The fiercest soldier of the border army

Manager Liu held a copy of the market price list in his hand, his fingertips trembling slightly.

He didn't say anything, he just handed over the form.

Manager Zhang, sitting in the main hall, was sipping hot tea when he heard this. He frowned, glanced at the menu, and sneered, "Nonsense! I haven't ordered a price reduction. Who would dare to lower the price on their own?"

"They're not one of ours."

Manager Liu said urgently, "It's those porters and traders from other places, they're all selling at a discount."

"Long queues formed on the streets of Dongshi, with someone shouting that eighty coins were needed for a dou (a unit of dry measure), and the people rushed to buy them."

Manager Zhang put down his teacup, the porcelain bottom making a crisp sound as it tapped on the table.

He stared at the sky outside the door for a long while before asking, "How much grain did Tang Shun distribute yesterday?"

"Each household was allotted half a bushel of grain. Cheng Feng's soldiers escorted the carts into the city with gongs and drums leading the way and flags waving, saying that the imperial court was continuously allocating grain."

Manager Liu answered in a low voice.

At this moment, Manager Wang rushed in, panting heavily, and said anxiously, "Something terrible has happened!"

"The government...the government..."

He was breathing heavily. "The government has announced that the granaries are full and the price of grain has reached seventy-five coins per dou!"

Manager Zhang suddenly stood up and kicked over the charcoal brazier at his feet, sending sparks flying everywhere.

He closed his eyes, recalling Tang Shun's actions since entering the city.

"That Tang Shun! He didn't build the temple for pleasure at all! Nor did he do it to drive away the refugees!"

"He came here specifically for us from the start!"

The three people in the hall were all shocked.

"He first raised the price by two hundred coins, forcing us to hoard goods at a high price."

"Then he deliberately drank and made merry, and went sightseeing, all to make us believe that he had no ambition."

"Once the grain merchants from other places flocked in and the time was right, he simply sealed off all four gates! He treated us like lambs to the slaughter!"

"He spread rumors that grain was being transported into the city, which scared small households into selling their produce, and he secretly bought it up."

"Now that the government granary has released 'new grain' at 75 cash, the market has immediately collapsed."

Manager Zhang's voice was deep, "The grain we have is still piled up in the warehouse, and the money is tied up, so we can't move it."

Manager Liu's forehead was beaded with sweat: "Then...should we lower the price too? And hurry up and get the goods out?"

"You can't lower the price!" Manager Zhang shouted sharply. "If you lower the price, the whole city will follow suit, and in the end, no one will be able to sell at a good price."

"Tang Shun wants us to kill each other so he can reap the benefits!"

Manager Liu gritted his teeth: "But if we don't surrender, the people will all go to the government granaries and grain merchants from other places to buy grain, and our granaries will be overflowing. Are we just going to watch them eat meat?"

Silence fell over the hall for a moment.

Suddenly, they heard hurried footsteps outside the door, and saw Manager Li, who had a goatee, lift the curtain and enter.

His expression was uncertain. As soon as he entered, he asked, "Is the news true? The government has directly set a price of seventy-five coins per dou?"

Shopkeeper Zhang stared at him: "You've heard about it too."

"Not only that," Manager Li said coldly. "Someone saw with their own eyes that several men dressed in coarse cloth and short jackets were buying grain at low prices from different stalls."

"They had quite the appetite; they bought up all the rice, which cost eighty coins!"

"Those men walked with a brisk pace, their belts were standard military attire; they were clearly Tang Shun's soldiers in plainclothes!"

Manager Liu slammed his fist on the table in anger: "You corrupt official! You're using soldiers to resell grain, competing with the people for profit!"

"He's quite the schemer; he manages to make a profit from both the initial investment and the subsequent sale!"

"It's not about competing for profit." Manager Zhang slowly sat down, his eyes cold. "It's about replenishing grain."

"The grain in the official granaries is fake; if it's not replenished, it will run out."

"But... even if he buys it all now, he can still make a profit. It seems like the time will be a long way off before the official granaries are empty..."

The atmosphere inside the hall grew increasingly oppressive.

After a long silence, Manager Zhang gritted his teeth and said, "The more this is the case, the less we can afford to panic."

"More than ten thousand refugees? I refuse to believe that those out-of-town grain merchants can handle it all!"

"We, the four major grain merchants, must stand united and never be the first to lower prices. Anyone who breaks this alliance will be considered an enemy of the three of us!"

The other three shopkeepers exchanged glances but remained silent.

After a while, Manager Wang nodded, "Yes! We'd rather close down than let him succeed."

"We four are still the major players; if grain prices fall, we'll ultimately win!"

Manager Li didn't respond, but instead lowered his head and rubbed the buttons on his cuffs.

Manager Zhang glanced at the three men and said in a deep voice, "All four of us, seal and lock our warehouses, and suspend shipments."

"At the same time, spread the word that we have plenty of grain reserves and are in no hurry to sell them. Let's see if their official granaries can hold out longer, or if our purse strings are tighter!"

The three of them agreed in unison.

Before leaving, Manager Liu cursed, "Tang Shun wants to seize pricing power? Dream on! This Wenchi County isn't for a border garrison commander to call the shots!"

The crowd dispersed, leaving only Manager Zhang in the hall.

He sat alone by the window, his eyes filled with a gloomy and uncertain look.

He knew that this was no longer a business deal, but a life-or-death struggle.

Manager Li left the Zhang residence and traveled at a brisk pace.

The cold wind blew in his face, but he didn't feel cold.

The steward was waiting at the door. Seeing his master return, he hurried forward and asked, "Master, the granary gates are closed. Should we continue storing grain?"

Manager Li suddenly turned around and slapped the steward, causing him to stagger backward with blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

"Are you stupid? Hoarding grain at a time like this? Do you want your husband to sell his children?"

"Do you think they wouldn't sell them secretly?"

Manager Li growled, "Manager Wang talks a big game, but he's probably already settling the accounts!"

"Manager Liu is the most easily frightened. If we stubbornly hold on and wait for them to dump their shares first, we'll be the last fools left holding the bag!"

The housekeeper covered his face, not daring to utter a sound.

Manager Li lowered his voice: "Pass down the word that at midnight tonight, open the west gate a crack and ship the grain at the price of 75 coins. Be careful and leave no trace."

The butler nodded and prepared to leave.

"Wait a minute." Manager Li narrowed his eyes. "While we're at it, let's find out if the Zhang and Liu families have been transporting grain out of their warehouses at night recently."

The butler understood and quietly withdrew.

Upon returning home, Manager Liu immediately summoned the person in charge of the rice shop.

With a stern face, he ordered, "Start now, sell all the stored grain! Don't sell it openly, sell it secretly! At seventy coins per dou!"

"We have to be quick! We have to be fast! If we sell too slowly, we might end up with unsold stock!"

Manager Wang was terrified.

"In all these days, who knows how many out-of-town grain merchants have come!"

"Who knows if next year will be a bumper harvest or a year of famine!"

"We must act! We have to act!"

"The government sets the price at seventy-five coins, and other grain merchants will probably set it at around seventy coins."

Manager Wang gritted his teeth, deep in thought.

"The rice in the shop is all old grain that we bought at a low price last year. We sold it at a high price before, and we already made a huge profit!"

"so……"

"Sixty-five coins! Sixty-five coins it is!"

Upon learning the news that they had begun to quietly sell off their stock, Manager Zhang, after angrily cursing them as fools and unworthy of his advice, reluctantly began to sell at even lower prices.

Grain merchants engaged in a price war, causing grain prices in Wenchi County to plummet at an unbelievable speed.

The four major grain merchants, who had been in business for a century, went from being closely allies to distrusting each other in just nine days...