Xiong Huai was stunned for a moment, and was reminded by Chen Zhenyi, and immediately reacted, if he fought with the Qi State again, the Wei State, which would definitely be separated from the Chu State, seemed completely unnecessary.

After a pause, Xiong Huai came to his senses and understood another meaning of Chen Zhen's remind, not to fight for Wei, but to defend Wei, so as not to be pitted by the two countries of Qi and Wei.

Thinking about it, he said: "Okay, the affairs of Wei are already known!" ”

Chen Zhen saw the king of Chu nodding, so he retreated.

Seeing this, Xiong Huai knew that Chen Zhen came to see him this time to report on the situation of Wei and Song.

Since the Song State has already sold grain to the Qi State, then the Song State will definitely stop for a while and have nothing to do for the time being.

As for the Wei State······

Then, Xiong Huai looked at Dou You and said, "Dou Qing, I don't know what Qing is about?" ”

Dou You arched his hand and said: "King, the purpose of the minister's coming here is the same as that of the assassin Shi Ling, and it is also related to the Qi State. ”

Xiong Huai was shocked when he heard this, Dou You has always been in charge of the finances of the Chu State, and there are very few cases of entanglements with other countries, how can the affairs of the Qi State be reported by Taifu Yin!

"Xianqing, what's going on over there in Qi Kingdom?"

Dou You said: "King, since the grain of Qi was burned, Qi borrowed grain from various countries because of the lack of grain, and did not hesitate to pay five times the price, but there were few people from all countries. ”

Therefore, Qi had no choice but to buy grain from the people, and now the price of grain purchased by Linzi has risen nearly twice, and the price of corn has risen from 35 yuan to 97 yuan. At the same time, the grain price of soybean and wheat rice has also risen to 80 yuan. ”

Then, the people of Linzi in Qi State complained because of the increase in grain prices, and for this reason, Qi State did not dare to continue to raise food prices in the country. As a result, the State of Qi sent caravans to various countries to purchase grain at high prices. ”

Xiong Huai was shocked when he heard this, the affairs of the Qi State had affected the Chu State.

Countries have always had strict control over grain, and going to various countries to buy grain will not only raise the price of grain in various countries, but will also lead countries to severely crack down on grain smuggling.

In this way, the purchase of wheat in various countries by the state of Chu will undoubtedly become difficult, and the cost will rise sharply.

So, he hurriedly asked, "Xianqing, then how much impact does my purchase of Maimi in the Sanjin Yan Kingdom have?" ”

Dou You nodded, and said with a heavy face: "King, the impact is not big but not small. Although last year's winter wheat has been harvested, this year's winter wheat is still in the field (October for the New Year), and most of the new wheat in various countries has been purchased by our Chu State. However, the people and nobles of various countries originally had some wheat in their hands to prepare for the famine, and they would also sell it in winter. ”

"This part of the wheat and rice, because of the affairs of the Qi State, not only has the price risen sharply, but many merchants have suspended their cooperation with the Chu State and are ready to transport the grain to the Qi State."

After a pause, Dou You continued: "Great King, compared to this small part of grain, the minister is more worried that in April and May this year, after the new wheat harvest of various countries, I am afraid that our Chu State will compete with Qi State. ”

"It's just..." Dou You looked at the King of Chu and pondered: "King, in the past two years, we have invested a lot of money in order to acquire Maimi, and the Taifu funds are not abundant. Moreover, Qi has always been the richest country among all countries, so Chen is worried that in four months, if there is normal competition, I am afraid that we will lose to Qi in the competition. ”

Xiong Huai nodded.

For the wealth of Qi State, he knows in his heart, Qi State has always been the richest country among all countries, not to mention that Qi State has been the first batch of feudal states in the Zhou Dynasty, which has lasted for a long time.

What's more, a few years ago, the Qi State ransacked the entire Yan Kingdom, and the Yan Kingdom, a country with the same history as the Qi State, had all the savings of hundreds of years in the country turned into the wealth of the Qi State.

Therefore, compared to the wealth background, the state of Chu is definitely not as good as the state of Qi.

After thinking about it, Xiong Huai said: "Since there is no chance of winning in normal competition, then we will not engage in fair competition." ”

"The grain of all countries in the world, our Chu and Yue countries use corn and rice as rations, and all the countries in the north use corn as the staple food. As for the wheat, it is nothing more than emergency food in times of famine. ”

"Therefore, countries have extremely strict control over corn and soybeans, and will not give Qi a chance to raise grain prices. Therefore, the grain that Qi can buy is only a small amount of beans and some wheat. ”

Saying that, Xiong Huai paused and asked Dou You: "Has Xianqing confirmed that most of the wheat rice in various countries has been purchased by the Chu State, and only a small amount of wheat is left in the hands of the people of all countries to prepare for famine. ”

Dou You nodded solemnly: "King, not only other countries, but even our Chu State is the same, and there is basically not much wheat in the hands of the people. ”

The people of Chu paid a tax when the wheat was harvested, and when the corn was ripe, they paid another tax, and after paying the tax twice, the remaining wheat in their hands was basically used to make flour to supplement the family in their spare time.

Xiong Huai knows this.

"Okay, since everyone is out of wheat, then let's not be afraid, the price will rise. Didn't Qi buy Maimi for more than eighty dollars? ”

"Then let's raise the price of wheat to a hundred!"

"A hundred dollars." Dou You gasped when he heard this.

The price of wheat and rice purchased by the Chu State was thirty-three yuan, but this was to allow merchants from various countries to transport grain to the Chu State, and the price was deliberately raised.

Normally, in the case of various countries, only corn is worth more than 30 yuan, while wheat is generally about 20 yuan.

A hundred dollars a stone, which is to raise the price of wheat five times.

"If it is..." Dou You looked at the King of Chu and hesitated: "Great King, what if the Qi State does not hesitate to pull the price to more than one hundred yuan?" ”

Xiong Huai smiled and said undoubtedly: "Then there is no need to ask, continue to raise the price of wheat and rice, two hundred yuan and one stone, if the price of wheat and rice in Qi State exceeds two hundred yuan, let Qi State feel free, and our Chu State will not participate." ”

Dou You swallowed his saliva and responded: "King, the minister understands." ”

Xiong Huai let out a "hmm" and said to Chen Zhen: "Chen Qing, you need to pay attention to the grain price of Qi during this time!" ”

Chen Zhen bowed and said, "King, the minister understands!" ”

"And!" Xiong Huai paused and continued: "Send an envoy to the six countries of Sanjin, Yanyue, and Song, and say that the profiteers who smuggle grain in our Chu State have been particularly rampant recently, and ask the six countries to help check whether the grain of my Chu State has been smuggled into their country." ”

"In addition, tell them that the widow intends to close half of the passes in the Huaishui area, so as to prevent profiteers from smuggling strategic materials and evading taxes!"

Dou You Chen Zhen heard the words and said: "The king is wise! ”