Transmigrating to the Song Dynasty: Water Margin Business Management

After leaving the yamen, Chai Jin was filled with rage and secretly vowed to seek justice for Zhao Tianming. He knew that treacherous officials such as Gao Qiu and Cai Jing held immense power and were ruthless, but he was fearless.

Back at his residence, Chai Jin summoned his trusted confidants and discussed countermeasures in a secret room.

"Gentlemen, Gao Qiu and Cai Jing are in cahoots, oppressing the good and honest. Now that Zhao Tianming has been wronged, the business in the capital is in chaos. I, Chai Jin, will fight them to the end!" Chai Jin said passionately.

“My lord, Gao Qiu and his men are very powerful. We must think this through carefully,” a trusted confidant said worriedly.

Chai Jin's gaze was firm: "What's there to be afraid of! My Chai family has been loyal and virtuous for generations. How can we allow such treacherous villains to run rampant? I have already devised a plan. First, I will send people to secretly investigate the crimes of Gao Qiu and his gang, and then find an opportunity to expose their evil deeds."

Meanwhile, at Gao Qiu's residence, Gao Yanei was discussing with Gao Qiu and Cai Jing how to deal with Chai Jin.

"Father, that Chai Jin dares to openly oppose us, he must not be let off lightly!" Gao Yanei said viciously.

Gao Qiu said with a gloomy face, "This Chai Jin is not easy to deal with; he also has some influence in the court."

Cai Jing squinted and offered a suggestion: "Why don't we strike first and fabricate some charges to accuse Chai Jin of plotting a rebellion?"

Gao Qiu nodded: "This plan is excellent. We should send people to spread rumors in the streets to ruin his reputation."

Gao Yanei laughed and said, "Lord Cai is truly brilliant. Let's see how many more days Chai Jin can keep this up."

Thus, Gao Qiu and his gang began their operation. Rumors quickly spread throughout the capital that Chai Jin was hoarding weapons, colluding with bandits, and plotting a rebellion.

When Chai Jin learned of this, he sneered, "Such despicable means, you think you can bring me down?"

On the one hand, he sent people to clarify the rumors, and on the other hand, he accelerated the collection of evidence of Gao Qiu and others' crimes.

One day, Chai Jin's confidant reported that he had discovered that Gao Qiu's steward was secretly trading with a merchant from out of town, which seemed to be related to embezzlement and bribery.

Chai Jin was overjoyed: "Excellent! Continue the investigation and be sure to find something on them."

After some investigation, Chai Jin finally obtained some evidence of Gao Qiu's embezzlement of military funds and Cai Jing's selling of official positions.

However, Gao Qiu and his men also noticed Chai Jin's actions and decided to take action again.

They bribed a servant in Chai Jin's household to poison his food. Fortunately, Chai Jin was alert and discovered the poison in time, thus escaping death.

"That was close! That villain Gao Qiu is so ruthless!" Chai Jin was furious.

But this did not deter Chai Jin; on the contrary, it strengthened his resolve.

He decided to risk entering the palace to meet Emperor Huizong.

Zhao Tianming's life in prison was extremely difficult. He not only had to endure the harsh conditions of the prison, but also faced constant threats to his life.

Suddenly, a group of fierce-looking jailers arrived at the prison. Under Gao Qiu's orders, they deliberately caused trouble and made things difficult for Zhao Tianming in every way.

"Zhao Tianming, you ignorant fool, you still dare to dream of overturning the verdict?" a prison guard said viciously.

Zhao Tianming glared at them and said, "I, Zhao Tianming, am an upright and honorable man. You bunch of lackeys, you shall die a horrible death!"

Enraged, the prison guards began punching and kicking Zhao Tianming. Zhao Tianming fought back fiercely, but he was outnumbered and beaten black and blue.

Just when Zhao Tianming was almost in despair, a mysterious old man appeared outside the cell.

"Child, don't give up," the old man said softly.

Zhao Tianming looked at him with a puzzled expression.

The old man quietly handed him a bottle of medicine: "This can heal your injury." Then he disappeared.

Meanwhile, a turmoil was also brewing in Jiangnan. It turned out that Gao Qiu's cronies were ruthlessly exploiting the people of Jiangnan, causing widespread suffering and leading to numerous uprisings.

"Rebellion! Rebellion!" Gao Qiu was furious when he learned of this.

Cai Jing offered a suggestion: "Why not take this opportunity to pin the crime on Zhao Tianming, saying that he was secretly plotting a rebellion in Jiangnan?"

Gao Qiu's eyes lit up: "Great idea!"

Meanwhile, on the border between the Song and Liao dynasties, the conflict intensified. Liao troops frequently harassed the border, causing heavy casualties to the Song army.

"Report! The border is in dire straits, requesting reinforcements!" The messenger rode swiftly to deliver the message to the capital.

The court was in chaos, but Gao Qiu and his cronies took the opportunity to propose cutting military spending and enrich themselves.

“With the nation in peril, how can we cut military spending?” a loyal minister advised.

However, Gao Qiu and others falsely accused him of treason and imprisoned him.

Zhao Tianming's businesses also faced the danger of being completely swallowed up. Gao Yanei and Duan Tianxi colluded with local powerful figures to seize Zhao Tianming's businesses, dividing up all of his shops and land.

"Haha, Zhao Tianming will never be able to turn things around!" Gao Yanei said smugly.

Upon learning all this in prison, Zhao Tianming was filled with grief and indignation: "These traitors, I, Zhao Tianming, will never let you live under the same sky!"

At this critical moment, Chai Jin's struggle in the capital also entered a fierce stage.

Chai Jin, armed with the evidence he had gathered against Gao Qiu and others, risked his life to enter the palace and meet Emperor Huizong.

"Your Majesty, Gao Qiu and Cai Jing are guilty of heinous crimes. They have embezzled and accepted bribes, oppressed the people, framed loyal officials, and even intended to incite a peasant uprising in Jiangnan and wreak havoc on the border. I beg Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly!" Chai Jin pleaded earnestly.

After hearing this, Emperor Huizong fell into deep thought.

When Gao Qiu and his associates learned that Chai Jin had met with the emperor, they were filled with fear and intensified their efforts to deceive Emperor Huizong.

Meanwhile, in prison, Zhao Tianming's injuries gradually improved thanks to the medicine given to him by the old man. In prison, he met a former soldier and learned about the grim situation on the border.

"With the nation in peril, we are trapped here, unable to serve our country. It is a disgrace!" Zhao Tianming gritted his teeth.

The prisoner said, "If I ever get out, I will fight for my country and avenge my family!"

At this time, rumors of the struggle between Chai Jin and Gao Qiu and others were spreading like wildfire in the capital. The people were overwhelmingly in support of Chai Jin and condemning Gao Qiu and his gang.

Amidst this turbulent upheaval in the capital, the struggle between various factions intensifies. Although Chai Jin has presented his testimony to the emperor, Huizong is still weighing his options and has not yet made a decision. Meanwhile, Gao Qiu and his cronies wield deep influence in the court, constantly pressuring Huizong in an attempt to prevent any investigation into them.

Zhao Tianming's friends, including Li Yi, were frantically plotting a rescue for Zhao Tianming, Pang Wanchun, and Pang Qiuxia. They first attempted to bribe the prison guards to work from the inside and rescue the three under cover of night. However, Gao Qiu was prepared and had strengthened prison security, thwarting their plan to bribe the guards.

Next, they planned a prison break during the transfer of Zhao Tianming and the others. However, Gao Qiu seemed to have seen through their plan and changed the route and time of the transfer at the last minute, causing the prison break to fail.

The repeated failures of rescue plans plunged everyone into deep despair and anxiety.

"Are we just going to stand by and watch Brother Zhao and the others suffer in prison, and be powerless to do anything about it?" Li Yi said angrily.

Just when everyone was at a loss, Chai Jin came up with a risky way to win.

“Now Gao Qiu and his men are in the open, while we are in the shadows. They think our rescue plan has failed repeatedly and will surely lower their guard. We can take advantage of this and launch a feint attack,” Chai Jin said with a gleam in his eyes.

His plan was twofold: first, to have some people create greater chaos in the capital, such as spreading more information about Gao Qiu and others' crimes to incite public anger and protests, thus attracting the attention of Gao Qiu and his associates; second, to organize an elite squad to sneak into the prison during the chaos and forcibly rescue people.

After hearing this, everyone felt that the plan was too risky, but there was no better solution at the moment.

So, as planned, some people posted evidence of Gao Qiu and his associates' crimes throughout the streets and alleys of the capital, loudly proclaiming and calling on the people to rise up in rebellion. The people were already dissatisfied with the evil deeds of Gao Qiu and his associates, and now they were even more agitated, flocking to Gao Qiu's mansion to protest.

When Gao Qiu learned of this, he was indeed furious and sent a large number of men to suppress the people.

While in prison, Chai Jin personally led a small team of martial arts masters to sneak into the prison while Gao Qiu's attention was diverted.

"Everyone be careful, don't alert the guards," Chai Jin whispered.

They carefully avoided the patrolling jailers and gradually approached the cell where Zhao Tianming and the others were located.

However, just as they were about to arrive, a prison guard suddenly appeared.

"Who goes there?" the jailer shouted.

Chai Jin reacted swiftly, slaying the jailer with a single sword strike to the throat. However, the shout still attracted the attention of the other jailers.

"Damn it, we've been spotted! Charge!" Chai Jin made a decisive decision.

The crowd no longer hid and engaged in a fierce battle with the prison guards. In an instant, shouts of battle filled the prison.

Hearing the commotion outside, Zhao Tianming felt a surge of hope.

"It must be our brothers coming to rescue us!"

Pang Wanchun and Pang Qiuxia also rallied their spirits and prepared to cooperate.

Chai Jin and his men fought fiercely and finally reached Zhao Tianming's cell.

"Brother Zhao, we've come to rescue you!" Chai Jin shouted.

"Brother Chai, thank you so much!" Zhao Tianming was extremely excited.

The group opened the prison door and charged out together.

But by this time, Gao Qiu had already received the news and had summoned a large number of reinforcements.

"We can't let them get away!" Gao Qiu roared.

Chai Jin and his men were surrounded.

"Even if I die today, I will rescue Brother Zhao and the others!" Chai Jin said without hesitation.

At this critical moment, the prisoner who had served in the military played a crucial role. Familiar with the prison's layout, he led everyone to a secret passage.

"follow me!"

Led by him, the group escaped from the prison through a secret passage.

However, Gao Qiu's pursuers were hot on their heels.

“This can’t go on; we need to split up,” Chai Jin said.

So they split into several groups to distract Gao Qiu.

Zhao Tianming, Pang Wanchun, and Pang Qiuxia were in one team, while Chai Jin led the others to lure away the pursuers.

After a thrilling escape, Zhao Tianming and his companions finally evaded capture and temporarily hid in a safe place.

"Thanks to Brother Chai and all the brothers, we owe you so much this time." Zhao Tianming was moved to tears.

“Brother Zhao, now is not the time to talk about these things. Gao Qiu will not let this go. We must find a way to expose their crimes as soon as possible and clear our names,” Chai Jin said.

Everyone nodded.