I'm playing tricks in Daqin

After being amazed, Li Wei couldn't help but slobbered. What did this girl eat to grow so well?In other words, all the nutrients are supplied to the chest?

When she met the young master's scorching gaze, Qing'er was so frightened that she quickly lowered her eyes. She felt her cheeks were burning like fire, and her heart was beating violently, almost bursting out of her chest.

The young master's eyes just now seemed a bit similar to the previous ones, which made her feel fear reflexively, but soon, the fear in her heart faded away and turned into shame, with a bit of tension and anticipation.

She didn't know why she suddenly had such an absurd idea that made her feel ashamed, but it happened just like that, it seemed natural and taken for granted. For a moment, her mind was in a mess , almost unable to think.

Thinking of the evil deeds of his predecessor, Xiao Nizi's fear and guard against him, even with obvious hostility, Li Wei can't help sighing, but at the same time he can't help but feel a little proud. His image of a dandy has been completely changed successfully. My hostility has long been eliminated, and I even have a good impression, and I still have the feeling of worship that I can dedicate myself to an idol.

Qing'er told him this inadvertently, he knew that if he ate tofu at this time, or even that kind of thing, Xiao Nizi resisted a little bit more, and then half-pushed and half-successed.

A guard came in and reported, "Master, the Prime Minister invites you to come over."

Li Wei immediately went to the prime minister's mansion of the cheap daddy, and the cheap daddy called him at this time, maybe there is something important?

Daddy's Prime Minister's Mansion and his Hussar General's Mansion are next to each other, separated only by a wall, and a door is opened in the backyard wall. Usually, I discuss things with Daddy Cheap, or say hello to 13 aunts and wives. back door.

"Brother Wei, take a look."

Li Weicai walked into the study, and Li Gang pointed to a memorial on the desk, with a gloomy and frightening expression on his face.

Li Wei picked up the memorial and looked at it, his brows furrowed.

The memorial was written by Yu Ming, the new prefect of Qingchuan Province. It stated that Quping, Xiyang, Xinjiang and other counties in Qingchuan Province that had been looted by the war had received [-] shi of grain allocated by the imperial court, but they still could not solve the food shortage problem of the local people. The imperial court then urgently allocated [-] shi of grain to relieve the crisis of grain shortage.

This memorial seemed normal, and it also showed the love of the prefect Yu Ming, but in the eyes of Li Gang and Li Wei and his son, there was a big problem here.

In order to stabilize the current situation, the father and son tried their best to win people's hearts. For this reason, they did not hesitate to go bankrupt and bought a large amount of grain from abroad and transferred it to the place where there was a food shortage.

The counties of Xiatang in Pingyong were once occupied by the Tang army, and they suffered the most losses. However, these counties belonged to Jincheng County, and the city wall of Jincheng was being vigorously rebuilt. Before the pass, a large number of young and strong people were mobilized to build the city wall, and the food consumed every day was astonishing. Therefore, food and other materials were given priority.

Although the city in Pingping County, Xiyangqu, Xinjiang was destroyed, the loss suffered was not as great as that of Pingyong and other counties, but it was the place where the food shortage was the most serious. After the father and son discussed, Li Gang personally instructed and transferred to several counties The [-] shi of grain is sold at a low price by the government, but the daily purchase amount of the common people is limited.

According to the population data reported by the magistrates of several counties, even if the [-] shi of food transferred urgently is not enough to last three months, it will not be much worse. Two months is more than enough. This is based on the calculation that two meals a day are all cooked If you eat porridge for one meal, you can last longer, and you will be fine for four months. As a result, you will be in a hurry before half a month is up.

Not only is there a problem here, but the problem is huge.

"Call me Ding Xi!"

Li Gang cried out in a cold voice, a gloomy murderous intent flashed in his eyes.

If he is usually greedy for ink, as long as he doesn’t make a fuss or arouse public anger, he may turn a blind eye and pretend not to know, but now is an extraordinary period. In order to appease the hearts of the people, he has almost used up all his wealth to buy food. It's really too bold and reckless for someone to dare to be greedy for ink and disaster relief food at this time.

He must find out this big rat, no matter how big his officials are or how many people are implicated, he must kill it to make an example.

"Father, I'd better go there myself."

Li Wei thought for a while, and decided to investigate in person. It's not that he doesn't believe in Ding Xi's ability and character, but he wants to take Kong Rong out to relax, and he also helps cheap daddy to inspect the world and find out a few corrupt officials. That's what it means to set a good example and kill a chicken for monkeys to see.

After the father and son had a discussion in the study, Li Wei took Kong Rong and Qing'er, under the protection of Li Er and other guards, quietly left Beijing for Xinjiang County.

Xiao Xiaoxiao also wants to follow. Her current status is special. In the eyes of everyone, she is already the young master's default concubine. The difference is only a ceremony.

Li Wei didn't refuse either. With such a master accompanying him, his safety was more assured.

While Li Wei and his party were leaving, a large amount of grain was also being loaded and ready to be shipped. The grain transport officer in charge of escorting the grain was Li Wei's former guard captain Wang Chengzong. He has now been promoted to Zhonglang General and belongs to the Central Army Corps.

Naturally, there are officers and soldiers escorting the food delivery. This is a very common thing. No one will pay attention to the details. This time the food delivery officer is not only Li Wei's trusted general, but also more officers and soldiers than usual. soldiers, and all of them are experienced elites.

Chapter 193 The Evil Younger Nature

Li Wei and his party drove lightly, and slowly headed towards Xinjiang County. All the guards were in casual clothes, and they had female relatives.

Li Wei was not in a hurry, and accompanied Kong Rong to enjoy the scenery all the way, his thoughtfulness made Kong Rong very happy, and her heart was filled with the sweetness and happiness of being loved.

The excuse Xiao Xiaoxiao followed was to protect someone's safety, and witnessed someone's considerate and gentle side. This feeling in his heart was strange, envious, and inexplicable sense of loss. Sometimes even he felt absurd The idea is that the person who only hopes to be cared for and loved is myself.

She didn't know why she had such a feeling. In short, it could be said that there were mixed feelings in her heart, and there was a little different feeling in the eyes of someone.

Before Li Wei set off, Ding Xi had been ordered to send a large number of black-clothed guards to Quping County, Xinjiang for a secret investigation.

He knew very well that besides his own ability, the most important thing for him to be able to sit firmly in his current position and reward the hereditary county magistrate was his loyalty, his absolute loyalty to the Li family.

Without Mrs. Li, he would not have achieved what he is today. He is in charge of the notorious Black Clothes Guard. Everyone respects him, even fears him like a tiger, and dare not associate with him. Therefore, he is doomed to have no friends.

He is a smart man, and he clearly knows that loyalty alone is not enough. If a person has no weaknesses, being too perfect will make the lord jealous. Therefore, when confiscating the homes of some criminals, he used his power to occupy them. The young and beautiful concubine.

This matter was reported to Li Gang, but Li Gang smiled and said, man, which one is not lustful?Doesn't this prime minister also have 12 concubines?

This almost joking statement suppressed all the impeachment of Ding Xi, and also showed Li Gang's favor for him. If there are still people who don't understand, if they continue to impeach Ding Xi, they can only make fun of themselves.

Three days later, Li Wei, who was walking slowly all the way, speeded up after receiving various news from the black guards. He arrived in Xinjiang County in the evening five days later, and lived in Li Jinli, who was running a cloth business in the city. The home of a great merchant.

Li Jin's real identity is Wei Weiwei in Black Clothes, he is the person in charge of Ding Xibu's secret agent in Xinjiang County. When the young master comes, he serves him wholeheartedly. Fortunately, there are several wing rooms at home. The guards brought by Li Wei are not There are only seven or eight people, and even if the children are squeezed, they can barely accommodate them. They claim to be distant cousins ​​who are passing by and will stay for a while.

After settling down, Li Jin reported the information he found. A few days ago, he received an urgent secret order from Ding Xi, ordering him to quietly investigate the food shortage situation in Xinjiang County.

The information reported by Li Jin was roughly similar to the information sent back by the Black Clothes Guard. The lack of food in Xinjiang County caused the food price to skyrocket by dozens of times.

Of course, this is just his personal thought, so he dare not say it out, he just reported the information he found. The local aristocratic family, the gentry and the grain merchants hoarded a large amount of grain and did not sell it. It was one aspect to raise the price of grain and seek huge profits.

On the other hand, the possibility of the county magistrate's corruption of ink cannot be ruled out.

For this reason, Li Jin took the risk of visiting the warehouses of the gentry and grain merchants in his hometown at night. Their warehouses were full of grain, ranging from thousands of shi to tens of thousands of shi.

There is only so much information at present, and the specific situation has yet to be verified. Li Wei is not in a hurry. They have been driving for a few days, and they are all exhausted. Let's rest first.

The dinner was not very rich, with a few vegetables and a white-cut chicken, Li Wei and the others ate with gusto. Fortunately, they brought some rice with them when they came, otherwise, they wouldn't even be able to fill their stomachs.

As a guard in black, Li Jin was in charge of the affairs of Xinjiang County. Even if the whole city was short of food, he would not be short of food. He had his own special channels to ensure that he, his subordinates and family members would be fed.

This is the benefit of being a soldier, not to mention being a black guard who enjoys the power of life and death.

However, Li Jin distributed his share of rations to the neighbors who were short of food, and he only kept a little. He didn't expect that the young master would choose to live in his home, and suddenly there were more than a dozen mouths. Ordering stored food is not enough to fill the stomach, so I have to make excuses again and again.

"You did very well."

Li Wei patted him on the shoulder appreciatively. He is loyal and capable. He appreciates his righteous deed of distributing food to his neighbors. Such a person should be reused.

In the early morning of the next day, under the guard of Li Er and others, Li Wei strolled casually in the street like a traveling gentleman.

This guy is wearing a white long gown, holding a folding fan, looks very romantic and suave, the faint smile on the corner of his lips looks so gentle and affectionate, making those young ladies in Huaichun and beautiful ladies like bathing in the bath Spring breeze, heart galloping.

This feeling, Li Wei felt very good, at least, with a bit of pride in his heart, don't you see, those little ladies and ladies who passed by stopped one after another, timidly and shyly looking at them secretly, their cheeks were flushed, and they were ashamed. She has a charming attitude, boldly stares at you hotly, and frantically winks at you directly. The intention of hooking up is very obvious. As long as you step forward to strike up a conversation, you will surely enjoy a romantic and exciting affair.

There were even a few men drooling, their eyes gleaming like hungry wolves. Seeing a handsome guy, a man with such eyes must be different.

"Blow him!"

Li Wei pointed at the gangster in his hand and ordered the guards to beat him up. He really enjoyed the affectionate eyes of girls and wives, but he couldn't bear the eyes of men looking at him. A domineering evil nature.

Although the guards didn't know how the man offended the young master, anyway, the young master's words were orders, even if they went up the mountain of swords and down into the sea of ​​fire, they would never frown, and a few of them rushed up, beat the poor guy until his face was swollen, and he ran away with his head in his arms. .

Those little ladies and beautiful ladies who were sneaking glances at the handsome guy were first stunned by his domineering behavior, and then blinked their bright eyes, and the corners of their red lips escaped intoxicatingly. smile.

To them, that guy was not wronged at all. In this county, that guy was famous for his masculinity. Although masculinity prevailed in this world, two men getting together made them feel sick.

Although this handsome, unrestrained and suave young gentleman is a bit domineering, it also shows that he has a normal orientation and doesn't have that bad habit.

"Guan Guan Suijiu, in Hezhizhou, a fair lady, a gentleman is so good..."

Li Wei smiled casually, spread out the folding fan in his hand, flicked his big sleeves, and Shi Shi walked forward slowly, his movements and expressions were unspeakably free and easy, and the eyes of those Huaichun girls and beautiful ladies sparkled. of.

A luxurious carriage was parked by the side of the road, the curtain was half lifted, and a fragrant silk handkerchief floated out of the carriage, falling right in front of Li Wei.

Li Wei reached out to catch it, raised it under his nose, and took a deep sniff, with an intoxicated expression on his face.

This action is very frivolous, and under normal circumstances, it will bear the reputation of being a low-ranking disciple, but the half-opened car window reveals a pretty face like a peach blossom, and the watery peach blossom eyes are soul-stirring. A meaningful smile escaped from the corner of his lips.

No matter how low the EQ is, people can tell that the beautiful woman in the carriage is obviously seductive.

Li Wei scratched his head. Although this beautiful woman is not as beautiful as Qing'er and other women, she can still wait for a first-class beauty. If it's okay, he really doesn't mind having a romantic and exciting affair. However, He has business to do now, and he is in a hurry, so he has no choice but to disappoint the kindness of the beautiful woman.

He looked up at the sky, then at the beautiful woman in the car, put the fragrant silk handkerchief into his sleeve, bowed to her elegantly, turned and left gracefully.

The beautiful woman couldn't help feeling full of resentment, but then she smiled, her watery peach eyes were filled with anticipation and ambiguity, Mr. Qiaolang, this is what you said, if we meet again, it will be fate, as long as you If I still live in this city for a day, my sister and I will naturally create this opportunity.

Such a personable, suave and handsome young man, no matter what, he wants to take a bite!

Chapter 194

Li Wei wandered around the main streets in the city, and then walked out of the city slowly, with a leisurely demeanor that he wanted to visit the mountains and rivers and enjoy the scenery of the lakes and mountains.

He has already checked the city, and the situation is generally similar to the information detected by the black guards. Several food stores have closed their doors and put up signs that there is no food for sale. The official food sales points for the relief of the people are crowded. Many people were full, but there was no food to sell. The attitude of the few officials left behind was passable, and they politely explained to the people that the emergency food dispatched by the imperial court was already on its way and would arrive in a few days. Solve the food shortage problem.

Although the people are dissatisfied, there has not been a phenomenon of famine and riots. If this problem is not resolved quickly, once a large number of famines occur, the people will inevitably gather to riot.

Li Wei wanted to go out of the city to have a look, and personally ask the people working in the fields, they can best reflect the living conditions when they appeared.

A few miles out of the city, fields can be seen everywhere. It is almost winter, and the crops have already been harvested. The fields that no one has planted are full of weeds. Li Wei can only sigh. This is the evil result of the war. A large number of men were conscripted, and the fields were uncultivated and planted and became barren.

However, there are many men, women and children squatting in those abandoned fields. They are digging with their heads down and putting the dug things into bamboo baskets.

Li Wei's nose was sour. He knew that the common people really had no food to eat, and they were digging wild vegetables to satisfy their hunger. If the wild vegetables were all dug up, and if the food shortage was not resolved, they could only gnaw on the bark. That would also cause a civil uprising strong signal.

"This old man, Xiaosheng is right."

Li Wei walked over and bowed to an old man nearby who was digging wild vegetables.

"Don't dare, don't dare..."

The old man hurriedly stood up to return the salute, a bit of nervousness and anxiety appeared on his wrinkled waxy cheeks. In their eyes, the scholar was as lofty and respected as an official. It is by no means comparable to ordinary poor scholars.

"Old man, what did you... dig?"

Li Wei asked knowingly, he wanted to understand the situation, he had to dispel the nervousness in the old man's heart before introducing the topic.

"Xiao Langjun, we are digging wild vegetables."

An old lady next to me took the conversation, and while she was talking, she was digging the dry and cracked mud with a wooden hoe.

"Auntie, Xiaosheng heard that the government sells grain at a price several times lower than the market price?"

"Young gentleman, you don't know something."

The old man sighed and changed the topic while digging.

In order to help the people, the government did sell grain at a price several times lower than the market price, but the people had no money to buy grain. The former prefect Kong Ning implemented tyranny, and the people in Qingchuan were already poor. Kong Ning was the last one. The gambling is even more expropriating a large number of young and strong peasants and money, and it is not an exaggeration to describe it as a robber.

The common people were already very poor. After the food shortage, the price of food soared. In order to eat, the common people spent all the pitiful money they saved from living frugally for many years to buy food. Usually, the money that can buy a few buckets of rice is only enough Buy a bucket, or even half a bucket. Although the government later sells grain at a low price, how can they have any money to buy grain? As a last resort, they can only dig wild vegetables to satisfy their hunger. If the wild vegetables are exhausted, they have no choice but to sell the fields to those gentry Landlord, otherwise, this winter will not be able to survive.

Li Wei and the servants around him sighed, the common people are suffering.

"Old man, according to what you said, many people have no money to buy grain, so the government's grain should not be sold, there is still a surplus, why is there no grain to sell?"

From the words of the old man, Li Wei grasped a key problem. Many ordinary people have no money to buy grain, so the grain supplied by the county government at a low price should not be sold, there should be surplus. Why is the granary empty?

No wonder Yu Yang, the new prefect of Qingchuan, frequently wrote to ask for help.

"Xiao Lang-jun doesn't know something..."

The old man sighed and continued.

The common people have no money to buy grain, but the rich families, country gentry, landlords and businessmen have plenty of money, and the common people have no money, so they pay for the common people to buy the grain that the officials sell at a low price. The common people can only use their own quotas to fill their stomachs When I went to buy grain, what I got was only a few spoonfuls of rice, or even less.

Li Wei's face turned pale when he heard the old man's words. The old man's words clearly explained why the relief food allocated by the court was sold out, and the problem of food shortage was still unresolved. Then sell it at a high price of more than a dozen, earn huge profits, and even force the common people to sell their lifeblood fields in exchange for a few buckets of rice, which are pitifully small.

"Man, thank you very much."

Li Wei bowed to the old man solemnly, ordered the guards to leave behind ten taels of silver, flung his sleeves, and left with a murderous look on his face.

The gentry and landlords of these aristocratic families hoarded food and did not sell it, and it was nothing more than seeking huge profits. They were so greedy that they did not care about the life and death of the people.

However, although he was so angry that he wished to behead those nasty guys and ransack their homes, there had to be a reasonable excuse. After all, the business was fair and the laws of the empire were incomplete, allowing those black-hearted guys to take advantage of the loopholes.

When returning to the city, Li Wei took another road. The road was slightly wider, enough for a carriage to travel, and it should be the avenue leading to the county.

Go through the village in front and walk another mile or two to reach the county seat.

When passing through this village, Li Wei looked at the dilapidated houses, many of which were made of broken mats and thatch, and could only sigh in his heart. If he wanted to change the living conditions of the local poor people, he had to wait for Sun Ja to build the Jincheng. After the army withdraws, the soldiers can help these poor people rebuild their houses.

There was a sudden cry from the front of the village, and many villagers gathered. They didn't know what happened, so he quickened his pace and took a closer look. He couldn't help but get angry.

Two big men in black domestic slave clothes dragged a 12-year-old girl from a thatched hut. The girl struggled desperately and cried, while her parents just stood aside with tears.

"Stop! Robbing civilian girls in broad daylight, do you still have the king's law in your eyes?"

Li Wei let out a yell, and the more people came out, he was not the savior, but he would never let this kind of thing happen.

A middle-aged man who looked like a butler frowned at him, clasped his fists and said, "This gentleman is..."

Li Wei clasped his fists, and said calmly: "My surname is Li, and my name is Yu. You rob people's daughters by force, do you still have Wang Fa in your eyes?"

The housekeeper grinned and said with a smile: "I think Li Langjun misunderstood it. It is only natural to pay the debt. The Zhao family owes our master money and cannot repay the debt. Use your daughter to pay off the debt. If you don't believe me, ask."