What Pei Yue said was certainly reasonable, but everyone in the hall felt strange after listening to it.

If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, they would definitely not believe what happened today.

Born in the Han family in Luling, Han Gongduan was raised in the Hanlin Academy for twenty years. Han Gongduan, who was recognized by the literary world as a master of Confucian classics, was always shouting and killing. Pei, who killed the Wu people in the western border and shed rivers of blood, refused to stop for a moment even after returning to Beijing.

Yue was like a spring breeze blowing in his face, and started to play with them in a trick of tearing out the heart and lungs, which is really puzzling.

It is not that these people have never seen the world, and they are no strangers to the routine of red face and white face, but Pei Yue should also play the white face, right?

Precisely because this scene was so weird, even Wang E didn't dare to speak easily, for fear of falling into the opponent's trap.

Pei Yue didn't care about singing a one-man show. Anyway, these people just wanted to listen quietly. He continued: "Daliang has a vast territory, not just Qinzhou. Even if the food shortage here is serious, will the imperial court and other state capitals stand by and watch? I only feel that

Those grain merchants were very stupid. Instead of taking advantage of this opportunity to win the approval of the court and the hearts of the people, they were blinded by the immediate interests. How ridiculous."

Wang E gradually came to his senses. It turned out that the Marquis of Zhongshan had such a wishful thinking. However, the food gap in Qinzhou this year was so huge, and the profits therein were enough to make people lose their minds.

If you want to impress people with just a few words, you can only say that Pei Yue is too naive.

He said calmly: "What Pei Hou said is true. Although the common people don't know whether the grain merchants are hiding grain, the current situation is difficult, and the government and the people are united as one."

As long as you don't put a knife to his neck to force him to express his position, what's the point of just talking nonsense?

Pei Yue said meaningfully: "The people will not panic if they have food. After this most difficult time, the food shortage will no longer exist. The land tax in Daliang has never been heavy, and the people are self-sufficient. By then, those merchants will have mountains of hoards."

Who will sell the food to? The whole family joins the battle, and I’m afraid they won’t be able to finish it all even if they die.”

Wang E responded calmly and said: "Master Marquis, the common people are willing to serve the imperial court. Immediately persuade the wealthy merchants in the city, hoping that if they really have food, they will sell it immediately."

Pei Yue nodded and said: "Mr. Wang is interested, and I am not an unreasonable person. If they are willing to take the initiative to sell grain, I allow the price of rice to be 20% higher than in previous years, but it cannot exceed 20%."

He turned to look at Mr. Han and said, "What do you think, Mr. Han?"

Han Gongduan didn't care that he was overstepping his authority and nodded: "Okay."

Wang E sighed: "The two nobles care about the common people, and the common people will do their best to live up to the high expectations of the nobles."

Pei Yue smiled, drank the remaining wine in the cup, and said loudly: "Everyone, please go back. I will stay in the city for a few days. I hope to hear your good news soon."

Everyone stood up and bowed to leave, but Pei Yue suddenly pointed at the young officials and said, "You stay here for now, I still have things for you to do."

Wang Qi and others looked at each other, but did not dare to refuse, so they could only stand there with a slight worry.

Wang E didn't look at him, turned around and left with Sun Mingchun and others.

Wang Qi bravely asked: "Your Majesty, Lord Pei, what is your mission?"

Pei Yue said calmly: "Every shop in the city is selling grain today. The manpower brought by Mr. Han is insufficient, and the governor's office is also very busy. Since you are both parents and officials, you must be familiar with these things, so go and help deal with them now.

You can come back to me after this matter is finished. By the way, your families are quite wealthy, so remember to bring your own dry food."

A group of young officials bowed their heads and responded: "Follow the order."

After they left, the lobby seemed very deserted and empty. The big shopkeeper of Biyu Pavilion was very discerning and quietly led the maids out and closed the door to facilitate the discussion between the two nobles.

Han Gongduan raised his hand and held the empty wine cup, his expression slightly gloomy.

When Pei Yue saw this, he smiled and poured half a glass of wine for him, and said warmly: "Don't worry, sir, they are just a group of dying people."

Han Gongduan sighed softly: "I have cultivated my moral character for so many years, but now I know that I was just deceiving myself. I really wanted to kill these idiots quickly. But you are young, and your Qi-nurturing skills have impressed me. It shows that most of the rumors are untrue.

.Pei Yue, do you think Wang E and others will correct their mistakes after they realize it?"

Pei Yue pondered: "Probably not. The internal forces of these aristocratic families are complicated, and Wang E can't make a decision in one word. It's like being in a carriage that is about to rush off a cliff. He can't stop it from losing control with his own strength alone."

Of course, he may not want to do this himself, because such opportunities do not come often."

Han Gongduan suddenly said: "So you want to divide them?"

Pei Yue sighed: "Of course I hope Wang E can change his mind and ask the grain merchants they control to sell grain immediately, because every day of delay may cause people to starve to death. But I also know that such an idea is a bit naive, so I am acting like this today.

Mainly for other people to see. The seven families are not monolithic. The Wang family is too outstanding. I don’t believe that others don’t have the idea to replace them.”

Han Gongduan thought for a moment and said slowly: "That makes sense."

Pei Yue said: "Not only them, there are other grain merchants in Qinzhou who are not well-established. They are just afraid of the power of the Seven Families, and they may not be holding back the mentality of watching the fire from the other side. As long as there is internal chaos within the Seven Families, or there is a real turning point.

, these people will definitely open warehouses to sell grain very decisively, and then the so-called grain shortage will be easily solved."

Han Gongduan knew what turning point he was talking about.

Calculating the time, this young powerful man should have planned today's situation before he left Beijing. Thinking of Pei Yue's angry and righteous expression in front of Emperor Kaiping at that time, even though Han Gong had been in officialdom for a long time, he couldn't help but feel dumbfounded.

Seeing Han Gongduan's slightly weird eyes, Pei Yue immediately understood and said with a haha: "Come on, Mr. Han, I will toast you again."

Han Gongduan raised the wine cup that Pei Yue poured, held it in his hand and hesitated to speak. In the end, he did not show any anger at being teased by the younger generation. Instead, he said solemnly: "On behalf of the imperial court and the people of Qinzhou, I toast you this glass of wine."

."

The two drank it all in one gulp, saying nothing.

…

Let us say that after Wang E and others returned, they first gathered together to discuss for half an hour, and then each went to visit the closed grain merchants in the city. No one knows what they discussed.

The next morning, when Wang E was about to go out, he suddenly thought of the unpredictable Marquis of Zhongshan. He turned to his confidants and asked in a low voice: "Where is Pei Yue now?"

The confidant bowed his head and replied: "Sir, our informant just reported that the Marquis of Zhongshan left with a carriage early in the morning, seemingly to enjoy the scenery outside the city."

Wang E was immediately surprised. The food shortage in Qinzhou was so serious. How could he still have such leisurely tastes?

Could it be that he could really get mountains and seas of food?

Wang E didn't believe it, so he sneered several times and went out to continue his superficial efforts to deal with others.
Chapter completed!