Chapter 42

"Report!"

"Reporting to my lord, the grain price in Linjiang City has dropped to ninety wen per dou!"

"Report!"

"Reporting to my lord, the grain price in Linjiang City has dropped to eighty-six wen per dou!"

"Report!"

"Reporting to my lord, the grain price in Linjiang City has dropped to eighty wen per dou!"

"Report!"

"The grain price in Linjiang City has dropped to seventy-five wen per dou!"

Inside the County Yamen, Gao Yang was sipping tea.

One yamen runner after another rushed in, kneeling on the ground, filled with excitement, shouting at the top of their lungs.

When the sounds resonated throughout the entire yamen hall, all the yamen runners inside the Linjiang County Yamen were filled with disbelief.

Immediately after, their gazes suddenly looked at Gao Yang, who was sitting in the middle of the yamen with a calm expression.

The grain price they had tried so hard to lower but failed, plummeted in one day under Gao Yang's hands!

Not to mention the plunge from over two hundred wen today, even compared to the high price of one hundred wen per dou seven days ago, it had dropped by a full twenty-five wen!

Seventy-five wen per dou would greatly alleviate the pressure on the commoners of Linjiang City.

Du Jiang was even more incredulous.

Although he had a premonition that the Four Great Grain Merchants would have disagreements after Gao Yang finished speaking, he didn't expect it to be so fast.

It had only been a few hours, and they had already started dumping their stock!

Gao Yang sipped his tea and said, "This tea is not bad."

Du Jiang said very sensibly, "When my lord returns to Chang'an, this subordinate will prepare some for you."

"Of course, this subordinate will pay for it out of my own pocket; it's just a matter of human relations."

Du Jiang glanced at Shangguan Wan'er while speaking.

Shangguan Wan'er's expression remained unchanged; even if Du Jiang didn't explain it specifically, she would pretend not to see it.

When water is too clear, there are no fish.

It is normal to have some human relations in officialdom, not to mention that the tea Du Jiang is sending is just some worthless tea.

"No need for tea, just convert it to cash. This official likes these vulgar things the least; let's be direct."

Gao Yang put down the teacup and looked at Du Jiang.

Shangguan Wan'er: "..."

Du Jiang: "..."

"Imperial Censor Gao!"

Shangguan Wan'er raised her voice and gave a reminder.

In front of her, Shangguan Wan'er, this was a bit too rampant.

Even if he said it in private, she would pretend not to know.

"Ahem."

"Official Shangguan, look at you, you are a bit too nervous. Does this young master look like that kind of person? It was just a joke!"

Gao Yang hurriedly said.

Shangguan Wan'er didn't speak, but her eyes said everything.

Du Jiang changed the subject, "Imperial Censor Gao, this subordinate is still curious, why would the Four Great Grain Merchants stampede like this?"

"If it weren't for their dumping, relying only on these outside grain merchants, the grain price wouldn't have dropped so fast."

Gao Yang glanced at Du Jiang. Although he himself was not a good person, he still respected a good official like Du Jiang.

Therefore, he didn't mind giving him some more pointers.

"The Four Great Grain Merchants united because of profit, and they are also destined to fall apart because of profit. Since ancient times, human nature has been like this."

"Compared to outside grain merchants, their costs are low enough, and they save on transportation, labor, and other costs."

"But this doesn't mean they aren't panicked."

"The current Empress is talented and ambitious, and Da Qian has had bad weather for three consecutive years. Looking at it from a single year, the probability of good weather and bad weather is fifty-fifty, but if you look at the four years together, in their eyes, the probability of next year being good weather is greater than the probability of bad weather."

"Once the grain price in Linjiang City stabilizes and their hoarded grain cannot be sold, the risk for next year will be huge. Once next year's harvest is good and the new grain is sufficient, let alone old grain, it is common for the grain price to be as low as thirty wen per dou."

"They would rather cut their losses and leave than gamble on the possibility of losing everything next year. Once you think clearly about this point, their behavior is not strange."

"Strike first, you live and others die; strike later, others live and you die."

Shangguan Wan'er said, "What if they united together, made an agreement, and none of them sold?"

Gao Yang laughed, "A verbal agreement is nothing but a joke."

"Everyone will think, if I don't sell, will they sell secretly? Once they sell, won't I be finished? Under such psychology, there will always be one family that sells first. Linjiang City is a tiny place, and they are local snakes, so it's impossible to hide it from the other three families, so a stampede is an inevitable thing."

"But I didn't expect them to smash it so fiercely; they are taking each other's lives."

Gao Yang's voice was not loud, but it fell into the ears of everyone present like a muffled thunder.

Du Jiang bowed again and said in submission, "This subordinate thanks my lord for the guidance."

He looked at Gao Yang, who was full of composure, and was completely convinced.

You must know that seven days ago, Gao Yang had already predicted all of this.

From the moment the notice was posted, everything was going according to Gao Yang's ideas.

From the reaction of the outside grain merchants and commoners, the greed of the Four Great Grain Merchants, to opening the granaries to release grain, puncturing the bubble of grain prices, and forcing the Four Great Grain Merchants to sell grain through a stampede!

Everything, from the moment Gao Yang stepped into Linjiang City seven days ago, was already destined.

The Dingguo Duke Prefecture has produced an incredible gifted son.

No one has ever seen a Qilin, so it's normal to have some black spots.

Du Jiang sighed in his heart.

Shangguan Wan'er was also filled with complexity.

It is hard to imagine that these strategies were spoken by that lecher who wanted to look at her legs as soon as he got on the carriage.

Gao Yang continued, "As an official, in charge of the commoners of a city, one must not care about the gains and losses of one person."

"In this surge and plunge, there must be merchants who go bankrupt, but there are also merchants who stop in time and make a big profit. As an official, you only need to master the overall situation."

Du Jiang heard this and knew that Gao Yang was giving him a pointer.

"This subordinate thanks my lord for the guidance!" Du Jiang said with respect.

Gao Yang nodded, knowing that Du Jiang had taken his words to heart.

"Next, act according to the plan, step by step. Soon, Linjiang City will fall into stability."

Du Jiang asked, "My lord, are you talking about renovating the yamen and holding large-scale events?"

Gao Yang nodded.

Seeing the confused eyes of Du Jiang and Shangguan Wan'er, he said indifferently, "The crisis in Linjiang City is not just the soaring grain price."

"What is the root cause?"

Du Jiang said without hesitation, "Heavy rain flooded the fields, and the grain harvest failed!"

"During the disaster years, the commoners lost their source of income; this is the root cause of the rising grain price."

"Therefore, after lowering the grain price, we must urgently solve the commoners' income problem. Only by enabling the commoners to earn money can they survive this great disaster."

"Otherwise, for the commoners, there is no big difference between a grain price of fifty wen per dou and two hundred and fifty wen per dou; they can't afford it anyway."

As soon as these words were spoken, Du Jiang's pupils shrank.

Gao Yang's words pointed directly to the essence of the great disaster.

Behind the high grain price corresponds to the fact that the common people simply cannot afford it.

The lowest level of commoners has long been penniless, yet it is difficult to find a job to support their families.

A flash of light seemed to pass through Du Jiang's mind.

Renovating the yamen, holding large-scale activities, solving the essence of the great disaster!

Du Jiang's eyes became brighter and brighter. Suddenly, his body stiffened.

He understood.

He understood everything.

"My lord has the talent of a Wang Zuo; this subordinate admires you. If His Majesty gets your assistance, he will definitely create a prosperous age for Da Qian!"