Dad, don't be greedy! My brother climbed into the emperor's bed, and I became famous overn

By the time the news reached the Cui residence, it was already completely dark.

Cui Yuan sat in his study and listened to Cui Ming's report, remaining silent for a full quarter of an hour.

The candlelight on the table reflected his gloomy face, and he couldn't come up with a solution for a long time.

Cui Ming stood opposite the desk, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles cracked.

"Brother, this is clearly a setup!"

"The grain that was looted from Pujitang was clearly stockpiled by Wu De in the Jiangnan camp. How could it have appeared in our granary out of thin air? It must have been switched beforehand!"

Cui Yuan slowly closed his eyes.

He knew, of course, that this was a trap.

The problem is that not only was the matter witnessed by the people, but King Qi also lacked the intelligence to figure out who was behind it.

The man sealed the warehouse under the pretext of strictly investigating the robbery case, and spent the rest of his time writing to the emperor to explain his own "efforts".

What a reckless fool!

Cui Yuan opened his eyes, his brows furrowed tightly.

He suddenly realized something: the Cui family wasn't the only one who had planned ahead in this grain monopoly.

The emperor may not have intervened, but there are unseen forces at play behind the scenes!

Every move Cui Yuan made landed precisely on the squares drawn by his opponent.

This is too dangerous! We can't drag this out any longer!

We must quickly begin to secure the grain reserves and negotiate with the emperor.

Cui Yuan stared at the flickering candlelight on the table.

"Make arrangements to use certain methods to completely eliminate the loose grain held by small grain merchants. They must not be allowed to secretly sell to Pujitang! We must completely control the market grain price!"

……

In the following days.

The Cui family raised prices across all grain stores in the three prefectures of Jiangnan and the capital, causing grain prices to soar.

Within three days, the price of grain in Kyoto soared from 150 wen to 200 wen per dou.

The three prefectures south of the Yangtze River were the first to break through this figure, with some counties even seeing exorbitant prices of 220 wen.

At the entrance of grain stores in Kyoto's Higashi Market, people have been squatting in line to buy grain since before dawn.

After the shop opened, the shopkeeper posted a notice on the door: "Our grain stock is out. We will announce the resumption of sales at a later date."

A commotion broke out in the line, and an old lady sat down on the ground, slapping her thigh and wailing.

"I can't live like this anymore!"

"Last year it was thirty coins a bushel, this year it's increased sixfold! I've never seen such a greedy person in history!"

The atmosphere in Kyoto became tense.

The number of yamen runners patrolling the streets has doubled, and the people along the way no longer avoid the officials as they used to; instead, they come up to ask them questions.

"Sir, when will the price of grain finally come down?"

The officials couldn't answer either, and only hoped that the imperial court could provide a solution as soon as possible.

The nobles watched cautiously, knowing that the Cui family had begun to challenge the imperial authority!

at the same time.

Pujitang Logistics Park, office space.

Gu Mingyue sat behind a long table, with a thick ledger spread out in front of her.

Pei Yu and Lu Qinghe sat on either side.

Lu Qinghe opened the ledger, pointed to a line of data, and calmly reported on his work.

"Master, this is a detailed breakdown of grain transactions over the past ten days."

"We purchased 820,000 shi of grain from member grain merchants in various regions at a price of 80 wen. Of this, 700,000 shi have already been resold to the Cui family's grain stores in various prefectures through intermediaries at an average price of 200 wen."

"Revenue was 14 million taels."

Pei Yu clapped her hands happily.

"The boss is really something, making so much money just by transferring money between his own pocket!"

Gu Mingyue's lips twitched, she picked up her teacup and took a sip of the cold tea.

Fourteen million taels have been deposited into the treasury.

She felt no joy at all.

The numbers on the system panel jumped up again.

However, she had no choice but to endure the pain and make money if she wanted to support the Cui family to the brink of collapse.

Lu Qinghe closed the ledger and asked, "Master, the price of grain in the three prefectures of Jiangnan and the capital has now risen to two hundred coins. Should we continue selling to the Cui family?"

Gu Mingyue shook her head, her eyes sharp.

"The Cui family has spent over 50 million on grain recently, paid a 50 million deposit for the commodity market, and still owes 20 million in final payments."

"The minor noble family paid ten million to join the Cui family's commodity city, plus the operating expenses of the Cui family's businesses across the country..."

"I estimate that the Cui family currently has no more than five million taels of silver in their accounts. They're almost out of money."

"Therefore, 70,000 shi of grain were reserved for disaster relief in Ji Province, and the remaining 30,000 shi of grain were stored in warehouses for retail sale."

"The time has come; it's time to close the net."

……

Two days later, in Lingzhou.

Upon receiving the secret letter from Gu Mingyue, Xiao Jue immediately began to execute the next step of the plan.

He led the Dragon Scale Guards directly to the Cui residence.

Cui Yuan received the King of Qi in the front hall and politely invited him to take a seat.

Xiao Jue sat down with a smile, took the teacup, took a sip, and then got straight to the point.

"Lord Duke, the remaining payment of twenty million taels for the commodity city was due within one month according to the contract. Half a month has already passed."

"His Majesty is pressing for payment, so he asked me to inquire on their behalf: when will this sum of money arrive in the account?"

Cui Yuan held the teacup steadily, his smile still on his face, but inwardly he was already mocking him.

The emperor will soon be forced to come to the Cui family to beg for grain, while the Prince of Qi is still showing off his power here?

They really didn't recognize a great person!

Cui Yuan chuckled softly.

"Your Highness, rest assured, the Cui family has always been trustworthy."

"It's just that grain banks in various places are experiencing cash flow problems recently, and they can't get cash on hand right now. Once this batch of grain is transported to Kyoto, we'll be able to get the cash to pay the final payment."

The implication is, "If you don't unseal my Cui family's granary, we won't transport grain to the capital."

But the King of Qi didn't buy it and pretended not to understand.

"Let's keep things separate. Your business with the Ministry of Revenue is between you two. Your business with me is between the two of us."

Xiao Jue smiled casually and put down his teacup. He pulled a piece of official letter paper from his sleeve and laid it flat on the table.

"If Your Excellency cannot raise the funds immediately, that is alright. However, there is a rule in the court that a formal application can be submitted to postpone payment. The court will approve it at its discretion."

Cui Yuan glanced down at the paper. It had several lines of printed text, with space at the bottom for a signature and seal.

This thing is just a formality in the various departments of the court; it's not very useful.

Moreover, the King of Qi came to see him at this time most likely because he wanted to have more contact with the Cui family and prepare for future negotiations on grain prices.

Haha, child's play.

Cui Yuan read through the contents.

It was the standard procedure used by the imperial court, with no additional clauses.

So he picked up a pen, signed the extension application, and stamped it with the Cui family's seal.

The final payment was delayed by three months.

Xiao Jue carefully put away the paper, then got up to take his leave.

at the same time.

The Golden Palace in Kyoto.

The atmosphere in the court today is a bit strange.

The civil and military officials lined up on both sides, and every now and then someone would secretly turn their head to take a look at the opposite camp.

In the past two days, the issue of food prices has reached the point where people's livelihoods cannot sustain them.

Two hundred coins for one dou of rice.

Most of the rice shops in Kyoto are closed, and the few that remain open are offering limited quantities.

The people in the neighborhood were full of complaints.

Xiao Ye sat on the dragon throne, his expression calm and serene.

After a moment of silence in the hall, Wang Cong, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, stepped forward first.

He walked into the hall with his head down and bowed respectfully.

"Your Majesty, grain prices have recently skyrocketed, causing widespread discontent among the people of the capital. I believe this matter has reached a point where it must be addressed."

Xiao Ye did not respond.

He knew that Gu Mingyue's scheme had entered its final, decisive phase, and all he needed to do was quietly watch the Cui family's party put on a show.

Wang Cong glanced at the emperor's expression and concluded that the emperor had been driven to the brink by the Cui family and was facing a difficult choice.

He was secretly delighted and couldn't help but sneer.

Now you'll see how powerful the Cui family is, won't you?

Wang Cong continued speaking triumphantly.

"I suggest that the imperial court intervene and negotiate grain prices with powerful families and large grain merchants in various regions."

"After all, they have grain in their hands. As long as both sides take a step back, the price of grain will naturally fall."

It's said to be "each taking a step back," but everyone can tell the truth.

The so-called negotiation was simply the imperial court admitting defeat and agreeing to the Cui family's conditions.

As for what the conditions were, everyone present knew perfectly well.

It was simply a matter of returning the water transport and iron smelting rights that the emperor had taken from the Cui family.

A series of rustling whispers filled the hall.

Several officials who had dealings with the Cui family exchanged smug glances.

They had been waiting for this day for a long time.

No matter how much trouble the young emperor causes, he can't overcome the wealth accumulated by powerful clans over centuries.

Whoever controls the grain controls the world.