Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

Inside the Yi family mansion, the patriarch, Yi Wancheng, sat at the head of the table with a livid face.

The twelve maids serving him were all trembling with fear, afraid that they might accidentally anger the richest man in Sichuan.

Inside the hall, dozens of prominent local figures were sitting, whispering amongst themselves.

They all looked worried, as if they had encountered a tremendous problem.

After a long while, Yi Wancheng slammed the teacup heavily onto the coffee table.

The hall fell silent in an instant.

"Gentlemen, I'm sure you've all received the Prince's decree, right?"

"Li Ye has instructed us to raise at least two million shi of grain to make up for the shortage in the Dongzhou granary!"

"Two million koku of grain, and they're planning to take it all for free!"

"In addition to the two million shi of grain, it was also proposed that we must stabilize the risk of soaring grain prices in various prefectures of Shu!"

"Gentlemen, I've called you all here to discuss countermeasures and see how to handle this matter!"

Yi Wancheng's words instantly stirred up the atmosphere.

A wealthy man with a tumor on his head immediately stood up: "Lord Li, this is outrageous! Issuing such a decree at this time is tantamount to putting us in a very difficult position."

His words immediately resonated with other wealthy individuals.

"Lord Li has indeed gone too far. What's the difference between this and outright robbery?"

"Exactly, two million shi of grain, he just wants it like that? Does he think our money grows on trees?"

"The Prince's Mansion hasn't offered any compensation whatsoever. It seems they're determined to drain our savings. Do you know how hard it is for us to run a small business!"

"In short, we have no grain, but if you want our lives, come and take them!"

For a moment, everyone was indignant and adopted a posture of fighting to the death against the Prince's Mansion.

Yi Wancheng said, "Alright, you've vented your frustrations. Now it's time to think about how to solve the current problem."

I specifically calculated that stabilizing the potentially skyrocketing grain prices in Shu will cost at least 20 million taels of silver.

If this is divided among you all, each of you will have to bear at least several hundred thousand. Even if you have the money, there's nowhere to buy food right now.

The grain was all in the hands of those outside merchants; they could only transport it from their own warehouses to the market.

To stabilize grain prices, an investment of four to five million shi (a unit of dry measure) is necessary.

Upon hearing this number, everyone's expressions turned even more grim.

"Why are we so unlucky to get caught up in this mess? We didn't burn down the Dongzhou granary, so why should we bear the responsibility?"

"If this money and grain are paid out, my Qian family probably won't be able to recover for ten years. To be honest, this Lord Li has really gone too far."

"Old Qian is right. The Prince's Mansion hasn't offered any thanks, yet they want us to contribute money and effort. Do they really think we're fools?"

Yi Wancheng took a sip of the spirit flower tea handed to him by a maid, tapped the tea table lightly with his finger, and said, "I've already said it, what's the use of all this complaining? What problem can it solve?"

If yelling like that works, then I could go to the gate of the Prince's mansion and yell every day, would that work?

As soon as Yi Wancheng said this, everyone immediately stopped shouting.

Seeing that the scene had quieted down, Yi Wancheng said, "Didn't Li Ye want us to stabilize grain prices? Then let's do as he says."

Upon hearing this, the wealthy Mr. Qian became anxious: "What? Patriarch Yi, you're just going to give in like this? Your family is so big and powerful, a little loss is nothing to you, but we..."

"Can you let me finish what I have to say before we start arguing?"

Yi Wancheng glared at Qian Dahu.

"Li Ye only said he wanted to stabilize grain prices, but he didn't say what price level he wanted to stabilize them at. You understand what I mean, right?"

When everyone heard this, their eyes suddenly lit up.

Yes, they released grain to stabilize prices, but they didn't specify the extent of the stabilization.

Mr. Qian cupped his hands and smiled obsequiously: "What Patriarch Yi says is right. So, what price do you think would be appropriate?"

Yi Wancheng laughed and said, "The price is not up to me to decide."

"Then who decides?"

The others did not understand the meaning behind his words.

Yi Wancheng: "Naturally, it's up to those outsiders who buy the grain. They can't possibly transport all of the grain they've collected out of Shu; they'll definitely sell some of it locally."

"Then their grain will definitely be more expensive than what we buy. As long as we match their price, even if Li Ye finds out, he can't say anything. What do you think?"

"Wonderful!"

Everyone immediately became excited.

"Master Yi's strategy is truly visionary. As long as we can bring the price of grain down to the same level as merchants from other regions, we will have accomplished what Li Ye asked us to do."

Even if he asks about it later, I can use this as an excuse to brush him off.

"They buy grain at a price of one tael to one shi (a unit of dry measure), and after deducting the loss from bran, they need at least one tael and five mace to make a profit."

In this way, even if we sell it at one and a half taels of silver, and even if we hand over two million shi of grain to make up for the military's food supply, we can still make a considerable profit.

"Patriarch Yi, we are truly impressed! We admire you greatly!"

Despite being flattered like this, Yi Wancheng remained unfazed.

At his level, he receives more compliments than most ordinary people eat, yet he remains completely unmoved.

In his worldview, he can eat shit, but he can't suffer a loss.

Making him do a losing business is worse than wiping out his entire clan.

"Alright, since it's decided, then do as I say. Go back and immediately find those grain merchants to get some information, ask them how much grain is being sold at, and then we'll..."

Before he could finish speaking, the Yi family steward rushed into the hall.

"Master, it's terrible! The grain has been released! The grain merchants have released their grain!"

All eyes were focused on the steward, and everyone admired Yi Wancheng for his great ability to become the richest man in Sichuan. He had indeed predicted that the grain merchants would sell grain in Sichuan.

Yi Wancheng adopted an air of profound knowledge, slowly picked up his teacup, slid the lid down, and asked, "How much do they sell their rice for?"

The butler trembled as he held up two fingers.

"Two ounces?"

The wealthy man immediately widened his eyes and exclaimed in surprise.

Yi Wancheng thought so too, and smiled as he brought the teacup to his lips.

But the butler's next words shocked everyone.

"Not two liang, but one dou (15 jin) for twenty wen!"

"What did you say? How much?"

"Twenty coins a bushel!" the steward cried, his face contorted with despair. "Many temporary shops in the city are being sold at this price. Master, what are we going to do?"

Even though Yi Wancheng was used to big events, he was stunned by the butler's words and froze on the spot.

"Twenty coins?!"

He asked uncertainly.

"One tael of silver for five bushels of rice!"

The butler replied timidly, "Yes."

"Is this how one store sells it, or does every store sell it this way?"

"All out-of-town grain merchants are selling rice at this price. Local rice merchants have been squeezed out of business by them."

A sound of porcelain shattering on the ground echoed in the hall.

Yi Wancheng smashed the tricolor teacup worth twelve taels of silver in his hand, his face covered with frost.

The other wealthy families were also stunned, and many of them burst into tears, lamenting that the end of the world had come.

After a long silence, Yi Wancheng laughed angrily, "Fine, so you want to play like this? Come on, take me to see what kind of rice this is worth at twenty coins!"