Chapter 171: 169: Merchants Chase Great Profits

Chen Maosheng, as head of the Regional Command's Propaganda Office, married a former prostitute who had left the life — a woman who had been raped just half a year earlier.

And Zhao Han himself officiated the wedding!

The news spread rapidly, causing a sensation not only across the eight counties but even reaching prefectures and counties farther away.

Though there was plenty of criticism, the positive effect was also striking — people's attitudes were gradually changing.

That very month, over thirty prostitutes applied to join the propaganda corps…

Zhao Han's policy toward the brothel quarter was very similar to his stance on concubinage.

If the people do not report it, the authorities do not pursue it; if the people do report it, the authorities will certainly pursue it!

In principle, brothels were forbidden, and they were also subject to taxation.

But there were no proactive raids. If a prostitute wished to leave of her own free will, the brothel was not permitted to obstruct her in any way; otherwise, that brothel would be shut down directly. All told, seven brothels had already been closed, all implicated in illegally restricting women's freedom — the publicly announced charge was "forcing the virtuous into prostitution."

The grain merchant Li Fenglai was at that very moment passing his time inside a brothel.

His business trip to Ji'an this time had not gone very smoothly, because Zhao Han's wars and army expansion consumed a great deal of grain, and what remained still had to be stockpiled.

Only some of the great households that had received land distributions still lived in extravagance; short of silver, they had no choice but to sell grain. And some common folk sold grain to the village money-and-grain shops, which in turn sold it to outside grain merchants. Bit by bit, Li Fenglai had collected over a thousand shi of grain.

Rural money-and-grain shops had not been completely banned — only usury was prohibited.

Because the money-and-grain shops run by landlords were vitally important in the countryside; peasants had to rely on such shops to exchange grain for copper cash or silver.

The grain stores under Fei Chun could not cover every village and town; roughly one grain store was set up for every two or three towns.

If a landlord's money-and-grain shop was too exploitative, peasants would choose to travel the extra distance and sell their grain to the official grain store for money.

Having listened to some songs and drunk his fill of flower wine, Li Fenglai was helped into bed by the celebrated courtesan Pan Saisai.

He felt something digging into the back of his head. Reaching under the pillow, he pulled out a copy of The Great Unity Collection and immediately laughed. "Miss Pan reads this sort of book too?"

Pan Saisai explained, "Once I finish this month, I'm going to take the propaganda officer examination, so naturally I have to read the essays ahead of time."

"The madam is willing to let you go?" Li Fenglai asked in surprise.

"How would she dare not to?" Pan Saisai said scornfully. "If she hadn't pleaded so desperately, I would have left at the start of the month. I won't speak falsely to you, Master Li — if one can truly leave this life, who would willingly degrade herself?"

Li Fenglai sat up and leaned against the headboard. "Regional Commander Zhao has held Ji'an Prefecture for so long — why is Miss Pan only now thinking of leaving the life?"

Pan Saisai replied, "Since ancient times, a prostitute who leaves the life rarely meets a good end; in the end she is simply cast aside by some heartless man. Before, I was afraid. I misunderstood the propaganda corps and thought it meant joining the army to do that sort of thing. Now it's different. Think how exalted Master Chen is — he heads the Regional Command's Propaganda Office, yet he does not disdain our origins and marries a former prostitute as his wife, with Mr. Zhao himself officiating. If there is hope, why would I not go?"

Pan Saisai began to daydream about the days ahead and said with a smile, "I'm not aiming too high. I just need to work seriously with the propaganda corps, find a man of upright character who can read a few characters, and marry him. If he truly treats me well, it's fine even if he can't read."

Seeing that this celebrated courtesan's body was still in the pleasure quarter but her heart had already flown to the propaganda corps, Li Fenglai sighed. "Ah, I fear the pleasure quarters of Ji'an Prefecture will grow fewer and fewer from now on."

Pan Saisai said coldly, "A place that shelters filth and conceals vice — it would be best if there were none at all."

Since Pan Saisai had resolved to leave the life, she could no longer be bothered to deliberately ingratiate herself with customers and simply spoke whatever was on her mind.

Perhaps there were cases of brothels imprisoning women, but such a thing could never happen to a celebrated courtesan. And now, with the authorities backing her, Pan Saisai could leave whenever she wished — she did not even need to pay a redemption fee.

Li Fenglai casually flipped open that copy of The Great Unity Collection. He had been forced to buy one the moment his merchant boat docked.

He had been too lazy to look at it then, but now he grew interested, and as he read on, his heart began to pound with alarm.

The Great Unity Collection contained only five essays: "Selected Passages from the Great Unity Society Charter," "On the Great Unity Land Distribution," "On the Mandate of Heaven," "On Stations and Status," and "On the Good and the Base."

"On Stations and Status" was signed by Zhao Zhuochen. In truth, it had long since spread to Nanchang and even to other provinces, with Cai Maode playing a role in fanning the flames.

"On the Good and the Base," however, was written by Chen Maosheng — entirely in plain vernacular, meant for dissemination among the lower classes. Wang Tiaoding was then asked to polish it, rendering it in a flourish of literary brilliance to be shown to the educated.

Li Fenglai came from a great clan of Nanchang, but he was a son of a concubine; otherwise, why would he toil and travel so hard? He could simply lie at home and enjoy himself.

After finishing these essays, Li Fenglai felt that his own family was surely doomed — those tens of thousands of mu of fertile land could never be preserved in the future.

First came alarm and fear, then delight.

Li Fenglai had already established a connection with Zhao Han. So what if the land was redistributed? He was only a concubine's son anyway. He had worked himself to the bone for years, yet all the money he earned went to the clan; he himself had only saved a little over three thousand taels of silver.

What's more, he dared not fully reveal even those three thousand-odd taels, because the greater part of it came from lining his own pockets.

Now he could hardly wait for Zhao Han to take Nanchang as soon as possible and forcibly break up the Li clan and divide its property. He would surely get a few thousand taels for himself. Then, relying on his connection with Zhao Han, he would earn his living through trade, and all the silver he made from then on would be his own!

Are the great and powerful houses really a monolithic block?

Far from it.

Plenty of concubine's sons, and even sons of the main wife, were itching to divide the family property as quickly as possible — they would rather give up the farmland and still support splitting the family!

Li Fenglai was so excited he could not sleep the whole night. The next day, he went to pay a call on Zhao Han. As a long-term trading partner of the Regional Command, he was specially permitted to present his visiting card directly to Zhao Han, and he was very quickly granted an audience.

After some pleasantries, Zhao Han said apologetically, "This year, there are many demands on our grain, and we have no surplus grain to sell to Steward Li."

Li Fenglai smiled. "That is no matter. Next year, the Regional Commander will surely have grain in abundance. I have made inquiries — this year, across the eight counties, the Regional Commander has vigorously promoted crops like sweet potatoes. Next year, there will certainly be more peasants willing to sell grain."

The eight counties under Zhao Han's rule contained a great deal of barren, hilly land; in some of the poorer counties, the hills accounted for over eighty percent of the land.

On such land, traditional grains yielded very poor harvests, and even planting corn was not entirely satisfactory — but planting sweet potatoes could absolutely fill the peasants' bellies.

Zhao Han cautioned, "When Steward Li comes to buy grain next year, do not drive the price down too ruthlessly. Cheap grain harms the farmer."

"I will bear it in mind," Li Fenglai said, immediately grasping the implication: some price suppression was permissible, and grain prices would certainly fall next year, but he must absolutely not go too far.

Zhao Han had also considered establishing grain stations in every town and requiring peasants to sell their surplus grain only to those stations. But thinking of the long term, he had abandoned the idea and allowed the peasants to trade freely. Because once the grain trade was under official management, there would be far too many loopholes to exploit, and it would surely become a disaster zone of grassroots corruption in the future.

Many policies begin with good intentions, but once they are rolled out, they become distorted.

Take the shop-stall tax, for example. Zhao Han could only levy a fixed tax based on the area of the shop or stall, combined with the location of the business.

If he tried to tax based on turnover — believe me, a few decades from now, every shop with connections would be claiming they were operating at a loss and had hardly any turnover at all.

They talked a while longer, and then Li Fenglai suddenly dropped to his knees. "Regional Commander, Li Fenglai of Nanchang is willing to swear his life in service to you!"

Zhao Han was completely baffled and hurriedly helped him up. "Why would Steward Li do this?"

Li Fenglai explained, "I have observed the Regional Commander's benevolence and virtue, and I am certain that within a few years, you will seize the entire province of Jiangxi. Should the day come when the Regional Commander attacks and occupies Nanchang, I am willing to cooperate with the land distribution and the division of family property. And if I receive any intelligence in the future, I will immediately send someone to report it."

Li Fenglai wanted to become an imperial purveyor, and having established a connection with Zhao Han, he could not wait to break free from his clan.

Breaking free from the clan was only the first step.

Once he prospered in the future, his clansmen would surely come looking for him, and then he would be the one calling the shots in the family. This had been impossible before — a concubine's son was expected to obediently labor for the clan and nothing more.

But Zhao Han's rise had shown Li Fenglai an opportunity, and he was willing to stake everything on it.

In all of Jiangxi, Ji'an Prefecture ranks among the very top.

If you count jinshi graduates, Nanchang Prefecture is first, Ji'an Prefecture second.

If you count population, Ji'an Prefecture is first, Nanchang Prefecture second.

A complete Ji'an Prefecture contains a full nine counties.

Although Zhao Han holds only three counties, they are the most essential counties of Ji'an Prefecture. Do not look down on Anfu County — in total Ming-dynasty jinshi, it surpasses Jishui County (Jishui has a higher density). After the great rout of government troops, countless poor scholars came forward seeking office.

And Taihe County, ravaged by the rebels, likewise has more jinshi than Jishui County.

Recently, a great number of gentry and poor scholars have fled to Taihe County, and they too are willing to pledge themselves to Zhao Han. Their land has been seized anyway, and since Zhao Han seems capable of succeeding, they will stake a gamble on their future.

Put it this way: among the literate men under Zhao Han, if you count even the child students, the numbers have already reached an explosive state.

Many scholars, without even a chance to become clerks, have flocked to the White Egret Isle Academy to attend lectures, hoping to study the Great Unity theories before seeking office.

With such abundant resources, and having also taken Linjiang Prefecture, a critical tax hub, Li Fenglai believes Zhao Han's success is certain.

At the very least, occupying all of Jiangxi presents no problem, and even if Fujian and Guangdong guest troops come to suppress him, it will be useless.

Afraid that Zhao Han might not trust him, Li Fenglai volunteered: "Regional Commander, I have three sons. The eldest is fourteen, the second eleven, and the youngest only seven. I am willing to send both my eldest and second sons to study at the White Egret Isle Academy."

These would be hostages.

Zhao Han laughed heartily: "With a man like you to aid me, why worry that the realm cannot be pacified?"

Li Fenglai was in the grain trade, buying grain from Jiangxi and Huguang and then selling it to the various prefectures of Jiangnan.

The Li family had trading houses in multiple locations across Huguang, Jiangxi, and Jiangnan. Slipping a couple of men into them would certainly pose no problem — wouldn't that establish an intelligence network?

After discussing matters with Li Fenglai for half the day, Zhao Han began selecting intelligence personnel, men of the utmost loyalty and competence.

All these men were placed under Xu Ying's management.

Half a month later, Li Fenglai took the grain he had purchased, along with over twenty intelligence operatives, and led his fleet toward Nanchang Prefecture.

The first thing he did upon returning was to dispatch his trusted men to escort his eldest and second sons to the White Egret Isle Academy.

As for those intelligence operatives, they slipped away behind Li Fenglai's back and secretly made contact with Xu Ying.

This man Li Fenglai could not yet be fully trusted, and Xu Ying's true identity was not convenient to reveal.

As for Xu Ying, he had been thriving remarkably during this period!

(End of Chapter)