94. Chapter 94
"none"
Huaibei Lingxing Salt Field.
Du Denian, guarding the salt warehouse gate, had been here for nearly twenty years. Although it was spring and the seaside wind was strong and cold, he still held a red copper hand warmer, his puffy eyes half-lidded, and yawned.
Looking at the setting sun, he sucked his teeth and murmured, "Another day has passed. Tomorrow, it looks like it will be fine weather again."
The little minion Zhuzi stood at a distance for a moment, his eyes flickering, and he came running over with his back bent. When he reached Du Denian, he bowed and called him "Master."
Zhuzi pulled out a jar and a bag of dried bamboo shoots from his bosom and presented them to me, his face full of smiles as he fawned over me, "Master, these are rice wine and bamboo shoots my mother made, specially brought to you as a gift. My mother's cooking is amazing. It's cold tonight, and the bamboo shoots mixed with the rice wine are incredibly fragrant and perfect for warming me up."
Du Denian's face, bruised by years of sea breeze and the salt from the saltworks, was already as dark and red as Guan Gong's. But now, hearing Zhuzi's flattery and tribute, he wasn't pleased. Instead, he sank, his expression even more sinister than that of the King of Hell.
Zhuzi's flattery hit the horse's leg, and the ingratiating smile on his face froze there.
"You idiot!" Du Denian lowered his voice and cursed through gritted teeth, "I've told you long ago that you have to do your job well these days. If anything goes wrong, watch out for your head!"
Zhuzi was a distant relative of Du Denian, and even one generation older than him. Because of this relationship, Zhuzi got a lucrative job guarding the salt warehouse.
If you don't have connections, you can't get a job at the salt field. All the people working there are relatives, and various forces are entrenched.
Du Denian's swollen eyes widened a little, revealing a sinister look in them. He squinted at Zhuzi with extreme disgust and reached out to snatch the wine jar and dried bamboo shoots from his hands.
After collecting the things, Du Denian kicked Zhuzi on the butt and said viciously, "Get in here now! Be alert and I'll have to keep a closer eye on you tonight!"
Zhuzi rubbed his butt, turned sideways, and scurried off to the gatehouse. While Du Denian wasn't looking, he snorted quietly, cursing inwardly, "You bastard, you're always showing off, but you're just a guard dog. You really think you're the boss, and I'm your father! You took all that dirty money and stuffed it all in your own pocket, enjoying the good life while giving us a few sips of leftover soup. You're such a rotten hearted person, you'll lose your head one day!"
The dried bamboo shoots Zhuzi's mother made were delicious and sweet. Du Denian tucked the wine jar under his arm and chewed the dried bamboo shoots from their oil-paper wrapper. He gazed along the deeply rutted road ahead, calculating how much money he could earn tonight.
It cost half a penny to pass a car, and there were a lot of cars coming and going these days, especially at night, when there were probably over a hundred cars passing by, which meant fifty taels of silver.
Fifty taels!
After deducting the tributes he paid to his superiors, Du Denian could pocket nearly thirty taels of silver. Once all the salt in the warehouse was sold, he could buy a five-story house in Yancheng, even in Yangzhou, where every inch of land was worth a fortune, and enjoy the comfortable life of a salt merchant.
Du Denian's blood boiled with thought, but then a touch of regret came over him. The traffic had been running non-stop for the past few nights, and the salt in the warehouse was almost empty.
There are not many businesses like this that can make you a fortune, and they won't be able to do it for a few more days. It all depends on what the court does next and whether they want to take action against these salt merchants.
Every time they make a move, they make a fortune.
People can't live without salt, but you can't eat it as a meal, otherwise you will choke to death. Where did all this salt go? Du Denian only knew that the court had changed its attitude and it must have offended the salt merchants.
Over the years, no matter how closely the imperial court kept a close eye on the salt merchants, once the storm died down, everything remained the same. Salt merchants had prospered for centuries, even millennia. Even with the ups and downs of some families, the trade remained resilient.
Du Denian stood in the sunset. He had eaten most of the dried bamboo shoots in the oil-paper package and felt thirsty.
He turned and went into the duty room, gulped down a cup of tea, and ate a bowl of plain noodles. Du Denian pulled himself together, gave his men some instructions, hung his saddlebag around his waist, and began his shift.
Just as dusk fell, the mule cart drove up. The man who looked like a manager sitting in front of the cart showed his face to Du Denian.
Du Denian shone his lantern over and saw Chen Cai, the owner of Chen Jinwen's family, one of Yangzhou's most powerful salt merchants. He quickly made way for the mule carts that drove in. He stood aside, counting the number of mule carts.
After the twenty mule carts had passed, about half an hour later, the mule carts came out again, their shafts creaking, and the ruts in the road were a bit deeper than before.
Chen Cai sat in the last mule cart. When the cart arrived at the door, Du Denian walked up to him, took the bag he took out from his sleeve, and squeezed it quickly.
Du Denian understood and stuffed the bag into his saddlebag with satisfaction.
After the Chen family's carriage passed, the Wang family's carriage arrived. Du Denian stayed up until midnight, still energetic, the bag around his waist so heavy that it tilted to one side.
Thinking of tonight's income, Du Denian was filled with joy. He grabbed the rice wine that Zhuzi had brought earlier, broke the mud seal, raised his head and drank it in one gulp.
The rice wine was sweet and refreshing, soothing Du Denian's internal organs. Despite the howling sea breeze, carrying a damp and fishy smell, he felt so refreshed that he wanted to laugh out loud.
More lanterns appeared ahead, flickering red in the pitch-black night. Du Denian counted on his fingers: over seventy mule carts had already passed, and there were still more than ten in the warehouse.
At this amount, it’s only halfway through the night, so I’m going to make a fortune tonight!
Du Denian drank a few gulps of rice wine from the jar, burped, and walked forward holding the Qisifeng Lantern.
The lantern flashing red light gradually approached. Du Denian raised the lantern in his hand, tried to open his swollen eyes to look at it, and his face changed instantly.
In the dark night, a soldier in uniform riding on a tall horse held a lantern in his hand, and behind him followed a large group of people.
Du Denian had a hunch that something was wrong, and he screamed at the top of his lungs, "Who's coming?"
A majestic voice came from the crowd: "I am Li Guangdi, and I am here to inspect the salt fields under the order of the Emperor!"
Du Denian had certainly heard of Li Guangdi's fame. He wanted to step forward to greet him, but found his legs unable to move, and could only watch helplessly as the men and horses entered.
"Everyone inside, come out, otherwise, I will kill you without mercy!"
"Kill without mercy!"
After the earth-shaking shouts, there was a chaotic sound of footsteps, arrows, and howling.
Du Denian dropped the Qisifeng Lantern in his hand and started to run. Zhuzi was hiding in the gatehouse, trembling, and when he saw Du Denian running away, he subconsciously followed him.
Behind him, the soldiers shouted angrily: "Stop!"
Du Denian's head was buzzing, and the alcohol was rising and churning in his chest. He ran with all his might, one foot deep and one foot shallow. He knew that if he was caught, he and his entire family would be executed.
As for where he could run to, Du Denian didn't know.
There had been incidents in the saltworks over the years. Many had been exiled or beheaded after being caught. As long as one escaped this, they could continue to drink and enjoy the company of prostitutes.
Arrows whizzed past my ears, and the smell of iron overwhelmed the smell of the sea and hit my nose directly.
Zhuzi's legs went weak, he was so scared that his soul was about to flee. He cried out in surrender, "I won't run away anymore, I won't run away! My Lord, I didn't do anything wrong. It's all his fault, it's all his fault!"
All old grudges and new hatreds came to his mind. It was all because of Du Denian, who was so greedy!
Relying on the job he found for him, he would bully him, pee and shit on him, and extort him all day long.
Zhuzi knew very well what they had done. The salt merchants colluded with the government and took the salt out to sell secretly.
When they heard that the imperial court was going to regulate the salt industry, they started making trouble again. They deliberately hid the salt so that the people could not afford it, and instigated the people to stand up and rebel against the imperial court.
The salt merchants cried poor and said they couldn't make any money, blaming it on the rampant illegal salt trade.
Where do the private salt dealers come from? These damn salt merchants and the corrupt officials in the government are the biggest private salt dealers!
If they encountered someone who was disobedient and had a conscience, they would join forces and label him as a salt smuggler. They would collude with each other to harm people and then seize their property.
Zhuzi risked his life for evil, and the little money he earned was barely enough to even find a wife.
The salt merchants and officials made so much money that they paved the floors of their houses with gold. And the damned Du Denian bought a prostitute as a concubine who was as old as his granddaughter.
I heard that the concubine's body is very soft. Whenever Du Denian goes back to spend the night, he will look satisfied and his eyes will be dark. He is not afraid of dying on a woman!
These people, who only make a living by picking up a few coins that slip through their fingers, even risk their lives.
Zhuzi was filled with hatred and rushed forward recklessly. Du Denian was knocked to the ground by him. He shouted, "Sir, I have caught him!"
Du Denian was furious and anxious, thrashing about and hitting the pillars with his hands: "Get out of here, you're rebelling!"
The soldiers behind him rushed forward, tied up the two men and took them inside.
The tallow torches were lit, illuminating the warehouse as bright as day. Li Guangdi walked out of the warehouse and saw bags of snowflake salt in the open sacks in front of him, and a man kneeling on the ground with a drooping head. He felt indescribable indignation in his heart.
Right now these bastards have taken away all the salt from the salt field warehouse and are hoarding it at a high price.
Just as Qi You expected, he was ready to wait until the imperial court gave in to calm the people's grievances, and when the people became afraid and wanted to buy more salt to store, he would sell the contraband salt and make a fortune.
On the way here, Qi You said a few words casually.
Lord Li, you must not take it lightly. You must bring more soldiers from the garrison. You must also move them quickly and not let any news leak out.
They may be bolder than you think. People die for money and birds die for food. They are willing to let many people die for money.
Why can't we wipe out all the bandits in some places? Because they won't be completely wiped out. After they are wiped out, they will be of no use.
Li Guangdi knew this, and what Qi You said next almost chilled his heart.
Qi You said that most of the bandit leaders they sent over were unarmed civilians. They claimed credit for their deeds, and then killed those who disobeyed them to serve as a warning to others.
Many officials in the court reported on each other and eliminated dissidents. What was the difference between them?
From top to bottom, it's disgustingly rotten.
*
Chen Cai drove the mule cart to the dock, and the strong men waiting there rushed forward and quickly moved the sacks onto the boat.
After all the sacks were moved, Chen Cai breathed a sigh of relief and stood on the deck to look out. The sky in the distance had turned blue-gray.
Chen Cai loudly ordered the boatman to set sail with the favorable wind at dawn. Several boats quickly left the dock and sailed along the river towards Yangzhou.
The boat stopped and started, finally arriving in Yangzhou at night and stopping at a secluded spot outside the city. The strong men on board set up the deck and loaded the sacks onto the waiting mule carts.
The driver drove the mule cart through many twists and turns, entered an alley, and stopped in front of a door with a lantern hanging on it.
The door opened quickly, the threshold was removed, and the mule cart drove in. In the large courtyard, the flickering lanterns illuminated the shadows of people.
In the yard, in contrast to the layout of Changping Warehouse, there is a row of servants' rooms on the west side and rows of blue brick warehouses on the south side.
The mule cart stopped in front of the warehouse, and the driver hurried forward to help unload the cart. He pushed the sacks into the warehouse with a wheelbarrow, signed and sealed at the door, and received the reward money.
Chen Cai stood aside with his hands behind his back, personally watching over the situation, and from time to time he shouted, "Take the mule over there away, don't let it block the road!"
Upon hearing this, the driver hurriedly drove away with the empty mule cart. When he reached the gate, he saw a huge crowd of people and horses blocking the entrance. He instinctively pulled the reins and asked in a trembling voice, "Who are you?"
Chen Cai heard the noise outside the door and turned to look. His pupils instantly dilated and he waved his hands around, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Close the door! Close the door! The warehouse is a restricted area, no one can just barge in!"
The soldiers used the hilts of their swords to block the half-closed door and rushed in, raising their arrows and aiming at the strong man who was about to pounce: "If you move again, I will kill you without mercy!"
Qi You walked out of the crowd, turned around and looked around, and chuckled, "The warehouse is big enough!"
Chen Cai's Adam's apple rolled, and he shouted boldly, "Who is coming? This is not a place for you to come!"
Qi You ignored him and walked straight into the wide-open warehouse. When he smelled the strong salty smell, he couldn't help but smile with satisfaction.
The huge warehouse was filled with salt.
The person in front of him was wearing a military uniform. When Chen Cai saw Qi You's walking movements, he had already guessed who he was.
But Qi You did not reveal his identity, so Chen Cai pretended to be stupid and must not bump into him unless he was determined to rebel.
You can't escape anyway, so just delay it as long as possible.
Fear flashed in Chen Cai's eyes. He gritted his teeth and gave a few instructions to his attendant. The man listened, retreated into the darkness during the chaos, and ran away.
Qi You walked out, casually pulled over the warehouse manager's chair and sat down. He said to Chen Cai, who was standing there with a stern face, "You've been transporting salt from the salt fields day and night these days. It's just right. Thank you for your hard work."
Chen Cai was stunned for a moment, his mind raced, and his heart immediately sank.
The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it. It turns out that all their hard work has been used to serve as a scapegoat.
The people from the imperial court did not arrive at this time, but were using their manpower as labor to transport the salt from the salt fields.
Soon, Chen Jinwen arrived. He didn't pretend not to know Qi You. He stepped forward and saluted respectfully. Suppressing his uneasiness, he said, "Your Highness, why did you come to my storehouse?"
Qi You looked at the beads of sweat on Chen Jinwen's forehead and said calmly, "I'm here to open the warehouse and put salt in."
Chen Jinwen was stunned, but soon lost his composure and said indignantly, "Your Highness, I really don't understand what you're saying. The court wants to collect silver from those of us who have received salt tickets. For the sake of the Qing Dynasty, even if we are poor, we will grit our teeth and scrape together the silver and donate it to the court. But Your Highness just said a few words and forcibly confiscated my property. I really don't accept it!"
Qi You slowly stood up and walked forward, his expression as calm as ever.
Even though Chen Jinwen was knowledgeable and experienced, he was still frightened by Qi You's cold aura and stepped back repeatedly.
Qi You's eyes were filled with coldness, and he spoke in a voice neither too loud nor too soft, "Chen Jinwen, I'm not here to bargain with you, nor to settle your mess, to try you, or to sue you. The umbrella behind you can no longer protect you. It should be said that they can't protect themselves."
Chen Jinwen's face turned pale as paper, and he forced himself to shout, "Your Highness, I really don't understand what you are saying. The Chen family's salt tickets are obtained from the court, and we earn money honestly. May I ask, Your Highness, what crime have I committed that you wish to put me on trial?"
Qi You uttered an "oh," "I'm not going to interrogate you. You pulled the salt from the salt field and used it to sell contraband. Just based on this fact, your family is confiscated and you should be beheaded on the spot. Oh, Lord Li Guangdi is at the salt field, and he should have arrested a lot of people. Not just your Chen family, but other families as well."
When Chen Jin heard that it wasn't just the warehouse that was in trouble, but that the salt fields had also been hit, his shoulders slumped, his face pale, and he trembled, unable to speak.
Qi You said loudly, "Chen Jinwen, listen carefully! Go home and raise the money to pay back the salt tax you owe, or I will take your lives. But the days when you, the salt merchants, were as wealthy as a nation and could call the wind and rain, are gone forever!"
The author has something to say:
Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or provided nutrient solution between 2022-12-03 23:16:04 and 2022-12-04 23:27:23~
Thanks to the little angels who irrigated the nutrient solution: 100 bottles of Wen Qian's Qian; 1 bottle of Tian Zhou Zhou and Lu Xiao Mei Qing Lian;
Thank you very much for your support. I will continue to work hard!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
