novelhk Chapter 162 Song Renjing meets Prince Li
Chapter 162 Song Renjing meets Prince Li
Seeing the smile on the waiter's face, everyone felt more at ease.
At least I got to see a living person.
"Let's eat first, then stay in a hotel." Gu Dajiang stepped forward and said.
"Okay, sir, please come in." The waiter smiled even more brightly.
The group followed the waiter into the restaurant. After the waiter listed a long list of dishes, he said, "Sir, none of the above is available."
Everyone...
"No, why did you report so much?" Gu Yi asked curiously.
The waiter patted his mouth lightly, smiled awkwardly and bowed, saying: "I'm sorry, my guests, I'm used to reporting. I can't change it all of a sudden."
"Why are so many dishes gone? Did we come too late?" Gu Dahai asked.
The time when I arrived home was exactly mid-afternoon, which was indeed quite late compared to lunch.
"Sir, don't you know?" the waiter asked in surprise.
"We just came back from another place. Please tell us in detail about the situation here, brother." Gu Dajiang took out a dozen coins and put them in the hand of the second brother.
The second brother declined briefly and put it into his sleeve.
He began to explain to the crowd: "You have just returned from another place, so it's no wonder you don't know. The rebel army and the king's army had fought four or five battles before the New Year, with some winning and some losing. In addition, the rebel army's surprise attack has caused panic among the people in the county."
"The towns occupied by the rebel army were all killed, looted, and burned. And the towns recaptured by Wang's army were all empty cities." The waiter said in a low voice.
"Plus, there are snowstorms everywhere this year. No one grows crops, and God doesn't allow us to grow crops, so there is a food shortage. Now the grain shops are limiting purchases every day, and our restaurant is barely able to survive."
"To be honest, our shop was originally a restaurant business, and now we have added the business of accommodation."
"The people are almost out of food, and King Li doesn't care? Didn't the court mobilize any grain?" Song Renjing asked in a serious tone.
"The prince took care of it from the beginning and stopped the grain shops from raising grain prices. He even executed two black-hearted grain dealers for this. But there is no other way as grain is in short supply everywhere. We can only sell it slowly like this. Who knows if it will last a little longer."
"Besides, even if the imperial court mobilizes them, how can we ordinary people get our turn? Besides, there are snowstorms everywhere now, and the roads are difficult to travel. The key is that there is not enough food in other places."
"I didn't expect that life in this world would be so difficult." Mr. Gu sighed.
After learning about the situation outside, the Gu family was filled with emotion.
"Brother Xiaoer, just serve whatever you have in your store. Please serve faster considering the number of us. And arrange the rooms for us." Mr. Gu said.
"Okay, guests, please wait a moment, the food will be here soon." The waiter threw the cloth over his shoulder, bowed and spoke to everyone, and went down to make arrangements without saying anything else.
After dinner, Song Renjing said to Mr. Gu, "Grandpa Gu, I will go see my grandfather first and let him know that I am safe, and then I will come back."
"Okay, this city is not peaceful right now, let Zhisheng accompany you." Grandpa Gu said with concern.
"No need, grandpa. I am good at Qinggong and it will be faster if I go alone." Song Renjing refused with a smile.
"Okay, you have to be careful. We won't leave until tomorrow, so you can spend more time with your grandfather." Grandpa Gu instructed again.
"Got it. Thank you, Grandpa Gu." After saying this, Song Renjing bowed to everyone and stepped out. He went back to his room and tidied up.
Then he walked out of the inn and headed straight for Prince Li's palace.
By this time, the sky was already getting dark and the lights were already on in Prince Li's mansion.
Prince Li was discussing the matter of mobilizing grain in his study with his staff, gentry, and large landowners.
Due to the snowstorm, military rations could not be delivered.
Just a few days ago, I received a call for help from General Rong and General Xu, requesting support for food and fodder.
Unfortunately, he had no grain to distribute, so he had to seek help from the local gentry and landlords to see if he could borrow some.
This is how today's gathering came about.
"Your Highness, there are many snowstorms in the capital and there is no grain to be transferred. The price of grain transferred from the south is high and the journey is long. Now the rebel army is confronting your army while sending small groups of soldiers to infiltrate. If the news of the grain transfer leaks out, it will surely lead to persecution and robbery by the rebel army." A thin aide with a white beard spoke up.
The others listened and nodded and sighed.
"How much food do you have?" King Li asked the landlords and gentry with his brows furrowed into a "川" shape.
"If there are no accidents, and we only supply our Zesheng County, and live a little more frugally every day, and reduce the daily grain purchase amount by 10%, we may be able to hold out until this year's harvest." said the person headed by the gentry.
"Your Highness, the daily food supply cannot be reduced any further. Right now the people in the county are in a panic and have many complaints in their hearts. If they can't buy food anymore, there will definitely be chaos." A slightly plump aide spoke up.
"What can we do? If we don't reduce the quantity, we won't be able to make it to the autumn harvest. We landlords don't have any surplus food." The leading landlord said worriedly.
"Please make the decision, Your Highness!" The crowd couldn't come to a conclusion and could only speak to the prince.
After listening to the opinions of all parties, King Li frowned and thought deeply for a while, then said: "The daily grain purchase amount will not be reduced for the time being. Please try your best to collect a batch of grain and send it to General Rong and General Xu. Without them resisting at the front, we don't know how many cities we will lose. We must give this grain."
Seeing that everyone was about to speak up to dissuade him, King Li waved his hand and continued, "I will also send elite soldiers to the south to buy grain, regardless of its value, to try to make up for the deficit and support until the autumn harvest."
While everyone was thinking, they saw a young man walking out from the darkness of the house, his face covered by a hood so his features could not be seen clearly.
Everyone in the room was panicked and shocked when they saw this! The guards even drew their swords and pointed them at each other. "Someone! There's an assassin!"
No one knew whether the young man was a friend or an enemy, or when he appeared in the house. No one noticed.
The young man dodged the attack of the guards and came in front of King Li.
He raised his head slightly from under the hood and called out, "Your Majesty."
When King Li saw the visitor's face, he was shocked, and then delighted.
He quickly shouted at his subordinates who had just reacted and were about to swing their swords at the young man, "Stop! Everyone, today's discussion ends here, everyone retreat."
Although everyone was confused, no one dared to refute and they all bowed and left.
When there were only two people left in the room, Song Renjing smiled and bowed to Prince Li, saying, "Uncle Prince Li, I haven't seen you for a long time. How are you?"
"Grandson, you finally show up! Where have you been all this time? Was it the Gu family who brought you back? Your life or death is unknown, and there is no news from you. His Majesty has been so worried that he fell ill!" King Li said anxiously.
As he spoke, he observed the Crown Prince and saw that he was stronger and more robust than before, and his face was whiter and tenderer.
Although the clothes, shoes and hats are not luxurious, they are novel in style and exquisite in workmanship.
Moreover, he was able to appear in his own house silently, which showed that his martial arts skills had also improved.
"My royal grandfather is sick! Is it serious?" Song Renjing asked worriedly when he heard it.
"It's mainly because I'm worried about Your Highness, and with the snowstorms that broke out in many places, Your Majesty fell ill due to worry. Now that the emperor's grandson has returned, I believe Your Majesty will recover after receiving the news." Prince Li said happily.