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

Li Shimin kept his word and withstood immense pressure in the days that followed.

Every day at court, the two words Chen Huai'an heard most often were "grain prices".

These officials took turns submitting memorials, and Li Shimin had no choice but to deal with them, which made Chen Huai'an feel somewhat embarrassed.

Erfeng is still a good match.

He truly does what he says he will do.

Soon, it was mid-April, and a message reached Chang'an!

"My lord, my lord!"

Wang Bai anxiously found Chen Huai'an, who was leisurely reading in the mansion: "There are large groups of disaster victims in Shandong. News came this morning that these disaster victims set off a few days ago, and they seem to be heading towards Chang'an."

"Oh?" Chen Huai'an's eyes lit up: "When did this happen?"

"Two days ago!" Wang Bai hurriedly said, "Everyone is currently focused on the disaster situation, especially in Shandong. Since the disaster victims set off, there have been more and more convoys transporting grain to Chang'an City in the past two days."

"There are at least a hundred grain merchants, large and small!"

Chen Huai'an was startled: "What's the latest grain price today?"

"Eighteen thousand!" Wang Bai swallowed hard.

This grain price is already close to the price during the time when Emperor Yang of Sui built the Grand Canal.

"One thousand eight hundred..." Chen Huai'an's eyes flickered slightly. He knew very well that this price was far from the one dou of rice and one silk cloth recorded in historical books, but in April, it was already quite high.

His involvement with the Ministry of Revenue was indispensable!

"Spread the word! Today... let's raise the price of grain to two strings of cash in one fell swoop!"

"Close the net before sunset tomorrow!"

"Yes, sir!" Wang Bai replied excitedly and quickly carried out Chen Huai'an's instructions.

After Wang Bai left, Chen Huai'an put down the book in his hand, seemed to have thought of something, chuckled softly, and went straight out the door.

After leaving home, he went to the Ministry of Revenue and found Pei Ju.

"Minister Pei, the harvest season has arrived. You haven't been idle these past few days, have you?"

Pei Ju snorted: "Don't you dare look down on me. I've lived for so many years and I still have quite a few connections in various places."

"Don't worry, during this time, I've secretly purchased a lot of grain from various regions, plus what you sold... what the person you introduced sold, it's enough to resettle the disaster victims, and incidentally, to smash this plate!"

"Good!" Chen Huai'an exclaimed with delight. "Are the people outside the city ready with their disguise? When it's time to harvest, we'll have to put on a show to make everyone believe that the imperial court has enough grain!"

"Also, information about where you actually acquired it from should be released at that time."

Pei Ju nodded slightly: "Don't worry, I understand all of this and have arranged everything. I check it carefully every day, and there won't be any problems."

"But do you really think those grain merchants will lower their prices?"

"What if they refuse to lower the price? Or simply refuse to sell altogether?"

Chen Huai'an laughed: "That's impossible. You'll understand when the time comes."

"..."

After chatting with Pei Ju for a few minutes and confirming some details, Chen Huai'an went to the Ministry of Works and summoned Chang Gui and Ouyang Shu. He also sent someone to find Yu Shao from the Directorate of Works.

"How's the matter I asked you to handle going?" Chen Huai'an asked.

Upon hearing this, Ouyang Shu replied, "Your Excellency, everything has been arranged. Officials from the Ministry of Works and the Directorate of Works are waiting on the only route from Shandong to Chang'an. As soon as the disaster victims arrive, they will be hired immediately."

"Huh?" Chang Gui looked at Ouyang Shu beside him, his mind full of questions.

When did this happen? How come I don't know about it?

So Ouyang Shu disappeared for so many days and did this?

Chen Huai'an ignored Chang Gui's doubts. He had made separate arrangements for the two vice ministers of the Ministry of Works. Chang Gui was in charge of Chang'an and other areas, while Ouyang Shu was in charge of Shandong.

As for Yu Shao...

"Yu Shao, how's the land reclamation going?" Chen Huai'an asked directly.

There's no need to hide many things anymore.

Yu Shao respectfully replied, "Your Excellency, since you ordered the reclamation of wasteland, I have employed a large number of farmers and disaster victims, and requisitioned and rented many oxen. With the addition of the curved plow, a total of 90,000 mu of land has been reclaimed before the spring plowing, and it has all been planted during the spring plowing."

"Thanks to your foresight, sir, I sent people to repair the water conservancy system early on and stored a lot of water. As a result, the crops planted on these 90,000 mu of land have not been affected by the drought and are currently growing well."

"Good, good, Yu Shao, you've done a great job!" Chen Huai'an was completely relieved and in a great mood.

Although these grains cannot be harvested now, what is important about these grains is not their consumption, but the significance they represent.

Yu Shao said with admiration, "It is all thanks to the Minister's foresight. I am ashamed. I had previously advised the Minister not to rush into reclaiming wasteland, building water conservancy projects, and storing rainwater."

"Otherwise, I will be held responsible even if I die a thousand deaths!"

Chang Gui and Ouyang Shu remained silent.

They had tried to persuade Chen Huai'an before, but fortunately he insisted and even brought out fine salt.

Otherwise, where would we be in this situation today?

Thinking about it carefully, it seems that from the very beginning, his own minister had foreseen every step and made countermeasures that were difficult for others to understand.

From accumulating wealth through iron tools, to building charitable granaries, and later repairing water conservancy projects, storing rainwater, and employing farmers and disaster victims to reclaim wasteland.

Each and every one of these events, which seemed difficult to understand before, now appears to be nothing short of divine inspiration!

The more they thought about it, the more admiring they became.

Our own Minister is truly a divine being!

Chen Huai'an said in a relaxed tone, "That's not important. Merit is merit. After this matter is over, I will personally recommend the three of you to His Majesty for your merits."

"Now, there's still a grand game to play, and it's time to make the final move."

"The show is about to begin!"

"..."

"Hahaha, the three of you, how about it?"

Wang Bai approached the three grain merchants he had previously contacted, and said with a smile, "I wasn't lying to you, was I? The price of grain is almost two strings of cash these days!"

Zhang Ming, Lü Xun, and Ma Yan were all beaming with joy, and they all offered their compliments.

They are now truly impressed by Wang Bai.

The price of grain was exactly as the other party had predicted; it was about to break through two strings of cash and head towards three strings.

How could they not be happy?

Wang Bai said meaningfully, "The three of you, don't rush to sell the grain you have. I have another piece of news for you: a large number of disaster victims from Shandong are heading towards Chang'an."

"The imperial court... is about to lose its composure!"

"Is this true?" Zhang Ming was almost speechless. "A large number of disaster victims from Shandong are rushing towards Chang'an?"

Lu Xun's face flushed with excitement: "So, the court, facing a food shortage, certainly won't stand idly by. At that time... no matter how high the price of grain is, the court will have no choice but to grit its teeth and buy it?"

Even the usually composed Ma Yan could not remain calm at this moment.

What a kind person!

Wang Bai is such a good person!

The person behind Wang Bai is a good person!

He's rich, and he's really going to help you get rich!

"..."