Transmigrating to the Song Dynasty: Water Margin Business Management

After learning that Chai Jin, Li Gang, and Zhong Shidao had prevented the arrest of Zhang Shuye's family, Gao Qiu and Cai Jing gathered together and began plotting to harm others. Gao Qiu said with a grim face, "These Chai Jin, Li Gang, and Zhong Shidao dared to ruin our plans; we must not let them get away with this easily." Cai Jing stroked his beard, a glint of malice flashing in his eyes: "That Chai Jin, relying on his imperial pardon, acts recklessly; we must find a way to take away his immunity from death." Gao Qiu nodded in agreement: "And Li Gang and Zhong Shidao, they are always opposing us; we must find a pretext to impeach them before the Emperor, causing him to lose trust in them."

Gao Qiu frowned and lowered his voice, saying, "I think we should start with Chai. Isn't he relying on his imperial edict? We'll arrange for someone to secretly place some forged letters between him and Zhang Shuye in his residence, and then send trusted men to sneak into his house while he's away to find some so-called contraband, creating the illusion that he's colluding with Zhang Shuye." Cai Jing nodded slightly and continued, "Then, I'll send people to keep an eye on Li Gang and Zhong Shidao, looking for any mistakes in their daily words and actions, even the smallest oversights, and exaggerating them to report to the Emperor." Gao Qiu pondered for a moment and added, "Yes, and also arrange for someone to deliberately stir up trouble in court." "We'll provoke Li Gang and Zhong Shidao into making statements, and our pre-arranged men will seize upon any inconsistencies in their words to launch an attack." Cai Jing smiled sinisterly. "Also, find a few officials who have been punished by Li Gang and Zhong Shidao before, and coerce or entice them to testify against their wrongdoings." Gao Qiu slapped his thigh. "Brilliant! Once we've collected this so-called evidence, we'll all go to the Emperor and present it all at once. I don't believe the Emperor will still favor them." A ruthless glint flashed in Cai Jing's eyes. "This time, we'll make sure they never have a chance to rise again, and they'll never be able to hinder our plans." The three exchanged a smile and began to make their arrangements.

A few days later, Gao Qiu and Cai Jing's meticulously planned conspiracy began to unfold. Beneath the seemingly calm surface of Chai Jin's residence, undercurrents were swirling. One day, while Chai Jin was out on business, Gao Qiu's trusted confidants seized the opportunity to infiltrate the residence. Following their pre-arranged plan, they secretly placed forged letters between Chai Jin and Zhang Shuye in Chai Jin's study, and searched the storeroom for allegedly contraband, creating the illusion that Chai Jin was indeed secretly colluding with Zhang Shuye.

Meanwhile, Cai Jing's men were keeping a close watch on Li Gang and Zhong Shidao, not letting any potentially misinterpreted words or actions escape their notice. In court, Gao Qiu's men deliberately stirred up a sensitive issue, sparking a heated debate among the officials. Li Gang and Zhong Shidao, upholding justice, expressed their views. However, their words were taken out of context by Gao Qiu's pre-arranged men, who seized upon them to accuse them of disloyalty.

Li Gang angrily said, "What we said was all for the sake of the court and the people. How can you distort it maliciously!" Zhong Shidao also said sternly, "Such despicable methods are truly shameful!" But Gao Qiu and the others were relentless and insisted on making a big fuss about it.

Meanwhile, officials who had been coerced and bribed into serving their sentences by Li Gang and Zhong Shidao came forward to testify against them. "Li Gang and Zhong Shidao are habitually arbitrary and abuse their power, showing no regard for the laws of the court." "Their punishment of subordinates is purely for personal revenge." For a time, accusations against Li Gang and Zhong Shidao rose and fell throughout the court.

Upon hearing this, Emperor Huizong was furious. Gao Qiu and Cai Jing seized the opportunity to speak: "Your Majesty, Chai Jin, Li Gang, and Zhong Shidao have shown no respect for the Emperor and have formed cliques for personal gain; their crimes deserve execution." Emperor Huizong slammed his fist on the table and said: "Summon the three of them to the palace; I will interrogate them personally!"

Upon receiving the imperial decree, Chai Jin, Li Gang, and Zhong Shidao understood that this was a conspiracy by Gao Qiu and Cai Jing, but they had no choice but to enter the palace to meet the emperor. Inside the hall, Emperor Huizong's face was grim. He asked, "Chai Jin, someone has accused you of colluding with Zhang Shuye. Is this true?" Chai Jin knelt and loudly proclaimed, "Your Majesty, this is a frame-up. Someone is deliberately framing me." Emperor Huizong then looked at Li Gang and Zhong Shidao, "What explanation do you two have?" Li Gang said, "Your Majesty, this is a conspiracy by Gao Qiu and his ilk. They deliberately distorted our words and found false accusations." Zhong Shidao also said, "Your Majesty, we are utterly loyal and have no ulterior motives."

Gao Qiu said from the side, "The evidence is conclusive, yet they still dare to argue. Your Majesty, you must not believe their sweet talk." Cai Jing also chimed in, "Your Majesty, if they are not severely punished, the court will be corrupt." Emperor Huizong fell into deep thought, unable to make a decision for a moment.

Just then, Zong Ze stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, Li Gang and Zhong Shidao have achieved remarkable political achievements since taking office and have been wholeheartedly devoted to the country. There may be other hidden reasons in this matter. I hope Your Majesty will investigate thoroughly." Gao Qiu glared at Zong Ze: "You dare to plead for them? Are you also an accomplice?" Zong Ze was not afraid: "I only speak out for the truth and justice."

The atmosphere in the court grew increasingly tense, with arguments raging among the various factions. Emperor Huizong, feeling agitated, said, "I will send someone to thoroughly investigate this matter. Until then, Chai Jin, Li Gang, and Zhong Shidao shall remain at home and reflect on their actions." The three men reluctantly thanked the emperor and withdrew.

Although Gao Qiu and Cai Jing did not achieve their goal of immediately overthrowing them, they did temporarily deprive them of their freedom and power, which made them secretly pleased.

However, those who upheld justice did not give up. Zong Ze secretly contacted some upright officials and decided to work together to find evidence to clear Chai Jin, Li Gang, and Zhong Shidao of their grievances. They searched far and wide for clues, determined to uncover the conspiracy of Gao Qiu and Cai Jing.

Meanwhile, Chai Jin, Li Gang, and Zhong Shidao were at home pondering countermeasures, waiting for the day when the truth would come out.

After leaving the palace, Gao Qiu, Cai Jing, and Tong Guan immediately began their treacherous scheme.

In politics, Gao Qiu meticulously planned a series of insidious schemes. He first instructed his confidants to deliberately provoke a dispute with Li Gang in court, engaging in a heated debate with Li Gang on some ambiguous policy issues. Then, he distorted Li Gang's views and slandered him to Emperor Huizong, claiming that Li Gang was arbitrary and disrespectful of the emperor's authority.

During a court assembly discussing border defense, Li Gang proposed strengthening border military preparedness and increasing the number of troops stationed there. Gao Qiu's confidant immediately retorted, "Lord Li Gang's proposal, seemingly for the sake of border defense, is actually a waste of resources and manpower. The people are currently suffering; we should focus on recuperation and development, not waging war." Li Gang argued forcefully, elaborating on the importance and urgency of strengthening border defenses. However, Gao Qiu then spoke to Emperor Huizong, saying, "Your Majesty, Li Gang is so stubborn, completely disregarding the court's financial difficulties; his intentions are reprehensible." Upon hearing this, Emperor Huizong felt a growing dissatisfaction with Li Gang.

Furthermore, Gao Qiu secretly rallied some officials who had grudges against Li Gang, instructing them to unite and impeach him. These officials submitted memorials listing various "mistakes" Li Gang had committed in his work, such as being too untactful in handling affairs and being overly harsh on his subordinates. Gao Qiu meticulously compiled these impeachment memorials and presented them to Emperor Huizong of Song, further deepening the emperor's negative impression of Li Gang.

Cai Jing then set his sights on Chai Jin. Using his power in the Ministry of Revenue, he conducted a rigorous tax audit of the Chai Jin family's businesses. Cai Jing deliberately picked out some minor financial loopholes, then exaggerated them, claiming that the Chai Jin family had evaded taxes on a massive scale.

He dispatched a group of shrewd and capable accountants to meticulously examine all of the Chai Jin family's business transactions. Even minor accounting errors were magnified. For example, a payment being recorded a few days late, or an expenditure being poorly documented, was portrayed as a serious financial violation.

Meanwhile, Cai Jing also instructed local officials to remeasure the land owned by the Chai Jin family, deliberately inflating the acreage to increase taxes. When the Chai Jin family's steward went to protest, he was rudely driven away by the local officials.

Tong Guan then turned his attention to Zhao Tianming's businesses. He first bribed the manager of one of Zhao Tianming's restaurants, instructing him to tamper with the food and drinks, causing many customers to experience discomfort after consuming them.

Taking advantage of the situation, Tong Guan arranged for people to spread rumors outside the restaurant, claiming that Zhao Tianming's restaurant was using spoiled ingredients and cheating customers. As a result, the restaurant's business plummeted, and it became deserted.

Next, Tong Guan sent people to obstruct Zhao Tianming's transport convoy on its route, deliberately causing traffic accidents and damaging the goods. This prevented Zhao Tianming from delivering his goods on time, leading many partners to terminate their contracts and demand compensation for their losses.

In business competition, Tong Guan used his power to force some merchants who had cooperated with Zhao Tianming to sever ties. He threatened these merchants that if they continued to cooperate with Zhao Tianming, they would face various difficulties and suppression.

Tong Guan resorted to underhanded tactics against Zhao Tianming's money exchange business. He sent people to pose as customers, deposit large sums of silver in the money exchange, and then simultaneously demanded to withdraw the money, creating a run on the bank.

When the money shop faced a temporary cash flow problem, Tong Guan seized the opportunity to spread rumors that Zhao Tianming's money shop was about to collapse, causing panic among the public. Many depositors rushed to withdraw their money, plunging the money shop into a serious crisis.

Li Gang, Chai Jin, and Zhao Tianming knew that in order to get out of their predicament, they had to first find out the evidence of Gao Qiu, Cai Jing, and Tong Guan's conspiracy before they would have a chance to turn the tables in front of Emperor Huizong of Song.

On one hand, they tried to stabilize their position and minimize losses; on the other hand, they secretly sent people to collect evidence of the enemy's crimes. Li Gang used his remaining connections in the court to carefully investigate the illegal activities of Gao Qiu and his associates. Chai Jin, relying on his connections in the underworld, attempted to uncover the truth behind the bribed witnesses. Zhao Tianming, meanwhile, spared no expense in hiring shrewd spies to closely monitor Tong Guan and his men's every move.

After much effort, they finally discovered some crucial clues. It turned out that Gao Qiu's confidants, while deliberately stirring up trouble in court, had secretly met with Gao Qiu, a meeting accidentally discovered by Li Gang's informant. Chai Jin also learned from an official threatened by Cai Jing about Cai Jing's deliberate falsification of tax records. Zhao Tianming's spy successfully obtained evidence related to Tong Guan bribing the restaurant manager and orchestrating the incident.