Frost for a Thousand Years

The moment the word "run away" was uttered, the other businessmen's hearts tightened, and they all looked at him.

No one had thought of this possibility.

And everyone has thought about this.

Because everyone was reluctant to part with all that grain; it represented almost a portion of their entire fortune. If they ran away, they would have nothing left.

But everyone knew in their hearts that this eunuch was just trying to double-cross them.

The imperial court certainly has credibility, though not high. However, if it carries the Crown Prince's decree or even an imperial edict, its credibility will be much higher, since the dignity of the royal family cannot be trampled on at will.

But the situation is different now. This eunuch wants to use Song Shi'an's reputation and the credit system he established to accomplish his own goals.

The deposit paid by the Prefectural Governor was indeed for a period of time that had not yet been completed.

But that was paid in advance by Song Shi'an using all the money in Huai County government offices, and he paid the price.

If anyone wants to keep taking advantage of us until the end of the autumn harvest, it can only be Song Shi'an.

This is a bond of trust that businessmen and the government have painstakingly built.

However, this eunuch is not now focused on increasing productivity, but on building a palace.

The benefits of land reclamation are visible to everyone.

Because this thing is rice, it's grain, it grows in the ground. When the harvest comes, all the grain stored up by these merchants is nothing at all.

This is why people feel comfortable leaving their grain here.

After the military-agricultural colonies are completed, there will be dozens of times more grain than this. Song Shi'an has no need to be greedy for this and lose credibility throughout the Central Plains!
But where is the profit from building the imperial palace?
The only benefit might be a reward from the emperor for doing a good job.

What about the rest of the people?
Don't even mention settling the bill.

The grain may be confiscated at that time.

If they maliciously demand unpaid wages and cause trouble while the emperor is on vacation, they will indeed be wiped out on the spot by the Imperial Guards.

"Gentlemen, think about this." The leading merchant glanced back, subtly pointing at Eunuch Lian, and reminded him, "Ji Zhi is like a coward. We've tried to see him so many times but haven't been able to. Even when we do manage to catch him, he says he'll do whatever Eunuch Lian says. And how long can this Eunuch Lian keep around?"

At first, everyone was a little hesitant, but once they got to this point, they immediately united and stopped struggling.

A eunuch, without any official position, wielded immense power in Huai County.

After the settlement was completed, he returned to Sheng'an and entered the palace.

Who can we ask for this money from?
Ji Zhi?

They're not taking the blame at all.

"How do we get there?" At that moment, someone asked the crucial question.

Then, the leader's eyes narrowed, and he said, "If you want to run, you have to act like we really don't want to run."

.........

“Godfather, those merchants are all preparing to return to Qinzhou to transport materials for the construction of the imperial palace.”

Every high-ranking eunuch would have several adopted sons of lower-ranking eunuchs, with the number increasing as the position grew. Since Eunuch Lian was undertaking such a significant undertaking, he would naturally bring his trusted confidants along.

“We knew they would agree,” said Eunuch Lian, but added cautiously, “we must be wary of these people playing tricks.”

"Godfather, they didn't try anything funny, but they were pushing their luck," the little eunuch said with a somewhat sarcastic and dissatisfied expression.

"Taking an inch and wanting a mile?" Eunuch Lian asked, puzzled.

“Godfather,” the little eunuch leaned closer and said, “They’re afraid that if the people leave, the grain will be gone. They said they hope you can write a contract stating that whatever amount of grain was stored in the warehouse at the time, you will return to them in the autumn harvest.”

"Is that so?" Eunuch Lian confirmed.

"Moreover, those Qinzhou merchants have banded together and are demanding it all at once. They seem determined not to set off without this written agreement," the little eunuch sneered. "Godfather, aren't we giving them too much face?"

“It’s alright.” Eunuch Lian raised his hand and said, “The more they do this, the more it shows that we have them firmly under our control.”

Food is their Achilles' heel.

By exploiting this weakness, they will be forced to obey him.

"Shall we write this document?" the young eunuch asked.

"Although the military farms are no longer related to Song Shi'an, the grain is still borrowed from Dayu. When the military farms have a good harvest, we will return it to these people." Eunuch Lian said quite casually, "This little bit of grain is nothing compared to the results of the military farms."

When the Crown Prince sent me here, he said that everything should be done in accordance with the Song system.

Even Eunuch Lian knew.

Careless micromanagement can lead to unforeseen consequences.

"Then, godfather," the little eunuch asked in a low voice with curiosity, "will these merchants really be paid their bills? That adds up to tens of thousands of taels."

"You know this adds up to tens of thousands of taels," Eunuch Lian chuckled. "You're going to give it to me?"

"Even if I sold my son dozens of times, I still couldn't afford it," the little eunuch said with a simple smile.

"The government offices in Huai County have long since run out of money. The money His Highness the Crown Prince asked us to bring isn't enough. Where will we get the money to give them?" Eunuch Lian's face darkened, revealing a hint of sarcasm.

"Godfather, how do you plan to give away the original Song Shi'an?"

"We can use the selling price of the grain from the military farms to compensate them; it's not much anyway," said Eunuch Lian.

The young eunuch understood and was able to apply what he learned to other situations. He imitated Eunuch Lian's tone and said, "As for collecting grain, that's not a matter for our palace."

The two of them had a very good plan.

Seven wealthy merchants from Qinzhou who supplied building materials to the imperial court arrived in Qinzhou by carriage, escorted by the army, at top speed.

This is one of the reasons why Eunuch Lian felt at ease letting them leave.

With the army escorting them, even without an imperial edict, it was still an order from the court, so they certainly wouldn't dare to run away halfway.

Admittedly, they didn't run away along the way.

But Eunuch Lian forgot one thing.

Although they may seem like grandsons in Huai County, they are undoubtedly powerful figures in their own region.

"Father-in-law, something terrible has happened!"

After a cavalryman rushed back to the Jianxing military camp, he anxiously reported to Lord Lian: "These Qinzhou merchants did not transport building materials after returning to their hometowns, and all of them refused to leave!"

"What?!" Eunuch Lian immediately stood up in astonishment, exclaiming in surprise, "Don't you have soldiers? You've been protecting them all the way, how dare they resist?!"

"Sir, as soon as we arrived in Qinzhou, many important figures sent people to look for us, but we couldn't move a muscle among them!" the cavalryman explained.

"Important figures?" Eunuch Lian was taken aback. "I remember that none of these people have noble or aristocratic backgrounds."

"But all the noble families have come forward, the Han family, the Zhao family, and so on, all sending their retainers. We dare not disobey," the cavalryman said.

He still remembers the scene: the merchants were all smiles and friendly all the way home, but as soon as they got home, they immediately gave him a disdainful look as if to say, "Who are you talking to?"

Although they were not nobles, they were able to operate freely and profit from commerce in this world, and none of them were easy to mess with.

Everyone was a lackey of the nobility.

You can always find a ruthless person in the lottery!
"Enough, stop." Eunuch Lian was not Song Shi'an. For him, nobles were an absolute taboo subject. So he raised his hand and said, "Let's just let this matter rest. These unscrupulous merchants who profited from the national crisis can just run away."

For Eunuch Lian, it was simply a matter of having fewer bosses and bringing along some servants.

However, there were only a few hundred, less than a thousand.

Furthermore, they gave him all the grain for free.

Huai County has no shortage of people.

"Bring the troops back. Don't let them cause trouble in Qinzhou," Eunuch Lian said sternly.

"Yes!"

Thus, the cavalrymen received the order and quickly withdrew from their tents.

Sitting blankly in his seat, Eunuch Lian was sweating profusely. He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand and swallowed hard.

He was a little scared. He had messed up something that Song Shi'an could do easily.

"Of course I'm not as good as Song Shi'an..."

Only then did Eunuch Lian realize the problem, but he felt it wasn't too late: "Someone come here!"

"Godfather, your son is here." Soon, his eunuch son, who was outside the tent, came in.

“Tell Lord Zhong of Siping,” said Eunuch Lian. “We don’t have green glazed tiles, carved dragons, phoenixes, or celestial horses, nor fragrant cake bricks. All the materials can only be collected in Huai County.”

"Godfather, what happened?"

"Stop asking, just do it!" said Eunuch Lian.

"Yes!" The little eunuch trembled with fright and hurriedly prepared to leave, but before leaving, he asked in a low voice, "Lord Zhong is too stubborn and particular. If we just tell him like this, I'm afraid he won't agree."

“So tell him it’s the Crown Prince’s order, there’s no other reason,” said Eunuch Lian.

"Yes."

The little eunuch understood everything now. Those people from Qinzhou had probably all run away, and the so-called royal supply of building materials was no longer going to happen.

After he left, Eunuch Lian continued to wipe the sweat pouring from his forehead.

"It's alright, it's alright, such a small matter can be dealt with by simply letting it pass..."

However, the news of several imperial merchants fleeing Qinzhou was too big to be suppressed.

Because nearly a thousand people left from here.

Those prominent merchants from Qinzhou are also gone.

"Do you know what Zhong Yao is talking about? He used to be asking for 'green glazed tiles' everywhere, but now it seems he's stopped talking about it."

"Didn't those big merchants from Qinzhou say they were going to contract for the construction materials of the imperial palace's main hall?"

"They must have run away; the glazed tiles are gone!"

"They ran away? They lent all their grain to the military farms, don't they want it back?"

"You're abandoning the food and just running away? Why?"

"We definitely won't get the money."

"What should we do? That Eunuch Lian ordered several hundred bolts of silk from me. He won't refuse to pay, will he?"

"If they could be given food, would those people refuse it?"

"What should we do? Should we run too?"

“There are soldiers everywhere here, patrolling closely. At night, a stick of incense can go through the fire prevention checkpoints several times. How could you possibly escape?”

"This is even worse than when Song Shi'an was around!"

"No, pay first. If you don't give us the money, at least give us half, or we won't do it!"

The mass exodus of speculative capital caused an atmosphere of fear to spread instantly.

However, the rest of the big and small retail investors are completely trapped in the big H (locust), and they can't escape it in a physical sense.

Tens of thousands of merchants and their numerous servants could only resist by going on strike.

For a time, the progress of the imperial palace project came to a complete standstill.

Other merchants who were involved in the construction of transportation and textile projects also went on strike to protest.

From the beginning to the complete collapse, it only took three days.

"Don't stop, keep going!"

Outside the main camp, the merchants all gathered together, seeking an explanation, and they remained completely unfazed by the officials' stern rebukes.

"As Lord Song said before, if we want to withdraw, we can leave with the grain at any time!"

"Lord Song paid us a deposit, but he's not here now. Can Lord Ji promise to settle the rest of the payment after the project is completed?"

"Eunuch Lian, I've prepared the hundred bolts of silk you requested. Where's the money?"

Total chaos.

"Eunuch Lian, you must go and do something about those people..."

A military clerk said to the eunuch Lian who had rushed over.

"..." Eunuch Lian was completely dumbfounded, looking around with cold sweat pouring down his face.

Suddenly, his legs went weak, but luckily his godson next to him helped him up.

However, the overwhelming shouts seemed to break through the long wall surrounding the army and came crashing down on him.

"Father-in-law, because these wealthy merchants are on strike, the tenant farmers are also affected!"

“It’s one thing for wealthy merchants to have designs, but what about the tenant farmers? Beat them!” the little eunuch said on his behalf.

"We've already fought it!" the reporter said. "But we really don't have enough manpower. Hundreds of people have suffered heatstroke during the summer locust control efforts, and dozens have already died!"

"..." Eunuch Lian stared at him in astonishment, not hearing what he said clearly, and then in the next instant, his mind went blank.

I can't hear anything anymore.

His eyes were filled with only bewilderment; extreme fear had reduced him to an empty shell.

.........

At this time, the Crown Prince in the Eastern Palace was receiving a steady stream of memorials from officials of Huai County.

As I watched, my hands started to shake.

When that report came in that Huaiyang County that a local locust plague had occurred, my heart clenched instantly, and my pupils trembled uncontrollably.

With a bang, he slammed the memorial onto the table.

Looking at the remaining piles of memorials, which he hadn't even seen yet but were definitely not good news, fear overwhelmed him.

He covered his face with his hands, unable to look.

The pressure was pushed to its maximum.

Blood pressure was also pulled up to the maximum.

"These incompetent fools! They can't even handle something this simple! I'm going to kill them!"

With a powerful slam of his fist on the table, the prince descended into madness.

The eunuchs and palace maids inside the hall immediately prostrated themselves on the ground, trembling with fear.

"I have repeatedly ordered that everything at the imperial palace should be kept simple, why do you not listen!"

"I have repeatedly emphasized that we should rest with the merchants and not plunder them, why don't you listen!"

"I have said many times that you all deserve the greatest credit for the successful land reclamation... You don't even want this hard-earned credit?!"

After reaching the peak of his anger, the crown prince regained his senses for a moment.

Stand up and walk forward.

"No, now we need to solve the problem, curb the escape from labor, and suppress the locusts."

"Someone, summon Ye Changqing!"

"No, it's no use!"

"He knew from the beginning that things would go wrong, which is why he refused the appointment... He knew it all along!"

"It's over."

"Now there's only Song..."

Before the name could be finished being uttered, the crown prince suddenly felt a rush of blood to his head, staggered, and fainted to the ground. (End of Chapter)