Yin Chengyu didn't expect Xue Shu to come.
He set out on the sixth day of the first lunar month and traveled for eighteen days. After arriving in Wuchang Prefecture, he traveled non-stop for several days to investigate the disaster situation. It was now February.
Counting the time, Xue Shu arrived only a few days later than him. It was almost as if he had left Beijing before he did.
But even so, the two were separated for nearly a month.
Their eyes met in the air, and the two looked at each other for a long time.
Yin Chengyu was relatively calm, but Xue Shu's eyes were filled with turbulent emotions that made people dare not look directly at him.
Under the gaze of the crowd, Xue Shu strode forward. He was wrapped in coldness, as if he had come in a snowstorm, but he saluted with great restraint: "Xue Shu greets His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
Yin Chengyu lowered his eyes and stared at him, and saw the frost and snow condensed in his hair. It was unknown how long this man had been walking.
His heart softened for a moment, but he just turned his gaze away without changing his expression. He did not ask why, but got down to business first: "How many men did Governor Xue bring this time?"
"There are more than a hundred people, not many, but they are all good detectives from the East Factory."
In fact, these people were brought in to search for the whereabouts of the old immortal.
Yin Chengyu knew the extent of his control over the Dongchang. Since he had spoken, he must be confident. So he did not refuse but accepted the offer and asked someone to move a chair for him to sit down.
He continued to discuss disaster relief regulations with a group of officials.
In addition to collecting winter supplies, snow removal is also an imminent problem.
In February, there was no more heavy snow, but the weather still did not warm up, and the winter snow did not melt, but instead condensed into ice. This not only hindered the travel of ordinary people, but also greatly affected the transportation of disaster relief supplies.
"The troops stationed in Huguang have all been involved in snow removal, but the snow and ice are too thick and the area is too wide to be cleared away in a short period of time."
Huguang is located in the middle of Dayan, not near the border or the sea, and the number of garrison troops is not large. Now it has suffered a snowstorm, and most of the garrison troops have been sent to remove the snow, but it is still a drop in the bucket.
"It will take too long to rely solely on the stationed troops. We need to find a way to mobilize the people to help with snow removal." Yin Chengyu said.
A county magistrate in Wuchang Prefecture sighed, "It's freezing cold, and the people are hungry and cold. How can they go out?"
The snowstorm was no different from other disasters. In the coldest days of winter, the people stayed indoors and endured the hardships, hoping that winter would pass. But the government couldn't wait. There was no sign of warming up this day. If they waited until March, who knows how many people would freeze to death or starve to death.
"After all this talk, there is still no food."
At times like this, silver is useless. The prices of rice, cotton clothes, and charcoal in Huguang are now shockingly high. Even if we use work-for-relief and directly distribute silver, a person who works for a day in the cold winter and receives copper coins may not be enough to buy a meal of rice.
The people are not stupid. Instead of going out and starving and freezing, they would rather stay at home. Maybe they can survive a few more days.
Yin Chengyu frowned, thinking about the solution.
Nowadays, rice and grain are the most important thing. However, according to what Magistrate Yu said, the Zhou family is very cautious. If we want to find something to hold against them, it may take a long time.
But in the Sanjiang Chamber of Commerce, the Zhou family is not the only one with food.
These merchants are willing to obey the Zhou family now, but it is only because their interests are aligned for now. Once they find that their own interests are contrary to those of the Zhou family, most of these merchants will defect.
It would be better to start with other merchants in the Chamber of Commerce, get hold of the evidence, and force them to hand over the grain first to solve the urgent problem.
Yin Chengyu quickly made up his mind and said to Yu Zhifu, "Yu Zhifu, please send an invitation in the name of Jiang Zheng to invite several leaders of the Sanjiang Chamber of Commerce to a gathering in three days."
Prefect Yu was not a smart man, so it was hard to guess what he was planning, but he was obedient and went about his business after agreeing to do the job.
The rest of the officials also resigned one after another, and finally only Xue Shu was left.
Yin Chengyu stared at him and said slowly, "In three days, investigate all the leaders of the Sanjiang Chamber of Commerce and find evidence against them. Is it possible?"
Although his tone was questioning, he did not look worried.
Xue Shu did not disappoint his determination and said yes.
He then said, "Your Highness, don't you want to know why I came?"
Yin Chengyu looked at him for a long time and then chuckled. His cold eyes were full of determination. "What is there to ask? You are all here for me."
Even if you ask and talk a lot, they are just excuses.
He deserved to be so frank that Xue Shu's breathing tightened for a moment, and then his heart began to beat wildly and his emotions were hard to suppress.
If we were to ask who in this world knows him best, it would probably be only Yin Chengyu.
He could see through his greed, anger, and ignorance, and also understood his love, hate, and resentment.
All seven emotions and six desires are aroused by him.
The glances between them seemed to be on fire, burning from Xue Shu's eyes to Yin Chengyu's heart, so hot that he subconsciously withdrew his gaze.
This person is really...
Yin Chengyu's eyes suddenly turned back and stared at him, unwilling to be outdone: "Do your job well and save the disaster first."
Xue Shu looked at him and said "hmm" very slowly.
Zhou Zhiling was very cautious and it would be hard to find any flaws in a short time. However, there were hundreds of merchants of all sizes in the Sanjiang Chamber of Commerce.
Xue Shu only ordered his men to screen the dozen or so big bosses who had the final say in the Chamber of Commerce one by one according to the list, and he easily found a breakthrough.
On the day set by Yin Chengyu, Xue Shu handed over a thin stack of papers.
It records the basic situation of these big bosses, as well as the secrets they hide that they don't want others to know.
No one is perfect.
Moreover, these wealthy businessmen have been operating in Huguang for many years, and they are more or less dishonest, so it is very easy to catch them. If time is not tight, I am afraid that what is handed over is not just this thin stack.
Yin Chengyu quickly flipped through it and handed it back to Xue Shu: "You go with me."
The meeting took place in a house below the Governor's Office.
There were ten people who received the invitation this time. Except for the head of the association, Zhou Zhiling, the remaining nine were all big bosses of the Sanjiang Chamber of Commerce. They were the leaders of various industries such as rice, cloth, charcoal, and grain transport.
At this time, all the people had gathered in the main hall. The servants served hot tea and then left. There was no one else in the hall.
"There's not even a charcoal brazier in this hall. Is this a deliberate attempt to intimidate us?"
"This Jiang Zheng has been fooled twice, but he still won't give up."
"You didn't know how to be flexible when doing things before, but now you need us to help you. How can such a good thing happen in this world?"
“…”
Several people were talking to each other. Seeing Zhou Zhiling frowning and not saying anything, they asked curiously, "Why does the leader look so serious? This is not the first time Jiang Zheng has come to us. What is there to worry about?"
Zhou Zhiling was sitting the first one on the left. Hearing this, he raised his eyelids and glanced at a few people, but did not respond.
These people were not well-informed and naturally did not know that the prince was now in Wuchang Prefecture.
They had been sitting here for two quarters of an hour, but Jiang Zheng had not shown up yet. This was completely different from Jiang Zheng's previous behavior. He suspected that the person who invited them today was not Jiang Zheng, but the Crown Prince.
Just when Zhou Zhiling was suspicious, he heard a strong voice saying, "Everyone is here, please come in, Your Highness."
Your Highness the Crown Prince?!
Everyone was startled and confused when they heard the sound, and they all stood up and looked outside. They saw Jiang Zheng and Yu Zhifu escorting a man. The man was wearing a purple robe and a golden crown, and he looked very noble. It was obvious that he was not an ordinary person.
Then I thought about what I had just heard: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince".
Several big bosses could no longer sit still and became anxious.
Why would the prince receive them?
For a moment, several people looked at each other, with suspicion in their eyes.
Only Zhou Zhiling had guessed what was going on and reacted faster, so he went out first. When the others saw him leading the way, they immediately followed.
They didn't take the inspector Jiang Zheng seriously because Jiang Zheng was a new official and had no power in Huguang. Even a powerful dragon couldn't suppress a local snake. The Sanjiang Chamber of Commerce was united as one, so even the inspector had to give him face.
But the prince is different, he is the heir apparent of a country!
A few people exchanged greetings and welcomed Yin Chengyu in.
"Don't be afraid, everyone. I came here to investigate the disaster by order of the Emperor. Today, I happened to hear that Inspector Jiang invited several big bosses of the Chamber of Commerce to discuss the purchase of grain. I am very grateful for your loyalty, so I followed to take a look."
Yin Chengyu sat down in the main seat with a smile, looking very approachable.
But when the people in the Chamber of Commerce heard him keep talking about "buying food", they felt a little uneasy, because Jiang Zhengxia's post didn't mention anything about buying food.
They subconsciously looked at Zhou Zhiling.
Zhou Zhiling had seen big storms before, so he was not panicked. He cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness, you are kind enough. This is what we should do. Your Highness and Lord Jiang are working hard for the people, so we should naturally do our best."
He then changed the subject and sighed, "It's just that this year has been really difficult. The snowstorm blocked all roads and waterways, and the warehouses were empty. After a long time, we big merchants still have some inventory left, but the small merchants in the Chamber of Commerce ran out of goods long ago, and even had difficulty maintaining a normal life. The Chamber of Commerce thought that if these small merchants ran out of goods, ordinary people would not be able to buy food and charcoal, and would have difficulty making a living. Therefore, the Chamber of Commerce has been distributing goods among each other, and this is how we can barely maintain our business... We all hope that this snowstorm will be over soon."
This is crying poor.
Yin Chengyu did not respond, but just glanced at Jiang Zheng.
Jiang Zheng understood and took over the conversation, saying, "Who doesn't look forward to it? But now we have been hit by a natural disaster, the grain in the granary has run out, and the grain and water from nearby areas cannot meet our immediate needs..."
He said this with a heavy sigh.
With the Crown Prince in charge, the Chamber of Commerce did not shirk responsibility this time. Zhou Zhiling said righteously, "We understand your difficulties. The government is dedicated to the people, and we have no choice but to do our part. How can we discuss the deal? I still have 500 dan of aged rice left in my rice warehouse. I originally kept it just in case. Now that there is not enough food for disaster relief, I will donate all of it. I just hope that more people can be saved."
When the others saw that he had spoken first, they immediately understood his meaning and began to speak one after another.
One donated 2,000 cotton-padded clothes, and the other donated 50 dan of charcoal...
Jiang Zheng had gone to negotiate with the Chamber of Commerce twice before, wanting to buy grain from it, but was turned away in the same way each time.
It’s just that this time the prince came forward and sent away more people.
These people keep shouting that the warehouse is empty and there is no stock, but in fact the warehouse is full of goods. They just want to raise the price and make huge profits, so they are holding on to the goods and refuse to release them.
Yin Chengyu's eyes darkened, but he still had a gentle smile on his face.
"I am deeply moved by your broad-mindedness. But we cannot let your good deeds go in vain." He looked at Xue Shu who was standing beside him and ordered, "Send the contract I drafted to the several big bosses for a look."
He turned around and said slowly, "Everyone, please take a close look and do what you can. If there is anything inappropriate, please point it out."
Xue Shu held a stack of papers and handed them out one by one.
A few people were wondering in their hearts about whether they had to sign any contract for charity donations, but when they took the thin paper and took a closer look, their faces changed.
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