Daming Town Haiwang

Chapter 189, A Penny and a Catty of Meat
On the official road from the capital to Tianjin, Xie Qian, Li Dongyang, and Zhang Mao rode tall horses and walked towards Tianjin, discussing something with each other.

"You say there is really a penny a catty of meat in Tianjin?"

Ever since Emperor Hongzhi said that the meat here in Tianjin only costs one penny a catty, Zhou Jing has been thinking about this issue. At that time, he even wondered whether Emperor Hongzhi had gone crazy.

Not to mention the time of famine, this kind of meat costs more than ten cents per catty even in a good harvest year. Even if it is the cheapest fish, it costs seven or eight cents per catty, which is impossible at all. A penny and a catty of meat.

Not only Zhou Jing, but the civil and military ministers of the Manchu Dynasty did not believe that there would be meat worth a penny a catty in Tianjin. Meat is very rare in this era. What kind of meat is a penny a catty?

With such questions in mind, the three of them were sent to Tianjin by Emperor Hongzhi to purchase meat worth a penny a catty.

"I don't know either, but His Majesty has said bluntly that he will look for Liu Jin after he arrives in Tianjin. This Liu Jin is the son of a high-ranking man. It is always unexpected, and it may be difficult to say."

Li Dongyang shook his head slightly. He didn't like riding a horse, but there was nothing he could do. Now that the disaster was serious, there was no time to delay it. Naturally, it was impossible to take a carriage to Tianjin slowly.

As for Zhang Mao on the side, he has been silent all the way. He is now a big celebrity in front of Emperor Hongzhi because he took the blame for Emperor Hongzhi. Whether it is Emperor Hongzhi calling ministers to discuss matters, or purchasing food for disaster relief, he is indispensable. figure.

But Zhang Mao is an old fox, and he is very smart. He knows that at this time, he should keep a low profile and not jump around without thinking, otherwise he will really become a thorn in the side of these civil servants.

Regarding these matters, he maintains a consistent attitude, does not care, does not ask, and does not express opinions. As for whether there will be mistakes in this matter, he is still not worried. Zhou Jing and Li Dongyang are relatively reliable, so don't worry Things can't be done well, and I can't go back to work.

"Hey, let's hope so. The disaster is getting worse and worse. Even the capital is famine. The price of food is too high."

Zhou Jing sighed, and said with compassion, while galloping his horse, he was also observing the situation on both sides of the official road. Because of the famine, there were also many people fleeing famine on the official road.

"Xie Gong, look at the people fleeing famine, why are they all fleeing to Tianjin, but no one is fleeing to the capital?"

Walking along the way, Zhou Jing also found a strange phenomenon. On the official road between the capital and Tianjin, all the people fleeing from the famine were actually fleeing to Tianjin, and it was rare to see anyone fleeing to the capital.

It stands to reason that the capital city is the capital of Ming Dynasty, and Tianjin is just an ordinary city in the north. This escape from famine should also go to the capital side, but now it is completely reversed, which makes people wonder.

"I think this may be the reason why His Majesty asked us to come to Tianjin. Maybe Tianjin really has meat for a penny a catty."

Hearing Zhou Jing's words, Li Dongyang carefully looked at the fleeing people on the official road, then thought for a while and said.

"This... Is there really a penny and a catty of meat?"

Zhou Jing shook his head slightly, he really couldn't figure it out, how could such a penny and a catty of meat be possible?

The distance between Beijing and Tianjin is not far, only more than [-] kilometers. It doesn’t take too long to go back and forth on horseback. As they get closer to Tianjin, they also found people who gathered here to flee famine There are a lot of them, especially when we are approaching Tianjin, the official roads are full of victims fleeing famine.

All the victims I saw along the way were skinny, and some even fainted from hunger beside the official road. The bark of the trees I saw were all eaten up, and the tender grass that had just sprouted just disappeared. The victims were like Like locusts, they ate everything they could eat.

This made Li Dongyang, Zhou Jing, and Zhang Mao feel extremely heavy. Sometimes standing on top of the court, it is impossible to understand what kind of suffering the victims are going through. Only by seeing it with your own eyes can you know. What does this famine look like.

"It's less than ten miles away from Tianjin. Let's work harder and get to Tianjin in one breath. We will try to purchase food back as soon as possible to help the victims."

Seeing the miserable scene of the victims, Li Dongyang, who originally planned to take a rest, also said to Zhou Jing and Zhang Mao beside him.

"That's exactly what I want to do. I want to see what happened here in Tianjin and why it attracted so many disaster victims."

Zhou Jing nodded, he is more curious now, more curious than when he left the capital, full of doubts.

The team of three rode horses and turned around a hill. Suddenly, they could see Tianjin City in the distance very clearly. At the same time, they could see that the official road leading to Tianjin was very busy. Tens of thousands of people are busy, it seems that they are building roads.

"They seem to be repairing the road?"

Looking at the bustling scene on the official road ahead, Zhou Jing thought for a while and said.

"It's building a road. It's just that it hasn't rained recently. It seems that the official road doesn't need to be repaired."

Li Dongyang nodded, thought for a while and said.

"The official road ahead seems to be a little different, wider and smoother. What's going on?"

Zhou Jing frowned, and looked forward hard, trying to see clearly what happened in front of him.

"I'll find out soon, let's go."

The whip in Li Dongyang's hand slapped the horse's buttocks fiercely, and the horse suffered from pain, but also stepped forward rapidly.

But soon, the three of them had to slow down their pace, because the official road ahead was crowded with people, and at the same time, there were still people shouting.

"We're recruiting, we're recruiting, we're recruiting for the construction of the Beijing-Tianjin Highway. You can earn ten cents a day, and you can buy a catty of meat for a penny, and you can get ten catties of meat a day. If you want to come, hurry up and sign up."

There are people in uniforms holding tin horns and yelling continuously on the official road. The voice is so loud that it can be heard clearly even if it is far away.

When the disaster victims on the official road heard the voice, they were listless, and they immediately quickened their pace and ran over in a hurry, as if they had been beaten with chicken blood.

"Is there really a penny and a catty of meat?"

A few hundred meters away, Li Dongyang, Xie Qian, and Zhang Mao could hear each other clearly, and immediately regained their energy.

　If you want to open the sea, you must have the support of the ministers of the court, so it is also necessary to let the important ministers of the court take a look at the benefits of the sea~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)