Chapter 77
Li Song closed his eyes and tapped his fingers lightly on the table, making a regular "tap-tap" sound.
"Giving out porridge coupons...it seems flawless, but it's not without flaws." He slowly opened his eyes, a cold glint in his eyes. "Her biggest flaw is her promise itself."
Wu Jing's eyes lit up. "Grand Master, you mean... the salt from Shu?"
"That's right," Li Song sneered. "She's raised the people's expectations too high. She's giving out porridge and handing out coupons, and everyone knows about it. The whole city is waiting for her salt. What if... this batch of salt doesn't reach the capital?"
Wu Jing gasped, "Grand Master, do you want to...do it on the road?"
"Taking action on the official road is foolish." Li Song shook his head. "The fleet is escorted by soldiers and is too conspicuous. But the waterway is long, and there are always mistakes. For example, when the ships need to resupply at an inconspicuous ferry..."
His voice was low and cold, like a venomous snake.
"Besides, we don't have to do it ourselves. There are always people who are more anxious than us." Li Song's eyes grew dark. "Those salt merchants in the capital who used to rely on us to stockpile salt are now all dead, with nothing left. They hate the Prince of Yan's Mansion to the core."
Wu Jing understood: "I understand. To kill someone with a borrowed knife and put the blame on someone else. If something happens to this batch of salt on the way, then the resentment of the people, coupled with the anger of Your Majesty, will be enough to burn Shen Yanzhi and Song Qingyuan to ashes!"
"Go ahead." Li Song waved his hand. "Remember, do it cleanly. Don't leave any traces pointing to us."
"Yes." Wu Jing bowed and retreated.
Li Song was the only one left in the study. He walked to the window and looked at the gray sky outside, a sinister smile on his face.
"Song Qingyuan, Shen Yanzhi...whatever you gave to me and Hong'er, I will return double. I hope you can accept this great gift from me."
At the same time, outside the capital, in a dilapidated house.
A dozen men with stern faces were sitting together. The leader was none other than Qian Wanjin, the powerful salt merchant who once dominated the salt market in the capital.
Since the failure of the Salt War, he fell from the clouds to the quagmire, lost all his wealth, and was burdened with debts.
"Mr. Qian, are we just going to let it go like this? Those tens of thousands of taels of silver I earned were all hard-earned money!" A businessman slapped his thigh, his face full of resentment.
"Forget it? How can I possibly let it go?" Qian Wanjin slammed the table, his eyes gleaming with resentment. "It's all because of that bitch and that cripple from Prince Yan's Mansion! They've cut off our financial resources, and you still want to be good people in the capital? Pah!"
At this moment, a servant hurried in from outside and whispered something in his ear.
Qian Wanjin's eyes lit up instantly. He waved his hand to let the servants retreat, then lowered his voice and said mysteriously to the crowd, "Everyone, an opportunity to avenge your grievances and make a comeback has been delivered to your door. It depends on whether you have the courage to do it."
A bigger storm is brewing in secret.
At this time, in Prince Yan's Mansion, Song Qingyuan looked at the statistical figures sent back from the porridge stall and the praises from the people, but felt a little uneasy in his heart.
Everything went so smoothly.
It went so smoothly, like the calm before the storm.
She looked at Shen Yanzhi who was looking at a map. On the map, a red line snaked out from Shu and went all the way to the capital. That was the route of the salt transport fleet.
"Yanzhi," she said softly, "I always feel that Li Song won't give up so easily. He's like a poisonous snake lurking in the shadows. The more prosperous we are, the harder he bites."
Shen Yanzhi raised his head, held her hand, and said soothingly: "I understand. I have asked Lin Feng to be more careful on the road, and have sent more people to meet him at every post station."
"It's easy to dodge an open attack, but it's hard to guard against an arrow from the dark." Song Qingyuan's brows remained furrowed. "What I'm worried about is not the official power, but those... inferior means."
Her words seemed like a prophecy.
Just then, Zhao Lin walked in quickly from outside with a serious expression.
"Prince, Princess, something happened!"
He presented a secret letter sent back by carrier pigeon. The letter paper was a little blurred because it was soaked in water.
"When the fleet passed Qingfeng Ferry, it encountered a group of unidentified pirates! Although we fought desperately and repelled the pirates, but..."
Zhao Lin's voice was a little hoarse. "Two salt ships had their bottoms pierced and sank!"
Shen Yanzhi’s face instantly darkened.
Song Qingyuan's heart also sank suddenly.
What you fear will come to you.
“How much salt was lost?” Shen Yanzhi’s voice was cold.
"Nearly...nearly 50,000 stones."
Fifty thousand stones!
This is almost a quarter of the total amount of the first batch of well salt!
What's even more fatal is that once this news gets back to the capital...
The people's morale, which had just been appeased by the "salt coupons", would explode in an instant!
All their previous efforts will be in vain!
"Investigate!" Shen Yanzhi slammed his fist on the table, causing the teacups on the table to jump up. "Investigate! What kind of pirates dared to touch the imperial court's official ship? There must be someone behind this!"
"Your Highness, please calm down." Song Qingyuan took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. "Now is not the time to be angry. How long can the news be blocked?"
Zhao Lin replied, "Lord Lin Feng immediately cordoned off the scene and apprehended all boatmen and guards who knew about the incident. But the Qingfeng Ferry is crowded with people and eyes, so I'm afraid... we can't keep it secret for long."
"Li Song..." A hint of coldness flashed in Song Qingyuan's eyes.
She was almost certain that this was Li Song's work.
First, use rumors to shake people's hearts, and then deal her a fatal blow when she is most high-profile and popular.
This move is both accurate and ruthless.
"Now, we have two choices." Song Qingyuan looked at Shen Yanzhi and analyzed very quickly, "First, report to the emperor immediately and ask for support from the court to thoroughly investigate this matter. But doing so would be tantamount to admitting our failure, and Li Song's goal would be achieved. If the emperor is furious, you and I will be severely punished."
"Secondly," she paused, a look of determination flashing in her eyes, "we ourselves must fill this hole."
Shen Yanzhi looked at her: "How to make up for it? Fifty thousand stones of salt is not a small amount. Where can we get so much salt in such a short time?"
All the salt routes around the capital were controlled by the government and the major families. It was impossible for them to produce 50,000 stones of salt without alerting anyone.
Song Qingyuan was silent for a moment, his mind racing.
Suddenly, her eyes fell on a map hanging on the wall. It was a map of the entire territory of Daliang. Her gaze slowly moved from the capital to the east, landing on the azure area.
The sea.
An idea so bold as to be almost crazy suddenly took shape in her mind.
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