Transmigrating to the Song Dynasty: Water Margin Business Management

Upon hearing that Zhao Tianming had sent people to deliver food and medicine to the border people, Wang Zhiqiang flew into a rage. He paced back and forth in his secret room like a caged beast, the muscles in his face twitching with anger.

"That damned Zhao Tianming, how dare he ruin my plans!" Wang Zhiqiang roared. He stopped, panting heavily, his eyes gleaming with malice.

After a moment of contemplation, Wang Zhiqiang decided to send a letter to Gao Ke of the Liao Kingdom. He sat at his desk and wrote furiously, his words filled with hatred for Zhao Tianming and an attempt to win over Gao Ke.

In the letter, Wang Zhiqiang detailed Zhao Tianming's aid efforts and suggested that Gao Ke use trade tactics and commercial intrigue to deal with Zhao Tianming. He knew that Gao Ke had considerable influence in the Liao Kingdom's commercial sphere, and that if he could leverage his power, he could certainly put Zhao Tianming in a difficult situation.

"Hmph, Zhao Tianming, this time I will make sure you never have a chance to rise again!" After writing the letter, Wang Zhiqiang put it in an envelope, sealed it, and handed it to his confidant, instructing him to deliver it to the Liao Kingdom as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, Cai Jing and Gao Qiu also learned of Zhao Tianming's actions and Li Gang's involvement. In Cai Jing's magnificent study, the two were secretly plotting a countermeasure.

Cai Jing sat in his armchair, tapping his fingers lightly on the armrest, and said with a gloomy expression, "Grand Commandant, the appearance of Zhao Tianming and Li Gang has introduced a change to our plans."

Gao Qiu stood aside, cupping his hands and saying, "Grand Tutor, don't be anxious. Zhao Tianming is just a merchant with some money; he won't amount to much. Li Gang, on the other hand, although he has been dismissed from office, his connections and prestige in the court should not be underestimated."

Cai Jing nodded slightly and said, "You're right. However, we can't let our guard down. Let's deal with Zhao Tianming first, and then slowly deal with Li Gang."

Gao Qiu echoed, "Grand Tutor, you are absolutely right. It is a good idea for Wang Zhiqiang to send a letter to Gao Ke. If we can use the power of the Liao Kingdom to suppress Zhao Tianming, we can reap the benefits without lifting a finger."

Cai Jing sneered: "I'm afraid Gao Ke won't take the bait."

Gao Qiu said, "Grand Tutor, rest assured, Wang Zhiqiang must have promised many benefits in his letter, and Gao Ke will definitely be tempted."

Soon, Wang Zhiqiang's confidant, after going through many hardships, finally delivered the letter to Gao Ke.

Gao Ke unfolded the letter in his residence and began to read it carefully. His brows gradually furrowed as he weighed the pros and cons in his mind.

"This Wang Zhiqiang is quite cunning; he wants me to do things for him," Gao Ke muttered to himself.

After some deliberation, Gao Ke felt this was a good opportunity to expand his business empire in the Liao Kingdom. He summoned his trusted confidants to discuss how to deal with Zhao Tianming.

“We can deliberately make things difficult for Zhao Tianming’s caravan in trade, raise tariffs, and set up various obstacles,” the confidant suggested.

Gao Ke nodded and said, "Not only that, we can also spread rumors to damage his business reputation and make other businessmen afraid to cooperate with him."

Thus, Gao Ke began to act according to plan. Zhao Tianming's caravan suffered repeated setbacks in border trade; goods were seized, prices continued to rise, and costs increased dramatically.

Meanwhile, negative rumors about Zhao Tianming spread rapidly in business circles, and many businessmen who had previously cooperated with him chose to distance themselves.

Zhao Tianming quickly realized the extent of the conspiracy and understood that he was facing a huge challenge.

"It seems someone is deliberately targeting us behind this," Zhao Tianming said to his assistant.

The assistant said worriedly, "Boss, if this continues, our business will be greatly affected."

Zhao Tianming said with a firm gaze, "Don't be afraid. The more they act like this, the stronger we must be. I want to see how long they can be so arrogant."

Zhao Tianming began actively seeking solutions. On the one hand, he communicated with other businessmen to try to clarify the rumors, and on the other hand, he strengthened his ties with border officials to gain their support.

A brief silence fell over Zhao Tianming's restaurant. The confiscation of supplies had everyone on edge. Zhao Tianming, Song Jiang, Lu Junyi, and Wu Yong sat around a table, discussing countermeasures.

"What should we do? The supplies have been seized, and the people on the border are still suffering. We can't just sit idly by." Zhao Tianming frowned, his face full of anxiety.

Song Jiang's expression was grave. He said, "This matter requires careful consideration. We must not act rashly."

Wu Yong gently waved his feather fan, pondered for a moment, and said, "Perhaps we can raise supplies through other channels, but we must avoid those people's eyes and ears."

Just as everyone was discussing this, Li Gang walked in. Upon seeing him, everyone stood up, their eyes filled with respect.

Li Gang waved his hand and said, "I am just a commoner, so please don't say that."

Li Kui shouted loudly, "To dismiss such a good official is simply a sign of blindness!"

Song Jiang immediately scolded Li Kui: "Tie Niu, stop talking nonsense!"

Li Kui muttered indignantly, "I'm telling the truth, brother. A good official like the Grand Tutor, who is dedicated to serving the people, should not be dismissed."

Li Gang sighed deeply: "The matter of being dismissed from office is a foregone conclusion, there's no need to bring it up again. Now the situation on the border is urgent, does anyone have any good ideas?"

Zhao Tianming cupped his hands and said, "Grand Tutor, we are very worried about this matter. Our supplies have been seized, and the other side is using insidious methods. We cannot think of a foolproof solution at the moment."

Lu Junyi said, "Grand Tutor is very experienced, I hope you can give me some pointers."

Li Gang nodded slightly and said, "In my opinion, we need to address this matter at its root. The person behind this is only after their own interests. We need to find their weaknesses and expose their conspiracy in order to solve the problem."

Wu Yong's eyes lit up, and he said, "What the Grand Tutor says is very true, but this handle is not easy to find."

Li Gang pondered for a moment and said, "We can start by investigating their past behavior and the people they've associated with. A thorough investigation will surely yield some results."

Song Jiang said, "Grand Tutor, rest assured, we will do our best."

After further discussion, the group decided to proceed as Li Gang suggested. Seeing their resolute expressions, Li Gang felt a sense of relief.

"Then I will await your good news. Farewell." After saying this, Li Gang turned and left.

As Zhao Tianming and the others watched Li Gang's retreating figure, they secretly vowed to resolve the border crisis and live up to the Grand Tutor's expectations.

Wu Yong pondered for a while, pacing back and forth in the room, his feather fan sometimes waving lightly, sometimes pausing. His gaze swept over everyone, finally settling on the Xie brothers, Xie Zhen and Xie Bao.

"Brothers Jie Zhen and Jie Bao, I have an important task, and after much thought, I feel it is most suitable to entrust it to the two of you," Wu Yong said slowly.

At this moment, everyone's attention was focused on the Xie brothers. Xie Zhen and Xie Bao exchanged a glance, stepped forward, and cupped their hands, saying, "Scholar, please speak freely. We brothers will do our utmost."

Wu Yong nodded slightly and said, "Now that our supplies have been seized, we urgently need to find out the conspiracy behind it and the movements of those people. You two are hunters by trade and have been trading furs with the Liao Kingdom on the border for many years. You are familiar with the situation there. If you go to gather information, you should be able to avoid being discovered."

Jie Bao patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, scholar. My brother and I have been working on the border for many years, so we have some skills."

Xie Zhen, on the other hand, was more composed and said, "This task is arduous, and I hope that the scholar can give me more guidance."

Wu Yong walked to the table, spread out a map, and pointed to several key locations on it, saying, "You should mainly go to these places: first, Wang Zhiqiang's shop, to see if you can find any evidence of his collusion with the Liao Kingdom; second, the area near the Liao army's camp, to keep an eye on their movements and deployments; and third, to inquire with the merchants who often trade with you, to see if there is anything unusual."

The Xie brothers listened attentively, nodding occasionally.

Jie Bao asked, "Scholar, what should we do if we encounter danger?"

Wu Yong pondered for a moment and said, "I will arrange for people to secretly meet you, but you must also be careful and not act rashly. If you find that something is wrong, evacuate immediately."

Jie Zhen said, "Scholar, we understand."

Wu Yong then instructed, "Remember, you must be careful and not reveal your identity."

The Xie brothers said in unison, "No scholar, gentlemen, just wait for our good news!"

After saying this, the two brothers turned and left to prepare their belongings.

Jie Zhen and Jie Bao returned to their lodgings and began packing their belongings. As Jie Bao packed, he said, "Brother, this mission won't be easy. We have to be careful."

Jie Zhen replied, "Brother, we must complete the task assigned by the scholar and not let everyone down."

After packing up, the two brothers quietly left the camp under the cover of night and headed towards the border.

Along the way, they avoided the main roads where there were many people and attention, and instead chose to travel on side roads.

Upon arriving at the border town, Xie Zhen and Xie Bao split up. Xie Bao disguised himself as an ordinary hunter and approached Wang Zhiqiang's shop. He secretly observed from the street corner and noticed that the shop entrance was heavily guarded, and people coming and going seemed to be in a hurry.

Jie Bao thought to himself, "There really is something wrong with Wang Zhiqiang's shop."

Meanwhile, Jie Zhen mingled among a group of merchants, chatting with them and trying to glean some useful information.

One shopkeeper whispered, "The situation is getting more and more chaotic lately, and it's impossible to do business."

Taking the opportunity, Jie Zhen asked, "Brother, do you know why this is?"

The merchant looked around and said in a low voice, "I heard that someone is secretly manipulating things, colluding with the Liao people to rob supplies."

Xie Zhen's heart skipped a beat, and she continued to ask, "Do you know who did this?"

The merchant shook his head and remained silent.

Helpless, Jie Zhen could only continue searching for other clues.

At this moment, Xie Bao noticed that the shop guards had relaxed their guard slightly, so he quietly approached. Suddenly, a hand landed on his shoulder.

"Who is it?" Jie Bao was startled and turned around.

It turned out to be an acquaintance, a merchant with whom they had previously traded furs.

The merchant said in a low voice, "Brother Jie Bao, what are you doing here? This place is dangerous, you should leave quickly."

Jie Bao said, "Brother, I was just passing by. Why is this shop so heavily guarded?"

The merchant said, "I heard they're doing some shady business, colluding with the Liao people, but I don't know the specifics. You mustn't provoke them, hurry up and leave."

Jie Bao thanked the merchant and quickly left to reunite with Jie Zhen.

The two brothers exchanged the information they had gathered and decided to go to the vicinity of the Liao army camp to investigate.

They cautiously approached the camp, hiding in the grass. They saw the Liao army drilling, seemingly preparing for a major battle.

Jie Zhen said, "It seems the situation is not good. We must go back and report immediately."

Jie Bao nodded and said, "Okay, let's go."

However, just as they were about to leave, they accidentally stepped on a branch, making a sound.

"Who goes there?" the Liao army sentry shouted alertly.

The two brothers took off running, with the Liao army in hot pursuit.

Fortunately, they were familiar with the terrain and managed to shake off their pursuers by turning left and right.

After some twists and turns, Xie Zhen and Xie Bao returned to the camp and informed Wu Yong and the others of the information they had gathered.

After hearing this, Wu Yong fell into deep thought and began to plan his next move.