"What?"
Feng Yuan stood up and looked at Song Chi in shock?
Are you a fortune teller?
These people are really making a fuss about food prices.
"Obviously."
Song Chi took a sip of tea and said calmly, "Grain prices are skyrocketing. People have no money to buy grain, so resentment is boiling. The government has no choice but to open the granaries to release grain to stabilize the price. But the county warehouse has no grain at all. Grain prices cannot be suppressed, which will surely lead to public outrage. Then..."
Feng Yuan continued, "Then the prefect, Zhou Zhengan, will be able to hold me accountable as a superior official, and he can even directly remove me from my position as county magistrate."
"It's more than that."
Song Chi also stood up. "Ji County is a prosperous place. If a famine breaks out due to rising grain prices, it would have a huge impact if it were reported to the court. Why didn't this happen before, but only after you, Lord Feng, took office? Doesn't this mean that the Deputy Prime Minister made the wrong choice of personnel, leading to more problems?"
"Of course, Lord Feng, you will definitely lose your position and may even be charged with failing to govern the county properly."
After this analysis, Feng Yuan's expression turned ugly.
Ji County was clearly emptied by them, but they could not say it because the food and fodder were used for the right purpose. The most important thing for the court at the moment was to provide relief to Youzhou, and this was also the order of His Majesty.
In other words, if he expressed any dissatisfaction, he might be caught and falsely accused.
The current situation is that even if the teeth are broken, we can only swallow them.
Song Chi continued, "The Han family is extremely powerful in Ji County. Not only do they own many grain shops, but many merchants also follow their lead. They can manipulate grain prices if they want."
"That's why County Magistrate Dong has been so calm. As long as this strategy is implemented, you will be out of office as County Magistrate in a few days. Then, Dong Weimin, the County Magistrate, will temporarily assume the power of County Magistrate. The Han family will also cooperate to stabilize grain prices. Dong Weimin will gain a reputation and will naturally be able to become County Magistrate smoothly."
"That's a really good plan."
Song Chi couldn't help but sigh, as he now knew all of his plans.
"What should I do?"
Su Dahai didn't quite understand, but he understood what his nephew said. If this matter could not be resolved, the county magistrate would not be able to continue in office, and he would not be able to become the head of the police, and he might even be liquidated.
"The county government has no grain, and only less than two thousand taels of silver. This little money can't do anything... How despicable!" Feng Yuan's face was filled with anger. "To deal with me, they maliciously raised the price of grain. The people will have to pay a high price to buy grain, and I don't know how many poor people will die in vain."
Song Chi saw that Feng Yuan thought about the common people instead of himself first, which was rare.
“Damn it!”
Feng Yuan's face was gloomy. This is an open conspiracy. You know your opponent's tricks, but you don't know how to deal with it.
After thinking for a moment, he turned to Song Chi and said, "You are the master, what do you have to say?"
When in doubt, seek help from a legal advisor. This is Feng Yuan’s current way of being an official.
"I have a way, but I don't know if you believe me."
Feng Yuan was overjoyed and said hurriedly, "Now that things have come to this, we are both in danger and I will definitely trust you."
This is true. The reason why Song Chi follows Feng Yuan as his advisor is simply to find a backer for himself.
Feng Yuan seems to be alone, but in fact there is a big shot behind him, otherwise he would not be able to come to Ji County. Just being the second assistant does not have this ability, there must be someone else, otherwise they would not be so wary.
As long as Feng Yuan holds an official position, you will be safe by his side.
The friendship forged in such difficult circumstances is especially precious.
If Feng Yuan fell, he would be finished without protection.
"I have a plan..."
"Bang!"
Song Chi was about to speak when the door to the classroom was suddenly pushed open. Dong Weimin rushed in anxiously. "Sir, the county magistrate, because of rising grain prices, the people have gathered outside the county government office. The people are now angry and resentful. Please go out and take a look. I am only the county magistrate, but no one is willing to listen to me."
This time, things were serious. Song Chi immediately noticed something fishy. The people were already in awe of the government, so how could they dare to cause trouble in the yamen? There must be someone instigating this.
Dong Weimin acted flustered, seemingly thinking about the government office, but in fact he looked at Song Chi coldly, "Don't panic, County Magistrate. You have a legal advisor by your side. Matters like this should be handled by the legal advisor."
"Go out and take a look."
Feng Yuan didn't respond and walked straight out the door.
Dong Weimin deliberately fell behind and walked with Song Chi, "Soon Magistrate Feng will be dismissed from his post, and then you'll be finished. Remember our bet, if you lose, you'll lose your life..."
"Your Excellency wants to take over as magistrate after Lord Feng, right?"
Dong Weimin didn't answer, but the pride on his face was obvious.
"When the time comes, I will settle accounts with you one by one!" Dong Weimin was only hostile to Feng Yuan, but he hated Song Chi.
"Your dreams won't come true."
Song Chi said this lightly and followed Feng Yuan to the gate of the county government office.
Dozens of people had gathered outside the county government office, creating a huge scene.
No matter what era, very few people dare to cause trouble at the government office, unless they are forced into a desperate situation.
Song Chi knew that at least 20% of these people were hired agents. They shouted very loudly, saying things like food prices were too high and they were about to starve to death. How could the truly poor people have the energy to do that?
It was obvious that Lord Feng, a novice in the officialdom, lacked experience, but he actually believed it and even brought it into the picture.
"Please, sir, please help stabilize the price of grain."
"Please, Lord, open the granary and release the grain."
Similar sounds came one after another, and everyone knelt down.
Feng Yuan asked, "What's the current price of grain?"
Yuan Zongshu, the household clerk beside him, replied, "One hundred and twenty coins per dou."
"One hundred and twenty wen?"
Feng Yuan took a deep breath. The general price of grain was between 40 and 100 wen per dou, and the highest was only 100 wen. This situation was rare, unless it was a year of major disaster. But now there was no disaster in Ji County, and the price had risen to such a high level out of thin air. It was really outrageous.
This shows how powerful the Han family is in Ning'an Prefecture.
Ji County is close to Lin County, so if such a big commotion can be made, Lin County must also cooperate.
Song Chi asked, "How about Lin County?"
Yuan Zongshu added, "Not long ago, the bridge in Lin County was closed, and people from Ji County were not allowed to go there to buy grain. They said they wanted to ensure that people in our county had food first."
It is true.
There is a bridge connecting Ji County and Lin County. With the bridge as the boundary, Ji County is to the north and Lin County is to the south, which together form Ning'an Prefecture.
It goes without saying that Zhou Zhengan must have planned this behind the scenes and he will not stop until Feng Yuan is killed.
This was just the beginning, and Song Chi thought that food prices would continue to rise.
More and more people gathered at the gate of the county government office. They knelt at the gate and shouted. Feng Yuan had cold sweat on his forehead. If the situation continued like this within five days, he would definitely not be able to continue to work as a county magistrate.
"What should I do? Is there any way to stabilize the food prices as soon as possible?" He could only ask the teacher for help.
Song Chi said calmly: "Don't be in a hurry, let the bullet fly for a while..."
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