The fiercest soldier of the border army

The room fell silent for a moment.

Manager Zhang scoffed, "Manager Li is overthinking it. What strategy could a man from the Northern Army possibly know?"

"He only gained power by taking advantage of saying a few tough words to the Crown Prince."

"Now that he's eager to gain merit, he's resorting to these ruthless methods to force the refugees to leave on their own. As long as there are no more beggars on the streets of Wenchi County, he can report 'peace and stability within the territory.' Why not do it?"

Manager Wang suddenly realized, "That's right! If he really lowered the grain price, the refugees would flock here, and their numbers would only increase, which would become a major problem. He has cut off their hopes."

Manager Liu laughed, "So that's how it is. I thought he was crazy, but it turns out he had no other choice but to resort to this desperate measure."

Zheng Wenhan sat at the head of the table, picked up his teacup, and gently blew on it. "You are all skilled businessmen, but you are unaware of the affairs of the court."

"Tang Shun was originally a military man who knew nothing about governance. Military men have a simple and crude way of thinking, so it is reasonable for him to do this."

"He and the Cui family of Hedong each governed a county, which was already a difficult situation for them."

"You guessed right. All he was thinking was that once the refugees left this place, the price of grain would naturally stabilize."

"Refugees, the key word is 'refugee'."

"Besides, he has neither connections nor background. If he forces you to lower the price to twenty coins, will you lower it?"

"That's impossible," Manager Wang said dismissively, crossing his legs.

"Thirteen coins is already the biggest concession. If he insists, we might as well let him know what it means for a powerful dragon to be unable to suppress a local snake."

"Not to mention, he's not even a dragon, he's just a worm."

Manager Zhang replied smugly, "Yes, and besides, he accepted our gifts, so he's taken sides after all."

"We've already taken the gold and silver, how could he turn his back on us? As long as we go along with him, he won't touch our foundation."

Manager Li stroked his goatee, still frowning. "But the scholars around him keep obstructing him. How can we resolve this?"

"Solution? There's no solution!" Manager Zhang slammed his hand on the table and laughed. "That scholar's mind is full of morality and righteousness, and his joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness are all written on his face. If he were a true strategist, how could he let people see through his frivolity at a glance?"

"I reckon Tang Shun himself won't be able to resist making a move against him first!"

Everyone laughed.

Just then, there were light footsteps outside the door, and a servant came in with his head bowed, saying, "Master, the pacification commissioner has sent a message."

"speak."

"It is said that... Magistrate Tang complained that the smell of the charcoal burning in the backyard was too strong, so he ordered that white charcoal be used instead for heating, and that it would be needed tomorrow."

The hall fell silent for a moment.

Immediately, Manager Zhang threw his head back and burst into laughter, slamming his hand on the table as he stood up:

"Hahaha! Just as I thought! These kinds of people, once they gain power, immediately forget the hardships they suffered before!"

"Which of the northern border soldiers didn't get through life by burning firewood and eating frozen bread? And he's complaining about the smell of charcoal?"

Shopkeeper Wang also burst out laughing:

"How can a mere pacification envoy be so pampered? He's clearly a sycophant who got the job by relying on his silver tongue."

Manager Liu shook his head. "No wonder they dare to accept gifts. These kinds of people only care about enjoying themselves."

"We just need to provide him with the best food and drink, and he'll naturally turn a blind eye."

Zheng Wenhan smiled and waved his hand: "It seems that you all don't need to worry."

"This man has no ambition and only seeks comfort. As long as we go along with him and make him look good, he will not cause us any trouble."

"We'll post a notice tomorrow, so the whole county knows that grain prices are no less than two hundred coins. Let's see how he handles this."

Manager Li listened to the laughter of the crowd, but remained seated in his chair, his fingers unconsciously tapping the table.

His lips moved slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't speak.

Manager Zhang rose and raised his glass, "Come! Let's toast our new magistrate with tea instead of wine!"

Teacups clinked, and the room erupted in laughter.

Zheng Wenhan took a sip of tea and put the cup down with a smile on his lips.

When he walked out of the Zhang residence, the night wind was strong, and his robes fluttered in the wind.

I looked up at the sky; the stars and moon were not shining, and the clouds hung low.

Without thinking further, he climbed into the sedan chair and ordered his men to return to the county government office.

Tomorrow's government affairs will proceed as usual; there's no need to discuss civil matters again.

Shopkeeper Wang and Shopkeeper Liu boarded the car side by side, chatting and laughing all the way.

When Manager Zhang saw the guests off and turned back to his residence, he began to give orders to sweep up the county's grain reserves that very night.

As soon as it was light, the gate to the side courtyard of the county government office opened.

Tang Shun had finished washing up and was dressed in a coarse cloth short coat, the attire of an ordinary commoner.

Xie Anzhi, Cheng Feng, Wei Zong, and Zhou Ren received orders from Tang Shun to go out and search the streets today.

The group left the county government office, dressed simply and walking steadily, without soldiers or disturbing the officials.

After walking about a mile from the county government office, the number of pedestrians gradually increased.

Groups of refugees squatted against the wall, children nestled in their mothers' arms, sucking their fingers, while old people sat on the steps in front of their shops, leaning on their canes, their eyes vacant.

Several others lay on the ground, their bellies bulging, their fate unknown.

This person was so hungry that they ate clay.

In the corner, a man was half-squatting with his hands against the wall, while his wife behind him was stirring between his buttocks with a wooden stick, forcibly stirring out the hardened excrement.

This is because they ate tree bark to fill their stomachs, but had difficulty excreting.

Not far away, a crowd had gathered in front of the rice shop, making a lot of noise.

"Two hundred coins a bushel? Last year I sold firewood for rice for only twenty coins! During the autumn harvest, it was only fifteen coins. This isn't the price of grain, it's the price of life!" an old farmer roared, slamming his fist on the counter.

"Yes, you grain merchants are utterly treacherous!"

"Two hundred coins? You really dare to ask for that? Who can afford it!"

The shopkeeper stood behind the counter, spreading his hands, "We are all from Lingzhou. Our boss also wants to sell cheaply, even if we don't make a profit, just so that everyone can have something to eat."

"But the imperial court sent down an envoy to appease the people. The envoy issued an order that any rice shop that dared to sell rice for less than two hundred coins would be punished according to the law."

"It's still two hundred coins now, but it'll be two hundred and twenty coins by noon!"

"If you don't believe me, go and report it to the authorities!"

The people's expressions changed drastically, and they began to discuss the matter amongst themselves.

"What? This is actually the imperial envoy's intention?"

"This isn't a savior imperial envoy; this is a deadly treacherous official!"

"I saw that imperial envoy from afar yesterday, and I heard they even guaranteed to lower grain prices!"

"Isn't this forcing people to starve to death? I heard that the imperial envoy came from Datong and even fought against the Xiongnu. How can he be more ruthless to his own people than the barbarians?"

"He's a complete scoundrel! The imperial court sent this kind of trash to see us all die out, didn't they?"

"Why don't we go straight to the county government and demand justice?"

"Yes, we must seek justice! We must ask that imperial envoy what his true intentions are!"

"But...it would offend the officials..."

"We're all going to starve, what's there to be afraid of!"

Curses rose and fell, and some even wanted to go to the county government to question them.

Tang Shun and his group, standing not far away, heard everything clearly.

Cheng Feng's face darkened. "I'll go and arrest them all!"

But Wei Zong held him back tightly.

Xie Anzhi walked beside Tang Shun, listening to the people's discussions. The anger he had managed to suppress the night before surged up again.

He turned to look at Tang Shun and couldn't help but ask, "Lord Tang, you've heard what the people are saying. You said you have a way to lower grain prices."

He spoke slowly and deliberately, seemingly asking a question, but in reality, he was interrogating, "May I ask, Your Excellency, what brilliant plan do you have? Could you enlighten this humble servant?!"