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Upon hearing this, Li Shimin nodded slightly, a hint of confusion in his eyes.

“Yes, it really doesn’t make sense. Auxiliary machine, what do you think?”

Changsun Wuji thought for a moment.

“We ministers discussed it and came to a frightening conclusion…”

Li Shimin’s interest was piqued, and he raised an eyebrow.

“What conclusion?”

Changsun Wuji showed a look of lingering fear.

“We suspect that Yang Yi’s move is to ensure that the Turks only have sheep in their livestock. Unlike cattle and horses, sheep eat grass down to the roots. So, when you graze on a pasture, you can’t overgraze with sheep. Otherwise, the pasture will be exhausted. Yang Yi’s strategy is to make the Turks work themselves to death!”

The hall suddenly fell silent.

Li Shimin’s eyes showed a look of shock. He stood up suddenly, his eyes flashing with a sharp light.

“This boy, is he trying to cut off the roots of the Turks? If what you suspect is true, it is indeed a very vicious method.”

Everyone in the room nodded repeatedly, their faces showing concern. Although none of them were kind-hearted people, they still felt a shiver run down their spines when they realized Yang Yi’s ruthless strategy.

“This is too cruel,” someone muttered.

“The Turks live in the grasslands, and this boy wants to exploit their pastures. This is practically forcing the Turks into a desperate situation from the very beginning.”

“This boy is only twenty years old, yet he’s so ruthless,” another added.

Li Shimin took a deep breath.

“Gather all the information about Yang Yi and send it to me as soon as possible. It’s surprising that such a talent has appeared in the Zhou Kingdom.”

Even he could no longer underestimate Yang Yi. Despite being the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, one of the most powerful men in the Central Plains, he felt a sense of dread in the face of Yang Yi’s ruthless plan.

Too frightening. If we ever have to face such a person, we won’t be able to sleep or eat in peace.

Someone who can come up with such a ruthless plan is definitely not a good person.

…

Half a month later.

Great Zhou.

“Humph, these merchants are truly despicable!” Wu Zhao slammed the memento in her hand onto the table.

Shangguan Wan’er watched the Empress cautiously. Although she had a good relationship with the Empress, she knew how to maintain her boundaries. Now that she saw the Empress clearly angry, she did not dare to say a word.

Wu Zhao suppressed her inner frustration, feeling extremely dissatisfied.

She wondered if the feng shui was off during her ascension. In recent years, the country had been plagued by frequent natural disasters. A few months ago, a flood had consumed much of the grain in the storehouses, and now a drought had hit Hangzhou, making her head ache.

Wu Zhao suddenly sighed.

“Could it be that heaven does not favour our Great Zhou?”

Shangguan Wan’er quickly replied,

“Your Majesty must not say such things! Since Your Majesty took the throne, the people have lived in peace and prosperity, and the nation has grown rich and strong. How can it be that heaven does not favour us? Your Majesty is ordained by Heaven and must remain strong.”

Wu Zhao rubbed her temples, a slight smile appearing on her pale and coldly beautiful face.

“You’re right… I was almost driven mad by these profit-driven merchants. Pass on my order to summon the officials of the Six Ministries and the Secretariat.”

“Oh, and…” Wu Zhao seemed to remember something, “Summon Yang Yi as well.”

Shangguan Wan’er nodded respectfully.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

A moment later…

The officials of the Secretariat and the Six Ministries gathered in one place. Those who could be here were all high-ranking officials of the court.

Yang Yi looked at the Empress’s expression and muttered to himself.

What’s wrong with the Empress right now?

Although he was a secretary in the Secretariat, he spent most of his time not at the side of the Empress, but in the Secretariat, helping to draft edicts.

Now that he was suddenly summoned by the Empress, something important must have happened.

Wu Zhao glanced at everyone, pausing at Yang Yi for a moment before she pulled her gaze back and tossed the memorial in her hand to them.

“Take a good look at this…”

Everyone passed the memorial around with furrowed brows. When Yang Yi finally took the memorial, he was stunned.

A drought in Hangzhou?

The local government was running out of grain and had appealed to the court for help. Meanwhile, the price of grain in Hangzhou had increased tenfold and was rising even faster.

Wu Zhao’s voice, tinged with hidden anger, echoed in the courtroom.

“The government has very little grain left, relying only on some old stocks, while these grain merchants are hoarding and driving up prices together…”

“The merchants of our Great Zhou are such profit-driven leeches. How many people in Hangzhou are waiting for rice to eat, and yet they hide the grain and find ways to raise the prices. A tenfold increase in grain prices—how many people can afford that?”

Everyone in the hall looked at each other, not daring to react.

They hadn’t expected a drought in Hangzhou, and the fact that these grain merchants had colluded to raise prices and profit from the disaster was indeed excessive.

Wu Zhao suppressed her anger.

“A few months ago, due to the flood in the Capital Region, all the grain the court could mobilize had already been used up… Now it’s almost impossible to send more grain to Hangzhou. Unless we take grain from the nearby granaries around Hangzhou, but even that won’t be enough.”

She spoke with a hint of tiredness.

“Li Yifu, if we were to send grain from Suzhou, Wuzhou, and other nearby areas, how much could we mobilize at most?”