Meng Hun listened carefully, but in the end, he still didn't understand what she meant.
Jiang Pengji continued to speak tirelessly.
"I'm afraid you don't know that because of the drought in the surrounding counties and counties, many people have no choice but to become bandits and hide in the deep mountains near Hejian County. In recent days, bandits have been raiding houses more frequently. If there's a riot, the people will definitely be uneasy. "
Meng Hun vaguely understood and asked, "Langjun, are you worried that the people will be in chaos and the bandits will take the opportunity to rebel?"
She nodded, but then slowly shook her head. "You're only half right. You haven't mentioned the other half, the most important part."
Meng Hun didn't understand. He was just a crude person. Even if he was meticulous, his brain couldn't compare to those black-hearted people.
"If the people's hearts are in chaos, how do you think they will react?"
Jiang Pengji guided him until a look of realization appeared on his face. Then she continued.
"Food is the most important thing to the people. No matter when or where, filling their stomachs is the most important thing for the people. However, it had only been a month since the spring ploughing had ended. If news of this matter were to spread, they would have to wait for the summer planting, and it would be far from the autumn harvest. The farmers spent more than half of their harvest last year. What do you think will happen if someone deliberately spreads rumors, such as that the army will spread to Hejian County? "
Meng Hun's mouth and tongue were dry as if there was a fire burning in his throat. He said with some uncertainty, "If that's the case, the people will definitely rush to buy rice to prevent the war from spreading. When the time comes, they won't have enough to eat … and the rice merchants will naturally take advantage of the situation to raise the price and make a fortune."
When he left Meng County, the price of rice had already soared to five to six times the usual price. Even with such a high price, the demand was still not enough.
It was easy to imagine how the profit-seeking merchants would make use of this opportunity to make a fortune.
The price of grain could soar from five to six times the original price to more than ten times, or even dozens of times!
"More than that. You seem to have forgotten how many bandits there are around Hejian County … They don't have food, so they rely on robbing and robbing to survive. How were they going to survive when the war broke out? It's impossible for us to buy from the rice merchants. We can only rob the commoners … "
Hearing this, Meng Hun was completely stunned.
He was also born in poverty and had tasted hunger before. He had even seen people who were so hungry that they dug up grass and tree roots to eat.
If he couldn't even dig up grass or tree roots, he would go and eat something called Guanyin clay, causing his stomach to become as big as a bucket and causing him to explode to death.
Even worse, they would steal other people's children. If someone starved to death, their corpse would be eaten by others instead of being buried.
Hejian County looked prosperous, but there were many hidden dangers in the dark.
Meng Hun and the others followed Meng Liang to Hejian County. They hid in the deep mountains and forests. During that time, they encountered some traces of bandits.
However, he did not want to alert the enemy, nor did he want to increase his losses, so he deliberately avoided them.
Now that he thought about it, he felt a chill run down his spine.
Because they were unfamiliar with the place and the people, they did not dare to go deep into the forest. They only moved around or hunted within a certain range.
But in such a place, Meng Hun found the traces of more than one group of bandits. What did this mean?
It meant that the seemingly peaceful Hejian County was now surrounded by bandits!
Normally, those fugitives would exercise some restraint. Even if they robbed houses, they didn't dare to go too far and kill people.
But if there was a civil war in Meng County, Cang Prefecture, what would those bandits do?
They needed to survive, they needed food, and they needed to make a fortune during the chaos. Whenever there was a civil war, the government would not be able to control them.
If that happened, would they still behave themselves like they usually did?
Meng Hun did not know what the butterfly effect was, but he knew that if Hejian County became like that, he had a lot to do with it.
For a moment, he seemed to be speechless and could not say a word.
The other subordinates also fell into silence. They all came from poor families and had suffered a lot. How could they not understand?
Jiang Pengji sighed and said, "But I have a way to force down the price of food. Maybe it can ease the situation a little."
Meng Hun suddenly looked up and stared at her. After a long time, he finally said something.
"What do you plan to do, Langjun? Is there anything I can do for you? "
She raised her hand and pinched between her eyebrows tiredly. She seemed to be exhausted.
"I originally wanted to buy some food from Hu County. You know that my father is the County Chief of Hu County. That place has been well managed by him. The drought has been greatly alleviated by using underground water. Now Hu County is a thousand miles of fertile land and there is a surplus of food every year. "
Meng Hun nodded with yearning and agreed. "I often hear merchants talking about this. They say that Hu County used to be empty and full of starving people. But after Chief Liu took office, the situation has been getting better and better. Now it is a place that people yearn for. "
Speaking of this, he paused for a moment and said awkwardly, "You're trying to alleviate the food shortage in Hejian County with rice from Hu County. This is indeed a good thing, but you're still young and don't have much money with you. Even if Chief Liu agrees with you … I'm afraid that the money and effort you'll spend will be incalculable. Moreover … you might even arouse the jealousy of others …"
It was not easy to be a philanthropist. The Chief of Hejian County might not want to see such a good thing that could win the people's hearts.
Jiang Pengji said helplessly, "What you said is right. But if I don't do it, should I just stand by and watch?"
Meng Hun was stumped by her question and was momentarily speechless.
She continued, "If there was a better source of rice, why wouldn't I do it … But, who would be willing to be so generous? Who would have so much rice in their warehouse? In today's world, everyone looks out for themselves. Who would be willing to help the people? "
The questions stunned all the men in the room. They … they could not think of a solution either.
At that moment, the young man whom Jiang Pengji thought was cute suddenly had an "I got it" expression on his face.
He pointed at Meng Liang, who was still struggling, and stammered, "He … he … he can do it!"
Everyone was dumbfounded. They looked like they were saying, "Are you kidding me?"
If Meng Liang had a good heart, would the County Chief have been forced into such a desperate situation?
Jiang Pengji understood immediately before they could react, but she was still hesitant.
Meng Hun saw her expression and knew that she had an idea, but she was too embarrassed to say it.
"If you have any good ideas, you can tell me. If I can be of use, I will not refuse."
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
