Chapter 160 The Outcome Is Decided

All the heads of the aristocratic families felt that this made sense.

Li Zhi simply could not sustain such massive expenditures.

In their view, Li Zhi had backed down.

"Although the Prince of Jin is a formidable figure, he is still just a child after all. Can he really outmaneuver the accumulated wealth of our generations?"

The family heads felt a surge of confidence—the confidence of adults.

With so many family heads present, no one raised any further objections.

Consequently, a new round of purchasing was initiated.

The funds they needed to mobilize this time were still astronomical, practically emptying the family coffers of every single clan.

The money they had borrowed from outside was originally meant to boost military morale and signal to outsiders that they would stop at nothing. But now, these funds had to be put to use; otherwise, their own remaining assets would not be enough to buy up any more grain.

...

In Hongnong, Li Zhi's distribution of grain continued unabated.

Grain from various regions was successively transported to Guanzhong and other areas.

Miraculously, the price of grain still did not exceed one guan for two dou.

Large quantities of grain remained available on the market.

At first, the common people stored away grain, terrified that skyrocketing prices would eventually leave them starving. However, upon discovering that grain was being hauled into Guanzhong in a continuous stream—coupled with rumors circulating among the populace that even more supplies were on the way—the people chose to sell their grain instead.

The aristocratic families grew anxious.

The common folk were simply acting in direct opposition to them.

"You bunch of fools! Have you forgotten that imperial courts have always exploited you since ancient times? How can you actually believe the words of imperial officials?"

The families began sending out lobbyists in an attempt to persuade the people not to sell their surplus grain reserves.

Yet the common folk were very practical.

Those who had stored up plenty of grain at home had inevitably spent a great deal of money or cut back severely on other expenses. As time passed and grain prices failed to rise, they preferred to trust the court's word and sell off their grain in exchange for other commodities.

As more and more commoners joined the ranks of sellers, the quantity of grain flooding the market became too overwhelming for the aristocratic families to buy up in time.

The price of grain pushed stubbornly back toward one guan for three dou.

...

The heads of the aristocratic families across various regions convened their respective members to hold meetings.

They needed to discuss their next countermeasures.

By this point, some among them were already losing their nerve.

"We have already spent the accumulated savings of nearly generations to purchase so much grain, on top of expenses for other supplies. If the price of grain does not go up, we won't even be able to pay the interest."

The aristocratic families were divided into major and minor clans.

During the initial phase of confronting the imperial court, all the families stood united in a single line.

However, now that the confrontation with the court had gone awry, they were beginning to sort themselves into various tiers.

The major families naturally maintained a resolute attitude. Because of their immense financial strength and solid foundations, they could endure for a much longer period.

But for the small and medium-sized families, the situation was far less optimistic.

Not only had they failed to sell their own grain that year, but they had also bought massive amounts of it on top of incurring heavy external debts.

If new income did not flow in immediately, they would suffer losses so devastating it would ruin their entire households.

After fighting for so long, the price of grain had actually remained at the same level as in ordinary years.

The major families still wanted to keep fighting, but the minor families were already getting cold feet.

"Hold your ground!"

"If we don't hold out, won't all our previous efforts have been in vain?"

This was no longer just a conflict between the aristocratic families and the imperial court.

It felt more like a conflict between the major and minor clans.

The major families were now using every possible means to bind the interests of the smaller families to their own, refusing to let them jump ship.

"What if the grain supply increases further, and grain prices still cannot be suppressed?"

A family head posed a sharp, incisive question.

From the side came a cold laugh: "Can the centuries-old foundation of the Guanzhong aristocratic families be destroyed by a brat? What a joke!"

"You lot are truly spineless. Can't you think of what other tricks he might have up his sleeve?"

"The wealth in our hands is enough to buy all the grain in the world. The market right now must be flooded with fake grain meant to trick us into spending our money while we see no actual goods in return!"

"From now on, we must set strict rules: physical goods must be present before silver is handed over, or payment can even be suitably delayed!"

...

The aristocratic families re-established their strategy.

They were no longer as lavish as before. Previously, they would buy up every grain of corn available at prices higher than the market rate.

Acting as wholesalers, they had actually bought at prices higher than the market value simply because they were utterly convinced grain prices would rise.

Yet things turned out contrary to their wishes.

When they tried to delay payments to out-of-town merchants while demanding cash-on-delivery for actual goods, they discovered that the outside merchants refused to play along at all.

The merchants of Jiangnan were extremely shrewd.

Seeing that the financial strength of the Guanzhong families was nearing its breaking point—and that they even wanted to borrow money from them to buy their grain—would the Jiangnan merchants let the aristocratic families get away with it?

The grain bypassed the aristocratic families entirely and was shipped straight to the open market.

One and a half months after the grain war was launched, massive quantities of grain from Jiangnan poured in endlessly, and even grain from Lingnan was brought in.

Meanwhile, Li Zhi threw open the granaries of Hongnong Prefecture, dumping vast reserves onto the market.

The Guanzhong aristocratic families finally went completely bankrupt.

Within five days, the price of grain plummeted from the usual peacetime rate of one guan for three dou down to one guan for five dou, with trends pointing toward one guan for ten dou.

"How can this be? We bought up so much grain—how can there still be so much of it?"

The aristocratic families found it utterly inconceivable.

They had never mobilized on such a massive scale before, nor had they ever suffered such a defeat.

Yet now, even after the entire Guanzhong aristocracy had exhausted their wealth, they ended up with nothing—like scooping water with a bamboo basket.

This was what they simply could not comprehend.

Discovering that grain prices were still falling, some small and medium-sized families began cutting their losses.

There was no other choice.

They still wanted to survive.

They were saddled with external debts, and those debts accrued interest on a daily basis.

If they did not sell their grain to repay the money immediately, as prices dropped further, their grain would become completely worthless.

As the minor and medium-sized families began offloading their grain, the outcome of this grain war became virtually free of any suspense.

...

"Your Highness the Prince of Jin, you are truly brilliant. The aristocratic families are on the verge of collapse."

"The forty million coins you lent out earlier are gradually being recovered, and it is estimated that with interest, the total will reach sixty million coins."

Zhao Tang's admiration for Li Zhi was now absolute and utter devotion.

Not only had grain prices dropped, sparing the common people from ever having to worry about starvation, but Li Zhi had also sold off his stored grain at high or stable prices.

Now, with market grain prices at a very low ebb, Li Zhi had already begun buying it back up.

"It's just that this subordinate doesn't understand—since grain prices have already fallen, why buy the grain back at all?" Zhao Tang asked with a puzzled expression.

Li Zhi sneered coldly, "Cheap grain harms the farmers."

"This grain war was merely meant to teach the Guanzhong aristocratic families a lesson. The planting season is right around the corner; if grain prices were allowed to drop even lower, how could the common people have any motivation to farm?"

"If grain cultivation decreases, the Great Tang will face food shortages next year, wouldn't that play right into the hands of the aristocratic families?"