On the evening of the twenty-seventh day of the tenth month, in the capital, a grand banquet was held in the home of Grand Secretary Shen Yicheng.
There were many people attending the banquet, such as the Duke of Great Britain, the Duke of Dingguo, the Marquis of Yongkang, the Marquis of Taining, the Marquis of Wuding, and so on. These were people who had stood on Shen Yicheng's side in the coup d 'état and helped him clean up the Emperor's faction. Now, they were naturally meritorious officials under Shen Yicheng's rule.
In any case, they had all rendered meritorious service.
Naturally, the so-called 'grand' banquet was far from being truly grand. At the very least, it couldn't compare to the grand banquet hosted by the emperor. Strictly speaking, it was just a private banquet. However, because it was hosted by the prime minister and the actual ruler of the empire, Shen Yichuan, it had a special meaning.
Every noble who had been invited knew very well why Shen Yicheng had invited them to this banquet.
It was because of the price of goods in the capital.
After the Grand Canal was sealed, the capital's source of food and other goods had been cut off. This year's autumn harvest in the north had been a major failure, and the north simply couldn't replenish its own food. It could only be conscripted from the south through the Grand Canal. But in a sudden war, after a batch of food had arrived, the route to the Grand Canal had been cut off.
Xiao Ruxun had sent his navy to cut off the route to the Grand Canal. Not only food, but many of the special goods and luxury goods of Jiangnan were also gone. The capital's resources instantly became scarce, and the prices of many things began to silently rise.
Ever since the nobles had been kept in captivity, they had not been completely without profit. At the very least, they had swallowed up the capital barracks, and they were all experts at living off their salaries. Besides that, other than Zhang Cong and Zhang Juzheng who had attacked their businesses, the other civil officials had not done anything to them. Their businesses were spread throughout the capital and the surrounding towns, and in terms of making money, these people were also experts at it.
They had their own supply channels, and even though the Grand Canal had been cut off, they could still get supplies from other sources. The common people and officials did not have this, and when some of the products that were in high demand ran out of stock, they began to raise their prices to make money.
From daily necessities to consumer goods to luxury goods, even food, which Shen Yicheng had banned, began to rise in price.
After Li Hualong led his troops to the south, Shen Yicheng had set a rule with them. They could raise the price of ordinary consumer goods and luxury goods as much as they wanted, but rice and salt were not allowed to rise in price. Other than that, Shen Yicheng did not care.
On the surface, they agreed, but everyone knew that rice and salt were essential to the human body. Rice and salt were the most profitable things. At this time, if they didn't sell rice to earn money but instead sold luxury goods, wasn't there something wrong with their brains?
This had violated Shen Yicheng's taboo. Shen Yicheng would not allow them to raise the price of rice at will. He had to maintain the stability of the price of rice. Only with the stability of the price of rice could he ensure the stability of the capital. If the price of rice was not stable, he, Shen Yicheng, would die without a burial.
Now that the price of rice had doubled, the hearts of the people in the capital began to waver. Be it the commoners or the scholars, they began to express their dissatisfaction with Shen Yicheng. They felt that they would soon be unable to afford rice, and if this continued, they would die.
However, the nobles did not seem to care. Following Li Hualong's defeat, they seemed to be even more unbridled.
At this moment, all of them were eating, drinking, and playing merrily. They did not have the slightest concern for Shen Yicheng who was sitting on the main seat and silently drinking.
Zhang Weixian and Xu Wenbi, who were sitting at the same table as Shen Yicheng, were paying attention to Shen Yicheng's expression. Seeing Shen Yicheng's calm expression as he slowly ate and drank, they slightly relaxed. However, it did not matter. Even if Shen Yicheng were to fall out with them, they still had a way to protect themselves.
"Come, Duke Ying, Duke Ding, this old man toasts the two of you."
Shen Yicheng suddenly raised his cup and toasted Zhang Weixian and Xu Wenbi. The two were stunned for a moment before they quickly smiled and raised their cups.
"We don't dare, we don't dare. We should be the ones toasting the Grand Secretary."
"That's right, that's right. We should be toasting the Grand Secretary and thanking him for taking care of us!"
Zhang Weixian and Xu Wenbi laughed.
Shen Yicheng smiled and drank the wine in his cup in one gulp.
"Hehehe, this is what this old man should do. If not for the help of the two Dukes, this old man would not be able to eradicate the evil and protect the safety of the Daming Dynasty. Thanks to the help of the two Dukes, the Daming Dynasty can be as prosperous as it is today. The country is peaceful and the people are at peace."
Shen Yicheng's words seemed to have a hidden meaning.
So, how could the world be prosperous and the people be at peace?
Xu Wenbi and Zhang Weixian looked at each other and smiled again.
"That's right, that's right. Thanks to the Grand Secretary's governance, the Daming Dynasty can be as prosperous and the people are at peace."
Xu Wenbi gave Shen Yicheng another cup of wine. Shen Yicheng gave a faint smile and put down the cup as if he did not intend to drink this cup of wine.
"Duke Ding's words make this old man ashamed. The Daming Dynasty can be prosperous and the people are at peace. This is this old man's lifelong ambition and also His Majesty's expectations. This old man knows that this is not easy, but as long as we work together, there is hope. What does the two Dukes think?"
Shen Yicheng looked at Xu Wenbi and Zhang Weixian.
The two of them stilled and then agreed, "Of course, of course."
"That's right, of course. So, since we all hope that the Daming Dynasty can be prosperous and the people are at peace, then why do the two Dukes have to go against the rules that this old man and the two of you have set and raise the price of grain?"
The smile on Shen Yicheng's face did not diminish. It was as calm as if he was asking if they had eaten lunch today.
It was coming, the main show was coming!
Xu Wenbi and Zhang Weixian knew that this was Shen Yicheng's goal. Everything else was fake.
The wine table continued to be filled with toasts and bold words, but in the eyes of Xu Wenbi and Zhang Weixian, this was all background noise.
"Hahahaha, the Grand Secretary worries too much. When did we raise the price of grain? Our thinking is that if the grain in the capital continues to decrease and the people's buying speed does not slow, then there will be a day when the grain is used up. If the grain is used up at that time, wouldn't it be bad? "
Xu Wenbi spouted nonsense.
"Yes, yes, we adjusted the grain price appropriately to make the people feel that the price of grain has increased. Thus, they will save on grain and reduce the speed of grain consumption. This will allow the grain in the capital to last longer and give the Grand Secretary more time to open the canal. We are doing all of this for the Grand Secretary's ambition!"
Zhang Weixian's expression did not change as he continued to speak nonsense.
It seemed to have a lot of meaning.
Even Shen Yicheng had to admit that what they said sounded a bit true.
"Then you're saying that this old man was lacking in consideration?"
Shen Yicheng smiled as he looked at Zhang Weixian and Xu Wenbi.
Zhang Weixian and Xu Wenbi smiled amiably.
"Not at all, not at all. The Grand Secretary is very busy every day. This kind of small matter is something we should do."
"That's right, that's right. The Grand Secretary is already very busy dealing with the affairs of the country. We can't bear to see the Grand Secretary still working so hard at his seventy years of age, so we are doing what we can."
The more Shen Yicheng listened, the more he wanted to laugh. He felt as if he owed them a very large favor.
However, the reason why Shen Yicheng wanted to talk to them was naturally not just about the grain price. The grain price could be discussed, but there were some things that could not be discussed.
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