Spring dyed pear blossoms

At the end of January, the cold winter blew across the entire city of Chang'an, and the snow on the ground covered the ankles, making it difficult to walk.Hundreds of refugees outside the city starved to death and froze to death. Their bodies were buried in snow, and their conditions were bleak.

Under the eaves next to the corpse, thousands of refugees sat.

These people are all poor people who came from begging all the way from the neighboring counties.In recent years, the crops in the fields have not been harvested well, coupled with the severe drought and flood conditions, the number of refugees has increased.

Meng Qiucheng is the county magistrate of Chang'an City, so this matter will naturally fall on her head.Changyuan Festival is just around the corner, if something happens at this juncture, the black veil on her head will be lost.

And this matter must be resolved before the Changyuan Festival, otherwise he will be blamed!

Meng Qiucheng's eyes wandered over these people, and he sighed slightly.Originally, I didn't want to make a move so early, but it seems that these people can't wait until after Changyuan Festival.

She turned around and walked towards the county yamen, the wind was blowing under her feet, and her steps were extremely fast.Master Zhou, who was following behind, trotted after him and asked, "Sir, are we going back now?"

"Why don't you go back? Do you have money if you stay here? So that these refugees don't have to suffer from hunger and cold? Hey, I'm so shy, I can't do anything!" Meng Qiucheng paused suddenly, his face blooming. Smile, innocent and harmless.

All the goosebumps on Mr. Zhou's body were made by this laugh, it seems that someone is going to be unlucky again.

Master Zhou took a step forward and asked in a low voice, "My lord, have you thought of a way?"

"Of course there are ways, but I have to wrong you in the mirror!"

Master Zhou stretched out his index finger and pointed to his nose, "Me?"

Meng Qiucheng patted his shoulder and nodded, "Don't worry, I won't ask you to borrow money. I just need to trouble Jingzhi to inform the merchants of the Chang'an City Chamber of Commerce. All members of the Chamber of Commerce must attend!"

Master Zhou showed embarrassment, "My lord, these merchants are afraid of you, I'm afraid they won't come!"

"That's why I ask Jingzhi to invite you in person! I believe that Jingzhi's three-inch tongue will definitely be able to convince them! You are my right-hand man, and I trust you!" Meng Qiucheng knew that he was shrewd. Very, there will be no problem dealing with those cunning merchants.

But Mr. Zhou's face turned pale, "Your Excellency really thinks highly of lowly positions! Those merchants can be persuaded by lowly positions, but don't forget, Your Excellency, Boss Jia of the salt merchant and Boss Chen of the winery are both Liu Taichang's people. If you treat them equally, Liu Taichang will definitely not have a good time with you! If you don't treat everyone equally, I'm afraid other merchants will not agree!

My lord, if these merchants make trouble at this time, it will not be very kind to you!Your reputation has long been known in Chang'an City, if it reaches the prime minister's ears, it will be troublesome! "

She is not worried about her reputation, she believes that all the officials in Chang'an city know about it.

It's just that she didn't do anything out of the ordinary, and people couldn't catch it, so what she did as the county magistrate was pretty solid.

But Master Zhou's words are not unreasonable, but fortunately, she has a plan in mind.

She just nodded and smiled at Master Zhou, "Don't worry, you just need to invite these people, and I have a way to make them spit out the money obediently."

Master Zhou's eyes flashed, revealing a look of disbelief.This wisp of disbelief flashed by, anyway, it will be clear when the time comes, whether you believe it or not, there will be a result.

On the last day of January, it snowed heavily for another whole night.When it was dawn, the snowflakes were only a little smaller.

Meng Qiucheng was sitting in a high position in the inner hall of the backyard of the county government office, leisurely holding a cup of fine Biluochun in his hand.Smell the tea, the aroma enters the nose.

She didn't stop moving her hands, but the peripheral vision from the corner of her eyes swept across the people in front of her without a trace.

Sitting below her right is the biggest salt merchant in the Great Zhou Dynasty. This person is of medium build and appearance, and he doesn't look overbearing or unreasonable.But this is just a superficial phenomenon, because she knows this person.

He is the younger brother of Mrs. Liu Taichang and Liu Ji's third wife. He idles around all day long and is a complete gangster.After hanging around with Liu Ji for a few years, he turned around and became the most wealthy man in Chang'an City.

It is illegal to sell private salt, but these salt merchants are all allowed by the government.Salt merchants are a lucrative business. In Dazhou, if there is no backing, it is almost impossible to become a salt merchant!

In Dazhou, the common people could not buy official salt at all, only salt merchants were qualified to buy official salt, and then sold it to the common people.This price is naturally many times higher than the official salt.

Therefore, with Liu Ji as a big backer, Jia Quangui became a salt merchant, and only then did he have the wealth he has today.

At the moment, Chen Da, the owner of the winery who was sitting opposite Jia Quangui, stared silently at Jia Quangui with his round belly, occasionally casting a glance at Meng Qiucheng who was seated there.

He and Jia Quangui are close friends, so they can be regarded as people protected by Liu Ji.If you want those profiteers to spit out their money, you must start with these two people.

She didn't talk, just drank tea.Cup after cup, the merchants who were invited all whispered to each other when they saw her like this.

No one knew what kind of medicine Meng Qiucheng was selling in this gourd.

The time for a stick of incense passed in the blink of an eye, and Jia Quangui couldn't sit still.

"Master Meng, why did you ask Mr. Zhou to invite us here? Everyone has been here for a long time, but you didn't say anything. Hehe, is there something difficult for Mr. Meng to tell you? You might as well tell everyone here. If anyone can help, I will definitely try my best to help!"

In fact, Jia Quangui didn't want to come, if Master Zhou hadn't tried his best to invite him, he really wouldn't have come today.Everyone knows that Meng Qiucheng is a big corrupt official, or the kind who is greedy.The sudden invitation of these merchants today probably means that they want to get some benefits from them.

Such corrupt officials should be a good thing for profiteers like them.However, Meng Qiucheng's appetite was too great, and Jia Quangui asked his sister to talk about it in Liu Ji's ears several times.

But there is no handle, and Liu Ji has nothing to do with this Meng Qiucheng!

Meng Qiucheng looked at him with lowered eyebrows, knowing that he couldn't sit still, but she just wanted to wear down his patience.

She put the teacup on the table with a smile, "Boss Jia, don't be impatient. As for me, I have indeed encountered some difficulties, and I am worried about not knowing how to speak."

"Master Meng, if you have any difficulties, just say it!" Chen Da echoed.

"Then I will talk about this matter that weighs on my heart!

Recently, there have been several heavy snowfalls in succession, and the official noticed that the number of refugees in the city suddenly increased, and many people froze to death outside the city.Seeing that the Changyuan Festival is coming soon, if this matter is not resolved, the official's heart will be restless for a day!You said, if word of this gets to the emperor's ears, how can I keep my black gauze! "

Jia Quangui's face changed, it was because of those lowly status refugees!Hmph, I was reluctant to pay the money and was afraid of being scolded by the emperor, no wonder I called them here.

Jia Quangui lowered his head pretending to be helpless and let out a long sigh, "Master Meng's business is the villain's business, unfortunately, it's really not a coincidence. A few days ago, the villain's money was used to buy official salt. I really can't afford it." Give the extra spare money to those refugees."

Hearing Jia Quangui's words, other merchants hurriedly responded, saying various reasons and excuses.As much as I can get rid of myself and this matter, I can get rid of as much!

No business, no evil, in front of these people, Meng Qiucheng knew that it was not so easy to take advantage.

She was not annoyed, but kept shaking her head, "This official's Wusha is a minor matter, the big deal is that I will resign and return to my hometown! At that time, let the county magistrate of Kui'an take my position, and Chang'an City will definitely It is more prosperous than under the control of this official."

Jia Quangui has a wide network of contacts, and he has also heard that the higher ups intend to promote Shao Tong, the magistrate of Kai'an County.This man is notoriously tough, upright and selfless, and he is Prime Minister Zhang's favorite student.

Prime Minister Zhang intends to support him, and the emperor also attaches great importance to this person.

Especially the serial murder case in Kai'an last year, this case implicated important officials in the court, Shao Tong was not afraid of power, and dealt with it fairly, and the emperor even specially ordered a reward.

If this person is transferred to Chang'an, Kyoto, let alone making money, even the increase in the price of salt cannot be controlled by them.

Jia Quangui is a market guy, but he is not lacking in shrewdness.

Even if my brother-in-law is powerful, he can't compare to Prime Minister Zhang's power.In comparison, although Meng Qiucheng, the county magistrate of Chang'an, is a bit greedy, the more greedy he is, the easier he is to control.

Jia Quangui gave Ambassador Chen a wink, and Chen Da said in embarrassment, "Under the governance of Master Meng, this Chang'an city has always been safe and sound, and the people live and work in peace and contentment. We all feel a little bit reluctant to change people! No Do you know how much silver Master Meng wants this time?"

Meng Qiucheng narrowed his eyes and smiled, stretching out a hand.

Chen Da thought for a while, "1 taels?"

Meng Qiucheng shook his head.

Chen Da reached out and wiped the fine sweat from his forehead, picked up the teacup, "10 taels?"

Meng Qiucheng smiled, but still shook his head, "It's 100 million taels!"

As soon as the tea in Chen Da's hand was put into his mouth, he sprayed it out, "One, one million taels? Are you joking, Mr. Meng? We don't have so much money. To be honest, those refugees are only more than a thousand people. Where are they?" Asking for so much money for relief? Mr. Meng, you are a little..."

Master Zhou coughed lightly from the side, "Boss Chen, Mr. Meng has always followed his principles. You and our lord are familiar with each other. When did you suffer a disadvantage?"

Chen Da thought for a while, and this Meng Qiucheng had indeed improved his reputation.But those false names were all exchanged by him with silver, and it would be useless if they were to be bought, there is no such thing as real money!

In the final analysis, this Meng Qiu's achievement was to open his mouth to the lions, hoping to get some oil from them.It would be fine if it was one hundred thousand taels, but this Meng Qiucheng was worth one million taels per mouth!

This is not a small amount, this money is like a piece of meat from Chen Da's body, he is not willing to give his own flesh to others.

At that moment, he secretly shook his head at Jia Quangui, shrank in his seat and did not speak.

Seeing that Jia Quangui and Chen Da were silent, the other merchants dared not speak more.

One million taels is indeed not a small amount, but in front of these merchants present, anyone can afford it.Now it's just for these people to collect enough 100 million taels of silver, and these people just push back and forth like this.It seems that these people will not be subdued without some serious information.

Meng Qiucheng stood up and said to Mr. Zhou, "Mr. Zhou, since everyone can't solve the problem of refugees in Chang'an City, I have no choice but to ask Prime Minister Zhang for help. It's my incompetence and the backlog of old cases in the yamen. Let’s hand it over too! The county magistrate, don’t do it!”

Jia Quangui hurriedly stood up and stopped him, "Master Meng, don't worry! This one million taels is not a small amount, let us make it together!"

Meng Qiucheng smiled faintly, "Oh? Boss Jia is so caring, so caring!"

None of these unscrupulous profiteers had a case in her hands.It's just that it doesn't involve human life, so she doesn't care.As long as money can solve the problem, it is not a problem. Sometimes these people give her more money than the amount involved in the case itself.

As long as they secretly find a reason to give the money to those innocent people, it doesn't matter.

But although these cases are not big, they have to be handed over to Prime Minister Zhang, hmph, then don't expect to gain a foothold in Chang'an City.

Meng Qiucheng saw through these people. They were not afraid of anything, but those good officials who were upright and conscientious.

Thinking of this, she picked up the tea on the table and took a sip.From the corner of her eye, she could see all the expressions of the people present, and she twitched the corners of her mouth with peace of mind.

One million taels, ah, this is called taking from the people and using it for the people!

The author has something to say: Ah Yu: My lord has a big appetite recently!

Master Zhou: Very big!I'm afraid that those merchants will not dare to commit crimes again in the future to ask the adults!

Meng Qiucheng smiled: Don't be afraid!Anyway, I know their wives very well!

Ah Yu suddenly realized: Your lord will not let off even married women?

Master Zhou shook his head: Unexpectedly, adults have quite unique tastes!

Meng Qiucheng:? ? ? ...