After the decision was made to raise food and fodder, the court remained tense and the atmosphere did not ease.

The Crown Prince's Party and the Second Prince's Party are at loggerheads over who should be responsible for raising food and fodder.

Both sides want to take the initiative and are unwilling to let the other side take away the job.

The two princes are still very confident that Qin Bin can contain the enemy. After they win the battle in the future, being the chief officer for raising military supplies will naturally please their father!

Therefore, in the hall, both forces refused to give in to each other.

Just when the two sides were arguing, the party that had originally kept a low profile and remained neutral this time took sides.

They received a hint from the Fourth Prince to help the Second Prince suppress the Crown Prince, and now is the best opportunity.

The situation between the two parties that were originally arguing became clear because of this subtle change of stance.

Taking into consideration that the crown prince was still reflecting on his mistakes, the emperor finally assigned this matter to the second prince.

When the prince received the news, he was so angry that he smashed all his beloved tea sets!

He was filled with hatred, as his father had locked him up to reflect on his mistakes, and his younger brother was involved in the affair.

If this matter could be handed over to him, he could also successfully escape from the isolation and reflection, but everything was ruined by his good brother!

The prince clenched his fists tightly, and veins bulged on his forehead.

The Crown Prince said in a timid tone, "Alright, alright, alright! He's grown so powerful now that he doesn't even pretend anymore. He actually dares to challenge me so brazenly!"

The servants standing by were so frightened that they immediately prostrated themselves on the ground and remained silent for fear of offending the angry prince!

The second prince, having gotten what he wanted, returned home feeling very happy.

"Congratulations, Second Prince. His Majesty is relying on you. If you handle this matter well, you can also win over General Qin. It's really killing two birds with one stone!" An aide analyzed.

The Second Prince nodded, "This matter must be handled well, and at the same time, we must be on guard against the Crown Prince's party who might sabotage it!"

The second prince took a sip of tea, feeling a little regretful. The people they sent out to investigate reported back that Qin Yue seemed to be engaged to the daughter of a local grain merchant!

The news he received surprised him. He never expected that General Qin would sacrifice his own son and marry a merchant's daughter in order to win over the local grain merchants.

Forget it, let’s focus on the things at hand! The Second Prince thought to himself.

In just three days, news of the war at the border exploded in Rongcheng like a blockbuster bomb.

The people walking on the streets were no longer as relaxed and natural as they were in the past few days, and their faces showed worry and panic.

The first thing that changed was the business of the shops in the city, which became visibly weaker!

Li Jianmin came back and said to Li Yan, "Sister, the people in the city have been in a state of panic these past two days, and business in our shop has been a bit down. I think we should stock less goods every day!"

Li Yan nodded in agreement, "Brother, just consider preparing the stock!"

After seeing her elder brother off, Li Yan still felt quite heavy-hearted.

Once the news of the war in the north spreads, it will not only affect the consumption desire of local people, but will also shake the minds of the caravans that originally planned to come to Rongcheng.

Li Yan was unable to change this external crisis, and she sighed helplessly!

The only thing to be thankful for was that she had sold all the forsythia she had, and there was still a lot of food left at home.

Business in the shop is a little slow, but there are still many caravans staying in the inn in the city, so the snack shop is not going to close down completely.

The impact on Rongcheng should not be too great in the short term, but I don’t know how long this war will last?

On the other side, County Magistrate Zheng in the county government office was pacing back and forth worriedly.

"It's not even winter yet, so why are the Hu people invading our borders now?"

Li Erlang shook his head. "So many people gathered at once. It's obvious that the tribes have reached a consensus. Either there's a crisis within them, or they have some hidden agenda!"

County Magistrate Zheng thought for a moment and said, "The slanderous report sent to the court last month said that the grasslands were suffering from a severe drought this year, leaving the pasture barren and many cattle and sheep starving to death! Are they unable to wait?"

Li Erlang nodded when he heard this, "What you said is very likely!"

County Magistrate Zheng sighed helplessly and instructed, "For the next few days, have the officers strengthen patrols in the city to prevent ruffians from taking advantage of the situation to cause trouble."

The good reputation that Rongcheng has worked so hard to build up cannot be destroyed by those who take advantage of the opportunity to cause trouble.

"By the way, when you have nothing to do, go to the grain shops in the city and keep an eye on the fluctuations in grain prices. Don't let the grain shops raise the prices and create panic!"

Li Erlang nodded. The higher the food prices are, the more likely it is that a bank run will occur. If this vicious cycle continues, it will only make the people in the city more uncertain!

After finishing his conversation with the county magistrate, he immediately left the county office and visited the grain shops in the city.

Li Erlang first went to the grain shops in the south and east of the city closest to the county government office.

Li Erlang walked outside the grain shop and found that there were not many people queuing outside. Then he stepped into the shop and found that there were more people in the shop than usual.

The wooden shelves were filled with all kinds of grains, with a complete range of varieties. Li Erlang didn't need to ask the price, as the customer next to him had already asked for him.

"Don't worry, sir. Our grain is definitely not more expensive than other grain merchants. If you pay too much, just come to me for a refund!" The waiter patted his chest and promised.

The customer was obviously very happy too. "I heard there was going to be a war, so I thought the price of food in the city would go up, but I didn't expect it to remain the same as before."

"Our boss has instructed that everything will remain the same and there will be no price increase for no reason!"

Those who had originally planned to make a big purchase calmed down a little after listening to the conversation between the two.

Li Erlang quietly left the grain shop and went to the grain shops in the west and north of the city, but got the same result.

Li Erlang felt relieved. As long as the food prices in the city remained stable, the people would not be so uneasy.

Stable grain prices are actually the best weapon to appease the people. Now it seems that the grain merchants in Rongcheng are doing quite well and are not so short-sighted!

To explain why these grain merchants are so honest, we have to start with the incident a few days ago when Zhao Qing’s grain shop was confiscated and he was exiled.

Just like the Zhao family, they maliciously lowered the purchase price of grain. They were also involved in these things!

After learning about the tragic end of the Zhao family, one family head was even so frightened that he fell seriously ill.

Having escaped by chance and not been liquidated, they began to become cautious.

Even if they had the courage, they would not dare to raise food prices wantonly.

If they angered General Qin, would they be implicated for disturbing the morale of the people in the rear?

Then they may lose not only their property but even their lives!

This time, several grain merchants were particularly honest. They sent people to the Qin family grain store outside the city to inquire. They sold at the same price as the Qin family sold, as if they were following the Qin family grain store's lead!