Prime Minister

Chapter 149, Section 148: [Qiao Wangshan]

Yangzhou has many gardens, among which Ying Garden is the most beautiful, spacious and grand, followed by Xiu Garden.

Yingyuan Garden belongs to the Liu family, the head of the four families, while Xiuyuan Garden is owned by Qiao Wangshan, the patriarch of the Qiao family.

Xiuyuan Garden is located in the southwest of Yangzhou City. Its black tiles and white walls are hidden among green bamboos, and its rockeries in the four seasons are unique and ingenious.

In the northwest corner of the garden, Taihu stones are arranged in a way that resembles rolling clouds. Standing in the waterside pavilions and kiosks, one can feel the coolness of the lotus pond, which is a wonderful feeling in the hot summer.

"Back then, that fellow Liu Fu took a liking to Ying Garden at first sight and praised this Xiu Garden to the skies, fearing that I would compete with him for it. But as soon as I moved into Xiu Garden, he changed his tune and said that Ying Garden was the best of Yangzhou's famous gardens."

Qiao Wangshan sat in the rattan chair and sneered, "As the saying goes, it's easier to change mountains and rivers than to change one's nature. He's been hypocritical and shameless since he was a child, and now that he's old, he's even more shameless, actually teaming up with so many people to bully a junior. If Lord Xue Wensu were alive, do you think he would dare to stick his head out?"

Sitting opposite him, Shen Bingwen smiled and said leisurely, "What Lord Huaixiu said is fair."

Although Qiao Wangshan was over sixty years old, he was still in good spirits. Hearing Shen Bingwen's concise and to-the-point comments, he couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Thirty or forty years ago, the four families in Yangzhou were closely related by blood and intermarried, their ties were so strong that they were inseparable. For example, one of Qiao Wangshan's aunts was from the Liu family, and that blood connection could not be erased no matter what.

The fact that the Qiao family and the other three families are now estranged is not a change that happened overnight. Back when Xue Mingzhang was in charge of Yangzhou, Qiao Wangshan had already had disagreements with Liu Fu and others.

He believed that Xue Mingzhang was a capable minister worthy of being remembered in history, and that Jian was currently enjoying the emperor's favor. It would be extremely unwise to oppose him, so it would be better to honestly avoid confrontation for the time being and try to meet Xue Mingzhang's needs. Liu Fu and others were in their forties and full of self-satisfaction, so they naturally did not agree with Qiao Wangshan's opinion.

In those years, Xue Mingzhang, with the help of the Shen family's Guangtai Company, made the local powerful families suffer greatly. Liu Fu and others naturally hated this prefect. They were also dissatisfied with Qiao Wangshan and the Qiao family's repeated concessions, thus sowing the seeds of their estrangement.

The real break between the Liu and Qiao families began eight years ago, ultimately due to a conflict of interests. The two families engaged in fierce battles in various trades in Jiangnan, eventually leading to a situation where they would never speak to each other again.

Shen Bingwen used this time to further solidify the foundation of the Shen family. When Liu Fu and Qiao Wangshan temporarily stopped fighting and made peace, he looked back and saw that the Shen family had quietly squeezed into the top three of Yangzhou's wealthy merchants, leaving the Zheng, Wang, Bai, and Ge families behind, and forming a momentum of progress on par with the Liu and Qiao families.

During this time, Shen Bingwen and Qiao Wangshan naturally deepened their friendship. The two had a common enemy, and if they did not cooperate in depth, they would be defeated one by one by Liu Fu and his lackeys sooner or later.

As the laughter subsided, Qiao Wangshan asked with great interest, "Brother Bingwen, what do you think Liu Fu is up to this time?"

They also had well-connected sources of information and were not surprised by the actions of the Salt Transport Bureau. The court was in dire straits, and Xu Guanlan had ambitions to enter the central government, so he would naturally seize the opportunity to make a good impression on the emperor and the officials in the court.

A single event to identify a burial site could easily yield millions or even tens of millions of taels of silver, which was Xu Guanlan's most important political achievement.

Shen Bingwen said calmly, "He definitely wants to monopolize the newly added breeding grounds."

This is self-evident. For salt merchants, a salt depository was equivalent to a money exchange license. Only by possessing a salt depository could they apply to the Salt Transport Office for salt permits and sell salt within the designated area.

To date, the Yangzhou Salt Transport Office has issued a total of 82 salt permits, which have been monopolized by the eight major salt merchants. Small and medium-sized salt merchants can only be qualified to buy salt permits by attaching themselves to the eight major salt merchants.

The Salt Transport Bureau has not yet announced the specific rules for the reclamation ceremony. Xu Guanlan is a recluse who rarely sees outsiders, so even Shen Bingwen and Qiao Wangshan find it difficult to meet him. Therefore, the two can only guess at the Salt Transport Bureau's scheme.

Qiao Wangshan did not doubt that Liu Fu had the ability to take over the entire salt distribution center. Even though he looked down on the other party's hypocrisy and shamelessness, he had to admit that with the support of the Zheng, Wang, Bai, and Ge families, the Liu family could provide enough silver to satisfy the Salt Transport Bureau's appetite.

If Liu Fu ultimately succeeds, the power structure of the Lianghuai salt industry will inevitably be reshuffled, and those small and medium-sized salt merchants will definitely take the initiative to align themselves with Liu Fu. At that time, the Liu family can easily squeeze the living space of the Qiao and Shen families.

Based on this analysis and deduction, even if the Qiao and Shen families knew they were facing a deep pit, they would still have to put in all their effort to get a share of the pie in this nest-recognition event.

Thinking of this, Qiao Wangshan suppressed his smile and said, "We can't just sit by and watch him get what he wants."

"It's natural."

Shen Bingwen said frankly, "Lord Huaixiu, I've been having some trouble lately and need your help."

Knowing the Shen family's situation—first their branch moved north to Beijing, then they sought overseas trade routes—it was normal for them to be short of cash. So Qiao Wangshan generously said, "There's no need for formalities between us. Just have a few of your senior managers bring the regulations to Xiuyuan for a detailed discussion. In my humble opinion, the price for this 'nest adoption' event will definitely be high; each family will need to prepare at least 500,000 taels."

"That's what I think too."

Shen Bingwen nodded and said, "My family has prepared 200,000 taels of silver, and I hope that De'an can lend us 300,000 taels this time."

De'an was the name of the Qiao family's business, and it was one of the three major business firms in Yangzhou, along with the Liu family's Yutang and the Shen family's Guangtai. Qiao Wangshan certainly didn't believe that the Shen family could only come up with 200,000 taels. Someone like Shen Bingwen would definitely leave enough room for maneuver and backup. However, the Shen family's need for this home-recognition conference was far less urgent than the Qiao family's. Therefore, in a sense, this 300,000 taels was the condition for the Shen family's assistance.

He smiled and said, "No problem, I will have someone arrange it properly."

After finishing their business, Qiao Wangshan felt much more relaxed. He was an extremely talkative person, and Shen Bingwen was one of the few local figures he could admire, so the atmosphere in the hall was quite pleasant.

"Liu Fu has very strong connections in official circles. Not to mention Governor Chen and Salt Commissioner Xu, he also has connections with a prince in the capital."

Qiao Wangshan casually brought it up, looking at Shen Bingwen and saying, "I have something to say, but I don't know if I should."

Shen Bingwen said, "Please speak freely, Lord Huaixiu."

"After much thought, I think you might be able to persuade that Magistrate Xue. I believe he will respect your opinion."

Qiao Wangshan pondered and said, "His original intention was to think of the people of Yangzhou, which is beyond reproach. However, considering the actual situation, I think he might as well know when to stop and not have to go down with someone like Liu Fu."

Upon hearing him mention Xue Huai, Shen Bingwen calmly picked up his teacup, took a sip of the fine tea, and then slowly asked, "Why?"

"In the three months since Xue Tongzhi took office in Yangzhou, through his inspections of various places, he not only sowed discord among the officials in the prefectural government, but also obtained a considerable amount of clues and evidence that could influence the situation. However..."

Qiao Wangshan paused, then said with a slightly grave expression, "I don't think he can succeed in one fell swoop. Even someone as brilliant as Lord Xue Wensu, with the unwavering support of the Emperor and the backing of local talents like you, could only do his best to suppress the local powerful clans, not to eradicate them completely. My dear brother, you should know how difficult this is. Even if Magistrate Xue were to sweep away all obstacles with his divinely bestowed talent, I worry that he might not be able to leave Yangzhou alive."

Salt merchants were not simply merchants. In such a world, which large salt merchant didn't secretly keep a group of loyal followers?
If Xue Huai truly drives the powerful clans to their deaths, he will likely face extremely severe retaliation.

Seeing Shen Bingwen fall silent, Qiao Wangshan continued, "The most crucial thing is that the current court is not like it used to be. When Lord Xue was alive, the atmosphere in the court and the country was upright, and the national treasury was full. Yangzhou alone could not cause any trouble. But now... never mind, you should understand what I mean. The court will not allow chaos in Yangzhou, and it is even less likely to stand by and watch Xue Tongzhi disrupt the Salt Transport Office's arrangements."

Shen Bingwen understood, of course.

Ultimately, the imperial court was short of money and could not openly rob private merchants, especially wealthy merchants like the four Yangzhou families who had a great influence in the entire Jiangnan region. As long as they were willing to contribute money to help the court overcome its difficulties, many things would be overlooked.

After all, stability in Jiangnan is paramount.

"Lord Huaixiu".

Shen Bingwen slowly said, "What if Magistrate Xue has the ability to make an example of someone?"

Qiao Wangshan was taken aback.

"Which chicken is the Liu family?"

He tried his best to remain calm and said carefully, "Relying solely on the account books kept by the Hu family and the testimonies of Luo Tong and others, it would be very difficult to bring Liu Fu to justice. As for ourselves, we would never personally get involved in such matters most of the time. Even if Magistrate Xue suddenly makes an attack, it would at most only affect Liu Rang's future, not Liu Fu himself."

"Right."

After a moment's thought, Shen Bingwen agreed with Qiao Wangshan's judgment and readily said, "When he returns to the prefectural city, I will persuade him to prioritize the overall situation."

"So best."

Qiao Wangshan breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't speaking up for Liu Fu. The two families had almost fought to the death over the years, and no one wanted to see the Liu family fall more than him. The problem was that this couldn't be rushed. The Liu family was a behemoth that the Hu family of Qingshan Town could not compare to. Taking rash action would only backfire.

The two talked for a while longer before Shen Bingwen got up to take his leave, and Qiao Wangshan personally escorted him to the ceremonial gate.

He slowly turned around only after watching Shen Bingwen board the carriage and leave.

Recalling the conversation just now, the old man couldn't help but sigh softly, "This Shen Bingwen is as cautious as ever. Why do you have to be so suspicious? My greatest wish over the years has been to destroy everything Liu Fu has. You don't need to keep testing me."

"As for how the situation in Yangzhou will change after the Liu family falls, it won't be too late for us to have another showdown then."

"At least until now, we're still in the same boat."

(End of this chapter)