Chapter 159 The Richest Man Changes His Seat
"That wasn't me who said that. It was Madam Sang! She's an expert in feng shui. Besides, there are more locusts this year than in previous years."
Although Xu Wude said this, deep down he really hoped that Bai Yi would continue to refute.
Provide strong evidence to refute.
"Yes, that's what I said, sir. You'll know if you go to the fields. I've asked many people, and the locusts this year are different from those in previous years.
There are even some variations; this is definitely not an ordinary locust."
Sang Ning explained seriously.
Locusts change color as the environment changes, which is confusing. This is another characteristic of locust plagues.
However, Bai Yi's stubbornness came back again.
"There will be no locust plague in Liangzhou! In the three hundred years of local chronicles, there has never been a record of this.
Sang Ning'er, I know you know some feng shui and have read a lot of books, but this is different from finding water.
A truly experienced farmer and an astronomer who knows about weather conditions might be able to make some inferences. But who would believe what you say when you've never even worked in the fields?"
Sang Ning felt that there was something wrong with Bai Yi.
I know he is a bit conservative, but no matter what she said before, whether she could find water or put out the fire, he questioned it instead of directly denying it.
But this time, he completely denied her.
"Are you Bai Yi?" she asked suspiciously.
Looking at the dark skin and anxious look, that's right!
Bai Yi's face was stern and unsympathetic as he warned, "Don't mention the locust plague again, Sang. Think about the consequences. If you really do what you said and harvest the crops now, and the locust plague doesn't come by then, won't the people hate you to death?"
This is not like looking for water. If you can't find it, you will be laughed at at most.
This is about cutting the flesh of the people. If she makes a mistake, it is something that she, a sinner, cannot afford.
He was doing this for her own good.
"Does the master want to push me to the front when the time comes and doesn't want to bear any consequences?" Sang Ning asked coldly.
Bai Yi is not a selfish person, and she really doesn't believe what he said.
"It's not that I don't care about the lives of the people." Bai Yi lowered his eyes.
Explanation: “Whether a locust plague will actually come, and when it will come, are all unknowns.
If you let the people harvest grain today and locusts come tomorrow, the people of the whole city will worship you as a Bodhisattva.
If you let people harvest grain today, and the locusts come ten days later, the people's gratitude will be half as great, and some people will even blame you in their hearts for letting them harvest the grain too early.
If you let people harvest grain today, and the locusts come twenty days later, it will be the same as if no locusts came at all. You will become the target of public criticism and a sinner in the whole city.
You found the water source when the people needed it most, so everyone is grateful to you.
But are you as sure about the locust plague as you are about finding a water source?"
cannot!
At least she couldn't be sure when the locusts would come!
Alternatively, the locusts may bypass Liangzhou City and go elsewhere.
"But you're the governor of Liangzhou City. If the locusts really come, Liangzhou will be finished. Didn't you say Liangzhou is very important?"
"Yes, Liangzhou is very important." Bai Yi was very sure.
“But this is not my Liangzhou alone, it is the Liangzhou of Dongyang State.
Yangguan, Longcheng, and the imperial court will not ignore it.
The locust plague is a natural disaster and no one will blame me.
But collecting the grain early will anger the people and it will be a man-made disaster, and everyone will blame me.
Sang Ning'er, I can't afford it."
So, just don't take that risk.
There is indeed no record of locust plagues in the local chronicles of Liangzhou City, but a similar incident was recorded a hundred years ago.
The governor of a city believed the fortune teller's words and concluded that an earthquake would occur in Liangzhou, so he moved all the people to the mountains.
In the end, the earthquake did not come.
When the people returned home at dawn, all the food in their homes had been looted, and then half of the people in the city were poisoned to death.
It turned out that the water of Moon Spring was poisoned by Liao spies that night.
From beginning to end, it was all a conspiracy of the Liao people.
The people resented the county magistrate, but the court did not care about the process but only looked at the results.
The county magistrate made a wrong decision and was sentenced to beheading, and the people in the city all applauded.
If the county magistrate did nothing, even if an earthquake really came, he would lead people to rescue, and the people would be grateful even if they died.
Because it was a natural disaster.
What did the county magistrate do wrong?
So yeah.
Faced with such a difficult decision-making problem, Bai Yi did not make a choice.
He can't afford the gamble.
…
Sang Ning left the county magistrate's office in a confused state of mind.
The same is true for Xu Wude.
Everyone understood what Bai Yi meant.
But that was his position.
Xu Wude is different from him.
You have a bushel of rice, which can last you for a year.
Then one day, the rice was stolen by robbers.
Just go to the yamen and cry.
As for the government, they just gave you half a bushel of rice, and you were satisfied. If you saved a little, you could get through the year.
But what about Xu Wude? He has thousands of dou of rice!
It was robbed by robbers.
The government would still only give him half a bushel of rice to support his life.
No, he wouldn’t even give him half a bushel of rice, because he has rice stored.
Is this the same? Is this the same? Is this the same as those poor people?
If he doesn't take care of it, the loss will be huge!
"Madam Sang, what do you think the chances of locusts coming are?"
"About when will it come?"
"Will I be able to harvest the rice in five days?"
Sonning shook his head, feeling down and frustrated.
"I don't know, I've said everything I need to say, you decide for yourself.
First of all, your decision is your own choice and has nothing to do with me."
After saying this, Sang Ning was a little stunned.
This is very irresponsible.
It was clearly she who said there would be a locust plague and create panic, but in the end she said it had nothing to do with her.
She actually felt timid!
But what can she do?
What else can I do!
She is still a criminal, and has the entire Huo family behind her!
"Fatty, weigh the pros and cons yourself. If it were me, and we had enough food, I would definitely choose 50%."
"That's all I have to say."
Sang Ning said nothing more and left quickly.
Xu Wude looked at her back and stood there for a long time.
"Isn't it just 50%? So what if I lose? Master, I've made the bet!"
For a moment, Xu Wude felt like he was back in his youth.
At that time, he was ambitious and dared to gamble and take risks.
So in just a few years, the Xu family became the richest family in Liangzhou City.
Now, even if 50% of the food is gone, it is still better than before. Why should he be so fussy? He can afford to lose!
However, out of industry conscience, he also had to inform other merchant friends about such a major matter.
Xu Wude immediately called more than a dozen prominent merchants in Liangzhou City to his home.
But who knew that he would be ridiculed by a lot of people.
"Brother Xu, if you have nothing else to do, we'll leave."
"I think he hasn't recovered from the blow from the Third Madam yet. How could he believe such a thing..."
"No wonder I haven't seen him lately. It turns out he went to study the laws of celestial phenomena and earthly phenomena..."
"Let's go, let's go..."
Xu Wude shouted angrily: "Anyway, I've told you this. Believe it or not, it's up to you. I'm going to have my fifty acres of farmland taken away right now!"
"Fifty acres of land, Brother Xu is really courageous. I admire you, I admire you!" One person said with admiration, but his tone was gloating.
It seems that the position of the richest man in Liangzhou has been replaced by someone else.
"Brother Xu, don't worry. Even if the locusts eat up all my food, I'll still remember your reminder today. Let's go. Come to my place for tea when you have time."
…
In the end, only three people remained.
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