Chapter 32: The fish has entered the urn, start suffocating it to death—Gao Yang's true intention!

Meanwhile, Jiangcheng.

A ray of golden sunlight pierced through the clouds, enveloping the entire Jiangcheng.

In just one night, grain prices soared by another twenty wen from yesterday's sky-high price of two hundred wen per dou.

Grain prices in Jiangcheng soared to two hundred and twenty wen per dou.

This was not just for some ordinary commoners; even some wealthy merchants couldn't handle it.

Grain prices had completely reached an unbelievable level.

Merchants made a big profit, yet they still hoarded grain crazily, sitting and waiting for grain prices to continue to climb!

On the streets of Jiangcheng and outside the Yamen, there were gaunt commoners everywhere.

They were full of repression, gathered together, and a sky-high anger rushed straight into the clouds.

If it weren't for the fact that most commoners still had some grain reserves at home and hadn't reached the point of exhaustion.

A terrifying public anger would have long since overturned the Yamen.

But everyone knew that if this continued, Jiangcheng would surely be in great chaos.

Misfortunes never come singly; just as the public anger in Jiangcheng was about to reach its peak, another piece of news came.

The news that grain prices in Qingshui City, a few dozen miles away, had stabilized at eighty-two wen suddenly arrived.

Instantly, the entire Jiangcheng exploded.

There is no harm without comparison.

Jiangcheng and Qingshui City were connected by a Qingshuihe, only a few dozen miles apart.

Both suffered a great disaster, and both saw grain prices start to rise to one hundred wen per dou, but in just seven days, grain prices in Qingshui City stabilized at eighty-two wen per dou.

Grain prices in Jiangcheng were as high as two hundred and twenty wen per dou!

Such a gap was simply unacceptable to the commoners.

Therefore, the commoners had long been cursing Gao Yang behind his back.

"Foolish official," "Gao the Skinner"—these were all Gao Yang's nicknames.

It was only out of awe for the imperial court that the commoners dared not curse him in public.

But at this rate, although there was no great chaos yet, the commoners were already on the verge of exploding!

Inside the County Yamen.

Gao Yang stood in the main hall with his hands behind his back, his eyes looking outside.

Even with the Yamen gate closed, he could still hear the angry voices of the commoners.

Jiangcheng was about to explode!

Du Jiang paced back and forth in the Yamen, looking at Gao Yang from time to time, his face full of anxiety.

He was afraid that Jiangcheng would be in chaos first, and then everything would be too late.

But Gao Yang sat firmly on the fishing platform, not panicking at all, so he could only be anxious.

"Magistrate Du, you've paced a dozen circles this morning; you almost made me dizzy," Gao Yang said irritably.

Du Jiang stopped his steps and smiled awkwardly. "My Lord, the public anger outside—you can sit still, but your subordinate can't."

"A psychological quality like yours is rare in the world!"

Du Jiang was truly convinced. Once Jiangcheng was in chaos, Gao Yang would be the first to bear the brunt, but Gao Yang, at such a young age, showed a calmness even more seasoned than his own.

Simply terrifying!

The Private Secretary beside him was stunned.

Since when was Du Jiang so respectful to this Young Master Gao from Changancheng?

Wasn't he wishing he could eat Young Master Gao alive two days ago?

Gao Yang picked up a cup of tea, took a sip, and felt the tea fragrance explode in his mouth.

Then, Gao Yang said faintly, "Magistrate Du, take the Jiangcheng County seal."

"The fish has entered the urn; it's time to kill!"

Once these words were spoken, Du Jiang's eyes were filled with excitement.

He hurried to get the Jiangcheng County seal and said excitedly, "My Lord, can we close the net?"

Gao Yang nodded and said faintly, "Post the public notice immediately: the Jiangcheng granaries will be fully opened for grain distribution, and all grain will be sold at the price of one hundred and five wen per dou!"

"This notice must be spread to every street and alley in Jiangcheng!"

Then, Gao Yang looked at Shangguan Wan'er. "From this moment on, send troops to take over the docks. No cargo ships are allowed to leave the city!"

"Those who violate the order will be beheaded!"

"The Jiangcheng city gates must be guarded by heavy troops; not a single grain of rice is allowed to leave the city!"

Du Jiang and Shangguan Wan'er heard this, and their faces showed excitement.

Having been stifled for seven days and laid out for seven days, Gao Yang finally took action.

And it was a big move!

"We will follow your orders, My Lord."

The two said in unison.

Shangguan Wan'er was even more amazed in her heart.

Ruthless!

Too ruthless!

Not only opening the granaries to distribute grain and selling it at one hundred and five wen per dou to impact the market, but also blocking the city gates and docks.

Under such behavior, the major grain merchants would surely be panicked!

"My Lord, your subordinate is a bit worried. As you said earlier, if we open the granaries to distribute grain, I fear there won't be enough grain in the granaries!"

"As long as the grain merchants in the city hold on for a few days, once the grain in the granaries is sold out, what should we do then?"

"I implore you to instruct me!"

Du Jiang asked humbly.

Now that grain prices were sky-high, once the granaries were opened to distribute grain and sold at one hundred and five wen per dou, the commoners would surely scramble for it.

Gao Yang smiled and said, "Does Magistrate Du forget the batch of 'disaster relief grain' outside the city?"

Hearing this, Du Jiang's eyes lit up instantly.

But he frowned again and said, "The four major grain merchants—Qian, Zhao, Han, and Lin—have been entrenched in Jiangcheng for a hundred years, and their influence is intricate. I fear they know the reality of the granaries..."

Gao Yang's eyes flashed with coldness and disdain.

"They know, and they can hold on, but can those outside grain merchants and the small grain merchants in Jiangcheng hold on?"

"Sell first and make a profit, sell later and go bankrupt, don't sell and suffer a net loss of grain loss and large costs—if it were you, Magistrate Du, how would you choose?" Gao Yang said leisurely, "You can hide from a conspiracy, but how can you avoid an open plot?"

Du Jiang suddenly realized, his face turning red!

He understood everything.

Gao Yang was too ruthless!