The immortal of the Tang Dynasty, but the game starts at Xuanwu Gate?

Empress Zhangsun agreed and immediately sent someone to inquire with Li Shimin, so Chen Huai'an naturally had no objections.

Afterwards, Chen Huai'an left with Li Chengqian and four imperial guards disguised as servants.

"Sir, where are we going?"

Upon leaving the Eastern Palace, Li Chengqian was extremely excited, looking around anxiously.

Chen Huai'an casually said, "I'm going to arrange for people to sell the grain. You stay by my side and don't say a word, okay?"

Li Chengqian nodded obediently: "Sir, I understand. I will definitely not cause you any trouble."

Chen Huai'an believed this. His hesitation about whether to bring Li Chengqian out was only due to safety concerns.

Next, without any delay, Chen Huai'an found Shen He and Wang Bai.

"Get ready, a drought has occurred, and grain prices are soaring. I have already discussed with His Majesty and the Ministry of Revenue that this batch of grain will be sold to the Ministry of Revenue for two hundred coins each."

Upon hearing this, Wang Bai's eyes widened immediately: "My lord... but the price of grain outside is three hundred and fifty coins!"

"If it doesn't rain for a while, the price could rise to four hundred..."

As he spoke, Wang Bai's voice trailed off, because Chen Huai'an's gaze toward him grew increasingly cold.

"My lord... I understand." Wang Bai didn't dare to breathe and hurriedly nodded in agreement.

Chen Huai'an said coldly, "You know that grain prices are soaring outside, but do you know how many people are selling their children?"

"The Ministry of Revenue buys grain to help the people. You want to make money off of this kind, so unscrupulous?"

Wang Bai said in a trembling voice, "My lord... I know I was wrong. I was momentarily blinded by greed and forgot my current status. Please punish me, my lord."

"Do your job well," Chen Huai'an warned coldly, then turned to Shen He and said, "You should know who's behind this deal. Go ahead and do it. Sell all the grain to the Ministry of Revenue as soon as possible."

"The imperial court needs this batch of grain, and I also need it to reach the Ministry of Revenue."

"I understand," Shen He said respectfully.

Chen Huai'an nodded slightly: "Wang Bai, come with me. Shen He, stay behind and prepare to mobilize the grain."

Without any delay, he got up and left immediately after giving the notification, and Wang Bai quickly followed.

"Sir, I know you've stockpiled grain in advance, but is there enough to feed so many people in the interior and Shandong regions?"

On the way, Li Chengqian asked curiously.

Chen Huai'an frowned slightly, realizing something.

There is a big difference between regular disaster relief and work-for-relief programs.

For ordinary disaster relief, if the goal is simply to ensure the survival of the people, then providing them with some porridge each day is sufficient.

If it were a work-for-relief program, the people would be doing physically demanding work, which would be too taxing. They wouldn't be able to get enough to eat with just a bowl of porridge; they would need to be fed three meals a day.

In addition, Li Chengqian's words make sense. With the grain he had, plus the grain provided by the imperial court, it was not certain that they could get through this disaster smoothly.

Because Chen Huai'an remembered that the disaster in the first year of Zhenguan was not just an ordinary drought in the spring.

This disaster lasted almost the entire year.

Damn it, we have a lot of grain, but we can't keep up with this kind of consumption!

More importantly, this year is over, what about next year?

Where will he get so much grain next year?

Chen Huai'an looked grim.

Li Chengqian realized he had made a good point and said again, "Sir, instead of trying to hoard grain, you should try to lower grain prices. I remember you once said that there has never been a time when grain was scarce."

"It's only the common people who are lacking food!"

Chen Huai'an: !!!

Hearing Li Chengqian's words, Chen Huai'an suddenly realized what he should do.

"Hahahaha, Chengqian, you really are a smart kid, much better than your disobedient sister!" Chen Huai'an laughed heartily.

Li Chengqian exclaimed with delight, "It seems you have a solution, sir."

"I've got it." Chen Huai'an glanced at Wang Bai, his tone enigmatic. "Well, I was also blinded by my own involvement, but you, as an outsider, have enlightened me."

"But it's okay, it's not too late for me to realize this, it's still early."

"Come on, let's go see the Minister of Revenue. Today, I'll teach you what stock trading and economics are!"

"..."

Minister Pei.

Inside the Ministry of Revenue, Chen Huai'an led Wang Bai and Li Chengqian in and went straight to Pei Ju: "I've brought the people for you, and the price has already been agreed upon. It's two hundred wen per shi of millet, which is one hundred and fifty wen lower than the market price."

"This is Wang Bai, one of the men sent by the grain merchants. They have a total of 180,000 shi of grain in their hands."

Pei Ju's eyelids twitched: "Eighteen thousand shi?"

Chen Huai'an nodded: "180,000 shi!"

Pei Ju glanced at Chen Huai'an, then at Wang Bai, and finally his gaze settled on Li Chengqian. He twitched the corner of his mouth and said, "...Whatever Minister Chen says goes."

"Two hundred coins... Heh, the price is fine, but I must inspect the goods."

"No problem!" Chen Huai'an readily agreed. "The grain is in Chang'an City, and Minister Pei can inspect it at any time."

"However... I suddenly had some thoughts just now, and I have a few questions I would like to ask Minister Pei."

"What's the problem?" Pei Ju asked, puzzled.

Chen Huai'an sat down, facing Pei Ju: "In the Guanzhong region, in various prefectures and counties, the number of people affected by the disaster... well, I mean those who truly cannot survive, the number isn't particularly large yet, is it?"

"After all, the spring drought has only just begun."

Pei Ju nodded: "If you're talking about those who can't survive, the number isn't actually that large, otherwise the news would have spread throughout the world long ago."

"Currently, most of those affected by the disaster are people who were already struggling to make ends meet and relied on counting their food supplies. The soaring food prices caused by the initial signs of spring drought have made it impossible for them to survive."

"Then your Ministry of Revenue should have enough cash, right?" Chen Huai'an's eyes gradually brightened.

Pei Ju immediately became alert: "What do you want to do? How much money the Ministry of Revenue has is none of your business, is it? This is not something you, as the Minister of Works, should know."

"Minister Pei, you misunderstand. I just want to join forces with you to bring down the price of grain," Chen Huai'an said with a smile.

"The disaster appears to be quite severe, affecting not only Guanzhong Plain and surrounding areas, but also Shandong Province."

"It's obvious without even thinking about it. With so many disaster victims, even if you buy these 180,000 shi of grain, you won't be able to hold out for long, considering the number of people affected and the consumption of the work-for-relief program."

"Only if the price of grain is driven down, and we can rely on income from ironware and refined salt, can we ensure our survival through this disaster, can't we?"

Pei Ju remained silent for a moment before asking, "How do we fight?"

"Simple, we'll do it like this..."

"......"

PS: After checking a lot of information, I found that in the first year of Zhenguan, there was a famine in Guanzhong. A dou of rice was worth one bolt of silk. The price of a bolt of silk also fluctuated, and it was roughly between three and four hundred wen.

In March, the disaster was not yet at its worst, so food prices are not high now.