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

Yi Wancheng walked out of the official residence in a daze, his mind still replaying the words "Manager Liu" had said to him.

"Master Yi wants to see the Duke of Zhenguo? How do you plan to meet him, and what will you say? Repeat what you just said?"

"And don't you even know your own status? Do you think you can just see someone like the Duke of Zhenguo whenever you want?"

"You don't think that just because the Duke of Zhenguo comes from a humble background, you can make friends with him without permission?"

I advise you not to have such naive ideas. The Duke of Zhenguo is not someone you can just befriend as a nobody.

"Master Yi, you should be realistic. Those who serve the Duke of Zhenguo are all useful people. May I ask what use you are? What qualifications do you have to earn his respect?"

"Don't always take yourself too seriously. You think you have a noble status and that you can attract the Duke of Zhenguo's favor because of your family's wealth. In reality, these advantages of yours are nothing in the eyes of the Duke of Zhenguo."

"After all that, do you understand? You have to give to receive. If you're not willing to take a loss in business, then only others will suffer. But have you ever thought that there are many people who think the same way as you?"

"Manager Zhen offered to buy your grain at a fair price, but you refused to sell it. Instead, you sent 30,000 shi of emergency grain to Li Ye. Aren't you slapping the Duke of Zhenguo in the face?"

"If you want to get involved with the Duke of Zhenguo and the imperial court, you must show sincerity. Look at you today, empty-handed, trying to persuade Manager Zhen to introduce you to the Duke of Zhenguo with just your words?"

"Then I'll tell you plainly, not only will Manager Zhen not agree, but even if he does, the Duke of Zhenguo still won't see you."

"In short, if you want to gain favor, you must do things that the Duke of Zhenguo will find useful. You've already missed one opportunity; the rest is up to you."

"Go back and think it over carefully. Come back when you've figured it out."

The thought of the young man's nonchalant expression and his sarcastic tone made Yi Wancheng feel a tightness in his chest.

He glanced back at the gate of the official residence, as if he had made up his mind.

"Alright, then I'll show you my achievements and make you look at me in a new light!"

Yi Wancheng quickened his pace home, for Manager Liu's words had truly revealed everything that was on his mind.

In order to curry favor with the Duke of Zhenguo, he quickly devised a wicked plan...

Inside the official residence, shortly after Yi Wancheng left, Fa Xiaozhi came to see Shen Lang.

"Duke Zhenguo, good news! The things you asked me to do have all been completed."

He said to Shen Lang with a face full of excitement.

"The grain merchants in Sichuan, having learned in secret that the granaries in Dongzhou had been burned down, are afraid that the Prince's Palace will force them to donate grain, so they are already willing to sell all their grain to us."

Manager Sun and his men are currently sending people to negotiate with them, and the grain should be delivered in a few days.

Shen Lang smiled slightly: "So, the matter can be considered settled?"

Fa Xiaozhi nodded: "Yes, this year all the grain in the entire Shu region has fallen into your hands, Duke Zhenguo."

"very good."

Shen Lang placed a piece.

"Now that things have come to this point, and everything is ready, Jiang Chong has been blocked from all legitimate channels. We are now just waiting for Yi Wancheng to make a decision."

"What does the Duke of Zhenguo think Yi Wancheng will do?"

"This kind of scumbag always manages to pull off some extraordinary messes. Just watch quietly."

……

Three days later, it was early August.

"Lord Li has sent grain again!"

With a shout from the garrison soldiers, another thousand carts of grain slowly drove into the camp.

Seeing so much grain being stored in the granary, the soldiers, who had been feeling uneasy, were now completely at ease.

"Our Lord Li is truly capable! He managed to procure so much grain all at once. These cartloads must be several thousand shi (a unit of dry measure)!"

"Are you stupid? Several thousand shi? Just by looking at it, there are more than ten thousand shi here, okay?"

"It doesn't matter how much food there is, as long as we don't go hungry."

The soldiers watching the grain convoy chatted and laughed, pointing and commenting on the rice sacks on the carts.

The unease and panic that had been on their faces vanished in an instant, replaced by smiles.

The convoy slowly drove past the soldiers. In the grain transport team, a servant followed behind a grain cart, looking around furtively.

He waited until the grain cart passed through the area with the most people before pulling out a dagger from his waist and quickly stabbing the rice bag a few times when no one was looking.

Then, a bright yellow substance rolled out from inside the rice bag.

"Hey, the bag's torn. Look at this, it looks like it's been used for peeing. You'd better fix it quickly, or it'll get bigger and harder to clean up."

"Hahaha."

Soldiers in the crowd saw this and initially thought it was a rice bag that had burst, causing the grain to spill out. They joked about it, which drew laughter from everyone.

After all, rice bags breaking is a common occurrence and doesn't attract much attention.

But soon, several sharp-eyed soldiers noticed something was wrong.

They initially thought the rice bag contained millet, which explained its yellow color, but upon closer inspection after the grain cart had gone far away, they were stunned.

"This isn't grain, it's just damn sand!"

A loud-voiced soldier immediately shouted.

This immediately caused the soldiers who had been watching the spectacle to lose their composure, and they all rushed to the ground where the grain carts had passed to inspect the area.

Sure enough, it was all sand!

"Stop! Stop right there!"

A burly, shirtless man roared and charged at the grain transport team, forcing them to stop.

"what are you doing?"

The team leader, who was at the head of the group, questioned him sternly.

The burly man didn't say much to him, but simply drew his knife and went to his grain cart, casually patting the rice bags with his hand.

Then he pressed his face against the grain bag and sniffed it.

Suddenly, he put away the knife, plunged the tip into the rice bag, and slashed it.

The next moment, the yellow sand slid down like flowing water, leaving everyone speechless.

"Ugh!"

The burly man shoveled into the rice bag a few more times, but all that came out was still yellow sand.

"Brothers! There's no food! That damn thing is full of sand!"

The moment the burly man's voice rang out, the scene fell into a deathly silence.

But just moments later...

"What the hell, are you planning to feed us dirt?"

"Where is our food? Where has our food gone?"

"That bastard Li Ye must have sold the grain!"

"These guys are all Li Ye's lackeys too, brothers, beat them to death!"

The situation quickly spiraled out of control, and the officials and servants transporting the grain became the targets of the discontented soldiers' venting.

In an instant, cries of agony and pleas for mercy echoed throughout the military camp...

The news that Huang Sha was being used as military rations quickly reached Li Ye's ears.

He slammed his hand on the table, his eyes wide open and his face flushed red.

"Yi Wancheng! How dare you mock me? Using yellow earth as military rations—for this alone, I will confiscate your property and execute you!"

Jingkong said, "Lord Li, you should think about what to do now."

The rioting soldiers had completely surrounded the capital.

If this matter isn't resolved quickly, they are very likely to attack the city.

The consequences are unimaginable!

Upon hearing this, Li Ye took a deep breath: "Take me outside the city; I can calm them down."