When he was at the post house, Li Junxian assigned Wang Liaoyuan the task of maintaining public security in the city and preventing the people in the city from civil strife due to dissatisfaction with the city gate being closed. However, Wang Liaoyuan had just returned to the government office from the post house. Not long after, I received such bad news—all the grain stores in Taiyuan City were out of food!
It’s not that grain merchants took the opportunity to drive up grain prices, it’s that there is simply no grain!
Is this a big deal
As a parent official, Wang Liaoyuan knows better than anyone else the importance of food to the people. They all say that "food is the most important thing for the people." If the news of food shortage in Taiyuan is allowed to continue to ferment, Wang Liaoyuan believes that it will not be long before Taiyuan City. There will definitely be chaos!
By then, there will be countless people rushing to the city gate, trying to get out of the city to buy food!
Even if Li Junxian did not assign him a task, as the governor of Bingzhou, Wang Liaoyuan must try his best to solve the current problems in Taiyuan City!
"I obey my orders!"
In the back office of the governor's office, the middle-aged scribe named Wu accepted the order. He also knew that the matter was urgent, so he studied ink and wrote a notice on the spot. After the matter was completed, Wang Liaoyuan saw that the content of the notice was correct, so he stamped it with his own seal. He handed the notice to Feng Baotou and said in a deep voice:
"Captain Feng, I order you to immediately arrange for someone to print out this notice, and then post it in every village in the city, and integrate all the government officials and county government officials to strengthen patrols in the city to prevent anyone from taking the opportunity to cause trouble! If manpower is needed, If it’s not enough, report it immediately and I’ll go find Fang Canjun to borrow troops!”
Feng Baotou cupped his fists and accepted the order: "Yes! I obey my orders!"
After saying that, Capt. Feng took the notice from Wang Liaoyuan, turned around, and left in a hurry!
In the back office, Wang Liaoyuan frowned and looked silently at the direction Feng Baotou left. He always felt that something was wrong with this matter, because since the peace of the world, there has never been a food shortage in Taiyuan City. Although this The four gates of Taiyuan City were sealed for two days, but not to mention just two days. Even if Taiyuan City was sealed for ten days and a half, the remaining grains in the granaries of major grain stores in the city would be enough for hundreds of thousands of people in the city to consume. But now The major grain stores in the city suddenly ran out of food, which made Wang Liaoyuan feel a little weird after he calmed down!
Could it be that someone is causing trouble secretly
Wang Liaoyuan couldn't help but wonder in his heart.
"Does the Governor think what happened today is a bit strange?"
The middle-aged scribe named Wu saw Wang Liaoyuan frowning in deep thought. His eyes flashed slightly. After a moment of pause, he asked tentatively.
"There is indeed something fishy about this matter!"
Hearing the sound, Wang Liaoyuan came to his senses instantly. He nodded, then turned around and asked, "Mr. Wu, what did you see?"
The scribe named Wu shook his head and said: "The governor can't see it, so how can Wu see it? It's just that Wu thinks that Taiyuan City is just a city gate that has been blocked for two days. Now there is peace in the world and there is no war in the Tang Dynasty. There is no war in the city. There shouldn't be no food in stock in the grain store, and the people in the city shouldn't be rushing to buy food! There must be some hidden secret in this! Maybe there is someone secretly manipulating all of this!"
"Is there someone behind the scenes? Who is it? Is it the grain merchants in the city?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Liaoyuan's eyes narrowed, and he couldn't help but interrupt.
The scribe named Wu thought for a moment, shook his head and said:
"Probably not. There was only a shortage of food in major grain stores in the city today, and no grain merchants took the opportunity to raise grain prices. This shows that what happened today was so sudden that many grain merchants did not expect it, and they did not take advantage of it. Making profits, so they shouldn’t be the masterminds behind it!”
"Mr. Wu's words make sense! But if this is the case, then who will be the mastermind behind it?"
When Wang Liaoyuan heard this, he couldn't help but nodded thoughtfully, and then said.
The scribe surnamed Wu cupped his hands and said: "I believe that the top priority is not to find the mastermind behind the scenes, but to stabilize the people's hearts. Although the governor issued a notice to the people in the city, for the people, it is just a piece of paper and has no real meaning. After seeing the food, they will never feel at ease!”
Wang Liaoyuan pursed his lips, and after a moment of silence, he asked: "How much grain is left in the official warehouse in the city? If there is not enough grain in the official warehouse, I am afraid I will have to send people out of the city to purchase it!"
In this era, every county had official warehouses, and the grain stored in them was mainly to meet unexpected needs. As a large city in the north, Taiyuan City often shouldered the important task of supporting grain and grass supplies for the border front lines during wartime. Therefore, Taiyuan City Not only does it have an official warehouse, but its scale is not small!
"Sir, there is still more than 20,000 shi of food left in the official warehouse in the city. Even if the city is closed for another half month, the people in the city will not be short of food! However, although the food problem is easy to solve, there will be a shortage of vegetables in the city! "
The scribe named Wu replied worriedly.
The supply of meat and vegetables in Taiyuan City generally comes from villages outside the city. After all, there are not many vegetable fields in the city, and there is not much poultry and game. But now that the gates of Taiyuan City are closed, people inside can't get out, and people from outside can't get in. Therefore, there is a big problem with the supply of meat and vegetables in the city, and there will soon be a shortage!
Wang Liaoyuan frowned and said: "The situation is special now. We must first solve the problem of feeding the people and stabilize the people's hearts! You immediately use your official warrant to transfer 10,000 shi of grain from the official warehouse and sell it to the major grain stores in the city. Shop, order them to sell to the people at fair prices, and not to raise prices arbitrarily, otherwise they will be severely punished!"
There are neither natural disasters nor famines. Therefore, even if the government opens warehouses to release grain, there is no reason to distribute all the food in the warehouses to the people for free, because the food in the official warehouses also has a cost!
It is the most convenient and safest choice to sell the grain in the official warehouse to the grain stores in the city and let them sell it to the people in the city. After all, it is a business negotiation. In this case, it is not convenient for the government to personally participate in the transaction. The people sell food, otherwise it will definitely be settled by the people!
As for the shortage of food mentioned by the scribe named Wu, Wang Liaoyuan didn't care much. Now that Li Tai has been arrested and the gates of Taiyuan City are blocked, the situation is already very serious. Compared with the war years in the late Sui Dynasty, the people now have food. Eating and making do without starving to death is already pretty good!
"My lord is wise! I will do it now!"
When the scribe surnamed Wu heard this, his eyes lit up. He sighed in admiration and then left quickly!
"Ten thousand shi of grain should be able to stabilize people's hearts! But who is the man behind the scenes? What is their purpose? How will they respond after I release 10,000 shi of grain?"
After the scribe named Wu left, Wang Liaoyuan still frowned deeply and couldn't help but murmur to himself.
He felt that this matter would not be that simple, and he always had a bad feeling in his heart!
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