The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 133 Reactions from All Sides: The Scheme Succeeds

With a hundred thousand guan tied around his waist, he rode a crane down to Yangzhou.

Yangzhou's wealth is among the best in the entire country.

However, a place of wealth is also a place of trouble.

This ancient city, where extravagance is rampant, is usually noisy and somewhat restless.

Since Prince Su arrived, it has stirred up wave after wave of excitement.

This wave has become even more turbulent after several recent events.

The first thing was that, for some unknown reason, the salt merchants, who had been united against outsiders for decades, suddenly started fighting amongst themselves.

Especially the Wei and Lu families, whose heads actually took to the streets to fight, which is quite rare in Yangzhou where such things are commonplace.

The second thing was that Prince Su took the dozens of Japanese slaves he had captured and drove them all out of Yangzhou City, where they were all beheaded.

The execution, while becoming a topic of conversation among the people of Yangzhou, also solidified Prince Su's infamous reputation for being a bloodthirsty killer.

The current Prince Su is, in the mouths of the people of Yangzhou, a monster who is twelve feet tall, with a blue face and fangs, and who kills without blinking an eye.

He was so powerful that just mentioning his name could stop a child from crying.

These two events, one more sensational than the other, have dominated the conversations of people in Yangzhou and even the entire Jiangnan region for some time now.

Besides these two events, there are several other pieces of news that people find hard to let go of.

The most attention-grabbing of these is also about the Lu family.

At some point, rumors began circulating in Yangzhou that Prince Su intended to replace the Lu family in the salt merchants' positions.

These twelve salt merchants controlled most of the salt in the country, and their wealth was unimaginable.

Such a treasure trove is now being partially given away; how can anyone not be tempted?

So when this news came out, the salt merchants were naturally shocked.

However, for other merchants in Jiangnan, it felt like an incredible opportunity had fallen into their laps.

This crazy news spread for only three to five days before a large number of merchants flocked to Yangzhou to inquire about the situation, all hoping to find an opportunity to replace the Lu family.

Among these merchants, besides the wealthy merchants from Jiangnan, only a few imperial merchants came to join the fun.

Without a doubt, this news that caused such a stir in Jiangnan was leaked by Tu Chengyu.

He released this information for two reasons: first, to test the salt merchants and see how they would react; and second, to put pressure on them to agree to his demands as soon as possible.

As for why the salt merchants did not agree to Tu Chengyu's demands, that goes back to the previous negotiation between Tu Chengyu and Han Bocai.

On that day, Tu Chengyu used every means at his disposal, and even went so far as to sacrifice his own reputation.

Finally, Han Bocai was convinced that his actions were only to deal with the Lu family and would not harm anyone else.

When it came time to set the final terms, Tu Chengyu even took a step back, and this is what he told Han Bocai.

"I will naturally not forgive the Lu family, but I will not interfere in matters of salt administration. You can choose your own people to replace the Lu family."

Before Tu Chengyu could finish speaking, he saw a different expression on Han Bocai's face, indicating that he was very interested in Tu Chengyu's suggestion.

However, after Tu Chengyu finished speaking, he became expressionless.

He said, “Your Highness, the Lu family is easy to deal with, but they control salt fields and have so many salt workers, which cannot be left unattended.”

“Once the Lu family’s control is gone, these salt workers and salt-carrying boat workers will probably start making trouble immediately.”

Han Bocai revealed the Lu family's trump card, but Tu Chengyu didn't know he was threatening him at the time.

Or perhaps he himself was already tempted, subtly reminding himself that to deal with the Lu family, he needed to pay attention to these aspects.

Tu Chengyu, unsure of Han Bocai's meaning, continued to probe, "Even without the Lu family, aren't there still your other families? Surely you can appease the boatmen and salt workers?"

Han Bocai said, "I can certainly help Your Highness with these matters, but the Lu family has a deep influence on these people. If they interfere, I'm afraid we will be powerless to do anything about it."

"It would be bad if things got out of hand and it hindered salt production."

At that time, Tu Chengyu felt that Han Bocai still wanted to protect the Lu family.

However, this was a situation that Tu Chengyu and Lin Ruhai had already anticipated when they discussed it.

So Tu Chengyu took the opportunity to ask, "So, this means I can't touch the Lu family?"

Han Bocai naturally couldn't say that a prince of the current dynasty couldn't touch a mere merchant, so he avoided the main point and said:

"The Lu family is nothing; His Highness can deal with them anytime he wants. It's just that His Highness spared them because of their many years of service to the court."

Han Bocai was well aware of the principle of taking advantage of others' opportunities. As soon as Tu Chengyu showed the slightest sign of leniency, he immediately assumed that Tu Chengyu had let the Lu family go.

Fortunately, Tu Chengyu's plan was not to completely destroy the Lu family, but rather to employ the Lu family to make their mark among the salt merchants.

Therefore, Tu Chengyu said, "Since that's the case, I will allow the Lu family to continue being salt merchants, out of consideration for you salt merchants."

"However, we cannot let the Lu family off easily. They still have to pay the price they deserve."

Tu Chengyu pretended to be greedy and directly demanded benefits.

Han Bocai was pleased that Tu Chengyu was willing to ask for benefits; asking for benefits was easier than dealing with him when he was completely unyielding.

He said, "Your Highness, rest assured, I will make sure the Lu family sends you a satisfactory gift of thanks."

Tu Chengyu said, "I'm afraid I won't like their kind gesture too much."

Upon hearing this, Han Bocai immediately understood that King Tu Su already had something he wanted.

He asked, "Does Your Highness have any conditions? Please give me your instructions. If you can fulfill even a small one, I will do everything in my power to make it happen."

The implication is that if it can't be done, then there's nothing that can be done.

Regardless of any other meaning behind his words, Tu Chengyu said directly, "This king wants half of the Lu family's salt business."

"Half?" Han Bocai's voice rose in surprise. He continued, "Your Highness, are you planning to get involved in the salt trade?"

Ignoring Han Bocai's exclamation, Tu Chengyu said, "The Lu family is involved in smuggling salt and colluding with the Japanese pirates. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to execute the entire family. Now, I only want half of their salt business. Do you think they're not willing?"

It wasn't that the Lu family was unwilling, but rather that the other salt merchants were unwilling.

Because once the Lu family gives half of the salt merchants' business to Prince Su, it means that Prince Su can interfere with the business of Yangzhou salt merchants at any time, which is equivalent to the court planting a blatant spy among the salt merchants.

If that's the case, how are the salt merchants supposed to make big money in the future?

Compared to giving half of the business to Prince Su, the other salt merchants might prefer to find new merchants to replace the Lu family.

After all, new salt merchants who want to make money steadily will definitely cooperate with the original salt merchants and will not become their enemies.

Therefore, when Tu Chengyu made this request, Han Bocai was initially unwilling.

However, Han Bocai couldn't refuse Tu Chengyu's conditions now, because on the surface, Tu Chengyu was the one making concessions. Even a prince like him was making such concessions; if you still weren't willing, you'd be incredibly ungrateful.

Han Bocai was once again put in a dilemma by Tu Chengyu's words.

He thought for a long time before saying, "Your Highness, this matter involves the Lu family's business. Although I am the president of the salt merchants' association, I cannot make decisions on behalf of the Lu family."

Tu Chengyu had anticipated his response, so he said, "It's alright, you can go back and discuss it with the Lu family. I can wait."

Tu Chengyu never thought that the rectification of the salt administration could be accomplished through one or two negotiations, nor did he place all his hopes on negotiations.

The reason he met with Han Bocai when he requested an audience was simply to lower the guard of the salt merchants through negotiations so that he could proceed with his next plan.

So after Han Bocai left, Tu Chengyu immediately instructed Lin Ruhai to send someone to release a selection of his conversation with Han Bocai.

Most of the selected content consisted of statements intended to sow discord among the salt merchants.

It was these words that spread, leading to the salt merchants' infighting that has been circulating throughout Yangzhou these past few days.

However, this also led to a consequence: the salt merchants were unable to reach a consensus for a period of time.

They have been slow to respond to the conditions proposed by Tu Chengyu.

However, Tu Chengyu felt that the lack of consensus might be an excuse.

The truth is that none of them wanted to meet Tu Chengyu's demands.

For the Lu family, the salt business is their main industry, and giving away half of it would be tantamount to taking away half of their life.

The remaining eleven salt merchants had already treated the salt trade as their own backyard and did not want others to interfere easily.

So they dragged it out, not wanting to agree to Tu Chengyu's request, but also not wanting to offend him, until they came up with a solution.

They wanted to stall, but Tu Chengyu naturally wouldn't let them have their way.

In order to force them to agree to his conditions as soon as possible.

Tu Chengyu first ordered his men to pick out the useless Japanese slaves from among the captured ones, take them outside Yangzhou City, and behead them all at once.

His move was meant to tell those salt merchants that just because he had spoken with them, he wouldn't use force against them.

If you anger me, it will be an easy thing for me to make your heads roll.

Besides intimidation, Tu Chengyu also used his usual winning tactic: spreading rumors.

This time, the message he sent out was still his original condition: to replace the Lu family, the salt merchants.

However, this news is slightly different from what Tu Chengyu said before.

Previously, he had told Han Bocai that he was going to find a new businessman to completely replace the Lu family.

Now, what people outside are hearing is that Prince Su wants to split the Lu family's business in two.

Half of the salt was handed over to a newly found merchant, and the other half was to be sold back to the original salt merchant at a discount.

This news struck like a bolt from the blue, hitting the hearts of everyone who cared about it.

First were the merchants who had been eyeing the salt merchants for a long time. Although rumors suggested only half the business would be available, they were all eager to make a big splash.

Secondly, the other eleven salt merchants besides the Lu family were filled with mixed feelings of joy and sorrow.

Their concern was that this was merely a plot by Prince Su to sow discord between the Lu family and everyone else.

The good news is that if the rumor is true, they will have the opportunity to take over half of the Lu family's business, which would greatly expand their own business.

Among them, the happiest was Wei Yuncai. Upon hearing the news, he immediately ran around trying to persuade the other families to give up on the Lu family and divide up the Lu family's business.

Believe it or not, Wei Yuncai persuaded several companies in just one morning.

If it weren't for the fact that Chairman Han Bocai remained calm and stopped them, the Yangzhou salt merchants might have fallen apart that very day because of a rumor.

However, judging from the current situation, disintegration is not far off.

Besides the two parties mentioned above, the one that reacted the most was the Lu family, who had been at the center of the incident.

When Lu Yinghui heard the news, he was so shocked that he almost couldn't stand up.

As someone with a direct stake in the matter, he knows best what kind of impact this news would have if it came true.

At that point, the other eleven salt merchants will abandon the Lu family for their own interests. In that case, the Lu family will lose its biggest trump card.

In addition, those Jiangnan merchants who rushed over, intending to take over the Lu family's place, would also take advantage of the Lu family's misfortune.

If it really comes to that, Prince Su won't even need to lift a finger; someone else will be able to wipe the Lu family out completely.

Lu Yinghui became increasingly frightened as he thought about it, realizing that he should no longer listen to Han Bocai and wait to die.

We must take the initiative to change in order to have any chance of survival in this turmoil.

However, the current situation is extremely dangerous. One wrong step could plunge the Lu family into utter ruin.

Therefore, Lu Yinghui was extremely anxious, but he still suppressed his impulse and secretly kept thinking of ways to help.

Meanwhile, the Lin family mansion, another focal point of the incident, has been relatively calm these past few days.

Tu Chengyu, the mastermind behind the whole affair, would occasionally listen to the news from outside with Lin Ruhai and Quan Wenwei, and then adjust the plan according to the latest information.

The rest of the time was spent leisurely enjoying life, spending his days with Lin Daiyu and the others, drinking flower tea, and playing chess.

However, he wouldn't be able to enjoy this kind of life for more than a few days.

Just as he was preparing to enjoy his fourth day of life, Lin Ruhai came to find Tu Chengyu early in the morning.

As soon as he entered and saw Tu Chengyu, he said with a big smile:

"Your Highness, our plan has succeeded."

Hearing this, Tu Chengyu asked happily, "Did Lu Yinghui send someone to look for you?"

Lin Ruhai nodded and said, "Your Highness guessed correctly. Last night, Lu Yinghui sent someone to look for me in the middle of the night."

Tu Chengyu asked, "What did the person he sent say?"

Lin Ruhai said, "A servant from the Lu family brought a message from Lu Yinghui. He wants to meet with me to discuss the matter in detail."

The fact that Lu Yinghui dared to meet and discuss the matter in detail suggests that there is indeed a possibility that he might be leaning towards Tu Chengyu's side.

Tu Chengyu asked, "Where did he ask you to meet him?"

Lin Ruhai replied, "He invited me to meet at the Lu residence."

This is an unexpected yet surprisingly reasonable point.

(End of this chapter)