Governing the country, enriching the people, an unparalleled imperial tutor

Lin Yanzhou, however, remained calm and composed, smoothly executing his first strategic move by publicly announcing: "By order of His Majesty, the heads of the four major grain merchant families in the capital are to be summoned to the palace for an audience with the Emperor immediately!"

The news spread rapidly, and within half an hour, the four major grain merchants entered the palace together. All four were cunning old foxes who had monopolized the grain market for many years. Backed by Zhang Lin and controlling the capital's grain supply, they had long understood the rules of the court and were certain that the court was powerless to break the deadlock.

The four men entered the palace and knelt in obeisance, their outward appearances submissive, but their eyes were filled with contempt and arrogance. They had already conspired and made a pact: no matter how much pressure the court exerted, the four of them would stand together and never lower prices individually, holding firm on the high price of 110 coins. If they could hold out for ten days, after Zhang Lin came to power, they could continue to monopolize the grain market and reap huge profits.

In a side hall within the main hall, the four great families were summoned separately, without any officials in attendance.

The four family heads spoke first, feigning submission and adopting a yielding posture, but in reality, they were banding together to manipulate the court: "His Majesty is compassionate towards the people, and we feel ashamed. This year's grain production has decreased slightly, and the fluctuations in grain prices are truly unavoidable. We are willing to show our concern for the people and make a small concession, reducing the price by one coin per shi (unit of dry measure) to reassure the people!"

The price dropped from 110 to 109.

This price reduction is nothing short of an extreme insult.

This was clearly a public mockery of the court's incompetence, and a blatant declaration to everyone that the rise and fall of grain prices were controlled by merchants, not by the emperor.

Emperor Jinghe's face turned ashen, his fingertips trembling with rage; he had never suffered such humiliation.

In contrast, Lin Yanzhou remained calm, showing no anger whatsoever. He even smiled faintly, accepting their feigned concessions and making his second move: "Your patriarchs care deeply for the people, which greatly comforts His Majesty. Since you are all willing to make concessions, His Majesty will grant your request."

"His Majesty has just issued an imperial edict: Effective immediately, the maximum price for privately sold grain in the capital shall be 150 cash per shi. Merchants may set their own prices as long as they do not violate this limit. The court will not interfere in business matters or hold past offenders accountable."

Upon hearing this, the four family heads were stunned on the spot, and then overjoyed.

They had originally stuck to 110 coins, which was already an exorbitant profit. Now that the imperial court has directly raised the upper limit to 150 coins, it is equivalent to giving them room to raise prices!

The four men instantly lowered their guard, their contempt growing even stronger: "As expected, a cunning mountain charlatan, utterly ignorant of business. He's all talk and no action, completely clueless about price control—he's digging his own grave!"

The four men quickly feigned gratitude, saying, "Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty! We will certainly care for the people and ensure a stable grain market!"

He was outwardly respectful, but inwardly he was overjoyed, secretly planning to slowly raise the price over the next few days and make a huge profit.

Before the four could react, Lin Yanzhou continued, "From today onwards, I order the official granaries to open and release grain. The imperial court will set the price for the grain. What do you think of 150 cash for spot grain? For futures, it will be 70 cash per shi (a unit of dry measure). There will be no purchase limits or quantity controls. All citizens of the city can purchase grain! Private grain merchants can set their own prices, and the official granaries will not restrict the buying and selling of other grains."

"Grand Master, please forgive my ignorance, but what is futures?" The four major grain merchants were overjoyed, but this was the first time they had ever heard of futures. Why was the price difference half?

"Ah, I forgot that your ancient... mortal knowledge is lacking. Futures trading, you know, means the buyer pays first, and then receives the grain after a period of time. The price will definitely be cheaper that way."

"I see, I see." The grain merchants exchanged glances, surprised that grain could be sold this way.

"However, you can't do futures trading; only the imperial court can do that. As for the common people, they still trust the imperial court."

One stone stirs up a thousand waves!

The highest price among private sellers was 150 coins, while the official granary sold at the fixed price of the maximum limit!

Isn't this setting an example for us to get rich quick?

Lin Yanzhou's gaze swept indifferently over the four family heads who were inwardly ecstatic, then turned to Zhang Lin, who was watching coldly from outside the palace, and loudly announced:

"The ten-day period begins today; the bet has commenced."

Standing in the corridor outside the palace, Zhang Lin, observing coldly, couldn't understand Lin Yanzhou's actions, but no matter how he deduced it, the emperor was destined to lose. He then burst into laughter: "You brat, I'll wait ten days for you to challenge this old man! How laughable!"

Emperor Jinghe asked in a low voice, "Sir, are you absolutely certain?"

Lin Yanzhou laughed and said, "Your Majesty, I don't know either. Let's just wait and see. Otherwise, how will you clean up this mess today? We'll just have to deal with it one day at a time."

Emperor Jinghe looked nervous: "Sir, your stakes are my empire and my throne! You must be careful!"

"Alright, I won't cheat you. You can arrange a private meeting with the two officials who were on the periphery of the court just now. I have a very important use for them." Lin Yanzhou thought to himself that he needed to find some reliable people to run errands.