Chapter 2901 Mutation, Another Bad News [3]

Mrs. Xiao also advised: "Brother and sister Liu, you are right. Her mother is right. It is better not to set up this mourning hall for now... If you are afraid that Liu Hou will get lost, then the whole family should adopt a vegetarian diet, set up an incense table, and light an ever-burning lamp. In this way, regardless of whether Liu Hou is alive or not, we can pray for Liu Hou, guide him and take him home."

Although Mrs. Liu knew that Liu Hou's hope of survival was slim, she was still persuaded. She looked at Mrs. Liu and said, "Listen to Sister-in-law Xiao."

"Hey, I'll do it right now!" Mrs. Xiao Liu was very happy and pushed Erlang again and said, "Grandma Liu likes you, please give her more hugs."

The second wolf nodded heavily and hugged Mrs. Liu tightly: "Okay, the second wolf will hug Mrs. Liu well, make her laugh, and cry with her."

"Be good." Mrs. Liu touched his head, wiped away her tears, and turned around and left the room.

Unfortunately, the Liu family's last hope was dashed. At noon, another battle report was sent to the capital, and this time it was completely bad news.

"Marquis Liu was eaten by a tiger, and his bones were made into a white flagpole. The Dongqing thieves took the bone flag and showed it off to the city of Yangjifu, causing chaos in the city!"

"The young master of the Mountain Ghost Army took Second Young Master Ye as a hostage and forced Magistrate Ye to surrender in Kaicheng. However, Magistrate Ye refused, and Second Young Master Ye was eaten alive by a tiger!"

"The Dongqing bandits stormed Xinliu City. Now the battle situation in Xinliu City is urgent, and Jiqing Mansion is also under attack by bandits!"

Several bad news came one after another.

The strange thing is that these battle reports are no longer secretly sent to Wei Xiao or the Ministry of War, but directly from the city gate all the way to the Ministry of War, making the entire capital aware of it.

When everyone heard these battle reports, they panicked one after another. Every household began to grab food, medicine, cold clothing and firewood. Within an hour, all supplies increased several times.

After Dou Ke knew about it, he immediately led his subordinates to find Shen Ji, the leader of the Five Cities Soldiers: "Deputy Envoy Shen, Duke Qin still needs supplies to fight in the Northeast. The prices must not rise. Please personally lead the troops to the major cities and capture them." Profiteers who take advantage of this opportunity to drive up prices!”

This was said quite passionately, but when he thought that the Dou family had been merchants for generations, everyone wanted to laugh again.

Dou Ke kicked a subordinate who was suppressing a smile, and continued to say to Shen Ji: "There are also those people who wantonly robbed supplies, we must also arrest them... What are they robbing? These things are all going to be used by Qin Guogong as military supplies. , they took it away, what did Duke Qin use to fight?!"

Do you want the Duke of Qin to go to the Northeast to fight the Dongqing bandits naked and hungry?

"Sure, I will lead the troops to Fangshi immediately. I will capture hundreds of his thorns to scare the monkeys!" Shen Jiu immediately took half of the soldiers from the Wucheng Soldiers and Horses Division to Fangshi, and arrested many people. Wucheng Soldiers Ma Si's cell can barely fit in it.

But most of the people who went to buy were slaves from various governments, and they were in jail. The master didn't feel bad at all, and continued to send people to rob the supplies, filling the warehouses in the government.

But Dou Ke and Shen Jiu are both ruthless people. One sent troops to keep an eye on these families to prevent them from transporting the things they bought. The other went back to the imperial city and relied on Wei Xiao's power to rush directly to the Jinluan Palace and seize them. This matter was brought to Wei Qi's face.

"Your Majesty, this is the list of those mansions that have rushed to buy supplies, causing prices to rise and causing a shortage of food and medicine in the capital. Your Majesty, please take a look!" Dou Ke knelt in the Jinluan Hall and raised a list above his head.

"Send me the roster." Wei Qi was also cursing in his heart the people in the capital... They are so incompetent in doing things. Now, when are you here to cause trouble for him? Are you trying to force him to perform his duties without pretending to be benevolent and righteous? !

"Yes." Wei Chang, the chief eunuch, stepped down from the throne, took the booklet from Dou Ke's hand, returned to Wei Qi, opened the booklet, and handed it to Wei Qi to read.

Dou Ke silently counted the time, and after guessing that Wei Qi had seen about the same, he said: "Your Majesty, we cannot rush to the Northeast without supplies. In order not to delay the war, I beg your Majesty to issue an order immediately to let these people hand over the supplies they bought. Offer silver to help the imperial court fight against the Dongqing bandits!"

What, another donation of silver!

In the Jinluan Palace, many officials' expressions changed... From the last years of the Great Chu Dynasty to now, they have donated their property many times. If they donate again, their family property accumulated for hundreds of years will be wiped out.

Back then, when Emperor Jingyuan wanted to collect business taxes and force everyone to sacrifice their property to fight the army, Wei Qi had scolded Emperor Jingyuan. But now that it was his turn to be the emperor, he felt that Dou Ke's words were quite pleasant.

However, he did not agree immediately, but asked: "Gentlemen and generals, what do you think?"

Wei Xiao was most annoyed by Wei Qi's hypocrisy. He was the first to say: "Letting them donate money is to give them face. These people are taking advantage of the war to rob supplies and cause the rice grain to rise. They should be dragged away and beheaded in public." !”

this?

He is indeed a ruthless person who will cut off people's heads at every turn.

Mr. Feng said: "Your Majesty, I second the proposal... This is the capital city, under the emperor's feet, they dare to loot supplies. When the news of Dongqing's attack on the Northeast and the murder of Liu Hou comes out, some people in various places in David will definitely be selfish." Looting local things has caused chaos in the place... To ensure David's safety, he must kill the chickens to scare the monkeys, and only then can he frighten the whole world. Please severely punish those who robbed the capital of supplies."

However, Mr. Feng finally added: "For their first offense, beheading is not necessary, but they must be severely punished, especially those profiteers who took the opportunity to increase prices. A group of them must be arrested and tortured, and then the news of their torture must be spread to All prefectures and counties can stabilize each place."

After hearing this, Ning Ji said, "Your Majesty, what Feng Shangshu said is absolutely right. I second my opinion."

They all spoke, and the ministers and generals in the Jinluan Palace said one after another: "Your Majesty, Prince Wei's proposal is excellent, and I second it!"

After hearing this, Wei Qi felt relieved and looked at Dou Ke: "You should be the first to take the lead in today's matter. I'll leave it to you to stabilize things and collect and buy supplies."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Dou Ke kowtowed three times, acting extremely flattering... There was no way, the war in the Northeast could not be settled quickly, and it was Qin Sanlang who led the troops to rush for reinforcements. He must get the guard. Only by Qi Zhongyong can he hold on to the supplies tightly and deliver sufficient combat supplies to Qin Sanlang in a timely manner.

Otherwise, there will be no material support for the war. At least he will be defeated, or at worst, Qin Sanlang may die in the northeast... It's terrible. He must help the young marquis, even if he becomes a slave to please his master!

Wei Qi was very satisfied with Dou Ke's nodding. After he finished kowtowing, he said, "Go down and do some errands."

"Yes, Wei Chen, please retire." Dou Ke stood up, bowed and backed out of the Jinluan Palace, then ran out of the imperial city, found Shen Ji, and told him Wei Qi's will.

After Shen Ji heard this, he immediately called to the soldiers from the five cities: "Your Majesty has an order. Go to the mansion where the supplies were purchased and ask them to hand over the supplies!"

"Yes!" The soldiers rushed to buy the supplies that had been piled up. The team was so huge that it really caused quite a commotion.

As the evening approached, it was still snowing, and the weather was getting colder, making the mansions where supplies had been taken away a bit miserable.

But no matter how miserable they are, can they be worse than the people of Yangji Mansion?

The city gate was about to close when another piece of bad news came.