Chapter 94: I Won't Even See You to the Door

Chen Xin had been in Tianjin for a few days, strolling around leisurely every day, asking about goods prices, still mainly focused on silk. He had not gone to the clothing shop. It was only when Lao Cai heard Zhou Laifu mention it that he learned the proprietor was back, and he came rushing over obsequiously to pay his respects. Chen Xin also sent him to ask about prices but did not assign him to purchase any goods. Lao Cai left with a heart full of unease.

On the third day, Deng Keshan arrived. The two of them sat down at the stone table. Deng Keshan wore an ingratiating smile as he took out several sheets of paper, all drawn with two-dimensional tables. Two of the sheets were filled with the prices from over twenty of the larger silk shops, along with the identities of the backers behind them. The other sheet contained information on money houses.

Chen Xin glanced over them roughly. One shop actually belonged to the Mu clan chieftain of Lijiang (they really did exist). Sure enough, they knew how to make money from ancient times to the present. Chen Xin was very satisfied and said to Deng Keshan, "Brother Deng, you've worked hard. First, take five taels of silver."

Deng Keshan happily accepted the silver handed over by Zhang Da, then still stood there, waiting for Chen Xin to ask questions.

Chen Xin laid the sheets out on the stone table himself, placing the silk shops on one side and the money houses on the other. He studied them intently on the table, motionless for a long time, as if he too had become part of the stone table.

Among the actual owners of the silk shops and money houses, feudal princes, powerful eunuchs, imperial relatives, and capital officials were the majority. There were also some important local officials along the Grand Canal.

Chen Xin's expression was calm. Deng Keshan could not imagine what could be deduced from such a comparison. Just when Deng Keshan felt he was about to turn to stone himself, Chen Xin finally spoke.

"Brother Deng, do you know which of these money houses deals in the most private coinage?"

Deng Keshan pointed with his finger on the paper. "I know, I know. It's those with the 'Tong' character prefix, all belonging to several feudal princes in Henan. Most of their money goes to Henan, Shaanxi, and Shanxi. There's also Dehong Money House, which was originally Wei Liangqing's shop. It only changed to its current owner in the twelfth month. Wei Liangqing's silk shop was the same — it was snatched up by this man in the blink of an eye."

"Tian Hongyu." Chen Xin softly read the name on the paper. Deng Keshan continued, "Imperial Consort Tian's father. That old dog only gained power last September and immediately opened a money house in Tianjin. They have a huge amount of private coinage, shipped by boat. Now he's also taken over Wei Liangqing's shop and started issuing flying notes and silver drafts. I hear he's going to open a pawnshop too. The shopkeepers of these establishments are all his relatives or household-born bondservants."

Chen Xin actually knew of Tian Hongyu. He had seen this man's name before when reading about Chen Yuanyuan. He happened to come across Chen Yuanyuan while trafficking in people, used her himself, and then planned to give her away. A father-in-law giving a woman to his son-in-law — truly rare, even if the son-in-law was the Emperor. Chen Xin had little interest in these legendary beauties, but he had not sought out a woman once since crossing over, which truly left him unbearably pent up.

Chen Xin suppressed his stray thoughts and looked at the silk shop data. Sure enough, Tian Hongyu was in there too. It seemed he had thoroughly purged the eunuch faction. Since Tian Hongyu could still carry out those despicable deeds right up to the final years of the Chongzhen reign, it showed that Imperial Consort Tian's imperial favor never waned. That was a long-term connection. Looking further, the Prince of Fu and Prince of Zhou from Henan both ran both types of shops. If this was the case even just in Tianjin Garrison, there was no telling how many more they had along both banks of the Grand Canal and in their Henan territories.

Chen Xin asked a few more questions about the shops belonging to the feudal princes. Although some capital officials also ran shops, Chen Xin considered that during the Chongzhen reign, capital officials changed positions far too quickly. If their sales channels were suddenly cut off, it would be disastrous. The feudal princes and imperial relatives were still more reliable.

"These few, then." Chen Xin privately settled on Tian Hongyu and two Henan feudal princes, as well as the Prince of Lu from Shandong. These families all had both silk shops and money houses. He would build relationships through bulk purchasing, then sell copper coins to them. Weihai was even closer to Tianjin. In the north, counterfeit coin production was relatively low. Large quantities of counterfeit coins all came from the south via the Grand Canal, a long and arduous journey. There were six customs toll gates that required bribes along the way. Adding in transport costs, the expense would certainly be far higher than from Weihai.

Having made up his mind, he dismissed Deng Keshan. Chen Xin took a few personal guards and planned to go to the clothing shop, intending to assign Lao Cai to make initial price inquiries at these few establishments. Just as he opened the door, a smiling face appeared right before his eyes.

"Mr. Song! You've finally returned from the capital."

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As soon as Song Wenxian arrived, he did not even wait for tea before pulling Chen Xin inside the house to talk business.

"Those several matters you had Wang Yong bring back last time — let's discuss them one by one. The most pressing right now is the goods payment for the two sea vessels. His Excellency Zhong agreed. He's done it several times before and is accustomed to it. I reckon he considers himself not part of the eunuch faction, so he won't be in trouble for a while. On His Excellency Sun's side, there's some hesitation. From the news I heard in the capital, many people have their eyes on the position of Provincial Governor of Dengzhou and Laizhou. How long he can hold his seat is hard to say. Whether we can extract the silver depends heavily on Xiao Jiahua. I thought of this point some days ago and had her move back to my place. Within a few days, His Excellency Sun sent over a maidservant. Fortunately, it's at my home. I arranged for my wife and two other old women to keep that maidservant in check, so it's been covered up for now. I don't know what relationship this maidservant has with Sun Guozhen. I dare not try to bribe her yet, lest it arouse his suspicion instead."

Song Wenxian was no good man either. He was single-mindedly focused on extracting the silver from Sun Guozhen and Prefect Zhong, using the time lag of maritime trade to swallow it up, just like Li Song had done. This time, knowing in advance that they might fall from power, he intended to swallow even the principal along with it.

Chen Xin was not entirely confident in Xiao Jiahua's abilities. If one were talking about the bearing of a great household, that Pan Jinlian from the Shen family would have been the most suitable, but they were not selling. Somewhat worried, he said, "A maidservant can still be dealt with. But if Sun Guozhen comes to see her in person, or wants to take Xiao Jiahua to his own place, it will be very difficult. What's hateful is that this Xiao Jiahua is not very obedient to instruction."

Song Wenxian snorted and said, "We'll just have to think of something when the time comes. There have been many times I've almost wanted to beat her."

Chen Xin laughed in spite of himself. "Mr. Song, just beat her if you must. Ten taels if beaten to death, five taels if injured. You can keep the person."

Song Wenxian knew Chen Xin was joking, but he truly found Xiao Jiahua detestable. Her natural talent was extremely poor, yet she was utterly lacking in self-awareness. Circumstances forced him to teach her etiquette and rules, and every day he was driven to fury. Song Wenxian had already made up his mind: the moment Sun Guozhen's silver was in hand, he would personally sell her into a brothel, where she would receive at least fifty clients a day.

He glanced sideways at Chen Xin and said, "I can't be bothered to beat her. I reckon that once His Excellency Sun puts up the silver, he'll want to take this Xiao Jiahua to stay at his place, to keep her under close watch. When the silver is gone, His Excellency Sun will naturally deal with her."

Chen Xin shrugged indifferently, though he did not think Sun Guozhen would dare to kill people recklessly even after falling from power.

Song Wenxian did not wish to speak further of this person and changed the subject. "This trip to the capital did not go so smoothly. On Qian Yuanque's side, I went there, and he accepted the silver. From now on, as long as you submit any merit-reporting documents, the Ministry of War should not obstruct them. It's just this Yang Weiyuan..."

Chen Xin asked, "What about Yang Weiyuan? Did he get promoted?"

"He was indeed promoted to Vice Minister of the Court of the Imperial Stud, still concurrently handling circuit matters. But his official prospects are worrisome. This man is far too aggressive. Once he gained power, he attacked and slandered everywhere. In the middle of the first month, he got into a huge war of words with another censor named Ni. That Ni brought up the contents of his memorial impeaching Cui Chengxiu, which was full of praise for the traitor Wei, saying Wei the traitor did not love wealth and cared for the common people. Ni used this to firmly assert that Yang Weiyuan was originally on the same stage as Cui Chengxiu and only turned on him when he saw the situation turning sour. Once this matter was dragged out, many speaking officials are now impeaching Yang Weiyuan. I do not have high hopes for him."

Chen Xin was alarmed. He had actually never known exactly what Yang Weiyuan had impeached Cui Chengxiu for. Now, hearing the content, he knew this man was also a speculator. As he thought about it, he suddenly stood up and asked, "Then was that letter of mine delivered?"

Song Wenxian, seeing his urgent expression, smiled calmly. "Could your elder brother be that foolish? Since I knew the news, how could I leave behind any evidence? Not just the letter — I didn't even submit a visiting card, and the gift list was unsigned."

Chen Xin breathed a sigh of relief and sat back down. Yang Weiyuan had climbed too fast. Right after Wei Zhongxian fell, they had to use him as a benchmark. Now that the overall situation was settled, that memorial of his was the biggest flaw. Add to that his offending people everywhere, once he was struck down, his family property might even be confiscated. If that letter were found during the search, he himself could be implicated.

The situation in the capital was unpredictable, and his own sources of information were insufficient. All he knew were some major historical events, which were of no help at all in these specific struggles. It was better to get less involved in the future. Once entangled in such high-level struggles, not only would his reputation be ruined, but his very life would be hard to preserve.

After sitting down and taking a sip of tea, Chen Xin calmed his breathing and said, "Mr. Song is wise. Then how did you go about meeting him?"

"I met him. I didn't dare submit a visiting card. I reported your name and had to smash twenty taels of silver at the gatekeeper just to get in. After meeting him, I verbally mentioned the matter of Prefect Zhong. He also accepted the silver. He hinted that he would find other censors he was friendly with to impeach. I hoped he would do it in the fourth month, when we would already have the silver in hand. But he said the timing could not be fixed, which is another worry. If he acts too early and Prefect Zhong gets word of it, we won't be able to get the silver. If it's too late, the silver we earned will be taken back by Prefect Zhong."

This matter was beyond the control of the two of them. Chen Xin could only console him, saying, "Since that's the case, we need not force it too much. Even if Prefect Zhong doesn't fall, we'll just earn a bit less silver. It's just that the official circles in the capital are far too treacherous. We should get less involved in the future. Sending some gifts to the Ministry of War is still justifiable, but bribing censors is far too serious. Yang Weiyuan's prospects are worrisome. Cut off this line from now on. Don't leave any leverage in others' hands. Has that Wen Tiren arrived yet?"

Song Wenxian also took a sip of tea and frowned. "Why does Brother Chen keep inquiring about this man? Wen Tiren was promoted to Minister of Rites in Nanjing last October. He is now already in the capital, just appointed as an Expositor-in-Waiting, often in the Emperor's presence. He can be considered to have some prospects. But several Expositors-in-Waiting were appointed this time. Looking at his past official career, it's quite ordinary. Anyway, as per your wishes, I still delivered four thousand taels of silver. With such a large sum of silver changing hands, to avoid any suspicion, I took Qin Lufang along with me. The visiting card and gift list were in your name. He saw them. The gift list and silver drafts were also presented in front of him. This amount — even for a Grand Secretary, it would be no more than this."

"It was delivered. Good. What did you think of Wen Tiren? Did he meet with you?"

Song Wenxian glanced at Chen Xin with some dissatisfaction. "How could four thousand taels of silver not get a meeting? Again, it was smashed in with silver. Even the gatekeeper took fifty taels. This man is somewhat advanced in years, but I observed that his demeanor was steady. He does have some depth. Your name is well-known; even he had heard of it. But he seemed somewhat puzzled. Your elder brother here is also somewhat puzzled. You're not some Grand Secretary or Minister. Why would a Battalion Commander send him such a grand gift? Since Brother Chen says the capital's official circles are treacherous, why then do you want to establish a connection with this Wen Tiren? Aren't you afraid of being dragged down if he loses power?" Having said this, he fixed his gaze steadily on Chen Xin.

Chen Xin could not explain. He could hardly say he knew Wen Tiren was going to be Senior Grand Secretary for a very long time. He could only prevaricate, "I heard from someone that this man has a good official reputation. Consider it a gamble on his prospects. If I win, then in the future, I'll only keep this one line in the capital."

Song Wenxian could not comprehend a gamble of four thousand taels of silver, especially when the odds of winning seemed very, very small. But it was Chen Xin squandering his own silver, so it was none of his business. He then settled accounts with Chen Xin, taking out a small ledger. "With these few places gifted, plus what was given to Prefect Zhong and Provincial Governor Sun during the New Year visits, the six thousand taels of silver drafts you gave me are just about used up. The remaining few hundred taels, I couldn't be bothered to bring back and gave to Qin Lufang. The account book is right here."

Chen Xin nodded. Song Wenxian's interests were now closely tied to his own; he should not be so short-sighted as to cheat him of silver. He then told him about the copper coin matter. Song Wenxian had originally been optimistic about this path and expressed his desire to take a share.

Song Wenxian was very bullish on the money prospects this year, with a somewhat impatient air. He urged Chen Xin, "Then why don't you hurry and go make arrangements with those money houses? Invite all the shopkeepers out and give them some tokens of goodwill."

Chen Xin said calmly, "Why should we invite them? Let them come and invite us first. As for how to proceed with this matter, I'll discuss it with you in detail tomorrow. Today, I'll first arrange for Lao Cai to lead the initial charge."

Finally, Song Wenxian took a few books out of his bundle and tossed them on the table, saying, "These few useless books you wanted — I've bought them all for you. For that one by Zhao Shizhen, Qin Lufang and I nearly ran our legs off before we found it."

Chen Xin did not reply but hastily took them. Picking up a copy of *Shenqi Pu*, he skimmed through it briefly before smiling and saying, "Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Song. But these are not useless books. They are clearly houses of gold. Look here, illustrated and with text, written with a scientific attitude. Excellent. Think about it: if we make our firearms well, how much more silver can we plunder in the future?" As he spoke, he turned the page of the book around to face Song Wenxian.

Song Wenxian did not even glance at it. He tossed the bundle onto a nearby table, stood up, and said, shaking his head, "If you like looking at these houses of gold, then look at them. Your elder brother only loves the beauty of women, drunkenly lying among the flowers listening to the orioles sing. Tonight I won't stay here. I'm off to find my own pleasures. This trip to the capital has utterly exhausted me."

Hearing this, Chen Xin hurriedly put down the book. He had also been feeling extremely pent up lately. Before, he didn't have much silver. Now, he always had subordinates following him on regular days, and there were many matters to attend to, leaving no opportunity to go spend. He had finally captured a group of women with great difficulty, but Liu Minyou had taken them to live in a communal dormitory at the workshop, leaving him absolutely no chance to make a move. Now, with this old rogue Song Wenxian to lead the way, he was ready to experience a Ming dynasty establishment and incidentally lose his Ming dynasty virginity.

Song Wenxian had invited him several times before, but Chen Xin had never gone. He had thus always assumed that this Chen Xin disliked such places. Seeing him stand up, he waved his hand and said, "I know you don't like going to those kinds of places, so I won't invite you along."

Chen Xin froze for a moment and hurriedly explained, "Mr. Song, actually I was..."

"You don't need to see me off either. Between us, there's no need for such empty courtesies." Song Wenxian said as he headed for the main gate himself.

Chen Xin anxiously followed behind, saying as he went, "I was planning to..."

"Actually, I quite admire Brother Chen. Those great lords all put on a show of strict propriety, yet in secret they frequent brothels and keep actors. None can compare to Brother Chen, whose heart and mouth are one. If you say you won't go, then you won't go. Alright, Brother Chen, if you want to see me off, just see me to the door."

Chen Xin stopped, stunned. His words had all been blocked; he could not get them out. Song Wenxian was already nearing the courtyard gate. Filled with indignation, Chen Xin shouted at his retreating figure, "I won't even see you to the door."