Chapter 6 Don't blame me for any means

Chang'an's grain mainly relies on the Guanzhong Plain. Although the Guanzhong Plain is called a prosperous place, it is narrow and has limited capacity. Once the population expands beyond its carrying capacity, or it will cause a grain shortage when it encounters drought.

By the Sui and Tang dynasties, due to wars and the development of capital construction, resources had been exhausted and were not enough to supply Chang'an. In addition, the Guanzhong Plain was small and densely populated, making it difficult to support a large number of bureaucrats and nobles.

Once the Guanzhong area was famine, the food from the eastern region was transported to Chang'an, the price was quite heavy. In order to solve the water transport in Guanzhong, Emperor Wen of Sui dug the Guangtong Canal. However, the problem was still not fundamentally solved. In a famine in 594 AD, Emperor Wen of Sui was forced to arrive in Luoyang again to eat, so he became the first "grain-seeking emperor" in my country's history.

Chen Ying naturally knew the solution to the problem, but this method was not without cost. Of course, Chen Ying also had selfish intentions. The population distribution of the Tang Dynasty was very uneven, with only 15 million people in the early Tang Dynasty, and with Yinhu and Yinhu, it was estimated that it would not exceed 20 million people. However, one-fifth of the population was concentrated in the Guanzhong area.

In fact, the Guanzhong area only accounts for 0.38% of the entire Tang Dynasty.

This is very unreasonable. After all, Guanzhong does not have a very developed transportation network like later generations, which can transport from land, sea and air.

The population of Guanzhong was seriously greater than the ages that the land could bear. The food famine that occurred in the early Tang Dynasty occurred more than once in the history of the Tang Dynasty. In April of the first year of Yongchun, when Guanzhong was famine, people in Chang'an were fed. Even the emperor's entourage were starved to death. It can be said that this was a great escape. This was also the real reason why Wu Zetian could successfully move the capital to Luoyang at that time.

When Zhongzong arrived, Guanzhong was famine again. The ministers asked the emperor to visit Luoyang again, but were rejected by Emperor Zhongzong of Tang. He said, "How could the emperor be chasing the grain?" However, the food was transported to Chang'an at the cost of the lives of the vast number of civilians.

During the reign of Emperor Dezong of Tang, a famine occurred again in Chang'an. The imperial guards had no food to eat and had to beg on the streets. Later, the food arrived in the capital. Emperor Dezong of Tang ran to the East Palace and said to the prince, "The rice has arrived in Shaanxi, and my father and son have left over."

This time, Chen Ying wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to migrate the population outside the pass, whether in the Western Regions or Liaodong, it is much better than in Guanzhong.

After all, Chen Ying has no way to control the weather. Such continuous droughts, human drought resistance methods seem insignificant.

Chen Ying edited and noted a huge map of grain output and the inventory status of the official warehouse. Due to the appearance of this map, the ministers suddenly understood it at a glance.

Although Guanzhong encountered a rare drought, it is inevitable that the grain harvest will be eliminated today. Because grain merchants secretly made plans, they took time to store grain in the Guanzhong market, forming a more monopoly rare resource.

Chen Ying pointed to several grain concentration areas of the Tang Dynasty, such as Bashu, Jianghuai, Hedong, Hebei Road: "The first method is to replace the twelve guards in Guanzhong, and let the soldiers take the money from the Tongli Money House of the Tang Dynasty to exchange defenses to Hebei, Hedong, and Bashu. I have done calculations. In addition to the left and right guards and the four armies of the left and right guards, the other eight guards had a total of 100,000 generals, and mules and horses could migrate out of Guanzhong. After a full half year of going back and forth, Chang'an would save 100,000 people and horses, and it is expected to save about 800,000 stones of grain!"

"Wait!" Li Jiancheng interrupted Chen Ying and said, "Do you say you don't pay the money or not?"

Chen Ying nodded and said, "Yes!"

Wei Zheng couldn't help but say angrily: "General Chen, do you know what the consequences are! The soldiers found that they could not even buy a bucket of rice when they found that they had received a little subsidy. What would they think in their hearts! Once their mood changes, will they sacrifice their lives to fight when they go to the battlefield in the future? This is a major event that shakes the foundation of the country! How can you deal with it so ridiculously!"

Although Wei Zheng was a famous official and historical celebrity, Chen Ying was not a person without temper. He snorted: "Wei Xuancheng, according to what you said, what should I do?"

Wei Zheng was speechless.

In fact, Wei Zheng's idea coincided with Li Jiancheng, and he issued a direct order, which was simply brutal.

Although the army can snatch the grain traders' food from the hands of grain traders and solve the food crisis, these grain traders have suffered huge losses and can do anything, especially the situation in the Eastern Turks is becoming increasingly confusing.

Although Wei Zheng and Li Jiancheng could not imagine the crisis after the bankruptcy of national credibility, Chen Ying could see it.

It was precisely because he could see that he tried his best to prevent Li Jiancheng from taking such a simple method. When the imperial court encountered a famine, its first reaction was to rob the grain merchants with a knife. However, in the future, would it be necessary to rob the people and wealthy households with a knife? Once this is done, the court's credibility will soon go bankrupt. Once a government that is not trusted by the people, will anyone obey the government's orders?

How can governments in various places implement policies? Wouldn't they fall into anarchism?

Chen Ying smiled faintly and said, "This Guanzhong food crisis actually sounded a wake-up call for us. The safety of the Tang Dynasty is definitely not something that can be explained clearly by the fact that the solidity of the rivers and mountains lies in virtue or not."

Wang Gui said anxiously: "General Chen, why not transfer food to Beijing from Hedong and Bashu?"

"Ba Shu has food, Hedong has food, including Luoyang has food, but for Guanzhong, these foods are just far water, so how can they relieve near thirst?" Chen Ying said solemnly: "This is not to transport some goods, but to transport food for two or three million people! It will take more than a month to transport grain to Chang'an. In more than a month, the food consumed on the road requires three or four times more materials. Our treasury is now empty to starve mice to death, so where can we withstand the waste in the middle? And when transported from here, the cost will almost double. If we enter the market at the cost, we still cannot solve the problem of grain prices in Guanzhong. For external reasons, we hold a virtual shell and install it very strongly, but when we close the door, let's tell the truth. In fact, there are many internal problems, and the problem of grain prices will affect the whole body. If it is so easy to solve, why should I worry here!"

After saying this long story, he suppressed all the ministers. There were many people who were not convinced by Chen Ying's war. However, if all the officials in the court dared not convince Chen Ying assisted in handling government affairs and managing the economy and people's livelihood, there was no one.

Seeing that it was getting late and the problem had not been completely solved, Li Jiancheng waved his hand and said, "Retreat!"

Chen Ying retreated quickly.

However, Li Jiancheng said: "Chen Qing, Wei Qing stay!"

Li Jiancheng knew that Chen Ying was not easy, and there were many people and mixed people. Behind these grain merchants were one or several aristocratic families. As the saying goes, if the king is not secret, he will lose his ministers, and if the ministers are not secret, he will lose his body.

When the officials dispersed, Fang Xuanling stayed.

Fang Xuanling was very curious about how Chen Ying solved this difficult problem.

Li Jiancheng and Chen Ying, Wei Zheng and Fang Xuanling moved to the imperial study, and the palace maids and eunuchs brought tea and pastries. Li Jiancheng pointed to the pastries and said, "Everyone is hungry, so put on the pads first!"

Speaking of this, Li Jiancheng's voice became much softer. He looked at Chen Ying and said in a negotiated tone: "The food crisis is naturally difficult, but with Chen Qing's intelligence, I guess there will be a way, right?"

Chen Ying listened to Li Jiancheng speaking in this tone, and then he had no choice but to find a way. He sighed: "We have to cook and stir-fry, we have to have rice first. It's not that there is a problem with the dishes, but that there is no rice to put it in the pot. The current difficulty lies in finding money and grain first. With money and grain in our hands, things will be easier to handle."

Li Jiancheng looked at Chen Ying and said, "Can you borrow some money house in Datang Tongli?"

"It's not difficult at all." Chen Ying smiled bitterly: "But some of them can't solve the problem!"

Li Jiancheng lowered his head and pondered: "Chen Qing is right, this matter is indeed difficult. But it is difficult. Everyone has to work together to get along with each other. We have overcome all the difficulties together. Could it be that we will get stuck here after winning?"

Chen Ying nodded and said, "Your Majesty is wise. In fact, it is not difficult to solve the food crisis in Guanzhong! Moving the 12 guards of Guanzhong is just one of the strategies to alleviate the food shortage of millions of stones. Secondly, it is to organize the migration of proletarians. When I left the Great Protectorate in the Western Regions, I have reclaimed more than 15 million mu of grain fields in the Western Regions. If 500,000 households can be migrated, it can solve the food shortage of at least two millions of stones!"

Wei Zheng shook his head and said, "But Guanzhong is the foundation of the imperial court. If Guanzhong is weak, wouldn't it be turmoil in the world?"

Chen Ying suddenly looked at Li Jiancheng and said, "Your Majesty, there are no outsiders now. I would like to ask, do you hate these grain merchants?"

"How could I not hate it!" Hearing this, Li Jiancheng said without hesitation: "I want to suck their tendons, peel their skins, and drink their blood!"

Chen Ying smiled and said, "Your Majesty, do you want them to lose all their money?"

Li Jiancheng said: "Why don't you think about it?"

Chen Ying looked at Wei Zheng and said, "Do you pay grain at a price of fifty dollars? Do grain merchants eat as much as they eat?"

Wei Zheng nodded and said, "These grain merchants are rich and wealthy. They hire refugees, dilapidated households, servants and hidden households to purchase affordable grain distributed by the official warehouse. For every 10,000 stones of rice and grain released by the official warehouse, seven or eight out of ten will be eaten by these grain merchants, and only 10% or 20% can be distributed to the people!"

Hearing this, Chen Ying smiled grimly and said, "How much stone grain is there in the official warehouse?"

Wei Zheng stretched out his hands.

Chen Ying asked, "One million stones!"

Wei Zheng shook his head and said, "It's only 550,000 stones!"

Although 550,000 shi of grain sounds a lot, with the three liters of grain per person, the millions of people in Chang'an City can only consume less than twenty days. If the supply is reduced by half, it can only consume forty days. For a capital of a country, this grain reserve is already very dangerous.

"Since they are lawless, don't blame me for using any means!" Chen Ying said: "The royal family and vassal princes of the Tang Dynasty Royal Commercial Alliance should also have a lot of food reserves, right?"

Li Jiancheng nodded and said, "It's useless. They won't take it out for me to help me!"

Chen Ying smiled and said, "This is an opportunity to make a fortune. If they don't want to pass this village, there is no such store. Why don't your Majesty hold a meeting of the Royal Commercial Alliance and let the vassal kings choose?"

Li Jiancheng nodded and said, "Xuanling, go and arrange, I will hold a banquet in Taiji Palace, Linhu Palace!"

That night, the first shareholders' meeting of the Royal Commercial Alliance of the Tang Dynasty was held in Linhu Hall. The meeting was a closed-door meeting, and the specific details were unknown.

The next day, Guanzhong official warehouse began to release grain continuously, but the affordable price increased by five cents per bull.

It reaches fifty months!

This time, the official warehouse distributed 30,000 stones of grain, but it was immediately robbed of it before noon.

The next day, the official warehouses in various parts of Guanzhong still released grain at a moderate price, and the same price was raised by another five cents per bull, reaching 60 yuan per bull. Although the price has increased a lot, the enthusiasm of the people to buy grain has not decreased at all, but has become more and more intense. Many people actually queued up overnight, waiting to buy grain.

...

Chen Ying returned to Chenjiabao with a tired expression, and Li Xiuning was teasing his daughter Li Ruoxi.

Seeing Chen Ying go back, Li Xiuning looked at Chen Ying and was about to get up.

Chen Ying stretched out his arms, picked up Li Ruoxi and smiled, "Good daughter, my little princess, let my dad hug you!"

Li Ruoxi did not give Chen Ying the face of being a father at this time, and pursed her mouth and cried loudly.

Chen Ying hugged Li Ruoxi with the beard beside her mouth and rubbed Li Ruoxi's little face intimately. Li Ruoxi was itchy when Chen Ying's beard made and laughed unconsciously.

The family is very harmonious, quiet and sweet.

However, Asunasmo outside the door thought about something.

He pushed Guo Luo on the side and said, "Guo Luo, did you hear it?"

Guo Luo asked in confusion: "What did you hear?"

Asunasmo lowered his voice and said quietly: "Just now, the Lord called the little lady the little princess!"

Hearing this, Guo Luo's face changed drastically: "Shut up!"

In this era, only the emperor's daughter could be called a princess or a sister of the emperor. However, Chen Ying was a human being in his two lives. In later generations, people usually called their son the young master and their daughter the little princess.

Ashinasmo looked at Guo Luo inexplicably and pointed at Guo Luo and said, "Why, you are blocked by phlegm..."

Before he could speak, Guo Luo said to the nearby guards: "You haven't heard anything, do you understand?"

The guards looked serious and said seriously: "I understand!"

Guo Luo looked at Asunasmo and said, "Come with me!"

...

In an inconspicuous gambling house in Anrenfang, Chang'an City, all the famous grain merchants in Guanzhong included.

An old man wrapped in a cloak sat in the upper position, looking coldly at the greasy, fat-headed and big-eared grain merchants below.

A strong attendant reported to the old man in black: "The head of the meeting has already found out. Chen Ying convened the kings of the Chang'an clan. I don't know what method he used to persuade the kings of Chang'an. Now Huai'an King Li Shentong and Zhao's Prince Li Xiaogong all opened the treasury, transported out the grain, and transported all the grain into the official warehouse!"

The old man in black said in a hoarse voice: "There are indeed some food stored in the homes of the kings in Chang'an. They may be 30,000 to 50,000 or 50,000, or thousands of stones. It is amazing that they can stock up millions of stones of grain. But to solve the food crisis in Guanzhong, is it enough for a mere million stones of grain?"

The grain merchants laughed loudly when they heard this.

They had already calculated this account. The official warehouse plus the kings' stockpile of grain was only 1.55 million stones. If they minus the grain consumed in the past two days, they had at most 1.47 million stones. It sounded like a lot of food, but these grains were barely consumed until two or three months later, and that time was the time when the green and yellow were not allowed to take over.

The old man in black said, "We will eat as much food as they have!"

A grain merchant cried and said, "I have eaten too much food, and all the families have no money now!"

"If you don't have money, then borrow from Chen Ying. Don't his Tongli Money House only needs 20% of the interest? We borrow money from Tongli Money House with land, real estate, shops and everything that can be pledged, and borrow another million guan. We will eat all the food they have!"

The morale of the grain merchants is very encouraging.

Everyone applauded.

Some people have raised questions, believing that the risk is too great.

The old man in black smiled faintly and said, "As long as we take time out the food in Guanzhong, will we have the final say in the future food price?"
Chapter completed!