Transmigrating to the Song Dynasty: Water Margin Business Management

After conspiring, Gao Qiu, Tong Guan, and Cai Jing immediately launched a series of insidious actions in an attempt to prevent Su Yuanjing from investigating their crimes.

First, they dispatched Tong Guan's trusted confidants, those skilled in covert intelligence gathering, to conduct a thorough investigation into Su Yuanjing's past experiences and daily behavior. These men, like wolves in the night, left no stone unturned, attempting to find incriminating evidence against Su Yuanjing.

Meanwhile, Cai Jing, leveraging his influence in literary circles, instructed some writers to pen articles defaming Su Yuanjing. These articles circulated throughout the capital, portraying Su Yuanjing as an ambitious and insatiably greedy traitor. The uninformed populace began to gossip about Su Yuanjing, severely damaging his reputation.

Gao Qiu then used his connections in the military to deliberately create tensions on the border and shifted the blame to Su Yuanjing, claiming that his investigation had caused instability in the army and negligence in border defense.

In the imperial court, the ministers whom Cai Jing had won over, as planned, stepped forward to impeach Su Yuanjing. They listed a series of fabricated charges, accusing Su Yuanjing of being autocratic in handling state affairs, eliminating dissidents, and even falsely accusing him of colluding with enemy countries.

Faced with this onslaught of attacks, Su Yuanjing did not back down. He argued vehemently in court, refuting the false accusations and presenting Emperor Huizong with new evidence of Gao Qiu and his associates' crimes. However, Emperor Huizong, now misled by Gao Qiu's schemes, began to doubt Su Yuanjing's words.

Seeing that the time was ripe, Gao Qiu and his associates intensified their offensive. They bribed close advisors to Emperor Huizong of Song, who then whispered slanderous rumors in the emperor's ear, exaggerating Su Yuanjing's "crimes" and making alarmist claims that Su Yuanjing's existence posed a huge threat to the stability of the court.

Under this immense pressure, Emperor Huizong of Song finally wavered. He ordered the suspension of Su Yuanjing's investigation into Gao Qiu and others, and temporarily dismissed Su Yuanjing from his post, sending him home to reflect on his actions.

When Su Yuanjing received the imperial decree ordering his dismissal, he was filled with grief and indignation. He gazed in the direction of the palace and sighed, "Your Majesty, how could you be blinded by treacherous officials!" But the imperial decree was not to be disobeyed, and he could only helplessly remove his official robes and leave the court.

Wang Zhiqiang had been closely following the changing political landscape of the court. When he learned that Su Yuanjing had been persecuted by Gao Qiu and his associates and ultimately dismissed from office, he was overjoyed. He immediately prepared lavish gifts and eagerly went to pay his respects to Gao Qiu and his men.

Wang Zhiqiang, accompanied by several servants, carrying chests filled with gold, silver, jewels, and rare antiques, arrived at the gate of Gao Qiu's residence. After being announced by the gatekeeper, Gao Qiu, Tong Guan, and Cai Jing received him in the main hall.

As soon as Wang Zhiqiang entered, he greeted everyone with a beaming smile and bowed, saying, "Congratulations, gentlemen! That ungrateful fellow Su Yuanjing has finally been brought down. This is truly a cause for celebration!"

Gao Qiu sat in his chair, tilted his head slightly, and said smugly, "Hmph, that Su Yuanjing overestimated himself and dared to oppose us. This is his fate."

Wang Zhiqiang quickly chimed in, "Lord Gao is wise and mighty; how could Su Yuanjing possibly be your match? I have prepared some small gifts to express my respect and congratulations to the three of you."

As he spoke, he gestured for the servants to bring in the chest. When he opened the lid, the treasure inside gleamed alluringly in the candlelight.

Tong Guan glanced at him, a glint of greed flashing in his eyes, but said aloud, "Wang Zhiqiang, you certainly know how to play the game. But did you come here just to deliver a gift?"

Wang Zhiqiang quickly said, "Lord Tong, I have always admired the three of you. I have come here for two reasons: first, to celebrate the downfall of Su Yuanjing, and second, to seek your patronage. I hope you will take good care of me in the future."

Cai Jing stroked his beard, squinted, and said, "You're quite clever, lad. But what can you do for us?"

Wang Zhiqiang stepped closer and lowered his voice, saying, "I have some informants and connections in the capital. I am willing to gather intelligence for the three of you, and I will serve you without complaint."

Gao Qiu nodded slightly: "Well, if you can truly serve loyally, it's not that I can't promote you."

Wang Zhiqiang was overjoyed and bowed again, saying, "Thank you, gentlemen. I will do my utmost and serve you with all my heart!"

Just then, a servant rushed in and whispered a few words in Gao Qiu's ear. Gao Qiu's expression changed, and he said, "This is bad. There seems to be some movement outside about Su Yuanjing. We need to be careful."

Wang Zhiqiang immediately said, "Rest assured, gentlemen, I am willing to gather information and offer advice for you."

Therefore, Wang Zhiqiang colluded even more closely with Gao Qiu and others to deal with possible unforeseen events.

Inside the room, candlelight flickered, and Song Jiang, Lu Junyi, Wu Yong, and Zhao Tianming sat together, each with a worried expression.

“Now we’ve lost one of our helpers. Lord Su Yuanjing has been dismissed from his post and reduced to a commoner, and An Daoquan is still in prison. What are we going to do?” Zhao Tianming broke the silence first, his words filled with anxiety.

Song Jiang frowned, his eyes filled with deep worry. "Grand Commandant Su is an upright man who is devoted to the court and the people, yet he was framed by Gao Qiu and his gang of treacherous villains. It is truly an injustice."

Lu Junyi slammed his fist on the table. "Hmph! Gao Qiu, Tong Guan, and Cai Jing are in cahoots, wielding absolute power, and they've managed to bring down Grand Commandant Su. Now that the An Daoquan brothers are imprisoned, if we don't act soon, the situation will only worsen."

Wu Yong gently shook the feather fan in his hand, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Eldest brother, second brother, we are indeed facing a great predicament. The loss of Grand Commandant Su means that we have lost a powerful supporter in the court, and the longer An Daoquan and his brother stay in prison, the more dangerous it becomes."

Zhao Tianming looked at Wu Yong anxiously, "Mr. Wu, in your opinion, how should we deal with this?"

Wu Yong's gaze was firm. "First, we need to find out the specific situation of the An Daoquan brothers in prison, including the guards' shift changes, the layout of the cells, and the surrounding defenses. We must be careful and cautious in this matter, and not alert them."

Song Jiang nodded and said, "Yes, this matter can be handled by Brother Shi Qian. He is agile and good at hiding, so he will definitely be able to complete the mission."

Wu Yong continued, "Secondly, we need to find an opportunity to rescue Brother An Daoquan. The prison is certainly heavily guarded, so we need to wait for the moment when the defenses are weakest and then rescue them in one fell swoop."

Lu Junyi said, "While we are rescuing him, we must not forget to exonerate Grand Commandant Su. However, Gao Qiu and his associates wield great power in the court, so overturning the verdict will not be easy."

Wu Yong smiled slightly, "Second Brother, don't be anxious. We can first collect evidence of Gao Qiu and others' crimes, and then secretly contact those officials in the court who still have a conscience, and unite to remonstrate with the Emperor."

Zhao Tianming said worriedly, "But Gao Qiu and his ilk are currently riding high. Would those officials be willing to risk helping them?"

A glint of wisdom flashed in Wu Yong's eyes. "This requires us to reason with them and appeal to their emotions. We need to explain the stakes to them. If we don't eliminate traitors like Gao Qiu, the court will sooner or later be thrown into chaos, and the country will be on the verge of collapse. I believe there will be righteous people willing to step forward."

Song Jiang stood up, clenched his fists, and said, "Brothers, although we are facing great difficulties this time, as long as we are united, we will definitely overcome the difficulties, rescue Brother An Daoquan, and seek justice for Grand Commandant Su!"

The other three also stood up and replied in unison, "We are ready to obey your orders, elder brother!"