Chapter 992 - 831: Tearing Off the Roof, Opening the Windows

Thick black smoke billowed from the government office, swirling up into the sky and then drifting down, fluttering into the Wang Family’s carriage.

Wang Dequan reached out to catch a piece of ash, then looked up at the black smoke rising above the government office, and exclaimed in shock: "Could it be the Zhang Family sneaked into the government office and burned my salt permits?"

The Wang Family’s Store Manager noticed Wang Dequan’s livid face and rapid breathing, and hurriedly sat closer to comfort him: "Master, don’t let yourself get upset. As long as Qingshan is around, we’ll have firewood for the future..."

"I won’t be dying now!" Wang Dequan pushed him away: "The Zhang Family is too vicious, not even giving a chance to sell off the salt permits? The Huguang salt permit of the Seven Great Merchants is in the office, worth hundreds of thousands of taels of silver! Damn it, how could the Hu Family mess things up, not even guard the salt permits? Useless bunch!"

The carriage stopped in front of the government office, and even before the driver could properly stabilize the stirrup, Wang Dequan had already lifted his garment and leapt off the carriage, rushing madly inside the office.

Crossing the threshold, he saw from afar someone sitting in the courtyard in front of the main hall, throwing pile after pile of paper into a large iron pot, the paper turning into thick smoke rising skyward.

Beside the iron pot sat none other than Hu Junye.

Wang Dequan’s expression changed dramatically, and he rushed forward angrily cursing: "Why is it you, did you actually burn all our salt permits? Are you colluding with the Zhang Family?"

Hu Junye didn’t even lift his head, continuing to throw papers into the large iron pot: "Boss Wang, first pick up your brain from the ground and see what I’m burning before you speak to me."

Wang Dequan was taken aback.

Upon closer inspection, he realized that what Hu Junye held was not salt permits but ordinary documents. Looking up again, he saw the box containing the salt permits was still intact in the main hall.

Wang Dequan breathed a sigh of relief, smiling to smooth things over: "Mr. Hu, don’t misunderstand, I was just joking with Mr. Hu earlier. I just love to joke."

Hu Junye tossed another stack of papers into the iron pot, speaking indifferently: "Why, did you think I would collude with the Zhang Family to burn your salt permits? What’s in it for me or the Hu Family?"

Wang Dequan, awkwardly changing the topic, said: "Of course not... What are you burning these documents for?"

Hu Junye replied unhurriedly: "Victors and losers; the defeated must leave the field of battle. There’s no place for the defeated to stand. Since I am to leave, some things must be burned, lest they leave anything to be used against me."

Wang Dequan became anxious: "You can’t leave now. The Zhang Family is messing around with that Salt Exchange, and if they continue, everyone from our Eight Great Merchants’ salt businesses, tens of thousands of people, will lose their livelihoods. If they stir things up, the whole Jiangnan will descend into chaos!"

Hu Junye glanced at him: "Threatening the court?"

Wang Dequan said resentfully, "I dare not... Our situation is minor; if the Buddhist sect incites tens of thousands of followers to cause trouble, that would be the real issue. Don’t you remember how they ruthlessly opposed when someone wanted to open a bank? You must stay and take charge. If you leave, and Jiangnan descends into chaos, I’m afraid the court won’t be able to get even one tael of silver, and they’ll have to spend silver to clean up the mess."

Hu Junye smiled: "Your obedience is superficial at best, and the Hu Family can’t save you."

Wang Dequan quickly said: "You can save us, only Mr. Hu can save us now! Please write a letter to Official Hu, asking him to frankly discuss the pros and cons with Your Majesty. If Jiangnan is left to the Zhang Family’s chaos, turmoil is sure to follow!"

Hu Junye did not respond, continuing to toss another stack of documents into the iron pot.

At this time, several other families also arrived at the government office, just as Wang Dequan had, and sighed with relief upon seeing it was not salt permits being burned.

Gu’s Master, seeing Hu Junye burning documents silently, braced himself and said: "Mr. Hu, this trick by the Zhang Family seems to help the court gather silver, but it’s fraught with hidden dangers. Please write a memorial to explain the pros and cons to Your Majesty so that he knows the drawbacks of this Salt Exchange."

Hu Junye calmly replied: "Although the Hu Family seeks the position of Grand Secretary, the purpose is always to loyally serve Your Majesty, not for personal power. With the Zhang Family’s current actions, I only see benefits for the court, not drawbacks. Perhaps you could convince me of the Salt Exchange’s disadvantages so that I can persuade Your Majesty?"

Wang Dequan spoke gravely: "Is Mr. Hu now trying to distance himself?"

Hu Junye looked up and stared at him: "Why, are you trying to drag the Hu Family down with you?"

In the courtyard, dozens of Hu Family death soldiers gripped their blade handles, prompting Wang Dequan to hastily retract his neck: "No such intention."

Gu’s Master pondered momentarily and cautiously said: "Leaving aside other issues, even the B Ticket acting as a silver note may not pass the Buddhist Sect..."

Hu Junye let out a cold chuckle: "Whether the court can handle the Buddhist Sect is the court’s affair. Talk about something else."

Gu’s Master took a deep breath: "Then let’s not mention the Buddhist Sect. The Jia Ticket and B Ticket have three disadvantages. First, although silver has indeed been flowing in from abroad for years, should the court gather a large amount of silver from the private sector through this, it will inevitably drive up the silver price, causing silver to be dear, Copper Coin cheap, and goods cheap. The new policy of the court is to convert the summer grain and autumn taxes entirely into a fixed amount of silver. Normally, a peasant could exchange one stone of rice for eight maces of silver, but soon he’d only get four maces of silver, doubling the tax burden and making life unbearable..."

Hu Junye, expressionless, countered: "Since when did you worry so much about the country and the people? Talk about something else."

Gu’s Master considered a moment: "Second, these are extremely easy to counterfeit, so how should counterfeiting in the private sector be stopped..."

Hu Junye said lightly: "The Imperial Capital’s book bureaus already possess the Flower Curtain Method, capable of embedding watermarks into paper notes, invisible when flat yet visible when held to light. Additionally, the court has always controlled the silk paper technique. Using silk paper to print could also prevent this issue. This argument won’t convince Your Majesty."

Gu’s Master said helplessly: "Third, in the event of a major disaster year, if the court cannot produce enough silver for public redemption, these B Tickets and Jia Tickets will become worthless, and restoring public trust in the court would be difficult thereafter."

Hu Junye threw the last stack of documents by his side into the fire, clapped his hands, and said, "You all talk a thousand times, say ten thousand words, but none of it touches the heart of Your Majesty. Now, with the impending war between the Ning and Jing Dynasties, the Jing Dynasty is strong and well-equipped. What the court needs is silver, not your flowery words. The Zhang Family uses this method, however flawed it may be, as long as it can bring silver to the court, it is a good method in the mind of Your Majesty. As for what happens afterward, neither Your Majesty nor the court can afford to be concerned."

Wang Dequan’s eyes shifted: "Mr. Hu of the Hu Family, what method do you have? If we can do it, we will certainly comply."

Hu Junye stood up and responded without answering the question: "Back then, the court implemented the Kaizhong Salt Policy, initially to allow you all to transport grain to the border towns. But later, you all claimed the border towns were too far, and there was much loss during transport. So, the court, to facilitate you, allowed silver to be exchanged for salt permits, which was a huge advantage for you."

The Eight Great Merchants exchanged looks, unsure of what Hu Junye meant by this.

Hu Junye continued: "Back then, four maces of silver could buy one permit, this was true in Guyuan, Jinling, and Hu-Guang. But you sold the salt to Jinling and Hu-Guang at increased prices while dumping Guyuan’s salt permits to small salt merchants. Some small merchants unwilling to travel so far simply resold the permits to careless fools. Over time, the border army sometimes couldn’t even get salt, and the grain supply was cut off."

The Eight Great Merchants dared not respond, as this was just business as usual, but they were indeed in the wrong.

Hu Junye continued: "And let’s talk about these four maces of silver per permit. Back then, four maces of silver could buy five stones of grain, but over the years, four maces of silver now only buys half a stone of grain. Yet, the salt permit is still priced at four maces. Whenever the court wants to raise prices, you collude with the Jiangnan gentry to cause trouble. So the court had to sell more permits, leading to annual accumulation, resulting in the current situation. You have taken a great advantage from the court; you know that in your hearts."

Gu’s Master shared his dilemma: "We also find it difficult..."

Hu Junye snorted coldly, interrupting: "The salt permits you have in hand can be sold for double immediately; what’s difficult for you? No wonder Your Majesty agreed to have Ritual Supervision take severe action against you. The Zhang Family’s move is helping Your Majesty vent the wildfire that’s been suppressed for years. Do you know what will happen next? The court no longer needs you to gather silver, and those past indiscretions held against you can now be accounted for in full."

Hu Junye continued leisurely: "The Ji Family privately built three-masted Fuchuan ships, selling them to pirates; the Wang Family smuggled grain to the Jing Dynasty, forced people to death through usury; the Liu Family fought with relatives, killing over 170 people in a neighboring village over a copper mine; and you all have privately minted copper coins... Back when the Crown Prince came to investigate, he was forced to leave humiliated, but this matter is far from over."

The faces of the Eight Great Merchants changed.

Hu Junye looked askance at them: "In the past, the court couldn’t touch you; now it can. Confiscation, exile, execution of entire families, choose one yourselves."

Wang Dequan and the others changed their expressions and bowed deeply: "Mr. Hu of the Hu Family, save us!"

Hu Junye stood quietly for a long time before speaking: "The drawbacks you mentioned earlier are not entirely unreasonable. The situation is turbulent, and Jiangnan shouldn’t become chaotic, moreover, with the impending war between the two dynasties, the court affairs shouldn’t change much... "

Hu Junye shifted his tone: "But this reasoning cannot be stated to Your Majesty without evidence; I must bring silver. You all should write a petition saying you empathize with the court’s hardships and wish to buy the new Two Huai Salt Tokens from the court at eight taels of silver each, disregarding past accumulations. With this sincerity, you can still be pillars of the court."

The Eight Great Merchants exchanged glances, reluctant to agree.

Hu Junye sneered: "With this price, you still make significant profits. What, is your life less important than silver?"

Wang Dequan hesitated: "It’s not that our lives are worthless, but at this price, we absolutely suffer losses, we are being bled dry!"

The Eight Great Merchants echoed: "That’s right, we’ve lost too much!"

Hu Junye paused: "How much do you think the salt permits should be set at?"

Wang Dequan looked at the others, gritted his teeth, and said: "Four taels! Four taels of silver per permit. The prosperity of Two Huai can still allow the court to receive two million taels of silver more annually."

Hu Junye shook his head: "Do you think Your Majesty will agree? It’s just one Two Huai, not all salt permits. Six taels per permit, that’s the settlement. You can still profit from Two Huai, and other places can continue as usual. Write the petition, my Hu Family will deliver it to the Imperial Capital with a six-hundred-mile urgent dispatch overnight. As long as Your Majesty considers this silver sufficient, there may still be room to turn things around."

With that, he called for Hu Family members to prepare pen, ink, paper, and an inkstone, and they wrote the petition.

Hu Junye personally held the ink pad: "Please."

Wang Dequan gritted his teeth, dipped his thumb in the ink pad and pressed his fingerprint, while the rest of the Eight Great Merchants hesitated to sign. Hu Junye sneered: "Those unwilling, prepare your coffins."

Gu’s Master sighed and pressed his fingerprint as well.

When each of the Eight Great Merchants had signed, Hu Junye handed the petition to a servant: "Deliver it to the Imperial Capital with a six-hundred-mile urgent dispatch today, it will arrive by the day after tomorrow at the latest. Everyone, I can’t promise you can succeed, it still depends on Your Majesty’s thoughts."

The Eight Great Merchants hung their heads, lamenting that with each fingerprint pressed, they would lose hundreds of thousands of taels of silver each year.

But all the fingerprints were pressed, they could only bow: "Mr. Hu, please do stop Your Majesty from listening to the Zhang Family’s disastrous calumny."

Hu Junye waved them off: "Go home and rest; news will come when there is any."

The Eight Great Merchants departed one after another, the government office doors closing behind them, leaving Hu Junye alone by the large iron cauldron, watching the pages of paper inside gradually turn to white ash, lost in thought.

After a long while, he slowly spoke: "Come out, they have all gone."

Chen Yu came out of the Warm Pavilion in the main hall, smiling as he clasped his hands in thanks: "Mr. Hu, much obliged. With this affair settled, the court has silver, Jiangnan and the Buddhist sect will not fall into chaos, everything is perfectly in place."

Hu Junye’s face lacked joy: "That person from the Zhang Family toyed with so many people effortlessly, including myself."