Chapter 611: Harboring Evil Intentions
The salt merchants in Dali who specialized in selling illegal salt started to move like sharks that had smelled blood.
This batch of official salt released by Pingzhou is a great bargain. Of course, you should buy as much as you can eat.
The most important thing is that salt is a basic need. You can lack anything, but you can’t lack salt. Who can live without salt? Besides, salt will not go bad if you keep it!
Even the salt merchants who sold Dali official salt could not sit still and quietly bought some goods.
After purchasing the goods, they went to the officials in the court to complain that the official salt was suddenly difficult to sell.
They believed that the Dali court would definitely crack down on illegal salt dealers in the future, and that would be their time to make a fortune.
When this batch of salt passed through the hands of salt merchants and was put into the Dali market, the reaction beneath the calm surface was even more intense.
Qingxi Village, Tonghua County, Yanzhou
Aunt Chen sighed as she looked at the empty salt jar at home. There was only a thin layer of salt at the bottom of the jar. No matter how frugal she was, it would only last for two meals.
"Old man, it's time to buy salt for the family."
The old man who was sitting by the door weaving a basket just hummed when he heard this, then took another split bamboo strip and started weaving it silently.
Aunt Chen was already used to her old man's silence, so she continued to chatter on and on.
"There is not much money left at home." The eldest grandson fell ill a while ago and almost spent all the money the family had saved. Fortunately, there was no famine.
"If you can't do that, go sell some food." People can't live without salt. If they don't eat salt for a long time, they will have no strength. If they have no strength, they can't work. If they can't work, they will starve and get sick.
Furthermore, the family must have some emergency funds.
"Sell it." Old man Chen said two words and then fell silent.
Aunt Chen got up and looked at the grain reserves at home, calculating how much grain she had to sell this time.
The price of salt had skyrocketed in recent years. After the new emperor ascended the throne, he raised the price of salt twice, directly raising it from 200 wen per catty to 300 wen per catty.
Even when the weather was good, one still had to sell two or three dou of grain to buy a pound of salt.
If you want to buy a pound of salt now, you need to sell more grain.
After looking at the stored food, she sighed again, "Old man, there is not much food left at home."
Spring plowing is underway, and the next phase will be the lean season. If they sell their grain, their family might go hungry.
At this time, a voice called out from outside the house, "Auntie, are you home?"
Aunt Chen seemed to have heard the voice of her eldest nephew, and when she came out to see, it was indeed him.
Before she could ask him what he was doing at home, the eldest nephew lowered his voice and asked her, "Auntie, do you want some affordable salt?"
Aunt Chen's mind moved. "What cheap salt? Private salt?"
"Auntie, look, this is the salt."
Aunt Chen looked closely and saw a handful of white salt with distinct grains in the palm of her nephew's hand.
She couldn't help but pick up two grains and taste them, "Good salt!" There was no astringency or bitterness at all, only pure saltiness.
"How much is this illegal salt per pound?" After asking, Aunt Chen's heart was beating fast. She estimated that the price of such salt would not be very low even if it was illegal salt.
"Aunt, this salt is 150 coins per pound."
"How many?"
"Auntie, you heard me right. That's the price you heard. My family just stocked up on a few pounds. After my mom bought some, she asked me to come and ask if you wanted to buy some too."
"Yes!" Only a fool wouldn't buy it.
"Then let's go quickly. I'm worried that if we go too late, it will be gone."
Aunt Chen: She believed it and said, "Wait for me." She went back and took out all the money she had hidden. This opportunity was rare and she didn't even have time to sell the grain before going back.
The same scene happened frequently in various places in Dali, like a spark that started a prairie fire.
Chang'an, Imperial Palace
The king and his minister, who were discussing the matter, were unaware of the impending crisis.
Song Mo's face lit up with joy. "Thank you, my dear minister. Come and take a look. This is the secret memorial from Kong Huai, the governor of Zhuozhou. This Kong Huai is completely different from Liu Guanlin."
Xie Zhan paused when he heard the name Liu Guanlin. By then, he had learned about the loss of Jizhou, and Dong Jichuan had acted as a lobbyist.
When Dong Jichuan said goodbye, he had anticipated this day would come, but he did not expect it to come so soon.
In front of the Holy Chariot, Xie Zhan did not dare to think too much. He quickly calmed his mind and drew his attention back.
Xie Zhan took the secret memorial and took a look. The first part of the memorial contained Kong Huai's nonsense cursing Liu Guanlin for being a traitor and forgetting his ancestors. He skipped over it until he saw the words at the end of the memorial, and couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.
Kong Huai wrote on the secret memorial, "...I am willing to share the emperor's worries. I have a plan. If it succeeds, I can help the emperor get rid of Pingzhou, this great threat. If it fails, it will let the world see the true face of Pingzhou..."
It was when Song Mo saw the secret memorial in which Kong Huai offered his advice that he was moved.
He sighed, "Thank you, my dear minister, there are still loyal ministers in Dali."
Xie Zhan simply ignored his pointed words and flattered him slightly, "That's natural. Dali has been nurturing scholars for nearly two hundred years, and many of them have deeply enjoyed the emperor's grace and are loyal to Dali."
"Your Majesty, this is a rare opportunity. Kong Huai's plan is feasible, but the people he has are not good enough to fight against Pingzhou." Xie Zhan suggested, "Your Majesty can send some people to Zhuozhou for Kong Huai to facilitate his actions."
Song Mo deeply agreed with this.
Jizhou, Zhuozhou
Upon learning that Liu Guanlin had offered Jizhou to Pingzhou, Kong Huai scolded Liu Guanlin for being spineless and sent a secret memorial to the emperor.
Now the emperor agreed with his plan, gave him a secret order, and sent two people over.
Kong Huai felt that his plan could begin, so he sent someone to pass a message to Pingzhou that he also wanted to surrender the city!
Pingzhou, Changli
At this time, in the provincial government office, civil and military officials gathered together for a rare occasion, and were also discussing Kong Huai's intention to surrender the city.
Lu Songli was at the top, listening to his subordinates' analysis.
"With Kong Huai's temper, he will never surrender the city. Governor, you must be on guard against his deception." Guo Chong did not believe a word Kong Huai said about surrendering the city.
Xue Xu also said, "Yes, Kong Huai must have evil intentions." If he surrendered the city after Liu Guanlin surrendered the city, it would be more credible.
"Just turn him away. The governor doesn't need to see him." The speaker was an official with more conservative ideas.
Zhuozhou has long been in their hands, it's just a matter of time, so there's no need for the governor to take any risks.
"No, we can agree to him, lure him to Pingzhou, and kill him." Qin Zhao made a gesture of raising his hand and cutting with a knife.
Guo Chong: "Killing Kong Huai wouldn't be a good idea, would it? Kong Huai is not a threat, but he cannot die at the hands of us in Pingzhou."
Liu Guanlin had set a good example, and they were waiting for the others to follow suit. Killing Kong Huai was easy, but what if they scared the people who really wanted to surrender the city? That would be a huge loss.
Everyone present has expressed their considerations, and it is up to the governor to decide what to do next.
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