After our homes were confiscated and we were exiled, the women in my clan and I raised a million sol

But at this moment, the servant outside the door rushed into the hall, crawling and tumbling.

"Master, this is bad! Something terrible has happened! The county government has suddenly posted a notice, selling grain at a low price of 110 coins per bushel!"

"Now the people of Ninggu City have heard the news and have formed a long queue. The queue is so long that you can't see the end at a glance!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Zhou Xia's expression suddenly changed.

"What? How could this happen?"

The moment Sun Yi heard the news, he jumped up from his chair as if he had been electrocuted, and swept his eyes towards the other three grain merchants with sharp eyes.

At this moment, their faces were equally gloomy as if water could drip out of them. Without saying much, they could feel the uneasiness and anger in each other's hearts.

"Don't worry!"

Zhou Xia tried hard to remain calm, but his voice was trembling. He tried to comfort everyone while also looking for a way out.

"Now let's go find Prince Wang and see what's going on!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Hao quickly agreed, "That's right! I don't believe that Prince Wang would really disregard his own interests. You know, he also makes a considerable profit in this grain business!"

After the discussion was finalized, the four of them stood up in a hurry, and without even finishing the tea in their cups, they left Zhou's house together and headed straight for Zhang Liang's mansion.

After arriving at Zhang Liang's mansion, Qian Duo, as a representative, went forward to negotiate with the gatekeeper.

He tried his best to sound calm and polite. "Little brother, we are four grain merchants from Ninggu City. We are here to discuss important matters with Prince Wang. Please let him know."

However, the servants obviously had no good feelings towards these grain merchants with a bad reputation, and their eyes were full of contempt and disdain.

One of them responded coldly: "Sorry, my young master is away on a business trip and is not here now."

Zhao Hao was furious when he heard this. He quickly took out a silver coin from his pocket and tried to bribe the other party. "Little brother, please be flexible. We really have something important to discuss with Prince Wang."

But the servant remained unmoved and resolutely shook his head in refusal: "I already told you that the young master is not here! Stop talking and leave now."

Faced with these stubborn servants, the four grain merchants' faces turned ashen in an instant.

Qian Duo asked anxiously: "What should we do now?"

Zhou Xia pondered for a moment, a sinister look flashed in his eyes, and he whispered, "Leave first, and then we can discuss countermeasures when we return to my house."

After saying this, he turned and walked towards the carriage, but the moment he stepped onto the carriage, he couldn't help but look back at Zhang Liang's mansion, his eyes full of complexity and depth.

Back in the magnificent hall of the Zhou Mansion, Qian Duo's anxiety was like a tangled mess. Before he even sat down, he eagerly asked, "What's going on? Why did Prince Wang leave at this critical moment?"

Zhou Xia sat down leisurely, his eyes deep, as if he could see into people's hearts. He glanced at Qian Duo lightly.

Then he spoke slowly, each word seeming to be carefully weighed: "He didn't leave, he just didn't want to see us."

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly froze, and several grain merchants looked at each other in confusion.

Qian Duo and Sun Yi exchanged a meaningful look, and it was obvious that they had understood the deep meaning of Master Zhou's words.

Zhao Hao was momentarily unable to grasp this subtle meaning. His brow furrowed, he asked in confusion, "Master Zhou, what do you mean? Why is Prince Wang suddenly unwilling to see us? Doesn't he understand that cooperation between us would also benefit him?"

"That kid surnamed Wang has no moral principles. He's trying to trick us! Everything he said to us before was a lie!"

After hearing his words, even the dumbest person would know what was going on.

Zhao Hao said worriedly, "Master Zhou, what should we do?"

Zhou Xia's eyes were cold, and he clenched his fists. He then said, "Now that Daqian has been hit by natural disasters one after another, the price of grain has skyrocketed. How much grain can be stored in Ninggu City's granaries? Is it enough for the people in the city?"

This remark woke everyone up from their dream, and several people reacted one after another.

"Although Ninggucheng is only a small city, it has a large population. The harvests in previous years were poor, so the granaries must not have had enough food. That brat surnamed Wang is just trying to force us to panic, sell off our food, and lower the price. I underestimated this young man!"

"I didn't expect this guy, who looks young, to be so sinister!"

Qian Duo snorted coldly, wishing he could tear Zhang Liang into pieces.

Then, Zhou Xia looked at the three grain merchants present and said to them with a serious expression: "Ninggucheng's grain prices must not fall sharply. At the very least, we have to wait until we have sold all our grain and exited the market with a profit!"

"Since these people dare to open the granary and release grain, we will eat as much as they give out! I want to see how much grain they have!"

Zhou Xia said with gritted teeth, his eyes flashing with ferocity.

The three family heads nodded in unison. In addition to the low-priced old grain, they also had grain that they had stockpiled from the market at high prices.

If they all sold off the grain together, the price wouldn't be just 110 coins per bushel! They couldn't afford to lose this game! If they did, they would be finished.

Qian Duo gritted his teeth and said, "That's right! Since that bastard surnamed Wang and that old fellow Liu Yu dared to plot against us, we must make them pay the price!"

After the discussion, the other three grain merchants left Zhou's house, ready to fight to the death with Zhang Liang and his men.

After the four major grain merchants issued the order, their subordinates immediately took action.

At this time, inside Zhang Liang's mansion, Zhang Liang and his companions were drinking tea, waiting for the actions of the four major grain merchants.

At this moment, Zhang Liang's men rushed in hurriedly from outside.

"Report!"

"My lord, there are some unfamiliar faces among the people who have come to buy grain. They are vying for it, and are making large purchases. Some are even making noises, claiming that the granaries are empty, and this is disturbing the people. I beg you to make a quick decision."

Upon hearing this news, Liu Yu said with a sullen face, "This must be the work of the four major grain merchants. The grain prices in Ninggu City have plummeted, and they are the first to bear the brunt of it. That's why they are frantically raiding the market to maintain their monopoly on grain storage!"

"Can the grain price in Ninggu City be reduced?"

The subordinate shook his head and replied, "Master, I have been sending people to keep an eye on it. There is no movement in the shops anywhere, and they haven't lowered their prices yet."

“The price hasn’t dropped yet?”

Wang Wu looked stunned.

Zhong Tian's expression was somewhat serious. "What should we do now? With the strength of the four major grain merchants, the grain in the granary will probably be sold out soon."

"If the people were to learn of this news, it would surely trigger a new panic. Pass the order on to throw out those with ulterior motives and slow down the grain sales!"

Listening to their words, Zhang Liang put down his teacup and slowly said, "These profiteers are eager to cause a riot. If we do this, they will succeed in their evil scheme!"

"If these people want it, then give it to them. I want to see how much they can eat."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present widened their eyes and showed an expression of disbelief.

"Master, if we continue to buy at this rate, I'm afraid our food will be swept away by those four profiteers in less than a day!"

"Right now, the other grain merchants in Ninggu City are still watching and are hesitant to intervene. Grain prices remain stubbornly high, and with so many people involved and the four major grain merchants interfering, we can't tolerate this."

Compared to the anxious few, Zhang Liang seemed quite calm. He slowly said, "It's businessmen's nature to wait and see. After all, if you're not careful, you could very well lose everything and all your life's hard work would be wasted."

"Letting you open the warehouse and release the grain is only the first step in my plan."

Zhang Liang looked at Yan Sheng and Zeng Guodong and said, "Immediately block the city gates and the docks. Order the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry outside the city to escort our "grain" into the city and into the granary. Anyone who dares to approach this grain will be killed on the spot!"

"You must make sure that all the people in the city witness that there is a steady supply of food entering Ninggu City!"

"As long as you do as I say, the price of grain in Ninggu City will definitely drop within a day!"

"As long as we can control the amount of grain in the granary within a day and lower the price of grain on the market, we'll make a profit!"

“They can’t clean up all the food on the market.”

After hearing his words, everyone present nodded in sudden understanding.

Immediately afterwards, Yan Sheng and Zeng Guodong responded respectfully and walked out immediately.

Zhang Liang's eyes were cold. A bunch of damn grain merchants wanted to fight him. They were simply courting death!