Transmigrating to the Song Dynasty: Water Margin Business Management

Lu Qian was hoping that the struggle between Wang Zhiqiang and Zhao Tianming would bring him benefits, but he was unaware that the situation behind it was becoming increasingly complicated.

Since acquiring the land deed, Wang Zhiqiang, believing he had victory in his grasp, began to frequently pressure Zhao Tianming. He sent someone to deliver a message to Zhao Tianming: "Zhao Tianming, if you know what's good for you, obediently withdraw from this struggle, or you'll regret it!"

Zhao Tianming was not one to be easily threatened. He snorted coldly, "Wang Zhiqiang, don't be so arrogant. This land deed was obtained illegally. Do you think you can control me?"

Seeing that Zhao Tianming wasn't buying it, Wang Zhiqiang resorted to even more ruthless tactics. He found the official in charge of Lin Chong's case and threatened and bribed him, saying, "This Lin Chong case can't be let off easily. If Zhao Tianming doesn't agree to my conditions, you'd better make sure Lin Chong suffers a gruesome death and spends the rest of his life in jail!"

The officials looked troubled, but under the pressure of Wang Zhiqiang's power, they could only obediently agree.

When Zhao Tianming learned that Wang Zhiqiang was using Lin Chong to threaten him, he was both angry and anxious. Lin Chong was his good friend, and he couldn't just stand by and watch him suffer. So, he decided to go to Wu Yong and Song Jiang to discuss a solution.

Zhao Tianming rushed to Wu Yong's residence and explained the whole story in detail. After listening, Wu Yong frowned and paced back and forth in the room.

“This matter is quite thorny; Wang Zhiqiang’s move is indeed vicious,” Wu Yong said.

Zhao Tianming asked anxiously, "Wu Xuejiu, what should we do? Do we really have to compromise with Wang Zhiqiang?"

Wu Yong pondered for a moment and said, "We cannot compromise easily, as this will only embolden Wang Zhiqiang. We need to plan this carefully."

Just then, Song Jiang arrived.

"I just heard about this, Brother Zhao, don't worry, let's think of a solution together," Song Jiang comforted him.

The three sat together and began to discuss how to deal with the situation.

Wu Yong spoke first: "The reason Wang Zhiqiang is so arrogant is simply because Lu Qian is backing him up. We need to find a way to expose their conspiracy and let everyone see their true colors."

Song Jiang nodded in agreement: "What Wu Xuejiu said is very true, but we must proceed with caution and not alert the enemy."

Zhao Tianming said, "Then could we start by dealing with the official in charge of Lin Chong's case, offering him some benefits so that he won't be manipulated by Wang Zhiqiang?"

Wu Yong shook his head: "No, this person is greedy for fame and fortune, difficult to bribe, and it's easy for the news to leak out."

The three of them fell into deep thought, and the room fell silent.

After a while, Wu Yong suddenly had a bright idea: "I have a plan. We can send people to secretly investigate Wang Zhiqiang's illegal activities and collect evidence. At the same time, we can spread some rumors about Lu Qian to disrupt their plans."

Song Jiang said, "This plan is excellent, but we must be careful in our investigation and not let them find out."

Zhao Tianming patted his chest and said, "Leave this matter to me, I will certainly act with caution."

Therefore, Zhao Tianming secretly began to arrange for people to investigate Wang Zhiqiang. Meanwhile, Wang Zhiqiang was still smugly waiting for Zhao Tianming to bow down to him, unaware that he had already fallen into a crisis.

After some effort, Zhao Tianming's men finally uncovered some of Wang Zhiqiang's unspeakable secrets, such as his crimes of seizing farmland and oppressing the people.

With this evidence in hand, Zhao Tianming went to Wu Yong and Song Jiang again.

"With this evidence, we can ruin Wang Zhiqiang's reputation," Zhao Tianming said excitedly.

Wu Yong cautiously said, "We must not be too hasty; we need to wait for the right opportunity."

While they were waiting for their chance, Wang Zhiqiang saw that Zhao Tianming hadn't made a move and assumed he was scared, so he became even more unscrupulous.

Meanwhile, Lu Qian was leisurely waiting for good news.

"Sir, Wang Zhiqiang seems to be getting a little carried away," his subordinate reported to Lu Qian.

Lu Qian laughed and said, "Let him be, as long as we achieve our goal."

While searching for clues and evidence to deal with Wang Zhiqiang, Zhao Tianming overheard news of an old accountant who had been dismissed by Wang Zhiqiang. This old man had worked as a handyman in Wang Zhiqiang's household for many years, but was ruthlessly kicked out of the mansion for a minor mistake.

After much trouble, Zhao Tianming finally found the down-on-his-luck old accountant in a secluded alley. The old man was dressed in rags, looked haggard, and the account book in his hands seemed to be worn out.

Zhao Tianming stepped forward and said respectfully, "Old man, I heard that you used to work at Wang Zhiqiang's residence. I have some questions I would like to ask you."

The old man raised his cloudy eyes and looked at Zhao Tianming warily. "Who are you? What business do you have with this old man?"

Zhao Tianming quickly explained, "Old man, I have some entanglements with Wang Zhiqiang, but I'm by no means a bad person. I know you've been wronged by him, and if you can help me, I promise I won't let you suffer anymore."

The old man snorted coldly, "Wang Zhiqiang is a ruthless scoundrel. He drove me out of the mansion, and now I'm struggling to make a living."

Zhao Tianming took out some loose silver from his pocket and handed it to the old man. "Old man, please take this money and use it to buy some food and other necessities. If you can give me any useful information, I will reward you handsomely."

The old man looked at the broken silver in his hand, hesitated for a moment, and finally said, "Alright, you don't seem like a bad person. Let me tell you, once I accidentally saw Wang Zhiqiang, Chen Jiang, and Li Jubao sneaking into a money exchange and withdrawing a thousand taels of silver."

Zhao Tianming was startled and quickly asked, "What are they going to do with so much silver?"

The old man lowered his voice and said, "I followed them quietly and overheard them saying that they were going to give this silver to a man named Yin Tianxi so that he could help them deal with you."

Zhao Tianming frowned deeply. "Who is this Yin Tianxi?"

The old man shook his head. "I don't know either. I just heard them mention this name."

Zhao Tianming fell into deep thought, knowing full well that this matter was no small thing. After a while, he asked again, "Old man, have you heard any other news?"

The old man thought for a moment, "Oh right, they also seemed to say that they wanted to get this done by a certain time, but I didn't hear the specifics."

Zhao Tianming said gratefully, "Grandpa, thank you for telling me all this. Don't worry, with me, Zhao Tianming, around, I will never let you be bullied again."

The old man sighed, "I hope you can defeat that villain Wang Zhiqiang."

After bidding farewell to the old accountant, Zhao Tianming secretly vowed to uncover Wang Zhiqiang's conspiracy and protect himself and those around him.

Upon returning home, Zhao Tianming immediately summoned his confidants and advisors and told them the information he had received from the old accountant.

"We must find out who this Yin Tianxi is as soon as possible," an advisor said.

Zhao Tianming nodded. "That's right. Send someone to inquire and see if we can find any clues about this Yin Tianxi."

Everyone sprang into action, inquiring about Yin Tianxi's whereabouts.

After several days of investigation, some clues were finally made. It turned out that Yin Tianxi was a powerful local tyrant who also had some connections with the government.

Upon learning this, Zhao Tianming became even more worried. "This is troublesome. Wang Zhiqiang is colluding with such people. We must be careful."

The strategist suggested, "Why don't we strike first and expose the collusion between Wang Zhiqiang and Yin Tianxi, putting them at a disadvantage in public opinion?"

After a moment's thought, Zhao Tianming said, "This plan is feasible, but we need more substantial evidence."

Therefore, Zhao Tianming continued to send people to investigate secretly, while also planning his next move.

After obtaining an important clue from the old accountant, Zhao Tianming immediately went to discuss it with Wu Yong. Wu Yong was in his study at the time, pondering a strategy to deal with Wang Zhiqiang. Seeing Zhao Tianming rushing over, he knew that there must be new progress.

Upon seeing Wu Yong, Zhao Tianming, without bothering with pleasantries, urgently said, "Master Wu, I just received important news from an old accountant who was dismissed by Wang Zhiqiang. Wang Zhiqiang, Chen Jiang, and Li Jubao withdrew a thousand taels of silver from the bank and gave it to Yin Tianxi, asking him to help deal with us."

Upon hearing this, Wu Yong's eyes lit up, and he stopped waving his folding fan. "This is indeed a handle to use against Wang Zhiqiang. As long as we can prove that he did give Yin Tianxi money, then Yin Tianxi will be guilty of embezzlement and corruption. In this way, even if Wang Zhiqiang takes the land deed, he won't dare to do anything to us."

Zhao Tianming nodded, a ruthless glint in his eyes. "What Wu Xuejiu said is absolutely right. At worst, we'll fight to the death. But how do we confirm this?"

Wu Yong rose and paced back and forth in the study. After a moment, he said, "This matter requires careful consideration. First, we need to find relevant witnesses from the money shop to prove that Wang Zhiqiang and others did indeed take this thousand taels of silver. Second, we must secretly investigate Yin Tianxi's recent financial transactions to see if there is any record of this silver being deposited. Third, we need to send people to keep an eye on Wang Zhiqiang and Yin Tianxi's every move to see if we can find concrete evidence of their collusion."

Zhao Tianming frowned. "It will be difficult to find witnesses for this money exchange. Since Wang Zhiqiang dared to act this way, he must have made thorough arrangements to keep the people in the money exchange quiet."

Wu Yong smiled slightly, “There are no secrets in this world. We can start with the bank's employees or people who know them well. We can offer them benefits, and perhaps someone will be willing to come forward to testify. As for investigating Yin Tianxi's financial income and expenditure, we need to be careful and not alert him.”

Zhao Tianming said, "The people we send to keep an eye on Wang Zhiqiang and Yin Tianxi must be clever and reliable, and they must not be discovered."

Wu Yong nodded in agreement, "That's natural. We also need to prepare for the worst. If Wang Zhiqiang discovers our actions in advance, he might become desperate and take even more extreme actions. Therefore, we must also be prepared to deal with it."

Zhao Tianming clenched his fists tightly. "Don't worry, Wu Xuejiu, I'm ready to fight him to the end."

Wu Yong patted Zhao Tianming on the shoulder, "Don't be impulsive, proceed according to plan. As long as we are well prepared, we will definitely thwart Wang Zhiqiang's conspiracy."

Subsequently, Zhao Tianming and Wu Yong split up. Zhao Tianming was responsible for finding witnesses from the money shop, while Wu Yong arranged for people to investigate Yin Tianxi's finances and sent people to monitor Wang Zhiqiang and Yin Tianxi.

However, things didn't go smoothly. Zhao Tianming spoke with several clerks at the money exchange, but upon hearing that it was about Wang Zhiqiang, they all shook their heads in fear and dared not say a word. Meanwhile, on Wu Yong's side, Yin Tianxi seemed to have sensed something and increased his guard, putting the investigation in a difficult situation.

Just when everyone was at a loss, an unexpected turning point occurred. Zhao Tianming happened to meet an old colleague who used to work at the money exchange and had now returned to his hometown. Zhao Tianming explained the pros and cons to him and offered him a large sum of money, and the old colleague finally agreed to help testify.

With this crucial witness, Zhao Tianming and Wu Yong's confidence soared, and they accelerated their plans, preparing to deliver a fatal blow to Wang Zhiqiang.