Cao Liang had a black line at one end. He had just arrived in Chang'an and as soon as his eyes darkened, Xia Houxuan threw this hot potato directly at him. Although the relationship was good, it was also a bit of a trap.

However, as Xia Houxuan's chief of staff, it was Cao Liang's duty to relieve the general's worries, so even though it was difficult, Cao Liang agreed without hesitation.

Xia Houxuan finally breathed a sigh of relief. Cao Liang had brought him surprises countless times before. Xia Houxuan believed that Cao Liang would not disappoint him this time.

When he was in a good mood, his appetite was good. Xia Houxuan, who had felt like a stick in his throat before, was now in a happy mood. Naturally, he drank to his heart's content and got very drunk.

It was supposed to be for the guests to take care of themselves, but the host was so drunk that he was completely rude. However, everyone was already familiar with each other, and there were no outsiders, so naturally he couldn't say anything and just laughed it off.

Xia Houxuan became the shopkeeper and felt relaxed, but Cao Liang felt as if he had a huge burden on his shoulders. He dared to get himself drunk, so he just drank a few drinks perfunctorily. After returning to his residence, he tossed and turned all night long.

Stay awake.

Xia Houxuan was unable to accomplish something even though he held the title of General of the Western Expedition, Yongliang and the two prefectures. Can he really accomplish it by himself?

The land of Yongliang is Sima Yi's base camp. If you want to accomplish something in this place, it is tantamount to seeking the skin of a tiger. Cao Liang knows that there are many difficulties in this matter. However, he has always known that there are tigers in the mountains and prefers to travel to the tiger mountains. Let alone this matter, it is still difficult.

If there is no difficulty in climbing to the sky, it is really a matter of trying to climb to the sky. Then he will never give up willingly. If he doesn't give it a try, his surname is Cao.

The next morning, Cao Liang woke up very early. He was not depressed due to the fatigue of the journey and a sleepless night. On the contrary, he was still energetic and high-spirited.

Youth brings capital. Cao Liang's body is only twenty-three years old. It is in its prime and full of vitality. It contains inexhaustible strength.

Even at the same latitude, the weather in Chang'an is colder than that in Luoyang. This is probably due to the terrain. In the early morning in Chang'an, it is bone-chillingly cold, and even one breath can instantly condense into hoarfrost.

Cao Liang ordered his soldiers to call Yang Hu and Du Yu. They both got up relatively early and rushed over after hearing Cao Liang's greeting.

"Brother-in-law, what's the matter?" Yang Hu trotted all the way, breathing out white breath.

Cao Liang said: "It's okay. I've just arrived in Chang'an. Let's go out together and take a look at the customs and customs here."

"Okay." Yang Hu agreed wholeheartedly.

Cao Liang looked him up and down and said, "Is this what you're wearing?"

Only then did Yang Hu notice that Cao Liang was wearing an ordinary leather robe, looking like a scholar. He then realized that Cao Liang was going to pay a private visit incognito, so he and Du Yu quickly went back to the house and changed into ordinary clothes.

The clothes of a scholar.

The three of them stopped there and saw three officials who were studying. Although they were dressed in civilian clothes, they were still young, handsome, and good-looking.

Only Fang Bu didn't change his clothes. He was dressed in civilian clothes, with a bit of a knight-errant vibe.

The four of them left the Governor's Mansion and came to the market in Chang'an.

In the early morning of winter, there are not many pedestrians on the streets, but the vendors in the market are already busy. Vegetable sellers, meat sellers, rice sellers, fish sellers and other small traders are all working hard.

Shouting, the voices kept coming and going, and it was very lively.

The four of them walked through the market. Along the way, Cao Liang looked east and west, and asked about the price from time to time. However, it was obvious that he had no intention of buying anything. After visiting two markets in a row, he still had no intention of buying anything.

Both hands are empty.

Yang Hu was a little confused. Since Cao Liang didn't want to buy anything, he kept asking what the price meant.

Cao Liang laughed and explained: "The price level of a place can naturally reflect the local economic level. If there is a severe shortage of food in Chang'an, then the price of rice, including the price of vegetables and meat, will definitely skyrocket. Now after a general look, Chang'an's

The price of rice is only slightly higher than that in Luoyang and other places, and basically the difference is not too big, which basically proves that the food supply in Chang'an City is not tight."

Yang Hu suddenly realized the truth and said: "My brother-in-law went to the market in person to inquire about the price. It turned out that he knew the market conditions of the rice market. Now it seems that the food supply in Chang'an is more than enough, but General Xiahou was unable to collect the required food and grass.

Why?"

Du Yu, who had been silent all this time, said at this time: "Someone should have hidden this part of the grain. Otherwise, the grain warehouse would not be empty and the market would be full."

Cao Liang nodded with a smile and said: "Yuan Kai's words are reasonable. The price of rice is an important basis for measuring whether there is a shortage of food in a place. If the Chang'an area suffers from a poor harvest due to natural disasters and man-made disasters, the price of rice will inevitably rise sharply. On the contrary, if there is a good harvest, the price of rice will rise sharply."

It will plummet, which is why low grain prices hurt farmers. Now the rice price in Chang'an is stable and slightly rising, which proves that Yongzhou's grain and grass output this year is not too bad, or even slightly lower than the annual average level, and there is no occurrence.

A phenomenon of ups and downs.”

Yang Hu said: "If the grain output is normal, then the tax collection should be relatively smooth. How could the warehouses be empty? Where did the collected grain go? Brother-in-law, do you want to check the accounts carefully?

, let’s see who is behind this?”

Cao Liang shook his head and said: "Since someone dares to do it, I'm not afraid of you checking it. Those accounts will definitely be falsified by someone, even flawlessly. If you really want to find something in the accounts, it's completely impossible.

"

Cao Liang knew clearly that since someone dared to tamper with the accounts, they would definitely falsify it perfectly. If you check it on the surface, you will definitely find nothing, but it will be easy to alert the snake.

Now the entire officialdom of Yongzhou has long been colluding, and there is a nest of snakes and rats. Since they deliberately want to conceal something, they will definitely not leave any clues, so it is not easy to find out the truth.

Of course, Cao Liang will not purge the Yongzhou officialdom. Even if the Yongzhou officialdom is extremely corrupt, it has little to do with him. The only thing he has to do now is to find out where the food in the granary is and trace it back.

Come back to ensure that the army that conquers Shu has enough food and fodder.

Time is very tight now. It is less than two months before Cao Shuang's original date of conquering Shu. If he cannot raise enough food and grass within this more than a month, it is likely that the army will not be able to go out, so Cao Liang must

We have to come up with a solution as soon as possible.
Chapter completed!