Three Kingdoms: From Hulaoguan to Global Hegemony

Chapter 64 The real reason for food shortage

Dong Zhuo said that there is a secret errand to be handed over to Liu Yu.

Although Liu Yu suspected that this so-called secret errand might be a testimonial, in order to win Dong Zhuo's trust, he could only pretend to be happy to accept it.

"Teacher, please tell me, I will definitely do my best!"

Dong Zhuo laughed with satisfaction after hearing the words, but this seemingly hearty laughter made Liu Yu hear the taste of conspiracy.

Dong Zhuo said after a while: "Mu Zhi should know about the food shortage in Luoyang!"

Liu Yu nodded after hearing this, and replied: "I heard from General Li Jue that several large granaries of the imperial court were exhausted, and when I entered the city, I also saw that all the grain stores in Dongshi had sold out plaques. .”

After Liu Yu finished speaking, he found that Dong Zhuo's face suddenly became extremely angry.

"Hmph! It is a fact that the imperial court's granary is exhausted, but the grain hidden in Luoyang's folks is actually very sufficient. Even if it supports the entire Luoyang city for half a year, there will be no problem."

Since the folks have food, why doesn't the imperial government allocate funds to buy it from the folks to supplement the army and the imperial court?
Liu Yugang wanted to ask why, but Dong Zhuo asked back.

"Muzhi must want to ask why the imperial court doesn't buy grain from the people! But do you know how high the grain price in Luoyang City is now?"

Grain and rice that used to cost a pound a catty can no longer be bought for a few hundred dollars.

Not only Luoyang City, but also the food prices in some surrounding counties have continued to rise after the war between the princes.

Some small counties have experienced famine due to the lack of reserves, and countless people died of starvation and disease.

The remaining surviving people had no choice but to move their families to the south, which also turned large tracts of fertile land into wasteland, and brought huge pressure on next year's grain harvest.

The people in Luoyang city still have some savings more or less, and it hasn't reached the point where they can't get rid of it for a while, but if the food price remains high, famine in the city may be inevitable.

But what surprised Liu Yu was that the famine was not caused by a lack of food, but by artificially raising food prices.

"Could it be... some evil businessman deliberately manipulated the price of grain?" Liu Yu asked angrily.

Dong Zhuo narrowed his eyes slightly and didn't answer. He just touched his nose habitually with his left hand. Those who knew him well knew that he wanted to kill someone.

But Liu Yu felt that those who took the opportunity to drive up food prices should be killed.

At this time Niu Fu stood up and said: "If it was done by evil merchants, I would have led the Feixiong Army to kill them all and get back the grain, but those grain merchants are actually just middlemen. They are responsible for collecting deposits and waiting for the real sellers Only after getting the money and feeling safe will the grain merchants go to the designated place outside the city to pick up the grain.”

Niu Fu also said that every time he led troops to investigate the matter, it was either because the other party got the news in advance and dispersed, or he could only catch some small shrimps who didn't know the details.

We can't find out the black hand behind it, but we can't kill all those middlemen. After all, they are the only channel for Luoyang's food supply at present.

In addition, from the mouths of those middlemen, it was learned that all the grain in Luoyang was bought by Mysterious Fu a few months ago and shipped out of Luoyang in batches, and the surrounding counties were also processed in the same way.

So Niu Fu suspects that someone maliciously hoarded grain in advance, and sold it back at a high price after the imperial government's granary was exhausted.

It's just that such a detailed arrangement may not be able to be controlled by ordinary people.

As for how the mysterious rich businessman judged that the granaries of the imperial court and the government might be exhausted?

You must know that a few months ago, the princes from all walks of life did not have an alliance.

And when the court's granary was exhausted, through what channel did the mysterious rich businessman know about it in the first place?

There is also the sale and purchase of a large amount of grain, whether it is transported out or into the city gate, there should be detailed records.

But Niu Fu didn't find any clues at all when he went to the four gates of Luoyang to investigate. Even the former captain of the city gate disappeared with his family a month ago.

Hearing this, Liu Yu's expression also became serious, and Liu Yu said: "It seems that people who manipulate food prices are likely to be involved by the imperial court or the military."

Dong Zhuo nodded approvingly, and said: "I have the same opinion as Muzhi, and I also feel that there must be officials from the imperial court behind the scenes. It's just that Niu Fu and I are in the Ming Dynasty, and I can't believe all the other Xiliang generals. That's why I want Mu Zhi to investigate this matter secretly."

When the allied forces of the feudal lords besieged Hulao Pass, Dong Zhuo brought his troops back to Luoyang because he sensed that the situation in the court was unstable, but he did not expect that the ministers who secretly opposed him would deploy such a killer trick.

The lack of food in Luoyang is the first cause of the Xiliang army's unstable morale. This has moved Dong Zhuo's rebellious scales. He must dig out those secret troublemakers to make a warning to others.

And Liu Yu originally had some scruples about Dong Zhuo's secret errand, but now he heard that it was related to the food and clothing of the people in the city, so he agreed without hesitation.

Liu Yucai doesn't care who is loyal and who is traitor, as long as he does something that hurts the country, he will be punished severely.

It's just that Liu Yu still has concerns. After all, he just returned to Luoyang City and didn't have much contact with court officials, and there are only about fifty people under him. I'm afraid there will be insufficient manpower for the investigation!
Hearing Liu Yu's concern, Dong Zhuo laughed, and Dong Zhuo said: "On the surface, Niu Fu is in charge of investigating this matter, and what Mu Zhi has to do is to establish a good relationship with the high officials in the court, and try to become one of them." a member."

Hearing this, Liu Yu finally understood that this secret errand was actually going to be a hidden stake in the court.

But all the officials in the imperial court are shrewd old foxes, and it is not so easy to win their trust. Besides, Liu Yu had shown his willingness to serve Dong Zhuo before, so it was even more difficult to get along with the court officials.

Liu Yuzheng felt embarrassed, but Dong Zhuo continued: "The matter of Mu Zhi's appointment is not announced for the time being, but as long as you can do a few things that comply with the ministers but go against the wishes of the old man, you will naturally be regarded as an ally by those court officials."

Then Dong Zhuo also said that there is an excellent opportunity for Liu Yu to gain the favor of the court ministers soon.

As for the problem of insufficient manpower, it would be easier to solve. Niu Fu will draw [-] smart scouts from the army to form secret spies, and all these people will be handed over to Liu Yu to command.

After hearing all this, Liu Yu finally gained confidence, but he came to Luoyang with the intention of breaking into Dong Zhuo's interior to overthrow the Xiliang forces, but now Dong Zhuo asked him to work as an undercover agent among the court ministers.

He felt like he was on the verge of becoming a Mission Impossible.

However, if they can gain the trust of Dong Zhuo and the court officials at the same time, it will be of great help to revitalize the center.

After talking for about half an hour, it was getting dark when Liu Yu personally sent Dong Zhuo and Niu Fu out of the courtyard.

As soon as he left the small courtyard, Dong Zhuo boarded a carriage without any signs.

As soon as the carriage moved, a group of elite soldiers flashed out of the darkness. Sure enough, Dong Zhuo did not come here with only Niu Fu as his guard.

(End of this chapter)