Prime Minister

Chapter 263, Section 262: [Deceiving People]

In early May, the Dongguan Wharf in Yangzhou was filled with billowing smoke and the stench of sweat.

The Grand Canal makes a bend here, and its vast surface is filled with countless masts.

The tall, towering canal boats, with their deep drafts, were fully loaded with white grain and moved steadily and slowly along the main channel of the river. The official flags on the boats exuded an inviolable aura.

Merchant ships, passenger boats, and cargo barges of all kinds, like countless fish and shrimp eager to return to their nests, crowded together in the narrow waterway near the dock, waiting for the order to pass through customs in turn.

A long, winding queue stretched out in front of the tax booths at the Ministry of Revenue's Customs House, with people waiting to pay ship material tax.

The area in front of the tax office of Yangzhou Prefecture was also crowded with people, paying taxes upon entering the city and having their documents checked upon leaving the city; no one dared to be careless.

At the same time, several black flags bearing the character "漕" (cao) were silently planted on several high grounds with a wide view at the dock, with soldiers from the Cao Yamen (a military government office) standing solemnly under them, dressed in black and red uniforms.

As the hour of Chen (7-9 AM) drew to a close, the sun rose higher and dazzled the water's surface.

Two medium-sized merchant ships with bluish-gray hulls and flying the "Guangtai" flag finally managed to squeeze out of the crowded intersection of the Xiaoqinhuai River and the Grand Canal, and slowly sailed toward the designated inspection berth at Dongguan Wharf.

Standing at the bow of the ship was Lin Rui, the steward of the Guangtai, who was about thirty-five or thirty-six years old and wearing a silk robe that was neither new nor old.

"Hold on tight! Throw the cable over!"

The dockworkers' shouts sounded somewhat subdued.

The boat shuddered slightly before finally touching the wooden berth.

Lin Rui took a deep breath, trying to suppress the lingering unease in his heart. Since the end of April, the Guangtai merchant ship had been subject to random inspections by the Canal Transport Office every time it entered or left the city. Although this was the power of the Canal Transport Office, their intentions towards the Guangtai were somewhat obvious. Managers like Lin Rui had reported this to Shen Bingwen and the head manager, but they were only told to deal with it patiently.

As soon as the boat came to a stop, and before the footboards were fully in place, a group of people stormed onto the deck.

The leader was a thin man in his early forties, dressed in the gray-blue official robes of a clerk in the exchange bureau, which were faded from washing but were meticulously worn.

His face was sallow with high cheekbones, and his long, narrow, triangular eyes were deeply sunken with drooping eyelids. When he looked at people, he always habitually squinted slightly, as if he were examining meat on a chopping board, exuding a kind of meanness and ruthlessness.

This man was none other than Huo Xuande, the most trusted confidant of Zhao Cong, the Vice Magistrate of the Imperial Exchange Bureau.

"The transport commissioner is conducting a random inspection. Bring us all the account books, invoices, travel permits, and release certificates from the tax office!"

Huo Xuande's voice was high-pitched and thin, with an unquestionable commanding tone. His gaze swept past Lin Rui and fixed directly on the shop assistant behind him who was carrying the account books, as if these people in front of him were just a bunch of walking goods.

Lin Rui's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly put on a humble smile, bowing and stepping forward: "Lord Huo, you've worked hard! It's so hot, yet you still have the trouble to personally come aboard to inspect everything. All the documents are ready!"

He respectfully presented a stack of documents with both hands, including the crucial tax authority certificate.

Huo Xuande snorted, not even bothering to lift his eyelids. His withered, claw-like fingers snatched the document away, and he strolled to a shady spot near the cabin entrance, turning his back to the others as he slowly and methodically began to read it.

Time passes little by little.

The deck was scorching hot from the blazing sun, and sweat streamed down Lin Rui's forehead and temples.

"Ok?"

Huo Xuande's fingertip suddenly stopped on a line of text, his triangular eyes narrowed sharply, shooting out two sharp beams of light. He turned to look at Lin Rui and said, "Manager Lin?"

Lin Rui's heart tightened, and he quickly replied, "Your Excellency is here."

Huo Xuande waved the tax payment voucher in his hand, then gestured to the ledger, a forced smile appearing on his lips: "This voucher clearly states that there are 60 boxes of top-quality silk from Huzhou, and your ledger also shows 60 boxes. The numbers match up."

Lin Rui had just breathed a sigh of relief when Huo Xuande abruptly changed the subject, raising his voice: "However, according to the rules, I still have to examine the actual item."

Two fierce-looking canal soldiers immediately stepped forward and roughly dragged a box with a "Lake Silk" seal to the center of the boat.

Huo Xuande strolled over, stretched out his withered hand, patted the lid of the box in a pretentious manner, then tapped the side panel with his knuckles, and said in a deep voice, "Open the box!"

"Lord Huo, this..."

Lin Rui's expression changed slightly. This silk was most susceptible to dust and moisture, and it would be easily damaged if the box was opened for inspection. He quickly pleaded, "It's all top-quality Huzhou silk. The officials from the tax office have already inspected and sealed the box. You can see there are still seals on it."

"The Tax Bureau inspects taxes on the ground in Yangzhou, while the Supervising Office checks the regulations on the Grand Canal!"

Huo Xuande glared with his triangular eyes and said in a deep voice, "On the Grand Canal, everything is under the sole control of the transport office. Are you perhaps feeling guilty?"

Lin Rui felt a surge of anger rise from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. He gritted his teeth, nodded to the pale-faced shop assistant beside him, and the assistant could only carefully peel off the seal and pry open the box. The smooth, water-green silk flowed with a warm luster in the sunlight.

Huo Xuande didn't even glance at the quality of the silk. He stretched out his withered, chicken-claw-like hand and groped around in the pile of silk, roughly turning the neatly folded silk into a mess.

Lin Rui's eyes twitched with heartache, but he dared not speak out against his anger.

Huo Xuande straightened up and said to the clerk beside him, "Weigh this box of goods to see how heavy it is."

Lin Rui dared not stop them and could only let the soldiers pour out all the finest silk to be weighed.

A moment later, the clerk said to Huo Xuande, "Your Excellency, this box of Huzhou silk weighs eighty-four catties and six taels."

"Oh?"

Huo Xuande glanced at the tax office voucher in his hand and said quietly, "Manager Lin, this voucher states that each box weighs exactly eighty catties. The tax office has checked and sealed the boxes, so there should be no problem, right? But now it has been found that each box weighs eighty-four catties and six taels, which is four catties and six taels more than expected. This batch of sixty boxes is more than two hundred catties more than expected. I wonder what your explanation is?"

Lin Rui's face showed disbelief. He suspected that the other party had done something wrong, but he dared not openly question the canal transport office. So he could only smile and explain, "Lord Huo, there were a few light rains a couple of days ago, and the cargo boxes inevitably got a little damp. In addition, the silk was rolled up tightly when it was packed, and it was slightly compressed on the way. So the weight may have changed slightly. These are all unavoidable. Please be lenient, sir."

"Accommodate?"

Huo Xuande's expression changed, and he said coldly, "What a fine excuse! Manager Lin, how can such a matter be taken lightly? Do you know the principle that a small difference can lead to a huge error? Today, your Guangtai Company has underpaid taxes on more than two hundred catties of goods. If all merchant ships on the canal were like this, and every ship inevitably underpaid taxes, how much commercial tax revenue would the imperial court lose in a year? Can you bear this responsibility? Or is it that your Guangtai Company, relying on its powerful background, doesn't take the imperial court's rules seriously?"

With these heavy accusations being leveled against him, Lin Rui felt dizzy and his mouth went dry. The words of defense stuck in his throat, and he couldn't utter a single one.

Seeing that he remained silent, Huo Xuande let out another cold snort, his gaze sweeping around the cabin like a venomous snake, finally landing on another pile of boxes sealed with "Huizhou Ink" labels, and then he strode over to them.

"Since the weight of the silk is wrong, let's look at something else. That wouldn't be making things difficult for us, would it?"

Huo Xuande spoke slowly, casually pointing to one of the boxes of Huizhou ink, and said without room for argument, "This box, open it!"

The shopkeeper opened the box with trembling hands. Inside, he saw thick, heavy ink sticks neatly stacked on a sheet of oil paper, their black, shiny surface resembling ebony.

Huo Xuande was even more meticulous this time. He even squatted down and picked up each ink stick to examine the inscription, his movements so slow they were almost suffocating.

Time ticked by, and the deck was eerily quiet, save for the gurgling sound of the canal water lapping against the hull.

Huo Xuande picked up an inkstone and examined it carefully in his palm. After a moment, he sneered, "Manager Lin, come here and take a good look!"

Lin Rui steeled himself and stepped forward.

Huo Xuande used a knife to cut open the ink stick, revealing the material inside, and then held it out to Lin Rui, saying, "Smell it for yourself, what's the smell inside this ink stick?"

Lin Rui hurriedly explained, "Lord Huo, these inksticks are all pressed from a single piece. Due to batch variations in the soot and adhesive used, slight differences in ink color and odor are normal and absolutely not—"

"fart!"

Huo Xuande interrupted him directly, saying with an unfriendly expression, "I have been inspecting the Grand Canal for more than ten years. What kind of despicable smuggling methods haven't I seen? This kind of trick of deceiving others is a typical smuggling operation! What kind of filthy stuff is filled inside under a thin layer of Huizhou ink as a cover? Did your Guangtai Company mix contraband into these inksticks and try to smuggle them through the customs in a muddy manner?"

The words "prohibited items" struck Lin Rui and all the crew members of the Guangtai ship like a thunderbolt, turning everyone's faces pale instantly.

"Lord Huo!"

Lin Rui couldn't help but raise his voice, because the other party was clearly making trouble out of thin air, seizing on a small issue to exaggerate the situation. He immediately said solemnly, "I dare to swear to heaven that Guangtai Trading Company has always been law-abiding and has never engaged in smuggling or misappropriation. Please investigate thoroughly, sir!"

"Manager Lin, you should save these words for when you're at the yamen."

Huo Xuande straightened his back, all the meanness and malice on his face turning into a direct ferocity. He sternly addressed the canal soldiers behind him: "There are two merchant ships, the Guangtai, whose goods and documents are seriously inconsistent. The silk has been tax evaded, and the type and quantity of ink sticks are questionable, with strong suspicion of smuggling. The evidence is conclusive. Seal the ships and seize the goods immediately. All personnel on board will be taken back to the supervisory office for rigorous interrogation!"

"Here!"

The soldiers responded in unison and pounced like wolves and tigers.

You can't do this—

Lin Rui tried to argue, but before he could finish speaking, a soldier roughly twisted his arms and slammed him down onto the scorching deck. The rough planks rubbed against his cheeks, causing a burning pain.

This scene quickly spread throughout the docks, where many merchants belonging to the Lianghuai Salt Industry Association were present. However, seeing the fierce-looking transport soldiers, none of them dared to step forward rashly.

As they gazed at the flags of the Guangtai Trading Company on the two ships, their hearts were instantly filled with endless worry.

(End of this chapter)