The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 130 The Struggle Begins: Everyone Makes Preparations

Han Bocai's words of advice did not quell Wei Yuncai's anger; instead, they made him even angrier.

He said, "Chairman, it's not that I, Wei, want to cause trouble at this critical juncture, but Lu Yinghui has gone too far."

“On that day, he colluded with outsiders to try to seize my Wei family’s position as a salt merchant, and even wanted to put my Wei family to death.”

"He did this back then, and now he wants me to help him today? No way."

Han Bocai was naturally aware of the sordid affair between them, and he also knew that Wei Yuncai would not let it go after suffering in silence.

Everyone schemed and plotted; such things were nothing new among salt merchants.

What Han Bocai didn't expect was that the Lu family had gone to such lengths to swindle the Wei family this time.

What he didn't expect was that before the Wei family could get their revenge...

Prince Su actually came knocking on our door at this critical juncture.

Faced with an attack from foreign enemies, as the head of the salt merchants' association, his natural thought was to protect everyone's interests.

Therefore, he said to Wei Yuncai, "The Lu family did make a mistake this time, but now we are facing the powerful Prince Su. I hope you will prioritize the overall situation and put this matter aside for the time being."

The reason Wei Yuncai is so persistent in pursuing Lu Yinghui at this critical juncture is that he knows this is the best opportunity to control the Lu family, and he is not going to let it go easily.

Therefore, even though Han Bocai, as the chairman, came forward to mediate, Wei Yuncai had no intention of letting go.

However, just as he was about to speak, Han Bocai stopped him.

Han Bocai then said, "Brother Wei, as the chairman, I guarantee that after this matter is over, the Lu family will give you a satisfactory explanation."

Upon hearing Han Bocai's words, Wei Yuncai swallowed the words he was about to say and carefully considered his proposal.

Wei Yuncai understood that although he was the salt merchant with the best relationship with Lin Ruhai, his roots were still here as a member of the salt merchants.

People may fight amongst themselves, but they don't want the interests of salt merchants to be harmed.

The reason he was so relentless today was not to bring down the Lu family, but simply to take advantage of the situation and squeeze a piece of flesh out of them.

Now that the chairman has given him a guarantee, Wei Yuncai has stopped pressing the issue.

He said, "Since the chairman says so, I'll let bygones be bygones for now."

Wei Yuncai let it go, but Lu Yinghui wouldn't stand for it.

Lu Yinghui knew that getting a satisfactory explanation from Wei Yuncai would definitely cause the Lu family financial pain.

Let's hope that Prince Su doesn't end up failing to bring down his own family, only to die at the hands of Wei Yuncai.

Thinking of this, Lu Yinghui said, "I disagree."

Han Bocai looked incredulous upon hearing Lu Yinghui's words. He said somewhat angrily, "Lu Yinghui, can't you even tell what's important?"

Lu Yinghui responded, "It's not that I can't distinguish between what's important and what's not, but I need to make things clear. Otherwise, if my Lu family fails in the end, it will be without any explanation."

Han Bocai asked, "Is there anything else you haven't made clear?"

Lu Yinghui said, "There is something I don't understand. How did Prince Su know about my Lu family's private salt transaction today? If no one in the know told them, how could they know the time and location of the transaction so precisely?"

As he said this, his eyes remained fixed on Wei Yuncai, the meaning of which was self-evident.

Wei Yuncai already felt wronged, so how could he tolerate Lu Yinghui's slander?

He said, "I, surnamed Lu, would never do such despicable things like you."

Seeing that Wei Yuncai had directly abandoned all pretense, Lu Yinghui stopped trying to hide anything and said directly:
"Who doesn't know that you, surnamed Wei, are always guarding the Salt Commissioner? If this wasn't said by you, then who else could it be?"

Wei Yuncai said, "It is true that I am close to Lord Lin, but we have been close for a long time. In all these years, I have never seen Lord Lin harm anyone."

Lu Yinghui retorted, "That's because no one is backing Lin Ruhai up. Now that Prince Su has arrived, Lin Ruhai has gained confidence, which is why he's targeting us salt merchants."

Wei Yuncai said, "Whether Lord Lin has the confidence or not is his business. Why are you dragging me into this?"

Lu Yinghui: "Without you, how could Lin Ruhai possibly know about my Lu family's smuggling of salt? Others may not know, but I do know that you brought your son to our door to request an audience the day Prince Su arrived."

Upon hearing this, Wei Yuncai stood up angrily, slammed his fist on the table, and said:

“Don’t you know why I went to the Lin residence that day? If it weren’t for your son instigating my silly son to offend Prince Su, why would I have had to shamelessly go to apologize?”

Upon hearing Wei Yuncai's words, Lu Yinghui retorted with a nonsensical argument:
"Who knows if you're going to apologize or to curry favor? Given what the Lu family has been going through today, the secrets of the other families are probably already on Prince Su's desk."

Hearing this, everyone present already knew what Lu Yinghui was planning.

He wanted everyone to help him through the difficult times, but he didn't want to pay too high a price.

That's why he's trying to muddy the waters and make everyone present think that Prince Su is targeting everyone present, not just his family.

Everyone saw through his trick, but no one stepped forward to expose him.

At this point, no one was sure whether Prince Su simply wanted to deal with the Lu family or to reorganize the salt administration.

Furthermore, these salt merchants have achieved their current status precisely because they have helped each other and united against external threats over the years.

Even if they knew he was playing a trick, no one exposed him, since he would have to give an explanation after the matter was over.

The other companies thought the same way, so they didn't say anything.

However, as the president, Han Bocai could not remain silent.

He ignored Wei Yuncai and stared at Lu Yinghui, saying:
"Did you invite us here to help you solve your problems, or do you just want us to listen to you argue?"

Lu Yinghui said, "Naturally, we want to solve the problem."

Han Bocai said, "If you want to solve the problem, then shut your mouth. Otherwise, when Prince Su comes knocking on your door, it will be too late for you to solve it."

Lu Yinghui also knew the urgency of the situation, and with his commotion just now, he had gained something.

So he wisely kept his mouth shut.

Although Wei Yuncai, who was sitting on the other side, was quite angry with Lu Yinghui, he had already achieved his goal, so he wisely stopped arguing.

When Han Bocai saw that the two guys had finally stopped arguing, he sat up straight and called on everyone to discuss countermeasures.

While the salt merchants were frantically discussing the matter, Tu Chengyu had already captured all the enemies on the riverbank.

Not only did no one escape, but several boatloads of smuggled salt were also seized, along with silver notes and silver brought by the salt smugglers.

These two items together are worth at least ten thousand taels of silver.

This unexpected windfall not only delighted Tu Chengyu, but also made all the guards beam with joy upon hearing the news.

They weren't just gloating; before they set off, Tu Chengyu had promised them that he would give them half of any spoils they acquired as a reward.

With more rewards, they worked even harder.

It didn't take them long to clean up the battlefield, not only sending all the prisoners to the ship but also burying the dead enemies. Their efforts were so great that Tu Chengyu was already leading the captured men back home shortly after lunch.

Tu Chengyu originally thought that today's gains were enough, but on the ship back, Lin Ruhai told him an even bigger surprise.

"This time, not only did they capture the Lu family's head steward, but they also captured Lu Yinghui's second son."

Upon hearing this unexpected good news, Tu Chengyu was filled with disbelief. He asked, "Are you serious?"

Lin Ruhai said, "I have met this person several times, so I would not mistake him."

After hearing this, Tu Chengyu clapped his hands happily and said, "There's such a good thing! Now the Lu family should have no way to escape."

Compared to Tu Chengyu's optimism, Lin Ruhai, who had served as the Salt Commissioner of Yangzhou for many years, was somewhat worried.

He had dealt with these salt merchants for so many years, watching them grow in Yangzhou step by step until their power was no less than that of a prefectural governor.

I am well aware of how difficult it will be to fight against these people.

Even a prince of the current dynasty could suffer a loss at the hands of these people if he wasn't careful.

Therefore, Lin Ruhai immediately reminded him, "Your Highness, it's best not to be too careless."

Tu Chengyu looked at Lin Ruhai with surprise and said, "We have conclusive evidence now. Do you think the Lu family can distort the truth?"

Lin Ruhai said, "The Lu family naturally doesn't have the ability to distort the truth, but the Lu family and those salt merchants control the salt farmers."

"If this is not handled properly, and they incite the salt workers to strike, affecting salt production, then it will be a huge problem."

After hearing what he said, Tu Chengyu felt that this matter was indeed a bit troublesome.

However, Tu Chengyu is not afraid of them because of this.

Because merchants are, after all, merchants, especially under imperial power, have no room to resist.

When dealing with Tu Chengyu, at most they would resort to some underhanded tactics behind the scenes, and even then, it was only a passive response.

In this struggle, the initiative still lies with Tu Chengyu.

Now that he has the upper hand, why should Tu Chengyu be afraid of them?

At worst, if we lose the struggle, things will just go back to the way they were before.

No matter what he does, Tu Chengyu will remain invincible.

However, Tu Chengyu would not be careless because of this, after all, he did not want to lose easily.

So, on the way back, Tu Chengyu called Lin Ruhai and Quan Wenwei over, and the three of them discussed the next steps in detail.

The journey back to the dock outside the Great Wall of Yangzhou was smooth. When Tu Chengyu disembarked, he noticed that there were many more idle people on the dock.

It's obvious without even thinking that these people were sent by the salt merchants to keep watch.

It seems they already know what they're going to do today.

However, since the suspects had already been caught, Tu Chengyu no longer cared that they knew.

After disembarking, Tu Chengyu watched the guards escort the prisoners on the dock, while Lin Ruhai went back to the Salt Administration Office first.

This was their agreed-upon plan. After Lin Ruhai returned, he would lead the salt patrol soldiers from the Salt Administration to surround the Lu family.

However, this time, the Lu family was only surrounded but not arrested. This would make the salt merchants nervous, but not so much that they would be driven to desperation.

This was also a question that Tu Chengyu and his group posed to the salt merchants, to see how they would respond.

The reason Lin Ruhai brought the salt patrol soldiers instead of waiting for the prisoners to be escorted back and then using the more reliable Prince Su's guards was because he brought the salt patrol soldiers with him.

The reason is that some of the salt inspectors were planted by the salt merchants. Using the salt inspectors would make the salt merchants more relaxed and would be more conducive to later actions.

The salt merchants reacted quickly.

Not long after Tu Chengyu escorted the prisoners back to the Salt Inspector's office, people sent by the salt merchants came knocking on the door.

Not only did they send someone very quickly, but the person they sent was someone he knew.

This person was none other than Du Ruoheng, a failed scholar who had met Tu Chengyu twice and had even been tricked by Tu Chengyu once.

Tu Chengyu remembered that this person was a scholar from Yuzhang County, but he never expected that he would be sent by a salt merchant from Yangzhou to see him today.

Although he knew that Tu Chengyu had been sent to negotiate, he pretended not to know.

Treating it as a reunion with an old friend, he pulled Du Ruoheng aside and started chatting idly.

They chatted for quite a while, and Tu Chengyu still seemed reluctant to stop.

Du Ruoheng dared not continue the idle chatter, so he quickly interjected while Tu Chengyu was drinking water:
"Your Highness, I have come to pay my respects to you today on behalf of someone else."

Tu Chengyu asked, "Who commissioned you?"

Du Ruoheng replied, "Your Highness, I was entrusted by Chairman Han of the Yangzhou Salt Merchants Association."

Tu Chengyu said, "President Han, if he has something to discuss, why doesn't he come directly to see me instead of asking you to do it?"

Du Ruoheng thought to himself, "They're just afraid that if they meet with you in person and things fall apart, there will be no room for maneuver, so they sent me to probe the situation."

However, he could only think these words in his heart, but he still had to say some polite things.

He said, "President Han naturally also wanted to see the Prince, but he said that the Prince's status was so noble that a hasty request might disturb him, so he asked me to come and see the Prince first."

Hearing Du Ruoheng spout some high-sounding nonsense, Tu Chengyu couldn't help but ask directly:

"Besides these, did Chairman Han ask you to ask any other questions?"

Du Ruoheng thought that they would have to go around in circles before getting to the point.

But to his surprise, Tu Chengyu asked the question directly.

Du Ruoheng paused for a moment, then said, "Your Highness is wise. Chairman Han does indeed have something he would like to hear Your Highness's opinion on."

Tu Chengyu asked, "What does he want to ask?"

Du Ruoheng said, "Your Highness, Chairman Han would like to ask if the Lu family, the salt merchants, has committed any crime, and why have the salt patrol soldiers surrounded the Lu family's residence?"

This was a question everyone knew the answer to, yet Han Bocai sent someone to inquire, clearly wanting to find out Tu Chengyu's attitude.

Faced with this question, Tu Chengyu did not answer immediately, but said:

"The salt patrol soldiers are subordinates of Salt Inspector Lin. You should ask Lord Lin about this matter."

Upon hearing this, Du Ruoheng said with a bitter face, "President Han has already sent someone to see Lord Lin. Lord Lin said that this matter is to be decided by the Prince, so I dared to come and disturb the Prince."

(End of this chapter)