I embezzled 100,000 taels at the beginning, and the empress begged me to be more greedy

The news of the poisonous grain spread throughout Yecheng in no time.

It is said that rumors are the most terrifying. No matter how the Liu family explained, the people did not dare to buy grain anymore.

Upon hearing that the government had cheap grain, people rushed to buy it.

In front of the yamen, Mr. Guo was standing on a high platform with a bag of rice on the table.

He reached out and took out a handful of rice, and said to the people watching: "Look, these green rice are poisonous. Don't eat them. Go back and check. If you have bought this rice recently, bring it all over. The government will replace it with new rice for free."

"really?"

Others were skeptical, but people who had bought grain recently ran back home and checked carefully, and they actually found that there was a lot of green rice mixed in with the white rice.

I heard that several people ate these poisonous foods today, which caused them to vomit and have diarrhea, and they almost died.

This sign indicates that poisonous grain was "really" circulating in Yecheng.

Many people flocked to the government office to exchange or buy rice.

"Where did you buy this rice?"

"In Yecheng, there is only the Liu family's grain, and it's very expensive. I only bought a small amount, but it cost me one or two taels of silver. If I had known earlier, I would have queued up to receive the disaster relief grain."

"This new governor-general is so kindhearted that he not only distributes disaster relief grain, but is also willing to exchange it for rice for free for us common people."

At this moment, the most nervous person is Liu Sheng, the master of the Liu family.

Previously, the Liu family purchased grain released by the government in large quantities and did not carefully check the quality of the grain.

Now, due to rumors spreading in the city, Liu Sheng was so scared that he had to go to the granary to check it out in person.

When the sack was opened, it appeared to be filled with normal white rice, but when it was poured on the ground, it was indeed found to be mixed with a large amount of green and black rice.

Liu Sheng was stunned at this moment, cursing in his heart: "You Jiang Zuo! How dare you come up with such a vicious plan!"

Could it be that the grain he had been selling off before was actually inferior in quality and was used to defraud money from Liu Sheng?

Now, a large amount of grain has been stored in the granaries and shops under Liu Sheng's name. If the grain cannot be sold, the loss will be a huge amount of property.

Liu Sheng suddenly panicked and continued to curse Jiang Zuo thousands of times in his heart.

In the past, when grain prices were high, the Liu family was the only one in Yecheng that had grain in stock. Even though the people were short of money, they still had to spend money to buy grain, and the Liu family made a lot of money from this.

Now the Liu family is not the only one with stored grain on the market. The government has stepped in to buy up grain at low prices, and the Liu family's grain is almost unsellable because of the poisonous grain incident.

"Immediately send people out to buy it. If the government wants to sell the grain, I will make sure that not a single grain falls into the hands of the people."

Liu Sheng was furious.

"Master, I heard that the government has restricted the purchase amount this time. I'm afraid we can't buy as much as before."

"Idiot, don't you know how to send more people?"

Liu Sheng was already blinded by anger and was determined to fight Jiangzuo to the end.

"Yes, yes, sir."

At this moment in Yecheng, the price of food collapsed.

The price of one stone of rice dropped from twenty taels to ten taels and then five taels. In less than a day, it had basically returned to the level before the flood, one stone and two taels.

At the government granary near the yamen, people were queuing up to buy food.

Among the queue, there were many people sent by the Liu family to cause trouble.

"One hundred and twenty coins for one dou," said the yamen runner.

"I want to buy one stone."

"Each person is limited to one bucket. After stamping, bring your ID and come back to buy in ten days."

"Where are the documents?"

"What is a certificate?" The man was confused by the question.

"Go to the government office to handle it."

Only with this certificate can you buy food from the government.

Jiang Zuo's move directly broke the Liu family's plan to monopolize grain.

……

In the Yamen.

Jiang Zuo drank his tea with a relaxed look on his face.

"Sir, the Qianqi Division discovered a secret passage in the prison. We believe that Liu Qi escaped through the secret passage. The Qianqi Division has sent people to hunt him down."

Ma Hengwei came to report.

"No need to chase them. They are just small fry. If they run away, they will run away."

Jiang Zuo didn't care. The most important thing for him right now was disaster relief.

At this time, Master Guo also reported: "Sir, the prices of grain and salt in Yecheng have dropped a lot."

"How's business at the Liu family's grain shop?" Jiang Zuo asked.

"Most of the Liu family's grain in the city can no longer be sold. Your Excellency has a good plan. The old grain has also been collected and stored in the granary."

"So, there is actually no poisonous grain in the city?" Ma Hengwei suddenly understood.

Jiang Zuo nodded slightly and said nothing.

"Sir, please forgive me for saying so much. If others knew that this false news came from our government, would it ruin your reputation?"

Jiang Zuo, however, didn't care at all and said, "How much is reputation worth? To deal with treacherous people, you have to be more treacherous than them to defeat them. Otherwise, it's useless to talk about morality."

As soon as these words were spoken, Ma Hengwei suddenly realized.

In the past, the Qianqi Division had always dealt with such treacherous people in a quick and decisive manner, beating them first and then interrogating them, without the need for any tricks.

"Master Jiang, please accept my humble greeting."

Ma Hengwei suddenly knelt down and bowed.

"Why?"

Ma Hengwei stood up and bowed, saying, "Your Excellency's plan is truly brilliant. I admire you deeply."

Sima Hengwei, the Thousand Cavalry Commander, was known for his arrogance, but now he actually admired Jiang Zuo very much.

"It's nothing. Don't be too happy too soon. The other party will definitely have a trick up their sleeve."

Jiang Zuo remained vigilant at all times and did not get carried away by his temporary victory.

During this grain sell-off, Jiangzuo purchased grain from various places at relatively low prices, and then sold it on the market at a high price.

In order to monopolize the market, the Liu family will definitely purchase large quantities to stabilize the high price of grain.

It was because of this that Jiang Zuo made a fortune. Just from selling grain, the Liu family earned 1.2 million taels.

With this money, disaster relief can be carried out smoothly not only in Yecheng, but also in Jizhou and Yuzhou.

Moreover, the lawyer also brought good news that the Zhao family in Jiangnan agreed to donate silver to help the court with disaster relief.

With the support of the Zhao family, Jiang Zuo will have more funds to continue fighting the Liu family.

The Jiangnan family is rich, but his Jiangzuo skills in making money are not bad either...

At this moment Jiang Zuo was also very clear that the Zhao family was essentially no different from other Jiangnan families. They were also a profit-seeking merchant family. They would never help Jiang Zuo without any benefits.

It’s just that the Zhao family is relatively obedient, and Jiang Zuo is willing to support the Zhao family to deal with the other families.

There are so many homeless refugees in Jizhou Prefecture today, and the Jiangnan families cannot escape blame.

These landlords and gentry oppressed the people and annexed land, which led to an increase in the number of refugees and doubled the pressure on the court.

If this Jiangnan family could be eliminated, a certain empress who wishes to remain anonymous in the imperial city would definitely feel a lot more relaxed.

While everyone was still discussing the price of grain, a yamen runner hurried into the inner hall and leaned over to say, "Your Excellency, Liu Sheng wants to see you."