Overthrowing Wei: Starting with Cao Cao's "I'd rather betray the world than surrender

Chen Erhe did not delay any longer and went to the prefectural office that night.

The lights in the prefectural office were still on, and the courtyard was quiet, with only the sound of the watchman's drum coming from the direction of the city gate.

Lu Dingzheng sat on the veranda, a map of Yuzhou spread out before him. The lamplight reflected on the paper, making the mountain lines clearly visible. Chen Erhe entered, bowed, and said, "It's been investigated."

Lu Ding looked up at him and said, "Speak."

Chen Erhe slowly recounted what he had found out over the past few days.

From the decrease in grain carts at the grain market, to the Huainan caravan entering the city, to Wang's Grain Shop collecting grain, to the caravans traveling back and forth to Shouchun, and to those people in the taverns who didn't seem like merchants.

The courtyard fell silent for a moment, with only the occasional soft popping of the lamp wick.

After listening, Lü Ding did not speak immediately. He tapped the map lightly a few times, landing on the location south of Runan City.

Several mountain roads converge there, which is the direction of the southern patrol and supply route.

"How much did you collect?" he asked.

Chen Erhe thought for a moment and said, "The amount of grain that has flowed out of the city in the past few days is about three thousand shi."

Lü Ding nodded: "Not much."

Chen Erhe was taken aback. Lü Ding continued, "If Shouchun really wants to prepare for war, this amount of grain is far from enough." He spoke in a very calm tone, as if he had just casually done some calculations.

Chen Erhe, however, had already figured it out. If Yuan Shu was indeed hoarding grain, Runan was just one location among many. The Huainan, Lujiang, and Jiujiang areas would likely be affected as well; they had simply happened to be caught in the crossfire.

A breeze blew through the courtyard, and the locust tree leaves rustled softly.

Lu Ding suddenly asked, "What's the price of grain now?"

"It's increased by 10% compared to half a month ago."

Lu Ding nodded: "It will continue to rise."

Chen Erhe did not refute. As long as Shouchun continues to purchase grain, the grain prices in the surrounding prefectures will inevitably be driven up sooner or later.

Lu Ding remained silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "Since they want to collect the grain, let them do it."

Chen Erhe looked up at him: "What does the young master mean?"

Lu Ding rolled up the map, placed it on the table, and said, "Send a message out tomorrow."

"What news?"

"The prefectural government established a military granary."

Chen Erhe was taken aback. Lü Ding said, "The number of patrol cavalry in Nanshan is increasing, but there are no granaries along the supply route. It makes sense to set one up now." He said it very naturally, as if it were just something that should have been done a long time ago.

Chen Erhe immediately understood. If the words "military granary" got out, the grain market would be thrown into chaos. Grain merchants feared nothing more than government requisition of grain. If the grain was still in their hands, once it was requisitioned, the price was often set by the government, and they wouldn't have the power to sell it then. The safest course of action was to sell first.

Chen Erhe couldn't help but chuckle: "Young Master, are you trying to force them to sell their grain?"

Lu Ding shook his head: "It's not about forcing them, it's about letting them sell it themselves."

The news spread throughout Runan City early the next morning.

The first to make noise was at the grain market in the east of the city. A porter carrying sacks of grain walked into the shed and casually remarked, "I heard the prefectural government is going to set up a military granary." The shopkeeper next to the scales was taken aback: "A military granary?" The porter replied, "They say the patrol cavalry from the Southern Mountains need it."

The people next to them also stopped using their abacuses. "How much do you want?" someone asked.

The porter shrugged: "Who knows? Anyway, I heard they're going to collect grain."

This statement quickly spread throughout the grain market. In less than half a day, the atmosphere in the grain market changed. Grain merchants who had been observing suddenly began to make purchases.

"This car has been sold."

"It's been weighed."

"Price negotiable."

The sound of abacuses suddenly intensified. Someone whispered, "If they really requisition grain, the price will be hard to predict." Another person nodded, "Sell it first and then we'll see."

Truckloads of grain were loaded onto the scales, and the price of grain dropped slightly at first.

Just as the grain merchants were busy selling their grain, a convoy of carriages quietly entered the city from the south. It was the prefectural government's carriages. They carried no flags, only straw mats. They stopped in front of an old granary. This had originally been an official granary, abandoned for two years, and now reopened.

Chen Erhe stood at the gate of the courtyard, watching as truckloads of grain were carried inside.

"The price is one cent more than the market price," he told the steward.

The manager nodded: "Understood."

This news quickly spread back to the grain market. "The military granaries have started buying grain." Someone asked, "How much?" "One cent higher than the market price."

The grain merchants were taken aback. This amount wasn't much, but it was attractive enough. The common people and small villages were already eager to sell their grain, and upon hearing that the military granary was buying grain, they immediately changed their minds.

"This car is being sent to the military warehouse."

"I'm going too."

In less than half a day, a convoy of vehicles had already formed at the entrance of the Chengnan Granary, with bags of grain being carried into the granary one by one.

Wang's Grain Shop in the west of the city gradually became uneasy.

The shopkeeper stood at the door, watching the oxcarts coming and going on the street, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper. Usually at this time, there would be more and more carts at the grain market, but today it seemed rather empty.

The shop assistant ran back from the grain market and whispered, "Manager, the grain price has changed."

"It fell?" the shopkeeper asked.

The man shook his head.

"It went up by one point."

The shopkeeper was taken aback.

"rise?"

"The military granary in the south of the city is buying grain," the clerk said, "at a penny more than the market price."

The shopkeeper's face immediately darkened.

This small amount, though seemingly insignificant, was enough to draw away all the grain in the market. Small farms, tenant farmers, and grain merchants eager to sell their produce would mostly send their grain there first upon hearing that the military granary was buying it.

He was silent for a moment, then asked, "How much grain is left in the grain market?"

The man shook his head.

"There are significantly fewer than yesterday. Many vehicles were stopped and confiscated by people from the south of the city before they even entered the city."

The shopkeeper remained silent.

They've intensified their grain purchases these past few days, primarily on behalf of the Shouchun authorities. Their original plan was to stockpile as much grain as possible before prices fully recovered. However, if the official granaries take all the grain from the market first, it won't be so easy for them to buy more.

He stood at the door in silence for a while, his gaze falling on the oxcart on the street, his face growing increasingly grim.

After a while, he asked in a low voice, "Is it true that the military granaries are receiving grain?"

The shop assistant nodded: "It's true. The old warehouse in the south of the city has already opened, and the cars are lined up all the way to the street corner."

The shopkeeper didn't say anything more.

Meanwhile, in the county government compound.

Chen Erhe returned and reported: "The military warehouse has been opened."

Lü Ding nodded: "What about the grain market?"

"They're selling very quickly; there's already a long line of cars in the south of the city."

Lu Ding stood under the corridor, looking towards the city gate in the distance.

Chen Erhe added, "When the news of the grain requisition first came out, the market price dropped a little. However, it gradually stabilized after the military granaries started receiving grain."

Lu Ding remained silent. He knew this was just the beginning. Grain prices would drop initially, but the situation would change once the city's grain supply was cut off.

After a while, he said calmly, "The drop in grain prices is just for show. We need to lock in the grain first."

A gust of wind blew through the courtyard, and the distant clamor of the grain market in the east of the city could be faintly heard. Meanwhile, the caravans from Huainan were still on their way.

They originally came to collect grain.

Little did they know that the grain in Runan City had already been collected and stored in the granaries.