Chapter Thirty: The Bull Market

"Hui'er, as the vice dean, you are in charge of the Martial Research Academy. The Empire's military strength depends on you from now on, but don't neglect your duties with the Pei Dragon Guard either."

"I understand, Your Majesty. Please rest assured."

"Good. Go ahead and get busy. The first batch of students arrives today, and as vice dean, you must make an appearance."

"And what about you, the dean?"

"I won't be going. The students are still quite young; if I go, I might frighten them. You go ahead. I'll wander around the academy for a while. Don't hurry back these next few days; focus on getting the academy affairs in order. This is the future of the Great Tang—we cannot afford to be careless."

"Yes, Your Majesty. I take my leave—please take care!"

After Shangguan Pei Hui departed, Gao Buyi dismissed the others who had accompanied him. Alone, he wandered for a bit before finding a spot in the shade by the water to lie down. He needed to carefully consider the road ahead.

He had been in the Great Tang for over half a year now. To stop the carriage from its continual descent, he had wielded imperial power to carry out sweeping reforms in the court in the short term. What came next would have to be left to time.

Truth be told, he did not like the profession of emperor. Yes, for him, being emperor was simply a profession. As emperor, there was no freedom—every action was under scrutiny.

By contrast, he preferred being a merchant who could direct the fate of the country. Yet in this era, merchants were not highly regarded. Any merchant who achieved something notable always had an official background. Collusion between officials and merchants was rampant; in fact, commerce was a common channel through which officials sought substantial income—a bizarrely normal abnormality.

Another major source of income for officials was land. It was said that Li Linfu and Yang Guozhong each owned tens of thousands of acres of fertile land, and that was just the tip of the iceberg. Some hidden aristocratic families possessed even more resources. Groups like the literati in Shandong and the noble factions in court controlled more than sixty percent of all arable land in the country, and that figure kept rising. This was a malignant tumor in the state.

There was also the issue of the homeless. To resolve this, land was the key. Yet even as emperor, he could not easily redistribute land on a large scale, let alone give equal land to the people. It was nearly impossible. Without land, the problem of the homeless would remain unresolved—a major threat to society.

"Ah, my head aches—" After lying there for a long time, Gao Buyi could not think of a better solution. To solve the issue of the homeless, he could only resort to infrastructure projects or seek new land. Other than building roads in Guanzhong, there was no possibility of developing new land there. So where was the land? In Pinglu, in the vast northern wilderness.

But the northern wilderness was still a barren region, crawling with poisonous insects and snakes—a forbidden zone for humans at present. Developing it would be incredibly difficult, but hard as it was, it had to be done!

With this resolve, Gao Buyi returned to the Hot Spring Palace. He summoned several Pei Dragon Guards to accompany him, intending to visit the Ox Market in Chang'an to see what the price of cattle was these days.

Meanwhile, in the Hot Spring Palace, Yang Guifei, who had heard the emperor had returned only to leave again without a trace, was throwing a tantrum.

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"Please calm your anger, Your Highness," said Yang Guozhong, along with Lady Guo, Lady Qin, and Lady Han, who all tried to comfort Yang Guifei.

"It's getting more and more outrageous. The ruler of a nation distrusts his own ministers, neglects his consorts, and instead favors a mere servant. It's utterly absurd."

"Huan'er, watch your words," Lady Guo said. "Perhaps His Majesty is planning affairs of state."

"What affairs of state? Do you know where he is now? He actually went to the Ox Market."

"What? Your Highness, do you mean His Majesty is at the Ox Market?"

"Exactly. I've never seen someone so unreliable—one moment here, another moment there. It's as if he wants chaos in the world."

"In that case, I'll go to the Ox Market to see what His Majesty is up to."

"I advise you not to go. Right now he's not fond of us siblings. If you go and incur a charge of deceiving the sovereign, what future would we have?"

"Your Highness exaggerates." After speaking, Yang Guozhong secretly signaled to Lady Guo and the others to persuade the consort to calm down. The emperor's mood was unpredictable at this time; angering him would be dangerous. Yang Guozhong himself hurried off to Chang'an.

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"Excuse me—" At the Ox Market, Gao Buyi approached a burly man selling cattle, intending to ask about prices. Yet as soon as he opened his mouth, he was at a loss, unsure how to address the man.

To call him "elder brother" would be inappropriate, as Gao himself was an old man—almost an insult. "Young man" was equally unsuitable.

Luckily, the cattle seller spoke first, saving him from embarrassment.

"Sir, are you here to buy cattle?"

"Indeed. May I ask what your prices are?"

"Haha, may I ask what you're buying them for?" The man lowered his voice. "If it's for meat, there are old and sick cattle over there. They won't live long if you take them home, saving you trouble. I'll sell them for three strings of cash. Of course, there are also prairie cattle—these are wild, hard to tame, unsuitable for plowing, but good for meat. I'll sell those for four strings. If you're after draft cattle, the price is higher—anywhere from five to fifteen strings."

"That expensive?"

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"Sir, my prices are very fair. Ask around—see if Zhang the cattle seller has ever quoted you a high price."

"Haha, thank you. I'll go ask around."

"You—" Seeing Gao Buyi leave just like that, the burly man regretted it. Why let him go elsewhere? This old fellow, why not bargain a little? Was he just toying with him?

Gao Buyi was not thinking along those lines at all. He had no intention of buying cattle, only wanted to inquire about market prices. So he wandered the Ox Market for half a day, asking prices but never bargaining, making it obvious he was not truly interested in buying. As a result, the sellers stopped paying him any mind.

Still, he had gained a good understanding of the draft cattle prices: old, sick, and draft cattle were priced similarly, while prairie cattle varied more—though that depended on size and age, since prairie cattle were used as meat or pack animals.

While resting and drinking water at a roadside tea stall, Yang Guozhong appeared before him. "Sir, why are you here alone? The smell is so strong. If you wish to see cattle, just say the word—I will select a strong and handsome one for you."

What kind of nonsense was that—select a strong and handsome one for me? Was he joking? This idiot.

Yet seeing how weary he was, Gao Buyi said nothing and invited him to sit and drink water together.

"Guozhong, are prairie cattle really this expensive now?"

"No, Your Majesty. Most of the prairie cattle here are sold as meat. The pack cattle used by the army are purchased directly on the prairie by special officials, at half the price or even less."

"I see."

"Also, you may not know, now is not the best time to buy prairie cattle. It's best to buy about half a month before winter begins. At that time, the cattle are at their fattest, and the people of the prairie sell many to reduce the feed required by their livestock. That's when prairie cattle flood the market and you can bargain for a better price."

"Mm, that's true—supply exceeds demand."

"Sir, you are right."

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