The rise of the poor

“Lord Zhao, Donglou has repeatedly instructed you to deal with Zhu Ping’an. When the time comes, Lord Zhao can’t make excuses again.”

Although Luo Longwen was unwilling, he had no way to deal with Zhu Ping'an if Zhao Wenhua didn't take action. His previous impeachment memorial had been ignored, so he had no choice but to swallow his hatred.

“That’s natural.” Zhao Wenhua nodded.

Zhu Pingan, you just wait!

After receiving Zhao Wenhua's affirmative reply, Luo Longwen reluctantly left Zhao Wenhua's residence.

Seeing Luo Longwen's displeasure, the officials sensibly arranged for him to enjoy a full range of services at Xichunlou, Caimige, and Yichunyuan, and also arranged for several scheming wealthy merchants to accompany him. The beautiful women of all shapes and sizes and the piles of silver immediately calmed Luo Longwen's anger, and he lingered in the brothels.

Within two days, the news spread throughout the wealthy business circles of Jiaxing. Opportunistic tycoons flocked to several brothels to visit Luo Longwen, hoping to establish connections with the powerful Yan faction and gain their support.

Luo Longwen's hands cramped from collecting so much silver. He counted it several times a day with great satisfaction. "It hasn't been that long, and I've already collected tens of thousands of taels of silver. Although the majority of it has to be handed over to Donglou, I still have tens of thousands in my own hands."

With so much silver handed over to Donglou, Donglou must be extremely satisfied.

The task assigned by Donglou to deal with Zhu Ping'an is not yet completed; otherwise, he would surely be enjoying immense prestige upon returning to the capital.

The thought of Zhu Pingan made Luo Longwen grit his teeth. "Damn Zhu Pingan! He's the governor of Zhejiang. He's been in Jiangnan for so long. I don't know how many times more money he's taken than I have. Damn it, he's taken so much money, yet he doesn't even offer a mere ten thousand taels as a tribute!"

"My lord, why are you unhappy? Let me serve you well." An arm wrapped around your back.

"Get out. I don't have time to deal with you right now," Luo Longwen snorted. "Go out and call my personal servant in."

"Yes, ma'am." A heavily made-up woman curtsied and retreated with a smile. As soon as she stepped out, her expression changed, and she spat out a silent sneer of disdain. "If it weren't for the money, who would want to serve an ugly thing like you? I didn't even have time to groom myself. It only took a few breaths from when you came up to when you left."

"Hey, madam, where's his personal servant?" The woman went out but didn't see Zhao Wenhua's servant standing guard outside the door, so she asked the madam.

The madam spat, "Pah! He couldn't hold back any longer and went to Fat Butterfly's room. He's as impatient as a rutting boar. As soon as that guy in your room came in, he couldn't hold back and went to Fat Butterfly's room. Yuanyang, what do you want with him?"

"Call him from inside, I'll go find him." The woman twirled her handkerchief and went to Butterfly's room. The reason Butterfly was called Fat Butterfly by the madam was because she couldn't control her weight and kept getting fatter and fatter, turning from a butterfly into a fat butterfly.

Before long, Zhao Wenhua's servant arrived at Luo Longwen's side, disheveled and with several red marks on his face.

"Damn it, I told you to guard that place, and this is how you guarded it?!" Luo Longwen berated him mercilessly.

"I'm sorry, sir, it's all that girl's fault for seducing me," the servant said weakly.

"Fuck you, I know you too well!" Luo Longwen cursed even more fiercely, and even hit him on the back of the head a few times.

"It's all because of my fierceness. You've got those mandarin ducks all squawking like crazy. I was standing guard outside, and listening to them made me so hot that I finally..."

The servant offered a different kind of compliment.

Luo Longwen was pleased with himself and stroked his beard smugly, saying, "Ahem, that's for sure. If you learn even 30% of my skills, it'll be enough for you to dominate the entertainment industry."

"Yes, yes." The servant bowed his head and repeatedly said yes, but in his heart he was cursing. Forget it, you can only count to ten at most. If I learn 30% of yours, I can finish it in two or three moves!
"Alright, I'll teach you later. Tell me, have Wu San and the others sent any replies today?"

Luo Longwen glanced warily at the closed doors and windows, beckoned the servant closer, and asked in a low voice.

"Reporting to you, sir, this morning Wu San sent Liu Da to deliver a message. Wu San and his men met Xu Hai three days ago. Xu Hai is very fierce. Wu San and his men brought ten cartloads of lavish gifts, but before they even met Xu Hai, they were captured by his Japanese pirates. Wu San said that they were very fortunate to have received the token from you, sir, otherwise they would have been boiled alive by Xu Hai."

The servant replied in a low voice.

Wu San and his accomplices were Luo Longwen's trusted men sent to contact Xu Hai and Wang Zhi, carrying Luo Longwen's tokens and generous gifts.

The generous gifts were not just ten cartloads of silk and armor, but also information on the current military deployments in Jiangnan.

"My relationship with Xu Hai goes quite a distance. What did Xu Hai say?" Luo Longwen continued to ask.

"Liu Da said that Xu Hai agreed with Master's proposal. Xu Hai said that Zhu Ping'an is also his enemy. He wholeheartedly supports getting rid of Zhu Ping'an. He wants us to keep an eye on Zhu Ping'an and the Zhejiang Army's every move, and then work together from the inside and outside to eliminate Zhu Ping'an in one fell swoop. Oh, I almost forgot, Master, this is Xu Hai's handwritten letter."

The servant took out a letter from his pocket and handed it to Luo Longwen.

"Why didn't you hand over such an important matter to me sooner!" Luo Longwen glared at him fiercely.

"Hehe, I also wanted to hand it over to you as soon as possible, but you're in the midst of your moment of glory, and I was afraid of disturbing your enjoyment."

The servant smiled apologetically.

"This is a one-time exception." Only then did Luo Longwen let him go.

"I promise it won't happen again." The servant nodded and bowed, repeatedly assuring that it would never happen again.

Luo Longwen opened Xu Hai's handwritten letter, leaned close to the window to examine it carefully, and a smug smile appeared on his face as he looked at it.

"Hahaha, Xu Hai still calls me 'brother,' hmm, not bad, not bad. He says he'll cooperate fully and asks me to take good care of him," Luo Longwen said to the servant, folding Xu Hai's handwritten letter with pride and putting it close to his body.

"It's still my face that matters. Xu Hai can stop children from crying at night, and they even call me elder brother."

The servant, with keen insight, flattered Luo Longwen.

Luo Longwen grinned from ear to ear, then asked, "Has there been any news from Wang Zhi?"

The servant shook his head and carefully reported, "Wang Zhi has accepted the gifts, but he hasn't said anything yet. He hasn't agreed or refused. Zhang Da and the others are still working on it."

"Waiting for the best price, hehe, that means there's potential!" Luo Longwen smiled knowingly after hearing this.

"Master, didn't they say that Wang Zhi is already preparing to surrender to Zhu Ping'an? Is it possible for him to switch sides and join us?" the servant asked.

"Hehe, Wang Zhi surrendered to the imperial court. Who does Zhu Ping'an think he is? If someone with more influence than Zhu Ping'an were to step forward, who do you think Wang Zhi would choose? He's become a Japanese pirate. You don't believe he's trustworthy, do you?! We're not afraid of him holding out for a higher price. We can offer a price that we guarantee will be higher than Zhu Ping'an's."

Luo Longwen chuckled. (End of Chapter)