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

Xiao Ye listened to Wang Cong's report.

The hall remained silent for a long while.

Just when Wang Cong thought the emperor was about to compromise, Xiao Ye spoke up calmly.

"Then... I won't buy it."

"Wh...what?"

Wang Cong was stunned and didn't react.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty?"

Xiao Ye glanced at him coldly and said calmly:

"I say, I won't buy it. I don't want a single bushel of grain, even if it costs two hundred coins."

Wang Cong opened his mouth wide, his mind raced, but he still couldn't react.

"Your Majesty, there is a famine in Ji Province! And the army of 200,000 in the north is short of food supplies..."

"It's alright, the imperial court has already made up for it through other means."

"The potatoes and sweet potatoes they dug up in Jizhou are enough to last them for three months."

"The local people have already planted the first batch of potatoes. They will be ready in three months. The crop can yield 3,000 catties per mu."

"The potatoes and sweet potatoes from the seventeen counties of Jizhou combined are enough to feed an army of 200,000 for half a year."

The hall fell silent.

The entire court of officials stood frozen in disbelief.

Standing in the hall, Wang Cong felt as if his mind had been struck by lightning, buzzing incessantly.

Potatoes? Sweet potatoes?

The People's Daily had previously mentioned these two items, saying they were new grain varieties promoted by Pujitang during the disaster relief efforts in Jizhou.

But who cared back then?

They only saw it as a temporary measure to appease the disaster victims; how much could the output be?

But now the emperor says that the crop can actually yield 3,000 catties per mu!

If this figure is true, then the Cui family spent seventy or eighty million taels of silver to hoard those grains at a high price...

A thin layer of sweat appeared on Wang Cong's forehead, and his legs went weak.

Xiao Ye didn't give him time to process this further and turned to look at the Minister of War.

Ministry of War.

"Your subject is here."

"Draft an edict. Instruct the Northern Army to begin planting potatoes and sweet potatoes during peacetime, to serve as long-term grain reserves for the garrison. For specific planting techniques, consult the Jizhou branch of Pujitang."

"I obey your decree!"

Wang Cong stood in the hall, his face turning from white to ashen.

He had a bad feeling.

All of the Cui family's previous plans and schemes... are likely to fall apart!

Because the entire message was fake!

The emperor never lacked food!

Previously, the Ministry of Revenue was ordered to purchase grain at high prices... This caused them to lose their temper... A death order...

It was all an act?!

Wang Cong's knees buckled and he staggered.

He suddenly realized something.

The secret letters he sent to Cui Yuan, the intelligence that "the emperor urgently needs grain" and "the Ministry of Revenue is short of cash"...

In fact, it was information deliberately leaked by the emperor.

These are all fake!

It was to lure him and the Cui family into a trap!

Wang Cong, however, believed that he had uncovered top-secret information.

One letter after another was sent to Lingzhou, feeding the Cui family with these baits.

Cold sweat trickled down Wang Cong's back to his waist.

The Cui family... might be finished!

Xiao Ye scanned the reactions of the court officials one by one, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes.

This was a scheme that Gu Mingyue and he had set up together.

In fact, the potatoes and sweet potatoes in Jizhou could only sustain the local people's food supply for another half a month at most.

The Northern Army's food supplies were almost exhausted.

The food shortage is real.

……

The next day.

The newsboys were already out and about when it was just dawn.

This issue of the Dayong People's Daily had a total of 50,000 additional copies printed.

20,000 copies for Kyoto, and 10,000 copies each for the three prefectures south of the Yangtze River.

The newsboys' voices were louder than ever before.

"Da Yong People's Gazette! Da Yong People's Gazette! A bumper harvest of potatoes and sweet potatoes in the Northern Territory! 3,000 catties per mu! Soldiers and civilians alike are well-fed! Grain prices will soon drop!"

"A merchant house in Lingzhou is suspected of hoarding and price gouging; its granaries have been seized by the imperial court! They are maliciously monopolizing grain prices, and the court is investigating!"

"Investment involves risk! Attention all investors in a certain construction project: This company has applied for an extension of the final payment, and its cash flow may have dried up! If you don't get your principal back soon, the boss is going to abscond with your money!"

Three messages, three thunderbolts.

Although the newspaper did not name the "Cui family" by name, rumors spread rapidly among the people!

Previously, only people in Lingzhou knew that the Anning County granary had been sealed off.

Now that it has been published in the Da Yong Min Bao, the whole world knows about it.

Those small and medium-sized nobles who joined the Cui Family Commodity City project immediately became alert.

Having trouble churning cash? That's a major no-no for businesses!

Many noble families have fallen overnight because they couldn't manage their cash flow, ultimately leading to a dead end.

It's quite possible that the Cui family is spending so much money on grain speculation that they're facing cash flow problems.

These minor nobles who invested money and joined the commodity city would rather not make any money than let the Cui family run away with their capital!

The first to arrive at the gate of the Cui residence was the steward of the Qingping Earl's residence.

He initially invested 600,000 taels of silver to join the group.

The manager stood outside the door, holding a newspaper, his hands trembling.

"Is Master Cui here? Come out and speak! Our Lord wants to withdraw his investment! Six hundred thousand taels of silver, not a penny less!"

No one answered the door.

The manager got impatient and started banging on the door.

After taking a few photos, more people came up behind me.

The clan leader of a collateral branch of the Marquis of Ningyuan arrived with three servants.

He paid 1.2 million taels of silver back then.

"I want a refund too! Give me my money back!"

More than a dozen groups of people arrived one after another.

Shen Yanqing arrived last.

He was the one who joined the most, contributing five million taels of silver.

Although this money was allocated by Gu Dongjia to his Shen family for him to use in digging pits.

But now that it's time to get his money back, he still has to put on a convincing act.

Shen Yanqing glanced at the group of people in a panic in front of the Cui residence and instructed his servants, "Go and call the other nobles who have joined the group. Tell them that the Cui family is about to run away with the money, and they should come quickly to get their money back."

The study in the backyard of the Cui residence.

Cui Yuan sat in a grand chair, with the newly published Da Yong Min Bao newspaper spread out on the desk in front of him.

The sounds of knocking and shouting coming from the front yard were all mixed together and could be heard clearly even through several courtyard walls.

Cui Ming paced back and forth beside him, his brows furrowed so deeply they could trap a mosquito.

"Brother, these fair-weather friends!"

"When they were begging us to join, they were all calling us 'Grandpa' and 'Father.' Now, after just one sentence in the newspaper, they're showing up at our door?"

Cui Yuan ignored him.

He's now more focused on the first headline in the newspaper.

"A bumper harvest of potatoes and sweet potatoes in the North."

If this news is true, then all the food he has stockpiled will be wasted.

Just then, the servant in charge of the front yard practically tumbled and crawled into the study.

"My Lord! Something terrible has happened!"

Cui Yuan raised his head with a gloomy expression.

Behind the servant were three or four other people, who were the managers of several grain shops owned by the Cui family in Lingzhou.

These shopkeepers were all pale-faced, disheveled, and breathless from running.

"My Lord! Something terrible has happened!"

The fat shopkeeper at the head of the group knelt down in front of the desk with a thud, and only after catching his breath could he finish speaking.

"Pujitang has set up a shed at the entrance of the logistics station outside Lingzhou City and has started selling grain to the public!"

Cui Yuan's hand paused.

"What kind of grain are you selling? What's the price?"

The fat shopkeeper trembled and swallowed hard.

"Eighty coins per dou. Each household is limited to one dou per day."

The study fell into a deathly silence!

The Cui family sells it for 200 coins, while Pujitang sells it for 80 coins?

Cui Yuan's ears were ringing.

He suddenly stood up from the armchair, furious!

"Does Pujitang think it can challenge the Cui family with its meager grain reserves?"

The other, thinner shopkeeper, feeling uncertain, quickly replied.

"Your Excellency, I have been watching outside the logistics station for almost half an hour."

"At one station, there are at least tens of thousands of people queuing up. Based on an amount of one dou per person per day, at least a thousand shi have been distributed this morning alone."

"But the staff at the logistics station said that Pujitang has them every day! They'll continue tomorrow! And the day after!"

"Most importantly, they also started selling potatoes! And potatoes can actually fill a food supply!"

Cui Yuan's hand, which was supporting the desk, trembled slightly.

As long as Pujitang's grain shop, which sells grain for eighty coins, continues to operate, the value of the grain in the Cui family's hands will continue to depreciate.

The longer you hold onto it, the greater the loss will be.

"Go investigate! Find out exactly how much grain Pujitang still has!"