Chapter 238 The conspiracy in Taiyuan succeeds...
When the Wang family of Taiyuan discovered that the amount of Wang family currency circulating in the market had suddenly decreased significantly, and that someone was secretly buying it up, causing the market price to drop and the price of rice and grain for ordinary people to gradually return to normal, this was definitely not something that aristocratic families wanted to see.
The price of grain in the areas where powerful families lived was already rising due to the fighting at the front lines. This was war profiteering, and the price would only continue to rise. This left the emperor helpless; several rounds of blatant taxation had already been carried out, and he couldn't even find a reason to levy more taxes.
The Wang family of Taiyuan would naturally arrive at a conspiracy theory:
The person behind this must be royalty.
Once grain prices come down, wouldn't it be easy to secretly buy or purchase large quantities of grain?
Following the advice of that "great talent," in order to adjust prices, the Wang family of Taiyuan immediately mobilized all fifty-two money shops within its jurisdiction to mint coins together, making sure to calculate according to the formula so that the Wang family coins circulating in the market were roughly equal to the goods, thereby raising prices.
As for the rumor that their money exchange couldn't pay out silver...
It's easy!
This is probably just some money shops or even powerful families in the surrounding area being jealous of the Wang family of Taiyuan, who are enjoying the spoils while they can only get the scraps. So they're making things difficult for them. It's that simple. The Wang family is a thousand-year-old family, with a large amount of silver stored in clan treasuries in many places in Taiyuan. As long as the money is continuously supplied to the money shops and distributed normally, this rumor will fall apart on its own.
"..." Xiao Chengzi finished reading the letter, his brows furrowed.
He didn't immediately look up to ask His Highness. These minor squabbles seemed like something even aristocratic families could handle, so why bother with them?
As a personal eunuch, he should really start using his brain.
Xiao Chengzi recalled the Crown Prince's decree that His Highness had just issued without hesitation. It was also related to silver; His Highness intended to use silver as leverage against the powerful families…
Qi Chengming looked at Xiao Chengzi encouragingly as he racked his brains: "Take your time thinking. Let's go next door. I've prepared another table of dishes for you. Come and tell me when you've thought of something."
We had a satisfying meal and drinks.
No, all the officials present ate tea instead of wine; this was Qi Chengming's decision, to prevent any mishaps. With Qi Chengming present, the ordinary meal became much more restrained. Qi Chengming was impatient with the officials' constant attempts to come over and test him, as if this ordinary meal had to include a political task like "flattering their superior." He glanced with satisfaction at the Grand Tutor Wang.
The adults that Wang Chuandao and the others had contact with were much better; they only knew how to eat and didn't like to come over and flatter him at all.
After the meal, the court officials who had met His Highness the Crown Prince for the first time had a better understanding of the situation. They realized that His Highness disliked formalities and it was still unknown whether he could get things done. Since Grand Secretary Mu, Grand Tutor Wu, and even Lord Liu and Grand Secretary Cao were all so cooperative, the officials below them dared not make any mistakes.
The wind in Luoyang in October was still hot. Qi Chengming had learned to leave the restaurant and go straight to his carriage to return home, so he wouldn't have to go for a walk outside or see the troubling city plans of Luoyang. He planned to digest his food in the back garden of his vast former residence.
Unexpectedly, Bishu, whom I hadn't seen for a long time, was squatting by a stream, gesturing and arguing with several people dressed as eunuchs.
"What are they doing?" Qi Chengming listened for a while. They seemed to be discussing how to renovate the princess's residence.
After taking on this task, Bishu's hair was haphazardly combed, and her clothes were no longer as clean and tidy, but she looked radiant and energetic. Compared to her gentle demeanor at the beginning, she now appeared more capable.
“Your Highness, the princess secretly donated a sum of money to the front lines, so the original plan can no longer be used. We are discussing which part of the princess’s residence to reduce in terms of renovation.” Bi Shu turned her head, bowed, and pointed to the back garden on the map, explaining in a humble yet assertive manner, “In my opinion, removing the running water here will save a lot of expenses.”
Qi Chengming suddenly looked around in realization.
This is for on-site reference.
"The Third Princess donated money?" Qi Chengming, who had just taken over the administration today, was unaware of this.
“Yes, after hearing about the plight at the front, Her Highness the Princess took the lead and handed over the silver to Prince Ning to be delivered to the Ministry of Revenue.” Bi Shu’s expression was somewhat admiring.
As the only princess, she thought the third princess must be spoiled or aloof. However, after spending the past few months together, she found that the third princess was very gentle and kind. In other words, she was too gentle and did not have much of her own opinion.
Qi Chengming nodded, equally surprised.
Although he didn't know how effective it would be, the sentiment was good. He made a note of it, bypassed the area where Bishu and the others were, and strolled around in a quiet grove of flowers and trees.
Xiao Chengzi kept watch from a distance and did not come over, leaving His Highness alone.
Once he was free from distractions, Qi Chengming opened the infrastructure system and contacted "MP4," who was thousands of miles away:
[Mr. Huang, where are you?]
For the past two days, Huang Dong had kept his MP4 player charged, ready to receive any orders from His Highness. As soon as Qi Chengming sent a message, he replied:
[Supplies have been replenished at the Lingnan border. The first cartload of silver will arrive at the nearest Wang's Money Exchange within three days. Your Highness, rest assured, we will not allow our money exchange to run out of silver.]
Qi Chengming then opened the infrastructure map.
It broadened the perspective of the grain-growing area stretching for hundreds of miles between Liuzhou and Lingnan.
On the map, vast fields of golden rice have entered their ripe harvest season. Aside from the uneven edges, which represent the harvested sections, a strange thing happens—
In the center of the rice paddy area, several rectangular plots of land, covering several acres, have been harvested by the farmers and divided into several parallel rectangles.
Even those who were observant would only think it was some kind of eccentricity of the estate manager. Even if they suspected it was some kind of mark, no one would have imagined... that this mark was meant for Qi Chengming, who was far away in the capital.
Qi Chengming felt reassured after seeing the rectangle.
—In the past two months, he sent a secret letter to the Bai family in Liuzhou, instructing Bai Xuan to keep a close eye on the local grain harvest progress and to expedite the harvest when the harvest season arrives in September and October. Regardless of the type of grain, if the total weight of crops such as potatoes, rice, and corn exceeds 20 million jin, a rectangular area should be harvested in the center of the rice paddies.
At that time, there would be no need for further communication or any additional tasks. For Qi Chengming, the lack of a fast and immediate remote communication method would not be a problem. The farmers were all experienced; cutting out such rectangles wouldn't even take an afternoon. And Qi Chengming only needed to open his infrastructure map to know when the grain in Liuzhou would be ready.
"There are actually a few more rectangles." Qi Chengming was encouraged and secretly surprised.
His initial instructions were that it should not affect the food supply in Liuzhou and Lingnan, so those 20 million catties were excluded. Unexpectedly, there was still so much spare capacity.
Qi Chengming quickly guessed that potatoes must make up the majority of the large production volume. But that didn't matter; in wartime, having enough food to fill one's stomach was already a blessing. The 20 million jin of grain he calculated was for two months' worth of provisions for the three armies currently fighting on the border of Dingguo, should the battle at the front go badly and food supplies become scarce.
This was Qi Chengming's last resort, and the quantity was the result of calculating the army's food supplies to the maximum extent, waiting for these grains to arrive. The situation is ever-changing, and although Qi Chengming intends to target the powerful families, he cannot guarantee that everything will proceed as perfectly as he envisions.
Therefore, the existence of these silver and grain supplies is Qi Chengming's source of confidence, ensuring he is prepared for any eventuality.
"Now all that's left is to wait," Qi Chengming muttered to himself, going over the plan again in his mind. He looked up at the misty sky, as if he could see Taiyuan Prefecture right now.
...
Sinong County, Taiyuan Prefecture.
It was completely dark, and there weren't many stars tonight. The newlywed Huang Niangzi cautiously opened the door, looked around, and then let everyone in.
"Sister Huang, my brothers and I saw carriages carrying heavy loads out of the place we were staking out. It's heading in the direction of the money exchange." Wu'er, who had grown from a skinny boy into a skinny young man over the years, had long since joined the militia. This time, he was also on his way to Taiyuan to gather intelligence. "They've started transporting silver over there!"
Next to enter was Youzi. He took off his veil, revealing sharp eyes and an extremely ordinary appearance. He reported to Zhang Ji, "Lord Mao and the other brothers were afraid we would draw too much attention, so they sent me to deliver a message. They have been suspected by the aristocratic families and can no longer pretend to be merchants for a while."
This is Zhang Ji's private property in Sinong County; he owned a private residence there. The place wasn't big, but now, with the door closed, it was packed with a throng of people.
Having been entrusted with an important task, and having settled down and started a family in the past few months, Zhang Ji had long since shed his former dullness and clumsiness. He glanced at Master Mo beside him, composed himself, and surveyed the people present, giving instructions: "I received a carrier pigeon from the capital today. His Highness the Crown Prince has issued an edict, restricting the trading of salt, iron, and tea mines to silver only. We should continue spreading rumors; we absolutely cannot let the Wang family catch their breath."
"Leave this to us." Youzi gladly accepted the order.
They were clearly the first group to accompany His Highness the Crown Prince to Liuzhou, but simply because they were former members of the Imperial Guard, His Highness favored the militia that was formed later in Liuzhou… This was something Youzi couldn't swallow. This time, for such a secret operation, His Highness was willing to send them to act covertly alongside the militia. Not to mention Youzi, everyone was determined to prove themselves.
Inside the room, Madam Huang listened quietly, her eyes sparkling with a lively and unusual light.
Despite being a newlywed, Huang Niangzi was a member of the Zhang family, a relatively small but powerful clan in the Sichuan region. In the past two months, she had used her new identity to attend numerous banquets in Taiyuan, actively gathering information about the ladies' lives and subtly verifying the actions of powerful families.
"Knock knock." The back door was knocked on again.
Zhang Ji quickly got up to go and see.
After a while, a stranger dressed as a servant, looking travel-worn, was led in and quietly relayed a command: "My master says that most of the family's private treasury has been used, and he must quell the rumors within this month. Please be careful."
"Thank you for making this trip." Zhang Ji nodded gratefully to him.
Master Mo looked at the middle-aged man beside him with thick calluses on his hands and asked, "Sir, should we tighten the encirclement?"
A table of papers lay scattered in front of the man, covered with a dazzling array of data. He fiddled with the abacus for a few moments, then looked up knowingly: "In two more days, His Highness the Crown Prince's decree will arrive, which will take time. We'll force the Wang family into a corner then."
Everyone in the room nodded in agreement and received their respective tasks.
Looking at the room full of people, Zhang Ji felt a strange sense of satisfaction and dazedness. If nothing unexpected happened, the aristocratic families would also be crippled this time; it all seemed too unreal.
Initially, the Crown Prince sent ten retired soldiers and Master Mo to Taiyuan to help.
Who knew that one night, a boy named Wu'er led a group of young men who called themselves militiamen over. Then came a group of imperial guards... and then strangers kept popping up like weeds.
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Author's Note: A letter from the Crown Prince of Kyoto: The rice harvest is in long, irregular shapes, etc...
Bai Xuan, who remained in Liuzhou (lost in thought, but dared not speak or ask, and simply did as instructed): Okay!
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