Chapter 351 Raising the price of grain in Rome!

So, an idea came to Ying Heng's mind.

Now that he was on vacation and happened to be in Rome, and with the previous series of events as a prelude, he thought it was time to teach Rome a profound lesson.

At least we must make this empire unstable to clear the way for the coming Ying Zheng, giving Ying Zheng the opportunity to completely govern this place!

With the goal clarified, Ying Heng’s next step is to purchase the grain from this area.

Food is the foundation of a country. Once food is cut off, civilians will surely rise up in unison.

The nobles might even be directly overthrown by angry civilians. There were many peasant uprisings in Europe throughout history, and therefore there were many declining empires.

After returning to the palace, Ying Heng summoned the Duke of Rose and said, "I have several tasks for you, and you need to do your best to complete them."

The Duke immediately agreed: "Just tell me what you want! As long as it is within my power, I will do my best. If I can't do it, I will find ways to help you achieve it!"

The Duke of Rose is unquestionably loyal to Ying Heng.

He knew very well that Rome had a bleak future and was extremely corrupt. Continuing to follow it would only lead to a dead end. It would be better for him to find a powerful country as a backer, and perhaps he could still maintain his power and status.

"Very good. My mission is not complicated. I just want you to spend all your money to buy as much food as you can!"

Hearing this, the Duke of Rose looked solemn, smiled bitterly and said to Ying Heng: "I'm afraid this won't be easy. You have to understand that since I'm traveling with you, almost no one in Rome is willing to sell me grain."

"Fortunately, my duchy is vast and has considerable food reserves."

"Otherwise, you and your caravan members would have been in a food crisis by now."

Ying Heng was stunned when he heard this...

He asked in confusion: "How could Rome's response be so quick? Did they completely cut off your food supply?"

After the Duke of Rose finished speaking, he sighed deeply: "There is nothing I can do. When those dukes heard that they could divide my land by killing me, they rushed over like wolves smelling blood and bit me madly."

"They blocked all access roads, and someone even leaked my existing food reserves to the Roman Empire."

"So, they already know the cards I hold now."

Ying Heng heard this, pondered for a moment, and ordered: "You can leave first, I will handle some things myself."

Ying Heng seemed to have some understanding in his mind.

He thought of the secret chess piece he had planted at the auction—the Duke of Darkness!
So, as soon as the thought came to his mind, Ying Heng appeared in the Duke of Dark Night's mansion the next moment.

At this time, the Duke of Dark Night was having dinner and was startled by the sudden appearance of Ying Heng.

But soon, he prostrated himself on the ground and asked respectfully, "What instructions do you have for this trip, sir?"

Ying Heng sat down and said directly: "Yes, I came to you this time to ask you to help me with something. The matter is very simple, and with your status, you should be able to handle it easily."

The Duke of Dark Night thought for a moment and nodded in response: "As long as it is what you need, I will do my best to complete it!"

Ying Heng nodded with satisfaction: "Very good, the task is to ask you to spend all your wealth to buy all the mobile food and fodder in the Roman Empire, no matter what kind of food you have."

"I will transfer the funds of the Duke of Rose to your name, as long as you make sure to buy all the food!"

The Dark Night Duke was not a dull person, and he immediately understood Ying Heng's intention. But he did not hesitate, and nodded and promised: "Please rest assured, sir, I will complete the task!"

Seeing that the Duke of Dark Night was so loyal, Ying Heng laughed out loud and threw a bamboo tube in front of the Duke of Dark Night.

The appearance of the bamboo tube made the Dark Night Duke a little confused. He picked up the bamboo tube, flipped through a few pages, and his eyes suddenly widened. It turned out that the bamboo tube contained a set of physical fitness exercises that could make people rejuvenated in a short period of time. The first stage alone could make people ten years younger. If practiced to the extreme, they could even rejuvenate for thirty years!

Don’t underestimate these few decades of life. For many people, this may be the gap between them and the strong!

Longevity is an irresistible temptation for everyone.

"Serve me well. There will be more skills like this in the future."

"Believe me, as long as you do your job well, the rewards will come in abundance."

When the Duke of Darkness heard this, even a dull man could see through the hint before him.

The other party was offering him an opportunity to pledge his allegiance. Rome no longer had any appeal to him, and he urgently needed to find a new refuge.

So he knelt down again, kowtowed deeply, and responded firmly: "Please rest assured, I will do my best to complete the mission!"

At this moment, the Duke of Darkness felt deeply honored for his choice. Bowing to the strong does not mean being humble, but a wise move.

In the following days, rumors spread in Rome that the Duke of Darkness was frantically buying grain with huge sums of money.

As soon as the news came out, many people rushed to sell off their stored old grain.

As prices went up, food prices soared to ten times their previous highs, but the Duke of Darkness did not stop and continued to make large-scale purchases.

No matter what kind of food it is, as long as you have it, you can sell it to the Duke of Darkness. Some civilians even took this opportunity to make a lot of money.

Such a grain trading frenzy naturally aroused the vigilance of the Roman Empire.

Food is crucial in wartime. An empire without food cannot fight for long and may even perish as a result.

So, the Roman Emperor summoned the Duke of Darkness one night, intending to explore the intentions of this powerful duke.

Entering the palace, the Duke of Dark Night knelt respectfully before the emperor.

However, he had already begun to feel tired of this monarch who could not give him a future, but this emotion had to be hidden.

The emperor knew nothing about this. He looked at the Duke of Dark Night and asked, "Duke of Dark Night, you have been buying a lot of grain in Rome recently. What is the purpose of this?"

"You should know that these grains are the lifeblood of war. Such actions may cause trouble."

The Duke of Dark Night replied in a seemingly sincere tone: "Your Majesty, in fact, I plan to start an economic war with Daqin."

The emperor looked slightly confused when he heard this.

The Duke of Dark Night then explained: "Your Majesty, please understand that the Great Qin Caravan is currently stationed in the territory of the Duke of Rose, but according to current intelligence, the food available there can only last for half a month at most."

"In half a month, the people of Daqin will inevitably face a food shortage and be forced to purchase food from outside."

"Food is the basis of survival. Can they endure ten days without food?"

"Therefore, I intend to carry out my grand plan here in Rome, stockpile food, and then bite them hard!"

The emperor nodded slightly when he heard this. He knew the methods of the Duke of Dark Night very well. This man was so cunning and determined.

Among the dukes of the entire empire, all of them coveted the rich wealth of the Qin merchant caravan, as if everyone was eager to cut a piece of fat from them.

According to the latest intelligence, in the duchies near Rome alone, the Qin merchant caravans have plundered a huge amount of wealth comparable to many years of tax revenue in some duchies!

(End of this chapter)