The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 147 What Caused the Salt Workers' Tragedy?

In addition to arranging for people to confiscate the goods mentioned by Ding Jia, Tu Chengyu also sent Su Xuanbao to Zhenjiang overnight to inquire about Manager Wu's whereabouts.

When Tu Chengyu was preparing to return home, he decided to visit Zhenjiang. He remembered that there was still a debt he hadn't settled there.

Since this happened by chance, Tu Chengyu might as well consider it a day.

After doing all that, he also took the opportunity to inquire about Ding Jia, who had made a significant contribution that evening.

This local tyrant, who was used to bullying others in the county town, was initially deceived by Tu Chengyu and revealed all the information about Manager Wu without reservation.

Then, Tu Chengyu felt he had asked enough questions and was ready to confront him.

Quan Wenwei reappeared and continued to play out this deception.

Tu Chengyu didn't know what Quan Wenwei wanted to do, so he asked Xiao Xuanzi, who replied that she didn't know.

Since no one knew the answer, Tu Chengyu didn't take it to heart.

After having a late-night snack, he went to bed early.

Nothing happened that night. The next morning, after breakfast...

Tu Chengyu then summoned the county magistrate, Zhu Xingwen.

During the interrogation last night, Zhu Xingwen recounted the tragic plight of the salt workers.

Tu Chengyu thought that since he was already here, why not go and take a look so that he would have a better understanding of the situation?

So he asked Zhu Xingwen to lead the way, intending to visit the surrounding salt fields.

The county town itself was located around the salt fields, so they hadn't gone far from the county town before they arrived at the first salt field.

Because of the salt workers' riots, there weren't many salt workers in this salt field at the time.

After Tu Chengyu and his group went inside, the salt workers thought the government had come to arrest them, and they all fled into the reeds.

Tu Chengyu initially tried to persuade them, but the salt workers simply did not trust the government's words and ran further and further away the more he tried to persuade them.

This situation made Tu Chengyu frown.

He thought to himself that the relationship between the salt workers and the government had actually deteriorated to this extent.

If some ambitious individuals were to instigate such a situation, it could immediately lead to great disaster.

Since he couldn't persuade the salt workers to leave, Tu Chengyu let them go.

However, this did have one advantage: Tu Chengyu could see the living environment of the salt workers without any obstruction.

Following Zhu Xingwen's directions, Tu Chengyu wandered around casually.

This turn of events shocked him and sent a chill down his spine.

The living conditions of the salt workers were indeed as terrible as Zhu Xingwen described.

This kind of misery was something Tu Chengyu had never experienced in both of his lives combined.

Before seeing this, Tu Chengyu thought that being destitute was already a very tragic thing.

However, the living conditions of these salt workers were even more miserable than those of people who were destitute.

Because they didn't even have four walls.

As far as Tu Chengyu could see, there were rows and rows of grassy huts.

Yes, he wasn't mistaken.

These things that Zhu Xingwen called thatched huts were indeed thatched nests.

Each one looks like a bird's nest, with reeds laid underneath and reeds covering the top.

It's only about a meter high. Once a person crawls inside, they probably won't be able to sit up straight. If they want to sleep, they'll probably have to crawl in.

Not everyone has a shabby nest like this.

Within Tu Chengyu's sight, he could also see some places that were just a clump of grass on the ground, without even a roof.

Tu Chengyu pointed to these houses without roofs and asked Zhu Xingwen, "These are also their houses."

Zhu Xingwen glanced at the spot Tu Chengyu was pointing to and answered without hesitation, "Yes, Your Highness."

Tu Chengyu had expected this answer, and after receiving Zhu Xingwen's confirmation, he could only sigh.

He asked, "How do they survive when it rains in houses like these?"

Zhu Xingwen replied, "These roofless thatched huts usually belong to young people. They are strong and can withstand the rain."

After saying this, Tu Chengyu fell silent again.

After a moment, he continued, "Is this the case in all salt fields?"

Zhu Xingwen replied, "Your Highness, I am unaware of the situation in other prefectures, but within this county, the situation is generally the same."

Hearing him say that, Tu Chengyu looked at him in surprise and said, "You seem to know quite a lot about this."

Tu Chengyu spoke calmly, leaving Zhu Xingwen unable to discern whether he was praising or mocking him.

He could only brace himself and explain, "I am ashamed to say that after I passed the imperial examination, I was assigned to this post."

"When I first arrived, I was full of ambition and thought that I should make something of myself so that my ten years of hard study would not have been in vain."

"Therefore, as soon as I took office, I personally led a team to inspect the salt fields under the jurisdiction of this county."

"This is the first time I've ever seen such a tragic place in the world."

"At that time, I thought of helping these salt workers so that they would not have to suffer so much."

"But I am still too young. I almost lost my official position and even my life just as I was about to start doing things."

"After this incident, I was so frightened that I dared not get involved in such matters anymore. I could only stay in the county town all day, living a muddled and aimless life."

This guy went on and on, rambling on and on, as if he had a thousand things to say and just had to get them off his chest.

Tu Chengyu neither agreed nor disagreed with what he said, and turned to ask Lin Ruhai, who was following behind:

"Lord Lin, you are in charge of salt affairs. Are the salt fields in other prefectures also like this?"

Lin Ruhai took two steps forward and replied, "Your Highness, according to my understanding, it's about the same everywhere."

This answer greatly displeased Tu Chengyu.

He asked, "So when did this miserable situation for the salt workers begin?"

Lin Ruhai replied, "It has been like this since the very beginning of the founding of the nation."

"Was it like this from the very beginning of the founding of the nation?" Tu Chengyu was filled with disbelief. If it had been like this since the beginning of the nation, how had these salt workers endured it until now?

Tu Chengyu asked, "Since this drawback has existed for so long, why haven't you tried to solve it?"

Lin Ruhai replied, "This problem is difficult to solve."

Tu Chengyu: "Why?"

Lin Ruhai: "Because the laws of the founding emperor did not allow it."

Tu Chengyu became increasingly confused: "How does this matter involve the laws and regulations of the founding emperor?"

Lin Ruhai explained: "Because the ancestors of the salt workers were the greatest enemies of Emperor Taizu when he was fighting for the throne. So after Emperor Taizu established his rule, he sent these people here to produce salt."

"Moreover, an imperial edict was issued, stating that these salt workers should not be allowed to live too well, generation after generation."

After hearing this, Tu Chengyu was completely at a loss for words.

He always believed that the inhumane lives of the salt workers were caused by salt merchants and corrupt officials.

Now, upon hearing this, it turns out that it was all orchestrated by their own ancestors. Not only did their ancestors cause all of this, but they also left behind an imperial edict, preventing their descendants from taking any action even if they wanted to resolve the issue.

Tu Chengyu had previously thought that he could use his own strength to rectify the malpractices in the salt administration.

Now it seems that the hope is very slim.

However, if the problems with salt administration are not resolved, the problem will only get worse.

Based on what Tu Chengyu knows so far, the salt workers are like a pile of dry tinder, ready to burst into flames at the slightest spark.

Take this incident for example. With just a little bit of instigation from others, the salt workers here had already caused an incident of breaching the county town.

Moreover, after being arrested, these salt workers resisted the government fiercely, but they desperately protected those who had cheated them.

Furthermore, when he arrived here, the salt workers didn't even ask him anything before running away immediately.

This made Tu Chengyu very certain that the salt workers in Jianghuai were already very dissatisfied with the imperial court.

The reason why no large-scale unrest has broken out yet is because...

That's because at this time, the country was still in its early stages of establishment, and the court was still strong overall, so it still had the ability to control the country.

Therefore, no ambitious individuals came out to stir up trouble.

However, if this situation is not resolved, it could drag on for decades or even centuries.

When the court's power weakens, or when some unrest occurs.

Given the attitude of the salt workers of Lianghuai towards the imperial court, they were bound to rebel one day.

In addition, the salt tax from Lianghuai accounted for more than 70% of the nation's total salt tax.

If the problem of the salt workers' survival cannot be solved, it is very likely to affect the imperial court's tax revenue.

Thinking of this, Tu Chengyu felt that the problem of the salt workers had to be solved, even if there was an imperial edict from the founding emperor.

Moreover, we must resolve this problem while it is still solvable.

Otherwise, the longer it drags on, the worse it will become. By the time it's resolved, there will be no way to fix it.

At that time, we can only watch helplessly as the world descends into chaos.

Tu Chengyu felt it was necessary to report everything he was seeing to the Emperor so that he would understand the seriousness of the matter.

At the same time, he felt he should think carefully about whether there was a way to solve this problem.

Just as Tu Chengyu was racking his brains for a solution, Lin Ruhai, who was standing next to him, noticed that he hadn't moved for a while and tentatively asked:
"Your Highness, would you like to continue watching?"

Tu Chengyu only came to his senses after being asked by Lin Ruhai.

He looked around again, but had lost all interest in seeing anything more.

He then said, "There's nothing to see, let's go back."

After saying that, he walked straight out of the salt field without stopping.

I came here full of enthusiasm this morning, but now I'm leaving disappointed.

After Tu Chengyu returned to the county town in a sullen mood, he encountered two more things that left him conflicted, unsure whether to be happy or unhappy.

One of them is the person who was sent to the old alley to pick up the goods. He has returned.

The good thing about this is that the goods seized this time were worth tens of thousands of taels of silver, which was a great windfall.

However, what's troubling is that these goods didn't come through the official Maritime Trade Office; they were smuggled in.

A single, accidental seizure can easily yield tens of thousands of dollars worth of goods.

This gives us an idea of ​​just how rampant these smuggling transactions with overseas entities can be.

The imperial court was unaware of how much tax revenue it had lost as a result.

This is the first thing I'm struggling with.

The second perplexing thing is that Quan Wenwei managed to get the salt workers' leaders to talk within just half a day, and even learned their smuggling methods.

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu was very curious about how Quan Wenwei had managed to do it.

So as soon as he returned to the county government office, he summoned Quan Wenwei and asked him what had happened.

Now that the matter was settled, Quan Wenwei had no need to hide anything, so he told Tu Chengyu the whole story in detail.

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu realized that the matter was actually related to the constable Ding Jia.

It turns out that last night, Quan Wenwei tricked Ding Jia out of Tu Chengyu's place.

Quan Wenwei pretended to be very familiar with Ding Jia and led Ding Jia past the place where the salt workers were imprisoned.

They deliberately let the salt workers' foreman, who was imprisoned inside, see all of this.

Quan Wenwei even gave Tu Chengyu a special explanation for why he did this.

It is said that after the salt workers captured the county town, Ding Jia, the head constable of the county government, was not harmed at all. Instead, he was invited into the prison and treated to good food and drink.

This suggests that the salt worker and Ding Jia knew each other, and were very likely to have a close relationship.

In addition, both the salt workers and Ding Jia knew Manager Wu, so he thought of using Ding Jia to put on a show for the salt workers' leaders.

If it were just that simple, Quan Wenwei might not be able to fool the salt workers' leader.

Therefore, Quan Wenwei proceeded to the next step.

He sent people to deliberately spread the news of the discovery of goods in the old alley, and also sent someone to deliberately walk near the salt workers' leader and casually mention it.

From Ding Jia's words, Quan Wenwei deduced that the salt workers' leader likely knew about Manager Wu's goods.

So when they heard that the goods had been discovered so quickly, and when they saw Ding Jia and Quan Wenwei chatting so enthusiastically, they were surprised.

These people are likely to suspect that someone has already confessed.

After doubts arose in their minds, Quan Wenwei immediately proceeded with the third part.

He locked the previously separated salt workers' leaders up together again.

And after they met up, he specifically said something to these people.

"Since you have already confessed, I will stop interrogating you. You all have a good talk. Tomorrow morning, those who haven't confessed will be taken out to be beheaded."

After saying this, Quan Wenwei, fearing they might not believe him, specifically told them some information he had obtained from Ding Jia about Manager Wu.

Now, even if they trusted their accomplices a lot, they couldn't help but become suspicious.

Now that suspicion has been raised, Quan Wenwei's scheme will succeed.

As the saying goes, fortresses are always breached from the inside.

When they suspect each other of being traitors, and there really is a traitor among them, there is no need for Quan Wenwei to interrogate them further.

These people will then cooperate willingly.

In just one night, these people went from being close partners to enemies who wanted to get rid of each other.

The young man who confessed first was nearly beaten to death in the room by the others.

So, when Quan Wenwei separated them again for questioning this morning...

Every single one of these people told Quan Wenwei everything they knew, without missing a single word.

Therefore, Quan Wenwei learned how these smuggled goods entered the area by sea.

(End of this chapter)