Mythical Qin: I, Gao Yao, will never be a eunuch!

Emperor Qing's agreement to Gao Yao's demands was based on this logic. What Emperor Qing saw in Gao Yao's conditions was a merchant's desire for monopolistic profits and a pursuit of a special status. This "greed" made Gao Yao predictable and exploitable in Emperor Qing's eyes. Emperor Qing likely believed that as long as these superficial demands of Gao Yao were met, he could temporarily stabilize this suddenly rising commercial power, and deal with it slowly after the crisis passed.

But what Emperor Qing didn't know was that Gao Yao's desires went far beyond gold, silver, and power. What Gao Yao truly wanted was the hearts and minds of the people; what he truly cared about was how to undermine Emperor Qing's rule without resorting to violence. Grain was merely a tool to achieve this goal.

After the imperial edict was issued, the grain market in the Qing Kingdom underwent a dramatic change. The official ban cut off the business channels of other grain merchants, making the Gao Clan Chamber of Commerce the only legal grain supplier besides the official grain. This change caused considerable discussion in the court, but Emperor Qing suppressed it all under the pretext of "special measures for special times."

However, Gao Yao's next move caught Emperor Qing completely off guard.

Contrary to Emperor Qing's expectations, Gao Yao did not raise grain prices to reap exorbitant profits. Instead, he ordered a 20% reduction in grain prices, making them even cheaper than in normal years. This order was quickly relayed throughout the country via the Chamber of Commerce's emergency communication system. Within three days, Gao's grain shops in all prefectures and counties of Qing Kingdom simultaneously displayed the new price tags.

The effect was immediate. People, initially panicked by the famine, flocked to grain shops, their emotions overflowing upon seeing the genuinely low prices. In Cangzhou, an elderly farmer, holding his newly purchased rice, tearfully told those around him, "At my age, I've experienced three great famines, each time leaving countless corpses. The government never cared about our lives except for raising taxes. This time... this time, there are actually merchants willing to sell grain at a loss..."

What moved the people even more were the relief stations established by the Gao Clan Chamber of Commerce in various places. These stations were mostly located in public places such as City God Temples and abandoned warehouses, distributing thin porridge to the poor who could not afford to buy food every day. In Qingzhou, long queues formed outside the relief station, and the Chamber of Commerce staff maintained order while loudly announcing: "Chairman Gao has ordered that everyone, regardless of age or gender, who is truly starving can come and get a bowl of porridge to fill their stomachs! The Chamber of Commerce seeks no reward, only hoping that everyone can get through this difficult time!"

These measures spread rapidly, and the Gao Clan Chamber of Commerce reached unprecedented heights of prestige among the people. In stark contrast, the imperial court was largely ineffective in this crisis. Aside from a few perfunctory edicts of appeasement, Emperor Qing failed to implement any truly effective measures to relieve the disaster victims. While the national treasury did have grain reserves, those were intended for war preparedness, and Emperor Qing was reluctant to use them; local granaries were either empty or had been embezzled at each level, leaving very little for the people to actually receive.

Without comparison, there is no harm. Various stories began to circulate among the people, the most popular of which was that the Gao family's merchant guild had long wanted to sell grain at a fair price, but feared being suppressed by other grain merchants and the government. Therefore, they specifically requested the exclusive right to operate the business from the imperial court, so as to be able to help the people without interference.

This rumor, though partly true and partly false, was incredibly persuasive. It cleverly portrayed Gao Yao as a righteous merchant who endured hardship and spoke out for the people, while placing the imperial court and other grain merchants in opposition. In reality, this rumor was secretly spread by Gao Yao's men, with every word carefully crafted to strike at the most sensitive emotional points of the people.

As time went on, the Gao Clan's actions had a ripple effect. In several of the worst-hit prefectures in southern Qing Kingdom, people even spontaneously organized escort teams to protect the Gao Clan's grain caravans from bandits along the way. When local officials attempted to intervene, they were met with collective resistance from the people.

"President Gao is our savior. Anyone who dares to touch the caravan, we will fight them to the death!" Such voices resounded in many places. Although simple, they contained a power that made the rulers tremble.

When Emperor Qing received these reports in the deep palace, his face was terribly grim. He had originally thought Gao Yao was just a greedy businessman, but now he realized that this man's ambitions were far greater—he didn't want money, he wanted the hearts of the people; he didn't want temporary wealth, he wanted lasting influence.

"This person must be eliminated." Emperor Qing said coldly to the eunuch beside him, a flash of murderous intent in his eyes.

But as soon as the words left his mouth, Emperor Qing realized the problem: the timing was wrong to attack Gao Yao now. The Gao family's reputation among the people was at its zenith; to take action against Gao Yao at this time would be tantamount to directly opposing public opinion. The famine was not yet fully resolved, and the threats from Northern Qi and the western borders remained. If internal turmoil were to be triggered at this time, the consequences would be unimaginable.

What troubled Emperor Qing even more was that the court's reaction to the matter was beginning to diverge. Some upright officials publicly praised Gao Yao's righteous act, believing it to be "benevolence and righteousness seen in business ethics"; some local officials were also grateful to the Gao family's business association because the local disaster situation had been alleviated; even in the Censorate, some young officials privately discussed that the court's performance this time was indeed inferior to that of a business association.

Chen Pingping observed all of this, yet unusually remained silent. The head of the Overwatch Council harbored deeper suspicions about Gao Yao's true intentions, but he also understood that confronting the truth now would bring no benefit to the Qing Kingdom. Chen Pingping chose to observe, while secretly intensifying his surveillance of the Gao Clan Chamber of Commerce.

Fan Xian's position in this grain crisis is particularly delicate. As the Director of the Censorate, he should be wary of any forces that might threaten the stability of the court; however, as a person with a modern soul, he cannot deny that Gao Yao's actions have indeed saved countless lives. This contradiction leads Fan Xian to deep thought, and he begins to re-examine his relationship with Gao Yao and rethink what true "justice" is in this era.

Gao Yao saw everything clearly. He knew that Emperor Qing had murderous intent, and he also knew that his actions were touching the forbidden zone of imperial power. But he was not afraid, because he had already calculated every step.

In a secluded room at the Chamber of Commerce headquarters, Gao Yao unfurled a map of the entire Qing Kingdom. The map was covered with densely packed symbols: red represented Gao's granaries, blue represented official granaries, green represented towns where relief stations had been established, and black represented areas where public sentiment was unstable. The map clearly showed that the influence of the Gao Clan Chamber of Commerce had permeated every corner of the Qing Kingdom.

"Emperor Qing thought I would take the opportunity to amass wealth, and then eliminate me under the pretext of 'unscrupulous merchants disrupting the market.'" Gao Yao's finger moved slowly across the map, finally stopping at Kyoto. "But he was wrong. I don't want money; I want this."

His fingers tapped lightly on the palace pattern on the map.

The flickering candlelight cast Gao Yao's shadow on the wall, the shadow dancing with the firelight as if it had come alive. This soul, who had lived for thousands of years, experienced the cruelty of the Qin Dynasty and witnessed the rise and fall of countless dynasties, was now playing an unprecedented grand game in this unfamiliar time and space.