xymnovel Chapter 81 Inquiry
Chapter 81 Inquiry
Chapter 81 Inquiry
On the same day that Shao Shuyi went to Qi Erlang's house, Sun Chuan was patiently entertaining Lu Zhonghe, who had come to visit, at the Taicang West City Tea House, which was only three miles away.
Their connection was made possible by the sacrificial ceremony to the Heavenly Princess last September.
Sun Chuan wasn't very interested at first, but out of business instinct, he chatted with the other party for a while. After learning that the other party was Wan Sangong's son-in-law, he became much more enthusiastic.
Who in business wouldn't want to be associated with Shen Wansan?
In the following months, they visited each other twice more, and Sun Chuan warmly received them both times.
He wasn't in a hurry for Lu Zhonghe to bring him anything now; there would be plenty of opportunities later. A single word at a crucial moment might just close a big deal—who knows?
However, Sun Chuan seemed somewhat distracted during today's meeting.
The reason is simple: some time ago, someone from the Kunshan Prefecture government tipped them off that the Zheng family had suddenly "captured" his nephew Sun Chong. The situation was complicated, so they needed to come quickly to settle the matter (and pay the money).
Sun Chuan was actually mentally prepared for this.
He had speculated on many possibilities regarding his nephew's whereabouts, including drowning, being killed by pirates, being captured by a wealthy family and forced into slavery, and even being captured by the Zheng family. After all, they had already brought out Wang Wu, so why would they bring out Sun Chong?
But I never expected things to actually turn out the worst way.
The stolen goods entrusted to the Zhou family for transportation were brazenly brought to the attention of the authorities. The boats and personnel were present, along with confessions. It was a case of being caught red-handed, leaving no room for denial.
Without a doubt, this is a big deal and will be difficult to suppress.
After a moment's thought, Sun Chuan unhesitatingly spent all the remaining wealth in his home to bribe officials.
As a result of this arrangement, his nephew Sun Chong contracted an illness and died in prison.
But the confession remained, and the matter did not subside. Helpless, Sun Chuan ordered his men to expedite the disposal of the farmland, houses, and shops in the provincial capital, Hangzhou. Some were offered to Nasuldin, the head of the Maritime Trade Office, and some to officials in Kunshan Prefecture, led by Buhua and Liu Yexian.
That wasn't enough. In recent days, his shops in Liujiagang and Taicang were also dealt with, the money used to bribe officials in various places. This was because corrupt officials swarmed around him like a pack of wolves, reaching out for money everywhere, leaving him overwhelmed.
If this continues, I'm afraid we'll have to start selling off the properties on Zhenjiang Road.
What's most troublesome is that he can't escape now. He's like a caged beast, being watched wherever he goes.
Years of experience had taught him that these corrupt officials wouldn't stop until they had squeezed every last penny out of him. The reason they hadn't touched him yet was mainly because most of his land was in Zhenjiang Road, and officials in Kunshan Prefecture and even Pingjiang Road couldn't reach that far, yet they were extremely envious and were forcing him to hand it over voluntarily.
Sun Chuan had thought a lot and was already considering running away. However, today, Daruhua Chibuhua Gong personally came forward, kindly reassuring him and inviting him to his home for a banquet. His words revealed some information, as if there was still a chance for things to turn around.
Sun Chuan would never have believed this before, but now he was wavering.
If he donates money during the Spring Festival travel rush to recruit sailors to transport grain for the imperial court, will he be commended by the Secretariat?
If he collects more taxes and takes a larger share of fine goods for the Maritime Trade Office in the summer, will he regain the office's attention?
If he lets his wife accompany Liu Yexian —
Sun Chuan thought about it for a long time, feeling extremely conflicted, so much so that when Lu Zhonghe mentioned that his family had just bought a batch of Korean goods, he almost didn't react.
"Korean goods?" Sun Chuan's lips twitched involuntarily.
"Shao Shuyi claims to have purchased it from a Korean merchant, but he can't produce any receipt from the Maritime Trade Office." Lu Zhonghe subconsciously showed off his knowledge, "The Maritime Trade Regulations stipulate—"
Sun Chuan frowned, thinking to himself, "I can practically recite the 'Maritime Trade Laws' by heart, do I need you to teach me?" However, he suppressed his irritation and quietly looked at the other person.
Lu Zhonghe seemed to realize the problem, and his words trailed off as he gave an awkward laugh, saying, "I was wondering yesterday if this batch of goods might have come from another source?"
"Master Wan is getting old." After a long silence, Sun Chuan blurted out these words.
"My father-in-law is fifty-nine this year, and he really isn't very involved in things anymore," Lu Zhonghe said, puzzled.
"The Shen family of Wujiang rose to prominence too quickly, and they lack the awareness of being superior." Sun Chuan smiled again, looking at Lu Zhonghe as if he were watching a joke.
If he were to choose a son-in-law, he would not be intimidated by titles such as "talented scholar," but would instead look at his character and true abilities.
I heard that the Shen brothers were obsessed with poetry, books and etiquette. Despite not being very cultured, they insisted on associating with scholars from Jiangnan. Even if they were just passing scholars from other places, they would invite them back to stay for several days and give them dozens of ingots of paper money as a travel allowance before they left.
He's getting senile!
However, he quickly laughed at himself, saying that people often see others clearly but not themselves.
He had previously searched far and wide for the ancestral precepts and family rules of large families, and after bringing them back, he studied them carefully and compiled the "Sun Family Rules". At the same time, he associated with the gentry in Taicang, Liujiagang and even Zhenjiang Road. Was there a big difference between his actions and those of the Shen family?
People like them, who rise to prominence within one or two generations, have shallow foundations and are most likely to feel inferior in front of important figures and gentry.
He was even worse off than the Shen family, who had risen to prominence a generation earlier and had already become related to an official of the rank of commander-in-chief through marriage, while he couldn't even get the daughter of Chen Rui, the co-director of the Maritime Trade Office, to be his daughter-in-law.
"Ming Shen, do you want to know where Shao Shuyi's batch of goods came from? Didn't Shen Rongfu tell you?" Sun Chuan asked.
"No." Lu Zhonghe was a little confused, and even more embarrassed and annoyed.
Why is everyone playing coy with him? Everyone knows where this shipment came from, but they're keeping it from him alone—it's truly infuriating. Aren't I part of the Shen family? Shouldn't I know the truth?
"Go check out Wuling Bridge when you have time," Sun Chuan said. "Recently, a lot of Korean hemp cloth and brocade have arrived in Duanzi City, and there's a lot more Korean paper and books in Wenji City, and the herbal medicine shops—"
Lu Zhonghe stood there, stunned.
Sun Chuan chuckled, a hint of sinister schadenfreude in his voice, and said, "It won't hurt to tell you."
This shipment belonged to Li Daweng from Huangyan, Taizhou. He had seized a Korean merchant ship off the coast of Wenzhou, and now the cargo may have been stolen by Shao Shuyi.
"Is this Li Da Weng... a pirate?" Lu Zhonghe asked, his heart skipping a beat.
"What do you think?" Sun Chuan asked with a half-smile.
"As early as the beginning of the Zhizheng era, Li Daweng had gathered a band of outlaws, robbing grain transport ships and killing envoys on the islands. The authorities had been trying to capture him for a long time without success, and thus offered him amnesty." Sun Chuan continued, "During the pursuit, Li Daweng couldn't return home for a year or two, and could only live on the islands. His followers were in turmoil and were barely under control. Upon learning of the court's offer of amnesty, he readily accepted the situation and became a wealthy landowner. However, he stopped robbing grain transport ships, but he still robbed merchant ships, otherwise his men would scatter. He had been robbing for so many years, and now someone else had taken him down. How do you think he felt?"
"How did you know?" Lu Zhonghe looked at Sun Chuan with suspicion.
Sun Chuan shook his head and said, "It's just hearsay, it's not reliable. Believe it or not, it's up to you."
Lu Zhonghe remained silent.
To be honest, he was a little scared.
If the parties involved in this case are all law-abiding citizens, he can rely on his righteous spirit to speak frankly and refute all sides, leaving them speechless and with no choice but to surrender.
But these were either pirates or outlaws; they were crude and vulgar, completely ignorant of sages and virtuous, and vicious and ruthless, only capable of fighting and killing. He had no confidence to get involved.
Sun Chuan glanced at him but didn't say anything.
The news has been released, just for fun. If we can drag Shao Shuyi into it too, that would be even better.
As for whether Zheng could be persuaded to join the fight, Sun Chuan had no idea; it was impossible.
The two stayed at the teahouse until early in the morning.
After finishing his business, Sun Chuan took his leave and went to the home of Qin Ming, the prefect of the state.
The magistrate is a low-ranking assistant official, essentially a clerk, but the head of the clerks in a prefecture. He is responsible for managing documents and coordinating the clerks of various departments. Kunshan Prefecture is a superior prefecture, with one magistrate and one chief clerk. In a middle prefecture, there are one clerk and one chief clerk. In a lower prefecture, there are only one or two clerks.
The prefect of Kunshan Prefecture has no official rank, but he holds a low position and great power, so he still needs to be bribed.
After leaving the teahouse, Lu Zhonghe, accompanied by two servants, wandered around aimlessly for a while.
During this time, he even went to Wuling Bridge and, as if possessed, wandered around the story market and the book market, carefully inquiring about the origins of Korean ramie cloth and Korean paper, but no one paid him any attention.
Why ask questions but not buy anything? You look well-dressed, could it be that you have no money in your pocket?
After being ridiculed, Lu Zhonghe suppressed his anger and took a boat back to Liujiagang. It was already evening.
After disembarking, he walked for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn before arriving at a large mansion under construction.
After several months, a small part of the house has been built and is ready for people to live in.
At this point, his mood improved slightly.
Some people will never be able to live in a mansion like this in their entire lives, haha.
Before entering, Lu Zhonghe looked around and noticed that the empty house across the stream to the east seemed to be inhabited. There was a target in the middle of the yard, and someone was lying on the ground, rising and falling, which was quite strange.
He didn't care anymore and went straight inside.
We'll live here from now on. The affairs in Liujiagang will be managed jointly by my wife and me.
He also wants to make something of himself and earn people's respect.