"How can this be possible!"
Ao Huang was furious.
"Is it not possible to do good things for the people?"
"If the candidates who pass the palace examination can spend money to buy things for the common people to improve their scores, then the palace examination will be a competition of who has better background, who has a higher family status, and who has more money. Even the achievements of my Fang Library will not be included in the palace examination!" Fang Yun said.
Ao Huang nodded helplessly and said, "I forgot. You humans value etiquette the most. There are some rules that cannot be broken. So what should we do? We can't get it in through normal channels. The food we get with the Yinjiangbei can't be sold, and we can't give it to the people. Everything has been calculated by the Zuo Xiang party! Zuo Xiang is indeed a cunning old man. Compared to him, we are too young."
Fang Yun said, "There are many high-ranking officials involved in this incident, but Liu Shan may have only allowed them to do so and did not personally enter the scene. As far as I can judge, he has not officially taken action yet."
"What do you mean by that?"
"This incident will at most reduce my agricultural and livelihood departments to Grade C. For Liu Shan, it is not worth it to personally take part in it. Unless..."
"Unless something."
"It's very simple to make Liu Shan go down. He found a way to force me out of the palace examination and make me lose the qualification to become a Jinshi in the palace examination!"
"Impossible. Unless he can wipe Ning'an County out of Shengyuan Continent, no force can force you out of the palace examination! However, the most urgent task is how to deal with the grain price. It is March, the lean season. The people of Ning'an County have never lacked food, and they don't have the habit of storing large amounts of food. If this continues, I'm afraid it will cause riots! Once serious consequences occur, those grain merchants will naturally be punished, but it will only be a fine. And you will have to pay the price of not being able to be promoted to Grade B in the two subjects of agriculture and livelihood."
Fang Yun said: "The key is not the evaluation of these two subjects. If someone really died because of this, and I dare not buy food and give it to the people for free, then. I am afraid I will have a new nickname, the murderous county magistrate Fang Zhenguo!"
"It's so poisonous!" Ao Huang gnashed with hatred.
Fang Yun said: "Geng Ge hates me to the core, and he is also Liu Shan's confidant. Even if I go to the Transportation Department, it will be useless. Therefore, I put my hope on the Northern Mang Army. The Northern Mang Army is stationed in Ning'an County. Apart from the county government, only the Northern Mang Army can open the warehouse to release grain. General Ding is a great man of his generation. As long as I persuade him sincerely, he may abandon his factional views and help the people."
"This hope is slim. After all, General Ding cannot disobey General Yingyang's orders."
"Something is better than nothing."
As Fang Yun spoke, he frowned, lifted the curtain, looked out through the gap, and listened attentively.
"Hurry up and buy some food! The price of food has gone up again! It's terribly expensive!"
"When I heard the new grain prices, I rushed to my home two blocks away to get a bag of rice, and then ran back to the grain store. The price of rice had risen by 20%, and it was only two blocks away!"
"It's hateful. It's already three times the normal price of food! And it's still rising!"
"What is County Magistrate Fang doing? Why isn't he opening the warehouses to calm the grain prices?"
"Who knows? Maybe he is in cahoots with those profiteers!"
"Bullshit! County Magistrate Fang is short of money? Hundreds of millions of taels of silver are used to build a library. How much can Ning'an County earn from selling grain?"
"You people are really ignorant! The human race has long had a policy of fair sales. In a year of bumper harvest, if the price of grain is too low, the government will purchase grain at a normal price, which is called 'Fair Sales'; in a year of famine, if the grain production decreases and the price is too high, the government will sell the stored grain at a normal price. It is called 'Fair Sales'. So, you don't have to worry! There is plenty of grain in the Ning'an County granary. Even if the Ning'an County granary is out of food, the Yingyang Army will not let us starve to death."
"indeed… "
"Eh? Those private soldiers... seem to be Fang Xusheng's vehicles, right?"
"It's so fast, get out of the way, I'm afraid they are dealing with something important."
“Is it related to the price of food?”
Fang Yun felt heavy-hearted and said nothing.
Ao Huang whispered, "It seems that the bastards of the Zuo Xiang Party, after determining that you are unable to stabilize the grain price and your rating has been lowered, will use the Yingyang Army's stored grain to stabilize the grain price and gain a good reputation."
Fang Yun said: "The grain they used to calm the grain prices was probably the grain transported from the county grain depot last night!"
"These bastards! Don't we have any solution?" Ao Huang was filled with hatred.
"If General Ding gives up helping me, I will be helpless!" Fang Yun said, and sent a letter to General Ding Haosheng of the Beimang Army.
However, General Ding was slow to respond.
Fang Yun's heart sank to the bottom, but he still rushed towards the Beimang army camp.
A quarter of an hour later, Ding Haosheng replied to the letter.
"I went to Yuyang Pass yesterday and was not in Ning'an County. Although I have the heart to save the people, I am unable to do so and cannot help. I hope that Saint Fangxu will forgive me."
The letter used "Fang Xusheng" instead of "Fang County Magistrate", which shows that Ding Haosheng did not do it intentionally, but he was in the army and it was difficult to disobey military orders.
"Forget it... turn around and go to the County Academy of Literature. I still have a lecture there." Fang Yun said.
"Should we... use tough measures to arrest the people in the grain shop like we did with the workshop owner?"
"The workshop owners I arrested were either from county-owned workshops or had been landlords in county-owned workshops before. Grain shops are private property, and how they set prices is not affected by the government. In other words, the government has the ability to influence prices, but that requires a cabinet resolution."
"Then what should we do?" Ao Huang was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.
"Although the food prices are high, people won't starve to death within three to five days at least. I will use this time to think of countermeasures. But..." Fang Yun's expression was unusually serious.
"Just what?" Ao Huang asked curiously.
Fang Yun said, "It's just that March 19th is the day when the Medical Literature Conference is held. It can't be such a coincidence... I understand! They suddenly raised the grain price after confirming the date of the Medical Literature Conference, causing the people to suffer and making many doctors and scholars disgusted and even disgusted. If the chaos gets to the extreme, it may even lead to the cancellation of the Medical Literature Conference, and then incite doctors to attack my medical ethics! Once the Medical Palace and the Etiquette Palace determine that my medical ethics are problematic, then no matter how good the medical article I write in the palace examination is, it will only be a B grade in the end, and will not be able to get an A grade."
"This... they are killing three birds with one stone."
"Compared to this time, the way the officials of Ning'an County harmed me before was simply ridiculous!" Fang Yun said.
"Ah... What should I do, what should I do..."
"There is no rush for this matter. We need to take a long-term view." Fang Yun said, closing his eyes to rest, but in fact he was fully thinking about how to resolve the current food price crisis.
Ao Huang observed Fang Yun carefully and found that although he was calm, he showed a slight sign of fatigue. It was obvious that the situation this time was very unusual and it was definitely the biggest difficulty encountered in the palace examination.
"Ah..." Ao Huang sighed, "The lecture has been scheduled, I have to go. If I go, what if someone asks about the grain price, then... Alas..."
Fang Yun remained silent throughout.
The carriage stopped at the side door of the County Academy of Literature, Fang Yun got off and walked slowly towards the Temple Square. (To be continued...)