usatvline Chapter 238 The Feast
Chapter 238 The Feast
Chapter 238 The Feast (Part 2)
"Shao She, are you perhaps planning to deal with Zhu Chen?" Manager Mo looked around and, seeing that the diners were all far away and the entire second-floor hall was quite noisy, asked with relief.
"Does Master Mo also know Zhu Chen?" Shao Shuyi asked in surprise.
"How could I not know?" Mo Bei looked at him with amusement and said, "I'm just a nobody, but before I came to Liujiagang with my wife, I traveled all over the country and visited many places. Zhu Chen is so famous; he's been wealthy for at least fifteen years, and in the last seven or eight years, he's expanded his businesses extensively. He has theaters, brothels, and shops all along Pingjiang Road. It would be strange if I didn't know him, would I?"
"I misspoke," Shao Shuyi laughed. "Do you know who Zhu Chen has connected with in the Liangzhe Transport Commission? Could it be Huo Yazhong? He doesn't have that kind of ability. It's just the Qu family in Shanghai." Mo Bei shook his head and said, "The Qu family has managed the Liangzhe Transport Commission for two generations. Although they have resigned, they still have many protégés and former subordinates. Zhu Chen has been gradually winning over the officials of the Transport Commission through the Qu family. That's all."
"Oh dear, I should have asked Master Mo sooner," Shao Shuyi sighed.
"Are you really going to deal with Zhu Chen?" Mo Bei gasped and asked.
Shao Shuyi glanced at him and said, "It's not that I want to deal with Zhu Chen, it's that he's trying to frame me."
"Framed?" Mo Bei asked, puzzled.
"It's a frame-up." Shao Shuyi nodded and said, "Do you know what a red forehead band is?"
Mo Bei froze for a moment, then slowly nodded: "I've heard of it."
"The Southern Censorate is investigating the red headband; Zhu Chen often does things for the government, and this time he was caught by the Southern Censorate," Shao Shuyi said. "After investigating and investigating, it seems that the censors can't find anything, so they plan to find a scapegoat and close the case casually. That scapegoat is me. Zhu Chen wants to help the censors make this an ironclad case, and now they are investigating me repeatedly, putting me in a very passive position, so I had no choice but to resort to this tactic."
Mo Bei was shocked for a long time upon hearing this. He really hadn't expected the inside story to be so complicated and to involve such a high level of sophistication.
This level of struggle is extremely dangerous; losing one's official position is the least of one's worries, and it is quite normal for one's wife, children, and relatives to be implicated.
"You know it's a poor choice—" After standing there for a moment, Mo Bei sighed, "Do you know how powerful Zhu Chen is?"
"Master Mo—" Shao Shuyi said seriously, "Zhu Chen is not an official government, so no matter how powerful they are, they can't bring it into the open."
Besides, as you said yourself, it took him at least fifteen years to rise to power, and counting the initial stages, he's been in power for twenty years. Why has he remained standing to this day? It must be because he has a tacit understanding with the government; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to live peacefully until now.
His power is indeed great, but how much of it can he mobilize in a hurry?
Can money piled up at home, box after box, turn into swords and spears?
With shops opening one after another, can they transform into brave warriors ready to fight?
With one vassal after another, who can bring people to his side within a few days when something really happens?
Putting everything else aside, just consider Zhu Chen's several subordinates who smuggled salt on Pingjiang Road. On the surface, they all respect him and get salt from him, but if Zhu Chen is punished by the government, do you think they will come forward? Perhaps they would in earlier years, when they were still grateful for Brother Zhu's kindness and had a lot of enthusiasm. But after so many years of indulging in pleasure and debauchery, their enthusiasm has long since cooled, and all that's left is petty scheming.
Even if we assume someone is willing to stand up for Zhu and Chen, so what? Can they arrive within ten days? If they can't, they can't fight alongside him, so it's useless; at most, they'll just retaliate afterward.
Therefore, what I need to deal with is Zhu Chen and his cronies, not his vast power. As for the backlash from his forces after his death, I'll just have to bear it. At worst, we can share the spoils. I know my limitations; I can't take over such a large territory all at once, so I'll take a portion first and let others fight for the lion's share.
L
His words were forceful and resounding, leaving Mo Bei dizzy with embarrassment.
But after careful consideration, he had to admit that part of Shao Shuyi's words were correct: you don't need to deal with Zhu Chen's vast forces scattered in Pingjiang, Changzhou, Jiqing, Zhenjiang and other places; you only need to kill Zhu Chen himself.
To use an imperfect analogy, Zhu Chen was like the Zhou emperor during the Spring and Autumn period, while his scattered regional leaders were like the rulers of various vassal states. If the Zhou emperor was in trouble, the vassal states might come to his aid, but if Zhu Chen was in trouble, how many of these people could come? Besides, they wouldn't be able to arrive in time.
After Zhu and Chen are gone, some people may seek revenge on Shao Shuyi, but there will be even more people fighting amongst themselves.
Considering that Zhu Chen, in order to maintain control over his subordinates, designated multiple individuals to sell smuggled salt even within a single prefecture—for example, there were four individuals in Wuxi Prefecture—
Thinking of Wuxi, Mo Bei couldn't help but ask, "Shao She, what about the Zhou family?" "Thank you for this, Mo Gong." Shao Shuyi bowed and said, "I have already rented a warehouse on the Grand Canal. The annual fee is only twenty ingots. From now on, I can expand my business to Wuxi. I am also negotiating the lease of land in Yixing. There are no big shots there."
Mo Bei felt a little relieved, but when he thought about the current situation, he couldn't help but frown and sigh, "Little Tiger, you don't need to be in such a hurry. You're still young, only seventeen years old this year. You have plenty of time to take your time. Even if it takes ten or eight years to properly manage and solidify the foundation in Jiangyin, it's completely worth it. Why are you in such a rush? When people are in a hurry, they act rashly. Sigh, what can I say to you?"
Shao Shuyi chuckled but didn't say anything.
Old Mo was a little scared, and there was also a hint of regret. Over the past year, the gifts he had given Old Mo totaled no less than fifty ingots, far exceeding his wages. Money is easy to come by, but it's not so comfortable when it comes to taking on responsibilities—of course, Old Mo was a fairly kind man and treated him well, but it's only natural to be alarmed when faced with such a situation.
"What do we need to do now?" Mo Bei asked.
"I'd like to see Rongfu," Shao Shuyi asked. "Is that alright?"
"I can't make that decision," Mo Bei shook his head and said, "Perhaps the madam can, but this—"
2
Shao Shuyi understood. Mo Bei didn't have the influence to arrange a meeting with Shen Rong, but Shen Rong's sister, being his own sister, could.
"Thank you." Shao Shuyi bowed.
Mo Bei sighed and said, "Take care."
After seeing off Mo Bei and his nephew, Shao Shuyi and the others started walking back, discussing some matters along the way.
Pedestrians on the street avoided them when they saw them.
A person wearing a dark blue straight robe, with a cowhide belt around their waist and swords hanging from it—it's best to keep your distance from such a person.
Looking at the starry sky, Shao Shuyi laughed and said, "Back when we were at sea, the Milky Way was absolutely brilliant."
Wu Heizi also reminisced, saying with emotion, "When we docked at the shore, I slept fully clothed in the cabin, rocking gently, and slept soundly until dawn."
Shao Shuyi laughed loudly and said, "Hei Zi, can you still manage to spend the whole night in the cold wind in the cabin?"
Wu Heizi was somewhat embarrassed.
He feels like something's missing if he doesn't sleep with a woman in his arms.
Even the dry rations on the ship, which were as hard as rocks, were difficult to swallow.
I prefer Shaoxing wine and Yixing Zisun tea; I can't even find Qingyuan Fan Dianshi tea appealing anymore.
Looking at the dark blue cloth robes worn by Liang Tai and the others, and then at his own brocade robe made of fine silk from Suzhou, Wu Heizi felt quite ashamed.
I've drifted a bit too far from my brothers.
"Shao She, I'll go with you tomorrow—" Wu Heizi said in a moment of impulsiveness, feeling extremely ashamed.
Shao Shuyi gently pressed his hand down and said, "Tell me about the surveillance."
Wu Heizi was slightly disappointed, but also felt a sense of relief. After sorting out his thoughts, he said, "I found out. He came from Changshu and his name is Zhang Sanniu."
"How did you know?" Shao Shuyi asked.
"Do you still remember that fishing village by the river?" Wu Heizi asked.
"I remember, he was Madam Liu's father's sworn brother."
"Yes, that's where I found out," Wu Heizi said. "Sometimes they buy salt from smugglers because it's cheaper than from salt merchants. I've seen Zhang Sanniu. Actually, I didn't think of it at first, but Baijianu said that the person being followed might be a smuggler, so I looked around for people to follow and identify them. In the end, I recognized him. He was one of Zhu Chen's men. He used to be Zhu Chen's bodyguard. Now he's back in his hometown of Changshu selling smuggled salt."
After saying that, Wu Heizi looked at Shao Shuyi with eager eyes and said, "Shao She, should we make a move?" Shao Shuyi stopped and looked at Wu Heizi's eager, almost pleading, eyes, remaining silent for a long time.
The others also stopped and turned their attention to the two of them.
Yu Yuan hesitated for a moment, then finally sighed inwardly.
Liang Tai watched all of this calmly, as if nothing could stir his emotions.
"Don't act yet. I haven't figured out how to use this person," Shao Shuyi said. "Let him investigate in Taicang. There are only so many open businesses, so I'm not afraid of him investigating. Even if he finds out my identity, so what? It's inevitable. If he can find out, Zhu Daocun can find out too, and the censor can find out even more. It doesn't matter."
After saying that, he continued walking forward, saying, "However, your suggestion is not wrong. We will have to deal with him eventually, but not now."
"Leave the matter of dealing with him to me," Wu Heizi said, taking two steps forward.
Shao Shuyi nodded slightly and said nothing more.
The others quickly followed.
After spending a night in the riverside courtyard, Shao Shuyi was preparing to visit Madam Shen when Zheng Fan arrived. He said that his old master had returned from supervising the grain transport, but had been seriously ill and was only just able to walk around. Hearing that he had returned from Jiangyin, he invited him to visit Yantietang.
After thinking it over, Shao Shuyi had no choice but to change his plans and find a boat to go to Taicang.