Lu Li's move was incredibly ruthless, giving Zhao no chance whatsoever and even completely outmaneuvering Yun Qingshu.
When that time really comes, the people will be starving and desperate. They won't care whether Yun Qingshu really embezzled or not. As long as you have military rations, they'll just rob you!
Lu Li wants to see if your Mohist school of universal love and non-aggression can truly achieve universal love!
"Understood, I'll do it right away!"
Three days later, all the Black Ice Guards hidden in the Zhao Kingdom began to make their move.
Chu Liu was clever; he didn't buy too much grain at once and arouse suspicion. Instead, he bought it little by little in batches. Since there were many people at the Black Ice Station, each person buying a little would add up to a large sum.
The amount of grain sold by the major clans and aristocratic families each day was only slightly more than usual, and almost no one would notice it unless they checked carefully.
Then, with winter just a month away, a large number of people suddenly flocked to the market to buy grain. This time of year is usually when the major clans and aristocratic families make a fortune.
But this year is different; there are dozens of times more people buying grain than in previous years.
"Hiss~ This year is strange. Why are so many people buying grain? Aren't they buying it all the time?"
"This year is a famine year, and our Zhao state is at war. It's understandable that the people are hoarding more grain. We should just focus on making our own profits."
"That's right, if we raise the price of grain even higher, fewer people will buy it!"
Several clan leaders gathered together to discuss raising the price of grain in order to control the number of people buying it.
To their utter surprise, even after raising prices, all the grain warehouses were still emptied. The people seemed to have lost their minds, frantically buying grain.
At first, the aristocratic families were overjoyed because they could make a fortune from selling grain.
Even after the aristocratic families started selling their surplus grain, it didn't stop the people of Zhao from lining up every day to buy it.
"The grain is sold out. You'll have to buy from somewhere else!"
Finally, one aristocratic family couldn't hold on any longer, because if they continued selling, even they would run out of surplus grain.
"Bullshit! We clearly see there's still grain left, why won't we sell it?"
"That's right! I'm rich! Why won't you sell?"
Among the crowd, some people began to incite the people's emotions, and for a time the people of Zhao were agitated.
"I said I'm not selling, and that's final! What nonsense are you spouting! Men, take him out with sticks!"
After saying this, a group of servants wielding sticks emerged from the granary and began attacking the common people.
This blow completely ignited the anger in the hearts of the people!
This year is already a year of famine, and these powerful clans have driven the price of grain to exorbitant levels. Now they have grain but refuse to sell it and are even beating people.
The people of Zhao rose up and attacked them. These servants had never seen anything like it before. They were used to swaggering around and showing off their power. Who would have thought that these lowly people would dare to fight back?
Immediately afterwards, a conflict broke out between the two sides, but how could a dozen servants be a match for so many commoners? As the saying goes, two fists can't beat four hands, and they were defeated in no time.
In the crowd, the Black Ice Guard seized the opportunity and killed one of the servants.
He shouted, "Brothers, these noble families won't let us live, so let's rob them of their food! Rob it!"
The people of Zhao seemed to be encouraged. They had been oppressed by the aristocratic clans for too long, and now they didn't care about anything else. They actually followed the Black Ice Guard into the granary and began to frantically loot the grain.
This scene was playing out throughout the entire Zhao state, and internal strife was about to break out in Zhao!
When the Mo family learned of this news, Yun Qingshu frowned.
"Your Excellency, the people of the entire Zhao state are now scrambling for grain. If this continues, internal strife will break out!"
Yun Qingshu was naturally aware of these things. He slowly said, "There's nothing we can do about it. After all, Zhao State has encountered famine this year and is also at war. The people are uncertain and will naturally scramble for grain."
"The State of Zhao should still have grain reserves. I will write to the King of Zhao and ask him to use the reserves to help in this emergency!"
At this moment, Yun Qingshu did not realize that something was wrong, and even wanted King Zhao to take out the stored grain to help the people in their emergency.
Zhao Yan initially didn't take the matter seriously, until the major clans jointly submitted a memorial, which finally drew his attention.
But by then it was too late, because all these aristocratic families had been looted. The larger aristocratic families, with their larger private armies, were able to hold on with some difficulty.
The smaller aristocratic families fared much worse. These mobs, blinded by greed, not only looted grain but also began to plunder money, gold, and silver!
Everything of value belonging to the gentry was completely swept away.
Zhao Yan was in a real predicament. The war outside the capital was still ongoing, and now Handan was in chaos again. What could he do?
"Prime Minister, what should I do?" Zhao Yan asked, clutching his head in anguish.
Guo Kai's eyes darted around, and he immediately said, "Your Majesty, the grain reserves must not be touched. Right now, we can only send troops to suppress the rioters and, under the guise of collecting taxes, force them to return the grain they have looted!"
Upon hearing this, a glint of light flashed in Zhao Yan's eyes.
In his eyes, the common people were like weeds. Now that the states of Qin and Yan were at war with the state of Zhao, he had no time to care about these people.
The army doesn't even have enough food to eat! If there's no one to fight, won't the Zhao state be doomed?
"Very well, do as the Prime Minister says, and get on with it immediately!"
Guo Kai's lips curled up, revealing a subtle smile that went unnoticed. This time, he could make a killing again!
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