Jinyi Music

Chapter 342 Where Does This Grain Go?
"What about the food? Where did the food go?"

Mou Biao said,
"This... It is said that after the grain left the city, it was taken over by someone and transported away, and the warrant for the grain adjustment was the seal of Lei Bingrong, the prefect of Kaifeng himself..."

Such a large amount of grain mobilization is impossible to conceal. If Lei Bingrong dared to transfer the grain so blatantly, and then sold it to the grain merchants as the outside world said, and made huge profits from it, then the nine clans of the Lei family would probably die sooner or later. How could he stay in office safely when his head fell to the ground?

Zhu Houzhao and Mou Biao looked at each other, both shocked and confused,
"Where did the food... the food go?"

This question seems to be only for Lei Bingrong!

But... will he be honest?

"Check again..."

So Jin Yiwei checked for another three days, and found out that after the batch of grain came out of Kaifeng Mansion, and after leaving the city for a hundred miles, it didn't know where it went. Such a large batch of grain disappeared inexplicably!

Mou Biao reported the news to Zhu Houzhao, Zhu Houzhao frowned when he heard the words,
"Lei Bingrong is really so bold, how dare he steal the food like this?"

Mou Biao shook his head,

"Weichen always feels that this matter is strange. If His Royal Highness wants to clarify the confusion, I'm afraid I should ask Lei Bingrong personally!"

Zhu Houzhao sighed,
"That's all!"

The magistrate of Kaifeng is a fourth-rank official in a serious place. Unless His Majesty makes an order, even His Royal Highness can't take people for interrogation. If Lei Bingrong bites him to death and doesn't speak, Zhu Houzhao has nothing to do with him. No, I can only write a memorial and report it, and my own father will handle it, so whether Zhu Houzhao can tell the truth to Lei Bingrong, he has no extravagant hopes at all!
But who would have thought that Lei Bingrong would be very straightforward. When His Royal Highness called him to question him, he answered with the expression that he knew you would ask about this,

"His Royal Highness sent people to investigate around Kaifeng. It seems that he didn't get an answer, so he asked Weichen here..."

One sentence made Zhu Houzhao blush a little, Qing coughed and said,

"This palace... this is also for the countless disaster victims outside the city..."

Lei Bingrong nodded and sighed,
"His Royal Highness, I have heard the rumors outside..."

Then he turned around and ordered the humanity he had brought,
"Go to the officer's study, and get a small box from the upper three compartments of the study..."

The subordinate immediately went to fetch it, Lei Bingrong turned his head and bowed to Zhu Houzhao, saying,

"Your Highness, the food stored in the Kaifeng mansion has indeed been transferred, and it is indeed transferred by the official himself..."

Zhu Houzhao frowned,
"Does Prefect Lei know what crime he committed by privately transferring grain from the state storage?"

"Your Highness, this minister is not privately distributing national food, but has a secret decree from the Holy One..."

"Secret decree from the Holy One?"

Zhu Houzhao was shocked,
"The food ordered by the emperor?"

"It's just... there is His Majesty's imperial decree in Weichen's study, and His Highness will know at a glance..."

Not long after, people went to fetch the imperial decree. Lei Bingrong gave the box to Zhu Houzhao with both hands. Liu Jin took it and opened it, and showed it to Zhu Houzhao. It was indeed the imperial decree issued by Emperor Hongzhi. I don't know him, but he recognizes this thing clearly, and his face changed color at the moment,
"Father, did you say, where did this batch of food go?"

Lei Bingrong shook his head and said,

"This is His Majesty's secret decree. According to the law, the minister should not submit it to His Majesty for viewing..."

The emperor's secret decree was to keep it secret, and if it was designated to a certain person, that person would not be able to show it to others even if he died. Lei Bingrong could not mention this matter to others at will. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince asked about this today, and he Take out the secret decree to prove your innocence. If this matter is admitted to death, Lei Bingrong who took out the secret decree and the prince who read the secret decree are both guilty, but as long as the people present do not leak it, the emperor will naturally have nowhere to know of.

There were only a few words in the secret decree, which said that Lei Bingrong, the magistrate of Kaifeng, would mobilize tens of thousands of dans of grain from the granary, and who would send it out to the city. Put it in the box, waved his hand and said,

"Give it back to Prefect Lei!"

Liu Jin returned it with both hands in the past, and Lei Bingrong's expression at this time was also very complicated.

"Your Highness, it's not that I don't want to take care of the disaster victims in the area outside the city, it's really..."

It is true that all the food has been transferred, even if he throws his more than one hundred catties into a pot and cooks, the victims will inevitably share a few mouthfuls!
His Majesty adjusted the grain, and it was transferred away in March. He also thought of many ways to make up for the shortfall, but how could a mere magistrate of him make up for the millions of tons of grain? The more people starved to death every day, the corpses piled up like a mountain, and the servants in the mansion would go out of the city every day to burn the corpses, dig deep pits to prevent the epidemic, and report the number of people when they came back. Lei Bingrong was heartbroken to hear it!

Earlier, he had also sent a memorial to His Majesty, asking for food adjustments to help the common people, but the memorial went up like a rock, and there was no news at all. He was also secretly anxious and annoyed. At this time, the Crown Prince is here!
It was a helpless move for Lei Bingrong to disclose this matter to the Crown Prince. If the Crown Prince could personally ask His Majesty where the food went, things might turn around!

Zhu Houzhao got up and walked back and forth in the hall for a few steps, then turned around and asked Lei Bingrong,

"You really don't know where the food went?"

Lei Bingrong smiled bitterly and said,

"Your Highness, this is His Majesty's secret decree. As a courtier, you can only follow the decree. Someone will receive the food when it leaves the city. The humble minister dare not ask. I don’t know where the food is going!”

Zhu Houzhao's hand behind his back was clenched and then loosened, and then tightened after loosening. He nodded for a while,
"This palace... I got it!"

Lei Bingrong bowed and retreated, Zhu Houzhao turned his head to look at Mou Biao who was standing aside with a blank expression,

"Xiao Lin, look at this..."

Mou Biao thought for a while and replied,
"Even if Lei Zhifu has His Majesty's secret decree, it is not a private granary..."

After a pause,

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince can ask His Majesty about this matter, or... find a way to transfer food to the surrounding states..."

The father and son of the Tian family are first the monarch and then the father and son. This matter can be asked or not. It depends on how the prince and His Majesty deal with the father and son. This is not something that a minister can say!

Zhu Houzhao hesitated, thought for a while,

"It's better to write to the household department, ask them if they can adjust the grain from the surrounding areas!"

In fact, if the grain can be adjusted, the Ministry of Households has already adjusted it, so how can the disaster victims be everywhere?
He dare not ask!
After thinking about it, I smiled wryly,
"I'm afraid it's also difficult..."

Mou Biao thought of that Miss Mu San, and said,

"If the government can't do it, there are big grain merchants in the private sector. The government can't do anything, but they may not have a way. Why don't you ask the lady from the Mu family?"

Zhu Houzhao nodded,
"I accepted her precisely because of this intention..."

It is quicker and more convenient to have an insider by your side than to spend time and effort searching!

At that moment, someone summoned Mu Yourong to ask, Mu Yourong thought for a while and said,

"To tell you the truth, His Majesty the Crown Prince, in the previous four months, Prefect Lei had asked the Henan Chamber of Commerce to borrow food through his father..."

Speaking of which, the prefect of Lei can be regarded as a dry official. Seeing that there was no rain this spring and the food was transferred away by His Majesty, he had a premonition that there was a famine and the government was unable to deal with it. So in April, he initiated a loan from the Henan Chamber of Commerce. At the mouth of Mu Liancheng, he borrowed one million dans of grain from the Henan Provincial Chamber of Commerce, but he dared to ask, but no one else dared to borrow it!

The government's loan of grain is just an IOU, and they don't even see a tael of silver. But whoever the big grain merchants are not from the business world, and no one is a fool. Will you borrow it?
Who dares to borrow?
Some people are frightened by the power of the government and want to borrow grain. Wouldn't this mean that the big grain merchant next to the chamber of commerce will be given to the army? Produced a piece of grain, but did not take the opportunity to hoard it and sell it at a higher price. This is already a great righteousness to the profit-seeking businessmen!
The crown prince didn't know about the matter, and Miss Mu San couldn't explain it too clearly, so she mentioned a few words vaguely. Everyone is a smart person, and they can understand a little bit. Zhu Houzhao was not annoyed at all, and nodded when he heard the words ,

"When it comes to business, I can't blame you!"

Miss Mu San was greatly moved when she heard the words, she knelt down and kowtowed to Zhu Houzhao,

"The prince is wise. Everyone regards us as businessmen who value profits. We only seek huge profits in business and are not moral. In fact, we also have our own difficulties. Behind us, there is also a family of young and old who open their mouths to eat, and the staff below are also in charge of the family. Heavy profits, how can goods be sold from south to north, and things circulated?"

Whoever is full and has nothing to do, helping you to transfer goods, naturally has to be profitable!

Zhu Houzhao nodded,
"This palace also understands..."

After thinking about it,

"Then can the Henan Chamber of Commerce transfer food?"

"This one……"

Miss Mu San bit her lips and dared not answer, Zhu Houzhao already understood that the Chamber of Commerce could not get food, it was just to see if the government could pay the price. It is natural to know that the joints are opened up.

People's food is also bought with silver, if you want... then take silver!
Zhu Houzhao nodded,
"This matter...let me think about it again!"

Immediately dismissed Miss Mu San, turned to look at Mou Biao,

"Xiao Lin, is there a way?"

Mou Biao thought for a while and smiled,
"This matter is easy to handle, and it's easy to handle, and it's not easy to handle. The left and right people just want to buy things and have no money. One is credit, and the other is open robbery!"

What he said was simple and clear, but to put it bluntly, it was true, no amount of high-sounding reasons could conceal the fact that the Daqing government had no money!

In addition to these two methods, what else can be done?
Zhu Houzhao smiled wryly,

"How about grabbing tomorrow?"

Since my own father came to power, this reputation has been generous and benevolent. Even if the court wants to solve the urgent need, he would do something unknown, and he really can't afford to lose that face!

(End of this chapter)