Chapter 159: White-Hot

Hunyong.

Zhao Tang was reporting the grain allocation situation to Li Zhi.

"The one million shi of grain transported from Hedong arrived in three batches, but all of them were intercepted in advance by the aristocratic families of Guanzhong and陇. The amount actually entering the market is probably less than fifty thousand shi."

"The price of grain has risen from one qian for three dou to one qian for one dou."

"There is a possibility that grain prices will be pushed even higher. Ordinary people have also begun to hoard grain, but the amount they can store is limited."

The price war had been going on for less than ten days.

The Guanzhong and陇 aristocratic families had already achieved some success.

They had driven grain prices up threefold.

"How long will it take for the grain from Henan, Hebei, Shandong, and other places to be transported to the Guanzhong and陇 regions?" Li Zhi asked.

"At the earliest, it will take another seven to eight days."

Zhao Tang was very experienced in managing the Ministry of Revenue, and handling these grain intelligence matters in front of Li Zhi was effortless for him.

Li Zhi nodded.

"Then release twenty thousand shi of grain first to drive the price down."

Li Zhi began to release grain.

This batch of grain came from his own reserves.

It was not yet new crops such as sweet potatoes.

Since he intended to fight the aristocratic families, how could he not make preparations in advance?

Knowing that the aristocratic families' trump card was grain, if Li Zhi had entered this conflict without any reserves of his own, it would truly have been a case of overestimating his own capabilities.

"The twenty thousand shi of grain should mainly be transported to the Guanzhong and Hanzhong regions. As for Luoyang and other places, deploying about thirty thousand shi of grain will be enough."

"The chain stores we opened ourselves should also start playing their part."

In addition to absorbing merchants into the chamber of commerce, Li Zhi was also developing his own commercial system.

Asking others is not as good as relying on oneself.

Zhao Tang was, after all, a sensible man.

He nodded and said, "Your subordinate knows what to do. Please rest assured, Your Highness."

With that, Zhao Tang went back to execute the grain release.

Under Zhao Tang's arrangement, grain from various places quickly began to be shipped out.

Li Zhi's grain was not solely stored in Hunyong; the commercial shops in various regions all held grain.

At Li Zhi's single command, these places would begin releasing grain in batches according to his instructions.

...

The grain war continued.

The Guanzhong and陇 aristocratic families had just spent tens of millions of qian to buy up the grain successively shipped from Hedong and other places, when a new batch of grain suddenly appeared from nowhere.

It amounted to hundreds of thousands of shi as well.

The price of grain, which had reached three times the normal market price at its peak, dropped back down to twice the market price.

It stabilized at around one qian for two dou.

The aristocratic families grew anxious, desperately buying up grain from the market and intentionally driving the price back up.

Just at that moment, the grain from the Henan region arrived.

Another million-shi wave.

The Guanzhong and陇 aristocratic families continued to pour money into the market.

Half a month into the grain war, the Guanzhong and陇 aristocratic families had already spent thirty to forty million qian, yet they still seemed capable of continuing their acquisitions.

That day.

Li Zhi was watching a theatrical performance.

The play was written by himself.

It was currently only being performed exclusively for him locally in Hunyong.

He was directing it himself.

He planned to promote it everywhere later, especially in Chang'an and Luoyang, by opening more theaters.

Li Ji hurried over to see him.

"Your Highness the Prince of Jin, newly received news: the batch of grain transported from Jiangnan has run into trouble," Li Ji said nervously.

Li Zhi remained completely calm, eyes closed as he savored the nuances of the play.

Unflustered, he asked, "What happened?"

"The Guanzhong and陇 aristocratic families actually colluded with river bandits on the canal to disrupt the ships heading north, and two batches of grain were intercepted."

Li Ji was furious.

He had not yet used military force against those aristocratic families, yet they were pushing their luck.

How dared they resort to underhanded tactics?

Li Zhi remained serene and said, "I expected them to pull dirty tricks. Have local officials been notified to suppress them?"

Li Ji sighed, "The crux of the matter is that the local officials have also been bought off by the aristocratic families. They are secretly setting up obstacles for the transport of goods from Jiangnan, blocking their grain from heading north."

"If we have to take the land route, this batch of grain might take an extra month to reach Guanzhong and陇."

Li Zhi smiled and said, "They may have their superior strategies, but I have my own way to cross the wall. Let's proceed step by step. Send people to replace those local officials who set up obstacles, and General Li, you will lead troops to escort this grain route and ensure its safety."

Li Ji asked doubtfully, "If we go now, even if we make it in time, it will probably take ten days to half a month to resolve the issue. Coupled with the transport time, will it cause delays?"

Li Zhi smiled and shook his head, "While the transport of grain from Jiangnan is blocked, grain from Hubei and Hunan regions is still being shipped. They can intercept one batch of cargo, but can they cut off every single route?"

Hearing Li Zhi put it this way, Li Ji realized he had been worrying needlessly.

Clearly, Li Zhi had already anticipated this level of development.

"Go ahead, and by the way, call Zhao Tang to see me."

Following orders, Li Ji hurried off to muster his troops, preparing to lead them to escort the grain route.

This grain war felt more like a war fought within the Central Plains, and for Li Ji, there was not a moment to let down his guard.

Subsequently.

Zhao Tang appeared before Li Zhi.

"How are the grain prices?"

"In some areas, prices are nearing one qian for one dou again, approaching the peak."

The previous order Zhao Tang received was that unless prices reached one qian for one dou, he did not need to report to Li Zhi.

Li Zhi nodded.

"It seems it is time to release another batch of grain," Li Zhi said.

Zhao Tang requested instruction, "How much shall we release this time?"

With a smile on his face, Li Zhi said, "This time, release one million shi of grain for me."

"So much?"

Zhao Tang was astonished upon hearing this.

He did not know exactly how much grain Li Zhi held in his hands.

Judging by this figure, however, he sensed that this grain price was about to plummet drastically.

Li Zhi said, "Of the one million shi, fifty thousand shi will be ordinary grains, while the other fifty thousand shi will be new grains such as sweet potatoes. At the same time, provide free sweet potato tubers to the peasants throughout the Guanzhong and陇 regions for cultivation."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Tang was still filled with astonishment.

He finally stepped closer and asked, "Your Highness, as much as possible, free things should not be given away; it easily breeds complications."

"Listen to me. I want to see the aristocratic families' next move." Li Zhi closed his eyes and continued listening to the play.

...

The aristocratic families were driving themselves mad.

After finally managing to intercept the grain transport routes from all directions as much as possible, another one million shi of grain suddenly popped up in the Guanzhong and陇 regions.

The price of grain plummeted rapidly from one qian for one dou down to one qian for two and a half dou, nearing the normal market price of previous years.

This one million shi of grain was more than they could comfortably digest.

At that moment, news came from the canal that Li Ji was leading troops to escort the grain route.

Having cleared the transport route for grain from Jiangnan, any attempt by them to meddle covertly this time was out of the question.

"We're going mad! If this goes on, we're going to lose our entire fortunes!"

During an aristocratic family meeting, one head of a household openly expressed his dissatisfaction.

However, other resolute family heads persuaded the others: "This is the critical moment of the game. Hunyong must be at its breaking point."

"That's right, didn't you see that the Prince of Jin has already posted notices urging peasants with surplus grain everywhere to sell whatever they have on hand as much as possible?"

"If they truly still had backup plans, they wouldn't have resorted to preying on the people's stored grain!"