Transmigrating to the Song Dynasty: Water Margin Business Management

Night fell over the capital, and the streets and alleys were shrouded in tranquility. Only the occasional bark of a dog broke the deathly silence.

A waning moon hung high in the sky, its faint light casting blurry shadows on the deserted streets.

Jingchun, dressed in all black and with his face covered by a black cloth, cautiously moved through the narrow alleyways. His figure appeared and disappeared in the moonlight, like a ghost.

He cautiously observed his surroundings, taking each step with extra care, afraid of attracting the attention of the patrolling soldiers.

Finally, Jingchun arrived at Gao Ke's residence. It was a secluded little courtyard with few other houses around.

With a light leap, Jingchun vaulted over the courtyard wall and landed silently in the yard.

He tiptoed to the door and knocked gently a few times.

Gao Ke was lying in bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. Hearing the knock, he was startled and asked alertly, "Who is it?"

Jiaogen Jingchun lowered his voice and said, "It's me, Jiaogen Jingchun."

Gao Ke was very surprised to hear that it was Jiao He Jing Chun, and he quickly got up and opened the door.

"Why are you here?" Gao Ke looked at the disguised Jiao He Jing Chun with a puzzled expression.

Jingchun snorted coldly and said, "Hmph, what? Now that things have been exposed, you're thinking of kicking me while I'm down?"

Gao Ke said with a grin, "Don't get me wrong, why would I have such thoughts? It's just that it's too dangerous for you to come at this time."

Jingchun stepped into the room, closed the door behind him, and said coldly, "Danger? If it weren't for your incompetence, how could we have ended up like this?"

Gao Ke smiled apologetically and said, "It's not entirely my fault. Who would have thought they would arrive so timely?"

Jingchun glared at him angrily: "Stop trying to argue with me! Emperor Huizong has already ordered an investigation, and we must find a way to deal with it."

Gao Ke frowned, pondered for a moment, and said, "Why don't we leave the capital first and lay low for a while?"

Jingchun glared at him: "Leave? Wouldn't all our previous efforts have been in vain?"

Just then, a cool breeze blew by, making the windows creak.

Jingchun walked to the window, looked at the dark night outside, and said, "We must find a way to disrupt Emperor Huizong's investigation and prevent them from making a move."

Gao Ke leaned closer: "So what's your plan?"

Jiaogen Jingchun turned around, a ruthless glint in his eyes: "We can start with those who are involved in protecting the emperor, create some chaos, and keep them busy with their own affairs."

Gao Ke hesitated and said, "Will this work? Those people are not easy to deal with."

Jiaogen Jingchun gritted his teeth and said, "Whether it works or not, we have to try. It's better than sitting and waiting to die."

The atmosphere inside the room became tense, and the two fell silent.

After a while, Gao Ke broke the silence: "Then we must be careful and make sure we don't make any more mistakes."

Jingchun nodded: "Of course. You should prepare as soon as possible, we need to act quickly."

After saying that, Jingchun's heels once again disappeared into the night.

Gao Ke gazed in the direction he had left, his heart filled with unease and fear.

After leaving Gao Ke's residence, Jing Chun did not go far. Instead, he hid in a nearby shady spot, observing his surroundings for any unusual activity. Once he was sure it was safe, he quickly went to a more secluded abandoned temple.

Inside the temple, cobwebs were everywhere, and dust covered the floor. Jingchun found a relatively clean spot to sit down and began meticulously planning the details of their conspiracy.

He decided to start with the families of those involved in the escort. He planned to have people secretly monitor their families, looking for weaknesses and incriminating evidence. Once discovered, he would use this information to blackmail the escorts, causing them to deliberately make mistakes or conceal crucial information during the investigation.

Meanwhile, Jingchun planned to spread rumors in the capital that the assassination attempt was a staged event orchestrated by Emperor Huizong to eliminate his political opponents. This would incite suspicion and panic among the people, disrupt social order, and hinder Emperor Huizong's investigation.

In addition, he planned to bribe some minor officials in the court to deliberately provide false clues and directions in court, thereby misleading the investigation process.

After thinking it over, Jingchun once again took advantage of the night to quietly sneak back to Gao Ke's residence.

Gao Ke was anxiously awaiting the return of Jiao He Jing Chun.

“I already have a plan,” Jingchun said in a low voice.

Gao Ke quickly leaned closer, "Tell me about it."

Jiaogen Jingchun explained his thoughts one by one, and Gao Ke listened and nodded.

“However, implementing these plans will require a lot of manpower and money,” said Jingchun with a frown.

Gao Ke patted his chest and said, "Don't worry about the money, I'll find a way to raise it. As for manpower, I also have some trustworthy brothers who can be mobilized."

Jiaogen Jingchun nodded in satisfaction: "Very good. You need to get these things done as soon as possible. Also, we need to make sure that every step goes smoothly and that no one notices that we are the ones manipulating things behind the scenes."

Gao Ke replied, "Understood. I will arrange it properly."

Over the next few days, Gao Ke traveled around, secretly raising money and contacting his brothers.

He first distributed a portion of the money to some local thugs and ruffians, instructing them to spread rumors throughout the streets and alleys of the capital.

"Have you heard? That assassination attempt was actually orchestrated by the Emperor himself. He just wanted to take the opportunity to get rid of some disobedient people."

"Really? That's terrifying!"

Rumors spread rapidly, causing widespread panic among the people.

Meanwhile, the minor officials bribed by Gao Ke also offered their opinions in court, raising unfounded speculations and erroneous clues, which threw the investigation into chaos.

Meanwhile, Jingchun personally directed the men to monitor the families of the escorts.

"See that man? He's a relative of Song Jiang. Keep a close eye on him."

Under their meticulous planning, the conspiracy seemed to proceed almost perfectly, so well hidden that it was difficult for anyone to detect.

After Li Yi discovered Gao Ke and his associates' plot, he decided to report it to Emperor Huizong. However, his actions were astutely observed by Gao Ke.

In his secret stronghold, Gao Ke gathered his confidants and said with a gloomy expression, "That brat Li Yi is trying to ruin our plans. We must not let him succeed."

His men echoed, "Sir, we will obey your orders."

A ruthless glint flashed in Gao Ke's eyes: "We must do it cleanly and efficiently, leaving no room for doubt."

Subsequently, Gao Ke meticulously planned a conspiracy.

That day, Li Yi went out as usual. He was completely unaware that Gao Ke had already arranged for people to be on his route.

As Li Yi walked into a quiet alley, several masked men suddenly rushed out from the shadows and quickly covered Li Yi's mouth and nose with a cloth laced with a sleeping potion.

Li Yi had no time to resist and quickly lost consciousness.

The masked men put Li Yi into a pre-prepared carriage and quickly left the scene.

Gao Ke was secretly pleased to learn that Li Yi had been successfully kidnapped.

The carriage took the unconscious Li Yi to a remote, abandoned manor outside the city.

Li Yi was taken to a dark and damp basement, where his hands and feet were tightly chained.

Gao Ke walked into the basement, looked at the unconscious Li Yi, and sneered, "Hmph, trying to fight me, this is what you'll end up like."

After a while, Li Yi slowly woke up and found himself in an unfamiliar environment with his hands and feet bound.

"Gao Ke, you despicable scoundrel!" Li Yi shouted angrily.

Gao Ke stepped forward and slapped Li Yi hard across the face: "If you behave yourself, you might still be spared."

Li Yi glared at him angrily: "You won't make me submit!"

Gao Ke said menacingly, "Then don't blame me for being impolite."

Gao Ke ordered Li Yi to be severely tortured in an attempt to force him to give up informing Emperor Huizong.

But Li Yi gritted his teeth and resolutely refused to utter a single word.

Fearing that delaying would cause trouble, Gao Ke decided to kill him to silence him.

He ordered his men to dig a large pit in the basement, intending to bury Li Yi alive.

Just as they were about to make their move, one of Gao Ke's men rushed in to report: "Sir, something bad has happened! There seems to be some commotion outside."

Gao Ke was startled: "Go and see!"

It turned out that a group of passing farmers had heard the unusual noises coming from the manor and had come to investigate.

Fearing exposure, Gao Ke decided to halt the operation and hide Li Yi in a more secluded location.

The farmers lingered outside the manor for a while, but finding nothing amiss, they left.

Gao Ke breathed a sigh of relief, however, he knew he could not delay any longer.

He decided to get rid of Li Yi that very night.

As night fell, Gao Ke led his men to the place where Li Yi was hidden once again.

Just as they were about to take action, a bolt of lightning suddenly streaked across the sky, followed by a torrential downpour.

The rain disrupted their plans and made their actions more difficult.

Gao Ke was extremely agitated, but there was nothing he could do but wait for the rain to stop.

However, the rain gave Li Yi a glimmer of hope.

Under the cover of the heavy rain, Li Yi took advantage of Gao Ke and the others' inattention, desperately broke free of the chains, and escaped from their hiding place.

He ran desperately in the rain, and despite his weakness, his will to survive kept him from stopping.

Gao Ke discovered that Li Yi had escaped and hurriedly led his men to give chase.

Li Yi struggled along the muddy road and finally took refuge in a cave.

Gao Ke and his men searched outside the cave for a long time, but still could not find Li Yi.

Fearing discovery, Gao Ke had to temporarily abandon the search and hurriedly leave with his men.

Li Yi hid in the cave for a few days until his body recovered somewhat before cautiously returning to the capital.

Gao Ke, believing Li Yi to be dead, continued his conspiracy, becoming even more cautious, which prevented his plot from being discovered for the time being.

After escaping Gao Ke's pursuit, Li Yi knew that to expose his conspiracy, he needed to gather compelling evidence. Disguised, he secretly returned to the place where he had previously discovered connections to Gao Ke's plot.

It was an abandoned house. He carefully avoided any potential informants and sneaked inside. In a corner, he found some hastily discarded papers with vague fragments of a conspiracy on them.

Next, he found an account book in a dilapidated cabinet. Although some pages were damaged, the flow of funds and its connection to the conspiracy could still be seen.

Li Yi continued his careful search and found a secret letter under a loose floor tile. The contents of the letter pointed directly to the core of Gao Ke's conspiracy.

However, just as he was about to leave, he heard footsteps outside. Li Yi's heart leaped into his throat, and he quickly hid on the roof beam. It turned out that Gao Ke's men had come to check. They searched the house thoroughly but found no Li Yi, so they left cursing.

Li Yi breathed a sigh of relief and, carrying the evidence he had collected, carefully left the dangerous place. He knew that this evidence would be the key to exposing Gao Ke's conspiracy and to getting justice for himself.