The Tyrant’s Cannon Fodder Male Empress Chapter 58

Chapter 58

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These days in the capital had grown increasingly unbearable. Besides worrying about the occasional drop in the chubby cub’s sense of security, there was also concern for the safety of the rabbit kept in the Imperial Kitchen.

For three consecutive days, the Crown Prince had not allowed them to go out to assess grain prices.

That afternoon, the eunuch serving the Crown Prince came to the side courtyard to invite Xue Yao to the study for a discussion.

Xue Yao Xue had never expected to receive such regard from the Crown Prince. He quickly gathered his spirits and followed the eunuch to the study.

Among those attending the discussion were several reform strategists who had accompanied them, along with two procurement eunuchs.

The two guards dispatched by the Crown Prince shared the information they had gathered with the others.

The two guards acted separately, infiltrating the inner courtyards of the two largest grain merchants in Hangzhou for three days but found no evidence of the capital merchants.

The merchants frequenting the grain markets appeared to be ordinary grain traders from the surrounding regions. It seemed that the so-called capital merchants had already concealed themselves before the Crown Prince began his efforts to procure grain.

After discreetly observing for three days, the two guards finally seized an opportunity to leverage a compromising situation involving a shop assistant. They used this leverage, along with a bribe, to extract information about the capital merchants.

According to the shop assistant’s confession, there weren’t just one but two groups of capital merchants, all speaking with the distinctive accent of the capital and carrying an air of importance.

One group of capital merchants conducted themselves like civil officials, while the other, adorned with swords and mounted on horses, appeared to have a martial background.

The capital merchants that resembled a government official arrived in Hangzhou ahead of others. They visited the eight major grain stores and practically secured all of Zhejiang’s grain storehouses.

They managed to push the grain prices down to five hundred and three copper coins per stone, but before finalizing the deal, they aimed to persuade the grain merchants to lower it to five hundred and one copper coins per stone.

Just as the two parties reached a standstill on the fifth day, a group of individuals with a military air also descended upon Hangzhou. On the very first day, they dispatched emissaries to summon the proprietors of the eight major grain merchants to a tavern, where they sat down to discuss business.

Similar to their need for a substantial quantity of grain, the military-style capital merchants also aimed to acquire it for five hundred copper coins per stone. However, upon learning that another group was already negotiating and the available stock wouldn’t be sufficient for both parties, the military merchant decisively offered five hundred and fifty copper coins per stone to secure 1.4 million stones of grain and rice.

The Zhejiang merchants were overjoyed and began making arrangements for stockpiling and delivering the goods.

As for the capital merchants resembling a government officials, upon hearing the news, they acted hastily and raised the price to five hundred and sixty copper coins per stone.

The specific backgrounds of these two groups of merchants remained unknown, but for some unknown reason, it seemed that both were in urgent need of purchasing this batch of grain.

The military merchants, impatient in nature, escalated the situation further during the second round of negotiations. They directly raised the price to five hundred and ninety copper coins per stone and, on the day of the negotiations, offered eighty thousand taels of silver as a down payment, insisting on an immediate transaction with the Zhejiang merchants.

The proprietors of these eight prominent grain shops in Hangzhou were elated, secretly hoping the other group of merchants would continue to drive the prices higher. They were searching for an excuse to seize the down payment.

As expected, the group of merchants resembling government officials did not disappoint. They raised the price to six hundred copper coins per stone.

In this back-and-forth tug of war between the two sets of capital merchants, the grain price eventually settled at six hundred and forty copper coins, as the military merchants had the final say.

The actual purchase price for the capital merchants was six hundred and forty copper coins per stone. Even though it was fifty copper coins lower than what the grain store proprietor had falsely reported, it was still an exorbitant price. They were essentially purchasing a large quantity of grain at market value, incurring a loss of nearly two hundred thousand taels of silver!

Since the military-style group of merchants had not anticipated such a steep increase in price, they didn’t have enough silver notes with them. They paid the down payment and sent someone back to the capital to gather more funds, hence their absence in the recent days.

The group of merchants resembling government officials also left Hangzhou to search for grain elsewhere.

After hearing the intelligence from the two guards, Respected Elder Liu’s face turned ashen.

He had not imagined there would be such gullible capital merchants, and not just one of them. It wasn’t a fabricated ploy by Zhejiang grain merchants to drive up grain prices.

“The situation is more or less as Xue Yao anticipated,” the Crown Prince spoke up. “The first group of merchants negotiated to lower the price, and the second group of merchants placed a substantial order with a down payment of a hundred thousand taels of silver. Both parties showed sincerity. The Zhejiang merchants couldn’t fathom their deceptive motives and naturally assumed the deal was sealed. They took the down payment and tried to persuade us with a higher price, not wanting to stir any further trouble.”

A strategist, with a face filled with astonishment and anger, suddenly rose. “These two groups of people are clearly engaging in a double act! They are willing to spend a hundred thousand taels of silver as a false down payment to tie up the grain storehouses in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, all to delay the implementation of our new reform!”

Another middle-aged strategist with graying hair said, “This is quite a conundrum. We can’t possibly uncover the identities of those two groups in the short term. Their excuse of raising funds in the capital and returning within a month or two is not at all unusual. These Zhejiang merchants are holding a hundred thousand taels of silver as a deposit, so it’s unreasonable to suspect they won’t come back. Meanwhile, we can’t afford to wait even for half a month.”

After hearing the actual situation, Xue Yao’s heart grew cold.

No wonder in the novel, the Crown Prince collected 1.2 million stones of grain at market price.

It turned out that the Crown Prince wasn’t a naive negotiator who got swindled. He fell into a trap set by unknown, influential adversaries who spared no expense.

Xue Yao was on the verge of breaking down. The novel had simplified a problem of Goldbach’s conjecture level into elementary arithmetic, leading Xue Yao to believe he could easily handle it.

Reality was far more brutal!

Lost in his thoughts on the brink of collapse, Xue Yao suddenly heard the Crown Prince calling for him.

“Xue Yao, do you have any ideas?”

Xue Yao snapped back to attention, looking at the Crown Prince in amazement.

Being allowed to observe such a council as a young attendant was already a rare privilege, and now the Crown Prince was actually seeking his opinion.

The Crown Prince noticed his contemplation and gently explained, “It’s quite strange. I’ve always felt that you display an uncommon acumen in matters of grain procurement.”

“Your Highness is too kind!” Xue Yao forced a smile on his face, although inwardly, he was crying out in distress.

His acumen stemmed from his knowledge of the ultimate outcome of the bigger picture!

Now that he realized the desperate nature of the problem he had to face, he feared he might have to watch himself and the ship with the Crown Prince on it sink into the abyss.

But with everyone’s eyes in the room fixed on him at this moment, Xue Yao could only muster the courage to say a few words, “Is there a possibility to quickly uncover the identities and whereabouts of those two groups of capital merchants?”

As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt he had uttered a pointless question.

Since those two groups had orchestrated this grain price manipulation so meticulously, there was no way they would reveal their true identities to the Zhejiang merchants. They must have fabricated perfect false identities.

The Crown Prince replied truthfully, “Not only might we not find out in the short term, but with the enemy lurking in the shadows while we are in plain sight, and considering they could produce a hundred thousand taels of silver to set the trap, the depths of their connections are immeasurable. We may never discover the truth, even in the long run.”

An experienced middle-aged strategist immediately stood up and began, “I think…”

The Crown Prince swiftly interrupted, “You need evidence to ‘think.’ This is not a place for baseless conjecture.”

The middle-aged strategist quickly understood. The Crown Prince had obviously deduced several possible identities of the mastermind but didn’t want to discuss it openly in front of the eunuch officials.

“What can we do now…” The procurement eunuch surnamed Fang had turned pale with fear.

The Emperor had generously contributed a million taels of silver from his own coffers. This sum was equivalent to one-eighth of the annual military expenditure for a hundred thousand coastal troops. Now, facing a loss of one-fifth of this amount, even with the benefits of the Crown Prince’s people-friendly policies, it might not be enough to fill such a gaping hole.

When it came time to balance the books, they would certainly pin the blame on the grain procurement. The Crown Prince might receive a reprimand at most, but for these dedicated procurement servants, even a hundred heads wouldn’t be enough to atone for the crime.

At this moment, Respected Elder Liu realized the gravity of the situation, terrifying him to the point of constant throat-clearing. He contemplated speaking up to request the Crown Prince to delay the implementation of the new reform until the following year.

But how could a procurement eunuch interfere in such matters? He could only keep wiping his sweating brow while staring with wide eyes.

After some thought, he shifted his hopeful gaze towards Xue Yao.

“Master Xue! If you could secure grain from Nanjing grain merchants at five hundred and forty copper coins, I’d kindly request you to visit several more establishments, negotiating with both Nanjing and Hangzhou’s major grain suppliers. Procure at least fifty thousand stones from each, totaling up to a million stones. Even if it’s lower-grade grain, it’s a start! We must find a way to assist the disaster-stricken counties in Shanxi Province!”

Xue Yao smiled helplessly. “Master, the grain merchants aren’t fools. In the current situation, five hundred and forty copper coins essentially means they won’t earn a single coin, but rather, they’d be giving it away for free. When you calculate at market prices, the losses could reach over ten thousand taels of silver. If such a good deal was readily available, I wouldn’t have had to beg you not to reject that manager’s sincerity. He genuinely wished to establish a long-term business relationship with us. Any ripple in the grain market would be known to all. How could we pull a one-on-one agreement away from the second party? Once a second party is involved, our exclusive partnership would lose its value.”

Reminded of his insistence on refusing the trade for fifty thousand stones of grain back then, Respected Elder Liu lowered his head in a panic, fearing that the Crown Prince might reproach him for his lack of foresight.

“Once the bow is drawn, the arrow must be released,” the Crown Prince set the tone, “Father Emperor’s trust is hard-won. We must make every effort to convince the Zhejiang grain merchants that those two groups of capital merchants are just a smokescreen and won’t come back for the deposits. Only then can we possibly purchase the stockpiled grain in Zhejiang at a lower price. This task requires our united efforts, so let’s do our best.”

The worst-case scenario was to purchase grain at six hundred and forty copper coins.

The Crown Prince had ready cash, making it relatively easy for Zhejiang merchants to find an excuse to return the deposits and accept the cash.

With such a high cost, the Crown Prince, as originally planned, would lend grain to the farmers with interest, allowing them to weather the disaster year. The following year’s income would still yield a modest profit, preventing a loss.

Thus, the grain procurement discussion continued. Before the meeting adjourned, the Crown Prince smiled at Xue Yao once more. “Sixth Brother praised your eloquence yesterday. I hope you can let the Zhejiang merchants witness it too.”

Called out by the Crown Prince, Xue Yao’s heart leaped with excitement. He wanted to spin in circles but instead bowed respectfully. “I will do my utmost to serve Your Highness!”

On that day, Xue Yao enlisted the help of two skilled guards to visit the eight major grain shops, gathering intelligence and preparing for any action to support the Crown Prince.

The price of six hundred and forty copper coins was exceedingly high. As Xue Yao recalled from the novel, when the Crown Prince was called to account, he mentioned the initial grain loan as if it balanced the books.

In theory, if the Crown Prince was willing to purchase the grain at this price, there should be a considerable profit in the plan. However, after a year, unforeseen circumstances may have occurred. Perhaps he was again undermined by those people in secret, resulting in the Crown Prince being unable to recover some of the loans. The outcome was merely a non-apparent loss on the books.

This turned the Crown Prince’s new reform into a joke. One million taels of silver could be used by the Ministry of Revenue to transport silk and tea overseas. Even with a single round trip, they could earn at least several hundred thousand taels of silver.

However, after a year of implementing the new policy, with no profit to show, it was essentially a devaluation and a loss.

Early the next morning, Xue Yao, accompanied by the two eunuch officials and a few guards, headed to the largest grain shop.

“Once we arrive, as I’ve instructed, let the information leak out and act as if it’s just a rumor,” Xue Yao reminded the two eunuchs once again as they entered the grain shop.

The expressions on the faces of the two eunuchs were almost tearful.

Respected Elder Liu no longer had the face to oppose Xue Yao’s idea and could only signal to Respected Elder Fang with a sidelong glance.

Bowing low, Respected Elder Fang asked, “Master Xue, are you truly planning to spread such rumors? Won’t that drive the grain merchants to raise their prices even higher? They might not be willing to sell to us for less than seven hundred copper coins.”

Xue Yao turned to him sternly. “Respected Elder, I’ve already mentioned before we left that if my method causes grain prices to rise, I’ll take full responsibility. However, if you don’t cooperate, I can only go back and report to the Crown Prince.”

“Cooperate! We must certainly cooperate with Master Xue! You are truly the reincarnation of Zhuge Liang. Your ideas are bound to be right!” Respected Elder Fang quickly began to flatter.

There was no choice for Respected Elder Liu but to grit his teeth and accompany Xue Yao into the grain shop.

Inside the grain shop’s hall, various out-of-town grain buyers were anxiously talking to the shop assistants.

“We’ve been coming to your shop for grain every year. According to market rates, a small annual price increase wouldn’t be a big deal. But why has it gone up so much this year? We’re all local businesses, there’s no reason to exploit us like this!”

“Aiyo, Master Chen, I’ve told you a thousand times already. This year, out-of-town merchants have taken away a large quantity of grain, and our inventory won’t last even until the end of the year if we keep selling it at this price. We’re already losing ten copper coins for every additional stone, but considering your status as a loyal customer, there’s really nothing more we can do!”

When Respected Elder Liu heard this conversation, his heart sank halfway.

The scarcity of grain had reached such an extreme point. He couldn’t fathom why Xue Yao wanted him to spread such rumors.

Could it be that he wanted to sabotage the Crown Prince’s major plan and make the procurement eunuchs take the blame?

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