Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 293 Brother Yue, Please Spare Me

Dachang originated in the south of the Yangtze River, and most of those who were engaged in military affairs in the south of the Yangtze River were those who inherited their official positions from their ancestors. Going back several generations, most of them were the personal soldiers of the founding emperor, which could be considered as special care.

Wang Hong is no exception.

Although he is a good-for-nothing now, he feels at ease enjoying the life he has lived, as he believes that his ancestors have borne all the hardships that his generation has suffered.

Even the sons of noble families in the capital, such as the Four Kings and Eight Dukes, had the same idea as him, which was not surprising.

After Yue Ling relieved him of his duties, he was happy to leave the barracks and no longer have to work as a soldier all day.

After returning from the parade, Wang Hong was taken all the way to Cuihuaxuan.

Cuihuaxuan was a gathering place for the city's nobles. A lieutenant general was also considered a well-known figure in the city. When the shopkeeper saw Wang Hong coming, he came out from the counter and said respectfully, "Lieutenant General Wang, how come you have time to come to my place today?"

Wang Hong waved his hand and said, "Let's not talk about the troubles. Go and invite a prostitute. I want to listen to some Kunqu opera today."

The shopkeeper smiled and said, "General Wang, once your guest has given instructions, I will let you go up alone to the private room on the third floor."

Wang Hong nodded impatiently and said, "Okay, okay, just follow his arrangements."

Led by someone, we went up to the third floor. Here was a small and exquisite attic with only two tea rooms.

The decoration is very luxurious, with carved railings and jade bricks. When you open the window, you face the river in the city. There are streets on both sides of the river. In the middle of the river, boatmen row their boats to transport goods. The prosperity can be seen at a glance.

Normally this place is empty, and only people of noble status would come here to drink tea and chat. But today, the lights in the two tea rooms were lit, which is rare.

Wang Hong walked into the room on the west side and saw an old friend who had been waiting for him for a long time.

"Is there news so soon?"

When he saw Wang Hong come in, he was a little surprised and looked at him with a puzzled look.

Wang Hong sat at the desk opposite him, shook his head and sighed, "More than just news, I just mentioned the business with An Jinghou, and An Jinghou changed his face, immediately dismissed me from my post, and told me not to go to the barracks anymore."

The man was even more suspicious and asked, "You are the lieutenant general of Suzhou Guard, a military commander of high rank, and you are also a favored general of your ancestors. Marquis Anjing said he doesn't want you, so he doesn't want you? Does this comply with the laws of Dachang?"

Wang Hong took a sip of tea on the table and continued, "What if it complies, what if it doesn't? He is the governor, in charge of all military affairs in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. If he wants to appoint or dismiss an official, why does he need to wait for the imperial edict? The Dachang Code is like a young lady who can be dressed up by anyone. As long as he wants to see her, she can be made up into any look."

The man also shook his head. He didn't know much about the laws of Dachang, so he didn't comment on it.

"This time it is my younger brother who has delayed my elder brother's future. I apologize to my elder brother." The man held up the cup with both hands, bowed to Wang Hong, and then took out a dozen silver bills and pushed them across the table. "This money is my apology to my elder brother. If my elder brother can still take care of my business in the future, I will definitely get a share of the profits."

Wang Hong's expression suddenly improved. Everything else was fake, only the money was real. Even if it was a hereditary official position, he would not receive much salary in a year. Anything that could make money was naturally a good thing.

Counting the banknotes, Wang Hong smiled and said, "You're welcome. After all, I can't go any higher with my status. I don't know how many children of the four kings and eight dukes are waiting in line outside."

"Your business is not going anywhere, but you accepted the banknotes, which made me feel bad. Now, tell me, what do you want to do next? I want to give you some advice."

The man nodded, "That's exactly what I meant. We originally agreed to do business with the Xu family, but when I arrived in Suzhou, the Xu family was gone. I asked about the Weaving Bureau, but it was gone too. Later I found out that it was the Marquis of Anjing who came to Suzhou to run the business."

"Well, any big business that alarms him must get his nod, right? I asked my brother to go and ask him, just to test his attitude."

Wang Hong shook his head and said, "If you want to follow the path of Marquis An Jing, I advise you to give up this idea as soon as possible."

The man also sighed, "Brothers have their own difficulties, and younger brothers have their own difficulties. Silk and satin are finely crafted and soft in texture, and are the favorites of the rich and powerful. Now that our country's political situation is stable, we cannot imitate this luxury. The rarer the item, the higher the price. The king values ​​this and wants to make a big deal."

"Brother, you don't know that this piece of silk may not even be sold for two taels of silver in our local market. I asked the weaving bureau and they sold it to Western merchants for fifteen taels of silver per piece, but in fact, this price is too low. If we sell it in our country, there will be buyers even if it is sold for fifty taels of silver per piece."

Wang Hong took a deep breath, "Is there such a huge benefit in this?"

The man nodded, "That's right, otherwise why would my brother come across the ocean to work here?"

After hearing this, Wang Hong also thought that such profits were worth taking the risk.

Such a huge amount of silk could definitely not be supplied through maritime trade and smuggling, so the only option was to seek cooperation with large, state-owned companies. If the court's approval could be obtained, things would become even easier.

In this case, Marquis Anjing, who is now temporarily in charge of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, really has no way to get around it.

The two of them looked at each other in deep thought, and there was silence for a while.

In the tea room next door, Xue Baochai frowned slightly and whispered to Ying'er, who was leaning against the wall to listen, "Are they discussing the Marquis's affairs in the tea room across the street?"

Ying'er came close to Xue Baochai and whispered, "She did mention the Marquis a few words. At first, it seemed that one of them was punished by the Marquis. Later, she talked about business matters, such as buying silk from here."

"Purchasing silk?"

Merchants have the most sensitive sense of smell, especially Xue Baochai who has been at the helm of the Xue family for a long time. She sniffed out the trick in an instant.

Silk is woven all over the country and is a popular commodity. It is considered a rare commodity, but it is not enough to produce in large quantities.

If one were to purchase silk and then resell it, the only way to offset the loss on the road would be to sell it to the northern border or overseas.

Xue Baochai shook her head and said, "It's not an ordinary matter. Find someone smart enough to listen at the door and then tell me everything he hears."

"it is good."

……

After a moment of silence, Wang Hong also carefully analyzed the current situation for him: "This business is indeed good, but it is really difficult to pass the level of An Jinghou. Moreover, he was assassinated by you ronin in Cangzhou. I think he has a reason to hate you. How can I lose face and do business with you again?"

"However, it is well known that Suzhou is short of silver. The fields outside the city are flooded everywhere. If Suzhou cannot collect taxes this year, it will have to collect from the surrounding counties, which is not a small amount. Moreover, the mulberry fields have not been renovated, and the gap in the weaving bureau has not been filled this year. The national treasury is also short of silver."

"The pressure from Marquis Anjing is not small, you can go to visit him. After all, you are going there as an envoy, and Marquis Anjing will at most refuse to see you, and he won't do anything to you. If he disagrees, you can go to Hangzhou to ask Prime Minister Zhao."

"Prime Minister Zhao is in dire straits right now. If you can make merit with this and relieve the national treasury, perhaps the emperor will pardon his crime and only punish him for negligence. If things go in a positive direction, you will become Prime Minister Zhao's lifeline, and the silk supply in Jiangsu and Zhejiang will be guaranteed in the future, and the cost may even be reduced."

The man's eyes lit up and he asked, "Is there such a thing?"

Wang Hong pointed at the banknotes and said with a smile, "Since you have already given me the money, I have to tell you some inside information. Prime Minister Zhao and Marquis Anjing are not on good terms, and what Marquis Anjing is doing now is directly targeting Prime Minister Zhao. Several of Prime Minister Zhao's capable men are now in jail."

"But Marquis Anjing is in the right position, and he has the emperor's endorsement, so even Prime Minister Zhao can only pretend to be sick and avoid the sharp edge. You'd better not think about bypassing Marquis Anjing, but go and see first. Once Marquis Anjing agrees, won't you save a lot of trouble?"

Wang Hong rubbed his fingers and said, "Marquis Anjing may not take it, but Prime Minister Zhao cannot do without it."

The man nodded repeatedly, "I understand, I understand. Thanks to your guidance today, I have avoided many detours. Let me toast you again. If this is accomplished, I will definitely get your help."

Wang Hong was very pleased with the compliment and waved his hand, saying, "It's just a casual remark. It's nothing serious. Even if none of these avenues work, at worst we can secretly recruit some craftsmen to bring them back to your country and imitate some cloth. Even if the quality is not as good, it's still an alternative and we won't lose money."

The man bowed to express his gratitude, his eyes full of sincerity, "Okay, without further delay, I will go to the government office to look for the Marquis."

"Okay, okay, brother will be waiting for your good news here."

After the man said this, he quickly stood up and walked out. When he opened the door, he saw a woman standing in front of it.

Thinking that what was said in the room before was all secret, and someone was eavesdropping behind the door, the man couldn't help but get angry and asked, "Who are you? How dare you eavesdrop here? Where is the shopkeeper?"

Hearing the noise upstairs, the shopkeeper came up and said, "Please calm down, my dear guest. This is the teahouse's waitress. Admiral Wang came downstairs and said he wanted to order a Kunqu opera. I was afraid you wouldn't like it, so I asked her to come here and wait."

After hearing what the shopkeeper said, the man's arrogance disappeared by half. He looked back at the room and saw Wang Hong sitting with his horse and sword in his hand. He smiled and waved his hand and said, "Yes, I said it. My dear brother, go and do your business first. This girl will stay here and sing songs with me to relieve my boredom."

The man bowed again and left the tea room.

……

"What do you want to see the Marquis for?"

When he arrived at the government hall, the man's behavior became more cautious, and he was very respectful when facing Jia Yun, the steward of Marquis Anjing.

"I am Watanabe Nobuyuki, the Japanese envoy. I came here to visit the Marquis and clarify any possible misunderstandings. Secondly, I want to discuss a business deal with Marquis Anjing, which will benefit both of us."

Upon hearing that they were Japanese, Jia Yun quickly replaced the new tea in his hand with extremely bitter old tea, which was full of tea stems and an earthy smell, with little taste of tea leaves.

Then he presented it and replied, "My Lord is still in the training grounds, so you need to wait for a while."

Watanabe Nobuyuki took it quickly and drank it all in one gulp to show respect. When his tongue touched the tea, his face shuddered with bitterness. Then he suppressed his expression and said respectfully, "Okay, I'm not in a hurry. I'll just wait for you here, my Lord." Jia Yun poured Watanabe Nobuyuki another cup attentively and said, "There's something I don't know whether I should say or not."

Watanabe Nobuyuki thought Jia Yun was asking for a bribe, so he immediately understood and took out some banknotes from his pocket, saying, "I don't know your name yet."

Jia Yun pushed it back and said, "I am only the housekeeper of the Marquis. The Marquis was once assassinated by the Japanese. If you were an envoy, you would surely know this."

Watanabe Nobuyuki was amazed at Jia Yun's character, and even more amazed at An Jinghou's governance, where even his housekeeper was so honest. He nodded and said, "I know. As a result, our king offered a lot of compensation, which was sent to the capital that year."

Jia Yun nodded, "That's good. Although the Marquis is generous, he is not generous to everyone. As a Japanese, if you want to do business with the Marquis, you must be prepared to be turned away."

Looking at the tea in his hand, Watanabe Nobunosuke drank it all again, and then replied: "Don't worry, I was well prepared when I came."

"Hiss, this Japanese is actually not afraid of hardship, damn it, I'll pretend to be more miserable."

Jia Yun went and came back, and simply added a pinch of Guanyin soil into the teapot, mixed it with water and poured it into the teacup, filling it up for Watanabe Nobunosuke.

When the host pours tea, according to Japanese etiquette, the guest must drink it, otherwise it would be disrespectful to the host.

Watanabe Nobunosuke dared not be disrespectful to Marquis Anjing, as he was asking for favors, so no matter how much tea Jia Yun poured, he had to drink it all, not even leaving any tea leaves.

But the more he drank, the more he felt something was wrong. The tea foam floating on the teacup became less and less, and the sediment became more and more. He didn't know what kind of tea he was drinking. Maybe it was just that An Jinghou's taste was different. Watanabe Nobunosuke didn't dare to say anything, so he had to hold his stomach and accept all the tea.

After a while, Yue Ling came back from outside. Seeing Jia Yun busying around with sweat all over his forehead, he couldn't help but ask with a smile, "What are you busy with?"

Hearing Yue Ling's voice, Jia Yun immediately raised his head and hurried over, "Master, there is a Japanese in the yamen, saying that he is here to visit you and do business."

"Japanese?"

Jia Yun nodded repeatedly, "He's a very sincere man, but a little silly. He couldn't even taste the dirt I gave him to drink."

Yue Ling shook his head and smiled, then stepped over the gate and saw a Japanese man wearing wooden clogs who immediately stood up, holding his stomach.

"Greetings, Marquis Anjing. Please forgive my disrespect. I have a stomachache and need to go to the bathroom first."

After hesitating for a long time, Watanabe Nobunosuke finally asked.

But there was no expression of joy or anger on Yue Ling's face, he just nodded slightly.

Watanabe Nobuyuki was still secretly surprised that An Jinghou was so young.

At this moment, Yue Ling was wearing a scarlet official robe, with a thin white jade belt around his waist and a sword hanging from his waist. His upright figure and sharp aura were all revealed. He was majestic and powerful, with a face that looked like it was cut by a knife and an axe, with hard lines, which was intimidating to see.

When he came back, Watanabe Nobuyuki looked at the cup filled with tea and looked embarrassed.

But he had not been turned away today, which was the first step to success. How could he back down here? He drank the whole bottle and said, "I am Watanabe Nobuyuki, the Japanese envoy to meet Marquis Anjing. I came here to meet the Marquis and clear up the previous misunderstanding."

Yue Ling was behind the desk, reviewing recent documents. He paused when he heard this, looked down and asked, "Misunderstanding, what misunderstanding?"

Watanabe Nobunosuke responded, "The previous assassination attempt on the Lord was not instigated by our people, but by the lawless pirates on the coast. These pirates have no king or father, and they plunder all merchant ships regardless of their country. Our king also hates them deeply."

"I hope that the Marquis can see clearly and not vent his anger on us."

Yue Ling nodded with a fake smile, "Oh? In that case, those pirates are not Japanese? Don't they have the support of Japanese people behind them?"

Watanabe Nobunosuke didn't know how to respond. The Japanese pirates were more or less connected with local daimyo in the country.

Yue Ling waved his hand and said, "Let's not talk about this matter, why did you come here today?"

Seeing that selling well was useless, Watanabe Nobunosuke still stated his original purpose, "The king wants to trade with your country and purchase some silk. The amount is huge, more than 100,000 pieces. If the response in our country is good, we will continue to purchase more."

"Now that our country is in Xin'an, the king has unified the north and the south, and it is inevitable that he will show charity to all places. Your country's silk is excellent. If we can trade with each other, it will benefit both of our countries. Just name your price."

"Suzhou City has recently suffered a natural disaster, and the treasury may be short of silver. I hope we can also do our part to help the Marquis."

Yue Ling threw the document on the table and looked at the envoy below with burning eyes. "Recently, His Majesty allowed Japan to come to the capital to pay tribute again, and also allowed the purchase of silk in the Kanhe. Now the order has changed overnight, and they want to bypass the Kanhe to purchase silk separately. Isn't this against the regulations?"

Seeing Yue Ling's face change, Watanabe Nobuyuki knew that this matter was hopeless, so he had to stand up and say goodbye, "I am Menglang. Today I have brought gifts to pay tribute to the Marquis to make up for the mistakes of the thieves before. I hope the Marquis will not refuse."

"and many more!"

Just as he stood up to leave, Yue Ling called him to stop. Thinking there was room for maneuver, Watanabe Nobunosuke looked over happily, but saw that Yue Ling's face was even gloomier than before.

"If you were an envoy, you should have produced a trustworthy certificate to verify your identity when I entered the door just now."

"Not to mention that it is not a tribute period, but it is not in compliance with the Dachang Law to visit the court officials. And today, you have revealed in a few words that our court's treasury is short of silver. Of course, I have reason to suspect that you are a spy who has entered the country."

"Come here, arrest him and put him in jail pending trial!"

The situation took a turn for the worse and Watanabe Nobunosuke was stunned on the spot.

At this moment he finally understood why Wang Hong said that the law was a little girl who could be dressed up by anyone. This Marquis An Jing only said things that were beneficial to him and really firmly grasped the righteousness.

But what he said was that the Suzhou treasury was short of silver. Isn't this something that everyone knows?
Nowadays, disaster relief is in trouble, so how can there be no shortage? But what Yue Ling said was just prying out secrets.

This kind of drastic measure really caught Watanabe Nobunosuke off guard. He had expected that Marquis Anjing would not be easy to deal with, but he didn't expect him to be so difficult to deal with. He would be imprisoned after just one encounter.

At the moment, he could only force himself to say, "My Lord, I am an envoy of the state, and I have an identity certificate granted by the Lord. Moreover, if the envoy is detained privately, it will cause diplomatic disputes between the two countries. His Majesty the Emperor of Dachang would not want to see it, right?"

The yamen runner who had just entered the door did not dare to step forward rashly after hearing what the Japanese said.

Just when Watanabe Nobunosuke thought he could control the situation, he heard Yue Ling sneer and said, "The Japanese pirates dared to land and assassinate me, but they are not afraid of diplomatic disputes. How can I be afraid of diplomatic disputes when I manage a spy like you? If there is really a blame from the emperor, I will bear it all. Now is the time when Suzhou is in danger. It is better to kill the wrong person than to let him go. If there are spies sneaking into the city, Suzhou will be in danger! Why don't you arrest him quickly?"

The bailiffs did not hesitate any longer. They rushed forward, tied up Watanabe Nobunosuke, and escorted him out of the yamen.

Watanabe Nobunosuke never dreamed that his worst situation would be in prison.

Jia Yun took some new tea, came to Yue Ling's side, poured a cup of tea and asked, "My Lord, if he is really an envoy, it would be hard to explain if we capture him..."

Yue Ling nodded, "He is the envoy."

Jia Yun was stunned for a while, then asked: "Why did the Marquis ..."

Yue Ling replied: "The Japanese pirates are all ambitious people. They know little things but not much principles. We can only force them to surrender, and cannot give them preferential treatment. If we trade with them, they will surely become evil, and they have committed many murders and robberies."

"Moreover, they have taken advantage of the weather and firmly control the sea routes. If we trade with them and don't go out ourselves, we can only make them rich while we remain isolated."

"They will earn more money and continue to arm the Japanese pirates along the coast. Then the people of Dachang will face more harassment. Capture him. If the Japanese pirates dare to cause trouble, I will wipe out all the Japanese pirates along the coast!"

Jia Yun nodded, as if he had understood Yue Ling's plan.

……

Maple Bridge Inn,
Xue Baochai sent someone to deliver a letter, saying that she would be out there today to sort out the Xue family's business and would not be returning home at night.

As for Lin Daiyu, although she felt much better after being teased by Yue Ling this morning, she stayed indoors and just lay on the bed, ashamed to see Yue Ling.

Only Qin Keqing, Ruizhu and Baozhu were left in the room, accompanying Yue Ling for dinner.

There were still a few days left before her period, and this was Qin Keqing's best opportunity. While eating, she would secretly glance at Yue Ling from time to time, and slightly twist her waist.

It was really a gift from her that Qin Keqing became full of energy again after a day's rest.

After finishing his dinner, Yue Ling had no intention of flirting with Qin Keqing. Instead, he spread a map on the table and began to observe the topography of the coastal areas of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and made marks on it.

Ruizhu put away the dishes and chopsticks, and Qin Keqing came to the inner room and stayed beside Yue Ling, asking with a smile: "Master, we just agreed on it during the day, and we need it again today."

Yue Ling picked up the pen and dipped it in ink, saying, "Today I have too much official business to do, so I don't have much time to think about. Besides, you just took a day off, and I'm afraid your body can't stand it. Let's take a rest and talk tomorrow."

Missing one day means losing one day, so Qin Keqing was unwilling to miss such an opportunity.

With a turn of her eyes, Qin Keqing leaned over to Yue Ling's ear and whispered, "Brother Yue, please spare me..."

(End of this chapter)