Feng Zhen's ability to control public opinion was not as good as Wei Ci's, but it was still far beyond the standard of this period.
By the time Yang Tao and the others realized that something was wrong, the rumor had already spread like wildfire. The common people were in a state of panic, and the rice stores were all sold out. Taking advantage of this, the vendors doubled the already steadily rising price of the grain.
"Bastard, why didn't you report this earlier?"
Yang Tao rarely got angry. He was indeed open-minded, but he wasn't a coward who would remain silent after being bullied.
Not only was he angry at Yang Si and Feng Zhen for doing it secretly, but he was also angry at his subordinates for not doing anything. The people were making such a big fuss, but the relevant news had only just reached him. Public opinion had already formed, and it would be difficult to extinguish it now.
The official who was scolded by Yang Tao felt wronged, but he was also innocent.
"The enemy is very cunning. Not only did they hire beggars and refugees to spread rumors, but they also sent people to spread rumors in teahouses, restaurants, and other places. They often used the name of relatives to trick the people into trusting them. Unfortunately, those ignorant people are easy to deceive, they easily believe a few words. "
The official didn't dare to exonerate himself, so he could only divert his anger and blame the enemy and the ignorant people.
It wasn't spring plowing or autumn harvest. Many people were bored and had so much time that they could scratch lice.
They could happily make up a small widow gossip for half a month, let alone the rumors that Feng Zhen had spread.
By the time their people found out, the number of people who knew about the rumors was already very large. The rumors couldn't be controlled at all.
Yang Tao's face was gloomy. He saw through the man's tricks, but he couldn't really put all the blame on him.
Qian Su said, "My lord, the most important thing now is to find a way to stop people from talking. If the rumors spread further, not only will the people be anxious, but the soldiers will also be affected. In comparison, we can ignore the tricks of Feng Zhen and the others. "
As long as Feng Zhen and the others didn't send troops to attack, those provocations and tricks could be ignored.
Yang Tao rubbed his brows and asked Qian Su, "How?"
If it was only a small group of people, it would be fine to catch them and punish them harshly, but not now.
Yang Tao was not good at dealing with these kinds of things, so he usually let Yan Lin or Qian Su deal with them.
"It's a pity that Shaoyang isn't here …" Qian Su sighed. Yan Lin was training and inspecting the armaments at the mouth of the river, so he probably didn't know about this yet. He continued, "I have an idea. I wonder if it will work. Why don't you listen to it, my lord?"
Yang Tao said, "Look at the situation now. If you have a solution, just say it."
He was very dependent on Yan Lin, but that didn't mean that he would only focus on Yan Lin and ignore the other officials. He wouldn't let them down.
Qian Su said, "Since the enemy has spread the rumor that our army is running low on supplies and fodder, why don't we show them that the rumor will collapse on its own?"
Yang Tao froze for a moment, then said awkwardly, "Our army's provisions are indeed insufficient. How can we show it to outsiders?"
Qian Su smiled and said, "To confuse the enemy, it's nothing more than a deceptive method. It's fine as long as it can calm people's hearts."
They were indeed out of money and food, but it didn't stop them from faking it.
Thus, on the second day, a thousand-strong grain transport team appeared on the street.
Some of the wooden rice jars were carried on their shoulders, while others were piled on top of carts and pulled by people.
The people were intrigued by the scene and craned their necks to get a closer look.
Just then, a cook accidentally sprained his ankle, and the wooden rice jar on his shoulder fell to the ground. The opening was knocked open, and the food inside spilled all over the ground. The centurion lashed his whip on the cook's body. The cook cried out in pain and rolled on the ground.
"Hurry up and put away the food! When will we be able to store this batch of grain in the granary? "
The cook knelt down and begged for mercy. He hurriedly put the scattered food back into the wooden bucket, resealed the opening, and carried it back on his shoulder with the help of others.
Whether it was the wooden rice jars on the cook's shoulders or the rice jars piled high on top of the carts, they were all heavy.
This could be deduced just by looking at the heavy footsteps of the cook and the wheel marks on the cart.
The people who were watching the scene were speechless.
"Didn't they say that the army was so poor that they couldn't even cook? Where did all this food come from?"
"This batch of food must be at least ten thousand dans, right?"
"Those rumors must have been deliberately spread by Liu Xi in an attempt to shake the army's morale …"
The people who said these things were all spies that Qian Su had arranged in advance. The surrounding people would only go along with them.
After several batches of food were shipped, the rumor that Yang Tao was short of food was temporarily suppressed.
When Feng Zhen heard this, he couldn't help but sneer.
Yang Si laughed. "I wonder who came up with this idea. It's really bold. Isn't he afraid of being exposed in front of everyone?"
If Feng Zhen and the others had received the news in time, they might have sent people over to cause a ruckus and knock over the wooden rice jars.
They wanted to see if these jars full of rice were filled with real food!
What a pity —
Yang Si and the others found out much too late. Yang Tao had already suppressed the rumors.
Feng Zhen said, "If Yang Tao is afraid of even this little risk, we don't have to fight with him, lest we lower our standards."
No scheme was truly unsolvable or flawless. Even the best plan had a certain amount of risk.
Qian Su could react in such a short time. Who could say that he didn't do a good job?
Yang Si laughed. "If there's a chance, we must recruit this person and make him collude with Zixiao."
Wei Ci was good at manipulating public opinion, and Qian Su was also good at crisis management. With the two of them working together, they could even clear their name.
Feng Zhen said sarcastically, "If Yang Tao doesn't fall, do you still want to recruit people who are useful to him?"
Yang Si said, "Then we'll think of a way to make Yang Tao fall!"
Feng Zhen said, "Yang Tao's weakness right now is the provisions, military supplies, and horses. The latter are easy to deal with, but the former is not easy to deal with. "
Calculating the time, there was still some time before the autumn harvest. Feng Zhen wanted to make a big bet.
Yang Si asked him, "What are we betting on?"
Feng Zhen said, "That Yang Tao's provisions won't last until the autumn harvest."
Previously, when the aristocrats were throwing flirtatious glances at them, a few aristocrats who owned countless fertile fields revealed some key information — Yang Tao had sent people to borrow provisions from them, and the amount was quite large. These aristocrats were also shrewd. They knew that the so-called borrowing of provisions could not be returned. They didn't think highly of Yang Tao, so they simply refused. In order to win Feng Zhen's trust, they used this matter to belittle Yang Tao.
Yang Si understood Feng Zhen's plan.
"You mean to lure Yang Tao's troops to intercept the provisions?"
Feng Zhen nodded. "That's exactly what I mean!"
Yang Si said, "There are many shrewd people under Yang Tao's banner. They may not be easily fooled."
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