In the 13th year of peacekeeping, since the beginning of summer, grain prices in various places have soared. The Ministry of Revenue and provinces have successively invested in stocks of grain to stabilize prices, but they still have not curbed the upward momentum.

Among them, the two capitals, Youzhou, Hangzhou, Yingtian and other places increased by at least 20%. The public was very resentful and the court was under a lot of pressure.

No one can be careless about food, clothing, housing and transportation, and people's livelihood.

The Ministry of Revenue collected the situation of all parties and conducted a detailed analysis. The current rise in grain prices is the result of a mixture of many factors.

The first thing to be affected is natural disasters!

About 15 years ago, Liuyi Academy and Royal Academy have specially established a climate observation research team, accumulating data for more than ten years, and the situation is very clear.

The temperature generally decreases, especially in the north, with coldness and lack of precipitation, and grain production is significantly reduced. Even in the Jiangnan and Suzhou and Hangzhou generations, there have been large-scale snowfall and cooling. The snow has lasted for more than ten days, crushing countless trees to death, which is even rare in recent years.

There is no doubt that the climate has entered the Little Ice Age. Fortunately, the Song Dynasty has been investing in the renovation of water conservancy projects, digging canals to divert water, building principles, and promoting fattening fields, so that it can barely protect the grain output in the north and avoid large-scale famine.

But compared to natural disasters, another problem is more serious, that is, industrial development.

Investment in various places has increased, and construction of factories, mining, and railways all have to occupy land, and it is the best land. As mentioned earlier, the entire village has even been swallowed up by mudslides because of mining.

The loss of cultivated land, water is squeezed by the industry, and economic crops replace grain crops. From north to south, the trend is unstoppable. The food gap in the Song Dynasty has reached about 20%.

This year, it will reach 25% of the first time, and the situation is already very serious.

But at this time, overseas generally resisted the new coins of the Song Dynasty. In addition, rebellions emerged one after another, commercial trade stopped, foreign grain transport was not in, and local production was insufficient. As a result, the price of grain only rose by 20%, which was already considered to be a good control.

"At present, the Ministry of Revenue and the warehouses of various provinces have been in stock. After inventory, the storage of grain is enough for all people to use for half a year. Even if there is no foreign grain, relying on local production and storage of grain, we can maintain it for more than two years. As long as we eliminate the rebellion and resume commercial trade during this period, we can rest assured!"

Zeng Bu gave his own conclusion.

The Ministry of War is full of confidence. The two-year rebellion has been suppressed for two years, and the time is not short. The military rank system has been implemented, and two-thirds of it has been completed, and it can all end within the year.

At the latest next year, hundreds of thousands of troops will be able to drive out.

Can you still go hungry if you have soldiers and generals?

Dare not to accept new coins and dare not sell food?

Believe it or not, it will be destroyed directly!

Wang Shao was full of murderous aura, "Those barbarians are just shy and need to be cleaned up. If you kill a few fat chickens, the monkeys will not dare to make trouble!"

He said it interestingly, causing a burst of laughter. Zhang Dun said, "Indeed, with the current national power, we don't have to worry about outsiders. What we really have to worry about is our own people! Those bastards are afraid that the world will not be in chaos, and they should be killed!"

Zhang Dun was so angry that the rest of the people were also worried.

Just over a month ago, several newspapers disclosed a secret memorial by Zhang Fangping.

It was mentioned that Mr. Zhang had long foresaw overseas rebellions and wrote a letter to remind His Majesty to prevent them. It was just because of the obstruction and neglect of some people that this foresighted memorial was not taken seriously. As a result, when the problem was discovered, there were chaos overseas. In India alone, there were millions of rebels, which had reached an uncontrollable level.

In theory, in addition to the Political Affairs Hall and the six important officials, even ordinary officials cannot see the secret memorials. I really don’t know how these newspapers were obtained, and they are very powerful.

What is even more surprising is that more and more newspapers follow up. At first, they only disclosed a few paragraphs, but later they were long and long, citing Zhang Fangping's views. There are also many scholars and literati, newspaper writers, follow up reports, and write editorials.

The point of the spearhead is getting clearer and clearer, that is Wang Ning'an and the Political Affairs Hall!

Moreover, this round of operations has clear steps, which are very clever and progressive... For example, Zhang Fangping criticized the fact that he was too strict with overseas Chinese and excessive plundering, which caused civil unrest.

When the rebellion in Tianzhu and other places expanded, the newspapers unanimously praised Zhang Fangping for his foresight, his insightful and profound insights.

As the rebellion deepened, trade was affected and affected people's livelihood, they followed up with reports and came up with some of Zhang Fangping's views, saying that political affairs were exploited excessively, and they used their dominance and power to control the vassal states, and did not practice benevolent government, harmed others and oneself, and the people were innocent, and the priests were injuring the country.

In short, under the praise of these people, Zhang Fangping became Zhuge Liang who was as good as a god.

And the political affairs hall standing opposite Mr. Zhang became a arrogant and incompetent person.

Naturally, there was a strong voice that believed that Zhang Xianggong was sincere in planning the country and should return to the government affairs hall, and only Zhang Xianggong could save the crisis.

Coincidentally, during this period, Zhang Fangping also arrived in Kaifeng. Several academies invited him to give lectures. The gentry in Kaifeng, the officials who retired, and many others all went to visit Zhang Fangping. If the old husband had any opinions, he would immediately see the newspapers and become a tool to criticize the political affairs hall.

Surrounded by the crowd and praised by the newspaper, Zhang Xianggong, who had been cautious all his life, became elated, and his criticism of the court became increasingly sharp.

Among them, the most cursed was the credit currency system. He believed that the court was full of villains and ulterior motives. Without the constraints of gold and silver, the issuance of new banknotes would only cause huge troubles. Now that the price of grain has soared, the prices of goods are extremely high, and the people have complained, all of which are related to the issuance of new banknotes.

Only by abolishing new banknotes and returning to the gold and silver standard will prices inevitably fall and trade with overseas will become normal, so the dilemma of the Song Dynasty can be solved easily.

Zhang Fangping's opinion was regarded as a golden rule by many people and spread everywhere. Many schools and academies and young people from all over the country were regarded as the norm. They could hear what Zhang Xianggong thought at any time. The court's actions were very wrong... Zhang Dun was worried, "Master, Zhang Fangping's rhetoric was simply a reversal of black and white, nonsense, and there were endless disasters. The disciples thought that the old thing should be arrested immediately and arrested the people around him, including those who waving flags and shouting for him. If they didn't kill a few, they would not be able to block their mouths!"

Lu Huiqing also said: "Although they said a few words, it won't be so good, but the people's hearts are fluctuating and the people do not trust the court. Any decree we issue will be questioned and difficult to implement. It is indeed a big problem. Master, I think the Political Affairs Hall should have an attitude!"

"What attitude? Brother Ji Fu, you are too ruthless and should be killed. They will not cry when they see the coffin, and if they cut off a few heads, the world will not be stable!" Zhang Dun strongly advocated taking action.

Wang Ning'an silently calculated the time. He gave Tianzhu three months, and it has been a month and a half. "Wait a little while, Zhang Fangping is not that capable and does not have so many fans. He is now the inflated puffer fish. The key is the group of people behind him... This time we have to settle the accounts thoroughly, we must find out for me, and then take a bunch of people!"

"Disciple obeys the order!"

Zhang Dun said excitedly, he had been preparing for a long time, just waiting for a killing!

...

The net has been spread here, but Zhang Fangping hasn't noticed it yet. The old man is still in a state of great excitement, and he is simply a bit like a dead tree.

After retiring, that period of loneliness made people crazy. Now there are people around you, some worshiping you, and there are rushing around everywhere, and there are worshipful eyes everywhere. Even after decades of experience in officialdom, he can't control it.

The court was indeed wrong. As an important official, I should support the country and eliminate treacherous slander. Even if I offend people and lose my life, I will do whatever I can.

Zhang Fangping kept giving lectures, writing articles, and expressing opinions, which was even more busy than in the court. He felt that he could not do it alone, and he should win over more people to turn the world around.

Although I don’t appreciate Wen Yanbo, I have to say that Wen Xianggong is the only candidate who is worth enough. Zhang Fangping took a long time to come to visit Lao Wen.

After all, he is a big boss of peers, so Lao Wen is not easy to keep him out. After meeting, Zhang Fangping said, "I am a little bit light and shallow in my knowledge. I am far less wise than Brother Kuan's wife. I am more virtuous than Brother Kuan's wife. I am more virtuous than Brother Kuan's wife. If Brother Kuan's wife can stand up and say bluntly to the people, I am willing to follow Brother Kuan's wife and be a front pawn for you!"

Wen Yanbo looked at Zhang Fangping with a rosy face and a loud voice, and suddenly shook his head... It looks like he is, it looks like himself!

Those old writers also had ups and downs. When they first started sitting on the bench, Wen Yanbo was even more eager than Zhang Fangping, hoping to get up again and take power again. Zhang Fangping's fanaticism was generally the same as he was back then.

Wen Yanbo is still pursuing power and thinking about making a comeback. However, after experiencing it for more times, he calms down, at least not as confused as Zhang Fangping!

"Brother An Dao, the most important thing in your opinion is to restore the gold standard. I'm right?"

"Well, that's true, Brother Kuanfu, is there any problem?"

Wen Yanbo smiled faintly, "I dare not, but I think that if the gold standard is restored, prices will inevitably fall, and the impact may be greater!"

"How could it be!"

Zhang Fangping shook his head vigorously, "Brother Kuanfu, people's livelihood is difficult, prices have dropped, and the people are getting more benefits. How can we say it is not good?"

"Hahaha!"

Wen Yanbo laughed loudly, "Brother An Dao, I don't want to comment on right and wrong. I just look at economic operations, and the decline in prices seems even more terrifying!"

Zhang Fangping suppressed his anger and said, "I would like to hear high opinions."

"It's very simple. People often say that a drop of water can be repaid with a spring. In times of crisis, if you help others, you can get exponential rewards. Only by helping the poor will you be praised by everyone... Have you ever thought about what would happen if prices fell?"

“What’s the situation?”

"If you help others today, the returns you get will be discounted... To put it more bluntly, this month's labor is worth 10 yuan, next month's labor is worth 8 yuan. When people go to a higher level, everyone hopes that each generation will be stronger than the next. If prices fall, income will also decrease. Most people have no hope and dare not spend money. The whole country will be dead and hopeless."

Wen Yanbo said a lot of things, but Zhang Fangping couldn't listen to a single word.

He really couldn't understand what the relationship between prices and doing good deeds, and he couldn't figure out why prices fell and the people lost hope. It was inexplicable!

"Brother Kuanfu, I'm sorry, I really don't understand your high argument... I'll say, Brother Kuanfu isn't going to lend a helping hand?"

Wen Yanbo spread his hands, "Brother An Dao, it's not that I don't want to help, but that I can't help!"

"Oh! Brother Kuanfu, that little brother can only say goodbye!"

Zhang Fangping was so angry that he left the cottage... Wen Yanbo looked at his back and kept shaking his head. Some people just didn't learn well and had a clear head... If you continue like this, maybe Wang Ning'an would really win. Wen Yanbo didn't have the heart to persuade Zhang Fangping. If you want to be held and respected by others, that's your choice... But you really think that you are as good as a god and have the ability to be able to go all out of heaven and earth, that would be ridiculous!

Obviously, Zhang Fangping did not have the knowledge or pattern of old literary works. In the following days, he continued to travel and lecture. It turned out that the retired officials, Neo-Confucian scholars, and more down-and-out literati who were hiding in Kaifeng were all gathered together.

Whenever there is any bad news, they are like the New Year.

Look, this is not what we will end up not listening to!

Let’s see, what abilities can the Political Affairs Hall have?

In a blink of an eye, the three-month period was still ten days away, and a war report sent from Tianzhu was placed on the Prime Minister's desk...
Chapter completed!