396: Why not eat meat, pull it down, chop it

Bang! Bang! Bang!

One gate after another was kicked open by the Demon Suppression Guards.

Although it was said to be a city-wide search, the Demon Suppression Guards specifically targeted the mansions of the wealthy and powerful to conduct their investigations.

"My lords, what are you doing? Wasn't it agreed that you were searching for demons? Why are you taking my gold and silver! Leave them for me..."

"This is a Shen Yue Great Marsh treasure bead offered to us by a branch Clan Chief; how did it become stolen goods from demons? You are ransacking my home, not searching it! Stop!"

"Stop looting, stop looting! This is our winter ration for this year. You bunch of bandits, this isn't how things are done!"

For a time, cries and wails erupted throughout Yuezhou City.

However, the Demon Suppression Guards ignored these pleas and confiscated everything. Your household has fewer than a hundred people, yet you stockpiled over a hundred thousand jin of winter rations?

The wealthy families in Yuezhou City were estimated to have stockpiled tens of millions of jin of grain.

These wealthy and powerful families were overflowing with riches; even if the grain rotted in their warehouses, they would never take it out to provide disaster relief.

Even if the government tried to purchase it, they would only sell it at two or three times the market price.

"Hurry, hurry! Don't let them transfer their assets in advance!"

"Anyone found hiding anything, execute without mercy!"

Screams and slaughter filled Yuezhou City. Those who attempted to resist all became souls under the blade.

In reality, the Demon Suppression Guards were not attacking or searching indiscriminately.

Their primary targets were the officials implicated in the official records, as well as the wealthy families who had collaborated with them.

For those who harbored demons, colluded with evil cults, or were guilty of heinous crimes, all were executed. The ringleaders were captured alive and added to the ranks of those with their shoulder blades pierced.

For those with moderate crimes, their entire estates were ransacked; if they resisted, they were killed on the spot.

For minor cases, such as those coerced or guilty of light offenses, they took ninety percent of their assets, grabbed a few treasures along the way, and left.

As for ordinary families, they simply checked to see if there were any demons.

At first, there were some who resisted, but that changed after Chu Jiang stepped into Yuezhou City and successively executed several Old Ancestors who had just broken through their cultivation barriers, as well as demons attempting to escape.

Afterward, there was basically little resistance from the major clans and families.

East City, main street. Yuezhou City, one of the three major grain merchants, Fengyue Grain Firm.

A group of Demon Suppression Guards stormed into the grain firm and, without a word, began carrying out dozens and hundreds of bags at a time, registering them, and storing them batch by batch into Storage Pouches dedicated to grain.

"Hey, what are you doing? This is theft! We are backed by the Feng Family, one of the three major families of Yuezhou... Stop!"

"Do you have no respect for the law? Is there no justice in your eyes?"

A tall, thin manager, followed by several clerks, chased out of the grain firm, attempting to block them.

"Sorry, the Feng Family colluded with demons and brought disaster to the nation and the people; they have already been executed!" a Demon Suppression Guard sneered.

What?

The thin manager felt the sky collapse upon hearing this. What was happening today? Even his employers had been finished off.

"Get lost, don't get in my way of moving grain!" A Demon Suppression Guard, having pulled several hundred bags of grain from a warehouse, swore and kicked the thin manager who was blocking the main entrance.

"Ouch..." The thin manager, already frail, was kicked by the Demon Suppression Guard, fell flat on his face, and broke several ribs.

Yet, among the onlookers, almost no one spoke up for him; some commoners even began to applaud, saying it was well done.

This Fengyue Grain Firm, along with the several major families behind it, had secretly stockpiled massive amounts of grain to manipulate prices. The people of Yuezhou were suffering immensely.

Over the past ten years, the price of grain had increased seven or eightfold. Even when large numbers of commoners became refugees and starved to death, they would not lower the prices.

These wealthy families were already overflowing with riches, yet they still monopolized grain, fighting with ordinary commoners over the meager profits of basic necessities. They wouldn't share even a tiny bit with those at the bottom.

The Fengyue Grain Firm, whose name suggested a bountiful and prosperous Yuezhou, was actually one of the masterminds behind turning Yuezhou into a living hell.

"Stop!" An elderly man with white hair, dressed in luxurious noble attire, strode over, followed by a group of guards.

"Count Longxi is here; now we're in for a good show!" someone said with a smile.

Count Longxi was one of the oldest counts in Yuezhou, with a Legacy spanning three generations. The first Count Longxi had rendered great service to the imperial court, and his title was hereditary for a thousand years.

The first generation died in battle, and he was the third Count Longxi; it had been a full five hundred years, and if he was lucky, he could pass it on to his son.

"Why did this Count Longxi come to wade into these muddy waters?"

"Isn't it better to just enjoy life?" some gossiping commoners said.

"Heh, you don't understand. The imperial court has already reformed; except for the first generation of counts, they no longer issue salaries to those who inherit titles!"

"Count Longxi also has investments in this Fengyue Grain Firm, and it is now one of the main sources of income for the Count's estate, so naturally, he is unwilling to let it be cut off easily!"

Count Longxi seemed infinitely glorious, but in reality, he had been in decline for a hundred years. He was just a wealthy Family in name only, and his actual assets were likely not as rich as a middle-class Family.

The first Count Longxi was once a prominent figure, but now, reduced to relying on grain merchants to make a living, it was truly pathetic.

A moment later, Count Longxi, leaning on a cane, stared directly at Chu Jiang outside the grain firm and said, "Lord Chu, don't you think you've gone too far? It's one thing to kill people wantonly in Yuezhou, but why can't even a legitimate business like this grain firm escape your eyes, Lord Chu?"

"This is a legal business protected by the laws of Great Chu. You are trampling on the decrees of Great Chu and ignoring the law!"

"I will submit a memorial to Your Majesty and impeach you!" Count Longxi declared passionately and incessantly.

"Stop!" Chu Jiang said directly. "I ask you, eight years ago, what was the price of grain in Yuezhou?"

"Nine hundred wen per dou, less than one tael of silver!" Count Longxi replied immediately without thinking.

"And now?"

"Seven thousand two hundred wen per dou, which is not even eight taels... but commodity prices fluctuate, which is normal. The government cannot forcibly intervene in the market and violate market laws!" Count Longxi seemed to understand what Chu Jiang was going to say and quickly added.

Chu Jiang said coldly, "The imperial court has clear regulations that the price of basic necessities like grain must not increase by more than double. Explain to me why the price at Fengyue Grain Firm is now ten thousand wen!"

He glanced at today's grain price, which was over ten thousand wen per dou, more than a tenfold increase; it was simply robbery. Although Yuezhou was once very prosperous, over a decade of civil strife had left the people destitute, and ordinary people simply could not afford it.

"My Lord Chu, you can't blame me for this. The grain at Fengyue Grain Firm is mostly not sold to ordinary people; it's for the nobles, so the price is naturally a little more expensive than ordinary rice!"

"Besides, incomes have been rising these years. You can't force us to lower prices just because some people are too lazy and unmotivated to have money to buy it!" Count Longxi said.

As soon as these words were spoken, the onlookers gritted their teeth. How could he say such things with a straight face and such conviction?

What nonsense? Income? Where did any income come from! Rising? And mostly sold to nobles? Truly, he was telling lies with his eyes open. Beast.

"Lord Chu, you are committing a crime by seizing the grain from my Fengyue Grain Firm, undermining the imperial court's system. I advise you to turn back before it's too late and not be so arrogant."

"Otherwise, I will definitely..." Count Longxi continued to clamor.

Chu Jiang couldn't be bothered to listen to his nonsense. This fellow was truly clueless—why not just eat meat porridge? He waved his hand and said, "Drag him away and behead him!"