In the years of famine, I was well versed in history and pampered the Northern Army

For five consecutive days, people in Xixiang have been complaining bitterly.

But for the native merchants here, that was the best thing. They usually loved to make money from the national disaster. They didn't expect that even the officials sent from the capital would support them this time. Why wouldn't they do it?

So many officials in neighboring counties distributed a large amount of food. It took time to transport the food here, and a lot of food was delivered in about 5 days.

During these five days, not only the people of Xixiang felt extremely anxious, but even Lu Yan couldn't sleep at night. He couldn't figure out why the witch would come up with such an idea for him to practice. What if this method really made the people of Xixiang empty their family assets? What should he do then?

But when he asked Chu Qingyin, he didn't answer. Instead, Chu Qingyin always asked him:

"Are there many merchants from Xixiang these days?"

"The grain prices here are so high that many people from other towns and villages have come to us with their carts to sell grain. I estimate that our grain reserves are five times greater than usual, and many times more than the earthquake relief grain distributed by the imperial court."

Chu Qingyin smiled. She didn't expect that her method could actually work, so she asked again:

"There's so much more food. Have you made a lot of money selling it these days?"

Lu Yan sighed:

"They practically squeezed all the people in Xixiang dry and made a total of 5 taels of silver."

Chu Qingyin calculated the time carefully. At this time, the food prices next door suddenly rose. Their food had already been delivered here, so it would be unlikely that they would be short of food later.

Moreover, the cost of transporting it back and forth in a short period of time is already very high, so it is impossible for them to leave Xixiang again.

Finally, on this day, Chu Qingyin told Lu Yan the secret of herself:

"The price of grain, which used to cost five taels of silver per dan, has now dropped to half a tael of silver per dan."

Although this method was a radical change, Lu Yan was still happy. He couldn't bear to see the people of Xixiang like this, so the next day he immediately changed the price of his shop to half a tael of silver per stone. Sure enough, the shops that had originally flocked in hoping to make a fortune from the national disaster had not made a penny by this time.

"Who told you to change the price? Didn't we originally agree on five taels of silver? How come it's only half a tael now? This is too much of a drop, a full tenfold."

The other vendors were angry. They had traveled thousands of miles, thinking that there was a chance to make a fortune, but who knew they would encounter such a situation? They had just arrived, and the prices had been slashed in half before they even opened.

But Lu Yan originally came in the name of the court. How could these businessmen compare with these officials? Lu Yan's subordinates suddenly became very tough:

"What do you know? This is His Highness's order. Are you going to disobey His Highness's order? Didn't you all come here from afar just to make a fortune in the national crisis? Now that you can't succeed, do you still want to teach His Highness how to do things?"

They really had nothing to say. After all, they came all the way here just to take advantage of this opportunity to make a fortune, but they didn't expect Lu Yan to change his mind so quickly. Now when the people in Xixiang heard the news that night, they were simply unbelievable.

Especially the woman who entertained Lu Yan that day. He didn't expect that the young man that night was Lu Yan, the prince sent by the court, so he often regretted not treating him well that day. But when he learned that Lu Yan had raised the price of grain five times after such a long time, his heart was as cold as ice.

When I woke up this morning, I heard my neighbor say that you can buy a bowl of grain for half a tael of silver, and everyone is rushing to buy grain.

Those unwilling merchants had nothing to say. Lu Yan even asked the officials to tell them in advance that half of their disaster relief grain from the court today would be estimated to be 1/1 tael by the next day. If they did not lower the price, they would be guaranteed not to sell any grain at all.

They were furious. Originally, half a liang was their purchase price, but if they really sold it for 1/4 liang, not only would they have to pay the shipping fee from a long distance, but they would also lose money.

But what else could they do? They could only sell at Lu Yan's own price. However, some people were unwilling to accept this. They thought that the imperial government's disaster relief grain would eventually run out, so they refused to lower the price.

But they really didn't understand how smart Chu Qingyin was. All the grain that was willing to be reduced to the same price as the court had already been bought by Prince Jing's Mansion. During that period, Prince Jing made tens of thousands of taels of silver, and it was too easy to buy half a tael of silver from them now.

So they waited and waited, but found that the court's disaster relief grain could not be sold out, so they had to continue the price war.

Originally, Xixiang was a place with a shortage of food due to drought. However, because of Chu Qingyin's strategy of first raising the price and then lowering it, the prices of the two families were suddenly several times lower than those of other places.

Although the people in Xixiang didn't have much money, they couldn't resist the pressure. He got tens of thousands of taels of silver from the richer people in Xixiang, and used the grain he bought at a low price to subsidize those who really had no money.

After three months of hard work, the eldest prince and the second prince understood Lu Yan's intention. They said nothing and never went out again.

Lu Yan already had enough manpower, and he had many connections in the Zhenbei Army, so he didn't need their help. As a result, during the three months of intensive work in Xixiang, everyone was able to eat their fill. Even the beggars on the ground had white flour buns to eat every day.

That night, Lu Yan's face was beaming. He had never imagined that wisdom and strategy could be so powerful.

"The witch is truly talented and intelligent. I admire her immensely. In the past, Lu Yan only knew that fighting could save lives, but he never imagined that the witch's little trick could actually save millions from disaster."

Chu Qingyin felt embarrassed by his praise. She read a lot of history books on weekdays, so these things were just what she learned from history. She didn't expect that they were really useful and could save the lives of millions of people in another time and space. It was also very meaningful to her.

"I used to think that only those who treated patients and saved lives, or those who defended their country, could contribute to their country. Later, when I realized that many of these people still couldn't get enough to eat, I realized that making good decisions was the best way to ensure a good life for everyone. It also requires open governance and ensuring that everyone can afford education."

Lu Yan strongly agreed with what Chu Qingyin said.

"That's why I've been helping you all this time, because I know you're the only one who can save Yun Jin, because you have a kind heart and you have the ability to do so."