The Incense Monopoly Order

Chapter 184 Grain Confiscated
The temporarily reinforced dike did not hold back the flood for long. Three days later, it was washed away by the raging river and the torrential rain.

The pre-dredged river channels diverted the floodwaters, preventing them from flooding the city entirely. Only some of the houses of residents who had been evacuated were affected. As the torrential rain continued, more and more areas were submerged, and some residents who had not been evacuated were left to sit on their rooftops and wail in despair overnight.

With no place in the city to accommodate the disaster victims, Shang Mingshu, who had made preparations in advance, was the first to open the ancestral hall to receive them.

The Shang clan members were very dissatisfied with this. Ever since they learned that Shang Mingshu was making these preparations, they had made several troubles with Shang Jinliang. As the disaster worsened and many families ran out of food, they had no choice but to bow down to Shang Jinliang.

With the Shang family taking the lead, the Yao family followed closely behind, and the Cheng family provided strong support. They also opened their ancestral halls to accommodate the disaster victims. Others followed suit, opening their ancestral halls under the persuasion of Prefect He. The problem of settling the disaster victims was thus solved.

"If this rain doesn't stop, something terrible is going to happen!" Shang Jinliang sighed as he watched the rain continue unabated, unlike the torrential downpours of the past few days, but with no sign of letting up.

All the grain and supplies they could donate were donated and distributed to the disaster victims by the government. Shang Jinliang, who was in charge of coordinating the distribution, roughly calculated that they could last for at most five days. After five days, these merchants with some savings could barely squeeze out a share, but it would be a drop in the ocean.

“Ten days.” Shang Wenshu stood under the eaves, her brows furrowed. “If the weather doesn’t clear up in ten days, the disaster victims will surely cause trouble.”

As Shang Jinliang's accountant, she was more accurate than Shang Jinliang himself.

"We can still have enough to eat and wear for ten days..." Shang Mingshu's gaze fell vaguely on the impenetrable rain curtain.

She knew that the other disaster-stricken villagers who had been relocated to temples and other places were probably already starving. Given the situation in the prefectural city, it was impossible to send more grain to support them. It all depended on the arrangements made by Prefect He. However, since they were trapped, the danger was not as great as that inside the city.

"Third Sister, what if..." Shang Zishu didn't want to say anything discouraging, but she couldn't help but prepare for the worst, "What if this rain continues for another ten days...?"

It was Shang Mingshu who took the lead in sheltering the disaster victims in the ancestral hall. Once the food supply was cut off, these disaster victims would definitely cause trouble in the ancestral hall. The ancestral hall enshrines the ancestors of the Shang family. If anything goes wrong, the clansmen can use this as an excuse to make Shang Mingshu atone for her sins with her death.

"I will send a message to Hemu as soon as I get home. If he doesn't come within two days, something might have happened." When Shang Mingshu returned to Shexian County, she sensed something was wrong and asked Shang Jinliang to buy grain in the city. At the same time, she sent a message to Hemu to buy grain outside and send it overland.

Because the torrential rain washed away many mountain roads, it was not easy to deliver the supplies. But Hemu will definitely find a way to get them in. There must be some kind of obstacle preventing them from coming in.

The rain fell like a cascade of hemp seeds, ceaseless and unending.

The iron eaves were struck by the rain, making a clattering sound, like a watchman's drum urging on the night watch, or a funeral bell tolling.

Three days later, Shang Mingshu received a letter wrapped in three layers of oilcloth, still damp at one corner, delivered by He Mu with great difficulty.

The grain he collected was blocked at Jimingdu. A powerful group was eyeing the grain, and he tried to seek help from the government, but the government kept making excuses.

“Third sister…” Shang Wenshu stood behind Shang Mingshu, her eyes showing worry after reading the contents of the letter.

"I have to go myself." Shang Mingshu looked up and instructed, "The affairs of the family will have to be handled by my eldest and second sisters."

Shang Jinliang helped Prefect He deal with the disaster, and Xiao Yushi contracted typhoid fever. Recently, Shang Mingshu has been in charge of the household affairs, and Shang Wenshu and Shang Zishu have been busy with various matters and are well aware of the situation.

"No!" Shang Wenshu stopped her. "The rain hasn't stopped, and the waterways are difficult to travel. If you want to get out, you need to go by land. I've heard that there have been landslides in many places, and the teahouses and inns along the way are closed. You won't even be able to find a place to rest. How can I just watch you go on such a risk?"

“Eldest sister, the day we run out of food will be the day of popular uprising. Even the prefect might not be able to suppress the starving people. The refugees in the ancestral hall could turn into a fire and burn our entire Shang family to the ground…” Shang Mingshu turned and walked into her courtyard, instructing He Sui to prepare their belongings. Shang Wenshu, with Shang Zishu following behind, said, “Third sister, there’s always a way out. I don’t believe this rain can last another ten days! Since each household is willing to take in the disaster victims, they must have a backup plan…”

Even the merchants themselves have made the worst-case scenario plans long ago.

Shang Mingshu did not stop and went to the inner palace.

Shang Zishu, who had been silent all along, reached out to stop Shang Wenshu: "Eldest sister, let third sister go. She is more shrewd than you and me. This time, third sister has spent a lot of money to raise grain. She will not let anyone take her things. Every family must have emergency plans hidden behind their backs. If we force every family to expose their life-saving methods, we Shang family will probably find it difficult to move an inch in Huizhou Prefecture in the future."

Shang Wenshu glanced at Shang Zishu, who was supporting Shang Mingshu, and then at Shang Mingshu, who had changed into a more athletic outfit. Knowing that she couldn't persuade her, she felt a little frustrated but had no choice but to say, "I can't stop you. My second sister and I will protect the family. I only ask that you return safely."

She wasn't worried about Shang Mingshu falling into someone's trap; not many people had that ability. What she feared was that Shang Mingshu would suffer from a natural disaster. If anything happened to Shang Mingshu, she didn't dare to imagine how her mother and father could bear it.

Shang Mingshu handed a musket to Shang Zishu, then turned to Shang Wenshu and said, "Elder sister, I will return safely."

She didn't bring many people with her, even leaving the He Sui sisters behind. By the time Shang Jinliang returned home, she had already left the city.

After listening to Shang Wenshu's account of the whole story, Shang Jinliang remained silent for a long time before finally letting out a deep sigh.

His daughter was too opinionated to be controlled, so he only instructed her to keep it a secret from the seriously ill Madam Yu.

Traveling under the stars and braving the rain, Shang Mingshu and her entourage, draped in oilcloth raincoats, galloped across muddy mountain paths, their hooves pounding potholes and splashing up muddy sprays of water.

"My lady, these people are behaving strangely." Seeing Shang Mingshu arrive, He Mu finally found his pillar of support.

"What's strange about it?" After a quick wash, Shang Mingshu picked up her rice bowl, not caring about anything else, and tried to find out what was going on from He Mu while eating.

“At first, I thought they wanted to seize the grain, but after these two days of probing, they don’t seem to want to plunder it. I’m still not sure what they’re up to,” He Mu replied, bowing slightly.

"Has the origin of this place been traced?"

He Mu: "They are sailors from the Anqing Gang."

"Anqing Gang?" Shang Mingshu paused, her chopsticks still in her hand, but her thoughts raced as she continued eating.

The Anqing Gang was a civilian organization formed by canal sailors. More than a decade ago, the gang colluded with salt merchants to smuggle Huai salt, which aroused a strict investigation by the imperial court and was about to break up the organization.

A few years ago, Japanese pirates harassed the southeastern coast, disrupting the grain transport. The imperial court transferred some grain transport soldiers and members of sailor guilds to the coastal defense army. The Anqing gang not only reunited but also received standardized military training.

This has allowed it to grow stronger and stronger, to the point that even the government no longer interferes with it.

(End of this chapter)