Tang Dynasty: Consort Wu? Your Majesty, please address her as the Crown Prince's Consort.

After all, aren't the wise ones among our own people?

However, Li Shimin was clearly unaware of this.

The imperial court acted swiftly, and news of the skyrocketing grain prices in Chang'an spread rapidly to surrounding cities under its impetus.

In just six or seven days, many grain merchants had already begun transporting grain toward Chang'an.

With the imperial court's encouragement, the price of grain in Chang'an skyrocketed to 200 wen per shi, a price that could be described as astronomical.

It is precisely because of this price that grain merchants from other regions have become increasingly frantic.

While grain merchants from all over the country were flocking to Chang'an, Li Chengqian was experiencing a completely different scene.

Under Li Chengqian's management, the previously chaotic disaster area has now become orderly.

The tents were neatly arranged, and the disaster victims who had been huddled in the streets were gone.

After settling another disaster victim, Li Chengqian couldn't help but wipe the fine sweat from his forehead and slowly let out a sigh of relief.

"Phew! Finally done!"

Even with his enhanced physique, Li Chengqian still felt extremely exhausted after several days of intense disaster relief work.

Upon hearing this, Sun Simiao, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but stroke his beard and smile.

"Your Highness! The plague is now under control; leave the rest to me!"

Upon hearing this, Li Chengqian nodded.

"Very well! It's time for me to return to Chang'an for a visit!"

……

Tap! Tap! Tap!

The sound of black hooves echoed through the quiet street.

At this moment, a series of thin figures emerged from the tent and knelt down in the direction of Li Chengqian.

Seeing this scene, Li Chengqian couldn't help but feel a lump in his throat, and then, forcing back the urge to cry, he forced a smile and said:

"It's cold outside! Let's all go inside!"

"Your Highness, please wait!"

"Your Highness! Please wait!"

……

When they arrived, their bones were exposed in the wilderness; when they left, thousands of people vied to see them off.

Such a shocking scene made Sun Simiao unable to help but show a look of relief.

Such a crown prince is a blessing for the Tang Dynasty!

As the grain supply in Chang'an increased, Li Shimin began to wield his sickle.

The 500,000 shi of grain ignited Chang'an, a powder keg, like a spark.

"What? Five coins a shi? Wasn't it two hundred coins?"

A merchant looked at the cart full of grain behind him with a look of horror.

No?

He just transported the grain to Chang'an, and you're telling me the price has dropped?

However, he cannot transport the grain back now; if he cannot sell this batch of grain in Chang'an, he will suffer a huge loss.

The losses along the way, the problem of the grain getting damp during transport—if it were transported back, this batch of grain would be ruined.

Thinking of this, the merchant couldn't help but sigh helplessly.

"Sigh! Sell it! Five coins it is, at least I can recoup some losses!"

This same scene also happened to many merchants who came to Beijing, causing grain prices to plummet.

The Wang family mansion in Taiyuan.

"Damn it! These lowly merchants are utterly foolish!"

Upon learning of the sharp drop in grain prices, Wang Shan couldn't help but curse loudly.

Not only Wang Shan, but also the heads of the Lu family of Fanyang, the Zheng family of Xingyang, and the Cui family of Boling looked rather grim.

This grain price issue was orchestrated by several of them working together.

Firstly, they wanted to make a fortune from this disaster; secondly, they wanted to create obstacles for Li Shimin, and it would be even better if they could force Li Shimin to beg them for help.

But they never expected Li Shimin to pull this stunt.

Instead of suppressing grain prices, he did the opposite, causing grain prices to soar and attracting a large number of merchants to transport grain to Beijing.

Zheng Yang couldn't help but speak up:

"Li Shimin must have had a mastermind behind him; I don't believe he and his team came up with such a method!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Gui, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but sigh and say:

"Oh well! Forget it, our noble families haven't suffered any losses anyway. The best course of action is to send people to set up soup kitchens and distribute porridge, so that the people will know the goodness of our noble families!"

Hearing Wang Gui say this, everyone couldn't help but nod in agreement.

The powerful families, seeking fame, believed that at such times, all they needed to do was let a little slip through their fingers to make those lowly people grateful!

……

Liangyi Hall.

Li Shimin couldn't help but show a look of relief as he looked at his rebellious son.

Then he put on a disgusted look and said:

"You unfilial son! Have you even taken a bath? Come here now! It's a small matter if you catch a disease, but if word gets back to me, it will be a much bigger problem!"

Seeing his old man's funny appearance, Li Chengqian couldn't help but roll his eyes at him.

Li Chengqian was too lazy to waste words with him. He slowly stepped forward and sat down next to Li Shimin, then took out a blank imperial edict and began to write.

After writing down the contents of the imperial edict, Li Chengqian skillfully picked up the jade seal beside him and gently stamped it on the edict.

"All done! Alright! Everything's fine now, I'll be leaving!"

"etc!"

Seeing Li Chengqian about to leave with the imperial edict, Li Shimin immediately lost his composure.

No?

Are you now writing imperial edicts right in front of me?

Li Chengqian frowned and turned to Li Shimin, saying:

"What's wrong?"

Seeing his rebellious son's self-righteous and even somewhat impatient manner, Li Shimin was almost amused by his anger.

"Ahem! Let's talk about this: is it possible that I am the emperor, and you, brat, are still the crown prince, unqualified to write imperial edicts?"

Upon hearing this, Li Chengqian couldn't help but show a look of confusion.

"You're not planning to pass the throne to me?"

"Uh! Of course not, you are the Crown Prince, the future Emperor of the Tang Dynasty!"

"That's settled then, it's only a matter of time, Dad, don't worry about the details!"

Seeing his unfilial son's self-righteous attitude, Li Shimin's face turned green.

"What's the point of this imperial edict, you brat?"

"Rewards and troop deployment!"

"Huh? Deploying troops!!!!"

Upon hearing the words "troop deployment," Li Shimin was stunned, and his expression towards Li Chengqian gradually turned terrified.

"You unfilial son! Don't do anything foolish! You're the crown prince! The throne will be yours sooner or later. You don't need to be in such a hurry to become emperor!"

Seeing his old man's terrified expression, Li Chengqian was speechless.

"Dad! What did you say? Do I look like someone who would rebel?"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin nodded without hesitation.

He couldn't help but complain in his heart.

Don't you know whether you look like someone who would rebel or not?

"No, it's nothing. It's just some post-disaster resettlement matters. People like Sun Simiao who helped with the disaster relief should be rewarded, and the disaster victims should be given new farmland after the New Year so they can settle down."

"These arrangements need to be made in advance. As for the army, I'll just deploy some city garrison troops to escort the people to other places for resettlement. It's not good for them to be stuck in Chang'an all the time!"

Hearing his unfilial son's words, Li Shimin spoke with skepticism:

"real?"

Li Chengqian had no choice.

"Really! Dad! What's wrong with trusting me a little?"