The immortal of the Tang Dynasty, but the game starts at Xuanwu Gate?

"Sir...this..."

Shen He hesitated for a long time, then closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, saying, "I'm afraid I can't make a decision about this."

Continuing to escalate the intensity of the "Beauty Pass" while raising prices is not a problem; it was already part of Chen Huai'an's initial plan.

She had no objections.

However, they stopped distributing money and used all the proceeds from selling alcohol to buy grain...

She doesn't have the right to make that decision.

"I know," Chen Huai'an said calmly. "You just need to do as I say, and I will explain to Empress Zhangsun and Duke Su."

Shen He immediately breathed a sigh of relief and nodded in agreement.

It's better for important people to handle their own affairs; otherwise, if she were to handle this, who knows what the outcome would be?

Chen Huai'an added, "After Wang Bai begins the acquisition, he will need a place to store the grain, and I entrust this matter to you as well."

"Remember, you must do this properly. I need this food to be stored intact for at least a year!"

"Do you understand?"

"Understood." Shen He readily agreed; this matter was not difficult.

"Alright, you two go and take care of it," Chen Huai'an said, then added with some concern, "Remember, don't be a sucker. Use the lowest price you can, but make sure the quality of the grain is guaranteed."

"It has to be fast."

This was the first time the two had seen Chen Huai'an so serious, so they dared not underestimate him and carefully wrote it down.

After that, the two left, and Chen Huai'an closed his eyes and sat for a while.

From the very beginning, Chen Huai'an hesitated about what to use to earn his first pot of gold. After much deliberation, he finally decided to use alcohol.

Firstly, alcohol is a form of entertainment; no matter how well you brew it, it only involves matters of profit.

Secondly, selling alcohol allows one to come into contact with grains, since alcohol is made from grains.

As for your point about selling alcohol potentially consuming large amounts of grain?

Stop being funny!

Throughout history, no dynasty has ever lacked food!

It is only the common people who lack food.

Just like the world is never short of money, the money is just buried underground by powerful families.

Consider that in the fifth year of Emperor Yang of Sui's reign, the national population was about 8.9 million households, close to 50 million people. However, by the time the Tang Dynasty was founded, there were only 2 million households, about 15 million people.

There is a sentence in historical records describing a region at the end of the Sui Dynasty: "The fields were full of corpses of the starving, and tens of thousands of people died."

That is to say, the corpses of people who starved to death could be seen everywhere on the roads.

But do you think the Sui Dynasty lacked food?

There is absolutely no shortage.

The wealth accumulated during the reign of Emperor Wen of Sui was enough to feed the entire country for fifty years, and this was only the Sui Dynasty's national treasury.

This doesn't even include aristocratic families, nobles, major merchants, and wealthy landowners.

As long as Chen Huai'an maintains a proper balance and ensures that the profits from selling the wine exceed the losses, then there won't be any problems.

After careful consideration, Chen Huai'an, who had not yet established himself in the industry, chose to enter the liquor business.

After sitting quietly for a moment, Chen Huai'an immediately set off to see Empress Zhangsun.

To Chen Huai'an's surprise, after hearing his request, Empress Zhangsun simply gave him a deep look before nodding gently in agreement.

"Thanks to the money Mr. Chen helped me earn in the past few months, I am not short of money for the time being. If Mr. Chen thinks it would be better to use the profits to purchase grain, I will naturally support you."

"No matter what... I am still an outsider, and a woman at that. I don't understand the thoughts of you clever people, but I know that you must have your own reasons for doing this."

Chen Huai'an hadn't expected Empress Zhangsun to be so agreeable, and a whole bunch of persuasive words were stuck in his throat.

"...Thank you for your understanding, Your Majesty. I shall take my leave."

"Please go ahead, sir."

Afterwards, Chen Huai'an went to see Cheng Yaojin, Li Shiji's wife Zhang, and Tang Jian respectively.

I told them all about my decision.

Like Empress Zhangsun, these people were very supportive of his decision. Tang Jian and Cheng Yaojin even asked him if he needed any help.

Even Chen Huai'an couldn't figure this out.

I thought it would take a lot of effort, but it went so smoothly.

In the afternoon, Chen Huai'an, carrying a book he had prepared for a long time, went to the East Palace again and found Li Shimin.

Inside the Xiande Hall, Li Shimin saw Chen Huai'an enter, put down the memorial he was holding, and jokingly said, "My Zhuge Liang of our time, what are you busy with this time?"

Chen Huai'an choked for a moment: "...Your Majesty, please don't tease me."

"What are you joking about? What evidence do you have that you're not the Zhuge Liang of our time?"

Chen Huai'an: "..."

"Hahahaha." Li Shimin was overjoyed to see his frozen face, feeling extremely pleased.

"Speak up. Given your nature of never coming to me unless you have a reason, either you don't come to me at all, or if you do, it's not a trivial matter."

Li Shimin gestured for him to sit down: "Coming here so late today, the matter must be quite serious."

Chen Huai'an coughed lightly, took out a folding book from his bosom, and handed it to the eunuch next to him, asking him to pass it to Li Shimin.

"Hmm?" Li Shimin took the folding book from the eunuch with great interest, opened it and took a look.

After looking at it for a short while, he frowned: "You want me to establish a charitable granary?"

A granary is a warehouse used to store grain, and it is usually built in a high and dry place.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Chen Huai'an explained. "In the past, the Sui Dynasty was able to avoid famine precisely because it established public granaries. However, Emperor Yang of Sui misappropriated grain from these granaries, rendering them ineffective and ultimately leaving them without any means of support."

"But this does not mean that the public granary system is bad; on the contrary, it is a country's strength in times of crisis."

"We discussed this last time: although we have temporarily forced the Turks to retreat, the internal troubles of the Tang Dynasty are far from being resolved."

"Liang Shidu, Luo Yi, and others like them are all problems."

"And..." Chen Huai'an paused, "what if a rebellion breaks out in the area in the future... cough cough, or what if there are natural disasters or man-made calamities or something?"

"The importance of the charity granary will then be fully demonstrated."

Li Shimin thought about it carefully, neither agreeing nor refusing immediately, but instead pointing to the contents on the back of the folded document.

"You still want to expand the scale of military farms in the name of the Ministry of Works, recruiting refugees and demobilized soldiers to reclaim wasteland?"

"Yes!" Chen Huai'an said frankly, "Your Majesty, as you know, although the Guanzhong Plain is a fertile land, our capital is located here, and the pressure to provide for it is enormous."

"A large number of people who do not produce food, such as royalty, officials, and soldiers, gathered here, so the Guanzhong region has always relied on external imports for its food supply."

"Moreover, if you look closely at the historical records, you will find that, although it is the same city of Chang'an, the grain output of our Guanzhong region is far lower than that of the Han Dynasty as recorded in the historical records."

"After so many years, the output in the Guanzhong region has not only not increased, but has actually decreased significantly, which is a huge hidden danger."

Li Shimin carefully examined the folded document, which clearly explained how to do the two tasks.

The Ministry of Works already had the duties of the Agricultural Settlement Office and the Forestry Office. Chen Huai'an's proposal to build granaries and reclaim wasteland was also within the scope of his duties, so there was no problem.

He paused for a moment, then asked, "So... what do you mean?"

"Your Majesty, I have only one thing to say."

"What did you say?"

"Preparation is the key to success; lack of preparation leads to failure!"

"..."