Looking north towards the rivers and mountains

Chapter 329 Delivering the Message

Inside Liu Jia's boat at the old Yicang Wharf, Shao Shuyi was quietly drinking a cup of tea.

The number of ships around had increased to several; they were fleets returning from picking up goods in Wuhu, Anqing, and Jiangzhou.

Kong Tie and Wu Heizi sat together, each with a furrowed brow.

No one can be blamed for this. After all, so many sailors were involved and so much was done, so someone was bound to spread the word. In fact, it wasn't just Zhang Hui and Sun Qiliu who were arrested; there were at least seven or eight big mouths who had boasted about it in the countryside more than once. When others heard them, they either advised them to stop talking or just laughed it off.

The lower-level officials like the village head, the chief of the district, and the head of the company basically ignored it. It wasn't that they didn't believe it, but rather that they didn't want to investigate further. Zhang and Sun were only kept in office because of their big mouths; they were only occasionally summoned to transport goods for Shengye Trading Company's transport warehouses—legitimate business.

It's already a stroke of luck that they were only captured today.

"Hey, how's it going in Suzhou?" Shao Shuyi put down his teacup and asked.

Wu Heizi raised his head and said, "It's alright. We can sell several thousand catties a month now, sometimes more than ten thousand catties. There are too many people selling salt. If you suppress one, another one will rise up. People from Suzhou, Hangzhou, Songjiang, and even wealthy merchants from Jiangbei, wave after wave, have killed six or seven people in total." Shao Shuyi nodded.

He had no plans to enter the Suzhou market, at least not now. When Wu Heizi went to Suzhou to sell salt, he only provided a batch of equipment. Wu Heizi recruited the staff himself, and they weren't paid; he was only promised a share of the profits later. Strictly speaking, he was the same as Liu Xing, who went to Yixing—a kind of peripheral henchman and leader for Shao.

Having sold salt in Suzhou for so long, Wu Heizi must have made some money, but not much. Now, with this incident, he's almost ready to quit, because they don't have any connections in Suzhou's official circles, and it's too dangerous. If they really want to sell, they might as well sell locally in Kunshan Prefecture. "Let's stop the business in Suzhou for now," Shao Shuyi said. "And don't sell in Kunshan for the time being either. All the Zhejiang salt that was originally going to Suzhou will now be sent to Changshu Prefecture. You should take a break for a while."

Wu Heizi breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Shao She, I'll listen to you."

Shao Shuyi took in his expression, then asked, "Should we move our families to Matuosha? The situation hasn't gotten too tense yet, there's still time. Those who went to sea with us before can also move there; try to persuade them. Baijia Nuyi."

"Alright, I'll leave two or three boats, not for cargo transport for now, but to help move furniture and personnel," Kong Tie nodded and said.

"I'm afraid that small place like Matuosha isn't big enough for everyone to stay in?" Wu Heizi said with a smirk.

"You've been there before," Shao Shuyi said unhappily. "You know better than I how much wasteland there is. It could easily house tens of thousands of people, and right now it's less than eight thousand."

"Then I'll ask around, and those who want to go can go first," Wu Heizi said.

Shao Shuyi didn't ask him any more questions, but turned to Kong Tie and said, "The old Yicang warehouse is rented. The furniture and stuff aren't worth much. It's just some people and goods. Keep an eye on it. If anything goes wrong, move them onto the boat and evacuate immediately. I don't want the Taicang warehouse anymore."

"Okay." Kong Tie nodded again.

In Taicang, there aren't many material possessions, so losing them wouldn't be a big deal. The most important assets are actually intangible: prestige, influence, and connections. Once we leave, these things will certainly be damaged, but they won't completely disappear, and they'll be easy to recover in the future.

"There are still over two hundred ingots of paper money on the ship. Take them with you later and distribute some to the sailors who work on the boats over the next couple of days." Shao Shuyi continued, "Give the others a little as well, and use the winter solstice as an excuse to distribute them in advance."

"I'll make the arrangements," Kong Tie said directly, without wasting any words.

He has a group of people under him, just like Wu Heizi also has a relatively stable group of people.

These men had been sailing many times, often carrying guns, clubs, swords, and even fighting with bandits. They might not be as skilled as the porters, but they were still considered quite capable fighters. With these men around, Shao Shuyi didn't need to specifically leave any men for himself.

"What are you planning to do this time?" Kong Tiehu asked again.

"It's best to avoid falling out if possible," Shao Shuyi said. "I've already spoken with Qi Le and his nephew Qi Erlang. Qi Le said the state is peaceful and there's no news. Qi Erlang is out in the countryside arresting thieves as usual, and I haven't heard anything unusual."

"Prefect Liu Yesian has a good relationship with Han Yuanshan, and he previously transferred officials and archers to him," Kong Tie reminded him.

"I know. But Liu Yexian is being transferred, and he probably doesn't want to cause trouble right now," Shao Shuyi said.

Kong Tie was taken aback. After thinking about it carefully, he realized that Liu Yexian had indeed been working for quite some years, so it wasn't surprising that he was being transferred.

"The prefect doesn't want to cause trouble, but there's still the Darughachi; we can't be careless. If all else fails," he added, "let's see if we can send some gifts."

Gift-giving is indeed a seemingly clichéd yet tried-and-true tactic, especially effective against officials of the Yuan Dynasty. "Even bribery requires a middleman," Shao Shuyi said. "Besides, I'm worried this matter has already been taken over by the censors. Han Yuanshan, Yeerjini, and their ilk have been investigating me; it's unlikely to stop. These upright officials, who always pride themselves on their integrity and loyalty, aren't that simple." He paused, then changed the subject, saying, "But what you said makes sense. This matter needs to be considered comprehensively. I'll go back to Jiangyin first and see Lord Zheng."

Kong Tie didn't say anything more, his dark face was serious, as if he was thinking about something.

Shao Shuyi patted Wu Heizi on the shoulder again and said, "Heizi, don't delay any longer. Help Baijianu with his work these two days. Listen to him in everything. Don't let his quiet nature fool you; he's reliable."

Wu Heizi glanced at Kong Tie and said, "Alright, I'll listen to him. But Shao She, you need to come back soon; there are many things here that require your decision-making."

Shao Shuyi seemed not to hear him, and spread out paper and pen again to start writing letters. After finishing one, he wrote the second one, preparing to send them to various places.

On the 26th, Shao Shuyi's boat arrived at Matuosha.

In addition to the six mares, Kong Tie's younger brother and sister-in-law and their betrothed also came with the ship. Kong Tie also had a younger brother who still lived in Liujiagang and was guarding the "safe house" there for Shao Shuyi.

That night, the ship docked at Huangtian Port again.

Amidst the drizzling rain, Zheng Fan rushed over from Shipai. As soon as he entered, he exclaimed, "I just warmed a pot of wine, intending to sit on the porch and listen to the rain, and you called me here. Are you trying to kill me?"

"Wine? I have plenty. I just had someone buy three hundred jars of Jiangyin Laojiao. We can drink it until the end of time," Shao Shuyi said with a smile.

After saying that, he ordered someone to warm the wine.

"You have a lot of people here. There are still dozens of people moving goods after nightfall," Zheng Fan said as he sat down.

"We're in a hurry to ship the goods," Shao Shuyi said. "The Huangtian Trading Company is doing very well; even eight sea bream aren't enough, and we often have to rent civilian boats." "Indeed, very well," Zheng Fan nodded. "When I was at the Changshu branch in Jiangyin, I often heard that seafarers were recruiting for you, running around to various places." "What are they saying about me at the branch?"

"What else can they do? They're just envious," Zheng Fan said. "But some people are quite jealous, thinking that you're not even an official, yet you run such a big business, making a fortune every day, and you're much more comfortable than them."

"The seafarers didn't pay them tribute, so naturally they're making a lot of noise," Shao Shuyi said, shaking his head.

Many institutions in the Yuan Dynasty preferred to use the thousand-household and hundred-household systems brought from the grasslands, especially after the establishment of the ancestral system of various household registrations.

In places like Luzhou, the official pastures were managed by a thousand households—some official pastures were larger, with several thousand households, while others were smaller, with the highest number being only one hundred households. The grain transport offices also used a thousand-household and hundred-household system, and even had several thousand-household offices. However, the seafarers were under the dual management of the grain transport offices and the prefectures and counties, making them relatively loose. When seafarers went out to work, they basically did not pay tribute.

"Stop with the nonsense. You called me here in the middle of the night, there must be something important. Speak, I'm listening," Zheng Fan said casually, glancing at Shao Shuyi. Shao Shuyi nodded and said, "I just bought over twenty horses, which are being stored on horse-drawn sand..."

Zheng Fan listened silently, then glared at him irritably and said, "You're trying to ruin my BMW again."

Shao Shuyi smiled awkwardly and said, "I'll make sure your horse is well-fed and well-fed, and I definitely won't mistreat it."

"Fine, you've got a good deal," Zheng Fan said helplessly. "Is there anything else? I don't believe it's just this."

Upon hearing this, Shao Shuyi's expression became slightly more serious.

He sat down next to Zheng Fan and recounted how two seafarers had been arrested in Kunshan Prefecture.

"Did these two confess to everything?" Zheng Fan sat up straight and asked.

"Once you're in jail, unless you're a top-notch hero, how many can withstand severe torture?" Shao Shuyi said. "I'll just assume they've all confessed; we should be lenient with them."

Zheng Fan nodded slightly and said, "Your matter is neither a big deal nor a small one. In fact, Zhu Chen killed an official back then, and in the end, he got away with it, didn't he? His death, at least, had nothing to do with the government."

"Yes, given the state of the Yuan Dynasty, with officials being killed so frequently, what's the big deal?" Shao Shuyi chimed in. "Just as you said, this matter can be big or small, but whether it's big or small depends on how things are handled."

The most notorious official in the Yuan Dynasty for killing officials was Fan Meng, a former minor official in the Jiangbei Province of Henan.

This man colluded with Huo Bashi and others, falsely conveying imperial edicts, and summoned Pingzhang Yue Lubuhua, Zuo Cheng Jielie, Li Wen Jingangnu, Langzhong Wanzhe Tuheidi'er, Dushi Baizhu, Zongguan Sasima, Jiansi Tuman, Wanhu Wanzhe Buhua and others into the provincial hall one by one. Each time someone entered, he would beat them to death from behind with a mace, almost paralyzing the entire Henan officialdom. And this happened only seven years ago.

How does Yu Xixunjian compare to these people? He's utterly insignificant.

The problem is that you need to find someone to pull strings, otherwise you'll just have to go through the motions, which can be very slow and it's hard to say how far it will end up.

"Are you looking for your husband?" Zheng Fan was clever and understood immediately after hearing this.

Shao Shuyi nodded and said, "This matter requires a highly respected person to convey the message, but I don't know if the old gentleman is willing." "It might not be useful," Zheng Fan thought for a moment and said, "The old gentleman is from the Grand Canal Administration, not the provincial administration."

"The Right Vice Minister of the province has always been in charge of the Grand Canal transport, so there will inevitably be contact," Shao Shuyi said. "The Grand Canal Administration is located in Qiaosikong Lane in Suzhou, not far from the Pingjiang Road General Administration Office, so there is a lot of interaction between them. And Suzhou is a large prefecture, so there are many officials in the province..."

Zheng Fan listened carefully, sighed, and said, "I can only say that I will do my best. Whether the old master is willing or not is another matter. Even if he is willing, your future path will not be easy."

Shao Shuyi understood the meaning of those words.

Even if this incident passes, he'll be blacklisted and under close scrutiny, making it much more difficult for him to do anything in Jiangnan in the future. "What do you plan to do if it doesn't work out in the end?" Zheng Fan suddenly asked.

Shao Shuyi smiled at him and said, "I'll just put on a show, it won't implicate you. As for the others, I can't control them."