Transmigrating to the Song Dynasty: Water Margin Business Management

Chai Jin and his men carried out their plan in a tense but orderly manner. They sent out men to secretly investigate both inside and outside the capital, leaving no stone unturned.

The team tasked with investigating those who had business dealings or grudges with Zhao Tianming spent their days traversing the streets and alleys, talking to all sorts of people. One of their subordinates overheard a conversation between two businessmen in a teahouse.

"Zhao Tianming is really unlucky; he suddenly suffered such a misfortune."

"Who can argue with that? I heard there's someone coveting his business."

His subordinate approached discreetly, feigning casual conversation, and interjected, "Brother, is there some hidden story behind this?"

One of the merchants glanced at him warily, hesitating to speak. His subordinate cleverly took out some loose silver and bought a pot of good wine to treat the two men. Only then did the merchant lower his voice and say, "I heard that it's that scoundrel Wang Zhiqiang who's behind this. He's colluding with Gao Qiu and Cai Jing to try and seize Zhao Tianming's business."

The subordinate was overjoyed and hurried back to report to Chai Jin.

The group that used their connections in the underworld to spread the news also made some progress. A chivalrous man from the underworld secretly approached Chai Jin and revealed, "I once saw Wang Zhiqiang having a secret conversation with Gao Qiu's confidant in a secluded tavern. They looked very suspicious."

The team responsible for investigating suspicious individuals who had contact with Zhao Tianming's businesses discovered that several unfamiliar faces had been frequently appearing near the businesses recently, behaving suspiciously.

Meanwhile, Chai Jin personally took action, attempting to get close to the steward of a wealthy household. At a banquet, he deliberately struck up a conversation with the steward, and after a few drinks, the steward became slightly tipsy.

Taking the opportunity, Chai Jin said, "I've heard that many properties in the city have recently changed hands. I wonder if your master has any thoughts on this?"

The butler hiccuped and said, "Zhao Tianming's business has been targeted by someone, and our master dares not get involved in this mess."

Chai Jin feigned surprise: "Oh? Is there some inside story?"

The butler, his eyes glazed with drunkenness, was about to speak when he suddenly became alert and fell silent.

Knowing that he shouldn't rush things, Chai Jin decided to give up for now.

Meanwhile, Wu Yong and several Liangshan brothers were also analyzing the intelligence they had gathered.

"Based on the current situation, Wang Zhiqiang, Gao Qiu, and Cai Jing are the most suspicious, but we still lack direct evidence," Wu Yong said.

Wu Yong and Chai Jin gathered in a secret room, the flickering candlelight illuminating their solemn faces.

"This Wang Zhiqiang is hiding his true colors, making it difficult for us to catch him. He's really a headache." Wu Yong lightly shook his feather fan, his brows furrowed.

Chai Jin paced back and forth in the room, and after thinking for a moment, he said, "To lure out Wang Zhiqiang, we need to devise a meticulous plan to make him walk into our trap."

Wu Yong nodded slightly, a hint of wisdom flashing in his eyes: "I have a plan. We can first spread the word that Zhao Tianming's secret property contains his business ledgers from over the years, which record many transactions with powerful figures in the court, and may contain evidence of Wang Zhiqiang and others' crimes. Then, we can send people to secretly monitor the vicinity of that property."

Chai Jin's eyes lit up: "This plan is excellent. But to make Wang Zhiqiang completely believe it, we need to make it even more convincing."

Wu Yong continued, "We can arrange for a few brothers to disguise themselves as Zhao Tianming's confidants and deliberately discuss this matter in some taverns and teahouses in the capital, acting mysteriously to attract attention."

Chai Jin nodded in agreement: "That's right. We can also have one of them pretend to be drunk and inadvertently reveal the importance of the ledger and its exact location."

The plan was agreed upon, and everyone acted accordingly.

A few days later, Wang Zhiqiang indeed heard these rumors. Feeling uneasy, he immediately consulted with Gao Qiu and Cai Jing.

"Lord Gao Qiu, Lord Cai Jing, I've heard that Zhao Tianming has a secret ledger. If it falls into the wrong hands, we'll be in big trouble," Wang Zhiqiang said anxiously.

Gao Qiu stroked his beard, pondered for a moment, and said, "We must not believe these rumors. Perhaps someone is deliberately setting a trap."

Cai Jing, however, was somewhat worried: "But we cannot be careless. If it really happens, we cannot sit idly by and wait for our doom."

Wang Zhiqiang said, "Why don't I send someone to investigate?"

Gao Qiu nodded in agreement: "We must proceed with extreme caution."

Wang Zhiqiang sent his trusted confidants to carefully investigate in the capital, but after several days, the information they obtained was difficult to verify, which made him even more suspicious.

This trusted confidant, named Li San, was a shrewd and cautious man. He returned and reported to Wang Zhiqiang: "Master, this news is quite detailed, but it also seems a bit strange."

Wang Zhiqiang sat in the armchair, tapping his fingers lightly on the armrest, and said with narrowed eyes, "Tell me in detail."

Li San said, "As you instructed, I staked out the area near those taverns and teahouses and did hear people talking about that secret ledger. But every time I tried to investigate further, those people would either fall silent or leave in a hurry."

Wang Zhiqiang frowned: "This is strange. Could it be that someone deliberately set a trap to lure me in?"

Li San continued, "Also, I followed a few people who were suspected of being Zhao Tianming's confidants and found that their movements were quite strange, as if they were intentionally trying to attract attention."

Wang Zhiqiang pondered for a moment: "Do you think this could be a scheme by Chai Jin and Wu Yong?"

Li San replied, "I'm not sure either, but there is definitely something strange about this matter."

Wang Zhiqiang's eyes lit up: "Go and find out more. Find a few unrelated people to contact those who are talking about the ledgers and test the waters."

Li San accepted the order and left.

Two days later, Li San returned to report: "Master, I did as you instructed. As soon as those unrelated people approached and discussed the account books, they became very wary, and some even hurled insults at them and drove them away."

Wang Zhiqiang stroked his chin: "This is becoming increasingly suspicious."

He thought to himself, if there really is a ledger, the other party's vigilance must mean they are protecting important evidence. But if this is a trap, acting rashly will inevitably lead to trouble.

Wang Zhiqiang decided to take matters into his own hands. He changed into ordinary civilian clothes and secretly observed the places where the rumors had surfaced.

One day, in a corner of a tavern, he overheard two men talking in hushed tones.

"I heard that the ledger is in Zhao Tianming's estate outside the city."

"Shh, keep your voice down, don't let anyone hear."

Wang Zhiqiang had an idea. He quietly left the tavern and sent Li San to check out the manor outside the city.

Li San returned and reported: "Master, nothing unusual was found in the estate, and there was no sign of any account books."

Wang Zhiqiang increasingly felt that this matter was not simple: "Could they be hiding somewhere else?"

At this time, Gao Qiu and Cai Jing also sent people to inquire about the progress.

Wang Zhiqiang replied that further investigation was needed and that no rash actions should be taken.

In the following days, Wang Zhiqiang constantly changed his methods to test the waters. He sent people to spread other false information in the capital to observe the reactions of Chai Jin and Wu Yong's side; he also deliberately had people on some occasions reveal that they were not interested in the account books, in order to see if there would be any new developments.

However, Chai Jin and Wu Yong were well-prepared and handled the situation flawlessly, leaving Wang Zhiqiang unable to determine whether it was true or false.

Wang Zhiqiang was restless and paced back and forth in the mansion.

"No, we can't keep dragging this on; we need to think of a more direct solution."

He decided to risk sending men to arrest someone suspected of being Zhao Tianming's confidant and to torture him severely.

Unexpectedly, the men they sent were driven away by a group of masked men who suddenly appeared, and their trusted men were also rescued.

Upon learning this, Wang Zhiqiang's face darkened: "It seems the other side was prepared."

While Wang Zhiqiang was racking his brains to test him, Chai Jin and Wu Yong were also closely watching his every move, constantly adjusting their strategies, waiting for him to finally reveal a flaw.

As Wang Zhiqiang was tested time and again, he unknowingly became more and more deeply involved, getting closer and closer to the truth, but he could never be sure whether that crucial step was a trap.

His greed and fear intertwined, making him increasingly anxious. But he was unwilling to give up and decided to take another gamble.

Wang Zhiqiang once again summoned his trusted confidants to plot their next move...

Upon learning of Wang Zhiqiang's probing actions, Wu Yong and Chai Jin discussed countermeasures again. Wu Yong gently shook his feather fan and slowly said, "Wang Zhiqiang is cunning and suspicious, so we need to be more cautious. Although spreading rumors that his confidant revealed the location of the account book could lure him in, we still need to set up several more lines of defense."

Chai Jin nodded in agreement, and Wu Yong continued, "We can set up three layers of ambush around the fake hiding place. The first layer will be our brothers, who are good at hiding, disguised as ordinary people, to secretly monitor the area. Once Wang Zhiqiang sends people to investigate, we should not act rashly, but only record the details of their investigation and the personnel arrangements."

"The second layer of ambush troops are hidden in the nearby woods and houses, equipped with powerful crossbows and bows. Once Wang Zhiqiang's main force enters the encirclement, they will be alerted by my command and first be intimidated with a rain of arrows to disrupt their formation."

"The third layer of ambush troops, as a mobile force, will be led by brave brothers such as Yang Xiong and Shi Xiu. While the first two layers of ambush troops are engaged with Wang Zhiqiang's men, they will flank them from the sides and rear, cut off their retreat, and strive to wipe them out in one fell swoop."

After hearing this, Chai Jin praised, "Mr. Wu's plan is brilliant. With such arrangements, Wang Zhiqiang will have no chance of escape. However, to prevent him from having any further tricks up his sleeve, we still need to prepare some contingency plans."

Wu Yong smiled slightly: "What Master Chai said is very true. We can arrange for some brothers to disguise themselves as Gao Qiu or Cai Jing's men and appear at the appropriate time, so that Wang Zhiqiang will mistake them for his allies coming to help him, thus lowering his guard and revealing his flaws."

"At the same time, send a few more brothers to set up some obstacles on the only way to the fake hideout to slow down Wang Zhiqiang's progress, so that we have enough time to adjust our deployment."

In addition, Wu Yong suggested that Shi Qian sneak into Wang Zhiqiang's mansion in advance to secretly monitor his every move. If there were any abnormalities, he should send a message back in time so that they could respond accordingly.

Chai Jin greatly appreciated Wu Yong's strategies, and the two immediately set about arranging various matters. They knew that this contest with Wang Zhiqiang had to be foolproof in order to ensure the successful exposure of his crimes and the vindication of Zhao Tianming.

During the ambush setup, Wu Yong personally directed the operation, meticulously checking every detail to ensure his men understood their tasks and positions. Chai Jin was responsible for coordinating resources from all sides to ensure the plan's smooth execution.