The Young and Vigorous Eighth Prince

If he is really someone who can be trusted, Jiang Fan doesn't mind helping him. It all depends on his sister's wishes.

Li Xiaozhi left the official post house and walked on the street, followed by a dozen guards sent by Jiang Fan and the people who took over the grain.

On the streets, the price of food has risen fivefold due to the rush to buy food. Although this price is very high, it is still within the acceptable range for the people and at least will not cause unrest.

However, many grain stores had stopped supplying food. Just when they had walked a short distance, many grain stores had closed and stopped selling food.

Even though the price of grain rose fivefold, there was no grain to sell. Many people blocked the door of the grain store with bitter looks on their faces, and some people were crying.

"Please be kind, shopkeeper. We are out of food at home. Please sell us some. If we run out of food, the children and the elderly at home will starve to death."

"Yes, shopkeeper, please, just give us half a pound of food... My wife and children at home haven't eaten for two days. If we don't have any more food, we'll die... Woo woo..."

The cries of grief were heard in front of grain stores everywhere, but all the grain stores in the city seemed to have made an agreement and were closed.

As for those grain stores that were open, many hooligans rushed in to smash, loot and rob. Once this situation occurred, the grain stores, which had originally wanted to provide a way of livelihood for the people, dared not even open their doors.

Li Xiaozhi clenched his fists and his eyes were filled with anger when he saw this. He knew that these grain stores were owned by small families and some grain merchants.

They had received orders from the Five Surnames and Seven Families and had already begun to disrupt the grain supply. I was afraid that rumors would start to spread soon.

Although he came from a prominent family, he was fostered on a farm by his father since he was a child. This is also the life path that every future head of the Li family must experience.

He had seen the sufferings of the common people on the farm, and even when he returned home at the age of ten, he was well aware of the sufferings of the common people. This was also the reason why he could see through the harm of the aristocratic families.

Nowadays, those aristocratic families disregard the lives of ordinary people for their own interests, which is really despicable.

If he had power, he would really like to eradicate these aristocratic families that are harming the people.

At this moment, what he saw was just the beginning of the unrest. If it continued for a few more days, the people might even resort to cannibalism.

It's not just because there is no grain to buy, but also because the price of grain will rise to an astronomical figure, dozens of times higher than the previous price of grain in Huaining Prefecture.

The group had not walked far when they saw someone spreading rumors.

"Do you know why the grain prices in Dayan have skyrocketed? I heard that it was because the King of Qin was aggressive and aggressive, and he was fighting wars everywhere, which led to a food shortage in Dayan. All the grain was bought by the King of Qin and sent to the front line..."

"Yes, I heard about it too. Not only was it sent to the front line, but I heard that the King of Qin also used Dayan's grain to provide aid to the Great Western Dynasty, Northern Mongolia, and South Vietnam! He is using our Dayan's grain to supply outsiders!"

Hearing these remarks, Li Xiaozhi frowned. He knew that the Five Surnames and Seven Families would definitely take some action. Collecting grain would be one of them, and spreading rumors would be the second when the food problem broke out.

Even if the rumors they spread were full of loopholes, the problem was that the people were facing a lack of food. Regardless of whether the rumors were true or false, the people would instinctively believe them.

Once the rumors spread more and more widely, when someone actually dies, things will become increasingly uncontrollable, and the resentment towards King Qin Jiang Fan will become deeper and deeper.

It is very difficult to resolve this matter, unless we take out grain to stabilize the grain price and then clarify the rumors.

But the rumors were spreading everywhere, and Jiang Fan, no matter how capable he was, was afraid that he could not stop the rumors. The actions of the Five Surnames and Seven Families almost left Jiang Fan powerless to fight back.

Once the people are disappointed with Jiang Fan, Jiang Fan will not be able to inherit the throne, and he might even be skinned alive by the irrational people!

Li Xiaozhi showed a worried look on his face. He didn't expect those people to act so quickly. He had the urge to take out the grain in the granary and sell it immediately.

However, if this happens, the Li family will be at odds with the Five Surnames and Seven Families. Who knows how they will act then?

Burn the grain?! Destroy the grain, or uproot the Li family's influence in various places? He knew that the Five Surnames and Seven Families had the ability to do so.

Li Xiaozhi was a little worried. He led a group of people to the Li family's grain store, which was not open at this time because they had been hoarding grain during this period and not selling it to the outside world.

In front of the grain store, many men, women, old and young, women, children, the elderly and the weak gathered there. They knelt in front of the grain store, begging the store to sell them grain.

At the same time, rumors spread here. Some people were confused, and some were angry. Some scolded the King of Qin for being stupid. Some scolded the King of Qin and Jiang Fan for being inhuman.

When Li Xiaozhi saw this scene, there was anger on his face, and there was pity in his eyes as he looked at the people struggling to survive.

He took a deep breath and tried to move forward. However, as soon as he took a step, he was stopped by someone behind him.

"Sir Li, please be patient. His Highness asks you to cooperate with us! Don't be impulsive!" The person who spoke was a captain of the Jinyiwei who came with Li Xiaozhi.

He saw that Li Xiaozhi was preparing to open a store to sell grain and clarify the rumors. But if he did so, it would only expose the Li family in advance.

He didn't know what King Qin Jiang Fan was thinking, but it was his duty not to expose the Li family in advance. After all, if the Li family was exposed, the five surnames and seven families would be desperate, which would only make the situation more uncontrollable.

Li Xiaozhi felt a little embarrassed for a moment when he heard this.

He opened his mouth and was about to speak, but at this moment, someone suddenly spoke from a corner of the street: "The King of Qin has ordered that the grain store in the west of the city sells grain at a price as low as 70%... only seven coins per catty. Those who want to buy grain can go there with their household registration documents. Those who don't have household registration documents can report their situation to the grain seller and sell grain at their discretion!"

As soon as this person spoke, Li Xiaozhi was stunned. He looked at the captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard standing beside him with a questioning look in his eyes.

The captain looked at Li Xiaozhi, smiled and said, "The prince has already made arrangements. In fact, even without your food, the prince can still help the people get through the difficult times."

"Now that we have your food, how can the Five Surnames and Seven Families' little tricks succeed?"

As soon as he said this, he heard that many people in the city were arrested, all of them were from the grain stores that refused to sell grain.

Seeing the soldiers arresting people, many people went to watch. The soldiers who arrested people said to the people: "The King of Qin has ordered that since some criminals are hoarding grain, they intend to put the people in dire straits, shake the foundation of the country, and plot treason. All those who hoard grain and do not sell it will be arrested and executed outside the city tomorrow!"