Prime Minister

Chapter 157, Section 156: [The Wind Fills the Tower]

The seventh day of the eighth month in the nineteenth year of the Taihe reign.

For the numerous salt merchants from the Huai River region who flocked to Yangzhou, this should have been an extremely busy day.

According to the charter previously announced by the Salt Transport Office, tomorrow is the official opening day of the Salt Recognition Conference. This conference is related to the future of the Lianghuai Salt Industry for the next five or even ten years, and countless people's lives and futures will be affected by it. Therefore, no one dares to take it lightly.

Back then, the Bai family was just an insignificant middle-class salt merchant. However, because the current head of the family, Bai Xiu, gained the favor of Liu Fu and always clung tightly to the Liu family, the Bai family rose rapidly and is now the first-class clan after the four major families of Yangzhou and the Shen family.

Who wouldn't want to become the next Bai family?
Therefore, many wealthy men arrived at the Liu family mansion in Yongqingfang early in the morning, bowing and scraping before the gatekeeper, hoping that he could give them a word and thus have the opportunity to meet Liu Fu.

But they are destined to be disappointed today.

The gatekeeper of the Liu family was relatively polite to these people, but he resolutely refused to accept the silver notes they offered, nor did he answer any questions related to the head of the family, Liu Fu.

The crowd couldn't help but whisper among themselves. It was true that Liu Fu had always been aloof and superior, but he wouldn't completely shut them out. After all, they also had a lot of connections and resources, which would be of benefit to the Liu family as well.

The current situation is clearly abnormal, and people's mood is gradually shrouded in gloom.

In a somber atmosphere, the side gate of the Liu residence slowly opened, and a middle-aged steward stepped out, bowed to the crowd, and said, "Gentlemen, my master has caught a cold and is not feeling well, so he is truly unable to receive guests. Please forgive him."

Everyone quickly expressed their concern, and then one of them asked, "May I ask, Second Steward, tomorrow is the opening day of the Nest Recognition Conference? I wonder what Old Master Liu's plan is? So that we can be prepared."

The second steward sighed softly, a simple gesture that immediately made everyone's hearts leap into their throats. However, he refused to elaborate, only vaguely saying, "Perhaps you all can go and find Master Zheng to find out the truth."

Upon hearing this, the salt merchants had no choice but to take their leave. Fortunately, the Zheng family mansion was located in the adjacent Ping'an Ward. The salt merchants quickly boarded their respective carriages and urged their drivers to hurry to the Zheng family mansion in Ping'an Ward.

The Zheng family's gate was not tightly closed, and more than ten representatives of small and medium-sized salt merchants were politely invited in.

Inside Jinshan Hall, Zheng Boyan, with a solemn expression, looked around at everyone and said, "Have you all not yet received the news?"

The salt merchants looked at each other in bewilderment. A middle-aged man who was quite familiar with Zheng Boyan said with a forced smile, "Brother Yunxiu, what exactly happened? We are all completely clueless."

"This morning, someone from the Salt Transport Office came to inform us—"

Zheng Boyan shook his head and sighed, "The home adoption event has been postponed for seven days."

"what?"

Everyone was shocked and the room erupted in uproar.

The Salt Merchants' Recognition Ceremony was not only a major event for the Salt Transport Bureau, but some of these salt merchants even staked everything on it, placing their hopes for the rise of their families on it.

Some people turned ashen-faced, others looked bewildered, and some even slumped in their chairs, muttering to themselves, "Postponed by seven days? What am I going to do? The interest on that loan alone will eat up half of my life savings!"

Someone said in a trembling voice, "In order to raise the funds for salt certificate redemption, I mortgaged several of my family's ancestral shops to the money house, agreeing to redeem them with salt certificates after the salt certificate redemption meeting. Now this postponement... cough cough."

He was so agitated that he coughed up blood.

The middle-aged man looked at Zheng Boyan, completely bewildered, and said, "Brother Yunxiu, what is the reason for this delay, Envoy? The Salt Transport Office's notice has already spread throughout Lianghuai. Countless merchant guilds and banks are eyeing this important matter. We have been trying our best to raise the funds. Now that it has been suddenly postponed, I'm afraid this will cause a huge mess!"

He had another thought he didn't say: the Salt Transport Bureau's rashness would likely lead to a delay of more than seven days. If the reclamation ceremony were to become indefinitely postponed, many people present would be powerless to cope with the ensuing changes.

"The Transport Commissioner is quite helpless. Of course, he doesn't want the reclamation ceremony to be postponed. You should know why he wanted to increase the issuance of permits. This matter has nothing to do with the Transport Commissioner; it's about our renowned new Prefect of Yangzhou—"

Zheng Boyan paused slightly, and under the astonished gazes of the crowd, said in a cold voice, "Prefect Xue wants to overturn the table of the Lianghuai Salt Administration!"

Inside the hall, the sound of a clock striking its inch could be heard.

Following Liu Fu's instructions, Zheng Boyan recounted the events that had occurred at the banquet in the East Garden of the Salt Bureau the previous night, embellishing the story and causing the salt merchants to gasp in astonishment.

They were initially shocked by Xue Huai's youthful arrogance, after all, it was extremely rare for a young official to dare to confront Xu Guanlan in the Salt Bureau, and then a deep resentment arose within them.

The saying goes that cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents. These salt merchants risked their entire fortunes just to get a share of the pie at the salt distribution conference. The rise and fall of their families over the decades depended entirely on the salt distribution centers and salt permits controlled by the Salt Transport Bureau. Now that Xue Huai had intervened, not to mention that their hopes had been dashed, the initial investment alone made it impossible for them to remain calm.

The middle-aged man swallowed hard and said with his last hope, "Brother Yunxiu, although Lord Xue is young and distinguished, he is still only the Assistant Prefect of Yangzhou and does not concurrently serve as the Salt Commissioner. Why should the Transport Commissioner care so much about his attitude?"

"Because he can reach the ears of Heaven."

Zheng Boyan's words plunged the salt merchants present into despair.

Even Xu Guanlan was extremely wary of Xue Huai's background. It seems that this home-recognition ceremony can only be postponed for the time being. What should they do next?
Seeing that the time was right, Zheng Boyan coughed lightly and said, "Gentlemen, it is not that I am unwilling to lend a hand, but the current situation is beyond my ability to speak."

Someone said angrily, "Are we just going to sit here and wait to die?"

The others quickly echoed.

Zheng Boyan raised his hand and rubbed his temples, then slowly said, "The only thing we can do now is probably to plead with Lord Xue." The crowd exchanged glances. Although they were somewhat afraid of Xue Huai, who had punished a large number of officials and gentry since taking office, they had no better options.

The middle-aged man gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice, "That's right, we'll go and plead with Lord Xue. As long as he doesn't interfere with the salt affairs of Lianghuai, we'll kneel down and kowtow to him!"

"Yes! Let's go find Lord Xue!"

"Let's go together!"

Zheng Boyan offered a few words of advice, but ultimately could not stop the group of small and medium-sized salt merchants who had just heard the bad news. He could only watch helplessly as they left in a huff.

Looking at the chaotic figures of the crowd, Zheng Boyan's lips curled into a mocking smile.

The situation in the Zheng family was not an isolated case. The Bai, Ge, and Huang families were in the same situation. Apart from Liu Fu, who was ill and refusing to see guests, several large salt merchants personally took action and, with irrefutable reasons, incited a group of small and medium-sized salt merchants to flock to the government office from all directions.

These people were well-versed in rules and regulations, so they naturally wouldn't do anything foolish like storming the government office. They tried their best to maintain peace and gathered outside the government office, unanimously requesting an audience with Prefect Tan and Director Xue.

Although they seemed like insignificant figures in front of those big salt merchants, the dozens of them gathered together at this moment were enough to form a force that could shake the stability of Yangzhou. The yamen runners outside the government office did not dare to take it lightly and hurriedly went inside to report.

Inside Cunpuzhai, there is a scene of tranquility and leisure.

"It's my turn."

Tan Mingguang picked up a white piece and placed it on the chessboard, then smiled and asked, "Brother, can you solve this game?"

The situation in the game is becoming clearer. A large dragon of white stones is gradually taking shape. As long as the black stones in the center are captured, the outcome can be determined in the middle game.

Xue Huai watched quietly, remaining silent.

Tan Mingguang stopped interrupting and continued to sip his fragrant tea.

Although he currently held the upper hand in the game, he was becoming increasingly curious about Xue Huai. This deputy was so young yet so learned and talented. Not only had he achieved great success in the imperial examinations, but he could also compose exquisite poems and was even so skilled in chess. It was truly a pity that heaven was so unfair. At Xue Huai's age, it was impossible for him to have had enough time to master so many skills. The only explanation was that he was a gifted genius.

Just then, Huang Xibin walked into the study, looking somewhat anxious.

Tan Mingguang knew that this staff member was a calm and composed person, not a frivolous or capricious one. This demeanor clearly indicated that something had happened, so he asked in a low voice, "What is it?"

"Your Excellency."

Huang Xibin hastily cupped his hands in greeting and then said, "Dozens of salt merchants have arrived outside the government office. They wish to request an audience with the Prefect and the Director."

"Dozens?"

Tan Mingguang showed no sign of panic and asked, "Why have they gathered here?"

Huang Xibin succinctly stated, "The Salt Transport Office has spread the word that the salt reunification ceremony will be postponed by seven days, and they have placed the blame on Director Xue. The salt merchants outside have been preparing for the ceremony for a long time, and many have even borrowed money using their ancestral property. Upon hearing that the ceremony has been postponed, they panicked and came to see you two gentlemen, presumably to beg Director Xue to stop interfering with the salt affairs of Lianghuai."

Tan Mingguang nodded without saying a word.

Xue Huai continued, still gazing at the chessboard, and said unhurriedly, "Mr. Huang, please tell those salt merchants that as the Assistant Magistrate of Yangzhou, I have no right to interfere in salt administration decisions. If they have any questions, they should go to the Salt Transport Office to see Transport Commissioner Xu. If they insist on causing trouble outside the government office, I will have no choice but to invite them in for a cup of tea."

Huang Xibin understood, and then looked at Tan Mingguang questioningly, who waved his hand to indicate that he should do so.

The study fell silent again. Tan Mingguang slowly asked, "Brother, how do we counter this move?"

"What does Your Excellency think?"

Xue Huai said with great interest, "Does Your Excellency believe that Transport Commissioner Xu and those powerful families are placing all their hopes on these salt merchants?"

Tan Mingguang shook his head slightly and said, "This group of people is more trouble than they're worth. Expecting them to stop you is wishful thinking. However... if we let them go unchecked, it might cause panic among the locals."

"Popular anxiety is not necessarily a bad thing."

After a long period of deliberation, Xue Huai finally placed a chess piece on the board and smiled, saying, "When people's hearts are in turmoil, they are bound to make wrong judgments and decisions. Now that we are in the open while the enemy is in the dark, why not first see what methods they have?"

Tan Mingguang looked closely and saw that Xue Huai's piece had actually moved into the eye of his own large group of stones.

This was supposed to be his key move to surround and kill the black pieces.

Both games ended in Black being captured in its own territory, but by a single move, Black somehow managed to surviv a desperate situation.

He was stunned.

(End of this chapter)