Honghuang: Eat a Hunyuan Daluo

"How much does the Marquis of Xibo want to lower the price?" Fei Zhong asked with great interest.

“I naturally hope to maintain last year’s prices.”

Upon hearing this, You Hun laughed loudly: "Maintain last year's price? Marquis Xibo must be joking. In our Great Shang, farming doesn't require manpower, fertilizer, seeds, or irrigation. These are all costs. A grain price of two shells per pound is absolutely impossible."

"How about lowering the price by half a seashell?"

"That's impossible. At most, we can lower the price of shells by two cents. That's the bottom line for our Great Shang."

After hearing Fei Zhongyouhun's words, Ji Fa was about to lose control of his anger.

Jiang Ziya cursed the two men in his heart, but having cultivated Taoism for many years, he remained calm and suppressed his anger. He then cupped his hands and said, "Could you two lords grant us some more time? This matter is of great importance, and we need to discuss it further."

Fei Zhong also knew the principle of moderation. He nodded and said calmly, "We can only give Xiqi seven days at most. After that, we will have to return to Chaoge."

Jiang Ziya nodded repeatedly in agreement.

Upon hearing this, Ji Fa could only arrange for people to take good care of Fei Zhong and You Hun.

After seeing the two off, Ji Fa said angrily to Jiang Ziya, "Prime Minister, Fei Zhong and You Hun are going too far. Grain prices in all the vassal states have decreased this year, but Fei Zhong and You Hun have raised prices for Xiqi."

"My lord, do not be anxious. I had heard of Fei Zhong and You Hunwu when I was in Chaoge. These two are greedy and wicked people. They probably want to make a fortune by selling grain this time."

Since that's the case, we can simply bypass them. The price they're charging for grain in Xiqi is too high, so we, Xiqi, will purchase from other vassal states.

Other vassal states are paying 25% less for grain this year than in previous years. If we purchase it at the usual prices, there shouldn't be any problem.

Ji Fa's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he also thought that purchasing from other vassal states was a good idea.

Ji Fa immediately contacted the Eastern Marquis Jiang Huanchu, the Southern Marquis E Chongyu, and the Northern Marquis Chonghouhu to inquire about grain prices.

The three marquises had already received Emperor Xin's instructions. Upon hearing that Xiqi wanted to buy grain, they immediately sent special envoys to Xiqi to negotiate.

To Ji Fa's surprise, the grain prices of the three great marquises were not cheap either.

The Marquis of Dongbo offered three seashells for one pound of grain.

The Marquis of Nan offered three and a half shells for one pound of grain.

The Marquis of Bei offered four seashells for one pound of grain.

Upon hearing the offers from the three marquises, Ji Fa's face turned green: "Prime Minister, these three kingdoms are actually trying to take advantage of our misfortune. Don't they know the principle of 'if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold'?"

"Di Xin is only targeting my Xiqi. The three great marquises probably don't feel the pressure from Di Xin at all. How can they feel the same way about the plight of the two if one falls? Right now, all they can see is that my Xiqi is short of food, while they have food in their hands and can rip us off."

Upon hearing this, Ji Fa fell silent.

After a long while, Ji Fa said, "The three great vassal kings have offered too high a price. Let's go and buy grain from Fei Zhong and You Hun instead!"

Jiang Ziya nodded and went with Ji Fa to meet Fei Zhong and You Hun.

Upon meeting, Jiang Ziya stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Lord Fei, Lord You, two eight-tenths shells per pound, Xiqi will purchase two billion pounds of grain."

You Hun sipped his tea and said slowly, "Now it's not two eight-tenths shells per pound, it's three one-tenths shells per pound."

"Three shells for one cent per pound?" Ji Fa suppressed his anger. "Wasn't it one coin per pound before? How did it change?"

Fei Zhong ignored Ji Fa's murderous glare and said with a smile, "Marquis of Xibo, grain prices change over time. If you want to buy, then buy; if not, our Great Shang will not force you."

Upon hearing this, Ji Fa gritted his teeth and said, "We of Xiqi, we'll buy it!"

With money and grain exchanged, Fei Zhong and You Hun took away a large number of seashells and bronze shells from Xiqi and returned to Chaoge in high spirits.

Xiqi, the council hall.

Ji Fa, Jiang Ziya, and a group of ministers from Xiqi gathered together.

At this moment, Ji Fa's face was black, making him appear extremely gloomy.

"Fei Zhong and You Hun are utterly incompetent sons. They only delayed for a few days, yet they managed to extract an extra 2000 million seashells. Truly..."

As the Marquis of Xibo, Ji Fa couldn't say some things too harshly.

Jiang Ziya sighed and said solemnly, "Now, Marquis, you know how important it is to have the lifeline of grain in your own hands."

Ji Fa nodded emphatically, "What you say is absolutely right, Prime Minister. Next year, Xiqi will definitely increase subsidies and grow more grain. We will not only be self-sufficient, but also sell our grain."

"Since the Marquis has this awareness, the extra money spent this time has not been in vain."

Meanwhile, Fei Zhong and You Hun returned to the Shang Dynasty and immediately reported their trip to Xiqi to Emperor Xin.

Upon hearing this, Di Xin's lips curled slightly. He then summoned Bi Gan and Shang Rong and told them what Fei Zhong and You Hun had told him.

"Xiqi is short of food and has purchased 20 billion catties of grain from outside. As I predicted, Xiqi should now cultivate land extensively and grow its own grain."

Bigan is now considered the greatest economist of the Shang Dynasty. After listening to Di Xin's words, he smiled and said, "Let Xiqi plant it. The more they plant, the better. The cost of grain in our Shang Dynasty has already been reduced to an extremely low price."

No matter how powerful Xiqi is, the price of grain they can obtain will never be lower than that of the Great Shang. As long as it's not lower than the Great Shang's, I have absolute confidence that I can make Xiqi lose everything.

Di Xin was very satisfied with Bi Gan's answer. He laughed and said, "Then I will leave the rest to you, Uncle Wang. There is only one principle: suppress Xiqi as much as possible, and it would be best to force them to rebel. In this way, the destruction of Xiqi by our Great Shang will be justified."

"Your Majesty, rest assured, I will certainly live up to Your Majesty's trust."

Time passed, and another year went by in the blink of an eye. Calamity was brewing in the world, and the atmosphere was becoming increasingly tense. Powerful beings who wanted to compete for the Primordial Purple Qi entered the world one after another, while those who did not want to compete for the Primordial Purple Qi all chose to go into seclusion to avoid the great calamity.

At Sanshan Pass, Kong Xuan, feeling utterly bored, stretched and yawned, saying, "When will Xiqi rebel? I'm getting a little impatient."

Meanwhile, under the joint efforts of Ji Fa and Jiang Ziya, Xiqi achieved a great increase in grain production and a bumper harvest than ever before. Xiqi harvested a total of 60 billion catties of grain, which was not only enough to feed the people of Xiqi and the army, but also enough to sell 20 billion catties.

Xiqi invested all its domestic resources into this project, and now that the harvest was plentiful, Xiqi was just waiting to sell the grain and make money. However, to Xiqi's surprise, almost at the same time, news also came from the Shang Dynasty that it had a bumper harvest, and Emperor Xin announced that the granaries would be opened and the grain exported to the various vassal states.

As for grain prices, Emperor Xin drove them to an unprecedented level. Half a seashell could buy a pound of grain, and one seashell could buy two pounds of grain.

The vassal states were in an uproar. With grain prices so low, who would bother growing their own? Why not just buy from the big merchants?
The feudal lords were all overjoyed, but Xiqi was dumbfounded.

A pound of grain costs only half a seashell; the Shang dynasty is practically trying to kill Xiqi.

Jiang Ziya's face also darkened: "I never expected that the Shang Dynasty could drive prices down to this extent."

Over the past year, Xiqi has vigorously encouraged the people to cultivate the land. With subsidies and fertilizers, the cost of one pound of grain is about one and a half seashells.

However, the price set by Da Shang was only half a seashell, a difference of three times. Xi Qi's efforts over a year were easily crushed by Da Shang with just a flick of its finger.

"Sir, what should we do now in Xiqi?" Ji Fa rushed over to ask after learning about the grain prices in the Shang Dynasty.

“Lord Bo, if I am not mistaken, the Shang Dynasty’s targeting of our Xiqi is definitely orchestrated by Emperor Xin. After the Phoenix Cry at Qishan, our Xiqi has already been granted the Mandate of Heaven, and Emperor Xin will naturally not sit idly by and watch our Xiqi grow stronger.”

Upon hearing this, Ji Fa's eyes lit up. He grabbed Jiang Ziya's hand and asked, "Prime Minister, does our Xiqi truly have a destiny?"

"It is true, of course. However, Di Xin now regards Bo Hou as a thorn in his side and wants to get rid of him as soon as possible. Bo Hou should make plans as soon as possible."

After hearing Jiang Ziya's words, Ji Fa's face revealed a sharp look: "The Shang Dynasty is going too far. Don't blame Ji Fa for turning ruthless. My soldiers in Xiqi have been training for a year and have initially formed combat power. Why not send troops to harass the Shang Dynasty's grain transport teams? So what if the grain price is cheap? If it can't be delivered to the vassal states, they will have no choice but to buy our grain."

After pondering for a moment, Jiang Ziya felt that this method was feasible, so he ordered a small part of the Xiqi New Army to be sent out as Ji Fa suggested, to pretend to be bandits and harass the grain transport team.

Jiang Ziya himself transformed into a streak of light and flew towards Kunlun Mountain.

On Kunlun Mountain, Jiang Ziya walked towards Yuxu Palace, and soon he met the White Crane Boy.

Jiang Ziya took out a jar of fine wine from his bosom, opened the lid, and a tempting aroma wafted out. The White Crane Boy smelled the aroma emanating from the jar in Jiang Ziya's hand, his eyes lit up, and he immediately ran over, looking at Jiang Ziya expectantly.

Jiang Ziya handed the wine to Baihe Tongzi, who downed it in one gulp.

"The wine brewed from grains in the mortal world is still the best! Most of the nectar on Kunlun Mountain is fruit wine. Although it contains a huge amount of fruit, it has little flavor." After sighing, Baihe Tongzi looked at Jiang Ziya with a strange expression: "Uncle-Master Ziya, weren't you ordered by our master to go down the mountain to assist the True Lord of Destiny? Why are you back?"

Jiang Ziya sighed and said, "Nephew, I would like to pay my respects to our master. Xiqi is currently facing some insurmountable difficulties and may be preparing to rebel. I would like to ask our master if he agrees. Please ask Nephew Baihe to help convey this message."

Upon hearing this, the White Crane Boy nodded and immediately went to report to the Primordial Celestial Lord.

A moment later, a vast and ethereal voice echoed from the Jade Void Palace: "Ziya, come in!"

Jiang Ziya's eyes lit up. After bowing to the Jade Void Palace, he went inside.

Upon entering the Jade Void Palace, Jiang Ziya felt a change in the surrounding space. He subconsciously closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he found himself standing in front of the Primordial Celestial Venerable.

"Disciple pays respects to Master." Jiang Ziya knelt down and performed a grand salute to Yuanshi Tianzun.

"Get up! I already know about the matter of Xiqi. Ziya, you can go ahead and do it. If necessary, I will send your senior brothers down the mountain to help you."

Since Yuanshi Tianzun had said so, Jiang Ziya felt much more at ease: "Thank you, Master."

"Go!"

Jiang Ziya bowed again, then turned and left Yuxu Palace.

After returning to Xiqi, Jiang Ziya informed Ji Fa of this matter.

Ji Fa trembled with excitement. The sage would actually support Xiqi. With the sage's help, what was the Shang Dynasty?
"Now that the Prime Minister has the assistance of a sage, what should our Xiqi do next?"

After pondering for a moment, Jiang Ziya uttered eight words: "Rest and recuperate, and wait for the right opportunity."

The Western Zhou is still very weak. It can't rely on the Chan Sect for everything, can it? It needs to wait at least another one or two years to allow the combat power of the new Western Zhou soldiers to increase. In addition, it needs to win over some vassal states. In any case, it is too difficult for the Western Zhou to fight against the Shang Dynasty on its own.

Upon hearing this, Ji Fa frowned deeply. He said to Jiang Ziya, "Prime Minister, the Shang Dynasty has already become suspicious of our Xiqi. You also said before that Emperor Xin will not sit idly by and watch our Xiqi grow stronger. Does our Xiqi really have time to recuperate?"

"Of course there is. Hasn't Bohou already sent people disguised as bandits to attack the grain transport team? Once we seize a large amount of grain, we can sell this grain, along with our Xiqi grain, to other vassal states that haven't been able to buy grain. This way, we can make money, win people's hearts, and at the same time, we can also bring other vassal states into our Xiqi camp."

As for the time needed for recuperation, we only need to have our soldiers break into smaller groups after each raid on grain, making it impossible for the Shang Dynasty to track them down. This will delay them as much as possible, and the time gained will be the time for Xiqi to grow stronger.

"Your plan is brilliant!"

Soon, news of the robbery of the grain transport team reached Emperor Xin's ears. Emperor Xin did not care about this, as he had already guessed that Xiqi would take action.

Afterwards, Emperor Xin directly ordered Huang Feihu to make a big show of searching for bandits, while secretly monitoring the various vassal states to see who would accept Xiqi's offer of a hand.

In Di Xin's view, it was worthwhile to spend some time and resources to confirm that those vassal states harbored rebellious intentions, so that they could be wiped out in one fell swoop in the future.

Jiang Ziya and Ji Fa believed that their plan had worked. Jiang Ziya then began to use grain as a bargaining chip to persuade the feudal lords under Xiqi.

The four great marquises of the east, west, south, and north each command two hundred minor marquises. Although these two hundred minor marquises are not particularly strong individually, their combined strength should not be underestimated. If they can be persuaded to assist Xiqi, Xiqi can save a lot of effort.

Ji Fa was also responsible for contacting the feudal lords under the other three earls.

Before they knew it, another year had passed. That autumn, Ji Fa believed that everything was ready for Xiqi, and Jiang Ziya also felt that now was the best time.

Ji Fa summoned all the ministers of Xiqi to the council hall, and then said in a serious tone: "Gentlemen, our Xiqi has always been loyal to the Shang Dynasty, but the Shang Dynasty has framed our Xiqi for having rebellious intentions and has repeatedly suppressed our Xiqi. If our Xiqi does not resist, we will probably become fish on the chopping block and be slaughtered at will."

"Today, I have summoned you all here to ask you whether you are willing to join me in overthrowing the Great Shang Dynasty?"

In the main hall, civil and military officials shouted in unison, "We are willing to follow the Marquis!"

Xiqi has rebelled!

(End of this chapter)