Prime Minister

Chapter 262, Section 261: [The Spark]

Since Song Yi's visit, the canal transport authorities and the canal gangs have not taken any further action, as if they have accepted the reality that the salt merchants of Lianghuai are gradually becoming independent.

Xue Huai's life returned to a busy and fulfilling state. Summer tax collection entered a critical period, the deepening of the new policy was proceeding in an orderly manner, and he also needed to attend occasionally to reassure people about the salt administration reform and the affairs of the Salt Industry Association. However, unlike before, he now had a young follower by his side.

Sang Chengze shed the arrogance and hostility he displayed at their first meeting, donned an indigo-colored cloth robe, and though still somewhat awkward, he tried his best to imitate the mannerisms of Jiang Sheng and the others.

He no longer complained about the coarse food, nor did he find the chores trivial. Only his eyes, which had once only known wine, women, wealth, and power, now held a deliberate air of composure.

That afternoon, Xue Huai had just finished reviewing a batch of workshop reports regarding the repair of the Yizhen County sluice gate and was rubbing his temples with his eyes closed.

Sang Chengze stood by with his hands at his sides, his gaze sweeping over the mountain of files on the table, then stealing a glance at Xue Huai's profile, the restlessness he had forcibly suppressed stirring within him once more.

These days, all he does is serve tea and water, look up documents, or follow Xue Huai around like a shadow.

Xue Huai did not immediately impart the extraordinary secret techniques he had imagined, which made him both relieved and slightly disappointed.

"Feeling bored?"

Xue Huai did not open his eyes, and his voice carried a hint of weariness.

Sang Chengze was startled and hurriedly stood up straight, saying, "This humble one wouldn't dare!"

Xue Huai opened his eyes, his gaze calmly falling on him, and said indifferently, "When your father first joined the canal gang, he also started from doing things like carrying bags at the dock and clearing silt from the ship's hold. A tall building starts from the ground up. If you want to do something, you must first be able to calm your mind and see clearly where you are."

Sang Chengze bowed his head and said, "Yes, sir."

Xue Huai knew that he didn't really understand, so he casually picked up a quarterly salt tax report he had just read and handed it to Sang Chengze, saying, "Take a look at this and tell me, how much did the cost per ton of coarse salt transported from Huaibei Saltworks to Yangzhou increase in March compared to February? Where did the increase occur?"

Sang Chengze hurriedly took the thick booklet, and the dense numbers and entries instantly made him dizzy.

He steeled himself and searched through the pages, his fingers tracing the yellowed paper, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

In the past, he would casually spend lavishly when he went out to drink and brothels, never caring about such trivial amounts of money.

After a long pause, he stammered out a rough figure: "It's increased by about thirty-seven coins? I can't quite make out the details of the shipping and losses..."

Xue Huai didn't blame him, but said calmly, "Thirty-seven coins may sound like a lot, but you have to understand that this batch of salt, after being dried in the Huaibei salt fields, goes through the laborers' handling and loading onto ships, the transport by canal boats, the losses along the way, the inspection by the customs, and finally into the Yangzhou salt warehouse. If these thirty-seven coins are distributed among each link, it is within an acceptable range for the salt farmers and salt workers. And how much more money did the canal gangs charge them in the past?"

Sang Chengze was stunned; he had never thought about the problem from this perspective before.

Thirty-seven coins were nothing to him, but what did they mean to those poor salt workers and boatmen?
The money collected by the canal gang in the past was more than ten or a hundred times more than this!
He recalled Xue Huai's words about the people's hard-earned money, and at this moment, those four words seemed to have taken on a heavy, fleshy weight. He couldn't help but say in a hoarse voice, "No wonder... I've heard that the people often cursed the canal gang behind their backs."

"When looking at things, we can't just look at the numbers; we have to see the people behind the numbers."

Xue Huai picked up his teacup and softened his tone, saying, "The salt merchants established an association to implement mutual assistance and benefit, and cost reduction was one of their goals. More importantly, they wanted a more stable transportation channel with less exploitation, and they didn't want to entrust their lifeline to a gang that resorted to violence at the drop of a hat. This is the real crisis for your canal gang. It's not about how much money you've lost, but about losing your value as a group."

These words struck Sang Chengze's heart like a heavy hammer.

Xue Huai picked up another case file, which contained the latest developments in a case of embezzlement in a river engineering project.

He looked at it for a moment and handed the file to Sang Chengze, who was standing to the side: "Take a look at this confession and the attached list of materials and supplies."

Sang Chengze quickly took the document and carefully read it. It was the confession of a minor official in charge of purchasing burlap sacks, straw ropes, and other materials needed for the river dredging project.

In his confession, the clerk admitted to falsifying quantities, colluding with unscrupulous merchants to sell inferior goods as superior ones, and raising the purchase price by 20%. He split the proceeds with the unscrupulous merchants 40/60. The attached list detailed the quantities and unit prices of all the items.

"What did you see?"

Xue Huai picked up his teacup and asked casually.

Sang Chengze frowned and examined the statement closely, pointing to a section of the confession and saying, "Sir, this clerk said that the amount of money falsely added each time was not much, just a few bundles of straw rope and a few dozen sacks, and the unit price was only increased by a few coins. He said he thought that little by little it would add up, and that these things were inconspicuous and would not attract attention."

"Ah."

Xue Huai sipped his tea and said gently, "And then? What's on the list?"

Sang Chengze lowered his head again to compare the list and the confession, trying hard to recall the accounting methods Xue Huai had previously suggested: "I am dull-witted, but the total price on this list seems to be in line with the budget, and the individual items also seem to match the prices he inflated." Xue Huai put down his teacup and tapped his finger lightly on the table: "Find out the record book of the actual number of sacks and straw ropes consumed in the dredging project reported by the workshop last month, and compare it with this purchase list."

Sang Chengze immediately went to the document rack next to him and quickly found a booklet.

He clumsily flipped to the corresponding month and river section, spread the two booklets open in front of Xue Huai's desk, and bent over, pointing with his finger to compare each item.

Xue Huai didn't urge him, but just watched quietly.

After a while, Sang Chengze suddenly exclaimed "Eh!" and pointed to one of the items, saying, "Sir, the purchase list here says five thousand sacks, but the actual consumption record shows that only a little over three thousand eight hundred sacks were used in this section of the river!"

A barely perceptible hint of approval flashed in Xue Huai's eyes, but he remained calm and said, "Continue."

Sang Chengze's spirits lifted, as if he had found the key: "This clerk not only inflated the unit price, but also reported more than a thousand sacks! But how does it balance on the books? The total price matches up..."

"That's both their cleverness and their foolishness."

Xue Huai picked up his pen and marked the confession and the list respectively. He patiently said, "Looking at the unit price alone, he only mentioned a few coins each time. Looking at the quantity alone, he reported five thousand items, but only three thousand eight hundred were actually used. The extra one thousand two hundred items should have been a surplus, right?"

Sang Chengze nodded.

Xue Huai prompted, "Then where did the remaining 1,200 go?"

Sang Chengze had a sudden inspiration and exclaimed, "That unscrupulous merchant sold the goods to the clerk at an inflated price, but the quantity was not five thousand. The goods were not delivered at all, so the actual consumption record only shows three thousand eight! But these two ledgers are not managed by one person. This clerk is only responsible for the purchase ledger. How did he—I understand now, he bribed the person in charge of managing the consumption ledger and fabricated a surplus of one thousand two hundred items!"

"Yes."

Xue Huai put down his pen and slowly said, "So this embezzlement case requires the cooperation of three people. The unscrupulous merchant sold inferior goods at inflated prices, and the two bookkeepers colluded with each other, both raising the unit price and falsifying the quantity. On the surface, it's just a few sacks and some straw ropes, but in reality, it adds up layer by layer. Do you still think they embezzled little?"

Sang Chengze did the math and frowned, saying, "It may not seem like much at once, but if you do it many times and there are many river sections, it adds up to a considerable amount."

"This is what I wanted to tell you: pay attention to details in everything, or you'll become blind to everything."

Xue Huai gazed into Sang Chengze's eyes and said earnestly, "Those in positions of power should be most wary of taking things for granted. If you think that because you hold power, your subordinates will obey you like puppets, and then you become immersed in your self-righteousness, you will inevitably be deceived and manipulated. Take this case for example, even though I have investigated and punished many corrupt officials since I took office in Yangzhou, there will still be people who take the risk."

Sang Chengze was filled with emotion at this moment. On the one hand, he deeply understood the difficulty of doing things, and on the other hand, he sincerely admired Xue Huai's vision and skill.

Xue Huai continued, "If I hadn't discovered the trickery here and had given a lenient sentence without understanding the situation, others would inevitably follow suit. Because in their eyes, even if they embezzled government funds, as long as they were careful enough, they would only receive a minor punishment in the end. In the long run, who would respect you? Who would fear you?"

Sang Chengze sighed and hesitated, "Now that you say that, I'm really having a headache. The Canal Gang has tens of thousands of members, and there are more than a dozen branch managers. These people are all more cunning than monkeys. Even my father often has to turn a blind eye to them. I'm afraid my abilities are even less capable of subduing them."

Xue Huai smiled and said, "Scared?"

These two words seemed to touch a nerve with Sang Chengze, who shook his head without hesitation and said, "I'm not afraid!"

"As long as you're not afraid."

Xue Huai spoke gently, saying slowly, "The internal situation of the Canal Gang is similar to that of the government, but there are also differences. Today I will teach you how to act."

Sang Chengze respectfully said, "Please enlighten me, sir."

Xue Huai said: "The key to governing people and managing affairs lies in understanding the two words 'clarity and balance'. Clarify the principles of things, understand people's hearts, and understand the benefits and harms; balance gains and losses, weigh importance, and weigh urgency."

Sang Chengze's heart skipped a beat as he tried to decipher the meaning and weight of those words.

Xue Huai did not let himself have any wild thoughts. He immediately broke down the eighteen characters and analyzed the details of each part with examples.

Time slipped away bit by bit, and the late spring sunlight outside the window gradually shifted away.

After a long period of instruction, Xue Huai looked at Sang Chengze and said earnestly, "A tall building begins with a pile of earth, and a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. If you want to lead the Canal Gang to a new life, you must force yourself to immerse yourself in every detail, instead of fantasizing all day long that you can raise a high point and have a large following respond."

Sang Chengze took a deep breath, bowed, and said, "Thank you for your teachings, sir. I will remember them."

The composure he had deliberately projected earlier had now transformed into a genuine glimmer of determination in his eyes.

(End of this chapter)