Chapter 136: The Shocking Upheaval Begins in the Domains...
Qi Chengming's eyes widened.
He had the good fortune to see the waterfall at Mount Lu before his journey, especially since he specifically chose the rainy season. Although the experience was terrible due to the crowds, all his complaints turned into exclamations of amazement the moment he actually saw the waterfall.
The hazy mist and rain obscured the clear sky, creating layers upon layers of darkness. Amidst the overwhelming whiteness, surging waves roared and crashed down from immense heights, making it impossible to distinguish where the mountains ended and the sky began.
From that moment on, Qi Chengming was completely convinced. He realized that Li Bai's poem "Looking at the Waterfall at Mount Lu" was not an exaggeration at all; it was clearly a realistic depiction!
Qi Chengming stretched out his finger and slowly traced some outlines on the canvas.
In this ink wash landscape painting, it's as if a waterfall suddenly extends from the clouds and cascades down, making the first person who sees the painting question it and probably even ridicule it as nonsense.
However, the image effectively captures the vast and magnificent impact of the waterfall, making the viewer feel as if they are actually there.
"It's so realistic." Qi Chengming praised it highly, finally understanding the significance of He Dajia being summoned to the palace by Emperor Hongren in the original story.
He was in a good mood.
Are the people thanking him for his decision to build the chicken and duck farm?
Qi Chengming found this guess somewhat absurd. After all, his public identity was that of a merchant's son, and he had absolutely nothing in common with a scholar from a wealthy family like the He family, nor were they from the same social class. But he couldn't think of any other reason; this was the only one that came to mind.
Someone as talented as He Dajia should theoretically have a strong sense of pride, yet he is so... approachable and unpretentious?
Qi Chengming became more interested in people.
So far, all his guesses and initial impressions of He Dajia have been overturned, and the contrast is astonishing.
—Every single time.
"Please convey my thanks to Lord He. I like it very much." Qi Chengming carefully rolled up the painting. He decided to hang it in the flower hall of the Prince's Mansion when he got back. This was the first treasure he had acquired.
Now Qi Chengming is determined to win over this Lord He. He will continue to write to Lord He after he leaves, using some tricks to maintain the friendship as much as possible, and then when they meet in the palace in the future, he will turn Lord He into his old friend.
Qi Chengming was secretly pleased with his plans as he bid farewell to his page.
He then stayed in Guanyang for two more days. The time spent exchanging letters, plus the time spent searching for chicken and duck eggs to hatch and build a factory, was too long. Qi Chengming would not live to see that day. He stayed to copy the prescription and to carefully go over each step of the plan with Magistrate Huo and Lord He. Only after they all understood it did he feel at ease and prepare to leave.
However, Qi Chengming's original plan to travel to the south of the Yangtze River was suddenly aborted.
On the day he received the letter, he was listening to Steward Hua report on which ship they were planning to finalize. Ever since word of the locust plague in the area spread, fewer merchant ships had been passing by—fewer ships heading from Guanyang towards Jiangnan. Even those that were going there wouldn't use the rivers and waterways here anymore.
Then hurried footsteps could be heard outside the door.
Qin Liusong single-handedly managed Qi Chengming's entire administrative team while he was away. He hurried over with a letter in his hand, looking somewhat worried: "Your Highness! Urgent letter from Liuzhou!"
What situation was so urgent that Mr. Qin blurted out his usual form of address?
Qi Chengming's heart sank, and he quickly took the letter and opened it.
Seeing this, Steward Hua stepped aside, waiting anxiously. He dared not leave, yet feared he would get in the way, so he could only keep a close eye on the prince's reaction, hoping to receive some instructions.
This letter was written by Steward Song.
His handwriting was far less elegant than usual, bordering on messy. The letter didn't even contain a greeting; it immediately explained that Prefect Lu had received news from the capital that was unsubstantiated, its veracity uncertain, but something that required their vigilance.
Since the Wangji ration coupons became popular in the south, this matter gradually came into the view of people in the capital, but it had never caused much of a stir. Until now, it seems to have attracted the attention of some officials, and some people want to test the waters.
Qi Chengming remained relatively calm when he saw this.
He had long anticipated this day: "His judgment was pretty good."
In fact, during his more than one month away from home, Qi Chengming witnessed a great deal of chaos and disorder in various places. Although it could not be said that people were living in misery everywhere, the oppressive pain made it impossible to conclude that the lives of ordinary people were "okay".
What he found absurd was that this dark background tone, if placed in the original novel, could be described as "Emperor Hongren's reign was neither meritorious nor demeritful, and he could be considered a wise ruler who maintained the status quo."
This? A wise and conservative ruler? Are you kidding me?
Qi Chengming's emotions were fiercely resisting this assessment, but his reason reluctantly told him—that's how it was for people in ancient times.
Civil and military officials, gentry, and commoners—these constitute the middle and upper echelons of the imperial rule. As long as they can still live comfortably, and the country hasn't deteriorated to the point where the lowest-ranking commoners revolt in anger, and there are no devastating wars or defeats, nor any major natural disasters, then this dynasty can be considered quite good.
Even if the emperor in this situation was someone who enjoyed killing for pleasure, violated human ethics, or indulged in bizarre and ingenious tricks, it wouldn't matter much. At most, the "wise" in "a wise and benevolent ruler who maintains the status quo" would be removed, and he would still be considered a good emperor whose merits outweigh his flaws.
The common people at the very bottom of society... never experience a truly good life; they only experience suffering or even more suffering, the difference between surviving and not surviving.
In other words... if Emperor Hongren's rule continues in this state, as long as the silver note system doesn't collapse too drastically, this enormous carriage can still barely survive, continuing to race along with its nearly broken parts, until the mess is handed over to the next person.
However--
Some people in Beijing noticed Qi Chengming's "ticket".
What does this represent?
Qi Chengming had a vague premonition of this from the moment he began establishing his money shops in various places:
This likely signifies that... the credibility of government-issued banknotes has further declined, reaching a critical point. Only when the negative impact of this incident sweeps through the middle ranks will his banknote system truly come under the scrutiny of the capital.
Then came the testing.
After a series of back-and-forth struggles, when Qi Chengming felt the time was right, he would wait and see who would reap the rewards. At that point, Qi Chengming would become his patron. He would then appear before the public as a capable prince, participating in the struggle for the throne.
—The letter now only signifies that Qi Chengming's prediction has come true, and the dynasty has entered a new, even more dire phase. The snowflakes supporting the throne are collapsing faster and faster.
Even if he doesn't stay in Liuzhou, the arrangements he made will still circulate in the money shops. Prefect Mu is no pushover; his studies in finance are showing initial results, making him a formidable asset even among people in ancient times.
However, Steward Song then wrote in the letter...
It is suspected that someone representing another prince will travel to Liuzhou, hoping for his return.
Qi Chengming's expression suddenly turned serious: "..."
At a time like this? When he wasn't in Liuzhou?
"You haven't read it yet, Mr. Qin?" Qi Chengming handed the letter to Qin Liusong and waited for him to finish reading it. Qin Liusong's expression also turned as ugly as Qi Chengming's.
“This letter has been traveling by water for over a month. We didn’t leave a specific address, and the messenger has been delayed for a long time,” Qin Liusong said solemnly. “Your Highness, we must return immediately.”
Although he didn't know if they would make it in time or what would happen next, Qi Chengming felt a heavy weight in his heart. He reached a consensus with Qin Liusong and looked up at Butler Hua: "Did you hear that? We're returning as quickly as possible!"
Butler Hua didn't understand what was going on, but he was affected by the heavy atmosphere and agreed to leave quickly.
Qi Chengming had time to ponder the remaining time, but he couldn't understand it: "Why would there be other people's men?" They were so precisely targeting Liuzhou to test him.
“Perhaps that makes sense.” Qin Liusong considered for a moment and said, “Your Highness, they don’t need to investigate whether you are related to this force. They may just want to find out if you are not behind this private currency in the South.”
That's a bit of a mouthful.
Regardless of which prince's men are among them, they may want to uncover this illicit currency, hoping to gain some benefit and seize this lucrative opportunity. At the same time, their presence in the south will only make them uneasy. It would be enough for them to also ascertain that the Second Prince is uninvolved in this matter.
"...I really made a mistake." Qi Chengming sighed in frustration.
The southern states were his strongholds, and he had sufficient means to conceal this currency, at least preventing it from immediately revealing its connection to him. So there was nothing to fear about this matter.
Who knew—he just happened to be out in private!
This little trick of secretly testing the waters hit his Achilles' heel perfectly. No matter what Liuzhou was like now, he needed to get back as quickly as possible and make an appearance. At least he couldn't arouse suspicion.
Qi Chengming calculated the time, feeling half confident and half uncertain.
He made multiple preparations to go out. First, the Prince's mansion would pretend that he was still there as usual, and the officials in Liuzhou would tacitly cooperate in the pretense. In addition, the five young men in the back street could also dress up as him and give people a glimpse from a distance.
But all of these can only buy time.
If the person trying to find out is determined, or wants to get close enough to test his knowledge of the money exchange, he only needs to take one look to know that the person is not him.
Qi Chengming is now praying that the person who came is not someone of high status, someone who can only hide their identity. Otherwise, if he is refused an audience with the Prince's Mansion, he will not give up and will come up with new tricks.
What he had to do was... go back before things got to that point.
The group at the inn packed up very quickly, and Gan Tang handled all the trivial matters efficiently. Now they were just waiting for news from the ship to set off. Qi Chengming didn't have time to exchange pleasantries and say goodbye to the people of Guanyang County. He simply wrote a few farewell letters and had them delivered, which served as his final farewell.
Then……
To Qi Chengming's surprise, He Dajia, who was panting and running around rather unceremoniously, arrived at the dock with her page.
"Let... Phew, Young Master Qi! Let me, He, come along!" He Daren was still out of breath. "I heard there's been some trouble here? Although I'm from a collateral branch, my family is still a prominent clan in the south. There's always something we can do to help!"
Qi Chengming frowned slightly, feeling troubled and only wanting to refuse: "..."
He had previously been envious of He Dajia's talent, but now he had no interest in it at all, nor did he have the mind to think about why He Dajia was rushing over to be so close to him, the son of a merchant.
Before he could refuse, He Dajia lowered his voice and clapped his hands anxiously, "Oh dear, Your Highness...! This humble official, this humble official met the young master of the Marquis of Weiyong's mansion when I was waiting for my post in the capital!"
Qi Chengming's pupils dilated in shock: "...!"
Qin Liusong, standing nearby, also stared in disbelief. His expression went beyond mere anger and astonishment: "...?!"
I'm even a little annoyed that someone sneaked away from me.
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