Happy Emperor

A few more days.

Just as Lin Tian was concentrating on drawing the drawings of the various parts of AK in the South Study.

There was a series of rapid knocks on the door.

"An Bilie, could you knock on the door a little quieter next time?"

Lin Tian shouted outside the door without even raising his head.

Because apart from this guy, no one dares to knock on the door so boldly.

"Your Majesty, something is wrong!"

An Bilie walked into the room in a panic and knelt down to worship.

Seeing An Bilie’s nervous expression, Lin Tian couldn’t help but feel nervous.

He asked in a deep voice, "Have the Batu family's troops arrived in Ningfeng Province ahead of time?"

"no!"

"What happened?"

Lin Tian couldn't think of what big thing could happen in Shengjing now.

"A large number of refugees have begun to appear in Shengjing in the past few days, and the number is increasing. Some have even come to the outskirts of the imperial palace."

"Where do so many refugees come from?" Lin Tian was slightly stunned when he heard this.

Although Daxia's national strength is no longer as strong as before, Shengjing is still the capital after all.

The people here don’t live a rich life, but they don’t starve either!

"What's going on?" Lin Tian put down his pen and asked.

"All grain merchants in Shengjing have collectively raised their prices. A bushel of grain is now selling for ten taels!"

An Bilie's face was full of anger after he finished speaking.

"One dou of grain, ten taels?"

Lin Tian couldn't believe his ears.

Are these grain merchants trying to go to hell?

"That's right, it's one dou and ten taels." An Bilie replied very confidently.

He went to several grain stores before coming, and all the prices were the same.

After hearing this, Lin Tian was shocked.

This price is too outrageous! ?

Normally, the price of a dou of grain is around fifty coins, and even in a disaster year, the price will not exceed one hundred coins.

The price of food has now increased two hundred times.

The common people in Shengjing only earned one or two taels of silver a month. It would be strange if they didn't starve.

"Your Majesty, should we notify the Infantry Commander's Office and force the price down?"

Seeing that Emperor Li had not spoken for a long time, An Bilie asked carefully.

"No."

After thinking for a moment, Lin Tian decisively rejected An Bilie's proposal.

This was his first reaction just now, but he quickly rejected his idea.

The real bosses behind all the grain merchants in Shengjing are Baturin and Ji Feng.

They actually dared to raise food prices so blatantly, they must have made preparations in advance.

If they are forced to lower food prices, they can simply choose not to sell food.

By then, Lin Tian will have no way to deal with them.

Instead, it will cause all the people in Shengjing to panic.

"An Bilie, send the Governor-General Cang to me!"

The Governor-General of the Granaries was in charge of all granaries in Shengjing. He was affiliated with the Ministry of Revenue and was at the same level as the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and was in charge of different tasks.

The reason why Lin Tian called him over was not just because this person was in charge of the Shengjing granary.

He had known this person before when he was investigating food security issues in Shengjing.

This man's name is Duan Chengming, and he is a graduate of the imperial examination system.

Although he seems to be in cahoots with Ji Feng, he is indeed an upright person.

A few years ago, there was a drought in Shengjing, and food prices skyrocketed.

The Left Assistant Minister and his entourage wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to make a fortune, and tried to stop Duan Chengming from delaying the release of grain for disaster relief, but he refused every time.

Later, this matter came to Ji Feng's ears.

At that time, Ji Feng controlled Shengjing. He did not want Shengjing to riot due to food shortage, so he suppressed the matter.

However, after this incident, he was completely squeezed out of the power center of Shengjing.

A second-rank official did not even have the right to attend the morning court.

......

Not long after, Duan Chengming arrived at the imperial study.

"Your Majesty, I, Duan Chengming, pay my respects to you."

"Get up."

Lin Tian stared at Duan Chengming, who looked honest, and asked in a cold voice, "Do you know about the recent increase in grain prices in Shengjing?"

"I know."

"Very good. Then I ask you, why didn't you sell the grain at a low price in time to regulate the price of grain?"

Lin Tian narrowed his eyes and looked at Duan Chengming and asked.

"I dare not, and I cannot!"

Duan Chengming looked righteous as he bowed and said, "The grain stored in Shengjing is the national grain. Without Your Majesty's order, I dare not buy or sell it privately."

"Even if the emperor issues an order, I believe the grain cannot be released."

"kindness?"

Lin Tian found Duan Chengming's first sentence quite pleasing to the ear, but he did not understand the second sentence.

"If you don't release the grain, do you want the people of Shengjing to starve to death?"

"I believe that releasing grain will not save those people."

"Why?" Lin Tian asked coldly.

"Even if all the grain in the warehouse is released, it can only last for a month at most. If the grain price doesn't drop by then, it's only a matter of time before the people of Shengjing starve to death."

"This is a man-made disaster, not a natural disaster."

"Secondly, if we release the grain, we won't be able to distinguish whether it's being purchased by grain merchants or ordinary people. I'm afraid most of the grain will end up in the hands of grain merchants."

"If a war breaks out suddenly and the granaries are empty, the army will be in urgent need of food."

Duan Chengming's analysis is clear and flawless.

"Then do you have any suggestions?" Lin Tian continued to ask.

"Have!"

"Say!"

"First, we changed the sale of grain to provide relief, and made porridge to help the people get through the hard times."

"Secondly, send people to Ningfeng Province and several other provinces to purchase grain. Shengjing has sufficient grain, so the price of grain will naturally come down."

What a talent!

After listening to Duan Chengming's method, Lin Tian sighed.

But he couldn't adopt it.

The reason is simple. The 50,000 elite troops sent by Baturin will arrive in Ningfeng Province within ten days.

He had no time to transport the food he bought.

And buying grain from those two provinces is a no-brainer.

This matter itself was caused by Baturin and his men. How can we still sell grain to him?

"Looks like I have no choice but to resort to risky tactics. If all else fails, I'll just rob. If you don't let me have a good life, no one else will have a chance to live!"

Lin Tian rubbed his brows, feeling extremely depressed.

In his heart, he had cursed Baturin and Ji Feng, those two old bastards, hundreds of times.

When I make an AK myself, I will first use these two to test their power.

But now we need to solve the problem at hand.

Lin Tian thought for a moment and asked.

"Duan Chengming, do you know the daily grain storage situation of those grain merchants in Shengjing?"

“I know that although the requirements for grain storage are not strict, it is still necessary to build specific granaries.”

"So, based on the number of granaries in Shengjing and the usual grain sales figures, if grain merchants have full warehouses, they can only sell grain for half a month at most."

"Half a month?"

"Yes!"

After hearing this, Lin Tian became depressed again. Stealing food was not a solution.

There is only half a month's worth of food in stock, and even if we rob it, it will only be a temporary solution and not a fundamental solution.

"Your Majesty, are you planning to rob food?" Duan Chengming asked seriously.

"Fuck!"

Lin Tian couldn't help but curse.

Is this guy the roundworm in my stomach? How come he knew it the moment I thought about it?

However, Lin Tian did not hide it and nodded in admission.

In his mind.

Grab food! No shame.

"Your Majesty! You absolutely cannot do this."

Duan Chengming hurriedly advised.

"Once the news of Your Majesty's grain robbery spreads to other provinces, those grain merchants from other places will no longer dare to transport grain to Shengjing. Shengjing has less land and cannot fully supply the people of Shengjing. By then, I'm afraid..."