Mother wiped her tears and sobbed in response, "Back to your lordship, we are from Zhangde, fleeing the famine all the way here..."
Yang Ge glanced at the flea.
The flea understood and explained, "Not far to the north, near Handan in Hebei."
Yang Ge nodded and continued to ask softly, "Sister, you eat first, let’s talk while you eat... Before you two fled the famine, how much had the grain prices in your area risen to?"
The mother scraped a few mouthfuls of rice, slowly stopped sobbing, and mumbled in response, "Back to your lordship, before we mother and daughter fled, sorghum rice had already risen to over forty Copper Coins per dou, and millet to over fifty Copper Coins per dou..."
Yang Ge knew what he needed to, and with a smile said warmly, "Eat slowly, eat more, there’s plenty. We know the village head here at the inn, and later I’ll ask them to come, see how we can settle you two... Don’t be afraid, once you’re in Lu Ting, you’ve found a way to live, as long as you’re willing to work hard, no one starves here!"
Upon hearing this, the mother, both excited and afraid, hastily pulled up her son who was choking and rolling his eyes, and tried to kneel to Yang Ge.
Yang Ge quickly supported mother and son, comforting them with kind words, and it took quite some persuading before he convinced them to sit down and eat in peace.
He turned around and let out a long breath of murky air.
Zhao Miao came up to him, with an ugly expression whispering, "Second brother, in the grain market, sorghum rice is being sold for thirteen Copper Coins per dou, and millet for nineteen Copper Coins per dou, even cheaper than usual..."
Sorghum rice and millet are both coarse grains, especially sorghum rice, which is both astringent and hard to eat, and its price has always been lower than that of rice and wheat, the two finer grains.
"Hmm, I understand."
Yang Ge nodded slightly and said, "You don’t need to worry, I will handle it."
Zhao Miao stared into his eyes and slowly revealed a smile, nodding firmly.
Yang Ge turned and walked out of the inn, lay back down on the rocking chair, and waved over to the imperial guard spy selling flatbreads on the opposite side.
Seeing this, the imperial guard spy quickly wrapped two flatbreads in dry lotus leaves and hurriedly brought them over: "Fresh out of the oven, Marquis, have a taste."
Yang Ge took a bite of the flatbread and smiled as he took out two Copper Coins and handed them over: "Take a trip to the Upper Right Bureau, tell Fang Ke to come here."
"Yes!"
The named imperial guard spy took the Copper Coins and left briskly.
Yang Ge held the warm flatbread in his arms, tearing off pieces to eat while mulling over the matter.
The previous brief grain shortage was due to heavy snow blocking the roads.
Logically speaking, the grain transportation routes had been cleared long ago, and the grain prices should have returned to normal by now...
He exhaled deeply, well aware that the same tactics used against the emperor were now being employed against him, Yang Ge!
As he thought about the situation, he tore at the flatbread absently.
Before finishing both flatbreads, Fang Ke, dressed in casual attire, arrived in a hurry.
Previously, he had misjudged the situation, mistakenly believing that the conspiring officials in the court were planning trouble in Jiangzhe, when in fact, their next move was in the southwest, leading to Fang Ke’s fruitless return.
Perhaps it wasn’t entirely fruitless after all, as the grain storage and transportation in Jiangzhe indeed encountered no further issues afterward, and it’s hard to say whether Fang Ke played a role in that.
"My lord, did you call for me?"
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"Find yourself a stool to sit on..."
"Yes!"
Fang Ke turned and entered the inn, greeted Zhao Miao and the familiar salted fish traders, then brought out a stool and sat down beside Yang Ge.
Yang Ge didn’t beat around the bush, getting right to the point: "Are you aware of the persistently high grain prices in the provinces?"
"This..."
Fang Ke glanced at him somewhat guiltily and cautiously replied, "I’m aware to an extent, but the court has already begun to dispatch grain to stabilize prices..."
Yang Ge: "Since you knew, why didn’t you tell me?"
Fang Ke remained silent.
Yang Ge knew he didn’t want to burden him further, and changed the subject, "How serious is the rise in grain prices in the provinces?"
Fang Ke nodded earnestly, "To my knowledge, everything is still under control..."
Yang Ge slowly furrowed his brows and pointed diagonally at the mother and child inside the inn, "Whose control are they under?"
Fang Ke followed his gesture and had a sudden realization, but then fell silent once again.
It wasn’t that he didn’t know how to answer; he was just certain that speaking out would surely earn him a slap in the face!
Yang Ge continued to inquire, "What is the current situation in the court?"
Fang Ke pondered for a long while before speaking, "The royal family is also having a tough time!"
Having set the tone, he continued down that path, "Last year, those deadbeat ministers in the court, displeased with the new policies, turned a blind eye and depleted the reserves of the Han Jia Granary."
"Now, a million civilians in the capital open their mouths for grain, six hundred thousand imperial guards open their mouths for grain, and the six to seven hundred thousand border soldiers to the north open their mouths for grain. Not to mention, the grain and fodder for the four hundred thousand troops marching south to quell the rebellion can’t be delayed for a moment. With such massive grain movements, even if the granaries in all fourteen provinces were completely unobstructed, it would still take time to replenish the shortfall, let alone the fact that those jackals and wolves are still throwing obstacles in the royal family’s way..."
"It’s tough!"
Fang Ke sighed profoundly.
This was exactly why he had not informed Yang Ge about the persistently high grain prices across the regions. In his view, the court was already making every effort to solve the problem. Telling Yang Ge would only stress him out without solving anything.
Yang Ge narrowed his eyes and sarcastically laughed, "So we do nothing because it’s tough? Because it’s tough, we just let the civilians in the provinces endure disasters and suffer?"
Fang Ke stole a glance at him and gently persuaded, "Sir, you must eat one bite at a time, take things one step at a time. The emperor hasn’t been on the throne for long, and to reach this point has already been quite difficult. You must give him some time..."
Yang Ge: "I do not deny his intentions in handling affairs, nor do I deny his efforts for the people of the world, but with such a matter, can Zhao Hong wait, can those people who can’t afford to eat wait? Are we not to worry now, or should we wait until people are exchanging their children for food, until nine out of ten homes are empty?"
He had already deduced from the grain prices mentioned by that elder sister that the court had put in effort to stabilize the grain prices.
Otherwise, the price increase would surely not have just doubled or tripled...
It is known that during periods of grain shortage, there is no upper limit to grain prices.
The result of a ten percent shortage of grain worldwide is never just a ten percent increase in grain prices; instead, prices rise until at least ten percent of the population starves!
Yang Ge said this very calmly, his tone devoid of anger or evil Qi.
But Fang Ke, who knew him, began to panic upon hearing this and quickly said, "You are right, Sir. I will enter the capital immediately to see Shen and ask him to report your concerns to the emperor, to request the court to increase the speed of grain distribution and bring down the grain prices..."
"Do you really think that will be useful?"
Yang Ge said with a smile, "If they had any means, would they just watch as the grain prices in various places soar?"
Fang Ke: "Sir..."
Yang Ge waved his hand to interrupt his attempt to dissuade him and said softly, "I recall that my Marquis Luting regalia are all stored in the upper right estate, aren’t they?"
Fang Ke was stunned for two seconds, not immediately understanding what he was planning to do with this question, and hesitantly nodded, "Indeed, your ceremonial attire and regalia are all in the office."
Yang Ge said indifferently, "Bring them to me, and assign a squad to accompany me into the capital."
Fang Ke was startled, "Sir, we can’t just act rashly. You’ve only recently had a few days of peace; there’s no need to stir up trouble in that muddy water!"
"I also don’t want to stir up trouble in that muddy water."
Yang Ge slowly closed his eyes and murmured lowly, "But I can’t stop some folks with a death wish insisting on putting their heads under the guillotine! What can I do? I can only fulfill their wishes."
Fang Ke: ’Fuck, we’re doomed, doomed, doomed...’