Liu will also be willing to take this matter. One of the powers was put down. Later, when Qin Xiang chose you, I was a little surprised. But Qin Xiang's reason is simple. In any case, Dexin, you are capable. When the matter is over, even if you offend people , being criticized and criticized, at least it may save you years or even more than ten years of hard work... Of course, if you only do things with the mentality of keeping your position, I am afraid that you will not be able to do well, but you are smart, naturally Can understand what I'm talking about."

"Li Heng is underestimating me." Hearing Ning Yi say this, Li Pin laughed, and he shook his head, "Under such circumstances, it is natural to have to go up a few levels in a row. , I just want to find the source and climb up safely, I am afraid that is the real way to die. But Liheng, these are all irrelevant, my generation of people who study, the righteousness reaches, although thousands of people go to me. Just like today In the palace, the sage said that this disaster relief is not for officials, but for the common people. It doesn't matter whether you offend others or kill people. If you have the slightest idea of ​​worrying about yourself this time in the north, I, Li Dexin, will be more than sorry. ."

His tone is not high, but his expression is calm, and there is a sense of righteousness in it.This is not the first time Ning Yi has seen this kind of Confucian temperament, and he naturally understands his mood, so he also nodded, and after a while, he sighed: "There are many people who will die this time. What I want is to die less..."

Li Pin frowned and said, "What is the business way that Liheng said?"

Ning Yi said: "Dexin thinks what is really important in this disaster relief?"

Li Pin thought for a while: "The so-called disaster relief is complicated to say, but in fact, what I can do is only a few points: as long as we can strictly manage the officials, the corrupt officials and small officials at the bottom will not dare to fill their personal pockets in the process of disaster relief. If it can be distributed to the disaster victims, a small part of the matter has been completed. After that, the market price is strictly controlled, so that the merchants are not allowed to sell grain at high prices. Those who maliciously drive up the price of grain should be investigated and killed. The disaster relief will basically be It has improved. Of course, this way, there will naturally be a lot of people who offend."

After he finished speaking, Ning Yi shook his head: "Most of the disaster relief is done in this way, but this time the situation is too troublesome. In the market, you said that the people spontaneously stockpiled food, and they raised it from behind, with a deep background. , when you go to Hedong Road, Zuo Duanyou's Zuo family is involved, and Qi Yan's Qi family is the main one, they may not come forward, they only act as a protective umbrella behind, you want to investigate, arrest, kill, it is very difficult."

"...On the other hand, more than 170 million people were affected by the disaster and received relief." Ning Yi said, "Currently, the whole country can really transfer the book food in the disaster area, and the total sum is only 38 Shi. ​​In terms of the number of people, there may still be a lot of unstated ones, and food, huh, many of them may still be bad debts and bad debts. We have calculated that the ones that can really be sold are about half, 19 shi. The distance will continue to widen, and by this time, it will be ten people who rely on a stone of grain to save their lives."

At this moment, Ning Yi was almost counting his fingers.Li Pin frowned, in fact, the grain unit at this time, the weight of a stone is probably more than [-] kilograms in later generations, about [-] kilograms.He heard Ning Yi say: "This matter has not been put on the table for the time being, but it is already under investigation, and a group of large and small officials will be dismissed..."

Channel Li: "19 shi of disaster relief food... Theoretically speaking, there should be many people in the disaster-stricken area who have stored food. If it is boiled into gruel, it is only for saving lives, it seems..."

Ning Yi laughed: "Dexin is right. We have repeatedly counted these things. To be honest, 170 million people were affected by the disaster. That is the number of people who were more seriously affected when the price of rice rose. The light ones were not counted. Among this group of people, only a small part of them suffered from floods and their entire property was washed away. That is to say, some of these people can eat stored food, sell their houses and land, and even sell their children and daughters. means. But the so-called disaster relief, the relief, is originally the lowest part of the people who can't survive."

Li Pin stayed here in silence and said, "...We also need to reduce the loss on the road, the interception of officials, and the secret intervention of the big family."

"Let's reduce it by half here." Ning Yi said, "One hundred thousand shi, regardless of the uneven distribution of food, Dexin, even a few officials will all become cruel officials who don't want to die. The food that really hangs in the stomachs of the victims, About 50 shi. And the food can’t be distributed yet, so it can only be made into porridge for relief, because the direct distribution will only be cut off by big households. In the meantime, everyone can eat wild vegetables and dig tree roots, etc. In short, The Right Prime Minister's Mansion did a total calculation, and after removing all kinds of considerations, the number of people who starved to death due to this food price increase across the country was more than [-]. Excluding these starved to death, there were forty to fifty people in various places Ten thousand people’s property and fields will be annexed by big households, and then become servants, tenants, and beggars. If we can control this number, we will be considered effective in disaster relief.”

The numbers are cold and cold, but with a heavy atmosphere.

After being quiet for a while, Ning Yi smiled, and there was a cold sarcasm in his smile: "Don't think this is a big number, even if it is Jiangning, in winter, an average of 10 people freeze to death every day, and it snows for a month. , The poor and the elderly froze to death 30, which is considered to be the prosperity of singing and dancing. This number does not include normal deaths. Jiangning is a big city, and there will be fewer people in other prefectures. Up and down the Wu Dynasty, 50 people had to freeze to death in one winter. This time In a catastrophe, it is an optimistic attitude to say that [-] people will starve to death, and if it is not done well, [-] to [-] people may also be possible."

Li Pin thought about it for a long time, and then said in a dry voice: "What is the Xiangfu going to do?"

"Administration and commerce should go hand in hand, but commerce should be the mainstream." Ning Yi did not hesitate, "The people who really starved to death were those who no longer had any belongings. After the disaster relief food was boiled into porridge, they were released and saved. That is their life. Those who still have property at home, they can buy their own food, and even if they sell their fields, their lives will always be saved.”

He said, shaking his head: "To be honest, the food shortage in these places is not as much as imagined, and there is a phenomenon of crop failure, but it is more due to the inflated price of food caused by everyone starting to stockpile food. In the past, the price of grain was only two and a half taels, but now it is 30 taels, which is ten times higher, but there is still not much grain in the market, and everyone is still waiting for it to rise. Life-saving grain, once it snows, how much will it last? It’s all possible, and by that time, some people will starve to death, and some people will rebel.”

"The prime minister wants to put food into the market?" Li Pin asked, but when he opened his mouth, he knew it was impossible.

Ning Yi shook his head: "It's just over [-] shi of grain, and if you put it in, you can't even turn a single blister. According to the past, my family could buy it all, even if it's ten times more. The wealth of those big families can be swallowed up in one bite, and they can be sold more expensively when they change hands. So what I consider is to rely on merchants from other places to impact the market that has been affected by the disaster. The business is coordinated by the government.”

Li Pin frowned in thought.Ning Yi continued: "Led by the Prime Minister's Mansion and cooperated with the forces of the Princess Mansion, we will lobby large and small landlords and businesses. As long as there is food at home, we will explain to them the price of food in the affected area, and then Make plans for them, how to assemble, transport, and resell. If they are in other places, their food will not be able to sell at this price, but if they leave their hometown, they will build their own trade network, and they will inevitably be bullied by local snakes. With us There are many small landlords who will be willing to make a contribution and earn it back, and at the same time, we can also tell them that this is for the country and the people, and thousands of families are born Buddhas.”

Li Pin's eyes lit up slightly: "I heard that the people from Zhuji went out to help people do business. Could it be that they were preparing for this?" He thought for a while, "Speaking of this, I also have a few acres of land in my family, and some If you save food, you can repair a book and go back..."

"It's not mainly for this, but it's also a benefit." Ning Yi said, "Zhuji's influence is only in the circle around the capital for the time being, it's just a small head, and to be honest, it really depends on lobbying rather than relationships Yes, most of the people who will be persuaded are landlords in small and medium-sized places. Those who have big families and careers also have their own channels of relationship. These people have to rely on people like Qin Xiang, Nian Gong, and Master Jueming. , plus people like Kangxian and Princess Chengguo in the south, it is estimated that if they can continue to pry more than 50 shi of grain into it, they should be able to wash away the entire hoarding market."

"And once the inflated food price is suppressed, the distribution of disaster relief food will be further reduced. Next, we will cooperate with investigation, arrest and killing, clean up officials and oppress the market. The final expectation is that we can Reduce the price of food to less than ten taels and one shi, and reduce the number of people who died of starvation to 5 or even less. This is... the meaning of hoping that you can maintain the commercial road on the East Road."

Ning Yi smiled slightly, this time there was no irony: "For this matter, you will set off within three to five days. Within ten days, Prime Minister Qin and Taishi Cai and the others have finished saying hello, the whole plan will be launched, and we will contact us. Including the gangs involved in transportation, including the fastest route to various places, and the plan for dumping grain. Within a month, the first batch of grain will enter the field, and before the snow falls, the price of grain will be suppressed. If you maintain it for a period of time, there will be many people who will be able to survive..."

(End of this chapter)