Ming Dynasty: I, Yan Maoqing, am truly radiating auspicious energy!

Chapter 234 Let Anda Sincerely Name a Price [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

Datong County Government Office.

"Eh--!"

Yan Song sighed deeply. His wrinkled face made him look decades older than when he was in the capital, and his already gray hair and beard had turned even whiter.

He had truly done his utmost in helping the Emperor establish the carbon tax office.

After all, it concerns whether he can return to the capital and be reinstated. This is a major event that directly affects his and the Yan family's future. How could he not do his best?
Even so, things had completely spiraled out of his control and were heading in the worst possible direction...

In fact, Yan Song knew where the problem lay all along:
First, there was the constant provocation and obstruction from a group of border generals led by Zhou Shangwen, the commander-in-chief of Datong.

They sometimes robbed and killed Tatar envoys, sometimes harassed Tatar tribal merchants trading in the market under the pretext of arresting spies, and sometimes even closed the horse market directly, forcibly suspending bilateral trade.

If even the horse market, which had opened ahead of schedule, could not function properly, then the coal trade, which had not yet been opened, was even less likely to operate.

Why did they do that?

Most of the other border generals probably had ulterior motives, but the old general Zhou Shangwen's thoughts were relatively pure.

He harbored deep prejudice against the Tatars, even to the point of hatred. He openly opposed paying tribute to the Tatars, saying things like, "The northern barbarians fear power but do not cherish virtue, betray kindness and are accustomed to betraying righteousness," and "If we allow them to pay tribute, it is like feeding a tiger with its flesh; when their claws and teeth are sharp, they will surely turn against their master."

Yan Song knew that this must be related to his personal experiences.

Since he took office as the military commander of Ningxia in the first year of the Jiajing reign, he has been leading troops to resist the Tatar invasion for twenty years.

His body was covered with countless wounds, large and small, and he had even been seriously injured and nearly died several times, all at the hands of the Tatars.

In addition, the Tatars' previous actions did indeed align with Zhou Shangwen's prejudices.

Before the Ming Dynasty and the Tatars completely broke off trade at the end of the Hongzhi era (about 35 years ago).

The Tatars have always been like this. On the one hand, they pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty and obtain the convenience of supplies such as grain, cloth and ironware. On the other hand, they constantly send troops south to harass the Ming Dynasty. They completely ignore the alliance between the two sides, which stipulates that "the people cultivate the land inside the border, the Tatars graze their horses outside the border, and each side shall keep its oath and not be allowed to enter or leave to steal." Whether or not they violate the border depends entirely on their own whims.

Otherwise, how could there have been a severance of trade that lasted for decades?
Even now, when Anda repeatedly sent envoys to request trade, he always threatened to send troops south or even sweep through the capital.

Opening up trade under such circumstances is hard to believe and would certainly hurt the feelings of people like Zhou Shangwen.
Secondly, there were those officials and merchants who opposed the tribute system, attempted to monopolize profits, or did not want the emperor to control the carbon tax.

These people played even better than the border generals led by Zhou Shangwen.

After the horse market reopened, the merchants either banded together to avoid trading there or were forced to enter the market under pressure, driving the prices of Tatar horses and furs to outrageous levels.

In this situation, unless the Tatars have lost their minds, it makes no difference whether the horse market is open or not; on the contrary, it has sparked a lot of conflict.

This would give the border generals a perfect excuse to intervene, capture Tatar "spies," and directly close the horse market.

Now, the Tatars have lost faith in the trade, and the conflict between the two sides is rapidly escalating.
Furthermore, Duke Guo Xun of Yiguo did not play a positive role in this matter either.

At first, Guo Xun was quite interested. After arriving in Datong, he immediately ordered the opening of the horse market and actively discussed with him every day the matter of setting up a carbon tax office. The regulations had already been fully formulated.

However, only a short time passed, especially after Zhang Zan, the Minister of War, sent a letter containing unknown details.

Guo Xun seemed like a completely different person.

Not only did he ignore everything, but sometimes when the border crossing was about to be disrupted, he would go to Guo Xun to discuss solutions.

Guo Xun also evaded the issue, openly and secretly protecting those border generals, turning these matters into trivial ones, neither investigating nor reporting them.

Yan Song knew about the relationship between Guo Xun and Zhang Zan, and could roughly guess what was going on.

Zhang Zan had long been affiliated with Guo Xun, and the reason he was able to become Minister of War was because of Guo Xun's strong recommendation.

Zhang Zan had been in the Ministry of War for ten years. Yan Song would never believe that the border generals of the nine important border towns had nothing to do with Zhang Zan. He was well aware of the practice of appointing "debt commanders" to make money.

Therefore, Guo Xun's protection of those border generals was, in effect, protecting Zhang Zan, and at the same time, protecting himself.

After all, failing to accomplish anything is a minor matter; at worst, the emperor might consider it a sign of incompetence.

Once the emperor's trust is lost, things will get very serious...

In just this year, Guo Xun has already exposed a lot of things to the Emperor. If it is revealed that he has such a private relationship with Zhang Zan, the Minister of War, the Emperor will probably really teach him a lesson!

Therefore, Yan Song had completely understood.

These three issues combined would be difficult to resolve even for a god, let alone a minor county magistrate with little real power.
So he could only submit a memorial to the emperor to complain while simultaneously giving up.

Even though he complained, he did not truthfully report the problems of Zhou Shangwen, the border generals, officials, merchants, Guo Xun, and Zhang Zan. Instead, he found some objective issues that would not offend anyone to appease the emperor.

if not?
If he fails to accomplish this task, at worst he will be unable to immediately return to the capital for reinstatement.

However, if you offend these people, not only will things not get done, but you will also definitely get into big trouble.

The consequences of this are far beyond what a lowly county magistrate like him can bear!

Even if he were to return to the capital and be reinstated as a result, and even be able to enter the cabinet, he would certainly face great difficulties in the future.

If he were to be overthrown again at that time, it wouldn't just be a matter of being demoted to a county magistrate; being stripped of his post and reduced to a commoner might be the least of his worries, and he might even face the risk of his life.

什么是政治？

Politics is about making many friends and few enemies!

Making enemies of a duke, a general, a minister, and the entire Shanxi group is definitely not a wise choice!
Therefore, he will not do that at all.

He also planned to make Guo Xun, Zhou Shangwen, Zhang Zan, and even the officials, powerful figures, and merchants in Shanxi understand that he knew exactly what was going on, but he resisted the pressure and did not do it, thus doing them a favor.

These people will naturally regard him as one of their own and will likely reciprocate, becoming a source of support for his future comeback.

With these allies, he will be in a different position when he makes his comeback. When facing Xia Yan again, he may no longer be at a disadvantage, but rather evenly matched!

Just as I was thinking this.

"Sir, someone just delivered a letter."

Yan Nian, a trusted servant who had accompanied Yan Song to Datong, entered the hall and presented a series of intact letters.

"The messenger said the letter came from an old friend of the master, and the master knew who it was at a glance."

"Old friend?"

Yan Song frowned and glanced at Yan Nian before taking the letter. Since he was demoted to Datong to serve as the county magistrate, he had indeed received letters of greeting from several old friends at first, but now, several months later, almost none of them were writing anymore.

With this thought in mind, Yan Song tore open the envelope, took out the letter inside, and unfolded it to read.

Upon first glance, his eyes widened immediately, his heart clenched, and he jumped up from his chair.

Because the first sentence of this letter is:

Magistrate Yan:

Your son is in my hands...

The tone sounds exactly like a kidnapping and ransom note!

Moreover, he only had one son, Yan Shifan, who was the apple of his eye and his biggest weakness!

If someone were to kidnap Yan Shifan for ransom, it would definitely make him hesitate to act rashly!
"master?!"

Seeing Yan Song's unusually intense reaction, Yan Nian was also startled and quickly reached out to support Yan Song.

In Yan Nian's mind, Yan Song was a man of great cunning and few things in the world could make him lose his composure like this.

"No, it's nothing. You can leave now. I'll call you if I need anything!"

In his haste, Yan Song had already skimmed through the rest of the text.

He naturally understood who had sent the letter, and was finally a little relieved. He waved to Yan Nian and said...

"Yes……"

Yan Nian glanced at the cold sweat that had instantly seeped from Yan Song's temples, and at his face that had only just regained a little color, but dared not say a word. He could only retreat with a heart full of curiosity and worry.

"..."

Yan Song remained standing and continued to read the contents of the letter.

After looking at it carefully again, his face turned pale again. Not only did cold sweat seep from his temples, but his vest was also soaked with cold sweat.

Now he was absolutely certain that this was a kidnapping and ransom note!

Let's see what's written in there.
【Magistrate Yan, swords and guns have no eyes. You wouldn't want me to send Yan Shifan to the front lines, only to have something happen to him, a parent outliving their child, would you?】

[When we attacked Ying County, he braved my breech-loading cannons and led a bunch of unarmed ruffians in the charge.]

[If you don't want anything to happen to Yan Shifan, then do as I say, or I'll kill him!]

Tell me, what else is this but kidnapping and extortion?!

In fact, he had already learned about Yan Maoqing's previous "care" for Yan Shifan through a letter sent by his wife, Ouyang Duanshu, and also about Yan Shifan's appointment as an envoy to accompany Yan Maoqing to Shanxi on business.

He initially thought Yan Maoqing would come directly to Datong, but unexpectedly Yan Maoqing went to Taiyuan.

Yan Song had already heard about Yan Maoqing's actions in Taiyuan.

Or rather, the people of Datong had already heard about it a few days ago.

After all, there are many ways to spread information, and almost every one of them is faster than Yan Maoqing's marching speed.

That's why the important figure Zhong Tai went to Ying County ahead of time to arrange that show of force for Yan Maoqing.

However, all they knew was that Yan Maoqing had arrested Zhang Yin, the old leader of the White Lotus Sect, and Guan Jieshan, the provincial governor, and had taken control of a group of officials, powerful figures, and merchants in Taiyuan.

As for Guan Jieshan's silver seal document, it was delivered to the capital a little later.

Regardless of Zhu Houcong's reaction, the news would not be released until some time later and would not reach Datong.

Therefore, neither Yan Maoqing nor the people in Datong are aware of what is happening in the capital.

Even the people of Datong know even less than Yan Maoqing, since they have no idea about the secret memorial with the silver seal pointing directly to the central government and Shanxi's representative. This is precisely the information gap that Yan Maoqing is trying to gain this time.

of course.

There are things about Datong that Yan Maoqing doesn't know.

For example, he was unaware that Guo Xun had become an obstacle to the Great Harmony movement, and that the respected old general Zhou Shangwen was also an obstacle to the Great Harmony movement...

Let's examine what Yan Maoqing coerced Yan Song into doing in this kidnapping and extortion letter:
【I want you to secretly communicate with the White Lotus Sect and spread rumors in Datong that the Tatars had broken their promises and reneged on their commitments, bringing up again the harm suffered by the soldiers and civilians in the border towns;】

【I want you to secretly communicate with the officials and border generals, inciting them to detain the Tatar envoys and, under the pretext of arresting Tatar spies, harass Tatar tribal merchants trading in the market, closing the horse market on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and opening it intermittently on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays;】

I want you to secretly communicate with powerful merchants and magnates to jointly monopolize market prices, ensuring that the Tatars gain no profit whatsoever and become disillusioned with the tributary trade.

[Finally, and most importantly, I need you to communicate with Anda privately and make sure he knows that I, Yan Maoqing, will arrive in Datong soon. This will allow me to either succeed or fail, and I want him to sincerely offer a price!]

"This……"

When Yan Song saw these requirements, his brain was really not up to the task.

If Yan Maoqing hadn't been away from Datong, he would have almost mistaken him for one of the officials, powerful figures, and merchants of Datong.

Isn't this exactly what these dried insects are doing right now?
Why are the things Yan Maoqing coerced him to do so similar to theirs, almost to the point of being identical? Anyone who didn't know better would think that Yan Maoqing ordered them to do these things.
If it weren't for these dried insects using these methods to interfere...

Why is the carbon tax office so difficult to manage? Why does he need to stay in this place and continue to be this worthless county magistrate?
However, this letter didn't seem to be a bad thing for him.

Because the methods Yan Maoqing mentioned were exactly the same as those used by the insects, he accomplished his requirements almost without doing anything.

On the contrary, with this letter, he could pin these things on Yan Maoqing and report Yan Maoqing to the emperor for undermining the Great Harmony.

This way, not only could he gain favor with Guo Xun, Zhou Shangwen, and Zhang Zan, as well as the officials, powerful figures, and merchants of Shanxi, but he could also avenge the scoundrel who dared to use Yan Shifan's life to blackmail him. It was a win-win situation...

The only thing that puzzled Yan Song now was Yan Maoqing's last request.

Yan Maoqing actually instructed him to secretly communicate with Anda, letting Anda know that he was about to arrive in Datong, and even said something like, "I can make things happen, or I can ruin things," asking Anda to sincerely offer a price...

Could this guy be so greedy for money that he's planning to extort money from Anda by sabotaging the tribute system?
What a joke!
Wasn't he afraid of angering Anda, causing him to march south and, instead of succeeding in stealing a chicken, be convicted of the serious crime of "provoking a huge conflict for personal gain"?

(End of this chapter)