It was early autumn, and Luoyang was still hot and stuffy, but Danzhou was already in the midst of autumn. Almost half of Dan Province's territory was made up of mountains. Everywhere, the shade was like a canopy. Even during the hottest days of summer, it was not unbearably hot, much less early autumn. Therefore, even when the Imperial Censor closed the windows, the room did not feel stuffy.
The room was not stuffy, but Imperial Censor Shi's cheeks were flushed as if he was drunk, and his forehead was slick with sweat. Lying beneath him was the young woman he had met by chance on the river.
This young woman's surname was Xie, and her maiden name was Rudian. She was a merchant's wife, and her husband was doing business in the north. Now that the north was not doing well, she had to return to her hometown. Her husband stayed behind to take care of the aftermath, so she was the first to wait for her husband's arrival.
After becoming familiar with Imperial Censor Shi, they began to chat, such as how her family was infertile, how her husband doted on several concubines, and how he treated her coldly. Imperial Censor Shi sympathized with her. Xie Rudian also repeatedly displayed her talents in the four arts, all of which tickled Imperial Censor Shi's itch.
Imperial Censor Shi liked her dignified appearance and elegant temperament. He also pitied her for her outstanding talent and knowledge, but she was a beautiful woman with a short life. Under her tenderness, in just a few days, the two of them became lovers, and secretly communicated with each other. All that was left was the last layer of window paper that had not been poked through.
These days, Imperial Censor Shi did not neglect his official duties. He sent his family members to the surrounding villages to do temporary work, harvest the early ripening crops, and take the opportunity to chat with the villagers. Imperial Censor Shi knew that many things could not be hidden from the higher ups. If the higher ups wanted to investigate, they might not be able to find out anything, but the people below them already knew.
However, if you really wanted to investigate, those people would definitely not tell you, even if they were the ones who had suffered from it. You would have to leave, but they would have to live here for generations. Those heartless families were not rebelling, and you could punish one, but not the whole family. They would rather suffer some hardship than offend the powerful people in the villages. Through this method, he was able to find out the truth.
He also transformed himself into a grain merchant and visited several grain stores in the city. Gradually, he gained their trust and more or less understood the situation. Yesterday, the Imperial Censor had obtained a piece of conclusive evidence. In his great joy, he drank two more cups of wine and was momentarily unable to control himself. This young woman also had the intention to flatter him, so the two of them rolled around in a ball, like a pair of dewy mandarin ducks.
Once this layer of window paper was pierced through, the dry firewood and raging fire would be unstoppable.
At this time, Imperial Censor Shi saw that the little matron under him was charming and dignified, reserved and shy, giving off an indescribable feeling of beauty. He couldn't help but be aroused and bent down to hold her hot little face, sucking on her cherry lips and giving it a solid kiss.
Unknowingly, the Imperial Censor kicked off his underpants and tore off her undergarments, wanting to be the guest behind the curtain. Xie Rudian's soft, jade-like arms supported his chest and said, "The sky is not completely dark yet, it's so embarrassing, what should I do?"
The Imperial Censor panted and said, "Little Miss is so beautiful, I really can't wait any longer. Now the arrow is already on the bowstring, I have no choice but to release it. Miss, please look." As he said this, he straightened his lower body and pushed hard against the little matron's soft belly. The matron let out a cry and shyly covered her face, not saying anything more.
The Imperial Censor was delighted and put the shining white thighs on his shoulder. Looking at the thin red seam, he shook his head and sighed, "The fragrant grass is desolate, but it's also enchanting. It cuts one's bones, eats one's soul!" He exerted all his strength to push forward, and with two grunts, the clouds parted and the rain raged.
While they were in the heat of the moment, they heard a loud noise from the other side of the door, as the door was forcibly smashed open. Many people wearing black clothes and little hats rushed in with lanterns and torches in their hands. They heard one of them shouted, "What a lowly servant! No wonder I couldn't find you in your room, turns out you're having an illicit affair with someone! "
As soon as that person shouted, the Imperial Censor was so scared that his legs went limp. He hurriedly got down from the woman's body and saw two family members rushing in with lanterns. The one in the middle had three locks of long beard, his appearance was dignified, he was wearing a round neck robe with big sleeves and a soft horn cap on his head. He had an imposing manner and was really out of the ordinary.
The Imperial Censor thought that the woman's husband, who was doing business in the north, had come today. He was so embarrassed that his face turned red to his ears, he was too ashamed to show his face and could only grab a thin veil to cover his face. The woman rolled down the bed naked and knelt in front of the man dressed as a scholar. With tears in her eyes, she begged, "Ah Lang, please forgive me, it's not that I don't follow the ways of a woman, but he forced me to do it. I had no choice but to obey him …"
When the Imperial Censor heard this, he was startled and a thought flashed through his mind, "Immortal Leap!"
The Imperial Censor was furious and said, "Good! Good! Turns out you and your wife are experts in the art of immortal leap. You want to extort money from me? Do you know my identity? Do you believe that I won't punish you for extortion and framing an official and exile you two to three thousand miles away? "
The scholar with three locks of long beard was shocked and said, "You are an official? What kind of official are you? Since you've come to our prefecture, why don't you stay in a hotel but rent a room here? I'm the dignified governor of a prefecture, why would I do something like extortion and framing an official? "
The Imperial Censor was shocked and said in a daze, "Governor of a prefecture? You … you are … "
The scholar with three locks of long beard said, "I am the Provincial Governor of Danzhou, Li Junfeng!"
The Imperial Censor turned pale with fright and pointed at the woman who was kneeling naked on the floor and said her surname was Xie and her name was Feng Dian, "Then … then who is she?"
The scholar with three locks of long beard said, "That's my concubine. Because of my old wife's jealousy, she lives outside the prefecture. Why?"
The Imperial Censor looked at Provincial Governor Li and then at the woman with the surname Xie. The thin veil in his hand quietly slid down …
…
On the same night, at the Peng Prefecture. It was the same clear wind and clear moon, poetic and picturesque. However, a few figures quietly snuck into the Peng Prefecture's granary, as if they were doing some shady business. The ones who snuck into the Peng Prefecture's granary were Miss Gu Zhuting and her three elder brothers. They had already found out the situation of the Peng Prefecture's granary from Ke Zhao. Currently, Ke Zhao was under their protection and served as an important witness.
After walking around the Peng Prefecture for the past few days and verifying what Yang Fan had said before, Gu Zhuting finally understood why Yang Fan said grain was so important to a country. She also understood how these aristocratic families controlled or influenced the country's policies through grain.
They used their great wealth to buy grain during a good harvest year and sold it during a bad harvest year. This was only the simplest method to make a huge profit. Buying grain from an area with an abundance of grain and transporting it to an affected area where there was a food shortage to sell it could very well influence the anxious local authorities to make all kinds of decisions that were beneficial to them.
Transporting grain was easy to say, but other than the authorities, only they had the manpower and resources to do it. Even if the authorities did not shirk responsibility or engage in corruption, their procedures were not as simple as the aristocratic families, and their efficiency was not as fast.
Therefore, the only people the local authorities could rely on were the aristocratic families, and they would always be the only ones. This put them in an invincible position. As long as they did not want to rebel, the authorities could not take it by force. Everything had to be settled within the rules permitted by the country's laws.
In this way, how could the local authorities not compromise? The commoners who had no food to eat would rise up in revolt, and the consequences were more serious than anything else. Therefore, the aristocratic families who controlled the grain, to a certain extent, had the right to speak.
Furthermore, some areas mainly opened mines and set up factories, some mainly cultivated mulberry and silkworms, some mainly cultivated rapeseed, and some mainly cultivated fruits and vegetables, cane sugar, wine making, porcelain making, or fish and animal husbandry. These places had a large population, but their agriculture was not developed, and they relied heavily on imports of grain from other places.
Therefore, the aristocratic families who controlled the purchase, transportation, and sale of grain from upstream could control the price of grain. Every increase or decrease in the price of grain would directly affect the local standard of living, and indirectly affect the prices of the local industries.
Those who produced minerals would have to raise the price of minerals, those who produced oil would have to raise the price of edible oil, and those who produced fruits and vegetables, cane sugar, wine making, porcelain making, or fish and animal husbandry would have to raise their prices accordingly …
And if the price of clothing, accommodation, food, and trade all rose in price, then the price of the farmers selling grain, and the laborers transporting grain would naturally rise as well. Therefore, the price of grain itself would rise again. The price of grain would rise again, stimulating the prices of other industries to continue to rise. This vicious cycle would eventually get out of hand.
All of these changes were related to the national economy and the people's livelihood, and related to the stability of the world. How could the rulers turn a deaf ear to them? The rulers who turned a deaf ear to these problems, or the rulers who could not solve these problems, would eventually become an important cause of all kinds of social conflicts, and even lead to destruction.
In any aspect, if the decisions of the imperial court seriously affected the interests of the aristocratic families who controlled the economic lifeline of the country, and the agents they supported in the government could not stop the implementation of these decrees, they could use these economic means.
There was no obvious operator behind all of this, and its effect was real. This was what Li Taigong said: "The elephant is invisible, and the great sound is silent. It's there, but no one feels it. It's working, but no one thinks it's the result! "
And this was only one of the means the aristocratic families used to influence the imperial court. They supported the agents in politics, controlled the public opinion in culture, and controlled all kinds of industries closely related to the country's economy. Any one of these could have an impact on the imperial court.
Since ancient times, it was unknown how many talented and bold reformers were ultimately defeated, and their reputations were tarnished. It was all because of this kind of power. Of course, a powerful government could also use its political power to regulate and regulate when this kind of power came into play.
But in the end, no matter who won or lost, the winner would also suffer a great loss. This was a double-edged sword. Therefore, in the face of all kinds of conflicts, the whole society would mostly move forward through compromise, and rarely would it develop to the point of life and death. Even so, one could see how powerful this kind of power was.
"Ah Lang has this kind of power!"
Thinking of this, Gu Zhuting's heart surged. Of course, she didn't understand that this kind of power would never be determined by one or two people.
In the past, for example, when the reform of Emperor Yang of Sui affected the interests of the entire aristocratic families, there was no organization like the "Hall of Succession" at that time. It was the same choice of interests that made those aristocratic families choose the same means. In the end … this became an important factor in the destruction of the Great Sui.
In this world, the existence of the "Hall of Succession" made the first-class aristocratic families have a closer relationship. They could communicate and discuss many things, and this kind of power was stronger than before. But to make them reach an agreement, it was not something that could be decided by one or two people.
But there was no doubt that Yang Fan would be the one to unleash this demonic power if there was a need to do so at this moment. This was enough to make Gu Zhuting have the impulse to worship him. That was such a powerful force, and she … was beside the man who controlled this power.
"Unfortunately, that man is stingy to give me a little love."
Leaping over the high wall like a leopard cat, Gu Zhuting lightly landed on the ground. Her heart was slightly sour.
Gu Da didn't know what his little sister was thinking about. He vigilantly crouched on the ground, carefully observed for a moment, and pointed out: "The granary that Ke Zhao said might have a problem is over there."
Gu Zhuting calmly glanced over, and said: "Let's check the third granary from the left first!"
Since there could be a problem with all the granaries there, why should they start from the third granary from the left?
The Gu brothers didn't ask. They knew that their little sister was vigilant, and they couldn't compare to her in terms of intelligence. Since she said so, there must be a reason. So they gestured to each other, and the few of them turned into a few wisps of smoke, and slowly swept towards the granary.
…
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.
