my brother-in-law is the prince

Zhou Juren's wailing immediately added a bit of sadness to the house.

Everyone panicked.

Someone said in a low voice: "Where...where do you get so much food, but still put meat...this...this..."

Someone said in disbelief, "How is this possible? Could it be a trick of sowing doubts and coming after us?"

"It's meat, it's meat!" Someone shouted: "It's impossible. It's just to teach us that Kaifeng is unlucky, so we only serve meat in Kaifeng? Nine times out of ten, all the four provinces serve meat. You guys Do you know... how much fish is needed for this? What is the market price of fish in the market?"

"How many pigs do you have to kill, and how many fish do you need?"

This repeated questioning made everyone fall silent.

If the price of rice and meat in later generations is ten to one, then in this era, the price difference between meat and rice is at least thirty times higher.

The reason is that the conversion ratio of meat in this era is low.

Therefore, meat is a real luxury. Ordinary people can't eat it during the New Year, and small landlords can only eat a good meal during the New Year.

Although Zhou Juren and others are not short of meat, they can manage the land for a long time, how can they not know the benefits and disadvantages of this?

As soon as the meat came out, I was completely desperate.

Zhou Juren stood there in a daze, countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

Then, feeling more and more desperate, he couldn't help saying: "This is trying to force me to death. They sold us grain at a high price, but in fact... they have evil intentions, they have evil intentions!"

With a loud cry like this, he looked at Liu Jin, the prefect, his eyes were as big as lanterns, and he said angrily: "I understand, I understand, everything is understood. Your Majesty, this is Zhang Anshi's poisonous plan at all. This is to deliberately lure us and other innocent people to buy food at high prices. In addition... the students even suspect that those who lend us money are also Zhang Anshi's people. Put it to death! Your Majesty...has there ever been such a treacherous and evil person in the world, who is so deliberate, just to teach students that such a good-natured person destroys his family?"

After hearing Zhou Juren's words, an indescribable chill emerged from the bottom of everyone's heart.

They are all very smart people, and once they start to calm down and think carefully about the events of these days, they seem to gradually understand.

I thought it was the mantis catching the cicada, but who knew it was the oriole behind.

The current situation is that they have countless grains in their hands, and almost all granaries are full of rice noodles.

But... all their money was spent!

Not only that, in order to buy more grain, after all, if you want to maintain the price of grain, you must ensure that you have to stock up on the grain on the market, so... borrow a lot of money and continue to buy.

Now which family is not burdened with huge debts?

The frightening thing is that now Zhang Anshi is still delivering rice and meat to the refugees outside, at least for a long time, as long as the Taiping Mansion is still opening warehouses to distribute food to the people.Then none of the grain in their hands can be sold.

But this heavy debt, not to mention the debt itself, even the interest, is enough to overwhelm them.

This means that even if they sell all their property, they may still owe people money.

In this way, in a blink of an eye, they may not even be able to compare with tenants, really even worse than pigs and dogs.

Liu Jin, the magistrate, seemed to have noticed something too. He looked at these bereaved people and sympathized with them in his heart. Now that he has reached this point, he is actually speechless.

Zhou Juren, however, was relentless, looking at him stubbornly, and then said: "Mr. Liu, the purchase of grain was also proposed by Mr. Liu. As for the previous things, there are some things that students have to say. Everyone is Scholars, there are some things that you don’t need to clarify, but there is one thing, everyone depends on each other in life and death, and we share weal and woe.”

"Now that they insult us like this and use such cunning means, they are already outraged by both humans and gods. If the people of the world know that Zhang Anshi is so vicious, everyone must punish them together. Mr. Liu, the students have no other requirements. One, return the grain immediately, and teach them to return the grain at the original price, not a penny less."

As soon as Zhou Juren's words came out, it seemed that many people grasped at straws.

So everyone shouted: "Yes, yes, refund the food, there is no less than a penny, please let the Lord be the master."

Liu Jin's face was already miserable.

He knew very well that these people were about to lose their families, and at this point, they would not have any scruples.

To put it bluntly, these are desperadoes. For this sake, if their request cannot be met, they will do anything.

What's more, in these years, he has had many contacts with these people, and in truth, he is inseparable from these people.

At the moment, he pretended to ponder, but in reality he was already flustered, but he just used pondering to cover up.

"What if they don't retreat?" Liu Jin tried his best to calmly say: "This is Jin Yiwei, it's Zhang Anshi!"

Zhou Juren's eyes were already red, and he said hysterically: "Whoever lied to me for a long time, he must pay for it!"

Liu Jin looked at Zhou Juren's ruthless look, tried to calm down the fluster in his heart, and hurriedly said: "Mr. ...wait and see."

Obviously, Liu Jin still had luck in his heart.

It's just that the situation is more pessimistic than they imagined.

In the east of the city, meat was supplied almost every day for half a month.

Even... With sufficient food security, a group of women's kitchens and hundred households began to play new tricks.

Since a batch of sugar and mung beans have been supplied recently, sweet porridge with mung beans has been made.

This kind of sweet porridge can only be served to children first. This thing may not be worth much in later generations, but in this era, it definitely exists like a bird's nest.

First of all, this white sugar is a scarce product. To use sugar to make porridge, for ordinary people, it is a waste of money.

Someone made rice noodles from a hundred rice.

Others made various pancakes.

Although there are not many ingredients, there are many kinds of designs and colors.

The women are now relieved and have slowly come out of the famine.Nowadays, a group of women get together and have a job, and everyone racks their brains and can always come up with new tricks.

The men are divided into several thousand households and work separately.

They dug a canal nearby.

The official road was well repaired, and gravel was paved on the roadbed, so that the transportation of grain and horses was more convenient.

The teenagers have textbooks, although the paper is very poor, but the books printed with ink have a kind of book fragrance that they have never smelled before.Many of these teenagers lost their parents in the catastrophe. Now, some people start to take care of their daily life, some give them new clothes, and some men mend their clothes. Three meals can be guaranteed, and some people care about them. of studies.

In the panic, after all this was despair, suddenly there seemed to be a ray of light, and this ray of light made them suddenly discover that they could still live happily in this world.

Although their happiness, at least in the eyes of the rich and powerful, is cheap, it is nothing more than eating and drinking enough, learning a few words, and being taken care of when they are sick.

But even so, for the vast majority of people here, it is actually a luxury.

Liu Jianye is already able to take care of himself. Sometimes when people come to consult, if it's just a minor ailment, the two doctors will let him handle it by himself.

He can always deal with it properly. When he is free, he secretly reads the medical books brought by the doctors.

This is what the doctor put on the bookshelf in the consulting room, and on the cover is written: "Principles of Germs", "Compendium of Medicine", "Diagnostics", "Treatise on Febrile Diseases" and so on.

The doctor seems to let him see everything, and sometimes he will test him.

Liu's father was in charge of being a mason, and would come to see him occasionally, always saving some food that he was reluctant to eat on weekdays and stuffing it for him.

Of course, his attitude was not very good, and he always scolded him not to be lazy, to behave properly and so on with a sullen face.

Moreover, Liu's father had a loud voice, and he always taught people around him to hear it. This made Liu Jianye hang his head every now and then, wishing he could find a crack in the ground to get in.

The only thing that is not optimistic is the rice shop in the city.

Ever since the people from Jinyiwei came, almost no one cares about them.

It's ridiculous that they also put up all kinds of high-priced rice signs.

As a result, many people in the city who were not affected by the disaster also went out and turned left, and ran to receive relief like the refugees.

Even the folks at the rice shop ran out of the city in a hurry.

There is so much rice, not to mention the current sky-high price, even if the price drops ten times, it is afraid that it will not be sold.

Such a scene, I really don't know, I thought the owners of these rice shops were crazy.

Half a month later, in the deep courtyard of Wang's family in the west of the city, as before, the maidservant brought ginseng soup to wash the master.

It's just that the sun is three poles high, and there is no movement in the inner room.

So the maidservant tiptoed into the inner room, and when she entered, she immediately let out a scream.

Immediately afterwards, people from all over the Wang family flocked here, and some female family members began to cry.

However, Wang Jin, the owner of the Wang family, who is known as the king and half of the city, is hanging on the beam at this moment, with disheveled hair and a terrified expression.

Wang Jin has a big family and a big business, and he hoards the most food. Naturally, he suffered the heaviest losses.

Overnight, all the family properties disappeared, and they were burdened with huge debts. Even if they sold all the fields and mansions, they would not be able to pay off.

This Wang Jin was short-tempered, and in desperation, he simply died.

Not long after, the magistrate came in person, left in a hurry after the funeral, and then returned to the government office, where Zhou Juren and others came again.

Zhou Juren already had white hair and teary eyes.

He and Wang Jin are old friends, now that Wang Jin is dead, it is inevitable that the rabbit will die and the fox will be sad.

What's more, his current situation is not much better.

"Your Majesty..."

"It's inside."

Liu Jin already had a premonition that the situation was serious, so he entered the house, sat down, picked up the teacup, and drank tea.

All of this, done in one go, has already become a habit.

Then, he said: "The government has already checked. People like you are not just you. To tell you the truth, there are countless people who have been victims. Now that the trouble has come to this point, people must be devastated. As a parent official, I can't bear to see the people under my rule being forced to such a point. Throughout the dynasties, although I have heard of various tyrannical policies that are fiercer than tigers, I have never seen them. , to practice such a despicable method, to plunder people’s property like this.”

Everyone nodded sadly.

Liu Jin said again: "Since... the victim is not just one or two people, there is a possibility of redemption. In my opinion, this matter cannot be dealt with in this government. The only way is to go to Beijing and file a letter together. Whether it’s good or not, it doesn’t matter whether you file a complaint or file a complaint, all in all, if we all go together, we may be able to negotiate a solution.”

Zhou Juren and the others frowned, appearing very hesitant.

Liu Jin glanced at their faces, and he understood their worries, and continued: "Don't worry, Luoyang, I heard that someone has left for the capital, and everyone's wealth and life are here. At this time, if How can it make sense if you don’t sue and don’t seek justice?”

After a pause, Liu Jin continued: "Now that Luoyang has taken the lead, I'm afraid there will be righteous men going with him in other prefectures and counties. Kaifeng mansion, all the victims will also go. Don't worry, there are still many people in the court. People, I am concerned about the livelihood of the people. These days, I have also received some letters, concerned about the well-being of the people, and asking about your situation. Besides, why did someone from Luoyang Mansion come to Beijing first..."

Liu Jin's eyes were half-opened and half-closed, eyes slightly closed, and he said meaningfully: "You know, Hu Gong, a scholar of Wenyuan Pavilion, has just left Luoyang not long ago. This is obviously... Hu Gong's instruction..."

After hearing this, Zhou Juren seemed to have sensed something, so he said: "Mr. Liu means... if we enter Beijing... the momentum is not small..."

Liu Jindao: "Not only is it not small, but this time, he, Zhang Anshi, has offended the public. Think about it, there are so many state capitals, so many people who have been victimized, there are thousands if not ten thousand. There are people who are upright and dare to speak, but I don’t believe it, my Ming Dynasty is a place where there is no kingly law.”

"Okay." Zhou Juren gritted his teeth. Right now, this is the only way that is more reliable.

The people behind were also whispering, as if they also felt that they had grasped a life-saving straw.

"I'm going to prepare right now, and I'll go to Beijing tomorrow." Zhou Juren said, "Now, we must seek justice."

Then everyone bid farewell.

Liu Jin suddenly said: "Wait a minute!"

Zhou Juren stopped, raised his eyebrows and said, "What else do you have to teach me?"

Liu Jin had an unclear expression on his face, and said, "We want to enter Beijing, but we can't enter for nothing."

Zhou Juren showed suspicion on his face, and said, "The Fu Jun means..."

Liu Jindao: "The emperor and the people ruled the world together. This is because water can carry a boat and overturn it. If there were no people, wouldn't the court be a rootless duckweed? So the sage kings of all dynasties knew that This principle, but if there are traitors in the court, bewitching the sage and making the sage go in without knowing it, then disaster may come. So, you want to go to Beijing, but your family can't be idle."

After hearing this, Zhou Juren opened his eyes slightly, and immediately understood what was going on.

The so-called co-governance of the world is that the emperor is high above, and local affairs are controlled by people like Zhou Juren. If there is no such thing, where can the water come from that can carry the boat and overturn it?

Therefore, it is necessary to sue the imperial court, and at the same time there must be a little movement, to create a scene of Zhang Anshi's disaster for the country and the people, and the people's lives are ruined.

Only in this way can the emperor Lao Tzu listen to his words and have to worry about these harmed people.

So Zhou Juren nodded and said: "Zhou is taught."

Liu Jin smiled and said: "Don't worry, if something happens to the Kaifeng mansion, the mansion will immediately start playing and report it to the Son of Heaven."

Zhou Juren and the others bowed again, and then left.

…………

Zhou House.

"Friday..."

"exist."

"How many years have you been with this old man?"

"The little one has been with you, master, for 13 years."

"In the past 13 years, I have taught you how to manage the tenants, take care of the house, and treat you well."

"Master's kindness to Xiao is as great as a mountain..."

Zhou Juren raised his head, took a closer look at Friday, and then said, "It's good that you know. At the beginning, you were just an idler. Now? People should be grateful. The old man will go to Beijing tomorrow. You are here." Well... don't you have many friends from three mountains and five mountains? And those people under you... come... let me tell you a few words."

This Friday he smiled, bowed and listened carefully.

After Zhou Juren explained softly, he calmly said, "Don't worry, the government will not pursue you if you want to make trouble, the bigger the trouble, the better."

On Friday, he suddenly thought of the women he covets on weekdays, and some of his cronies. He patted his chest and said, "Master, don't worry, it's just a little thing."

…………

A quick note.

It was sent to the palace quickly.

Zhu Di looked at Kuaizao, squinted his eyes, thoughtful.

"Going to Beijing...to sue the imperial court..." Zhu Di muttered these words, then raised his head and glanced in disbelief, and said, "Is it so blatant to sue the imperial court?"

"Your Majesty." Yi Shiha said: "many of them are scholars with fame and reputation. Since they are scholars, according to my Great Ming Law, they can go to Beijing without a guide. It's just that they make a lot of noise, ostentatiously passing through the market along the way... Slaves... ..."

Zhu Di didn't show any joy or anger on his face, and he just said lightly: "This relief, such a thing happened, it is understandable that someone came to complain. What about Hu Guang, do you have any news now?"

Yi Shiha didn't understand Zhu Di's thoughts, so he said truthfully: "Mr. Hu may come to Beijing too in a few days. It's strange to say that in the prefectures and counties he passed by, there were people who claimed to sue the imperial court..."

Zhu Di paced around, lowered his head slightly and thought for a while, as if talking to himself: "Hu Guang is a fool, he may not have the ability, nor does he have the courage, this should be just a mistake, it can't be Hu Guang Encourage."

Yi Shiha just laughed dryly, not knowing how to continue.

Zhu Di thought of something, looked up and said, "Why hasn't there been any movement from Zhang Qing's side? The Jin Yiwei only cares about feeding food, but arresting rebellious officials and thieves is also the top priority. Why haven't we seen any arrests?" one person?"