Datang: Huchi served as a bodyguard, but refused to enter the court as an official

But the disaster came too fast, earlier than the locusts.

It caught him off guard.

In his opinion, even if new food grows fast, it will take more than half a year.

It's only been two short months, and it is estimated that the sprouts of potatoes and corn have not grown.

The civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty were gloomy, and no one could come up with a good solution.

To put it bluntly, there is no food!

It can't be changed out of thin air, can it?

It is also a way to transport grain from other places. Even if it takes ten days on the road, it can survive.

But how much food can there be in other places?

Hebei, Jiangnan, and Huainan were originally food-producing places, and disasters were happening in these three places. Even if there was food in other places, it was a drop in the bucket.

Helpless, Li Er could only announce his withdrawal from the court.

He has already planned to issue an imperial edict tomorrow to apologize to the people of the world.

The court is gloomy, but the Liu family is very lively.

The cast iron business in Youzhou is getting bigger and bigger, enough to account for [-]% of the family's income!

Shen Wansan, the big shopkeeper who stayed in Youzhou, consciously made a lot of credit, and went back to Jingyang to claim the credit, and brought several carts of new gadgets.

In the yard, all kinds of messy things piled up into a mountain.

Zhou Lide, the treasurer of Youzhou, is a fat man weighing two hundred catties.

In his 40s, with a simple and honest appearance, he always smiles when he sees everyone.

Only those who are familiar with him know that this guy is not a cheap lamp!

He was the first to know that Changsun Huan and the Pei family boy were in Youzhou and planned to block the way to kill and rob.

He is also an old man of the Liu family. When he worked hard with Mr. Liu, he made a lot of contributions.

It can be said that among the big shopkeepers of the Liu family, he is the oldest.

Whenever he goes to a place, the first thing he does is to establish a good relationship with the local black and white.

Because of this, after Shen Wansan left, he would rest assured to hand over the dangerous Youzhou to him!

"Master, these are pearls produced along the coast of Hebei Province. Such a pair is priceless. It just so happens that the two young ladies are making some jewelry!"

"Look, this coral is two feet high, and it couldn't be more magnificent in the study!"

Liu Bai is not interested in things like gold, silver and jewelry.

Followed around a few times, just to satisfy Lao Zhou's thoughts.

During the family dinner a year ago, it was the busiest time for Lao Zhou, so he didn't come back in time.

Isn't it just to show off when I go home this time?

Turning around in the pile of presents for a few times, Liu Bai suddenly saw a large piece wrapped in lotus leaves.

When I took a closer look, there was a fishy smell.

Zhou Lide hastily introduced: "This subordinate is about to introduce it to you. This thing is far rarer than gold, silver and jewelry!"

He used a small knife to cut open the lotus leaf, and inside was a large piece of smoked fish!

Then, he said mysteriously: "Master, let's enjoy this thing at home, if it spreads outside, it will be a disaster!"

At first, Liu Bai didn't know what mystery Lao Zhou was playing.

But when I looked carefully, I couldn't help being startled!

"This is whale meat?!"

In later generations, Liu Bai was considered well-informed.

But he had never eaten whale meat either!

These days, there is no such thing as protecting animals.

Things like tigers, black bears, and the like are about to become disasters.

But how did Lao Zhou catch the whale?

Even the official ship of the imperial court cannot be the opponent of the whale, right?

Chapter 169: There's not enough fish in the river, isn't there still in the sea?

The ancients always attributed things that they couldn't understand to ghosts and gods.

I don't know who said that when a giant fish dies, even a prince, even a fisherman by the sea would not dare to catch a fish larger than three feet.

There are too many princes in the Li family to count, but any one can be picked out, and the power is terrifying.

If they knew that the Liu family had caught a whale to eat, they might call on them collectively.

It is precisely because of this that Lao Zhou specially instructed that whale meat can only be eaten at home and not exposed.

"This whale was stranded on the beach, and my subordinates sent people to secretly smoke it. If the young master is satisfied with the food, my subordinates will send some people back!"

As he said that, Lao Zhou simply peeled off all the lotus leaves and yelled at the kitchen.

The cook immediately ran into the kitchen with the fish in his hands, and after a while, a strong aroma came.

It happened to be lunch time, and everyone gathered together.

Because there were outsiders, Liu Wan'er and Liu Rong'er ate in the backyard instead of coming to the hall.

A plate of fish was served, and the cook deliberately cut it into small pieces, which looked very delicate.

Liu Bai tasted it, and it tasted really good.

Among the deliciousness, there is a bit of grassy fragrance, which should be added with some other spices.

"The young master doesn't know that whale meat is very fishy, ​​and the Sichuan peppercorns from Hebei Road are the best seasoning!"

Lao Zhou kept introducing it. It seemed that he ate whale meat a lot in Youzhou.

As he was talking, Lao Zhou's voice suddenly became much lower.

In the end, he didn't speak at all.

He didn't know what was going on, but when he looked at Li Chengqian who was eating fish meat on chopsticks as a skewer, his lips quivered slightly, and a terrified expression appeared on his face.

In an instant, everyone at the table reacted.

The giant fish is dead, the prince!

As the crown prince, isn't Li Chengqian the biggest prince? !

Only Li Chengqian himself didn't understand it, he chewed the whale meat, and said vaguely: "Why don't you eat it?"

He wore another string, only to think that the meat was even delicious.

But chewing and chewing, his movements gradually slowed down.

A drop of cold sweat slid down his forehead, Li Chengqian retched, and almost spit out all the meat in his mouth!

He suddenly had a feeling that he was eating himself

Liu Bai stared, and said, "Don't spoil the food!"

Li Chengqian, who was about to spit out his mouth full of meat, wanted to cry but had no tears, so he could only suppress his nausea and swallowed it.

Looking at the plate of whale meat again, I lost my appetite at all.

With a mournful face, he said, "Brother Liu"

Liu Bai ignored him.

This fellow is not very old, but he is particular about it.

If he starved for three days, he would have eaten all the chopsticks.

Seeing that Liu Bai didn't care, and was eating the whale meat bite by bite, the others didn't hesitate anymore.

A large plate of meat is gone in a blink of an eye.

Cheng Chumo went to the academy, and Chai Lingwu was too busy working as the treasurer of Liu Yexuan.

Therefore, the task of washing the dishes was handed over to Li Chengqian.

While clearing the table, he muttered something.

Without thinking about it, he knew that he was blaming Liu Bai for eating whale meat for himself.

Liu Bai didn't bother to think about it, he held a cup of steaming tea, looked at Di Zhixun who was sitting across from him, "What's the matter with Master Di?"

In the past few days, Di Zhixun went to Liu's house whenever he had nothing to do.

At first it was to thank Liu Bai for helping him save the lives of his wife and children.

But later, it simply became a cup of tea.

Fortunately, he was quite sensible, so he didn't come for a meal.

Today Di Zhixun was a little out of sorts, he put on a sad face as soon as he entered the door, he didn't know what was bothering him.

"My lord, I'm afraid Chang'an will be in chaos for a while."

After talking about the disaster, he finally said: "From Hebei Road to Chang'an, our Jingyang County is the only way to go. Some refugees have already appeared outside the city. In the past few days, there will only be more and more people."

According to his temperament, even if he donated all his family wealth to buy food for refugees, it would be no big deal.

But the number of refugees is too many. Once it starts, there is no end!

When the time comes, the refugees who hear that there is food in Jingyang County will definitely move upon hearing the news, and even the disaster victims in Hedong, Jiangnan, and Huainan will flock here!

"Your Majesty has been very worried these past few days. He has ordered several counties around Chang'an to seal up the grain depots and not allow them to open grain warehouses without permission. However, the disaster victims are gathering more and more. Over time, there will definitely be mutinies!"

He was also forced to the point where he had no choice, so he came to look for Liu Bai again, maybe Liu Bai could help him think of a good way.

Liu Bai also heard about the disaster.

He wasn't surprised at all.

The second year of Zhenguan was originally a year of catastrophe, otherwise, the locust plague in June alone would not have caused the tragic situation of changing children and eating them.

However, he has nothing to do.

If it is 2 people, Jingyang County has enough grain in stock.

But now there are nearly 100 million people!

Even the imperial court can't help it!

Seeing Liu Bai was silent, Di Zhixun sighed heavily.

"I don't know if I can sit at the dinner table and have a good meal like today"

His heart ached.

He can only blame his own bad luck for such a catastrophe to happen within a few days of taking office as the magistrate of Jingyang County.

Well, that's the end of his official career

But hearing what he said, Liu Bai was thinking about it!

If there is no food, isn't there still meat? !

The fish in the river is not enough to eat, isn't there still in the sea?

A whale weighs at least [-] to [-] jin, enough to feed tens of thousands of people!

Even if whales are difficult to catch, it is not a problem compared to starving people.

Liu Bai sipped his tea while secretly thinking about how to make a fortune from this matter!

He is a merchant, and he has no reason to help the court solve troubles for no reason.

So, he cast his eyes on Li Chengqian who was holding a wooden basin and planning to wash the dishes in the yard.

Feeling Liu Bai's gaze, Li Chengqian's heart tightened!

The wooden basin in my hand almost fell.