Isolated town in northern border region

The atmosphere in Yongzhou City became subtle in just half a month.

Xiao Lie led a grain transport team composed of commoners, going door-to-door to deal with the major families of Yongzhou.

The Wang family's granary was emptied, the Li family's granary was emptied, the Zhao family's granary was emptied...

Every operation was carried out with great fanfare, and Xiao Lie always stood at the forefront, giving the people confidence.

The people followed behind, going from initial helplessness to later confidence, and finally to eagerness to try.

For the first time, they discovered that even patriarchs of powerful families could be afraid.

It turns out that people who have knelt their whole lives also have the right to stand up straight.

But a noble family is still a noble family.

Wang Shouchang lost two front teeth and spoke with a lisp, but his brain was still intact.

He covered his cheek and summoned all the heads of the prominent families in Yongzhou in the Wang family's secret chamber.

The heads of thirteen families, including the Li, Zhao, Sun, and Zhou families, sat in a circle, their tea untouched, the atmosphere as gloomy as an impending storm.

"Gentlemen."

Wang Shouchang's voice was somewhat muffled, and his hollow front teeth inevitably let in air.

"Xiao Lie emboldened those peasants, turning the entire Yongzhou into a chaotic mess!"

"Even I, an old man, have to swallow this utter humiliation!"

"We can't just sit here and wait to die. We must let Xiao Lie know that the aristocratic families of Yongzhou are not to be trifled with!"

The head of the Li family frowned.

"But Xiao Lie has troops under his command, what can we do?"

"Soldiers?"

Wang Shoucheng sneered.

"Would he dare to kill someone within Yongzhou City?"

"If he really dares to slaughter the aristocratic families, the Chu Emperor will immediately have an excuse to mobilize troops to suppress him!"

"He absolutely wouldn't dare!"

"He brought those peasants to rob, smash, and move things, simply trying to force us to make mistakes!"

"As long as we remain calm and don't give him an excuse to attack, he can only keep stalling like this!"

"I heard that Qian Wanli, one of his subordinates, opened a trading company in Beijiang in Yongzhou today."

"Hmph! We should show him who's in charge in Yongzhou!"

He paused, then lowered his voice.

"I have already sent a messenger to the capital to express my loyalty to His Majesty."

"What His Majesty wants now is nothing more than the loyalty of our aristocratic families. Over the years, our families have seen countless emperors come and go. We have long been accustomed to this kind of thing."

"As long as His Majesty gives his approval, Xiao Lie won't be able to stay in Yongzhou for long."

The head of the Li family's eyes lit up.

"What did His Majesty say?"

"No reply yet."

"But given His Majesty's temperament, he will not let go of this opportunity to make Xiao Lie offend all the powerful families in the world."

"What we need to do now is to endure it."

"Endure until His Majesty makes a statement, endure until Xiao Lie reveals a weakness!"

"Before that..."

He looked around.

"No one is allowed to have a direct confrontation with Xiao Lie."

"He wants grain, so just give it to him!"

"Even if he emptied the entire grain supply of Yongzhou, it would only be the peasants who starved to death."

"With the wealth we've accumulated over generations, we could outlast him even if we bought grain from elsewhere!"

The heads of the thirteen families all nodded in agreement.

After the meeting, Wang Shoucheng sat alone in the secret room, touching his two missing front teeth, a fierce glint in his eyes.

"Xiao Lie...you wait."

The Chu Emperor's reply came faster than expected.

Wang Shoucheng's fingers trembled as he opened the secret letter.

The letter contained only one line of text.

"Rest assured, I have made arrangements."

"Yongzhou is the center of the Great Chu trade routes. I hope you gentlemen will make proper arrangements."

Wang Shouchang read the letter three times, then smiled. His smile held a hint of bitterness, but more so a sense of relief and certainty.

"Emperor Chu, you are indeed suspicious. In this situation, you still want a pledge of allegiance?"

"Fine! It'll just cost more money. People like Xiao Lie can't exist!"

He burned the letter over the candle flame, and the ashes fell into the teacup.

"The Northern Frontier Trading Company, at least it can be considered a pledge of allegiance!"

That night, the shopkeepers of various businesses in Yongzhou City simultaneously received three instructions.

First, all goods from each merchant firm will be sold at a price lower than that of the Northern Frontier Merchant Firm, and any losses will be attributed to the aristocratic family.

Second, all trade routes to northern Xinjiang were temporarily closed under the pretext of "maintenance," and no goods were transported on them.

Third, goods from the Northern Frontier Merchants are strictly prohibited from leaving Yongzhou.

With three measures implemented simultaneously, the Beijiang Trading Company, which had just opened for business, had all its avenues of operation blocked overnight.

The next morning, Qian Wanli stood at the entrance of his own shop and was stunned when he saw the sign "Eight wen per foot" hanging in the Wang family's cloth shop across the street.

He rubbed his eyes and took another look.

It really is eight coins per foot!

It's even cheaper than the price offered by Beijiang Trading Company!

He turned to look at the street corner, where the Li family's grain shop had a sign that read "Seven coins for one dou," which was five coins lower than his own!

He then looked at Zhao's salt shop at the alley entrance, where the salt price had also dropped by 30%!

All the established family shops on the entire street suddenly started lowering their prices overnight!

Qian Wanli rushed to the post station, his face ashen.

"Your Highness, all the prominent families in Yongzhou have lowered their prices overnight. They're trying to compete with us in terms of wealth!"

Qian Wanli had previously been in charge of commerce in Northern Xinjiang and knew exactly how much resources Northern Xinjiang had. He knew that if they continued to fight like this, Northern Xinjiang couldn't afford to lose!

Xiao Lie was drinking tea and didn't even lift his eyelids after hearing this.

"Let them surrender."

"Only if we fight hard can the people of Yongzhou have enough to eat and wear."

"Your Highness!"

Qian Wanli became anxious.

"I know you love your people like your own children, but our northern frontier only has so much silver; it can't compare to the accumulated wealth of aristocratic families over generations!"

"Although our costs are lower, if we're constantly blocked by the powerful families, we won't be able to open up trade routes!"

"No rush, if we can't get through, the powerful families will help us."

Xiao Lie put down his teacup.

"My family may not be wealthy, but I have many tricks up my sleeve!"

Qian Wanli wanted to say something, but when he met Xiao Lie's calm eyes, he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

That afternoon, the price of cloth at Qian Wanli Trading Company dropped to seven coins per foot, and grain to six coins per bushel.

When the news spread, the entire population of Yongzhou was stunned!

Cloth is cheaper than toilet paper, and grain is cheaper than wild vegetables?

What is a golden age? This is a golden age!

But there are also some sensible people among the common people.

Some ordinary people who had once been merchants but had gone bankrupt due to schemes orchestrated by powerful families saw through it.

This isn't a windfall; it's the prince fighting tooth and nail against the powerful families.

Although the people were dirt poor, they knew who was good to them!

For a time, a popular saying circulated among the people of Yongzhou: "Cloth is cheap, grain is sold at rock-bottom prices, that's because the prince risked his life! We'd rather buy it for a penny more than let the noble families make a single cent."

The merchants, whose businesses had been bankrupted by the powerful families, pooled their resources and walked straight past the shops of the various powerful families, ignoring the ridiculously low prices of their goods, before heading directly into the Northern Frontier Shop.

"Shopkeeper, here's all the silver you can buy, take it all!"

Qian Wanli was somewhat stunned.

"The prices at the shops outside are lower, everyone, is that right?"

The man at the head of the group smiled.

"Back when we were running small businesses, those powerful and wealthy families made it impossible for us to survive!"

"Now that the prince has avenged us poor people, we can't be ungrateful!"

"We've made all the plans; consider this our contribution to the Prince!"

Qian Wanli stood behind the counter, looking at the honest-looking men in front of him, and suddenly felt his eyes welling up with tears.

The news spread like wildfire.

That afternoon, about a dozen people walked into Qian Wanli's shop, each holding a few copper coins, saying they wanted to buy cloth.

They put the money on the counter, picked up the cloth, and turned to leave.

The next day, dozens more arrived.

On the third day, a long queue formed in front of the shop, stretching from one end of the street to the other, and everyone had a similar expression.

Excitement, determination, as if coming to keep a date.

Qian Wanli's eyes were red all day.

He found Xiao Lie, his voice muffled.

"Your Highness, the people are helping us!"

Xiao Lie stood by the window, looking at the long queue on the street, and remained silent for a while.

"The common people are truly honest!"

"Why aren't you taking advantage of the aristocratic families cutting prices to stockpile goods, instead of sending money to me?"

"Old Qian, go tell the villagers to hurry up and fleece the Shi family!"