Chapter 89 Chapter 89 [VIP]

Chapter 89

King Pyeongchang didn't know that Park Sammo had seen Qian Tong, but he knew that sooner or later the Park family would do the same as him, and would use the evidence in their hands to kill him.

Considering how the prince protects Madam Qian now, if they knew that he had killed the elder of the Qian family and took all the credit for defending the city, he would have no chance of survival.

King Pyeongchang ignored the grief of losing his three sons and planned to strike first. Before the Park family met Crown Prince Song, he told them Park Huailang's evidence and asked them to immediately order the arrest of Park Huailang.

But Park Huailang was faster than him.

When Park Sammo went to the prefectural government to ask for an audience with Qian Tong, Park Huailang had already led the Park family soldiers to the Huainan Salt Field to eliminate the people of King Pingchang.

When Park Huailang first learned that King Pyeongchang had made great contributions in defending the city and was granted the land of Jiangning by His Majesty, he became suspicious. He thought that King Pyeongchang was a man of few ideas and no courage, and it was impossible for him to be the defender of the city.

Therefore, when Park Huailang made friends with him, he knew that he would have something to hold against him in the future.

When the third brother told him the news on the note a few days ago, Park Huailang confirmed his guess, but he not only knew that the person guarding the city was not him, King Pyeongchang, but he also knew who the real person guarding the city was.

Five years ago, the four major merchants rejected countless rebel forces under the pretext of protecting the country, including His Majesty, who was then just a group of straw sandal soldiers who couldn't even afford boots.

The previous emperor was incompetent and the country was in chaos. It took the barbarians only two months to capture the capital.

After realizing the crisis, the four great merchants hurriedly gathered together to discuss how to support the royal family and prevent the Hu people from attacking Yangzhou.

The Pu family has been sailing all year round and is good at naval warfare. In addition, the connections built up by the eldest son of the Pu family made the Pu family the best candidate to stay in Yangzhou.

Of the remaining three families, Cui, Lu and Qian, someone had to go to Kyoto for support, but Kyoto had been invaded by the Hu people, and neither Cui nor Lu was willing to go. They all wanted to stay in Yangzhou to guard the strait line.

Even if Dayu really perished, there was still a way to escape.

Several families pushed each other and quarreled over this. Finally, the head of the Qian family took the initiative to propose that the Qian family go to Kyoto to provide support.

As a result of the discussion, the three families of Park, Cui, and Lu, as well as the eldest lady and second son of the Qian family, went to guard the strait line behind Yangzhou, while the eldest master of the Qian family and the eldest son of the Qian family went to Kyoto for support.

A month later, His Majesty's straw sandal army arrived in Kyoto.

The four major merchants defended the strait line, but only the Park family returned.

The eldest and youngest son of the Qian family who went to support Dongdu also died, killed by the swords of the Hu people. None of the more than one hundred servants of the Qian family survived.

No one knew whether the support from Mr. Qian and the eldest son of the Qian family reached Kyoto, or whether it played any role. The two died silently. After His Majesty entered Kyoto, he dragged out the emperor who was hiding in the palace tunnel and forced him to die in front of the corpses of hundreds of thousands of people in Dayu.

Afterwards, His Majesty ordered the bodies of all the refugees to be sent out of the city.

For his family to claim him.

The Qian family rushed over from Yangzhou to pick up the bodies, but they could no longer tell who was who.

Pu Huailang had some understanding of the abilities of the Qian family's master and Qian Damozi. Not to mention the supporting supplies such as gunpowder, swords and guns, the more than one hundred Qian family servants were all people who had survived the troubled times. Each of them had extraordinary skills and it was not the case that they left behind a name.

Now it seems that the credit was taken away by King Pyeongchang.

When the Seventh Lady of the Qian Family came to him that day and asked him to fight with the King of Pingchang, she must have known the truth in her heart.

She might not know about the Strait Line incident. No matter how cunning she was, she was just a young girl in her early twenties. If she knew, she would not have appeared in front of him so calmly and mentioned the Qian family's eldest wife to him so casually.

Relying on the bridge of money and copper, Park Huailang killed King Pyeongchang.

While King Pyeongchang was still complaining to Song Yunzhi about Park Huai's crimes, Park Huailang had already seized two salt fields overnight. The next morning, Park's third son came to the door and asked to see Qian Tong.

Qian Tong met the third son of the Pu family.

Pu Sanmozi conveyed Pu Huailang's words, "As Madam Qian said before, my father has promised that he will personally hand over the two salt fields in Huainan to Madam Qi. The Pu family will do its utmost to support the court in opening the canal. I hope Madam Qian can speak a few good words for our Pu family in front of Prince Song."

Qian Tong agreed, "Okay."

By the time King Pyeongchang received the news of the loss of the salt fields, Qian Tong had already approached Song Yunzhi with the two salt fields handed over by the Park family and was willing to cooperate with the court on the conditions for opening the canal.

Seeing that he was at a disadvantage, it was too late for King Pingchang to escape and he was placed under house arrest in the prefectural government by Song Yunzhi.

——

In the evening of that day, the two salt fields in Huainan were handed over to the imperial court. The imperial troops were responsible for guarding them, and the Qian family assisted in reorganizing the salt fields, waiting for the imperial court to send someone to take over.

There was an intermittent rain in late summer. The next day, when Chen Che returned to the prefectural government, the rain stopped. He dismounted and walked at a leisurely pace. Thinking of the dog-eat-dog scene he saw last night, he felt extremely happy.

Half a year ago, he and Brother Song came to Yangzhou to rectify the monopoly and arrogance of the wealthy businessmen in Yangzhou.

Now the evil Qian family of the four major merchants is intact, the Cui and Lu families are almost extinct, and the most difficult to shake Pu family will eventually be recovered and surrender to the court.

In Yangzhou, his mission was successfully accomplished.

Thinking of his aunt's changing gaze on him, he unconsciously raised his chin a little higher as he walked.

It had been a while since I last saw Brother Song. He had just shaved on the way here and straightened his clothes before entering the house. Just as he was about to step onto the steps and enter the house, a voice suddenly called out, "Cousin Shen is back."

When I heard this voice, I was

He turned around and looked at Qian Qi Niang, who was leaning against the porch, in surprise. His eyelids twitched, and he asked unhappily, "Why are you here? When did Qian Qi Niang develop this voyeuristic habit?"

Qian Tong looked innocent. "It's been raining these past few days, and the air outside is good. I've been here the whole time." Afraid that he wouldn't believe her, she let go of a handful of melon seed shells on the wooden table behind her and said, "I've been sitting here for a long time. It's just that cousin Shen was so busy tidying up his appearance that he couldn't see me. Don't worry, cousin Shen, you are naturally beautiful and very handsome..."

.”

Chen Che's cheeks flushed, and he no longer wanted to pay attention to her, so he stepped into the house.

Song Yunzhi and Wang Zhao were already sitting in the house. After Chen Che entered, he took a closer look at Song Yunzhi. Seeing that he didn't look as pale and thin as someone who had had his essence and blood sucked out by the monster, he became curious about how he could tolerate that monster.

Wang Zhaozheng was discussing with Song Yunzhi the two newly acquired salt fields and the subsequent arrangements and developments in Yangzhou. Seeing Chen Che coming back, he stood up and saluted, then made room for him to sit opposite Song Yunzhi and moved to the side to sit.

The three inspectors from the imperial court shared the fruits of their victory. Qian Tong was not in a position to listen, so he ordered Fu Yin to bring out a wooden table and go to the corridor to eat melon seeds while breathing the fresh air after the rain.

——

Yesterday, the Pu family presented the two salt fields in Huainan, plus the Huaibei Lianxiang that the Qian family had previously given up, and the three sea salt fields in Yangzhou, all of which were handed over to the court.

Next, the imperial court only needs to send people to set up its own salt inspection office. After the canal between Yangzhou and various inland areas is dug, Dayu will have at least a hundred years of prosperity.

This trip to Yangzhou has achieved such a great success, and the three inspectors will undoubtedly be the biggest contributors.

Although the subsequent events have not yet concluded, the Park family and King Pyeongchang are no longer a force to be reckoned with and cannot cause any trouble. As for how to deal with them, it is up to Your Majesty to decide.

Similarly, how to reward has to be decided by Your Majesty. The report needs to be written. Today, Song Yunzhi called the two of them over to discuss with them how to write this report.

The contributions of the three inspectors are all obvious and there is nothing wrong with them.

But apart from this, Song Yunzhi believed that there was another person who had made an indispensable contribution. He told the two of them frankly: "The Qian family's seventh daughter, Qian Tong, was the main contributor to the success of the salt field this time."

Wang Zhao and Shen Che had no objection to this.

Wang Zhao knew the whole process of how the Park family and King Pyeongchang went from allies to enemies and finally to each other's slaughter, and Qian Qi Niangzi really made an indelible contribution.

Chen Che also witnessed the fight between King Pingchang and the Park family. Although he did not like that monster, it was all private hatred. In terms of intelligence and strategy, he had to admire Qian Tong.

I thought that this trip to Yangzhou would involve a tough battle, but the 20,000 troops brought by the court guarded the Huai River for more than two months without fighting a single battle.

After only two trips back and forth, he took back the entire business of Yangzhou.

The Qian family deserves the reward.

Seeing that the two did not refute him, Song Yunzhi stated his plan, "The Qian family has been salt merchants for generations and is very experienced. If we want to establish a Salt Inspection Office, I suggest that we elect someone from the Qian family to be the Salt Inspector. He knows the family inside and out and can serve the court while also benefiting the people."

Wang Zhao was stunned.

Enter the Salt Inspectorate?

That is the official appointed by the court.

Since ancient times, merchants have had a low status and were not even qualified to take the imperial examinations, let alone become officials.

The Qian family does deserve a reward, but it may not be that easy for Prince Song to break this rule. Once a precedent is set, it will be like opening a hole in the wall, and the next hundred people will follow suit.

How will the court govern the country?

Wang Zhao thought for a while and then said, "I understand your Highness's intentions, but the Qian family is a merchant family after all. Reducing taxes is the most appropriate way to reward them. If you suddenly grant them an official position, it will break the rules and attract criticism. The Qian family itself cannot afford it. If rumors start to spread, how can your Highness stop the world from talking?"

Song Yunzhi thought of this.

"This is not without precedent in past dynasties. Once the Qian family entered government service, they ceased their commercial activities." He said, "I'm not being partial, nor am I acting for personal gain. Without the support of the Qian family's Seventh Lady, our journey wouldn't have been so smooth. It's still uncertain whether Yangzhou's commerce could be taken over by the imperial court."

He sticks to the facts.

"From the day we arrived in Yangzhou, it was Miss Qian Qi who was secretly scheming for us. From the Cui and Lu families to the Park family and the King of Pyeongchang, it seemed she acted eccentrically and took unconventional approaches, but she always put the people's livelihood first. In terms of merit, she has always paved the way for the cases we were investigating. In terms of virtue, she set up a porridge stall to provide porridge to the displaced, rescued those trapped in the pawnshops, and provided them with opportunities to earn money to support their families."

"If you are afraid of not rewarding meritorious service, when the next war breaks out, what reason will the wealthy have to support the court and serve the people and the country? How will the younger generations who are ready to show their talents view our Great Yu court?"

——

Qian Tong originally planned to eavesdrop, but halfway through, Azhu, who was guarding the sea, came back. Qian Tong took him to a deserted place and listened to his report.

Ah Zhu said, "My lady, everything is ready. The Qian family's merchant ship will arrive at the Dengzhou Strait in two days."

On the night when the Third Lady assassinated the Prince of Song, Qian Tong's warship was hijacked by bandits from the mountain stronghold. There was indeed food on the ship, but hidden under the food were gunpowder and swords and guns.

After the warship that Da Mozi gave her was hijacked by the people from the copycat Duan family, it never came to the shore again. It wandered around the back sea, mixed in with a group of pirates, confusing the sight of the Park family.

As soon as Park Huailang leaves Dengzhou, the Qian family's merchant ships will lead the way with Park Damozi's pass, and the Duan family's warships hidden among the pirates will follow closely behind, stage a "robbery" of the Qian family, and take advantage of the chaos to open fire on the Park family.

Since Park Huailang is not here and Park Dae-mo will not get involved, now is the best time to attack the strait line.

Qian Tong said: "I will find a way to keep Pu Huailang in Yangzhou and capture the Strait Line within three days."

Ah Zhu: "Yes."

——

Not knowing what stage the three of them had discussed, Qian Tong planned to go back to the Qian family to check. Just as he reached the door, the Qian family maid who was taking care of Song Yunzhao came in hurriedly, her face pale and panicked, "Madam, Madam Song is missing..."