Chapter 48: Storms Over Yangzhou City

Huai'an Prefecture.

“Left Chancellor, you’ve come in person!”

Gu YuanSong couldn’t help exclaiming.

He had thought it was already a big deal that the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard had come south in person to oversee the confiscations targeting the Seven Great Families.

He never expected that Zuo GuangEn, the Head Eunuch of the Office of State Affairs, would also come himself.

The salt administration of the Two Huai regions concerns the empire’s very foundation.

The Emperor is uneasy, so he has sent me personally to take charge.

Carry out all operations according to plan—I’m only here to observe.

By the way, besides me, Minister Xu from the Grand Secretariat has also come south.

You must move quickly—ensure the case is settled before Minister Xu arrives!”

Zuo GuangEn said with a smile.

The Seven Great Families of the Two Huai have secretly controlled the empire’s salt industry for nearly a century; their accumulated wealth is undoubtedly astronomical.

No one, not even the Emperor, would trust such vast wealth to just anyone.

The nobility, imperial relatives, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Eastern Depot, and the Pure Stream faction have all arrived—essentially to monitor each other.

With political rivals watching, even if they reach out, they dare not go too far.

Though Zuo GuangEn claims he won’t interfere, he is in truth the highest authority overseeing the Two Huai salt administration.

The fact that such a critical task has been entrusted to him proves the Emperor TianYuan’s trust in him far exceeds that in anyone else.

“Left Chancellor, rest assured—according to our plan, the Five City Military Command has already traced the Seven Great Families.

Marquis WuYang has sent official orders instructing us to swiftly confiscate the assets of the Seven Great Families.

Given their local power, we will act immediately once the capital troops arrive!”

Gu YuanSong immediately assured him.

The Office of State Affairs does not want the Pure Stream faction to interfere; neither does the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

No matter how meticulously they plan, there will always be flaws.

The court’s grand strategy is not the same as the Pure Stream’s agenda.

If the Pure Stream discovers a flaw, no one can guarantee those bastards won’t stab us in the back at a critical moment.

Fundamentally, this operation is a reallocation of salt industry profits.

There is only so much profit to go around; now the court is short on funds and needs to take a larger share.

The nobility, imperial relatives, and the secret police have all joined in, each seeking their cut.

Simply eliminating the Seven Great Families isn’t enough—they will also take away the Pure Stream faction’s share.

For starters, this year’s donations to major academies within the Pure Stream’s sphere will plummet sharply.

The year-end “ice and charcoal” bribes received by officials in the capital will also drop drastically.

“The capital troops switched from land to water midway—they will arrive in Huai’an Prefecture in two days.

Even if we tightly seal the news, the Seven Great Families will learn of the army’s entry into the Two Huai region.

Watch their every move—if anything seems off, strike immediately.

You may provoke them into rebellion, but absolutely must not let them organize a full-scale uprising!”

Zuo GuangEn’s words instantly made the room fall grim.

All these preparations were meant for a single, lethal strike—leaving the enemy no chance to resist.

Yet Zuo’s tone now clearly implied they should deliberately provoke the Seven Great Families into rebellion.

The advantage is obvious: once they raise the rebel banner, all their prior flaws vanish.

The Pure Stream will never overturn the verdict of rebels—that is a matter of principle.

It also allows them to use the rebel forces to implicate even more Pure Stream members, opportunistically weakening political rivals.

The downside is equally clear: if mishandled, the Two Huai situation could spiral out of control, possibly spreading to all of Jiangnan.

If the Emperor blames them, the executors may well become the scapegoats.

…

Walking through the streets of Yangzhou, Li Mu found it utterly dull.

Due to the city lockdown, merchants had closed their shops and civilians stayed indoors, afraid of attracting trouble.

The once-prosperous city of Yangzhou had suddenly become desolate.

“Issue orders: compel all merchants in the city to reopen their shops.

Tell them the case of the rebel assassination of the imperial envoy has been solved—the court has dispatched troops to capture the rebels; they need not fear.”

Li Mu gave a firm order.

The people’s stored supplies are limited; order in the city must be restored quickly, or chaos will erupt.

Just thinking about it was miserable.

While his colleagues fixated on the imprisoned salt merchants, all busy getting rich, he, the poor fool, had been saddled with managing Yangzhou.

Officialdom values balance—no one should monopolize all the benefits.

The credit for solving the case was hollow; Li Mu merely perceived the higher-ups’ will and moved ahead according to the powerful figures’ intentions.

Replace him with anyone else, and the outcome would be the same—perhaps with a few more twists.

Marquis WuYang still granted him the primary merit; when it came to grabbing wealth, Li Mu naturally knew to step back.

Having personally participated in convicting the salt merchant syndicate and witnessed the Seven Great Families of the Two Huai turned into meat on the chopping block, Li Mu was remarkably indifferent to money.

Greed is the original sin.

The salt merchant syndicate was the perfect cautionary tale.

Salt is a necessity of life; in a peaceful era with growing population, salt taxes should have steadily increased.

At its peak, Great Yu’s salt tax revenue reached 3.3 million taels; by TianYuan Sixth Year, it had dropped to just 1.3 million taels—with the Two Huai region suffering the steepest decline.

To address the persistent drop in salt tax revenue, the court repeatedly sent inspectors to oversee the salt routes, yet with minimal effect.

The bizarre death of the previous Salt Inspector had disgusted the Emperor even further.

Since polite persuasion failed to make them voluntarily pay up, the court would simply come and take it themselves.

“My lord, disaster!

A group of scholars has gathered in the western part of the city—suspected of planning to storm the yamen!”

Deng Company Commander said, panicked.

The status of scholar-officials had reached its peak in Great Yu.

Every time scholars rioted, it caused a major uproar.

Handling such matters was always the most delicate.

One misstep, and the scholars’ pens could kill just as effectively as swords.

“Is such a simple matter really worth teaching you?

Immediately dispatch men to seal off nearby streets under the pretext of arresting traitors, trapping these nuisances inside.

Whoever leads the disturbance is a co-conspirator of the rebels.

Find a chance to identify the masterminds and investigate their social backgrounds.

Knowing full well we’re handling a treason case, someone still dares to surface now—I refuse to believe they aren’t being directed from behind!”

Li Mu ordered coldly.

He was the court, representing justice—yet now he felt increasingly like the villain.

If it felt bad, he still had to do it.

The salt administration concerns Great Yu’s finances; finances concern the empire’s survival.

On this issue, whoever dares to interfere is the empire’s enemy.

As a member of the noble faction, Li Mu knew his position clearly.

“Your servant obeys!”

Deng Company Commander replied, gritting his teeth.

He came to report precisely because he didn’t want this miserable task.

But this hot potato was impossible to pass off.

Not acting was even worse—if his inaction led to a scholar riot,

Another name would surely be added to the list of those sacrificed in the south.

Watching Deng Company Commander depart, Lan LinJie spoke slowly:

“My lord, this matter is likely tied to the salt merchants.

While chatting with classmates, I heard some scholars are working to free the imprisoned salt merchants.

Many scholars in Jiangnan have received funding from salt merchants; some even hold incriminating evidence in the merchants’ hands…”

(End of Chapter)