Mo Sang – CH 220

Chapter 220. Old Meng and Old Wu

In Jianle City.

In the Qingning Palace, three prime ministers, Grand Councilor Pang, and Prime Minister Dai sat, passing around the good news that had just arrived on horseback with gongs and fanfare.

The Shizi had just captured Jiangzhou City.

Prime Minister Dai frowned, glancing over the short report once, then carefully reading it a second time.

The three prime ministers and Grand Councilor Pang wore expressions of joy but clearly could not hide their deep confusion.

According to the established strategy, the Shizi should have first taken Changsha, then Tanzhou, and after stabilizing the situation, advanced westward to take Yuzhang, launching a pincer attack on Jiangzhou. Why had he suddenly captured Jiangzhou City?

The three prime ministers and Grand Councilor Pang exchanged glances every so often, then glanced at Gu Jin.

Gu Jin looked extremely well and was in excellent spirits.

Prime Minister Wu glanced at Prime Minister Dai, who was reading the report again, and patiently waited for him to finish and then for the Emperor to speak.

There was definitely something fishy about this. He needed to listen first and speak only after he’d fully understood.

Prime Minister Dai finally finished reading the congratulatory report, handing it to Minister Du, who was sitting next to him, while looking at Privy Councilor Pang.

He did not quite understand the report. Apart from the clear statement about capturing Jiangzhou City, everything else was too vague. To be precise, it did not say anything else!

How was Jiangzhou City captured? Did they just pull out their swords and take it?

Gu Jin looked at the congratulatory report on his desk, put down his cup, and looked at everyone in turn, smiling. “Since receiving the Shizi’s secret report last night, I’ve been hesitant about whether to show it to you.”

“Now it seems I should show it to you. Otherwise, if you are ignorant and lose your composure, that would not be good.”

Gu Jin said, picking up a letter from the desk and handing it to Minister Wu. “How Jiangzhou City was captured is all here. Take a close look.”

Prime Minister Wu read it quickly, held his breath, and handed it to Prime Minister Pan beside him. He patted his knee lightly, his face full of admiration, but that was all. This matter was truly too unexpected; he was somewhat unsure how to judge it or what to say. He had to wait for the Emperor’s words first.

Prime Minister Pan finished reading and handed it to Privy Councilor Pang. He thought for a moment, blinking several times.

Prime Minister Dai read it quickly this time, handing the secret report back, feeling somewhat bewildered.

The previous report of good news had been bewildering because Jiangzhou City had fallen from the sky; now, it was the contents of this secret report, the origin of Jiangzhou City, that left him somewhat bewildered. This matter was rather difficult to explain.

The Boss, smuggling silk, had reached the home of Yang Wen, the garrison commander of Jiangzhou City. By sheer coincidence, she arrived just as Yang Wen and his wife were having a domestic dispute. The Boss, in a display of chivalry, slit Yang Wen’s throat.

What kind of mess was this?

“A month ago, the Shizi submitted a secret report, saying that he had lent eight hundred thousand taels of spring tax from Jingzhou to the Boss for one month at an interest rate of four hundred thousand taels.” Gu Jin looked at Prime Minister Dai.

Prime Minister Dai’s eyes widened upon hearing this. He stammered and nodded repeatedly, “It’s already been handed over; all of it has been handed over.

It was handed over by that Changshan from Shunfeng. I was ordered to collect it together with the Ministry of Revenue. There were banknotes and coins, a very mixed bag. The coins were all mixed silver. The banknotes have all been exchanged, and the mixed silver has all been verified for purity and has all been stored in the treasury. I submitted a secret report.”

The Emperor had suddenly summoned him and ordered him to go to Shunfeng with the Ministry of Revenue to collect the spring tax silver from Jingzhou. He was extremely puzzled at the time.

While collecting the silver, the Vice Minister of Revenue kept asking him, “What’s going on? What exactly is going on?”

How could he know? He could only keep a straight face and remain silent.

He’d been pondering this for days, trying to figure out how to ask the Emperor what was going on!

Whether it was him or the Ministry of Revenue, the detailed tax report from Jingzhou clearly stated eight hundred thousand taels of silver, so why was the Emperor ordering him to bring in 1.2 million? Why collect it from Shunfeng? And even if it was collected from Shunfeng, why was it all mixed silver? There were even silver notes!

The Jingzhou report clearly stated that the silver had been recast!

So that was what happened!

It seemed that the head magistrate had muttered that the Boss might have used the Jingzhou tax silver to trade in silk, and he’d even reprimanded the head magistrate. Turns out, he was right!

Then, was Jiangzhou City a side trip for the Boss while selling silk, or did the Boss specifically go to sell silk for Jiangzhou City?

As Prime Minister Dai was lost in thought, the Emperor said slowly, “Regarding the Jiangzhou City matter, the two people involved, the Boss and Lady Meng, both wish to keep it a secret from outsiders. Therefore, the details of this matter will be left to me and you all.”

“Yes,” everyone quickly bowed in agreement.

“Regarding the tax revenue, Minister Dai only needs to know. As for the Ministry of Revenue, you and Minister Pan should come up with an explanation to prevent them from making wild guesses.”

“Yes,” Prime Minister Dai and Minister Pan quickly bowed in agreement.

“The credit for Jiangzhou City will go to Wen Cheng. As for how the city was captured and the details of this credit, do not mention a word. Let the Southern Liang court and its officials guess,” Gu Jin chuckled.

“Yes,” everyone laughed as well.

This was enough to give the Southern Liang court and its officials plenty of time to guess. Even now, after reading the secret report, they still could not believe it; it was truly unexpected!

“The garrison commander’s family? This!” A thought suddenly popped into Privy Councilor Pang’s head, and he blurted it out.

“In this world, there is only one Grand Boss.” Gu Jin glanced at Privy Councilor Pang with a hint of exasperation. “Before, it was Grand Boss Fang; now, it is Grand Boss Li.”

“Yes, Your Majesty, um, I was just thinking about things I should not have.” Privy Councilor Pang bowed and chuckled dryly.

“First, there was Grand Boss Fang, and now there’s Grand Boss Li! This is Heaven’s blessing upon our Great Qi!” Minister Wu hurriedly bowed.

“Indeed, a stroke of good fortune.

Let’s get down to business. We need to quickly select a prefect for Jiangzhou.

The Shizi’s conquest of Changsha and Yuzhang will likely be earlier than expected; perhaps he will take Yuzhang first.” Gu Jin paused, a slight smile appearing on his face.

“Given the Shizi’s temperament, he’s probably already using Jiangzhou’s ships, supplies, and troops to seize Yuzhang. He will not miss such an opportunity.

Taking Tanzhou and Hongzhou will be a matter of days. We must quickly select capable men and have them set off immediately from Pingjing Pass to Ezhou to await their new posts.

Select more newly appointed scholars and have them go there to learn,” Gu Jin said with a smile.

“Yes,” several men hurriedly bowed in agreement.

“I have read the memorial revising the Criminal Code,” Gu Jin said, lowering his eyes to take a few sips of tea. He continued, “Add two points: first, women’s dowries should be disposed of by them; fathers, brothers, sons, and nephews should not interfere; second, in the division of family property, unmarried women should have a share, which should be given as dowry, half to their brothers.”

The ministers were all taken aback. Why was the Criminal Code suddenly mentioned?

“Yes,” Minister Wu reacted the fastest, bowing instinctively after a moment of surprise.

“Regarding dowries, it is customary for women to dispose of them themselves, but it was never explicitly listed in the Criminal Code. Now that it has been added, that’s fine. But the division of family property—there’s no precedent for this, is there?” Minister Du frowned. He was in charge of the Ministry of Justice, and he also oversaw the revision of the Criminal Code. He could not remain silent if there were any questions.

“There are precedents,” Gu Jin said gently.

Prime Minister Du wanted to say something, but seeing Prime Minister Wu glancing at him out of the corner of his eye, he quickly swallowed his words and bowed in agreement.

After discussing a few more matters, the prime ministers withdrew. Outside the Xuande Gate, Prime Minister Du approached Prime Minister Wu, frowning, and asked, “Regarding the Criminal Code, you…?”

“First, providing unmarried women with a dowry is not without precedent. The previous dynasty had a decree on this, but it was not included in the Criminal Code,” Prime Minister Wu said in a low voice, getting straight to the point.

“Second, today the Emperor mentioned two high-ranking officials, Grand Boss Fang and Grand Boss Li.

Grand Boss Fang is the Emperor’s elder, and Grand Boss Li is a great contributor to the nation. He mentioned these two Grand Bosses first and then brought up the Criminal Code. Think about it, is that not right?” Minister Wu held up one finger, pointing back and forth between the two sides.

“Hmm! That’s what I thought too. It is nothing, anyway. What family does not give a dowry when their daughter gets married? A dowry has to be given.” Minister Du nodded repeatedly; he had thought of that too.

This was to reward that Grand Boss for her great contribution.

……………………

The seventh month’s heat lingered, but a cool autumn breeze swept across the land.

A caravan of twenty or thirty carriages and horses, men and women, mostly women, traveled from west to east along the post road.

In the fields lining both sides of the road, busy farmers straightened their backs to observe the leisurely procession.

At the head of the caravan, Lady Meng, dressed in riding attire, rode a tall horse. Beside her sat a spacious wooden carriage, driven by a man named Datou. Li Sangrou sat beside him, one leg bent on the front seat, cracking melon seeds and chatting with Lady Meng.

Behind Li Sangrou, the carriage door was open, and the curtain was lifted high. Concubine Wu sat in the carriage, sipping tea, watching the scenery on both sides of the road, listening to the two women’s conversation.

“Riding horses is so nice!”

“Tired!” Li Sangrou interrupted Lady Meng curtly.

Concubine Wu chuckled.

Lady Meng snorted.

“Will you live in the city or outside? Have you decided? Stay in the city; the war is not over yet. Once it is over, you can live wherever you want. Anyway, it will be soon.” Li Sangrou cracked melon seeds.

“I will stay in the city,” Concubine Wu immediately chimed in.

“Mm,” Lady Meng hummed in agreement.

“We should be able to enter Yangzhou city before noon today. You’ve seen the maps of the dozen or so houses that are habitable, and I’ve told you what they look like.” Li Sangrou paused, then chuckled dryly. “Never mind; just pretend I did not say anything. You should see for yourself what they look like; I really cannot remember.

Several newly built houses should be finished, too. You will find out where they are once we are in the city. Take a look.

These places, and others—most of Yangzhou City—you can choose whatever you like!

But you have to hurry. It is best to choose today. I will go to Transport Commissioner Jiang and transfer the property overnight. I will be back in Jianle City first thing tomorrow morning,” Li Sangrou said with a smile.

“Those ten or so places are about right! Just about right, and they are not very big, are they? Newly built houses, those that can be finished in half a year, are they all small?” Lady Meng looked down at Li Sangrou condescendingly.

Li Sangrou nodded sincerely.

They were indeed not big, but were there any big houses she had bought?

She really did not know. She did not even know how many houses Hei Ma had bought!

“I nodded, not because I said there were not any big ones, but because I do not know,” Li Sangrou said, waving her hand in frustration. “Forget it, you do not need to choose today. Or, I will just give you all the houses in Yangzhou City. I am not going to live there anyway, you…”

“Give them all to me? Those are not houses! They are just money holes!

I do not want it. I do not have that much money to repair half of Yangzhou. You can repair it yourself!” Lady Meng refused decisively.

“Are you going to choose a house or not? If you are not, I will not need to come into the city later,” Li Sangrou asked bluntly.

“Of course, I will choose! At least I can save on the land deed fee!” Lady Meng said bluntly.

“Let me tell you, being too shrewd is not good. You want the land outside the city, but you do not want the house. Really,” Li Sangrou sighed.

“The fields outside the city are all barren, are they not? Has anyone planted any crops there? In the last year or two, they’ve been overgrown with weeds. Just cutting that grass costs a lot of money.

Besides, where can you hire people to farm these days? It is not even about the money; even if you had the money, you could not find anyone! If you could hire people, would you have given me the land so readily?” Lady Meng said bluntly.

Li Sangrou choked on her words, spitting out the sunflower seed shells and kernels.

“I’ve already given you the cotton!” Li Sangrou sighed again.

“But that’s all uncertain. First, whether it can be grown, we do not know. Second, whether it can be spun into thread and woven, we do not know. Third, whether the woven cloth will be usable, we do not know! From beginning to end, it is all uncertain, all shrouded in ambiguity.” Lady Meng held up her fingers, counting off the uncertainties.

Li Sangrou sighed deeply. “Then do you want it or not?”

“Yes!”

“You’ve already given us three points; why do you still want it? I did not say I was giving it to you; you asked for it yourself!” Li Sangrou cracked open the sunflower seeds forcefully.

“I am just telling you, this matter needs to be made clear. These are all uncertain matters, all require investing money, all involve risks, and there are no ready-made benefits.

I am telling you, what you are giving me is all risk, not immediate profit!” Lady Meng glanced sideways at Li Sangrou. “If I can make money, that’s my foresight; I gambled it all away, not something you gave me for nothing.

You’ve piled all that stuff in front of me, not to give me any benefits; you are just passing the buck!”

Li Sangrou looked at Lady Meng speechlessly. “Let me tell you, I’ve been a gambler when it comes to people, but when it comes to business, I’ve never been wrong.”

“Me too. I’ve been a gambler when it comes to people, but when it comes to business, I’ve never been wrong. Alas, people can appear good but end up bad as well.” Lady Meng sighed deeply.

“It’s alright if you misjudged someone; just kill them,” Li Sangrou smiled at Lady Meng.

Concubine Wu choked on her tea.

“Ahead, that’s Yangzhou City.” Li Sangrou stood on the crossbar of the carriage, pointing to a city already visible ahead.

“Once we are in Yangzhou, quickly choose a place. I need to get back to Jianle City immediately. Before I leave, think carefully about what you need me to do.”

“Nothing much. Since my father’s passing decades ago, I’ve long since become indifferent to everything,” Lady Meng said calmly.

“Not even killing?” Li Sangrou looked at her and asked slowly.

Lady Meng looked at Li Sangrou for a moment, then smiled. “No need. I prefer to kill silently. Using blades and bows like you do is a bit too much.”

Li Sangrou raised her eyebrows, then chuckled.

The caravan slowly arrived outside Yangzhou, passed through the city gate, and entered the city.

The liveliness outside the city gates and inside Yangzhou exceeded Li Sangrou’s expectations.

It seemed that Transport Commissioner Jiang was quite capable.

“So lively!” Concubine Wu sat up straight, looking at the rows of stalls lining both sides of the street, the bustling crowds, and the visible ruins and busy construction sites.

“It’s gotten so lively.” Li Sangrou put away her melon seeds, put her legs down, sat up straight, and craned her neck to look around.

“Where there’s money to be made, there’s bound to be activity.” Lady Meng reined in her horse, carefully examining the shops and stalls on both sides of the street, and smiled at Concubine Wu. “Old Wu, what do you think we should open first?”

Datou jumped off the cart, leading the mule, and headed east along the bustling street.

Of the several locations Lady Meng had chosen, her first choice was in the east of the city.

Lady Meng and Concubine Wu selected their properties extremely quickly, casually encircling a large area. Li Sangrou was incredibly decisive, giving them whatever they had encircled, no less!

Li Sangrou personally went to the yamen, met with Transport Commissioner Jiang, and transferred the large area of ​​mansions and farmland outside the city that Lady Meng had encircled to Lady Meng’s name. Early the next morning, she took Datou and left Yangzhou, heading straight for Jianle City.

She wanted to return to Jianle City before the fourth day of the eighth lunar month.”