usatvline Chapter 228 Investigation
Chapter 228 Investigation
Chapter 228 Investigation
Shao Shuyi is indeed preparing to go into hiding.
Censors are the most troublesome type of official. They are not responsible to local areas, so if something happens in the local area, they will not be implicated—and even if they are, the censor-in-chief will protect people within his own system, and in the end, it will all be a messy dispute.
Ironically, these people have the power to supervise local officials without any restrictions on scope. They can manage anything, so every time the officials of the Anti-Corruption Bureau investigate the region, it is a "natural disaster" for the officialdom. Even if they bribe officials, some officials will always fall from power, as if they also have "quotas".
Therefore, if you're targeted by this kind of official, don't try to fight back; just avoid them. Because the censors have a fatal weakness: they lack direct law enforcement power.
Taking the Southern Terrace as an example, it had one Grand Master (rank 1), two Vice Ministers (rank 2), two Attendant Censors (rank 2), and two Attendant Censors in charge of books (rank 3), these were the official positions. Below them were the chief officials such as the Registrar, the Clerk, the Registrant, and the Storehouse Manager, as well as the various censors of the Censorate—a total of fourteen Mongol censors and fourteen Han and Southern censors.
It is clear that they are all "office staff" and there is almost no law enforcement agency. The only person in charge who is related to law enforcement is the head of the Bureau of Issuance and the Prison Assistant (a rank 8), but he is mostly involved in internal purges and his staff is pitifully small.
If I can't afford to mess with this kind of person, can't I at least avoid them?
The reasons were quite valid: first, to purchase silk; second, to investigate the local market—let Han Yuanshan wait foolishly at the Zen temple, I'm off.
Yes, he was leaving, but not in a panic; he was going out to conduct research.
After gradually establishing himself in Jiangyin, he had long wanted to visit the surrounding areas of Changshu Prefecture (Pingjiang Road), Wuxi Prefecture (Changzhou Road), and Yixing Prefecture (Changzhou Road).
Wuxi was a hub for canal transport, with the canal connecting the north and south, and the rice, cloth, and silk markets were all thriving.
Yixing is mountainous and densely forested, and pottery, tea, bamboo and wood products are all profitable businesses.
More importantly, both places are not far from Jiangyin, and can be reached by water in two or three days. If something happens, there is enough time to rush back.
If we can expand our business there, even if we can't stay in one place in the future, we won't be cut off from our livelihood—we're short on time this time, so let's go to Wuxi first.
Before leaving, he called Yu Yuan and Yang Jin over to discuss the itinerary and the matters that needed to be explained.
The salt business in Jiangyin was temporarily handed over to Yu Yuan, who kept the account books and money box close to his body. If Han Yuanshan became angry, he could simply disband the boatmen and flee with the boatmen. In short, the money and accounts could not be left to Han Yuanshan, nor to the likes of Kuolijisi and Zhang Yang.
Yang Jin still oversees the transportation business. He's been in high spirits lately and hasn't used Shao Shuyi's own people. He's basically absorbed the remaining forces of Zhu Ding and Wang Zongsan, such as Zhang Hou'er, the wandering knight of Xishun, and they're scrambling for business everywhere, making a fortune.
On the morning of the third day of the tenth lunar month, just as dawn was breaking, Shao Shuyi changed into an inconspicuous gray cloth outfit, put on a straw hat, and went directly to the signing room.
The sea bream at the dock was ready long ago. It was named "Huangjia". The ship manager was Zang Hanyi, a seafarer from Taicang. He was in his early thirties, honest, tight-lipped, and quick-witted.
Besides the yellow-armored boat, there were two small, temporarily hired, black-awning boats.
Yu Yuan, accompanied by his two accountants Lu Chaoen and Jiang Cheng, came to see them off. He stuffed a bundle containing one hundred ingots of silver into Shao Shuyi's arms and whispered, "Brother, this is from Manager Mo's classmate in Wuxi—"
'
At this point, Yu Yuan looked down at the small note again, carefully confirming it before continuing, "He owns land and houses in the countryside, and usually lives in his own grain shop near the North Gate. His name is Zhou Siwen. You can go directly to him when you arrive in Wuxi. Trust me, I've put it in my bag."
"
Shao Shuyi nodded, jumped onto the boat, and ordered the mooring ropes to be untied.
Gao Daqiang, Bian Yuanheng's team of twenty-eight men, and the "direct subordinates of the command" led by Liang Tai had been waiting on the ship for a long time. When Shao Shuyi came aboard, Liang Tai handed him a meat pie.
The sea bream silently glided into the misty river, followed closely by two small, black-awning boats.
Huangtian Port gradually blurred behind us, leaving only the outlines of houses and a few wisps of smoke.
******
After a day and a half's journey by boat, we arrived at the canal wharf outside the North Gate of Wuxi on the afternoon of the fourth day.
Shao Shuyi didn't rush into the city. He had Zang Han moor the boat near Huangbudun, and sat at the bow, squinting at it for a long time.
Boats came and went on the canal, grain boats, cloth boats, salt boats, their masts like a forest, and the shouts of boatmen rose and fell. The rice market on the shore was even more lively, with sacks of white rice being unloaded from the boats and piled up like small mountains. Accountants were using abacuses, and shop assistants were shouting as they weighed the rice. The air was filled with the smell of grain and the fishy smell of the river.
"This is the place to do business," Shao Shuyi said in a low voice.
He worked in Jiangyin for over a year and made substantial profits in all aspects. However, Jiangyin is a small city with only tens of thousands of households and a total population of only 400,000 in the entire region, so the market is only so big.
Wuxi is different. It's a distribution center for goods from both the north and south. To the north, it connects to the Yangtze River; to the south, the Grand Canal and Taihu Lake; to the east, Suzhou; and to the west, Changzhou and Zhenjiang. Any goods can find buyers here, and any goods shipped from here can be sold far and wide.
Shao Shuyi already had a few ideas in mind.
Salt, that's his old profession.
Inquiries made through the Jiangyin prefectural government revealed that Wuxi prefecture had over 70,000 households and nearly 351,000 people. Of course, this was old data from an unknown period, as the Yuan Dynasty had not conducted population statistics for decades. The private salt market was similar to that of Jiangyin.
However, the competition was fierce. It is said that the salt merchants in Wuxi were divided into several groups, all getting their goods from Zhu Chen, and each occupying its own docks, without interfering with each other, making it difficult for outsiders to break in. Zhu Chen was quite powerful, actually establishing a stable private salt distribution order.
Cloth, the cloth market in Wuxi is known as the "cloth wharf"—of course, there is also one in Jiangyin.
Printed cloth from Songjiang, silk from Suzhou, cotton cloth from Jiangyin, and even local homespun cloth and silk fabrics all changed hands here.
He has dozens of boatmen under his command, who train him irregularly. Now he also has four sea bream. If he can take over the transportation of cloth from Wuxi to Jiangyin, Changzhou, Yixing, and Liyang, the profits will be enormous.
In addition, Wuxi Rice Market was one of the distribution centers for imperial grain shipments, handling both official and civilian grain.
He's new to the grain and oil industry and doesn't know much about it yet, but he understands transportation—it all boils down to driving carts and boats. If he could secure transportation contracts with a few companies, he wouldn't have to worry about making a living.
He touched the ring-shaped knife at his waist, thinking to himself that he couldn't rush things and needed to warm up the ground first.
So they took everyone to a restaurant on the island for a meal. They learned that this place was where Wen Tianxiang stayed when he was captured and passed through Wuxi. It was later converted into a place for food and lodging, catering to merchants and travelers.
As evening fell, Shao Shuyi entered Wuxi City and found Zhou Siwen, a classmate of Manager Mo from his youth.
Zhou Siwen was a short, stout man in his forties with a round face and a smiling face. With the passage of time, he had, like Manager Mo, transformed from a spirited scholar into a shrewd and worldly businessman.
However, Zhou Siwen still valued old friendships. Upon hearing that Mo Bei had introduced him, he immediately became enthusiastic, leading Shao Shuyi to the back room, brewing a pot of fine tea, and preparing a meal.
Shao Shuyi didn't rush to talk about business. He only said that he was a passing merchant who wanted to check out the market in Wuxi.
Zhou Siwen was a sensible man and didn't ask many questions, only mentioning things about Wuxi. He talked about which street's inns were clean, which dock's porters were reliable, and most importantly—which businesses were run by which people.
"If Cao She wants to do cloth trading, it's not difficult," Zhou Siwen said. "But if he wants to do something else, we have to mention Mo Tianyou."
Shao Shuyi perked up and said, "Please teach me, sir."
Zhou Siwen sighed softly and said, "This man is incredibly strong, but also fierce, cruel, and bloodthirsty. In the entire Wuxi Prefecture, everyone knows the infamous 'Tiger Mo.' He's involved in everything from smuggled salt, grain, and cloth to transporting goods. Aside from smuggled salt, who dares to compete with him in any other business? They'll surely be drowning in the rivers and lakes in a couple of days, eaten by fish and shrimp—a truly horrific fate."
Shao Shuyi nodded slightly.
The four people who entered with him—Tie Niu, Liang Tai, Gao Daqiang, and Bian Yuanheng—opened their eyes wide, as if they had met a fellow traveler.
This Mo Laohu is similar to Brother Shao in his position in Jiangyin, and he has been in business for a longer time and has a more solid foundation.
"Did Zhou Gong have dealings with Mo Tianyou?" Shao Shuyi suddenly asked.
Zhou Siwen got up and called over a man, saying, "This is my son Danchi. He is in charge of dealing with Mo Laohu."
"Why don't you speak with the guests, my son?"
Zhou Danchi bowed to Shao Shuyi and said, "I want to let you know that Mo Tianyou is a man of eccentric temperament and is really hard to fathom."
If someone offends him, he may not die; perhaps he will even please them and be rewarded. If someone flatters him, he may not live; perhaps he will suddenly turn on them and kill them on the spot. This person is one.
In the end, Zhou Danchi didn't know how to describe it.
Shao Shuyi was greatly shocked. What the hell is this if not a lunatic?
"Mo Tianyou mainly deals in smuggled salt and doesn't concern himself with other businesses," Zhou Danchi continued. "The grain and oil business is managed by a man named Yang Mao under him. Any slightly larger grain shops have to pay him money. After paying, he doesn't interfere anymore; you can sell wherever you want. If any disputes arise, there will be arbitration, which is more convenient than going to court."
Shao Shuyi couldn't help but glance at Zhou Danchi.
This person speaks clearly, thinks logically, and has a set of methods for judging people and things; he seems quite good.
So he asked, "May I ask, Zhou Xiaoshe, given Mo Tianyou's arrogance, doesn't the prefectural government do anything about it?"
Zhou Danchi glanced at the four people behind Shao Shuyi and said, "Officials only care about keeping things quiet. In the past seven or eight years, no one in Wuxi Prefecture has dared to deal with Mo Tianyou. This is because he not only recruits hooligans and bullies in the city, but also owns a lot of land and houses in the countryside and recruits fugitives. There are rumors in the prefecture that Mo Tianyou has privately trained dozens of followers who are fierce and difficult to control."
Holy crap! Shao Shuyi's eyes have been opened!
He thought about it carefully, and realized that there didn't seem to be such a person in history at the end of the Yuan Dynasty—or perhaps there was, but he just didn't know it.
But in any case, there was a reason why Mo Tianyou was so arrogant, and there was also a reason why the officials in Wuxi Prefecture dared not touch him.
Liang Tai listened quietly, but subconsciously leaned forward, as if trying to hear more clearly.
Gao Daqiang raised his eyebrows, his expression showing a strong sense of eagerness.
Bian Yuanheng had an indifferent expression, seemingly not taking this person seriously.
As for Tie Niu, he remained expressionless, probably because he didn't understand.
Shao Shuyi composed himself, thinking to himself that he hadn't known until he came out that the Yuan Dynasty was truly "too lenient." Local areas were filled with landlords and officials, as well as powerful and tyrannical figures. It was hard to say how far the government's orders could actually travel beyond the city limits.
"What kind of business are you looking to do here, guest?" Zhou Danchi asked Shao Shuyi with a burning gaze.
Shao Shuyi pondered for a moment, then asked, "I would like to see Mo Tianyou. Is there any way to do so?"
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