Chapter 10, Tongzhou Granary

The grain storage in Tongzhou is related to the food supply issue for the entire northern region, yet currently, at least half of the grain is problematic

He remained silent, and after a glance, immediately turned his horse's head and headed straight for the Tongzhou Prefectural Office

In Tongzhou, the price of millet is ninety wen, and the price of mutton is sixty wen per pound

Moreover, this is Tongzhou, where the grain transported by water is all stored here, so it is normal for the grain prices to be somewhat lower

Looking at the clouds drifting in the sky, Li Yunze adjusted his angle and clapped his hands, saying, "Wang Banban, how about a bet? I can summon the wind and call the rain"

A few muffled sounds, resembling thunder, caused a stir throughout the entire camp

At this time, Tongzhou City had already been sealed off. The guards of the Jinyiwei, upon seeing that it was Li Yunze himself who had come, immediately opened the gate to welcome him

This time, the accompanying personnel are all the personal guards of Cao Wenzhao and others, along with selected warriors from the brave battalion

Compared to the common people in the late Qing Dynasty who relied on sweet potatoes for their daily sustenance, life is already happy and fulfilling

During lunch, I was so angry that I couldn't eat

Having arranged matters, Li Yunze returned to the rear tent to rest

Not to mention the palace maids, even among the eunuchs, only a few are prepared to accompany Wang Cheng'en to Pi Island to deliver the imperial edict and supplies

Lao Yinbi's Wen Tiren smiled without speaking, absolutely refusing to engage in such a conversation

"Wen Tiren." Li Yunze walked straight to the plaque hanging high and sat down. "Do you not want to continue?"

Then Chen Liuzi hurriedly replied, "I sell wooden items; the price is generally over 100 wen, but sometimes it can be as low as 7 or 8 wen."

Li Yunze nodded and asked, "What is the price of grain in Tongzhou, and how much does a pound of meat cost?"

The army did not enter the city, but instead set up camp directly outside the city.

Before long, the sound of commotion came from outside

The Emperor is the Son of Heaven, and summoning the wind and calling the rain is naturally an ordinary matter. Wang Cheng'en, who is adept at flattery, immediately offered his incense-like praise, saying, "What virtue or ability do I possess to dare to wager with Your Majesty"

Wen Tiren felt a tingling sensation on his scalp and gritted his teeth, saying, "This matter is a collusion between the supervisors of granaries in various places and several grain shops within the city"

Li Yunze looked around at the people lying on the ground and asked, "Who is from the granary?"

With an expressionless face, Li Yunze stared at Wen Tiren and asked, "How did it go?"

The next morning, after finishing his morning routine, Li Yunze called for Wang Cheng'en and others, who had not slept all night, to move the boxes to the open space outside

Li Yunze's horsemanship is truly difficult to describe in just a few words

The individuals undergoing interrogation are the managers of more than forty granaries in Tongzhou.

After opening the box, I began assembling according to the instructions

This neighbor is Zhao Dayou, who works at the Yuantai Grain Store, earning over ten wen in wages each day

I am the steward of the Chengguo Duke's residence! Who dares to arrest me!

I initially thought to downplay the situation and have these supervisors take the blame, but I never expected the emperor to be watching so closely

Among the accompanying noble youths, many wore expressions of anxiety and unease

Long live! We, the ministers, will conduct a thorough investigation to gain some insights. However, there are too many offenders, and it will require some time...

In other words, one can buy a pound of grain for less than five wen.

He bowed his head once more and said, "I acknowledge my mistake. Bring those grain merchants here immediately."

Li Yunze stood up and called out to Wang Cheng'en, "Find a few people to wait outside"

For the Jinyiwei, they are typically the ones who break down doors

Li Yunze returned to the modern world, appearing directly in the warehouse he rented

Long live the Emperor, we shall open the bags for inspection. The grains in the granaries are mostly old stock, and what is even more concerning is that some bags contain nothing but straw and mud!

If they eat meat, these people can grit their teeth and manage to buy a pound every so often to indulge in a feast.

Li Yunze nodded, signaling Wang Cheng'en to "give each household two taels of silver and a book."

Hello

In response to them, a half-eaten leg of lamb flew over.

However, he still left a remark, "Someone is going to have bad luck here in Tongzhou Taicang."

His mood is quite poor, and he has not shown any good expression the entire morning

Wen Tiren buried his head deeply and exclaimed, "Long live, the grain merchants have not yet been captured..."

This is Chen Liuzi, whose family is engaged in carpentry. The specifics are unclear

It is a pity that, with the continuous natural disasters and wars, everything will collapse under the soaring prices.

No one responded

In the Ming Dynasty, the weight of one stone was one hundred fifty-three and a half jin, but this refers to the jin of the Ming Dynasty, which was 594.6 grams. Converted, this amounts to 188 shi jin

Overall, life can still be managed to some extent

After entering the city, Li Yunze did not rush directly to the granary, but instead pointed to a few households on both sides of the road and said, "Go invite the people from these households to come out and speak."

Wen Tiren and Luo Yangxing quickly returned to report, "We have already examined the account books of the granaries in various locations, and there are no suspicious matters."

Li Yunze tapped the table in front of him with a riding whip and said, "First break the legs, then bring them in"

Wen Tiren and Luo Yangxing, sweating profusely, repeatedly apologized as they exited

Before long, Wang Cheng'en entered to report, "The Governor of Tongzhou, Wang Wenhua, requests an audience with Your Majesty"

The Imperial Guards accompanying him immediately stepped forward to knock on the door

It is fortunate that it is now daylight; if it were night, it would definitely not be this easy

Upon exiting the tent, Luo Yangxin felt a lingering fear. "Our emperor knows everything, doesn't he?"

One stone yields ten dou, which means that one stone of grain is worth nine hundred wen

Li Yunze slammed his palm on the table and said, "Are you all brainless, or have you accepted bribes? Checking the account books is useless. We need to open the granary for inspection! Carefully count and verify whether the grain in the granary matches what is recorded in the account books. We also need to open the grain bags to check for sand and counterfeit goods, as well as to determine if the grain is old or spoiled! Checking the account books? Do you take me for a fool? Go back and re-inspect!"

In response to Li Yunzhe's inquiry, a robust man among the crowd respectfully replied, "I am a porter on the canal, and when there is work, I can earn more than twenty wen a day."

Li Yunze drove the forklift, transporting the boxes containing the artificial rainfall system to this side of the Ming Dynasty time-space

Wen Tiren gave Luo Yangxing a glance, and a large number of the Jinyiwei immediately sprang into action

In high spirits, Li Yunze called for Wang Cheng'en to put everything away in the tent

Li Yunze picked up the bowl and slurped the porridge.

After Li Yunze finished his meal, Wang Cheng'en came to report, "The official from the Astronomical Bureau said that tomorrow there will be clouds and wind, but the clouds are not thick enough, so it is likely to be difficult for it to rain."

There had been no news at all from Tongzhou until last night, when rumors began to circulate that the Emperor had arrived outside the city

No matter which world it is, when he left before, he was in a certain place, and when he returns again, he is still in the same spot

Certainly, to be specific, it is necessary to distinguish between brown rice and white rice. In addition to meals, there are also expenses related to diesel, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, tea, and textiles.

How is your household income?

This is entirely different from the images of the short, dark-skinned individuals resembling skeletons that Li Yunze had once seen online from the late Qing Dynasty.

Wen Tiren's life creed is singular: to hold office, and to hold a high office

This is just right

Tongzhou is the terminus of the Grand Canal, where the grain transported from the south is concentrated and stored.

At this moment, a trial is being held in the main hall, with Wen Tiren presiding in the center, flanked by Luo Yangxing and Wang Wenhua, the Prefect of Tongzhou.

Trouble arises from the mouth; this unfortunate child has truly brought disaster upon the Duke Cheng's residence

"Not seen." While having dinner with roasted leg of lamb, Li Yunze from https://www.hetushu.com, without raising his head, refused, "Not seen at all in any of the provincial or county governments along the way."

Zhao Dayou nodded repeatedly

Wang Cheng'en, who witnessed this scene with his own eyes, regarded it as a miracle and immediately knelt down, exclaiming, "Holy Son of Heaven—"

Wait a moment

While he was having breakfast, Wen Tiren and Luo Yangxing, who had also not slept all night, arrived to report on the inspection of the granary.

Long live

As instructed

The clothing of the common people in Tongzhou is quite decent; the adults' garments rarely have patches and are very clean. Several women even have copper hairpins.

It was only because Li Yunze said a request that the act of smashing was changed to knocking

Upon hearing this price, Li Yunze immediately took out his phone to start calculating

A group of people headed straight for the official granary in Tongzhou City. Li Yunze personally witnessed that most of the granaries were empty, and he also saw grain bags filled with straw and mud, as well as aged grain that had been difficult to feed livestock for many years

At this moment, Wen Tiren felt an immense bitterness in his heart

Several households, with over ten individuals, stood together in a state of utter panic

Wang Cheng'en stepped forward, preparing to reprimand them for not bowing, but Li Yunze directly waved his hand and said, "No need for that, I just want to ask you a few questions; just respond truthfully."

That is to say, beneath the hips is a docile steed, and only with the guidance of a senior eunuch from the Imperial Horse Management can one proceed smoothly.

Upon arriving here, Li Yunze immediately ordered Wen Tiren and Luo Yangxing to inspect the grain reserves in Taicang

Old He San nodded repeatedly, saying, "Yes."

Bang!

Adult men in this area measure heights above 1.6 meters, and they appear to be in good spirits and health

Cao Wenzhao and others immediately patrolled the camp and reprimanded, quickly calming everyone down

After waiting for a while, it still had not rained, and Li Yunze, feeling somewhat unable to hold on, fired two more shots up into the sky

He called out to Wang Cheng'en, who was about to go out, "Let the Qintian Supervisor check whether it will rain here in Minghe Library."

Li Yunze was aware that the Ming Dynasty was already in a dire state at this time, but he did not expect it to be this severe

It is meaningless

Then the man gestured to a few others beside him, saying, "This is He Laosan, who does odd jobs at Fulin Building, earning more than ten wen a day"

Hmm?

Li Yunze noncommittally responded with a sound of acknowledgment

Say the result

Li Yunze suddenly swung the whip, producing a sharp crack.

At this moment, witnessing the emperor's appearance here, many of the grain warehouse managers could no longer control their sphincters

Upon seeing Li Yunze, Wen Tiren, who exuded an air of authority, hurriedly came down to pay his respects

He is well aware of the intricacies involved here; there are indeed too many influential figures in the court who engage in the grain business in Tongzhou, and he cannot afford to offend them

What are you waiting for? Go to the city and arrest people for questioning! Make sure to ask clearly where my food has gone!

Just then, the drizzling rain gradually ceased. Li Yunze simply called for Wang Cheng'en to summon Cao Wenzhao and the others, as well as those noble youths, and they mounted their horses, heading straight for Tongzhou City.

Having finally attained the position of Deputy Minister in the Cabinet, I am absolutely unwilling to part with it

Arriving at the Tongzhou Prefectural Office, Li Yunze dismounted and rubbed his sore inner thigh, then directly entered while holding the reins.

Long live! The grain depots in various places in Tongzhou are all lacking in supplies, with a total deficiency of over 1,500,000 shi.

As these arrogant words echoed, the entire hall fell into silence

The grain business in Tongzhou is quite substantial, and many noble families are involved in it

Li Yunze waved his hand, signaling the people around to step back, and then he hurled the cylinder containing the catalyst into the clouds above.

Summon Wang Cheng'en and others to come in. "Take good care. If anything is lost or damaged, you will be sent to work on the river to dig the Hui River."

Finally, the raindrops have fallen