As Xiao Ruxun's army fervently advanced toward the capital in the chilly winds, the capital, which was also in the chilly winds, did not have the same fervour.
On the tenth day of the tenth month, the capital was thrown into chaos by Li Hualong's defeat, and the capital was placed under martial law for the third time. Soldiers were everywhere, the common people were cautious, and even the scholars did not dare to act too arrogantly.
The pressure that the Embroidered Uniform Guards exuded also became greater. At every turn, there would be Embroidered Uniform Guards dressed in flying fish robes taking people away from the streets. Their ferocious demeanor made people feel indescribably terrified. However, this was only normal.
In recent days, the people of the capital clearly felt that the things they bought had become much more expensive. Not only had the price of oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar become more expensive, but even the most important food, rice, had become more expensive. Many small rice shops had closed, leaving only the larger shops that continued to operate.
From the end of September to the middle of October, the price of rice had doubled, which made many people feel very puzzled and dissatisfied. Even some scholars who lived a relatively poor life also felt dissatisfied, but they had no choice but to buy. If they didn't buy, they wouldn't be able to eat.
Compared to rice, the price of other things was also rising, rising stealthily, from five to ten to fifteen copper coins. It didn't seem like much, but it was rising every day. As a result, the people gradually realized that they didn't have enough savings. Although the martial law had been lifted, it was still a great hindrance to making a living.
The Beijing-Hangzhou Canal could not be operated, and there was no place to replenish supplies. Even the people who relied on their strength to make a living had no place to eat. Without a place to eat, this group of idle brawny men would cause trouble, and they would cause trouble every two or three days. In the end, three of their leaders had to be killed by a squad of Imperial Bodyguards before they could be pacified.
But even so, even if the most violent methods were used to suppress the unrest and discontent, the anger in the people's hearts would not disappear. It was only deeply hidden, but it still existed. Xiao Heng, who often patrolled the capital, was not unaware of this danger.
He was the one who led the Imperial Bodyguard to quell the trouble caused by the strong men. He saw the fear and cowardice of the people on the spot, but he also saw the anger hidden deep within them. He knew that all of this was temporary, but once the situation continued to worsen, it would get out of hand.
Ever since the martial law in the capital had been lifted on the fifteenth day of the tenth month, he had been constantly urging Shen Yicheng to immediately send the thirty thousand elites under Gansu Commander-In-Chief Da Yun to resist Xiao Ruxun's advance to the north, once more attempting to take the initiative and seize the strategic initiative instead of besieging the capital. But Shen Yicheng had never given a clear reply.
It was not until October 25th, which was the day Xiao Ruxun vowed to go on the northern expedition in Nanjing, that Shen Yicheng received Xiao Daheng.
"Grand Secretary, the current situation is extremely bad. The capital is getting more and more unstable. Although Your Holiness has ordered it, the price of goods is still rising uncontrollably, driven by those nobles and ministers. The country is in peril, but these bastards still want to profit from the calamity. How can we turn a blind eye?"
The moment he saw Shen Yicheng, Xiao Heng couldn't help but speak, his tone fierce and his words fierce.
He was truly unable to restrain his anger.
Shen Yichuan, who was bending over the table to comment on the official documents, was as calm as ever. He just silently looked at Boss Xiao and continued to comment on the official documents.
"Grand Secretary! We can't continue like this, or else even if Thief Xiao can't continue north, we'll still be trapped in the capital. Right now, Da Yun's thirty thousand Gansu soldiers are spending an enormous sum on food and drink every day, and the food reserves in the capital are dwindling by the day. If this continues, we won't be able to stabilize the price of goods! "
"I know."
Shen Yicheng calmly said, "Xia Qing, you're already so old, so how can you be so impatient? Isn't this sort of thing to be expected? You understand, and I understand, so what's the point of making a fuss about nothing? "
"Making a fuss about nothing?"
Xiao Heng was confused. "This is a major matter that concerns Daming's survival! Grand Secretary, we can't continue to let them continue, and we can't just leave those thirty thousand elites in the capital. We should immediately organize another army and head south to exterminate these thieves! "
"Exterminating thieves naturally has to be exterminated, but not now. Right now, you have other things to do."
As Shen Yicheng spoke, he took out a stack of invitations from a box to his right.
"Take this."
Shen Yicheng gave the invitations to Xiao Heng.
"This is?"
Xiao Heng looked at the stack of invitations and realized that they were all invitations to the meritorious officials of the capital, such as the Duke of Great Britain, the Marquis of Wuning, the Marquis of Tai Ning, the Marquis of Zhenyuan, the Marquis of Wuan, and the Marquis of Fengcheng.
"Grand Secretary, what are you doing?"
Xiao Heng looked in shock at Shen Yicheng.
"I'm treating them to dinner."
Shen Yicheng didn't raise his head. "I'm also going to discuss with them about stabilizing the prices. Isn't this what you want? I've been investigating the prices these days and found that these people are secretly manipulating the prices, so I asked them to come over and warn them to stabilize the prices. "
Seeing that Shen Yicheng was finally going to take action, Xiao Heng was a little relieved.
Although the current situation was dangerous, and Xiao Ruxun could send troops north to attack the capital at any time after defeating Li Hualong, the capital was not completely defenseless. After all, they still had the card of the emperor in their hands. No matter how powerful Xiao Ruxun was, he was just a subject. Unless he rebelled and proclaimed himself emperor, he had to be careful with this card.
It wasn't that the capital didn't have a chance. At least looking at Shen Yicheng's indifferent appearance, Xiao Heng believed that the capital still had a chance to make a comeback.
So Xiao Heng went door to door to visit these meritorious officials and told them that Shen Yicheng wanted to invite them to dinner and chat. The atmosphere was harmonious, and those who got the invitation said that they would definitely go. Then, after Xiao Heng left, they gathered at Zhang Weixian's house to discuss the reason why Shen Yicheng did this.
"Is it because we raised the prices, so he wants to beat us down?"
"It's very possible. This old guy has been saying that he doesn't allow us to raise the prices, and he will give us additional compensation, but I can't see where this compensation is. In this situation, we can earn as much as we can. If Xiao Ruxun really attacks, we can still spend money to buy our lives, right?" "That's right.
Who knew that Xiao Ruxun was so good at fighting and that Shen Yicheng was such a waste. I really thought that he was so powerful that he could protect us. Who knew that it was just a fake. Xiao Ruxun could escape from the capital alone. Now that he's coming with hundreds of thousands of troops, what can Shen Yicheng do? "
"No one in the Nine Sides will help him at all. How shrewd are those guys? Everyone knows that the general trend is in Xiao Ruxun's hands, and the emperor's restoration is almost certain. If we don't figure out the direction of the situation, when we die, who will explain it to us? "
"We didn't do anything good. Although we didn't support or oppose it, we at least tacitly agreed. Once the emperor is restored, if we don't spend some money, we'll find it hard to keep our current positions."
As the meritorious officials began to discuss their paths of retreat, Xu Wenbi silently sat at Zhang Weixian's side, giving him an extremely obscure look.
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