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

The moment Wang Bai finished speaking, the scene fell silent.

Lu Xun, Zhang Ming, and Ma Yan's expressions gradually changed from blank to incredulous, and then they laughed.

"Brother Wang, you're drunk," Lü Xun said with a smile. "Three strings of cash! You can't joke about that. That price is more than ten times higher."

"How could it have risen so much?"

"Yes." Zhang Ming nodded, not believing Wang Bai's words at all. "Three strings of cash, that price is comparable to the chaotic end of the Sui Dynasty."

"At that time, I was just a greenhorn, following my father to sell grain. I remember in the seventh year of the Daye era, in Shandong, Hebei and the Liaodong front, a dou of rice cost 200 wen, and a shi of grain cost 2 guan."

"Although there is a drought now and the court is carrying out construction, there is a severe shortage of food. The price is unlikely to rise to three strings of cash. After all, neither the retired emperor nor the current emperor is a tyrannical or incompetent ruler."

"Impossible."

Ma Yan also looked incredulous: "Brother Wang, you must really be drunk. Three strings of cash? How could that be?"

"Do you think this is like when the Wagang Army besieged Luoyang in the first year of the Yining era?"

When this matter was mentioned, a sense of emotion welled up in the eyes of all of them. They were all people who had lived through that era, and they were grain merchants.

It is well known that when Li Mi's Wagang Army besieged Luoyang, the eastern capital, for a long time, the city's food supply was completely cut off, and the price of grain reached an unbelievable level.

A bushel of rice costs three thousand coins!

One shi of grain is ten dou, and one dou of rice costs three thousand coins, which means that one shi costs thirty guan.

This price is beyond description; it's practically a dream price!

Wang Bai smiled without saying a word: "It doesn't matter if you don't believe me. When all the disaster-stricken people in Shandong can't survive and rush to Chang'an to seek a way to live, you'll know that I'm not lying."

"Now, whether it's five hundred or six hundred coins, it's just a small matter."

"You're all grain merchants, you should be able to find out how much grain I bought back then, but look at me now, apart from selling a little bit when prices are rising, have you seen me dumping large quantities?"

To be honest, after Wang Bai brought up the matter, all three of them became somewhat suspicious.

Upon closer examination, it becomes clear that Wang Bai rarely sold grain except for raising prices; he mostly sold it in small, scattered amounts, totaling no more than a thousand shi (a unit of dry measure).

Could it be... that what Wang Bai said is true?

Otherwise, how do you explain why the other party isn't selling grain?

There's no other explanation besides waiting for food prices to continue rising!

"Brother Wang, have you received some other news?" Zhang Ming's eyes darted around as he asked casually, "Otherwise, how can you be so sure that grain prices would rise to this level?"

Wang Bai smiled faintly upon hearing this. It wasn't that he wasn't selling grain; he simply didn't have any grain at all.

All he had left was the five thousand shi (a unit of dry measure) that Chen Huai'an had given him to raise the price for.

However, this matter cannot be told to these people.

Besides, he's already said enough.

"It cannot be said, it cannot be said..." Wang Bai finished the wine in his cup in one gulp. "If you all trust me, then do not sell off large quantities of grain first."

"Otherwise... it would be too boring for me to be rich all by myself."

"I've purchased another batch of grain, and I need to go back and transport it over. Excuse me!"

After speaking, Wang Bai gestured to the three of them and left.

Ma Yan and the others exchanged glances and narrowed their eyes.

They scoffed at the idea that Wang Bai would share wealth and status.

They simply don't believe the idea that being rich and noble is too boring.

The three of them knew very well that Wang Bai was willing to tell them the news, most likely just to let them share the risk.

If that weren't the case, who wouldn't be secretly making a fortune?

Will you be included?

But... if what Wang Bai said is true...

People die for wealth, birds die for food!

With immense wealth and fortune right in front of them, who would be willing to give it up?

"What do you two think?" Ma Yan asked in a deep voice.

Zhang Ming said calmly, "I have already transferred all the grain I have. Even if I can't sell it for the sky-high price of three strings of cash that Brother Wang mentioned, I can still sell it for a little over one string of cash based on the current trend."

"I am already satisfied. When the price is high, I will immediately sell it to the court to avoid the price being too high and causing the court to be displeased."

Lu Xun chuckled and said, "That's what I think too. I'm a content person. Making a fortune is enough for me. I'm not greedy."

"Since you both think this way, then I'll just sell the grain I currently have," Ma Yan said with a smile.

After exchanging pleasantries, the three of them hurriedly left after the event.

I don't know what they went to do...

"..."

"Sir, I have said everything I needed to say."

Wang Bai arrived at the Duke of Anguo's residence and respectfully reported everything that had just happened to Chen Huai'an.

Chen Huai'an, who was reading a book at the time, said calmly upon hearing this, "Go, find someone to load some sand from Chang'an City and pretend it's grain being transported in."

"You can mix in a few bags of real grain, spill them in front of everyone, or something, to make everyone believe that you are really transporting grain."

"I'll have the people in the Ministry of Revenue who are raising prices use the same method to pretend that grain is being transported in."

"Yes, sir," Wang Bai replied, then asked curiously, "Sir, isn't three strings of cash a bit too high? Will they believe it?"

"Does it matter whether they believe it or not?" Chen Huai'an raised his eyelids slightly. "Even if they don't believe the price can reach three strings of cash, wouldn't they be tempted by two strings or five hundred coins per string?"

"Whether they believe it or not is irrelevant. As long as they believe it, the current price is far from the end."

"Understood, sir." Wang Bai bowed, then asked, "Sir, when shall we close the net?"

Without turning his head, Chen Huai'an said, "Once the disaster victims from Shandong have left, we'll immediately close the net."

"Understood." Wang Bai understood and slowly withdrew.

As the capital, the place where the imperial court and the emperor resided, Chang'an was a place where people would come to seek a way to survive if they could not make a living.

Chen Huai'an's meaning was already very clear: once the number of disaster victims really increased and the victims from Shandong started to flock to Chang'an, that would be the time to close the net.

Because at that time, the disaster must have been so severe that if the operation wasn't closed soon, too many lives might be lost.

Moreover, by this time, grain prices must have climbed to a fairly high level, attracting many grain merchants.

"..."