In the thirteenth year of the Tianbao era: I became Yang Guozhong's eldest son.

"If you feel this is not enough, sir, I will go back and ask Old Man Tian for more..."

"No need," Yang Xuan interrupted him. "I'll take the money."

Shopkeeper Song was overjoyed: "Thank you so much, sir! As for the new salt certificates..."

"There's no rush regarding the salt coupons," Yang Xuan said, handing the brocade box to Cui Shen behind him, his tone becoming ambiguous.

"I'm new here, and I have dozens of men in the county office who need to eat. My back injury also needs good medicine. Consider this money as payment for any outstanding debts you owe."

"As for the cooperation you mentioned..."

Yang Xuan looked at him with a half-smile.

"I must first assess your sincerity. The Four Seas Salt Brokers want to monopolize the new salt certificates, fine. Bring cash to the county government hall tomorrow at noon. I will be publicly selling the first batch of new salt certificates. If you are truly capable, buy all of these first batches. Once the money is in the county government's treasury, I will not interfere with how you transport the salt or who you sell it to."

Manager Song was stunned.

Publicly available for sale?

This is completely different from their expected "private allocation of quotas".

If they were sold publicly, it would mean they would have to pay real money for salt coupons, and the price would definitely not be low.

This is tantamount to using their money to fill the deficit of the county government!

"Sir, this... this public sale might not be in accordance with the rules..." Manager Song wanted to try again.

"What? Didn't Manager Song just say he wanted to share the burden of the county government?"

Yang Xuan's eyes instantly turned cold.

"If you're unwilling to even offer this small amount of cash, how can I believe you genuinely want to cooperate, or are you deliberately stalling for time, waiting for the officials from the prefecture to come to your rescue?"

"I am tired. See the guest out."

Yang Xuan flicked his sleeve and turned to walk towards the back hall.

Pei Zhao stepped forward with a cold face: "Manager Song, please!"

Manager Song knew that it was impossible to continue the discussion today, so he could only sigh helplessly, bow once more, and turn to leave the main hall.

……

No sooner had Manager Song left than Yanhe emerged from behind the screen in the hall.

She glanced at the sandalwood brocade box that Cui Shen was holding, and then at Yang Xuan's inscrutable face.

"You took their gold and then gave them an open channel to buy salt coupons. Aren't you afraid that outsiders will think you're a greedy, incompetent official who only cares about money?"

Yanhe asked softly.

"Greedy?" Yang Xuan sat back in his armchair and sneered. "If I don't act a little greedy, why would they willingly take out the real gold and silver hidden in the cellar?"

Cui Shen, listening from the side, had his eyes light up: "Does my lord mean that you never intended to cooperate with them at all, and this is just a delaying tactic?"

"The Tian and Hu families have been entrenched in Yanjing County for many years. Their foundation is not only a few salt wells, but also a huge cash flow and a complex network of relationships in the state."

Yang Xuan analyzed with a profound look in his eyes.

"If I directly refuse Manager Song today, or even arrest him, Tian Boyong will immediately become desperate and retaliate. They will use the caravans and bandits outside to block the salt route, and even directly attack the county government. Our current manpower is not enough to deal with both internal rebellion and powerful external enemies at the same time."

Yang Xuan tapped his fingers lightly on the table, making a rhythmic sound.

"So I gave them the wrong impression. I made them think that I, Yang Xuan, was nothing more than a corrupt official who wanted to line his own pocket. As long as the problem could be solved with money, they would postpone using force."

"The public sale of the new salt coupons tomorrow is the first step in forcing them to bleed money."

"In order to maintain their monopoly, they would never dare to let the new salt certificates fall into the hands of other small merchants, and they would definitely do everything they could to buy them. Once their cash flowed into the county government's treasury in large quantities, their cash flow would dry up."

"Without money, how will they manage to cultivate relationships with the state? How will they support their gangs and thugs?"

Yanhe listened to Yang Xuan's plan, a strange light flashing in his eyes.

"Fishing." She pinpointed Yang Xuan's true purpose.

"You're using these first batch of new salt certificates as bait to slowly drain their hidden wealth. At the same time, you're also buying time, giving Pei Zhao a chance to train his troops and Cui Shen a chance to regroup."

Yang Xuan gave her an appreciative look: "Yanhe understands me best."

"However," Yanhe said, his tone becoming somewhat serious.

"What Manager Song said before he left wasn't all intimidation. The salt route outside Yaozhou is indeed not safe. Once they find out that you're just squeezing money out of them and not actually giving them the quota, they will definitely use their undercover agents to ambush and kill our people on the way."

"I know." Yang Xuan's eyes sharpened like knives. "That's why we need this money. With money, we can buy better knives and recruit more daredevils."

"Manager Song came today to probe my intentions. But he didn't find out my intentions, while I saw through theirs."

Yang Xuan stood up and looked towards the door.

"The Tian family and Hu Rong's trump cards are nothing more than the prefectural government's backing and the bandits outside the city. Let's cut off their money supply first, and then we can use our remaining strength to chop off their outstretched claws one by one!"

……

Outside the county government office.

Manager Song hurriedly walked out of the gate and got into the blue carriage parked at the street corner.

Inside the carriage, a man wearing a black cloak, whose face was obscured, was resting with his eyes closed.

He slightly opened his eyes when he saw Manager Song enter.

"How did the talks go?" The man's voice was hoarse and low.

"He accepted the gold," Manager Song wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, "but he didn't agree to give out the quota privately. Instead, he said the new salt coupons would be sold publicly at noon tomorrow. This new magistrate is greedy enough, but his appetite is too big."

The cloaked man snorted coldly: "Greed makes things easier. The problem is he's like Hai Rui, who's impervious to reason."

"What about Old Man Tian's side..." Manager Song hesitated.

"Go back and tell Old Man Tian to bring enough money to buy it tomorrow. No matter how much he sells it for, we have to take it. We absolutely cannot let the salt rights of Qing'ao Well fall into the hands of others."

The cloaked man lifted the carriage curtain, his cold gaze sweeping over the crooked plaque of the county government office.

"Let's appease him with silver first. Once we've hauled the salt out of the city, I'll have someone break any of his unruly legs outside the city."

The carriage rolled over the bluestone slabs and slowly headed towards the Tian family mansion.

Meanwhile, Ah Fu, hiding in the shadow of the county government's high walls, quietly memorized this scene.

At noon, the gates of the Yanjing County Government Office opened wide.

In the open space in front of the main hall, there was a long table covered with a red cloth.

Cui Shen sat upright behind his desk, holding a stack of new salt coupons that smelled of ink and bore Yang Xuan's private seal and the county government's official seal.

Pei Zhao, accompanied by a dozen or so guards with swords at their waists, stood on both sides, exuding an imposing aura.

Outside the gate, merchants who had heard the news had already crowded in.

Many of them were local small salt merchants, while others were out-of-town merchants who had been stranded in the city for many days.

But what truly drew everyone's attention were the few people standing in the very front row.

Manager Song of Sihai Pawnshop, and Tian Chengyi, the head steward of the Tian family.

Behind them were a dozen or so burly farmhands carrying five or six heavy mahogany chests.

Although the box wasn't opened, its weight, which made the carrying pole creak, told everyone what was inside.