The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 140 A Scheme Within a Scheme: Who's Real and Who's Fake?

Although Tu Chengyu felt very uncomfortable working with these salt merchants, things had come to this point, and he couldn't just let them profit from it.

At least the salt merchants are still under Tu Chengyu's control, but as for the mastermind behind them, he doesn't even know who that person is.

It goes without saying which one deserves more attention.

Since they were going to cooperate, Tu Chengyu first needed to test the salt merchants' attitudes.

He asked, "Since the unrest is caused by salt workers, do you have any way to calm them down?"

Han Bocai said, "Your Highness, when I received the news in the early morning, I sent people to the salt field. However, Prefect Tian made very thorough arrangements, and the people I sent were turned back halfway."

"Even if we, the lower classes, wanted to appease the salt workers, we had no way to do so."

This Prefect Tian is quite thorough in his work; he even blocked all escape routes.

However, one thing Tu Chengyu couldn't understand was that the salt merchants of Yangzhou were not people that could be easily controlled in the Jiangnan region.

Why was he so helpless against a mere prefect this time, and even came to me in such a miserable state to complain?

Tu Chengyu directly voiced his doubts: "How did you handle this kind of situation in the past? Why couldn't you do it this time?"

This is a rather difficult question to answer, because it inevitably involves some things that are not suitable for public discussion.

Faced with this pointed question, Han Bocai and Wei Yuncai exchanged a glance.

At this moment, Han Bocai, the chairman, pretended to be mute, while Wei Yuncai, who seemed rather reckless, spoke up to answer the question.

"To be honest, Your Highness, we have never encountered anything like this before. Officials would not make things difficult for us without reason."

His first point was that no one had ever made things difficult for them before; it was only after Prince Su arrived that such things began to happen.

The second meaning is that the salt merchants and the government have always had a good relationship, so there must be a reason why they were being harassed this time.

Of course, what he meant was that Tu Chengyu was just imagining things, so he followed up on Wei Yuncai's words and asked:
"Then tell me, what was the reason that Prefect Tian made things difficult for you this time?"

Upon hearing this, Wei Yuncai opened his mouth as if to answer immediately, but then, as if thinking of something, he opened his mouth halfway and then closed it again.

He thought for a moment before saying, "Your Highness, what I am about to say may not be pleasant to hear. Please don't be angry."

Tu Chengyu waved his hand dismissively and said, "Go ahead and say it, I won't be angry."

Upon hearing Tu Chengyu's promise, Wei Yuncai then said, "Your Highness, in my opinion, Prefect Tian's actions are not aimed at us salt merchants; he is very likely targeting Your Highness."

Wei Yuncai's words were undeniably bold.

In front of Prince Tu Chengyu, he openly said that a local official was there because he was after the prince.

Regardless of what Tu Chengyu would think upon hearing this, once this statement gets out, as long as Prefect Tian remains an official in Yangzhou, do you think he will let Wei Yuncai off the hook?

Wei Yuncai not only said these seemingly thoughtless words, but Han Bocai, who was standing next to him, also seemed to have no objection.

Tu Chengyu looked at the two people with a playful expression on his face.

Wei Yuncai's words didn't seem like something he said without thinking or just spouting nonsense.

It was as if it had been carefully considered and planned.

Why would they say such useless things in front of him, things that would offend Prefect Tian?

Could it be that they wanted to sow discord, get me to fight with the prefect of Hetian, and then reap the benefits?

Or perhaps they deliberately left themselves vulnerable in order to facilitate smooth cooperation and address the current difficulties.

Tu Chengyu couldn't guess their intentions for the time being, so he continued to ask.

"You say he came for me, then tell me, why would he come for me?"

Wei Yuncai said, "I have heard that some people in Jiangnan believe that Your Highness's main purpose in coming to Jiangnan this time is to investigate the matter of the grain fields. Perhaps some people do not want Your Highness to continue the investigation, so they are deliberately making things difficult for Your Highness here."

When Wei Yuncai uttered the words "grain field," Tu Chengyu couldn't help but frown.

He thought the investigation of the grain fields was a secret, and even if some things happened later, no one would have thought that he, the prince, was supporting it behind the scenes.

But now even a salt merchant knows this clearly, so there's nothing to hide anymore.

Moreover, Wei Yuncai was able to claim that others had sabotaged the matter in order to prevent him from investigating the farmland.

It is thus clear that the encroachment on farmland in Jiangnan was already common knowledge.

Wei Yuncai's words were reasonable and well-founded, which made Tu Chengyu believe that the salt workers' unrest must have been caused by these people behind the scenes.

Tu Chengyu originally thought that this trip to Jiangnan would only involve reorganizing the salt administration.

Regarding the matter concerning the grain fields, he planned to report it to the imperial court and ask the emperor to send someone to handle it.

However, for these gentry in Jiangnan to suddenly pull such a stunt at this time shows that they are somewhat looking down on him, the Prince of Su.

If he were to let others scheme against him so easily and not retaliate, wouldn't he, Tu Chengyu, be a prince for nothing?

Therefore, Tu Chengyu thought it was necessary to leave these Jiangnan gentry with something worth remembering.

However, the most important thing right now is to quell the unrest in the salt fields.

At this point, Tu Chengyu no longer wanted to engage in any more back-and-forth or mutual probing with these two people.

He asked directly, "Do you have any way to quell the salt workers' unrest?"

When asked this question, Wei Yuncai wisely kept quiet, and Han Bocai then answered:

"Your Highness, I request an audience with you because I have a plan and would like to ask for your assistance."

Tu Chengyu said, "Tell me about it."

Han Bocai said, "I would like to ask Your Highness to stop the Yangzhou garrison from going to support Prefect Tian."

His method was initially somewhat similar to what Tu Chengyu had thought of.

I wonder if it will be the same later on. Tu Chengyu was very curious, so he pressed for an answer:
"and then?"

Han Bocai said, "Then you can just wait."

Tu Chengyu thought he had more to do, but he didn't expect it to be such a simple plan.

He couldn't help but ask, "Will things calm down if we just wait?"

Han Bocai said, "Your Highness need not worry. As long as we stop the garrison, the men under Prefect Tian will not cause any greater trouble."

"We only need to wait a few days. When Prefect Tian sees that there are no reinforcements, he will naturally withdraw."

Tu Chengyu asked, "Then what about the salt workers?"

Upon hearing the word "salt worker," Han Bocai's face relaxed, and he said:

“The salt workers are the easiest to deal with. Once Prefect Tian returns, we just need to go over and give them some compensation, then deal with the ringleaders, and everything will be settled.”

Han Bocai spoke casually, but Tu Chengyu was somewhat puzzled.

“Now that the salt workers have already rioted, how can they be so easily quelled by a little compensation?”

Among Tu Chengyu's men, and among those who have rebelled throughout history, salt smugglers made up a large proportion. While these salt workers today are not salt smugglers, they are certainly not to be trifled with.

Unexpectedly, Han Bocai described them as mere chickens and dogs, judging them with a single word.

In response to Tu Chengyu's question, Han Bocai replied:

"I'm not talking nonsense, but this is how we've been dealing with them for so many years."

“These salt workers are the most patient people. This turmoil must have been forced upon them by Prefect Tian.”

“Their resistance was not a rebellion, so once Prefect Tian retired, they had no reason to resist.”

"At this point, if we just offer them some benefits, they will naturally be willing to stop the unrest, since no one wants to risk their life."

He spoke lightly, but Tu Chengyu still had questions. He asked, "What about those who are involved in territorial disputes? Are they willing to be killed like this?"

Han Bocai smiled and said, "Your Highness, the leader who was killed was not the one who actually led the rebellion."

Tu Chengyu asked, "Then who was killed?"

Han Bocai replied, "Before the turmoil, they would find those who were too old to work or sick to be scapegoats. Once they needed to take the blame afterward, these people would be pushed out to be punished."

Hearing this, Tu Chengyu couldn't help but feel sorry for these salt workers.

This group, which was originally the most rebellious, has now been domesticated into this state.

They were forced into turmoil by others, and afterwards, a scapegoat was put forward so that those who forced them into turmoil would not be held accountable.

Although Tu Chengyu does not agree with this method, it is indeed very useful.

As long as we wait for a while, without lifting a finger, we can ensure that the oriole gets nothing.

The only two who might suffer losses are the salt workers and Tu Chengyu.

Yes, Han Bocai's plan is good, but it's not suitable for Tu Chengyu.

Because if Tu Chengyu did not respond to what Prefect Tian did this time.

Where is Tu Chengyu's dignity as a prince of the current dynasty?

Furthermore, it seems that Prefect Tian's actions in instigating the salt workers' riot were due to his own impatience.

However, everyone knew that the reason Prefect Tian went to Yantian to investigate the case was because Tu Chengyu reported the case to him.

In that case, they could say that Tu Chengyu forced Prefect Tian to handle the case, which led to the salt workers' riot.

In addition, Tu Chengyu had some conflicts with the salt merchants during this period, so the two factors combined.

They might be able to frame Tu Chengyu for competing with the people for profit and forcing them to rebel.

Moreover, given this mantis's ability to set up a trap so easily, he couldn't possibly be unaware of Han Bocai's simple solution.

Perhaps after Tu Chengyu stopped the garrison battalion, they took further action.

In any case, whether it's about protecting one's own reputation or other aspects.

Tu Chengyu felt that they couldn't just sit and wait for others to back down; instead, they should take the initiative to act according to circumstances and seize the initiative.

Tu Chengyu was thinking about how to deal with it when Han Bocai reminded him:
"Your Highness, we can't wait any longer. If we wait any longer, the garrison will board the ship. If we let the garrison go, it will probably provoke more salt workers to resist, and then it will be really impossible to deal with."

Han Bocai's words pulled Tu Chengyu back from his reverie. He glanced at Han Bocai but didn't respond to what he said. Instead, he asked an unrelated question.

"If your people see the salt workers, can you persuade them not to resist?"

Han Bocai was taken aback by Tu Chengyu's question, but he quickly recovered and said:
"Your Highness, we do have some men who are familiar with the salt workers and can persuade them, but now Prefect Tian is blocking the way, and our men cannot enter the salt fields."

Tu Chengyu said, "Whether you can enter the salt field or not is none of your concern. You just need to find those who are familiar with the salt workers. I will have a use for them."

Hearing Tu Chengyu's decisive order, Han Bocai dared not object and could only agree.

Finally, still worried, he said, "Your Highness, the garrison must stop them!"

Tu Chengyu said, "You don't need to worry about this. I will arrange for someone to do it myself."

After saying that, Tu Chengyu told them to leave and go back to find his subordinates who were familiar with the salt workers.

After the two left, Tu Chengyu first called Xiao Xuanzi in.

When he came in, Tu Chengyu took out a gold token from his waist.

This token was given to Tu Chengyu by the Emperor before he left the capital.

Its function is that, with this token and the identity of Prince Su, Tu Chengyu can freely mobilize an army of up to a thousand men anywhere in Jiangnan.

Tu Chengyu, holding the token, said to Xiao Xuanzi, "Now take Su Xuanbao and go to the garrison commander of Yangzhou Garrison. Tell him to gather the old troops and have them wait at the dock outside the city."

The matter was urgent, so Xiao Xuanzi took the token and immediately turned around and went out to handle the matter.

Then Tu Chengyu had someone call Quan Wenwei over. Tu Chengyu was still unsure about what had just happened, and he wanted to hear Quan Wenwei's and Lin Ruhai's opinions.

After Quan Wenwei arrived, Lin Ruhai gave him a brief account of what had just happened.

Tu Chengyu then continued, "I don't intend to listen to Han Bocai's idea and wait idly. I want to take the initiative. What do you think?"

After hearing the details of the incident, Quan Wenwei clearly had an idea. As soon as Tu Chengyu finished asking his question, he said:
"Your Highness was right to take the initiative; otherwise, there would have been even bigger trouble."

Tu Chengyu hadn't thought of anything yet, and he asked, "What kind of trouble might there be?"

Quan Wenwei said, "Your Highness, have you considered who will suppress the larger unrest that might occur in the salt fields once you stop the garrison troops?"

"Even worse, without the garrison battalion to suppress it, if someone takes the opportunity to kill Prefect Tian during the unrest, how will Your Highness deal with it?"

After hearing what Quan Wenwei said, Tu Chengyu broke out in a cold sweat.

He had only been thinking that the salt workers' riot was caused by Prefect Tian, ​​so all his thoughts were on how to deal with Prefect Tian.

I never imagined that the unrest could have been caused by someone bribing the salt workers.

If that's the case, there might actually be an incident where salt workers assassinate Prefect Tian.

If Tu Chengyu had listened to Han Bocai and blocked the garrison battalion from providing support...

Therefore, Tu Chengyu has no choice but to take the blame himself.

At that point, let alone reforming the salt administration and managing the grain fields, even returning safely to the capital would be a major problem.

Tu Chengyu couldn't help but wonder, could it be that Han Bocai was trying to set a trap for me?
The idea came from Han Bocai, so he had no choice but to think this way.

Fortunately, he was cautious and did not do as he was told.

Otherwise, once the order to stop the garrison battalion is issued, what happens next?

Even if I had the words, I would find it difficult to explain myself clearly.

At that point, it really will be like mud dripping down your pants—even if it's not poop, it'll still look like poop.

(End of this chapter)