The most romantic little emperor

Qin Hao was confused. He thought that there was something irrational about this matter. How could such a secret matter be heard by Shangguan Wuji? Could it be that Shangguan Wuji had been discovered by them long ago and deliberately let him hear it? Have they set a trap in Xiaoyao Villa, waiting for the Shangguan brothers and sisters and the people who rescued them to jump into it together, so as to catch them all in one fell swoop?

Then he told both of them about his doubts.

After listening to the doubts Qin Hao raised and after several people analyzed them, they found that there were indeed many doubts, which made Shangguan Wuji so scared that he broke out in a cold sweat. He thought to himself that if the prince was hurt because of this matter, he would never redeem himself.

A Yue suggested to Qin Hao that he should let the shadow guard go to Xiaoyao Shangzhuang to gather information, and then discuss a rescue plan after getting confirmed information.

Qin Hao nodded in agreement, and then A Yue went out to arrange for the shadow guard to find out the news.

After A Yue left, Shangguan Wuji felt even more uneasy. Still in shock, he quickly kowtowed to Qin Hao and admitted his mistake.

Qin Hao knew that Shangguan Wuji was worried and confused, so he comforted him and told him not to worry and that he would rescue Liang Hongyu. Only then did Shangguan Wuji feel at peace.

Afterwards, Qin Hao ordered his personal guards to invite Xie An and Zhu Yongkang over.

When the guards brought Xie An and Zhu Yongkang, Qin Hao was having dinner with A Yue, Qian Duoduo and Shangguan Wuji. When Qin Hao saw the two of them coming, he quickly invited them to come and eat together.

After dinner, everyone followed Qin Hao to the study, and Qin Hao asked Shangguan Wuji to tell everyone the true situation of the disaster in Hedong.

Xie An then said, "Your Highness, the current high grain prices are indeed closely related to the collusion between officials and businessmen in the Hedong disaster area. In my opinion, it is difficult for the Ministry of Revenue to raise food and wages for disaster relief, let alone other things. Therefore, we cannot hold too much hope in them. We must find another way to break the deadlock."

Qin Hao nodded in approval.

Zhu Yongkang went on to say: "If we want to solve the food problem, we must focus on the four major grain merchants in Beijing, break their monopoly and lower the price of grain. Only then can we buy more grain for disaster relief. The key now is how to convince the four major grain merchants to lower the price of grain."

Xie An shook his head. "This is difficult. I have already contacted the people of the four major grain merchants. Lowering the grain price does not benefit them in any way. They would rather let the grain rot in the granary and not be sold than lower the price."

Qin Hao asked back, "Why should we be led by the nose by these four grain merchants? They are driving up prices in the face of national crisis, which has already violated the laws of the court. Since they won't cooperate, I will put a knife on their necks. I want to see, whose necks are harder, or whose knife is faster."

"Thank you, Grand Master. Tell A Yue the detailed information of these four grain merchants later. I will make them bow their heads."

At this time, Qian Duoduo said, "Your Highness, we can actually transfer grain from the south to the disaster area, especially in the Jianghuai area where grain is more abundant. Although the grain price is a bit higher than before, it is not as ridiculously high as in the capital. There is another advantage. The distance between Jianghuai and Hedong is much closer than the distance between the capital and Hedong. This can save transportation time and also save food loss during transportation."

Zhu Yongkang flattered her subtly, "Yes! Why didn't I think of that? Miss Qian is really smart."

Qian Duoduo continued, "My Su family also operates a number of grain stores in Suzhou, Jiangnan, and we also know a number of grain merchants who can undertake the task of purchasing grain this time."

"In addition, the price of grain in the capital is not impossible to lower. As long as we operate properly, it will not be difficult to restore the price of grain to its original price."

After hearing what Qian Duoduo said, Xie An anxiously asked, "Miss Qian, do you have any good ideas? If you can lower the price of grain, it will definitely be a great achievement."

Qian Duoduo looked at Qin Hao, and Qin Hao nodded.

Qian Duoduo asked back: "Master Xie, if one grain merchant lowers the price, what will the other three grain merchants do?"

Xie An said without hesitation: "Of course the price will be reduced, but these four grain merchants must have signed an agreement to advance and retreat together, and no one of them will tear up the agreement."

Qin Hao smiled mysteriously and said, "Master Xie, haven't you heard this saying? A fortress is often breached from the inside. They can form an alliance for the sake of interests, but they can also break the alliance for the sake of interests. We can give them some benefits and disintegrate their alliance."

"There is no such thing as loyalty between people. The reason they are loyal is because the weight of betrayal is not enough. If we give them enough weight, will their alliance still be so strong?"

After listening to Qin Hao's explanation, everyone suddenly understood.

Qian Duoduo looked at Qin Hao with admiration, silently reciting in her heart, "Fortresses are often breached from the inside" and "There is no such thing as loyalty between people. The reason for loyalty is that the weight of betrayal is not enough." It was the first time she heard such philosophical sentences, which analyzed human nature incisively and deeply. No wonder Qin Hao could become the prince and what he said was different from others.

Qin Hao directly assigned tasks to everyone.

"Brother Zhu, you have some small grain stores under your name, right? In this way, you are more familiar with the Chen family in Beijing. You will be responsible for contacting the Chen family. The small grain stores under your two names will lower the grain prices starting tomorrow, by one-tenth of the current price every day until it returns to the original price. If there is a shortage of grain, purchase restrictions will be implemented, that is, each person can only buy a certain amount every day, and duplicate purchases are not allowed."

"Thank you, Grand Master. Please bring here those students and former officials of yours who are talented, suppressed, and trustworthy. This is an extraordinary period. I want to use them. Maybe I won't allow them to be officials, but I will let them shine in other fields."

"Qian Duoduo, go back and inform your grandfather and your father, and ask them to fully cooperate with this operation. You and your grandfather will be in charge of the capital, and your father will be in charge of Suzhou. If you don't have enough talent, ask Grand Tutor Xie, and if you don't have enough money, ask Second Brother Zhu."

"Shangguan Wuji, you are responsible for delivering money, food and other supplies to the disaster-stricken areas in Hedong, and for facilitating the connection between the capital and the disaster-stricken areas."

"Ayue, you are responsible for the security of this operation. Protect their safety. Security personnel can be secretly transferred from the Zuo Daying and Suzaku Guards. Wang Jian and General Zhu Qiqi will cooperate."

"Also, Brother Zhu, please inform Li Youcai to bring a batch of auction items that were not auctioned last time and go to Chen's house to find Qian Duoduo's father immediately, and go to Suzhou to prepare for the establishment of the Suzhou branch of the Capital's No. 1 Auction House."

"Don't be too stressed. I'll give you a guarantee. We raised more than 20 million taels of silver at yesterday's auction, and there will be more silver coming in later. We have the money and the people, and we will definitely be successful in the end. To keep it secret, I've given this operation a code name, the Jedi Counterattack Plan."

"I hereby declare that the Jedi Counterattack Plan will officially begin from now on."

After hearing this, everyone applauded and accepted the order directly. Then, everyone discussed some details and left.

Qin Hao also specially asked A Yue to personally escort Qian Duoduo back to Chen Mansion.