"Haha! What's so difficult about this? That Wang Xiaodong's mother has been suffering from chest pain for a long time. I told him my identity and told him that I am familiar with Sun Daozhang and he can treat his mother's illness.
Then I told him that Shopkeeper Jin broke the rules by lending money and is currently being investigated by the imperial court. If he cooperates with us, he will be fine and can even get Sun Daozhang to treat his mother's illness. If he insists on following Shopkeeper Jin to the end, then he will go to jail with Shopkeeper Jin! "
In the back hall of the Lantian County Yamen, Cheng Chumo smiled proudly when he heard Li Ke's question. Then, he briefly explained the cause and effect of the incident.
Hearing this, Li Ke couldn't help but praise, "Chou Ox, you moved him with emotion, reason and even offered him benefits. Not bad, not bad! With this, that Wang Xiaodong should be on our side and we will have enough time to gather more evidence! "
"Heh! If you ask me, what evidence do we need to gather? Let's just capture Jin Wanfu and Zhang Xiongfei and interrogate them. They will definitely confess ~! "
Cheng Chumo curled his lips and said disdainfully.
"Absolutely not!"
Li Ke shook his head, "We left the capital this time to exterminate the locusts. My Imperial Father did not give us the right to arrest people without permission. Even if we find out that Jin Wanfu broke the rules by lending money to Zhang Xiongfei who wanted to hoard food and inflate the price of food, we still need to borrow the power of Xinfeng County yamen! Let's wait for a while and ask for Yamachō's opinion ~! "
Cheng Chumo shrugged his shoulders indifferently and said, "Alright! It's up to you! Oh, someone is coming! "
Towards the end, Cheng Chumo's expression changed slightly because he heard footsteps coming from outside.
Hearing this, Li Ke sat down and his expression returned to normal.
"Your Highness, the food and soup are all prepared! Do you want to send it over to Marquis Yong 'an and the children now? "
Wang Dezheng walked in and saw that there was another Cheng Chumo in the room. He was stunned for a moment before he cupped his hands and reported to Li Ke.
Li Ke nodded and said, "Mm! Send it over now! County Magistrate Wang, take the yamen runners and follow me to deliver food outside the city! "
Wang Dezheng bowed and said, "This official obeys!"
Not long after, five ox carts drove out of the Xinfeng County yamen. Each cart carried a large wooden bucket filled with food prepared by County Magistrate Wang. Li Ke led County Magistrate Wang and a dozen yamen runners straight to the South City Gate.
At this moment, the atmosphere in the city was completely different from when Li Ke and the others had first arrived. The news of the Sky Pheasant Brigade coming to Xinfeng City to exterminate the locusts had already spread. After the citizens heard the news, they immediately rejoiced. The oppressive atmosphere caused by the locusts suddenly disappeared without a trace.
"Have you heard? The Marquis of Yong 'an has brought the Sky Rooster Brigade to our Xinfeng County to exterminate the locusts! "
"Really?"
"How could it be fake? Go to the farmland outside the city and take a look. There are countless flocks of chickens brought over by the Marquis of Yong 'an everywhere! "
"Good boy! That's great! Our Xinfeng City's crops can be saved! I heard that the Sky Pheasant Brigade used less than two days to exterminate all the locusts in Lantian City. Doesn't that mean that the locusts in our Xinfeng City will also be exterminated in two days! "
"No, no, no! It should be even faster! I just heard a kid from the Han Family Village say that the Sky Pheasant Brigade brought a total of three hundred and ten thousand chickens. It's more than double the previous number. That means that the locusts in our county will be exterminated today! "
"Ah? That's great! The price of food in the city has risen these past two days. I thought that a food shortage was coming! "
"Heh! Let's see how those unscrupulous grain merchants in the city will continue to raise the price of food! "
"That's right! That's right! "
"Sigh! Let's not talk about it anymore! I still have a dozen chickens at home. I'll go back and chase them out of the city to help the Marquis of Yong 'an and the rest exterminate the locusts! "
"I have thirty chickens at home. I'll go and chase them out too!"
Although the citizens were overjoyed, there were some who were upset.
"What? The Marquis of Yong 'an brought the Sky Pheasant Brigade to Lantian City? And the size of the Sky Pheasant Brigade has doubled from before? "
West of the city, in the back hall of Zhang Ji Grain Store.
After listening to the servant's report, Zhang Xiongfei's old face suddenly became extremely gloomy. He slammed the table heavily and stood up.
"Yes! Master! Now that the news has spread in the county, should we still go to Chang 'an City to buy food? "
The servant said carefully with a bitter face.
"Buy my ass!"
Zhang Xiongfei's face darkened. "The locust plague is about to be exterminated. Buy so much food to feed the rats? Get out! Get out! "
"Yes! Master! "
Seeing that Zhang Xiongfei was angry, the servant hurriedly scrambled out of the room.
"Three hundred thousand chickens. That means that the Sky Pheasant Brigade will be able to exterminate all the locusts in Xinfeng County in less than a day. In some small counties, they can even clear two counties in a day. Even if there are hundreds of affected counties, the Sky Pheasant Brigade will be able to clear at least twenty of them in half a month. There will definitely be no more locust plague near Chang 'an City. If we want to sell our food at a high price, we can only go to other places. That's too much of a loss!"
Inside the room, Zhang Xiongfei muttered to himself with a gloomy face.
After a moment, he suddenly remembered the two Hu girls that he had given to Jin Wanfu in the morning. He slapped his thigh and said angrily, "It's over, it's over! This old man had just borrowed six thousand strings of cash from the Yanhuang Bank at double interest. I thought that I could use this money to make a huge profit. Now, does this count as losing the wife and losing the army? Sigh! My two delightful beauties! What a pity! What a pity! "
Saying that, Zhang Xiongfei hammered his chest with a face full of heartache.
He did not know that there was an even bigger problem waiting for him!
.....
"This official greets Marquis Yong 'an! For Marquis to bring the Sky Pheasant Brigade to exterminate the locusts in Xinfeng County, this official and the fifty thousand people in the county are extremely grateful to Marquis! "
In a village outside of Xinfeng County, after Li Ke and his group found the 'main army', they hurriedly distributed food to the children. Wang Dezheng came before Li Zexuan and bowed sincerely.
Li Zexuan nodded expressionlessly and said, "This Marquis brought the Sky Pheasant Brigade to exterminate the locusts. Firstly, it was because of the Emperor's orders. Secondly, it was because I could not bear to see the common people being poisoned by the locusts. However, this Marquis heard that the price of grain in Xinfeng County has recently reached five copper coins per dan. County Magistrate Wang, can you explain this?"
Saying that, he stared at Wang Dezheng with a burning gaze. Clearly, Li Ke had already told him everything that they had found in Xinfeng County.
County Magistrate Wang's face was instantly covered in a few drops of sweat. It was unknown whether it was because the weather was too hot or because he was too nervous. He hurriedly cupped his hands and said,
"This official did not manage the county well and caused the appearance of profiteers who took advantage of the locusts to raise the price of grain. This official has let down the imperial court and the Emperor. After returning to the city, this official will write a letter of apology to the imperial court!"
Li Zexuan coldly said,
"As the County Magistrate of Xinfeng County, the price of grain in the county has skyrocketed. Of course, you cannot escape the crime of negligence! However, the most important thing right now is to find out which grain merchants took advantage of the locusts to raise the price of grain! The imperial court has repeatedly ordered all the counties to stabilize the price of grain. Xinfeng County is less than a hundred li away from Chang 'an. However, on the third day of the locusts' plague, the price of grain had already risen. If this Marquis had come a little later, would the price of grain have become ten copper coins per dan, or even a hundred copper coins per dan? "
County Magistrate Wang cupped his hands and said, "Marquis is right! This official will return to the city to investigate the merchants who raised the price of grain! "
"Wait!"
County Magistrate Wang turned to leave. However, Li Zexuan stopped him and said meaningfully, "It's not scary for grain merchants to raise the price of grain. What's scary is that officials and merchants collude with each other to raise the price of grain! Therefore, there is no need for you to investigate this matter. This Marquis does not have the authority nor the time to investigate. Before the sky turns dark today, there will be officials from the Ministry of Personnel coming to investigate this matter. I hope that County Magistrate Wang can cooperate with them! "
According to Li Ke and Cheng Chumo's information, Li Zexuan felt that there was something wrong with this Wang Dezheng. There was a need to investigate this matter. However, Li Zexuan was right. They only went to the counties to eliminate the locusts. Li Er did not give them the authority to investigate the officials and merchants in the counties. Even if they had the authority, Li Zexuan did not have the time to waste here. Therefore, he planned to send this matter back to Lantian County via telegram and let Li Tai report it to Li Er.
When Wang Dezheng heard this, his face instantly turned pale. He hurriedly said,
"Marquis, please forgive me! This official has been busy with the disaster relief and neglected the soaring price of grain in the city. This official is guilty of negligence! Yes, it's Zhang Xiongfei. This time, he was the one who led the charge to raise the price of grain. This official's wife is his sister, so he has nothing to fear! However, this official dares to swear to the heavens that this official did not receive a single copper coin from Zhang Xiongfei! This lowly official has been wrongly accused! I hope that Marquis will investigate this matter properly! "
When Li Zexuan heard this, he nodded thoughtfully and said, "Ah! Whether or not you received any benefits is not up to you nor this Marquis to say. The officials from the Ministry of Personnel will investigate this matter thoroughly! However, since you are willing to tell this Marquis all this, you are quite honest. This Marquis will pass on your words to the imperial court! As for whether you are guilty or not, that will be up to the Emperor to decide! "
Wang Dezheng cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Marquis!"
At this moment, Li Ke quickly walked over and said, "Yamachō! There are many villagers over there, saying that they want to see you! "
Li Zexuan raised his eyebrows and asked, "See me? What do they want to see me for? "
Li Ke smiled and said, "Some of them are here to deliver food, some are here to thank you in person, and some are here to deliver chickens!"
"Deliver chickens?"
Li Zexuan could understand delivering food and thanking him in person, but the delivery of chickens made him unable to react.
"Oh! What Ke means is that the villagers want to send their chickens to the Sky Chicken Brigade to help catch locusts. When we are done with them, we will return them to them ~! "
Seeing Li Zexuan's puzzled expression, Li Ke quickly explained.
"Oh? There is such a thing? Let's go and take a look ~! "
When Li Zexuan heard this, he was very surprised. Although there were ninety thousand chickens in the Sky Chicken Brigade that came from the villagers of Lantian County, Xinfeng County was not Lantian County. The villagers here did not trust him as much as the villagers of Lantian County. Now that someone was willing to lend their chickens, it really surprised him.
The two of them walked towards the villagers not far away. County Magistrate Wang thought for a moment and followed them.
"Marquis is here!"
"This is the Marquis of Yong 'an! So young! "
"No wonder he is the son of a deity, he is so handsome!"
"If it was not for the Marquis of Yong 'an, my crops would have been ruined by the locusts! I want to kowtow to the Marquis of Yong 'an! "
When they saw Li Zexuan walking towards them, the villagers immediately became excited.
"Greetings, Marquis!"
When Li Zexuan was only four or five steps away from them, the villagers all bowed and greeted him.
Li Zexuan took a look. Good heavens, there were over a thousand people! It was currently noon, and these people most likely did not even have lunch before coming over to deliver food, chickens, and express their gratitude. He never thought that he would be so popular in Xinfeng County, and for a moment, he was overwhelmed by the unexpected favor!
"Don't be so courteous! Please rise! "
Li Zexuan hurriedly raised his hands and said in a clear voice.
"Marquis! You brought these children to help us exterminate the locusts, and we are extremely grateful. We just want to use some food to reward these children for their hard work. We hope that Marquis will not reject us! "
At this moment, a white-haired old man carrying a food basket stood out and said sincerely to Li Zexuan.
As soon as he said that, the rest of the villagers immediately shouted excitedly.
"That's right! Marquis! This is the chicken stewed by my wife, I hope it can nourish the children's bodies! "
"We also stewed eggs!"
"Marquis saved my crops, which means he saved my family of seven! This old man will kowtow to Marquis! I hope that Marquis will be safe and prosperous for the rest of his life! "
"I will also kowtow to Marquis, thank you Marquis for saving my family's 35 mu of crops!"
"Marquis! I have 30 chickens at home, do you think we can join the Sky Chicken Brigade to exterminate the locusts? "
"Marquis! I have 50 chickens at home, and I'm willing to lend them to you! It doesn't matter if we lose them! Please, Marquis, don't reject us! "
The villagers were all talking at once, and soon, there was a crowd of villagers kneeling in front of Li Zexuan. Among them, there were children of seven or eight years old, middle-aged people in their thirties and forties, and even old people in their sixties and seventies!
They were all people who had been in danger during the locusts' plague, and today, they were saved by Li Zexuan. No one could understand the joy and gratitude in their hearts. At this moment, they were willing to do anything for Li Zexuan!
Li Zexuan didn't like people kneeling to him. When the first old man was about to kneel to him, he had already reached out to stop him. However, he could only stop one person, but he couldn't stop hundreds and thousands of villagers!
Seeing that more and more people were kneeling to him, and the scene was getting noisier and noisier, Li Zexuan hurriedly circulated his vital energy and shouted, "Villagers! Listen to me! "
His loud and clear voice entered everyone's ears, and the excited villagers immediately quieted down. Li Zexuan continued, "Villagers, please get up first! This kid has just turned twenty years old. Many of you can be considered my elders. How can this kid bear such a big gift from all of you? You are not repaying me, you are shortening my lifespan! So, villagers, please get up quickly. Let's stand up and talk slowly! "
Hearing this, the villagers who were kneeling on the ground couldn't help but look at each other. After a while, they all stood up.
Seeing this, Li Zexuan couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief. To prevent the villagers from kneeling again, he quickly struck while the iron was hot and said, "Villagers, I am very grateful that you sent food to the children of Lantian County. However, as you can see, the children already have food. To avoid wasting it, I would like to ask the villagers to bring back the food you brought!"
"How, how can we do that?"
"That's right! The children have already eaten, they can eat more! "
The moment Li Zexuan finished speaking, the villagers were instantly dissatisfied.
Seeing this, Li Zexuan directly took a loudspeaker from Old Hu beside him and used his zhenqi to suppress the voices of the common people. He only heard him say loudly, "This is the first time I've heard of this.
He shouted, "I have extra food prepared. Villagers, please bring back the food you brought! However, you can keep the chickens you brought. Please mark the drumsticks of your chickens and register them with County Magistrate Wang. After that, they will be incorporated into the Sky Chicken Brigade. This Marquis will take them to other provinces and counties to exterminate the locusts. After the locust plague is quelled, this Marquis will definitely return all the chickens that I borrowed from you. If any of them are lost, this Marquis will pay double! On behalf of the people of other counties, I thank all of you for your help! "
.....
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