lady, please calm down

Chapter 353 Food crisis?

On the tenth day of February, a strange incident occurred in the Imperial City of Tokyo. Her Royal Highness Princess Jiarou, the regent at the time, actually tried to sneak out of the palace while wearing a palace maid's clothes.

The plan of the 'escaping princess' was discovered by the fiery-eyed Eunuch Huang. But how to deal with it was very difficult.

After all, she was to appease the Clay Bodhisattva supported by all parties. Cheng Biyong, a wealthy family on Jingxi Road, was still besieged in Funiu Mountain under the banner of Qingjun side. The gentry everywhere had just shown signs of submission. If something happened to Jiarou at this time , not only will Cheng Biyong and his like become more moral, I am afraid that turmoil will regenerate in various places.

On February [-], Huang Doudou sent a secret letter asking Chen Chu for instructions to Caizhou.

The letter stated that after Jiarou failed to escape, the reason she gave was that she wanted to visit various places in Daqi.
  This statement is [-]% false.

However, thinking of their previous differences about the real people's livelihood conditions in various parts of Daqi, Chen Chu simply wrote a letter and asked Huang Doudou to lead his guards to send her to Caizhou.

Chen Chu was ready to finish the immediate affairs and take her to a place outside Huaibei, so that Jiarou could see with her own eyes how people in various places lived, and break her illusion of peace and prosperity in China.

It would save Jia Rou from doing such stupid things as raising female wrestlers.

Anyway, there are Cai Yuan, Fan Gongzhi, Zhang Chunxiao and others in Tokyo City, so it doesn't matter if Jia Rou is there or not.

On February [-]th, Chen Chu wrote secret letters to Cai Yuan, Fan Gongzhi, and Huang Doudou and sent them out.

February [-]th, there are only two days left before Ayu gets married.

Although it has been rainy recently, Chen Jingyan's mansion in Caizhou City has been renovated. The guest rooms in the front and back yards of Wujin Mansion are full of people from his hometown. He has also rented dozens of guest rooms in the Zhenhuai Army Guest House before all the rooms are settled. Come down.

In the past two days, Lao Chen's face has been spasming and twitching from time to time. It's all from exhaustion!

Isn't it? He is obviously very happy, but he still has to pretend to be reserved, controlling his facial muscles to prevent himself from laughing, or from appearing too frivolous when he smiles.

However, in the afternoon of that day, the visit of a group of people ruined Chen Jingyan's good mood.

The visitors were none other than Hu Quan, the Chief of the Privy Council of the State of Zhou, and a Confucian scholar in his forties.

We are so happy that you, a secret agent in charge of intelligence from an enemy country, come to our door. It’s bad luck!
  The two brothers Chen Jingyan and Chen Jing'an brought the person into a secluded study, without even the courtesy of serving tea.

Seeing this, Hu Quan, who had kept in touch with Chen Jingan in recent years, laughed and said: "Prefect Chen, your love is very happy. Mr. Tian and I have been ordered by Chen Jinglue to come here to congratulate you. This is not the way Prefect Chen treats guests." "

Chen Jing'an, who was sitting next to him, went out to call someone to serve tea. After the servants left, he cupped his hands towards Hu Quan and said, "Bang Heng also knows that there has been something going on in my house recently. I am so busy that I really have no time to take care of other things. Why don't Bang Heng stay in the city for now?" Stay here and talk about it later?”

Although Chen Jingan doesn't show his impatience on his face like his brother, he actually expresses the same meaning. My family is holding a wedding, and you shouldn't come to the door at this time if you are a bit pushy.

Originally, the two sides maintained a polite and superficial contact, but since Hu Quan's advisor and former Zhou Dynasty Ministry of War Minister Chen Bokang disgusted the Huaibei Clan last year with his background as a concubine of the King of Chu, the atmosphere when the two sides met again was not as good as before. So friendly.

Speaking of which, it is hard to say how much role Chen Bokang's strategy of causing discord between the Huaibei clique and the Qi court played in Chen Chu's determination to eradicate the two brothers Liu Lin and Liu Chi.

But it definitely has the effect of catalyzing the contradiction between the two sides to become public.

However, Chen Bokang did not expect that Qi State would stabilize without much turmoil.

Seeing that none of the Chen brothers looked good, Hu Quan laughed shamelessly, "Brother Shouqian, I'm really here just to congratulate you. This..."

Hu Quan pointed to the young Confucian scholar who came with him and said, "This is Mr. Tian. He specially brought a congratulatory gift from Mr. Chen."

Mr. Na Tian then took out a box with a length of more than a foot from his sleeve. The two of them put it on the table. After handing over their hands to the Chen brothers, he said: "Mr. Chen said: Jinghu Chen and Yingchuan Chen were originally The family was delighted to hear that the daughter of Governor Chen was about to marry the King of Chu of your country. They sent a golden and jade Ruyi handle to wish the new couple a stronger relationship than gold."

He stretched out his hand to avoid hitting the smiling person. After hearing that the person was talking about this, Chen Jingyan's face looked a little better.

Mr. Na Tian paused and then said: "Years ago, Mr. Chen took over the new post and was transferred from the Minister of War to the Huainan West Road Economic and Technological Envoy. Now Huaibei and Huainan are separated by a river, but they are two countries, and they are both descendants of the Chen family in Yingchuan. But everyone is his own master, which is a pity."

At this point, Mr. Tian paused and said a little uncomfortably: "Mr. Chen also said that my daughter and the daughter of the prefect Chen are in the same family, so it is fate. From now on, we need to get closer together on both sides of the river."

"." Chen Jingyan's face suddenly turned the color of pig liver, and he couldn't help but slap the table, "Shut up!"

According to the genealogy, Chen Bokang is Chen Jingyan’s grandfather! How could he be so shameless?
  Although Yingchuan Chen is not as powerful as the Sui and Tang Dynasties, it is still a noble family. According to Chen Bokang, doesn't it mean that the two daughters of his Chen family share the same husband?

The key is the seniority!

Can Chen Bokang say this?

Chen Jing'an signaled his brother not to be angry with his eyes. Based on what he knew, the possibility that the palace concubine was Chen Bokang's daughter was almost zero.

The reason why Chen Bokang persisted in biting this lie was, firstly, to disgust the Huaibei clan. Secondly, he might also hope that Chen Jingyan would be ashamed and call off the marriage.

If Chen Jingyan felt embarrassed and the marriage fell through, Chen Bokang would effortlessly destroy the Huaibei clique's plan to attract enlightened gentry.

If it doesn't work, he won't be hurt much. It's just a matter of having dates and not having dates.

Of course, Lao Chen would not be so naive and fell into the trap, but his good mood was indeed completely ruined. He stayed in the house and was sulky all afternoon.

The errands of welcoming and delivering were all handed over to brothers Chen Yingjun and Chen Yinglang.

That night, Chen Jing'an went to Sajin Alley and told Chen Chu what happened today.

Chen Chu and Chen Bokang have never met, but this guy keeps flirting with him, which is really annoying.

Moreover, this person's behavior is like a street gangster. Just because Yu Nong's life experience is unknown, he can fabricate a lot of things, which makes people think about the relationship between Chen Chu and Zhou Guo.

In today's matter, Chen Jingyan was dragged into the cesspit of "clinging to powerful people, even if two of his daughters work together with one husband" without any concern for the family's dignity.
  Chen Chu was somewhat wary of such people. If a scholar was shameless, it would be really difficult to deal with him.

In the words of later generations, hooligans are not to be feared, but hooligans are literate!

Finally, Chen Chu said: "In the beginning, he was able to make a fuss about Yu Nong's life experience and make the court wary of us. We can also make him and Zhou Guosheng have a bad relationship because of this matter. Don't be anxious and take your time."

On February [-]th, Ayu married into the palace.

Although the palace is not bustling with gongs and drums and firecrackers, the Chen family has added a lot of dowry in order to build their daughter's reputation.

Ayu was born into a wealthy family and attached great importance to the rules of the back house.

The next day, before midnight, he was fully dressed and waiting downstairs of Hanchun Hall.

Mao'er, who had been sleeping a lot recently due to his weight, found out about it and quickly got up and groomed himself. No wonder Mao'er was inexperienced. When Yunong came into the house, Chen Chu was just a little pony in Tongshan County, so there were naturally no rules in the house.

On the night when Cai Hua came home, Dadan had a great time and slept until midnight the next day.

Furthermore, Chen Chu didn't like being too restrictive at home, so Mao'er basically never set any rules.

But Ayu remembered the rule that the newlyweds should serve tea to the lady the day after entering the house.
  A cup of tea represents Ayu's approval of Mao'er, the elder sister of the palace.

Because the first time she entered the house a few years ago was not very pleasant, Ayu felt that her attitude was very important and she was extremely respectful.

Mao'er is not a person who likes to embarrass others and like to show off. The two chatted for a while on some useless topics, and Ayu left.

After leaving Hanchun Hall, Ayu walked through the garden of the back house and walked towards her Rouge Garden.

Although the weather is gloomy today, the season has entered spring after all, and the courtyard is full of fresh and green.

The pink and white peach blossoms by the pond are stained with a few drops of morning dew, making them look delicate and beautiful.

A weeping crabapple in the distance actually bloomed flowers in four colors: pink, white, red and purple, which was amazing.

Ayu knew that this kind of flower tree with multiple colors was created by grafting with the help of the people from the Agricultural Research Institute led by her uncle.

After several years of cultivation, there are mature trees available for sale this year, but they are extremely rare and precious. In the entire Caizhou, except for the one in Cai Shangshu's residence, only the palace can see this wonder of the world.

It is said that businessman Miao Kui trafficked a multi-colored crabapple to Lin'an and sold it for a sky-high price of eighteen thousand guan.
  Ayu subconsciously thought that her father had moved to a new house, and she could ask her uncle for one tomorrow and plant it in the courtyard.

It was just a flash of inspiration, and Ayu herself didn't realize that it was somewhat meant to compete with Cai Hua.

Cai Shangshu's home has it, and his father's house should also have it.

Ayu, who was in a good mood, walked through the garden with a faint smile on her lips. When she returned to Rouzhi Garden, a group of maids and women were already waiting in the courtyard.

It was a happy event yesterday, and there were many people talking about it. At this time, there were no outsiders, and the servants formally expressed their congratulations to Ayu.

In order to show his integrity, Chen Jingyan's family has lived in an official residence for many years. Only this year was he willing to buy a yard. However, when his daughter got married, he gave up the big deal.

The dowry did not include gold and silver; only the maidservant and the mother-in-law accompanied eight people. Among them is Zhang Ainai, Ayu's nurse when she was young, who is mature and prudent; and Ayu's personal maid Zhuan Yun is always with her.

In addition to the two of them, there were two rough men and women, and four maids, a total of eight people.

The children were all chosen from the old house in Yingchuan. Both inside and outside Rouzhi Garden were Ayu's natal family. Not only would they not be wronged, but they would also have people to talk to and help in case of trouble.

This alone can give you a glimpse of how closely these aristocratic families take care of their daughters who marry outside the country.

Ayu smiled and rewarded the money, looked up to the second floor, and asked, "Hasn't the prince gotten up yet?"

Grandma Zhang replied: "Madam, I just sent word in the front yard. It seems that there is something urgent. The prince got up and left the house in a hurry without eating breakfast."

When she was in the boudoir, she was called "Little Niang". After she got married, Zhang Aimai changed her title to "Da Niangzi".

"."

Ayu couldn't help but feel disappointed. She had just gotten married, and her uncle said last night that he would spare a few days to spend time with her. Why did he go out so early in the morning?

That's what she thought, but Ayu didn't show any resentment even in front of her family. Instead, she reminded: "Auntie Zhang, just call me madam from now on, but don't call me eldest lady. In this palace, there are only The princess is the eldest lady, remember?"

"Yes" Zhang Aimai said quickly.

Ayu looked at the other maids again and said again seriously, "You also need to remember carefully and don't make the wrong call. Otherwise, I will send you back to the old house in Yingchuan."

Zhuan Yun took a careful look at his wife and felt that her wife had changed a bit overnight.

Zhuan Yun couldn't tell what the specific change was, but if he had to say it, it was that the former young lady of the Chen family suddenly became the concubine of the royal palace.

Over there, Chen Chu left this morning and broke his promise to Ayu to stay with her for a few days.

On the same day, several wheat seedlings sent by Xu Zhiyuan, the magistrate of Lu'an County, Shouzhou, arrived. When Chen Chu saw them, he immediately became nervous.

The wheat has just headed, and the ears and glumes of the few plants that were delivered are covered with water-soaked light brown and rust-colored lesions. The ears that should have been green have turned yellow.

"Scab!"

Head blight is a highly contagious epidemic disease that often occurs between wheat heading and early flowering stages.

This winter will be warm and spring will be warm, and the spring will be rainy again later this year, which just meets the conditions for the occurrence of these diseases.

If wheat infected with this disease has more than [-]% diseased grains, the whole plant cannot be eaten. If humans and animals eat it, they will be poisoned.

Once this extremely virulent pathogen spreads, it will lead to a [-]% to [-]% reduction in production under the best conditions. If not properly controlled, it is not uncommon to see a reduction in production by half or even no harvest.

You must know that reducing food production in today's world is not a trivial matter. A 10% reduction in production does not mean that everyone in the world can survive by eating 10% less.

The actual situation must be that wealthy families eat as much as they want and waste as much as they want.

After the grain harvest fails, grain prices will fluctuate, which will cause grain merchants to hoard grain at high prices without selling it. This will cause the market to become more panicked, and grain prices will rise in an irrational manner.

In the end, only 10% of the people starve to death is considered an ideal result.

It is normal for people to die of hunger and refugees everywhere.

By that time, the wealthy gentry from all over the country can recruit as many people as they want. The situation that Chen Chu finally stabilized may collapse in an instant.

Within a few breaths, Chen Chu had already thought of the worst outcome.

In the middle of the day, Chen Chu urgently ordered Sihai Trading Company and Luliuwei Farm Reclamation to suspend grain sales to other places. At the same time, he asked someone to notify the North Branch of the trading company to purchase grains and ship them back in the north, where the climate is dry and less susceptible to disease.

After making arrangements, Chen Chu rushed to Lu'an County, Shouzhou as soon as possible.

February twenty-two.

Chen Chu came to Lu'an County in the rain.

Cai Kun's father-in-law, who had learned the news in advance, You Shiguang, who had just been promoted from Shouzhou Tongzhi to magistrate, and Shouzhou capital commander Yang Dalang were already waiting at the county government office.

Chen Chu ignored the pleasantries, put on his raincoat and bamboo hat in the county office, and went to the countryside.

It had been raining for many days and the country roads were muddy. Chen Chu and others had to dismount and walk.

Fortunately, the crops in northern Luan County have not yet been infected with the disease.

But the further south you go, the more crops are affected by the disease.
  Until we arrived at Minhe New Village on the bank of the Huai River, even in the continuous rain, we could see patches of withered yellow wheat ears from a distance, some of which had turned black.

During the Huaibei Rebellion, Shouzhou was ravaged several times, with a population of only one or two out of ten.

In order to enrich the place, many landless people from Tongshan and Caizhou moved here.

This Minhe New Village is dominated by Tongshan people.
  Chen Chu actually met an old acquaintance. Ding Jiao, who almost married his eldest son, and his father, Old Man Ding.

The father and daughter were both active activists in the relocation and military relatives. Their son Ding Peng served in the Huai Army.

When Chen Chu came closer, wearing a raincoat and a hat, old man Ding sat slumped in the mud, letting the rain pour down on him, his expression numb, but he couldn't help shouting in a hoarse voice to the distant crop fields: "Jiao'er, stop working so blindly. , can’t be saved.”

More than ten feet away, Ding Jiao stubbornly carried a heavy wooden bucket, filled the bucket with light lime water with a ladle, and poured it on the ears of wheat.
  This is a folk trick. Watering with light lime water can suppress the disease.

But the crops in front of us were already seriously ill, and this method had no effect at all.
  Ding Jiao is not ignorant, but she is stubborn!

Furthermore, she was almost humiliated by the Zheng family in Jiebei shop. Fortunately, her eldest son saved her. On the way back to Luliuwei, she and her eldest son rode together, and his eldest son said something to her at that time.
  The eldest son said, there are too many evil people in the world. The more docile you are, the more ferocious they become! So when an evil person bullies you, you have to bite off a piece of his flesh even if you risk your life. You need to resist!

Just like now, the person who bullied their father and daughter has become this disease, and has become a thief who keeps raining rain!

Ding Jiao remembered what her eldest son said, even if she was suffering from this disease and God was bullying her, she would still have to fight it.
  But when Ding Jiao raised her head and looked at the large withered crops in the distance, a sense of powerlessness arose spontaneously, and she couldn't help but feel a sore nose.

Beside the field, Chen Chu had walked up to Old Man Ding and called out, "Uncle Ding."

Old man Ding raised his head blankly, not recognizing Chen Chu who was wearing a bamboo hat for a moment. At this time, he was heartbroken and not very interested in talking. He glanced at his daughter and then turned his attention to his daughter in the crop field, "Son, don't be so stubborn. Can’t be saved.”

Sad cries echo in the dense spring rain
  You Shiguang, who was behind Chen Chu, saw the old man being so arrogant and couldn't help scolding him: "You old man, why don't you know some etiquette? Didn't you hear the King of Chu talking to you?"

When Old Man Ding heard this, he turned his head in confusion and muttered: "King Chu?"

"Uncle Ding, it's me, don't you recognize me?" Chen Chu took off his bamboo hat and said with a smile.

Old man Ding suddenly stood up, "Ah! You are really the prince! Why are you here? Come on, follow me home and have some hot tea! Mo Lin is out of shape, madam, hey, now it's time to call me princess." ! Is the princess here? The old man heard that the prince had a daughter the year before last, and has always wanted to go to Caizhou to see the prince and Aunt Chen."

Old Man Ding was so excited that he was incoherent. He suddenly remembered that his daughter was still in the crop field and shouted at the top of his lungs: "Jiaoer, Jiaoer, come quickly and see who is here? Haha, the prince is here. Come and see me."

Ding Jiao heard the shouting and couldn't help but run over quickly on the mud.

When he got closer, he saw that it was indeed Chen Chu. He couldn't help but be overjoyed. He rinsed his hands and feet in the rainwater accumulated in the ditch, stepped forward and bowed unskilledly, and said happily: "The prince is here! Go home and take shelter from the rain."

Chen Chu took a look at Ding Jiao's body. Her clothes were soaked, and the rain kept running down the ends of her braids.

The slightly dark and red face was slightly blue from the rain.

Chen Chu couldn't help but sigh slightly, looked at the withered crops, and asked in a low voice, "Are all the crops infected?"

Ding Jiao, who was still looking happy, couldn't help but hesitate, and a huge sadness suddenly surged in her heart.

Her brother is in the army and her father is old. She is the only woman who has to shoulder all the family affairs.

Just now she thought it was nothing, but when Chen Chu asked, Ding Jiao couldn't bear it anymore.

To put it inappropriately, it feels a bit like after the husband's family has been wronged, his brother and uncle from his mother's side come to him.
  "Your Majesty, the crops that my father and I have worked hard to grow for the whole season are all gone."

The sky was filled with raindrops, and Ding Jiao couldn't tell for a moment whether it was rain or tears that were flowing freely on her face.

　Today is the weekend, more updates.

　　However, it may not be until the early hours of the morning.

　　
  　
  (End of this chapter)