The Untouchable Daiyu of the Red Chamber

Suzhou is the seat of the governor's office in the south of the Yangtze River. Whether it is economy or public security, it is also one of the best in the whole of Jiangnan. Lin Ruhai was the first to make a fuss in Suzhou.Naturally, because Lin Ruhai had already responded, the civil unrest has not yet spread, but panic can be contagious, and if it cannot be subsided quickly, it will be a serious disaster.

This is the principle that to be an official in a local area, you must have a solid foundation. Lin Ruhai's talents are in the heart of the emperor.

Suzhou is the ancestral home of the Lin family, but many of the officials in this dynasty, except for the Beijing officials, are not from their home. It is an exception for Zhen Yingjia to hold important positions in their home.Therefore, there are not many people that Lin Ruhai can use in Suzhou.After receiving the news and thinking for a while, Lin Ruhai hastily wrote several letters, some to Yao Guoan, governor of Suzhou, some to the prefect of Suzhou, and several elders of the Lin family. Hurry up and send it.

Most of the civil unrest caused by the rush to buy supplies started from rumors and panic.For example, if the salt stored in various salt shops in Suzhou City is purchased on demand, it can last for a while; once there is a panic buying, people who are really short of salt will not be able to buy it, and rich people will hoard it at a high price, driving up the price of salt on the market. higher.And then the chain reaction, other prices also soared.

If the poor people in ancient times were free from disease and disasters, and the weather was good, they might be able to live in peace, but when they encountered natural disasters and illnesses, they had to cut down on food and clothing, and even sold themselves into slavery. What is the savings?Without savings, big troubles will arise when prices rise.

Among them, local ruffians took the opportunity to smash, smash and rob, and the panic spread to other places, and small troubles were about to turn into big troubles.

Yao Guoan was able to be a big official in one place, and he didn't know how many times he had taken the exam on policy theory, and he didn't know how much experience he had in local governance.Yamen servants have been sent to the streets to arrest the rumormongers, and they have hurriedly issued the Anmin notice, and arrested the murderer. They are very busy, but with little effect.

This is driven by someone behind the scenes, taking advantage of the opportunity to make trouble.

When Yao Guoan was thinking about countermeasures, the yamen servant came to report that there was an urgent letter from the Yangzhou Yanzheng Yamen, and Yao Guoan hurriedly ordered someone to submit it.But I saw Lin Ruhai's letter saying that the prefect of Suzhou should only issue a notice to calm the people, saying that the Yangzhou Salt Administration promised that within five days, a large amount of salt would be put on the Suzhou market.

Ma Zhengzhe, the magistrate of Suzhou, was also discussing with Yao Guoan about quelling the civil unrest in the governor's yamen. When he received such a letter, he felt as if a huge stone had fallen from his heart. Fumin.In addition, people have been sent to block the official roads in and out of Suzhou City long ago. Except for government personnel, no one is allowed to leave the city.

Once such rumors spread, it will be difficult to control.Therefore, even with tough measures, Yao Guoan and Ma Zhengzhe had to try to temporarily control the rumors and civil unrest in Suzhou City.

On the other side, Lin Ruhai also sent someone to deliver a letter to the Lin family.

Although the Lin family members are not high-ranking officials in the local area, as a prominent family in Suzhou, the squires are also extremely prestigious.Some people don't believe in the government, but they are willing to believe in the squires.Without him, the officials would be transferred, but the squire would always live in the local area. If the squire deceived the village, not only would he be able to find someone to reason with afterwards, but it would also weaken the prestige of the family.Therefore, the credibility of the squire is very high among the poor.Let the Lin family members also help the people, and the riots in Suzhou were temporarily suppressed and did not become a big riot.

However, Lin Ruhai promised to solve the problem of salt supply within five days. If the supply cannot be met, the people will rebound and they will not trust the government at that time, which will only cause bigger troubles.Besides, spring plowing is approaching now. If the riots expand and affect the spring plowing, then it will turn into a famine.

Governor Yao Guoan and Suzhou prefect Ma Zhengzhe worked together to suppress the chaos in Suzhou for the time being, but they knew that the matter was serious and they were not at ease. Both of them hurriedly sent people to Yangzhou to ask Lin Ruhai where the salt came from.Yangzhou, Suzhou, is two hundred miles away. If you ride a good horse, you can get there in two hours.Lin Ruhai hadn't left the Yamen yet, the governor of Jiangnan and the prefect of Suzhou sent people to the Yamen of the Salt Administration to urge salt.

Where can Lin Ruhai take out so much salt to stabilize prices at this moment, sending an urgent letter is just a stopgap measure.But Lin Ruhai can't tell the truth yet. Who knows if the people sent by Yao Guoan and Ma Zhengzhe are trustworthy? credibility.

Therefore, Lin Ruhai had no choice but to pretend to be confident, and said with a smile: "Just go back and tell your adults that Lin will use the black yarn on his head as a guarantee, and within five days, the salt will be sent to Suzhou."

The yamen of the two governments sent more than one person. The intention was that in addition to sending letters back and forth, they also had to keep people guarding the yamen of the salt government. They were not allowed to return to Suzhou without seeing the salt.Which one is not afraid of Yao Guoan or Ma Zhengzhe?It's really a fight between gods and gods, involving themselves.No matter who spread the rumors, as long as the civil unrest happened in Suzhou, the two would be inseparable.Since Lin Ruhai was the guarantor, the two of them relied on Lin Ruhai.Even if you can't get salt after five days, at least one more person will accompany you to be punished.

Lin Ruhai himself has been an official for more than ten years, so he can naturally know the intention of sending four or five people from the governor's yamen and the Suzhou government yamen.Therefore, two more letters were sent back, and people were sent back to Suzhou, and the remaining few people were settled in the guest room of the Yanzheng Yamen.

After sending away the people from the two prefectures to urge the salt, Lin Ruhai came back from the Yamen with a face full of worries.She pretended to be nonchalant all day, but in fact Lin Ruhai sang an empty city plan.

Daiyu has traveled to later generations, and she knows the danger of rumors fanning the flames best. It is the situation in the south of the Yangtze River, and those in the capital are fighting fiercely. Even if the chaos in Suzhou has not spread to the ears of ordinary people in Yangzhou, Daiyu knows that there must be life. It's just that I don't know where the other party started.

Seeing Lin Ruhai coming back from the Yamen, with worry on her brows, Daiyu found an opportunity to ask Lin Ruhai after dinner, "Father, is someone making trouble?"

Lin Ruhai was taken aback, and looked at Daiyu in surprise: "Could it be that the news has reached Yangzhou? What did Yu'er hear?"

Daiyu shook her head and said: "I haven't heard any bad news, but no matter who wins or loses this time, it will have a long-term impact. The weaker side will naturally have to struggle, spread rumors and seek opportunities in the chaos. Getting away is a feasible strategy." After analyzing, Daiyu looked into Lin Ruhai's eyes and said, "Did I guess right?"

Lin Ruhai almost gasped, what else could she say, the daughter in front of her was only seven years old, she had such insight, Lin Ruhai nodded, and asked back: "Does Yu'er have a countermeasure?"

Daiyu shook her head and said, "Yu'er doesn't dare to trust her, but one person counts the disadvantages, and two people count the strengths. Where did the other party come from? Why don't father tell me the details."

So Lin Ruhai told Daiyu about Suzhou.Daiyu didn't intervene, but listened very carefully. After Lin Ruhai finished speaking, Daiyu didn't talk about salt and civil unrest, but talked about the banquet at Yao Guoan's family before: "I remember when our family went to Governor Yao's house to go to the banquet. At the banquet, Governor Yao tried to persuade his father, but his attitude was not tough.

The reason why he wanted to persuade his father was probably that Governor Yao took advantage of Zhen Yingjia; why was his attitude not considered tough?Because as the governor of a region, there is no need and should not be the only Jiangning weaving leader to follow suit.As long as Governor Yao turns a blind eye to certain matters, it will be regarded as giving the second prince enough face, which will not only benefit him, but also allow him to retreat.Judging from the fact that Master Su found evidence of Zhen Yingjia selling illegal salt, but sent Sister Su Lan to Suzhou to seek asylum, Master Su also thought that the collusion between Governor Yao and Zhen Yingjia was not too deep.

This time there was chaos in Suzhou, and the people who were directly responsible were Governor Yao and Ma Zhifu.The other party used salt as a breakthrough again, and was also targeting his father.Killing father and governor Yao in one go, killing two birds with one stone, someone wants to seize the opportunity to seize the power in the south of the Yangtze River. After a pause, Daiyu asked again: "Father, how is this salt policy implemented? Where are the daily reserves stored? Can there be any surplus salt put on the market?" "

Lin Ruhai shook his head: "Now the total share of Yanyin is not enough to supply the local area. Last year's Yanyin was released long ago. This year has just started, and the new Yanyin household department has not yet been delivered. It is precisely because of this gap that the opponents There is an opportunity to take advantage of.” Official salt quotations must be stamped by the Ministry of Accounts, so they are sent by the Ministry of Accounts at the beginning of each year.Now there is a pot of porridge in the court, and Yanyin has not yet arrived.

Daiyu pondered for a while, and said: "Since my father has long since discovered that the supply of Yanyin is not enough, presumably he has already submitted a memorial to ask for a larger share, we just need to wait a few more days, and we will be able to solve the problem when the Yanyin arrives, right? ? I read that table salt is dried in sea water. Suzhou is close to the salt field. As long as you see Yanyin, the salt can be transported to Suzhou within two days. What is really worrying is that these rumors spread to the inland , far away from the salt fields. Even if the government issued a safety notice, as long as the salt is delayed for a few days, there will be chaos."

Lin Ruhai smiled and said: "How can there be someone as intelligent as a jade in the world. I originally wrote a letter advising to expand the share of Yanyin. The news that the day will be expanded will be released, and at that time, there will be a salt merchant to find it. The merchant has more or less stockpiled goods, and the last batch of stockpiled goods in the hands of the salt merchant will be exchanged for the last batch of stockpiled goods in the hands of the merchant. , as long as the imperial decree comes down, the crisis in Suzhou can be resolved."

After hearing this, Daiyu also lamented that her father's governing mechanism has become more flexible and responsible.If local officials are afraid of taking responsibility for such an expedient measure, they will never dare to implement it; of course, if they are not capable enough, they cannot think of countermeasures in a short time.No wonder my father was alone in his previous life, and he was able to deal with the Lu Xie headed by the Zhen family in the south of the Yangtze River for seven years.

"Since father has already thought of countermeasures, why is he still worried?" Daiyu asked with concern.

Lin Ruhai sighed and said: "Although this method is feasible, time is short after all. If the salt merchants cannot be attracted to actively cooperate in a short period of time, once the five-day period comes, I am afraid that the situation in Suzhou will eventually be difficult to control."

Daiyu pondered for a while, and said, "Father, why don't you try the method of provoking generals?"

Lin Ruhai was taken aback for a moment, looked at Daiyu and said, "Yu'er means...you..."

Daiyu nodded and said firmly, "My daughter's birthday is coming soon."

The birthday of the daughter of Yangzhou Salt Patrol Censor is coming, and as long as the salt merchants get the news, most of them will come to congratulate her.The salt merchants have their own ideas, and they will not be monolithic. When the time comes, they can break through one by one when the time comes.

That night, Lin Ruhai arranged for someone to pass on two pieces of news. One was reliable news from the capital, and the share of Yanyin would increase; The Second Flower Festival.

Salt merchants are naturally the number one profitable business in the world, and it is also the number one business with fierce competition.Because anyone who does official salt business needs government-approved salt importers, no matter whether they are weaker backgrounds or clumsy people, it is impossible to do official salt business for a long time.

In other words, the team of salt merchants, after the big waves wash the sand, the ones who can stay are the smart ones among the smart people.

Smart people naturally know the elegant meaning by hearing the string song, and after getting these two pieces of information, someone prepared four-color gifts that night, saying that they were going to Lin's mansion to give gifts, but they actually came to find out about Lin Ruhai's tone.Those astute salt merchants were only worried about being late and being preempted by other salt merchants.

In the next few days, Lin Ruhai often talked with the salt merchants late into the night in the side hall.Naturally, because the imperial edict was not issued, Lin Ruhai did not give any promises, let alone any promises, but he gave enough hints.For example, as long as you support the imperial court and be anxious about the urgent needs of the imperial court, your benefits are indispensable; for example, the imperial court has its own rules and regulations, and it is not easy for me to disclose it in advance, but my future work depends on the cooperation of everyone, so naturally I will not learn from King Zhou You.

Who is King You of Zhou? The most famous thing is the princes of Fenghuo Opera.Master Lin said that he would not learn from King Zhou You, so he naturally didn't mean to take the salt merchants for a walk.It's not implied, it's implied.

The salt merchants on the road naturally understood, so they didn't go around in circles, and just asked Mr. Lin to point out the way.

Lin Ruhai satiated the appetite of all the salt merchants, and all the salt merchants were afraid of losing the interests of the imperial court, so they scrambled to help the imperial court, so Lin Ruhai put forward the request.

The salt merchants are well-informed. Although they mainly gather in Yangzhou, they have shops all over the place, and they even vaguely know that Suzhou is in chaos due to lack of salt.Originally, all the salt merchants thought that Lin Ruhai called everyone together on Miss Lin's birthday to ask everyone to donate money to prevent unrest in Yangzhou, but they didn't expect to ask everyone to release the last stock to stabilize the salt price in Suzhou.

Some smart salt merchants lamented that they deserved to be big officials in a locality, and this pattern was not comparable to that of their own small merchants.Some salt merchants only thought that if after the final inventory was released, the new salt quotations from the imperial court could not be obtained, and their own shops would cut off supply. If it took a long time, wouldn't they be squeezed out of this business.I don't know if Mr. Lin's move is really to stabilize the salt price in Suzhou, or he is using the troubles in Suzhou as an excuse to vacate the cage and change the bird, so as to squeeze himself out of the salt merchant team, but find another merchant under his own line to do this business.

Lin Ruhai drank tea unhurriedly, while waiting for everyone to express their opinions, but secretly remembered the expressions on their faces.The expressions of everyone at this moment probably revealed their disposition.My term of office has expired this year, but the imperial court has not lowered my appointment order. Due to the special circumstances this year, I am very likely to be re-elected.

It would be fine if the position of inspector and censor changed as usual, but if he stayed in the post, he could decide a new policy plan based on the performance of the salt merchants in the past few days.

All the salt merchants have their own selfishness, and they are naturally divided into two factions. Most of them have promised to release their stocks to the Suzhou market.Even those who had doubts in their hearts also allocated a small amount of inventory as a point of view, but they claimed that there was only this warehouse.It's not good at all to not give face to Mr. Xunyan Yushi, isn't it?

Lin Ruhai ordered the chief bookkeeper to write down the amount that the salt merchants promised to put on the market, made the distribution overnight, and ordered the government officials to accompany them to transport it to Suzhou.

Naturally, Lin Ruhai did not put all the stocks that salt merchants promised to put into the market into the Suzhou market.The salt stock that I can control now is a consumable weapon. If I consume too much in a battlefield; in the future, the opponent will do the same in Jinling, Songjiang, Yangzhou, Huzhou and other places, and I will no longer be able to stabilize the salt price.Although he has obtained the inventory promised by the salt merchants, Lin Ruhai is still like a general defending the city. He must allocate it reasonably, at least until the arrival of reinforcements.

Although they didn't actually go to the battlefield, the officialdom in the south of the Yangtze River and the separatists' posture were also fierce.

Fortunately, Lin Ruhai ordered someone to send a batch of salt to Suzhou on the second day after he made up his mind. When the common people saw the government-escorted salt entering the city, they also cooperated in dispelling the rumors, and the hearts of the people in Suzhou gradually stabilized.

On the third day, the imperial decree to expedite the eight hundred miles of the capital reached the Yanzheng Yamen, and the imperial court approved Lin Ruhai's request to increase the share of Yanyin.At the same time, at the same time, the Ministry of Household Affairs also sent the first batch of this year's Yanyin.

Lin Ruhai brought the officials of the Yan government yamen and the yamen servants to kneel down to welcome the imperial decree. They came down four times and six times. Quotation quota, assessment and selection of qualified salt merchants to become official salt operators.

The day when the imperial decree arrived in the south of the Yangtze River happened to be the Huachao Festival, on Daiyu's birthday. Although many salt merchants had already used Daiyu's birthday as an excuse to go through the ceremony before, it was called congratulations, but it was actually to inquire about news.But today is Miss Lin's birthday after all, and many wives of salt merchants have come.

As soon as the news of Mr. Lin's re-election and the increase in the share of salt quotations came out, it spread quickly through the mouths of these salt merchants' wives. The salt merchants who had fully cooperated with Lin Ruhai before and put in a lot of inventory were naturally overjoyed;

But in any case, the chaos caused by the lack of salt was calmed down.Because people were killed in this riot, those are naturally handled by the local government.

After the salt shortage crisis was over, Lin Ruhai first released a batch of salt triggers to the salt merchants who had cooperated well according to the old practice in previous years, but the newly added shares were not distributed in a hurry.The Yanyin approved by the imperial court is for one year, and it is only mid-February, so the original move cannot use the new quota.This part of the salt quotation is in the hands of Lin Ruhai. First, it can attract salt merchants big and small to cooperate with him; When creating civil unrest for the sake of talking, these people can lessen the chaos for the government.

After dealing with the problem of someone maliciously driving up the salt price, Lin Ruhai had a good night's sleep.The next day I just feel refreshed.

When resuming the salt price battle with Daiyu, Lin Ruhai asked Daiyu: "Have you seen it?"

Daiyu pursed her lips and nodded, "This person is the real formidable enemy."