Chapter 227: Capital City Martial Servants

Chapter 227 -219: Capital City Martial Servants

Qingyuan Town wasn’t originally in the disaster zone, but with rice prices skyrocketing like this, what’s the difference between the local families who can no longer afford grain and the refugees who’ve fled here? They all starve.

“Oh,” Meng Nan said. He frowned and asked, “Then how much rice could one tael of silver buy before?”

Bai Zhi said, “They say that during a bountiful harvest, one tael of silver could buy four shi of white rice or five shi of coarse rice. After the harvest season, the price would rise some. The rice I bought before the refugees came into town was three shi for one tael of silver. But now, one tael of silver can only buy a single dou of rice. I can’t even count how many times the price has multiplied.”

Meng Nan had no concept of rice prices or their units of measurement. How much was a shi? And a dou? He hadn’t a clue, but he understood Bai Zhi’s point. A shi was clearly a lot more than a dou.

The Jin guard looked troubled. “Miss Bai, to be honest with you, we’ve been out and about the last few days, and many townspeople have come to us to complain. They say the prices at the grain shops are outrageous and they can’t afford to buy anything. They’re at the point where they have no rice for their pots.”

“We reported this to Lord Gu, but while he paid us lip service, he never actually did anything. After we arrived, I had someone make inquiries and found out that all these grain shops in the city are run by Lord Gu’s relatives. They’re using their connection to him to raise prices without any restraint. The people are crying out in protest, but there’s nothing we can do.”

Bai Zhi snorted. “People abusing borrowed power… it’s the same everywhere. In the end, if Lord Gu wasn’t deliberately turning a blind eye, I doubt even his relatives would dare to be so brazen.”

Meng Nan lowered his gaze, silent. Some things were clear to everyone. It was just that if it didn’t concern them personally, they chose to look the other way.

Bai Zhi asked again, “With all the refugees flooding into Qingyuan Town, I refuse to believe Lord Gu hasn’t reported it to the court. Under normal circumstances, shouldn’t the court be dispatching grain and funds for relief?”

Meng Nan nodded. “You’re right. The court did dispatch relief supplies. It’s just… the convoy was attacked by mountain bandits before it reached the town. Everything was stolen. Not a single grain of rice was left.”

Bai Zhi sneered. “Nothing in this world is that coincidental. This place is thousands of miles from the Capital City. The convoy had no trouble the entire way, but what happens? It gets ambushed by bandits right outside Qingyuan Town? Are all the bandits everywhere else extinct?”

Meng Nan was taken aback. “What are you trying to say? Can you be more direct?”

Bai Zhi said, “I think I’ve been perfectly clear. Bandits may be despicable, but they usually stick to robbing merchant caravans and common folk. Have you ever heard of bandits daring to rob a government convoy? And did your Lord Gu send anyone to hunt them down? Did he catch a single one?”

The Jin guard at his side suddenly slapped his thigh. “Miss Bai, your words just snapped me out of it!” he exclaimed. “After the bandits robbed the convoy, my lord sent me out of the town to investigate. At the scene, aside from some overlapping axle tracks, there were no signs of a struggle at all—not even a single drop of blood. I was suspicious at the time, but I had no evidence and no one to question, so I had to return. On my way back, I passed a relay station where a lot of people were staying. They looked like martial men, all with sabers at their waists, but they were dressed in common clothes, so I couldn’t tell who they were. But then I happened to look up and saw a man hanging a Capital City Martial Servant’s uniform out a window. I didn’t think much of it at the time.”