The sun was already high in the sky, and there was a lot of traffic on the main streets of Luocang. There were also more and more people. Most of them were working in Luocang. It was covered with a yellowed cotton hand towel that had been used to wipe off sweat many times and for how long.
Talking and laughing in twos and threes, they passed the routine inspection through the gate guarded by the prison guard and entered the inner warehouse where the grain was stored with the simple token in their hand.
Judging from the pointed granaries and the number of people who entered, there is still a lot of food left after returning to Luocang. Although I don’t know what kind of food is the main type of food left now, but Looking at the prison guards with such tight security and the bustling traffic scene, it still makes people feel inexplicably at ease.
The waiter took Tang Dynasty's unique brewed tea and was about to add condiments like onions, ginger, and garlic into it. He was immediately stopped by Li Sujie. He didn't care about the foam on the tea leaves. If he added those condiments, it would really be a cup of tea. Soup.
Ever since he learned to taste tea from Li Hong, Li Sujie had been disgusted by the original tea soup. Especially when Li Hong told him that the tea soup tasted like dishwater, Li Sujie had secretly tasted it and smacked his lips. I feel that the taste is indeed similar, so now I have become accustomed to real tea tasting instead of drinking tea soup.
The waiter looked at the three of them strangely, and when he saw that they all insisted on not letting go, he had no choice but to leave sadly. He was full of contempt for the three of them. They were so stupid that they couldn't even drink tea.
Bai Chun was naturally the best candidate to serve tea. Li Hong and Li Sujie looked at the people entering the inner warehouse and said lightly: "It seems there is a lot of food here. After the famine last year, they thought there wouldn't be much food here. "
"These are two different things. They are dumping the old grain and selling it to the people. Then the new grain will continue to be stored. As for some of the best grain, you see, those carriages are here to pull the best grain. Grain as seed.”
"Are these seeds sold to the people or distributed to the people for free?" Li Hong asked curiously.
Li Sujie has lived a very down-to-earth life in the fief these years, and naturally knows more about these grassroots things than Li Hong. When he heard Li Hong's words, he glared and said: "Of course I buy it with money, it's good." The seeds are for nobles and wealthy families. How can common people afford them? The richer people can choose some middle-grade seeds at best. The poorer people can't pick the pot, so they can choose the lowest quality seeds. After the next autumn harvest, they will be rented according to the mediocrity. Return all debts owed to the officials."
"How about the harvest of inferior seeds?" Li Hong sneered at the corner of his mouth and looked at the two old men sitting not far from their table, where they were adding onions, ginger, etc. to the tea with relish.
Li Sujie thought about it silently and said, "Well... basically after paying back the government seeds and paying the rent, the remaining food will be enough for the family to eat until the end of the year, for a family of five."
"Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, the population of the people of the Tang Dynasty has been on an upward trend. Now it has returned to the population of the peak period before the Sui Dynasty. I am afraid that there are more than five people in this ordinary family, right?" Li Hong was a little helpless. , since the Tang Dynasty was so wealthy, why didn’t some of the policies back then change
The late emperor's quota was due to the small population. Due to years of war, it was considered good to have five people in each household. In addition, in the early days of the founding of the country, many people went to the mountains to weed, so the number of people that the government could count was naturally very small. There are less, so according to the system at that time and given today's policy, it is a policy that is beneficial to the country and the people.
But things are different now. The population base is rising steadily. Every household is growing in population, and the soldiers of the government are not included in the calculation. Nowadays, these grains will naturally not be enough to fill the people's stomachs in disaster years.
"Yeah, that's true, but that was what the late emperor decided. Who in the court dares to veto the late emperor's decision?" Li Sujie looked at Li Hong and asked meaningfully.
"Don't look at me..."
"I invited the three young masters. I didn't mean to do it, but the distance is too close. I have been listening to the conversation of the three young masters just now. I am obviously dissatisfied with the food decision?" An old man at the table next to him came over and said Pointing to the distance between the two tables, he said with a smile.
Li Hong looked at Li Hong, who was dressed in a black robe, wearing a bun and a beard. He was not very tall, but he looked very elegant and wise, standing next to Li Hong.
"I don't dare to be dissatisfied. Why, does the old gentleman also think that the decision left by the late emperor seems inappropriate now?" Li Hong looked at the middle-aged man in his forties and about fifty, indicating that he might as well sit down and have a chat.
"Thank you very much, sir. How about we talk with that friend of mine?" In the Tang Dynasty, there were many people who began to call themselves "I" in their thirties.
Li Hong smiled and nodded in agreement, and the middle-aged man called another middle-aged man of similar age and with a rather official manner, and the five of them sat at the same table.
The two of them looked at Li Hong's tea and then at their own tea soup. They just looked at each other in shock and did not speak.
"May I ask where the young master is from? I guess he's not a scholar from Luoyang, right?" It was the middle-aged man who started the conversation who asked.
"I'm Li Bai, this is my brother Li Su, and this is my beauty, from Jingzhao." Li Hong said with his eyes open. He also believed that with the vicious eyes of these two people, they would be able to recognize Bai Chun at a glance. This goblin is disguised as a man.
The two people reacted in the same way. After listening to Li Hong's words, they nodded and introduced themselves: "The next person I am, Sima Lin, a commoner, this is Mr. Lou, my friend for many years."
"I've met these two gentlemen." Li Hong said with a smile.
Sima Lin, then he should be from an aristocratic family. In this era, the importance of the concept of family is self-evident. Even if it is a declining aristocratic family, as the descendants of future generations, they will still talk about it as a kind of respect for their ancestors.
In the Northern Wei Dynasty, the Sima family gradually declined and faded out of the court, except for Sima Yang who served as the general in the Eastern Campaign. By the time of the Sui Dynasty and Tang Dynasty, there was no one who could stand on the stage.
The slightly skinny man next to him, who was called Mr. Lou, was probably Henan Prefecture Yin Lou Shide. After Li Hong appeared here, he was able to meet him unexpectedly. Li Hong didn't know if it was a coincidence or not. Fake coincidence.
"I wonder if you two gentlemen are here to buy food?" Li Hong blinked and asked curiously.
"Haha... I don't even buy food here. The government granaries only sell food in the city. Who in the wilderness will buy food? What if I get kidnapped on the road? But the three young masters are so magnanimous. Extraordinary, graceful and noble, why do you want to come to Huiluocang, which is about to be abandoned by the imperial court?" Sima Lin asked casually.
"As I just said, the gentleman in the Chongwen Museum has given us a task. How much does this low-grade grain seed cost per bushel and how much can it produce in a year? Is it enough to fill the people's stomachs? Is it what we are waiting for? This is the purpose." Li Hong glanced at Lou Shide, who had been silent.
After Li Hong finished speaking, Sima Lin also glanced at Lou Shide as if nothing had happened: "During the famine last year, it was said that the Chongwen Pavilion of His Highness the Crown Prince was here to relieve the people's worries. So what kind of emergency mechanism could use the Ministry of Finance's jurisdiction at critical moments? The granary distributes free food to the people, and now you are planning for this year’s spring planting?”
"I can't talk about my plans, but I just came to take a look..."
"This Hubu has always been on good terms with Chongwen Guan, but back in Luocang there is no granary under the jurisdiction of Hubu and Sinong Temple. Didn't the three young masters know this before coming here?" Lou Shide suddenly interrupted Li Hong and asked road.
"I don't know, but even if the grain warehouses of the Ministry of Revenue and Sinong Temple are no longer in Huiluocang, then who will supervise the remaining grain storage? It can't be Henan Prefecture, right? The famine in Henan Prefecture last year is compared with that of Gyeonggi Province It seems like you don't have to give in too much, right? With all the traffic today, aren't they just preparing to deliver food to the people?" Li Hong saw that Lou Shide had a serious look on his face, and he had a lot of official authority. He was from the Ministry of Revenue and Sinong Temple. , with an obvious connotation of oppression.
"Young Master Li is well said! Well said! Haha, Brother Lou, how are you? Now it seems that I am not the only one petitioning for the people. The three young masters are also worried about the country, the people and the world, and I hope you will The grain in Luocang can be released to the people quickly. The people survived last year's famine by relying on the grain released by the Hubu and Sinong Temple. Now that the grain warehouses in the Hubu and Sinong Temple in Luocang are empty, why don't we just wait? You, the Henan Prefecture, are providing grain, so you can't let the imperial court release grain from Hanjiacang, right?" Sima Lin felt happy after hearing Li Hong's words.
He came here with Lou Shide today because he was forcing Lou Shide to come and take a look. He didn't believe what Lou Shide said that there was no food left in Huiluocang. As for the people in Henan Prefecture who were short of food, he could only Waiting for the court's decision.
Therefore, he brought Lou Shide here today because he wanted to see is believing and to persuade Lou Shide to release grain in the name of Henan Prefecture without waiting for the court to issue documents.
With so much grain obviously stored in granaries, is it really necessary to wait for it to get moldy and not distribute it to the people? Although I am just a commoner, it does not mean that I cannot be concerned about the country and the people, right
Lou Shide glanced at the happy Sima Lin expressionlessly, then glanced at Li Hong and the others, and hummed: "Although Huiluocang is ready to be abandoned, he did not say that he will abandon it now. From the time when Sui Jiancheng was built to now, Huiluocang has been abandoned." Luocang is the top priority in Henan. What if there are natural disasters and man-made disasters again this year? Wouldn't we still have to distribute grain for free? "Where did Henan get so much food for free?"
"If you don't release it this year, the people will starve to death and corpses will litter the fields. Who will you give your food to? What do you want the people to rent to you? Is it possible that you really have to keep the food from getting moldy and the people eat the bark and leaves? ?" Bai Chun's face turned cold, and as soon as Sima Lin's smile condensed on his face, he said politely.
(End of chapter)