Chapter 140: Pimping at Risk
After learning that Yang Yanzhao was about to enter the capital, the King of Qin increased his efficiency.
While telling Yang Yanzhao to delay on the way, he also told people to spread the word that the grain transferred from Jiangnan this time amounted to several million dan, and would be transported to the disaster area in a few days.
This news scared those black-hearted merchants and powerful landlords who hoarded grain!
If several million dan of grain arrived, wouldn’t the price of grain return to the pre-disaster price of more than ten wen a dou? He was afraid that there would be too much grain gathered in Hebei Road, and it would not be sold at more than ten wen a dou.
When storing grain, one must prevent theft, moisture, rats, and insects. Labor is essential, and the labor and food are not small expenses. The waste of rice bugs and mice is inevitable, and there are many cases in previous years where the stored grain has lost 20% to 30%. If it cannot be sold in one year, who will be willing to buy the old grain mixed with insect and mouse feces when the new grain comes in next year? The
hoarded grain must be sold quickly even if it hurts to death, so as not to lose more!
Overnight, the grain price dropped to 20 wen per dou, and the price was unified with the government's parity grain price.
The King of Qin still ordered people to buy secretly without showing any emotion, and slowly exchanged the stolen silver for grain.
Three days later, the grain hoarded by the unscrupulous merchants had been almost bought up, and the stolen silver had been almost spent. The granaries of several prefectures and counties were full of grain, and the government granaries could not hold it.
His Royal Highness the King of Qin left a dozen of his subordinates to supervise the disaster relief work in the three prefectures. They were just waiting for the relief grain transferred from Jiangnan to arrive, and then they would distribute the purchased grain to the disaster victims. Not only could they ensure that the disaster victims could survive until the new grain came down next year, but they also had to store seeds for the spring ploughing next year, and supervise the spring ploughing production after the grain was distributed.
After all the follow-up matters were arranged, the King of Qin led two thousand elite Moyun cavalry soldiers and escorted more than a dozen prisoner carts back to the capital. ...
Yang Yanzhao dawdled on the road for a few more days and finally arrived in the capital.
The eldest prince was ordered to lead several princes and dozens of court officials to the outside of the city gate to welcome the hero.
After exchanging greetings, the eldest prince verbally praised Yang Yanzhao on behalf of the court, and he followed the eldest prince and others and went directly to the palace to meet the emperor.
The emperor sat on the dragon chair and looked at the hero kneeling on one knee in front of him. Yang Yanzhao was a young general with an upright posture, handsome appearance, and a calm heroic spirit. The emperor's heart was surging but his face was relatively calm.
The father and son of the Yang family were indeed rare tiger generals. Yang Ye has a reputation of being invincible, guarding the border and terrifying the enemy! Like father, like son. The 19-year-old Yang Yanzhao is brave, brave and resourceful, and a handsome man!
However, Yang Ye is a surrendered general of the Later Han Dynasty. It took Emperor Taizu a lot of effort to subdue him. I am afraid that his loyalty to me is not enough, so I have to be more cautious. This Yang Yanzhao is a rare talent. He is the only young general in the Song Dynasty who can compete with the King of Qin. I have to hold him back and let him work loyally for me.
The emperor was thinking about all kinds of plans in his mind. After listening to the detailed process of this battle reported by Yang Yanzhao, he praised and rewarded him with a smile on his face.
He immediately issued an edict to promote the young hero Yang Yanzhao, who had made extraordinary achievements, to the rank of a fourth-rank general! He
was also rewarded with 100 acres of fertile land, and a batch of gold, jewelry, porcelain, silk and other items.
After Yang Yanzhao thanked him for accepting the reward, he left the palace and returned to Tianbo Yang Mansion. ...
Lady She, with her eldest daughter-in-law and daughter, had been waiting in front of the mansion for a long time.
When Yang Yanzhao saw his mother, his heart was warmed, and he quickly turned over and dismounted, walked quickly to the front, and knelt on the ground!
"Mother! The child is back!"
Lady She looked at her son who was kneeling in front of her, handsome and majestic, and covered in dust.
He couldn't help but feel a pang of pain in his heart, and reached out to pull his son up, "Yan Zhao, you are tired from the long journey, right?"
Yang Yanqi smiled and teased beside him, "Second brother, you have been on the long journey for several days before entering the capital, how could you be tired? If you are tired, it is because you have tired your eyes from admiring the beautiful scenery along the way."
Yang Yanzhao stood up and looked at his naughty sister, smiling affectionately and said, "Little sister, I haven't seen you for two years. You have grown into a beautiful girl, but you are still so naughty."
Yang Yanqi stuck out her tongue and made a face at her second brother, without the reservedness of a lady from a noble family.
Yang Yanzhao saluted his eldest sister-in-law again!
"Yan Zhao has met my sister-in-law! Thank you for taking care of my mother and my younger sister at home, so that my father and I can worry less at the border."
In the Battle of Gaoliang River, Yang Jiadalang led his troops to charge into the Liao army formation to rescue the besieged emperor. After rushing in, the emperor had already fled on a donkey cart, but he was surrounded by the enemy army that was dozens of times his size. He was trapped in the enemy formation and died on the battlefield. His daughter-in-law Chen Jinying became a widow at a young age.
Chen Jinying hurriedly returned the greeting, "Uncle, what are you talking about? At home, it was my mother and my younger sister who loved and cared for me."
Chen Jinying was also a tall and big daughter of a general. She was unrestrained and bold.
She had always gotten along very well with her mother-in-law, Lady She, and her younger sister-in-law, Yang Yanqi. The harmony between the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law and the warm family affection also helped her dispel a lot of pain from losing her husband.
In order to welcome the second brother, Yang Yanqi, as a shareholder, specially got a set of charcoal-burning copper pots from the hot pot city.
He collected a portion of each ingredient in the store.
Beef slices, mutton slices, tripe, pig brains, duck blood, shrimp slips, tofu, mushrooms and various vegetables filled a large table.
More than a dozen bottles of fine wine brought from the wine shop were also neatly placed next to it.
This novel banquet made Yang Yanzhao feel fresh and curious, "Little sister, are these the hot pot delicacies you mentioned in the letter?"
Yang Yanqi smiled proudly!
"Brother, today I will let you, a country bumpkin who has never seen the world, have a taste of what the world's delicacies are."
Lady She looked at her arrogant daughter and introduced her son with a smile, "Country bumpkin! Your sister Yanqi is no longer the same as before. She is now a popular perfume shop in Beijing, and one of the shareholders of Chuanran Hotpot City and Maotai Wine Shop.
If you have no money to spend, just ask her for it. She is a rich woman who makes a lot of money every day!"
Yang Yanqi glanced at the country bumpkin with a smug look on his face.
Imitate the arrogant look of Luo Nao when he was rich and arrogant!
"Second brother! Did you hear me? If you have no money, just ask me for it. I will give you thirty or twenty thousand dollars without blinking an eye!"
It feels so good to be rich and arrogant!
: "Can you still do business? Can you count the money when you have more?" Yang Yanzhao asked in surprise.
Yang Yanqi slapped him in anger!
"Second brother! You are not so contemptuous! Why can't I count the money when I have more?"
Yang Yanzhao smiled, "When you were a child, you could never count the New Year's money. You always asked your second brother to help you count."
Yang Yanqi remembered the embarrassing things when he was a child, and couldn't help but hug his mother's arm to complain.
"Mother, it's all your fault! You didn't give us gold or silver ingots as New Year's money. You just gave us a lot of copper coins. I always made mistakes when I counted them. When I grew up, my second brother always made fun of me." Lady She laughed
so hard that tears came out of her eyes and her shoulders shook!
"The money I gave you as New Year's gifts looks so much better when it's made of copper plates! Such a large amount of money makes your mother look so generous and magnanimous!"
Yang Yanqi and Yang Yanzhao also laughed so hard at their naughty mother's way of doing things!
When they were in their teens, the large amount of money they received as New Year's gifts every year filled up several large boxes. They always walked out with their backs straight, feeling like they were the richest little rich men in the city of Bianjing.
Thinking about the fun they had when they took out the money to count when they were little, they laughed so hard that their stomachs hurt!
The blazing charcoal fire had already boiled the soup in the copper pot, and the aroma was already overflowing before the meat and vegetables were added.
This is the hot pot base Yang Yanqi got from the hot pot city, the original flavor.
The Yang family, who are used to eating Luo's chili oil, did not make a clear soup hot pot for Yang Yanzhao.
Yang Yanzhao picked up a piece of meat from the red oil soup, dipped it in the bowl in front of him like his mother, and put it into his mouth.
"Not bad! It tastes fresh, tender, spicy, and delicious!"
Yang Yanqi smiled proudly, picked up the wine jar and broke the mud seal, poured a bowl for his mother and sister-in-law, and filled a bowl for his second brother.
"Country bumpkin, how about you taste this fine wine?"
Yang Yanzhao smelled a strong and mellow aroma of wine, and praised it before drinking it: "Good wine! This wine is so rich and mellow!"
He took a sip of the wine bowl, "Good wine! The wine is mellow and rich, and the taste is not spicy, and the aftertaste is long.
Yanqi, how much of this fine wine can you buy? Bring some back to father when your second brother goes back!"
Yang Yanqi then remembered that his father also loved fine wine. He secretly felt guilty in his heart. These days, he had not thought about sending a few bottles of fine wine to his father who was guarding the border to show his filial piety!
He immediately promised proudly: "Second brother, when you return to Yanmen Pass, I will make a hundred jars of this fine wine to honor father and let him keep it for drinking slowly."
"That's great! The border is bitterly cold. If you can drink a bowl of fine wine in winter, it will be the most wonderful enjoyment!" Yang Yanzhao said happily.
Thinking of the men in the family who are stationed in the bitter and cold border all year round, Lady She and her daughter-in-law and daughter are distressed and depressed.
The soldiers stationed at the border not only have to endure the cold, but also have to be ready to fight the invading enemy at any time!
Not only may they be loyal to the country at any time, but they also have to endure all kinds of nitpicking, accusations, oppression and difficulties from the civil officials in the court!
If the Song Dynasty continues this policy of suppressing military power and promoting culture, it will chill the hearts of the soldiers on the border. Can they still resist the powerful enemy with strong troops and horses?
Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit depressing, Yang Yanqi smiled coquettishly!
"Second brother, I will introduce you to a friend tomorrow, and you will definitely like her!"
Yang Yanzhao asked in some confusion, "Who are you going to introduce to me? How can you be sure that I will like him?"
Yang Yanqi's eyes flashed with a hint of cunning, "He is a handsome, talented and passionate person. Second brother, you will definitely like him."
Luo Naocan said that he wanted to meet the second brother. She had to help pull this rope despite the risk of being blamed and punished by His Royal Highness the King of Qin.