novelAbuy Chapter 343 Who's plotting against me?
Chapter 343 Who's plotting against me?
Actually, it goes without saying that Duo'er is already widely known throughout Hangzhou. Even Shen Dezai, who came to Hangzhou to buy goods just yesterday, has heard about her.
Realizing the seriousness of the problem, he did not delay and immediately wrote a letter. Then, he borrowed the Shen family's fast horse and sent his attendants to Jiangyin to deliver it to Shao Shuyi.
The attendant was very efficient. Just as he was about to mount his horse, Shen Dezai took the letter back and whispered a few words in his ear.
After his attendant confirmed the accuracy of the message, Shen Dezai allowed him to leave, then tore the letter to shreds. Still feeling uneasy, he gathered the pieces together, tore them again, and threw them all into the river before finally feeling relieved.
After doing all this, he felt a slight sweat on his forehead. He looked around, randomly found a tavern, ordered a pot of Shaoxing wine, and went to calm himself down. This world is truly terrifying.
Shen Dezai's entourage arrived at Huangtian Trading Company in Jiangyin at the end of the month, requesting to see Shao Shuyi.
Yu Yuan was checking the accounts when he invited the man in for questioning. After hearing the whole story, he was momentarily stunned.
Surprisingly, he also had a role in this matter?
He didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Perhaps in the eyes of outsiders, he was already Brother Shao's confidant. This wasn't self-praise, but rather confirmation from an external enemy. Yes, an external enemy; someone was definitely up to something this time.
With a sigh, he handed over the business affairs to Wang Xing, Jiang Cheng, and Lu Chaoen. Then he summoned Ding Ren, Zhou San'er, and a newly promoted hauler leader named Xie Lu, instructing them to do their work when needed and to organize their own drills when not, and not to slack off. Finally, he instructed the kitchen not to be stingy and to buy more fish and meat.
After doing all this, he boarded a ship with a heavy heart and arrived at Matuosa on the evening of the first day of the third month.
On the reed beds along the riverbank, bonfires had already been lit, and the aroma of grilled fish filled the evening breeze.
Eight teams of people had just finished their training and were sitting on the ground, watching with great interest a group of people competing in the arena.
Cheng Ji and Yao Shenggong, along with eight military households who were willing to flee, sat beside Shao Shuyi, watching intently.
"Things are different now," Cheng Ji remarked. "Back then, we weren't as skilled, and we didn't have many bows. Now we have almost forty bows, and everyone has practiced archery. While we can't say our skills are exceptional, we all know how to use them."
As they spoke, seven or eight people were selected. They were clad in iron armor, nocked their bows and arrows, and with the sound of a short horn, they puffed out their cheeks and shot arrows with all their might.
The onlookers cheered.
This is archery while wearing iron armor, not barefoot or wearing leather armor; the difficulty is completely different. After practicing archery for so long, only seven or eight people can shoot arrows on foot while wearing iron armor.
After the archers finished firing one volley, they immediately fired a second, a third, a fourth...
Gradually, some people couldn't keep up and had to leave with regret.
Bow strength varies, and the amount of effort required to draw the bow to its full extent also differs.
The weakest man could only draw his bow fully and shoot seven or eight arrows before he was exhausted; his arm was sore and weak, so he was defeated.
After shooting ten arrows, only half the people remained in the arena. Just as Shao Shuyi was about to cheer with the soldiers, Yu Yuan came over.
"Hmm? Is something the matter?" he asked.
Yu Yuan nodded solemnly, then pointed to Shen Dezai's entourage behind him and whispered, "There's news from Hangzhou."
Shao Shuyi nodded, got up and walked a few steps away, with Tie Niu following closely behind.
Yu Yuan then briefly recounted the news he had heard.
Shao Shuyi frowned, but did not panic. Instead, he instructed Tie Niu to fetch a coin and handed it to Shen Dezai's attendant, asking, "What is your name?"
"Shen Huaien".
"A member of the Shen family?"
Shen Huaien shook his head and said, "I should be from Ningguo. I wandered to other places with my parents when I was young. After my parents passed away, I was adopted by Master Shen and did some work in his household."
"Have you been to school?"
"I've read some."
Shao Shuyi nodded and inquired about the details carefully.
Of course, there aren't many details, because Shen Dezai immediately sent someone to inform them after learning about it. All that can be gleaned from him so far are the fortune-telling by Li Banxian and some widely circulated rumors; nothing else is known.
"What's Master Li's name?" Shao Shuyi asked.
Shao Shuyi didn't have much hope when he asked this question, because Shen Dezai might not have had time to inquire. Unexpectedly, Shen Huaien replied, "After leaving Hangzhou, I bought some dry food at a shop and found out that this person's name is Li Zhouqing. He is from Wuzhou and is very famous in Hangzhou. Twenty years ago, he traveled to Dadu to tell fortunes for people. Later, he settled in Hangzhou and made a living by fortune telling."
Shao Shuyi gave the man a serious look.
Life is full of talented people; it's just a matter of whether you can meet them and whether you can recognize their worth. While Shen Huaien's other qualities are debatable, his quick wit is certainly extraordinary, at least indicating that he thinks deeply and is meticulous in his considerations.
If he hadn't asked for Li Banxian's name, he might not have discovered this.
"Brother, the surname Li is really rare, could it be..." Yu Yuan guessed.
Shao Shuyi nodded slightly.
If this were a fortune teller like Wang or Li, it would be hard to make the connection, but it's a fortune teller like Li...
Although Li Jimao was from Songjiang and Li Zhouqing was from Wuzhou, Shao Shuyi remained vigilant. Who knew if their ancestors had migrated? And after migrating, perhaps they would still frequently return to their ancestral home and maintain contact with their clansmen? It was all hard to say.
"Li Jimao fled to Jiaxing, and it's possible that he had someone else do the fortune-telling." Shao Shuyi said slowly, "But I doubt whether a scoundrel like him has the ability to do that. Even his sworn brother was beaten badly. Could there be a third party involved?" Yu Yuan pondered silently.
This is actually quite difficult to predict. Back then, Brother Shao also schemed against others, and no one could guess it was him. It was a case of the enemy being in the open while we were in the dark, which made things easier. But now that Brother Shao is in the open, there must be many people plotting against him in the shadows. Putting aside everything else, just considering his control over the entire Jiangyin Prefecture, Changzhou Road, and the private salt trade in Changshu Prefecture, there are quite a few people hoping for his downfall.
Who did it? It's impossible to guess.
But it doesn't matter if you can't guess. His older brother once taught him a trick: see who benefits the most.
In this regard, he felt that Fang Guozhen benefited the most, because he was also having a hard time in eastern Zhejiang, as the core area of Wen'er Road was full of government troops.
If any official harbored ill will towards him, Fang Guozhen would have no choice but to go to sea and engage in the same business as Cai Luantou: piracy.
Thinking of this, Yu Yuan turned around and ordered someone to take Shen Huaien to the village to rest, instructing them to prepare good wine and meat to entertain him. Then he looked at Shao Shuyi and said, "Brother, I can only think of Fang Guozhen and Zhao Yangui. Could it be them?"
"Zhao Yangui doesn't have that ability," Shao Shuyi said. "He's just a nouveau riche holed up in Shiqiao; his influence doesn't even extend to Hangzhou, and he doesn't know many people in Suzhou. But one..."
Shao Shuyi changed the subject, saying, "But we can't completely rule out suspicion. What if some salt merchants from Pingjiang Road are unhappy with us selling salt in Changshu and collude with Zhao Yangui? They might be able to pull off something like this. Salt merchants have a wide network of connections, much better than a country bumpkin like Zhao Yangui."
Yu Yuan almost laughed when he heard the word "country bumpkin," but then said worriedly, "Brother, you just attacked Fang Guozhen, and he immediately pulled this stunt. It's too vicious."
Shao Shuyi shook his head and said, "It's obvious that Li Daweng is still hesitating and hasn't reported Fang Guozhen yet. If he doesn't report it, the grain will be withheld. Hmm, aren't Lin Shanyi and the others going back to move? Have them send someone back later to tell Li Daweng that if you don't report Fang Guozhen, 'Fang Guozhen' will report you."
"Okay." Yu Yuan understood what it meant; it was nothing more than a threat. His brother had once told him that this was called the "prisoner's dilemma."
At the same time, he felt a little embarrassed, as this behavior of splashing each other with dirty water was really inappropriate.
"There is one more thing," Shao Shuyi said. "Send Lu Chaoen to Taicang and tell Baijianu that he will be in charge of the fleet heading to Wuchang and that they should set sail as soon as possible."
"If it's just delivering a message, Jiang Cheng can make the trip," Yu Yuan said. "There's a provincial examination this year, and Lu Chaoen is preparing for it. If he passes and becomes a provincial graduate (equivalent to a provincial graduate), he'll have to go north to Dadu next spring to take the next exam."
"You have a kind heart," Shao Shuyi said with a smile. "Alright, you can arrange it as you see fit."
After saying that, the smile on his face vanished, and he said, "You made a good point earlier; this move is actually quite vicious. Damn it, who is this guy? He's just as cunning as me."
Yu Yuan couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Shao Shuyi lightly slapped his neck and said, "Laugh, still laughing! If I'm forced to a certain point and hastily start an uprising, you'll have no choice but to wander the world with me."
"Fine, I'll go with you," Yu Yuan said. "I'll bring my older brother and sister with me, and we'll run away together."
If Shao Shuyi were to start an uprising, he would certainly be the "ringleader," and Yu Yuan, a key member, would be no less so, inevitably implicating his family.
"Alright, with you saying that, if I become rich and powerful in the future, how could I leave you out?" Shao Shuyi said.
After saying that, he instructed Fu Jian to go to the craftsmen's village and summon Gao Jian, the person in charge of the miscellaneous workshops.
The time has come to test Lao Gao. Every decision made at this crucial moment directly determines a person's position within the group.
Then Shao Shuyi beckoned Liang Tai and Cheng Ji over, recounted what had just happened, and finally asked, "Sir Cheng, I'm thinking of forming two new teams. The men you brought are capable and not too slick, so they're perfect for being dispersed and integrated into the army. I'd like you to lead one team. What do you think?" Cheng Ji did not answer immediately.
Shao Shuyi waited quietly.
Liang Tai frowned and looked over, Yu Yuan hesitated to speak, and even Tie Niu widened his eyes.
"Okay." Cheng Ji nodded gently in response.
Shao Shuyi laughed heartily, patted Cheng Ji's shoulder forcefully, and said happily, "I have seen and remembered everything that happened today, and I will deal with it in the future."
Even Liang Tai, who was usually serious, smiled. He was really afraid that his cousin would refuse at the crucial moment, but he didn't expect that once the other person made a decision, he would be more resolute than himself.
Yu Yuan was also very happy and said, "Master Cheng, I've been wanting you to come for a long time."
Cheng Ji glanced at him and smiled, "Yu She, you're still as enthusiastic as ever."
Yu Yuan smiled and said, "We worked together back then, so our relationship is special."
"Alright." Shao Shuyi pressed his hands down to signal everyone to be quiet, and then said, "This matter is quite strange. I need to go back to Liujiagang. Everyone in Jiangyin should do their job and make sure nothing goes wrong."
"Yes," they all replied in unison.