Starting from 1618 of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 41 A Tall Tree Catches the Wind

The weather in Jinan was gradually warming up, but the atmosphere within the city was strangely chilly. The aftershocks of the defeat at Sarhu were still lingering, prices were soaring, and people were restless. Meanwhile, in the business world, an undercurrent was brewing.

In a private room on the second floor of Taibai Tower, the window was half-open, and a gentle breeze stirred the beaded curtains.

Two middle-aged men dressed in silk sat facing each other, drinking. The fat man on the left was Huang Zhongxi, a well-known ironware merchant in Jinan, with a face full of fat and twirling two shiny walnuts in his hand; the tall, thin man on the right was Liu, the wealthy man who controlled the grain market in the west of the city, with a sinister look in his eyes. The two men had been influential figures in Jinan's business world for many years, but now they both had furrowed brows.

"Old Huang, that Lu's Carriage and Horse Shop has been making quite a stir lately."

Master Liu put down his wine cup, looking displeased. "I heard from my men that they recently hired fifty more workers, all strong young men, each with a fierce look on their face. They don't look like drivers, more like soldiers. And they've stolen several of our cloth transport orders, charging 20% ​​less than us. Isn't that breaking the rules of the trade?"

"Hmph, it's more than just bad rules."

Huang Zhongxi snorted coldly, spinning the walnut in his hand rapidly. "I sent someone to check out that rocky hill. Good heavens, the wall is higher than the county town, and the guards at the gate are all armed with knives. Black smoke billows from inside day and night, and there's a constant clanging and banging noise. What would a cart and horse trading company need so much coal and iron for? I checked, and the amount of iron they've received in the last half month is more than my blacksmith shop's annual output!"

"You mean..." Master Liu lowered his voice and made a throat-cutting gesture, "He's illegally forging weapons?"

"Most likely." Huang Zhongxi narrowed his eyes, like a venomous snake poised to pounce. "A fallen scholar who made a fortune by luck has become arrogant and ignorant. He's privately hoarding armor and weapons, and privately forging military equipment—a crime punishable by confiscation of property and extermination of the entire family! He's courting death."

"Then we..." A glint of greed flashed in Master Liu's eyes, "why don't we just report him? If we confiscate his property, then Lu's business..."

"No rush to report him to the authorities." Huang Zhongxi waved his hand, appearing shrewd and calculating. "That kid has been getting close to the garrison eunuch Liu Cheng lately, so the authorities are probably a bit wary. If we don't have solid evidence, we might easily alert him. We need to cut off his supply lines first and force him to slip up."

"How do we determine this?"

"I've already spoken to several ironworks and coal mines in the area," Huang Zhongxi sneered. "Starting tomorrow, anyone who dares to supply Lu's shop is going against me, Huang. I want to see how long his blacksmith shop can stay open without rice! When he gets desperate, things will fall apart, and when things fall apart, there will be weaknesses."

"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!" Master Liu gave a thumbs up. "Let's just wait and see what happens!"

……

Three days later, at Lu Ji's main camp, in the central command tent.

Hu Jingshui walked in with a solemn expression, holding an account book and a piece of intelligence she had just collected from the marketplace.

"Master, something's happened."

Lu Yan was sitting at his desk studying a map of Jinan Prefecture. Hearing this, he didn't even look up, continuing to sketch on the map with his charcoal pencil: "What, Huang Zhongxi has made his move?"

"You knew everything?" Hu Jingshui was taken aback, then smiled bitterly. "I knew I couldn't hide it from you. This morning, our coal convoy came back empty. The mine said there was a cave-in and no coal. The same goes for the iron ore; several suppliers said they had no stock and wouldn't sell even if we offered more money. They're clearly trying to starve us. And there are rumors going around saying we're rebelling."

"A tall tree catches the wind; that's to be expected."

Lu Yan put down his charcoal pencil, his expression calm, showing little surprise. His Lu Ji business had expanded too quickly, encroaching on the interests of local powerful families; it was only a matter of time before it was targeted.

"How's Zhao Tie doing?" Lu Yan asked.

"Uncle Tie is pacing around in a panic," Hu Jingshui said anxiously. "Our gun barrel production has just started to pick up, and we're about to ramp up production. If we run out of supplies, those hundreds of craftsmen will be idle, and the daily expenses are like water flowing out of our pockets."

"Don't worry, it won't break."

Lu Yan stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the guards training outside. Sunlight shone on him, but it couldn't penetrate the coldness in his eyes.

"I already had Fan Fu contact new suppliers in Linqing, using waterways to transport the goods directly to our own dock, bypassing the Huang family's local informants. It's a bit expensive, but we don't lack money right now, we lack time."

"However..." Lu Yan changed the subject, a cold smile playing on his lips, "Since they want to play games, we can't just take the beating without fighting back. They want to find out our background, so let's show them what they 'want to see'."

He turned to Hu Jingshui and asked, "Old Hu, is there still a large batch of 'brittle iron' that was previously scrapped in Uncle Zhao's warehouse?"

"Yes, it weighs several thousand kilograms. It's taking up space piled up there. We were just about to dispose of it as scrap," Hu Jingshui said, puzzled.

"Don't throw it away." A glint of light flashed in Lu Yan's eyes. "That's good stuff."

"Good stuff?" Hu Jingshui was dumbfounded. "That kind of high-sulfur scrap iron breaks easily when struck, and becomes brittle when frozen in winter. It can't even be used to make a hoe. What can it be used for?"

"It's because it's crispy."

Lu Yan's voice was deep and seductive, as if he were telling the story of a clever trap. "The Huang family wants to investigate us, right? Then let them investigate. Spread the word that Lu's Group is having cash flow problems and is preparing to sell off a batch of 'stockpiled weapons' at a low price. Forge those brittle iron swords and spears into show-quality pieces, polish them until they look like they're made of fine steel."

"You want to sell it to the Huang family?" Hu Jingshui seemed to understand something.

"It's not just the Huang family." Lu Yan shook his head. "Right now, it's not just the government and powerful clans in Shandong who are lacking weapons. The White Lotus Sect is active underground, and they're just worried about not having enough weapons to start an uprising. If this batch of weapons ends up in their hands through the black market..."

Lu Yan made a chopping motion, his eyes icy cold:

"They'll think they've obtained a divine weapon, but when the two armies actually clash, they'll raise this 'divine weapon' and swat it down hard, only to have it snap in two with a 'clang'... Tell me, wouldn't that be a spectacular sight?"

Hu Jingshui was stunned, a chill running down his spine. Looking at his young and handsome boss, he felt a sense of awe far greater than seeing the red ink on the account books. This wasn't business; it was murder without bloodshed!

"Master... brilliant!" Hu Jingshui couldn't help but exclaim. "You cleared out the inventory, left yourself a backup plan, and even misled those watching us—making them think we're heartless merchants who sell even junk just to make money. A greedy merchant is always more reassuring than an ambitious tycoon."

"That's just a businessman's duty." Lu Yan smiled faintly. "As for the Huang family and the Liu family... let them investigate. When they think they've got something on me and try to grab me, I'll chop their hands off."

"Zhao Changying!"

"Here!" Zhao Changying, who had been waiting outside the tent, strode in.

"Take a few clever brothers and spread the word on the black market. Say we have a batch of 'good stuff' to sell, and we only accept cash. Remember, be discreet and don't let anyone know we're deliberately letting them off the hook. Also, send a message to Eunuch Liu, saying that someone is trying to cut off the imperial timber procurement route, and ask him to 'take care' of the Huang family."

"Understood!" Zhao Changying grinned, his eyes flashing with a wild light.

Watching the two figures disappear into the distance, Lu Yan sat back down in front of the map. Outside the window, cicadas were chirping incessantly in the trees. Summer in Jinan Prefecture had only just begun, but he had already stirred up this murky water, making it utterly muddy.

"Huang Zhongxi, Liu Yuanwai..." Lu Yan drew an X on the two names on the map with his charcoal pencil. "I hope you have good teeth and can chew this bone that's been spiked."