At the beginning, I became a county magistrate with greed of 500 million. The empress asked me to be

"Order Jiang Wenzhong to lead all the troops to guard the government office. Anyone who breaks in without permission will be arrested immediately and thrown into the dungeon!"

Xia Yun gave the last order coldly.

From beginning to end, he did not take the merchants who were about to rush to the yamen seriously.

Historically, it has always been the peasants who have rebelled. I have never heard of any businessmen turning the tables.

The ancestral system of the Daliang Dynasty emphasized agriculture and suppressed commerce, and the people of the world were divided into four classes: workers, farmers, scholars, and merchants.

Although businessmen make a lot of money on a daily basis, when it comes to the surface, their political status is far lower than that of ordinary people!

"Yes!"

Xu Wan'er accepted the order and immediately turned around and left the court.

After the order was passed down, Jiang Wenzhong led more than a hundred soldiers and surrounded the prefectural government office in a short while.

At that time, a group of Hangzhou merchants who came to ask for an explanation finally arrived at the gate of the prefectural yamen.

"This is a restricted area of ​​the government office. Everyone please stay back. Anyone who trespasses will be arrested immediately for disturbing the government and thrown into the dungeon!"

When a large group of merchants gathered in front of the government office gate, Jiang Wenzhong came out with a long sword slung over his waist. While giving orders, his expression was extremely cold.

If it is really as it is said, anyone who dares to break into the gate will be caught at any time.

"My lord, we are all merchants in Hangzhou City. We are loyal to the emperor and love the people. We have no intention of breaking the rules."

At this time, a middle-aged man walked out from among the businessmen.

He was wearing a gorgeous dress and looked quite extraordinary.

"The notice posted by the prefectural government recently has really ruined the livelihood of Hangzhou merchants. I hope this military officer will be flexible and report the truth to the prefect, and let us explain it in detail."

As soon as the middle-aged man finished speaking, a butler following behind him stepped forward.

He took out a silver note from his pocket and presented it to Jiang Wenzhong with both hands.

This is a common practice among Hangzhou businessmen, using money to bribe officials.

However, just when the businessmen thought that Jiang Wen would accept the banknote again.

All that was heard was the crisp sound of a sword breaking through the air.

Jiang Wenzhong drew out the long sword from his waist at an extremely fast speed. The blade shone coldly, like a killing god.

"By order of the prefect, anyone who takes a step forward will be arrested on the spot!"

The moment Jiang Wen's words came out, all the soldiers around him drew out their long spears from their waists.

There were flashes of cold light, and the butler was so scared that he quickly retreated.

However, there were still some people in the crowd who were not intimidated by the grand display of the prefectural government.

"presumptuous!"

Another middle-aged man stood out from the crowd and followed closely behind the previous middle-aged man.

"Mr. Zhou is one of the four major salt merchants in Hangzhou, and he has even been granted a fifth-rank official title by the Emperor. How dare you be so arrogant!"

The man continued to speak, with an obvious look of displeasure on his face.

Obviously, the salt merchant Mr. Zhou he was talking about was the person in front of him at this moment.

Hearing this, Jiang Wen raised his eyebrows again, and then gave a look to the soldier next to him.

Upon seeing this, the soldier quickly turned around and entered the yamen.

……

"Hangzhou salt merchant? A fifth-rank official hat and belt?"

In the lobby of the prefectural government, Xia Yun listened to the soldier's report and a look of surprise appeared on his face.

But soon, a sinister smile emerged.

He was originally thinking about finding a suitable person to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys, but he didn't expect that the ready-made "chicken" would actually come to his door.

The salt merchants in Hangzhou have a very high status among all the merchants.

After all, they are engaged in a monopoly business, and the profits they make every year are extremely lucrative.

"Pass on this government's order to quickly arrest the Hangzhou salt merchant outside the gate for the crime of disturbing the government."

After thinking for a moment, Xia Yun immediately gave the order.

Now that he has decided to take action against Hangzhou, he will not drag his feet.

"Yes!"

After receiving the order, the soldier quickly left the court.

When he returned to the gate of the yamen, he immediately conveyed the order to Jiang Wenzhong.

"Someone, take it!"

Jiang Wenzhong swept forward, his direction locked on the Hangzhou salt merchant named Zhou, and soldiers on both sides immediately filed out.

At this moment, all the merchants on the scene were panicked.

They thought that if they gathered together, the government would be more or less afraid of their influence.

But I never expected that the government would actually send troops to arrest him.

Mr. Zhou, the salt merchant who had been calm and composed until now, was also a little flustered and subconsciously stepped back a few steps.

But even if he wanted to leave now, it was too late.

In just a few breaths, the soldiers under Jiang Wenzhong had surrounded them.

And as Master Zhou staggered, he was pushed directly to the ground, looking quite embarrassed.

"Take him away and put him in the dungeon."

Jiang Wen glanced at Mr. Zhou coldly, without any emotion on his face.

And when he looked at the other merchants again, they no longer had the courage to continue the confrontation.

Frightened, they scattered like birds and beasts and quickly fled the prefectural government office, fearing that they would be the next to be caught.

In less than half a quarter of an hour, the prefectural government gate, which had been bustling with activity, became deserted again.

In the government court, Xia Yun listened to the soldier's report and a sinister smile appeared on his face again.

Most of these Hangzhou businessmen are just cowards who are greedy for life and afraid of death, and are not worth worrying about at all.

"Sir, the Hangzhou salt merchant who was arrested is named Zhou Wendi. He is one of the four largest salt merchants in Hangzhou today. He does have a fifth-grade crown and belt bestowed by the late emperor..."

At this time, Xu Wan'er, who reappeared in the court, had already figured out Zhou Wendi's detailed identity and reported it one by one.

Hearing this, Xia Yun only thought for a moment.

“How is the disaster relief situation in Hangzhou?

Xia Yun suddenly asked back.

"According to your instructions, eight porridge stalls were set up at the four city gates, and porridge was distributed twice a day, morning and evening, so that the victims inside and outside the city could barely survive."

Xu Wan'er continued to report.

But then, a hint of hesitation gradually appeared on Xu Wan'er's face.

"It's already July, and the drought in most parts of Zhejiang has not subsided. Even if the disaster victims are allowed to plant rice seedlings now, it is highly likely that they will not be able to get a harvest this year."

"In the long run, opening soup kitchens to provide disaster relief is not a feasible solution."

Xu Wan'er expressed her thoughts.

Upon hearing this, Xia Yun nodded immediately.

Indeed, there are still nearly seven or eight months until next spring.

During this period, farmers were unable to grow crops, so the government had to continue allocating grain for disaster relief.

But even the imperial court could hardly support the food supply for the victims of a province for seven or eight months.

"Pass on this government's order to register all disaster victims. Those who have entered Hangzhou are not allowed to leave at will."

"After the registration is completed, every household can send out strong laborers to join the construction team and be ready to be dispatched by the government at any time. The construction team will be paid on a daily basis, 20 copper coins per day."

"If every household has no strong laborers, they can send women to work in the laundry and weaving workshops, waiting to be dispatched by the government at any time, and they will be paid 15 taels of silver per day."

"In addition, widows, widowers, orphans and the young can still go to the porridge stalls to eat free porridge every day."

In just a dozen breaths, Xia Yun issued three orders.

The so-called treating the symptoms and the root cause, in Xia Yun's opinion, the best way to solve the famine in Hangzhou City is to use work instead of relief and develop infrastructure.