Nanjing's grain depot was sold out. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 info For the rest, the grain depot is filled with some inferior rice mixed with sand and soil. With the flood in Huainan, hundreds of thousands of people were displaced, the price of grain in Jinling soared, and Wei Hong, the secretary of the Nanjing household department, was unable to allocate grain to Huainan, and the Nanjing household grain case broke out.

More than 60 ambassadors, deputy envoys, and officials of the grain depot subordinate to the imperial court, all of whom were involved in the case, were jointly detained by the Nanjing Metropolitan Procuratorate and the Criminal Department.

And this grain depot case, which is about to set off a huge wave of officialdom, will also be examined by the imperial court.

At the end of August and the beginning of September, between Jinling and the capital, the impeachment recitals, the official documents inquired by the imperial court, the replies of Jinling, and the letters of the officials justified themselves, which made the six yamen of Nanjing, which had been idle in the past, busy. The officials were all in the yamen.

Weihong, the head of the household, was reprimanded by the imperial court, and his popularity plummeted, and his future was worrisome. Nanjing's household affairs are all under the Zuo Shilang Wu Zang.

At about ten o'clock in the morning, Wei Hong sat quietly in the public room, pondering.

Now this situation makes him a little frustrated. After many years of Huan Hai's career, it is not without experiencing a more serious situation than this. In the current situation, the most serious consequence is that he will return to his hometown. He was not involved in the resale of grain from the state granary. However, above the officialdom, the higher you go, the more difficult it becomes. The slightest mistake can be magnified, which can lead to a failure in the career.

But if there is a chance to go up and enter the ranks of Zaifu, who wants to sink into the subordinates?

At this time, he suffered from both gains and losses. This magnified the frustration in his heart and made him anxious.

Nanjing's household grain stocks are millions of stones. The people who can afford to resell such a large amount of grain are not more than five fingers in Jinling: his predecessor, Li Shangshu, who has already become a scholar, must be counted as one; Chen Gaolang, the secretary of the Nanjing Ministry of Rites, Deng Hong, Zheng Guogong, and Fang Wang, the secretary of the Nanjing Ministry of Rites, and the Zhen family who went to the capital. Perhaps, you can also add the Tobe squire Wu Zang.

Judging from the current soaring grain prices in Jinling, it is very likely that Chen Gaolang and the Chen family are the ones who resell the grain of the household department.

Wei Hong's eyes flashed: The Chen family wanted to push him to the imperial court to be a scapegoat for the reselling of the grain depot! He has been a local official for a long time, and he is very aware of the shortcomings of the grain depot. Scalping, shoddy, and even scalping are common. This is also the way for petty officials and officials to make a fortune every day. This is also the case for the grain ships that are transported by the canal to "capsize" every year.

Food is no more than silver. Grain will become moldy, rotten, fired, eaten by rats, etc., and cannot be stored for a long time. Over time, it is understandable that there is attrition. Only this time, the "attrition" is a bit big.

But it is impossible to say that the imperial court will pursue an official of Shangshu's level. At most, the head of the Nanjing household department, the outsider, was sent to prison for questioning. He, as the head of the household department, was responsible for this matter and returned to his hometown. The past that is explained in all aspects. However, with the temperament of today's son, he may pursue the stolen goods.

Of course, if this is in the Nine Sides, such a large amount of food and salary corruption, it is bound to cut off a few heads. In the Nine Sides, grain is a sharp weapon to stabilize and maintain the army, and it is more important than gold and silver.

Now, that's the case. How is he going to break the game?

Wei Hong sighed softly. That's what he's been thinking about these days. But there is also a solution.

There is grain in Jinling, but the price of grain is getting higher and higher. It's almost a dead knot.

At this time, there was the sound of footsteps outside the public house. Wei Hongtou didn't pay attention at all. Since the imperial court reprimanded him, the affairs of Nanjing's household department have been all under the possession of Zuo Shilang Wuzang.

"Sir!"

A greeting woke Wei Hong from his contemplation. Only then did I realize that it was an old servant who had followed him for many years. I couldn't help but be surprised: "Why are you here?" ”

The old servant took two steps forward and took out a letter from his sleeve pocket, "Master, Jia Xiaolian asked someone to bring a letter to you from Yangzhou." ”

Jia Xiaolian is Jia Huan.

Wei Hong groaned and took the letter, his heart moved slightly. I opened the letter and read it, and a smile rose from my somewhat old face.

…

…

On the morning of the third day of the ninth lunar month, Wei Hong, the secretary of the household department in Nanjing, sent a note to the six departments of Nanjing, the Metropolitan Inspection Yuan, and the government office, inviting the six departments of the government, Zhang Jingwei, the imperial historian of the left capital, and Jia Yucun, the prefect of Jinling, to come to the household department on the morning of 4 September to discuss matters concerning the price of grain in Jinling.

The news came a bit suddenly. In the afternoon of the same day, almost all the officials in the six departments of Nanjing talked about this matter as a joke.

Ba Ping, the servant of the Nanjing Ministry of Officials, said to Chen Zizhen, who came to his public room to chat, without concealing it: "Wei Situ is probably in a hurry!" ”

What is there to negotiate about the price of grain in Jinling? When Huguang's grain ship arrived about a month later, it naturally fell in response. Now, of course, it's time for grain merchants to make money. Don't think about price reduction. Wei Shangshu is still honestly waiting for Zhishi! Do you really think that the food price in Jinling is so easy to suppress?

Chen Zizhen smiled and drank tea. Can the salted fish still turn over?

When Ming Taizu built the city of Nanjing, the six yamen and the imperial court were all located in the east city of Jinling. Close proximity to each other. The news reached the household department. Feng Cheng, the head of the household department, hurriedly went to the public house in the office to see Wei Hong, "Why do you have to do this? "It's a bit of a self-inflicted humiliation!

Feng Cheng is of medium stature, about forty years old. He is a shadow official, and after Wei Hong came to Jinling, he was very close to Wei Hong. Wei Hong has been a political envoy for many years, and he still has a lot of experience in winning people's hearts.

Wei Hong was writing a chapter behind the bookcase in the public house, put the rabbit pen on the pen stand, and said with a smile: "Taisu, don't worry." Tomorrow, tomorrow you'll know. ”

Feng Cheng sighed helplessly. He really wasn't optimistic about Master Wei's actions tomorrow. Can an ultimatum to Chen Gaolang be useful?

…

…

The next morning, the office of the household department in Nanjing became lively. The meeting place of many of the officials was in a wing room on the east side of the household.

The officials and officials went in and out, serving tea and pouring water.

Hubu Shangshu Weihong was wearing the red official robe of the second grade today, and sat on the main seat with a majestic bearing. However, on the two rows of chairs facing each other, sitting were the attendants of each department. Only Zhang Jingwei, the official of the Imperial Court of the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the imperial history of the left capital, came to attend the meeting in person.

The Ministry of Rites Shangshu Fang Wang went to the capital to preside over the editing of "Emperor Zhou Yinghua". The No. 2 person in the Ministry of Rites, the waiter Zhang Anbo attended, which is normal. The secretary of the ministry relied on the old and sold the old, and only sent the waiter Baping to attend the meeting. This is also said in the past. Who made Chen Gaolang's seniority old?

However, the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Crime, the Ministry of War, and the Jinling Mansion only sent squires and fellow intellectuals to discuss matters, and this was a naked slap in the face.

The squire is also a high-ranking official of the third grade, wearing a red official uniform. However, the scarlet robes that filled the room still made the deliberations seem unusually perfunctory.

Wei Hong sneered in his heart, you will suffer in a few days. immediately got straight to the point: "The grain in the imperial granary is resold, and the official is responsible for negligence." However, in his position, he must seek his own government. I had already sent people to Huguang to buy grain. We will arrive in Jinling within three to five days. You also ask for your full cooperation in cooperating with the headquarters in delivering disaster relief rice and grain to Huainan. If something goes wrong, the official will definitely impeach him truthfully. Don't be unpredictable! ”

These powerful words made the faces of the seven or eight high-ranking officials in the wing room different, similar to mockery, contempt, and amusement.

No one took Wei Hong's words to heart. It is clear that Wei Hong is talking about officials who support grain merchants. You can't just look at the surface of anything. Grain merchants dare to raise prices. There is no power behind them, do they dare? The supporters, tracing back to the roots, are the various forces represented by the few people here.

Don't be unpredictable. This sentence is very ruthless! But can you?

The meeting of the Deliberations soon dispersed.

The news immediately spread among the yamen in Jinling, and then in the painting boat on the Qinhuai River at night, it became a joke in the various prefectures in Jinling City. In Zheng Guogong's mansion, a group of guards and commanders ate and drank together, and when they talked about it, a group of beautiful singers were dancing; Jia Yucun, the prefect of Jinling, chatted with his own officials Wei Tongzhi and Master Bai about this matter, and Mingxuan was a clear breeze and bright moon wine and food.

Wei Shangshu dog jumped off the wall in a hurry! But how useful can the impeachment he wrote to the imperial court be?

On September 5, the yamen of the household department posted an announcement: open the warehouse and release grain. The grain stored in the Nanjing Hubu grain depot (most of which was mixed with sand, mud, or rotten and moldy grain) was sold to the people at a price lower than the market price (2 taels and 5 yuan of silver). The price is 1 penny and 1 stone.

In the afternoon of the same day, this sensational news spread throughout Jinling City. It's just that food prices are too sensitive. Just like the housing price in the imperial capital of the Celestial Empire suddenly dropped to 10,000 yuan per square meter, it is definitely big news.

There are eight rice merchants in the Jinling Rice Industry Association, and they gathered in the association's office that afternoon to wait for news. The men under him were sent out to observe the situation. At this time, the grain stores of the major rice shops were still selling rice and noodles to the outside world, but the price was too high and the sales volume was scarce.

In the evening, the men of each rice line sent back the information one after another, "If you go back to the shopkeepers, there are long queues in front of the temporarily rented shops at the gates of the city and the wharf. We have all said, this grain cannot be eaten. But many people still went to buy it. ”

The shopkeeper of the Chen family's rice shop smiled. Whether you can eat it or not depends on the situation. Sift the rice grains mixed with sand and soil, and you can still eat them. Of course, the taste will not be good. Waste of effort. If it is moldy, it is natural that it cannot be eaten. But it is possible to feed pigs and chickens and ducks. The main thing is that the price is too low, and the people see that it is profitable.

Shopkeeper Luo smiled and looked around at the seven shopkeepers present, "Everyone, the strategy we are going to use in advance to reduce the price and move the volume." Wei Shangshu is very caring! Gave us such a good excuse to cut the price. ”

Only the higher the price of rice, the more people will panic and rush to buy. Price reduction, not the other way around. It's just that the current price is unaffordable for ordinary people. Therefore, the sales of rice line did not open. But it's been a few days. The people of the city had food in their homes, and they were running out of food. With this excuse, Mi Xing can start shipping.

A chubby shopkeeper smiled: "It's just that Wei Shangshu has earned some fame!" ”

"Haha!" Everyone in the room laughed.

…

…

The next day, the citizens of Jinling suddenly discovered that the price of rice in major grain stores had been adjusted to 1 tael and 5 yuan of silver per stone. The reasons are self-explanatory.

In the next few hours, crowds of people began to line up to buy rice and noodles in front of the shops.

Two days later, on September 8, the grain in the grain depot was still being sold for 1 penny. There are many buyers. However, the price of grain in the major rice shops has risen to 1 tael and 7 yuan of silver per stone. There are also many buyers.

Rumors are rife in the city. If you don't buy it, the price of rice will rise. Many of the people in the city took out their small amount of money to buy food at the rice store. If you don't buy it again, you'll run out of cooking. And, buy more. So as not to increase the price in a few days.

When the people in the bustling city of Jinling feel the pain of the price of rice. In the night, the clear moonlight shines on the river. Grain ships with a very deep draft slowly came from Songjiang Mansion against the current.

The sound of water, the sound of the water. (To be continued.) )