The Sui Dynasty's chess game

Chapter 778 The Noose Tightens
In the morning, an urgent message arrived at Xiao Xia's desk: Li Xiaogong had indeed sent troops and occupied Tianshui and Longxi counties; the big fish had taken the bait.

After pondering for a moment, Xiao Xia ordered, "Summon Yuan Xiaoju immediately!"

Before long, Yuan Xiaoju rushed over, bowed, and said, "Your humble servant greets Your Majesty!"

"Please sit down!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Yuan Xiaoju sat down on a chair nearby, and Xiao Xia asked with a smile, "How has the Advisor been lately?"

Yuan Xiaoju bowed and said, "As people get older, all sorts of problems arise, but overall I'm doing well. Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty!"

Xiao Xia nodded and then asked, "Has the Minister of State been in contact with other powerful families in Chang'an recently?"

Yuan Xiaoju knew that this was the Emperor's true intention in summoning him: to learn about the Guanzhong aristocracy in Chang'an. However, the Emperor used the term "Guanzhong hereditary families," no longer recognizing the term "Guanzhong aristocracy."

"Indeed, there are still some correspondence. Your Majesty, I can tell you that eight more families have moved to Luoyang, including the Dugu family."

Are there any other families continuing to support the Tang Emperor?

Yuan Xiaoju shook his head. "The Tang King's power is gone, as everyone can see. At this time, sticking with the Tang King is tantamount to courting death. As far as I know, no family supports the Tang King anymore."

Xiao Xia pondered for a moment and said, "I have just received news that while our army is fighting against the Western Qin army, the Tang King has ordered his troops to stab us in the back and occupy Tianshui County and Longxi County. As retaliation, I am preparing to take Shangluo County and Fengyi County."

"what!"

Yuan Xiaoju was taken aback; this meant they were about to take action against Li Yuan, and they had found a pretext to send troops.

"Does Your Majesty intend to destroy the Tang King in one fell swoop?"

"No, it's not that. I hope they will surrender on their own, so I'm tightening the noose step by step. The only thing I'm not sure about now is how much grain the various Guanzhong aristocratic families still have stored in their estates in Guanzhong."

"Your Majesty need not worry. Grain is easily moldy and rots, so it is usually sold in the same year. If there is any grain stored, it is this year's grain."

"sure?"

Yuan Xiaoju laughed, “Your Majesty, the Guanlong aristocratic families are all profit-driven. After a year of storage, the price of grain will drop by 30%. No one will hoard two years' worth of grain. Even if they do have stored grain, it must be from this year. I can be sure of that!”

Xiao Xia nodded. "Please ask the Advisor to write to all the aristocratic families in Chang'an and tell them to sell their stored grain immediately. The situation is urgent, so it would be best to send messages by pigeon. If anyone is still stubborn at this critical moment, then they should stop complaining about not having another chance."

After a pause, Xiao Xia smiled again and said, "This matter has nothing to do with the Yuan family. I am just asking the Senior Advisor to help deliver a message!"

Yuan Xiaoju quickly replied, "Your Majesty, I will write the letter today and send it out. They will receive it tonight."

"Thank you for your hard work, Senior Advisor!"

That evening, all the major Guanlong aristocratic families used various methods to leave the city gates, and countless people rode horses to their respective manors.

The next day, grain was being sold everywhere on the streets of Chang'an and the counties of Guanzhong. Wheat, which was originally 70 coins per dou, suddenly dropped to 40 coins per dou. For the people of Chang'an, such an opportunity was rare. Grain is not like other things. With other things, people buy when it is expensive and not when it is cheap. But grain is different. Once grain becomes cheap, the people of Chang'an, who have been suffering from high grain prices, will desperately hoard it.

Fueled by various rumors, a frenzy of grain hoarding swept through Chang'an City. In just two days, the grain reserves of the major Guanlong aristocratic families were basically sold off.

Conversely, the government reacted slowly, concluding that this was a crazy act instigated by rumors.

Three days later, all the grain stored by the Guanlong aristocratic families was sold off, all kinds of rumors suddenly disappeared, and the price of wheat in the market returned to seventy coins per dou.

Those who managed to buy grain were secretly delighted, while some slow-witted families, faced with the recovery of grain prices, were filled with regret for missing the opportunity.

However, the government failed to recognize the importance of the matter and didn't even write a report. Li Yuan was completely unaware of the unusual three-day grain dumping. The checks at Wuguan were extremely strict, with checkpoints conducting pre-inspections a mile outside the pass. Before the caravan arrived at the pass, all goods had to be unloaded and inspected.

That morning, the bell rang, and Wuguan opened its city gates as usual, with twenty soldiers at the outpost a mile away officially taking their posts.

A caravan arrived as usual. Why didn't Li Yuan prohibit the caravan from entering Guanzhong? In reality, if anyone should be prohibited, it should be the Sui Dynasty. Li Yuan couldn't prohibit it because Guanzhong was too small and heavily relied on external sources for many supplies. If Li Yuan prohibited the caravan, it would be like strangling himself.

Therefore, Li Yuan not only did not prohibit merchants, but also encouraged them to come to Guanzhong to sell goods, especially hoping that they would bring some salt and iron with them.

However, although merchants were encouraged to come to Guanzhong, the checks were very strict, and caravans were stopped as soon as they reached the checkpoint.

The merchant leading the group clasped his hands in a fist salute and said with a smile, "Thank you for your hard work, brothers!"

The soldiers all recognized him; the other party was Duan Deming, a famous wine merchant from Xiyang County who specialized in doing business with Shangluo County.

It is said that the sake he sells is of good quality and low price, and half of the restaurants in Shangluo County buy his products. Even the soldiers have benefited a lot from him.

"Master Duan has been making frequent visits lately!"

Duan Deming said with a smile, "Only a fool wouldn't make money!"

He took out a small jar of wine and handed it to the head cook, saying, "This is for you!"

"Thank you! Thank you!"

With a broad smile, Huo Chang accepted the wine jar and said, "Let's follow the old rules! The host can find a jar of wine himself and just make a little bit."

When Duan Deming first started delivering wine, all the wine jars had to be opened for inspection. After delivering gifts a few times, it became random sampling. As the number of gifts increased and the soldiers benefited, random sampling was changed to Duan Deming designating the samples himself. In recent times, he didn't even need to open the lids; he just used a reed tube to draw out a little wine, and that was considered acceptable.

Duan Deming laughed and said, "I won't make things difficult for you!"

He tapped the seal on a jar of wine, pried open the lid with a dagger, and inside was amber-colored wine, its aroma filling the air.

The fire chief slammed the stamp on his pass, "It's ready!"

Duan Deming instructed his men to continue driving the oxcart. A new recruit asked in confusion, "Why doesn't this Master Duan sell wine in Nanyang? Why is he selling it in Shangluo County?"

Before he could finish speaking, the steward next to him slapped him on the back of the head. "If you don't understand, don't ask questions. In the Sui Dynasty, wine was state-run. Private individuals were not allowed to brew wine. Of course, he could only sell wine here!"

Although the checkpoint was just a preliminary inspection and a formal inspection was required to cross the border, it was unnecessary for a businessman like Duan Deming, who was both familiar and friendly with him.

The captain glanced at his pass and waved him through. The soldiers continued to inspect other caravans, while Duan Deming continued driving his wagon.

His second cart had a huge wine jar embedded inside it. The first cart passed through the checkpoint, but the second cart suddenly stopped at the city gate. Then the ropes pulling the cart were cut, the oxen pulling the cart ran away, and the cart was set on fire.

Duan Deming jumped off the truck and ran, shouting, "The liquor's on fire! Everyone get out of the way!"

All the soldiers were stunned, not knowing why this was happening. Duan Deming ran more than a hundred steps, lay down on the ground, and covered his ears.

At this moment, the huge wine vat exploded violently, the sound of which was deafening. The powerful explosion caused Wuguan Pass to collapse amidst black smoke.

As soon as the explosion stopped, a large contingent of Sui soldiers suddenly appeared at the foot of the distant mountain.

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[A friend is coming to visit today, so I'm taking a break for one update. Updates will be scheduled as normal this afternoon!]

(End of this chapter)