That night, all the nobles in Qinghe received an invitation.Blowing water Hou will prepare a little wine tomorrow night, and invite Qinghe's father and elder to the county guard mansion for a banquet, please be sure to enjoy the light.After getting the invitation, the wealthy merchants and gentry in the county were so worried that they didn't sleep well all night.Everyone realized that there was no good banquet, Ren Zhen was an important minister of the court, and he personally led the elite soldiers to come, and he was menacing, who knows what he wanted.Fear is fear, no one dares to toast and drink without eating.On the second night, the county watchman's mansion was full of guests and friends, and all the people indicated on the invitation card were all present, and none of them were absent.For the sake of the tiger guards outside the city, they also have to give Ren Zhen this face.At the beginning of the day, the lobby is brightly lit.During the banquet of more than ten tables, all the local dignitaries with heads and faces were seated, everyone was usually very familiar, but at this time they were very restrained, no one exchanged their heads and ears, talked loudly, and waited for the host to appear.The atmosphere of the huge dinner was very deserted.At the main table in the middle, Cui Shenmo sat in the most conspicuous position, closing his eyes and recuperating, calm and relaxed.In fact, he didn't know what tricks Ren Zhen wanted to play, but he was the leader of Qinghe, and he attracted much attention, so he had to be reserved and make an indifferent posture.With a cup of tea, Ren Zhen walked in from the back hall.Tonight, he wore a dark blue silk shirt, noble and steady, heroic and cool.Everyone stood up and saluted to welcome Ren Zhen to the table.Ren Zhen stood on the main seat, motioned for everyone to sit down, then picked up the wine glass, and said with a smile: "Ben Hou has heard the good name of Qinghe for a long time, and this time he has seen it with his own eyes.This glass of thin wine, I respect all of you here, when you first arrive in your land, please take care of Qinghe's fathers. ”With that, he raised his glass and drank it all.In formal settings, this is an essential courtesy.Everyone didn't dare to slack off, got up again, and drank a cup with them.Ren Zhen sat down and toasted the guests at the same table.The atmosphere in the lobby has finally eased a little.After three rounds of wine, the number of rituals of the banquet has been completed, and the guests are silent again.They knew it was time to get down to business.Ren Zhen took a sip of tea, cleared his throat, and said: "You must have heard that this year, the Southern Jin Dynasty invaded the territory on a large scale, and the two dynasties were fighting fiercely.Ben Hou served as a transshipment envoy and was responsible for escorting grain and grass materials.If it weren't for the situation, I wouldn't be here at this point. ”The audience was silent.Ren Zhen continued: "It's better to say it clearly, this year's natural disasters and man-made disasters have caused a shortage of grain and grass in the imperial court, and it is urgent to replenish it.I think, the soldiers defend their homes and defend the country, and kill the enemy in blood, should our fathers and villagers in the rear do their best to provide some food support?"
The dignitaries present are well-informed and naturally know what Ren Zhen said.And they can also think that Qinghe County is rich in products and has enough food, and Ren Zhen must have come all the way to fight for food.The problem is that it is impossible to give for nothing, and he wants to make a takeover method.Seeing this, Ren Zhen picked up a wet towel to clean his hands and explained: "The war is urgent at the moment, and the imperial court is under tremendous pressure, and it is difficult to move the money immediately.I came in a hurry this time, and I couldn't bring enough silver taels, so I want to discuss with you whether the collection can be postponed for a while" As soon as I heard that I was going to pay on credit, everyone was even more silent, and they didn't want to be the big boss.Ren Zhen had anticipated this situation and did not despair, "I have come up with two solutions for everyone's reference."
The first is to purchase at a high price, wait for the imperial court to raise all the funds, and return it with interest.The second is to take the tax deduction for the next year and give preferential exemptions. ”He put down the towel and said bitterly: "Please rest assured, those who are willing to spend the difficult times with the imperial court, the imperial court will definitely not treat you badly."
All the grain payments will not be deducted from a cent" The gentry were always indifferent.They are not stupid and do not trust real promises lightly.It's not that they don't care about the survival of the Northern Tang Dynasty, the problem is that no one knows what will happen in the future.Even if the soldiers and civilians of the Northern Tang Dynasty work together to drive away the strong enemy, in the future, the imperial court will cross the river and tear down the bridge, turn their faces and deny the account, who will ask for this food and salary, will it not be that the skin will not exist, and the Mao will be attached, they all understand this truth.They have the heart to support and want to defend their homeland, but after all, their personal strength is weak, and if only one party is willing to give food, the other wealthy businessmen will stand by and watch it, and it will be useless.At this time, it is most important for someone to take the lead and call on everyone to unite.If the entire Qinghe is willing to donate generously to help the imperial court survive the grain and grass crisis, the momentum is huge, and then the imperial court wants to deny it, it will be infamous on its back, and it has to have concerns.Everyone saw the opportunity to act, and their eyes fell on Cui Shenmo.Qinghe Haoshen Group, headed by the Cui family.The Cui family's agribusiness industry occupies more than half of Qinghe.As long as Cui Shenmo is willing to express his position and accept Ren Zhen's proposal, a large amount of food will be provided, and others will dare to board this boat and bear the risk of bad debts together.Cui Shenmo turned a blind eye to the eyes around him, and bowed his head in distraction.Ren Zhen looked at his eyes, coughed dryly, and said lightly: "Cui Shenmo, what about your opinion" Cui Shenmo was stunned, raised his head and replied: "Master Hou, don't ask me, I can't help with this matter."
The Cui family does not have much food in stock, and there are countless people in the family waiting to be fed, and there is no surplus food to help the military. ”He refused cleanly.Hearing this, everyone's expressions became complicated.Qinghe County is not big, they are all under the same roof, they know the roots, and they are very clear about the strong foundation of the Cui family.With the Cui family's business strategy of hoarding Juqi, even if the entire Qinghe River ran out of food, it was impossible for them to be short of food.Cui Shenmo clearly didn't want to get involved in this matter.Ren Zhen frowned slightly, looked at Cui Shenmo, and asked: "Why did the Cui family really have no food, why did I hear Cui Mingjiu say just now, there are more than 100,000 stones of rice in the Cui family's treasury" Cui Shenmo smiled, "The matter of the Cui family, of course, I know best."
After my eldest brother went insane, his second nephew became ill with worries, he should have been confused, and the Cui family's food had long been exhausted. ”At the beginning, Cui Mao took his son to the mountains to seek medical treatment, and after the two left, Cui Shenmo and his gang spread rumors inside and outside the family, saying that Cui Mao was mentally disordered, and Cui Naruto took him to his father for medical treatment.Many clansmen knew that the father and son were indeed looking for a famous doctor, and they couldn't help but believe it.As a result, Qinghe County gradually spread, and Shang Jue Cui Mao was exhausted all the year round, his energy was overdrawn, and he needed to recuperate from his illness, so he was no longer suitable to be the head of the family, and gave up his power to Cui Shenmo.Because of this, the Cui family's business did not have major turmoil.When the father and son returned to the family, Cui Shenmo, with the cooperation of Cui Naruto, successfully captured Cui Mao and locked him in the ice cellar, and outsiders had no way of knowing about it, and they were kept in the dark.At this time, when Ren Zhen heard this, he raised his eyebrows, and said in a deep voice: "So, you are unwilling to sell me grain, right" Cui Shenmo smiled indifferently, "You can understand it this way." ”Ren Zhen knows very well that if you want to raise food from Qinghe County, the Cui family is the key, and if you don't settle Cui Shenmo tonight, don't think about leaving with food again.He had already been mentally prepared, and what he said just now was just a salute before a soldier.The reason why this dinner was set up was originally to debate the rights and wrongs of the Cui family clearly in front of Qinghe's father.Since you are poor, let's take out a dagger.Ren Zhen rolled his eyelids and said, "You refuse to sell grain, and the Cui family has someone to cooperate with me." ”: