Dream of the Red Chamber: Rising from Refugees to Sweep Across the Land

On the Yellow River embankment, Liu Feng accompanied Lin Ruhai on two rounds of walking.

A wave half a person high surged from the center of the river, splashing water ten feet high on the embankment, before helplessly receding.

"It's windy, let's go back." Liu Feng tied the cloak he was holding around Lin Ruhai's neck.

It was already the end of November, and the Yellow River had been blocked for nearly half a month. Liu Feng knew that if Lin Ruhai hadn't come to take charge, given the motives of those corrupt officials, the disaster would have dragged on until the end of the year, or even after the New Year. Otherwise, how would they have profited from it?

"Yes, it's time to go back."

Lin Ruhai turned around and looked in the direction of Yangzhou, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

Liu Feng saw it all.

He was certain that this was Lin Daiyu's father, who appeared gentle and refined, with a humble demeanor, but was in fact ruthless and decisive.

Originally, it was thought that dismissing and imprisoning the prefect of Xuzhou would be enough, but unexpectedly, this man went and wiped out the entire Xuzhou officialdom. The corrupt officials were escorted to the capital, while the wicked bureaucrats offered sacrifices to the river on the day the breach was closed. Liu Feng led his men to do it.

Liu Feng is now the captain of Lin Ruhai's personal guard, with over thirty men under his command, all of whom are skilled fighters.

The sound of horses' hooves approached. Liu Feng turned his head and glanced back, then whispered, "Sir, Uncle Lin is here."

Uncle Lin dismounted and strode over, taking a letter from his pocket and handing it to Lin Ruhai: "Master, a letter from Yangzhou."

Lin Ruhai took the letter, tore open the seal and read it. He snorted coldly and said to Uncle Lin, "Pass down the order: we will set off for Yangzhou first thing tomorrow morning."

He then looked at Liu Feng and said, "After nightfall, you will bring your men back to Yangzhou with me by fast boat."

"Yes." Liu Feng thought to himself that the journey from Xuzhou to Yangzhou was going smoothly. Although the water level was a bit low, the fast boat had a shallow draft and a steady speed, making it faster than riding a horse. He estimated that he would arrive in Yangzhou in the first half of the night after tomorrow.

Liu Feng has never been to Yangzhou. Sigh, will he ever get to see Lin Daiyu? She's the legendary Crimson Pearl Fairy!

I wonder what she actually looks like. Is she prettier than the actresses in TV dramas, or...?

After taking a couple of steps, seeing that Liu Feng was still standing in the same spot and hadn't followed, Lin Ruhai turned around and called out, "What are you thinking about?"

"Huh? Oh..." Liu Feng finally came to his senses and quickly chased after him.

......................

Yangzhou is crisscrossed by a dense network of rivers, with three horizontal and seven vertical waterways, and dozens of large and small waterways. Wharves, ferry crossings, and bridges are everywhere, with a wharf every few steps, earning it the nickname "Imperial Wharf."

Here, major rivers converge, and large ships sail in droves, making salt transportation extremely developed. As a result, smuggling is rampant, and almost half of the imperial court's annual salt tax is secretly lost through these docks.

More than a dozen large ships were lined up densely at the dock outside the city.

Several burly men were busily directing people to carry bags of salt onto the boat.

There aren't many salt bags left piled up on the shore.

A burly man spoke up: "Finally, we're almost done installing it. My eyelids have been twitching all day; I had a feeling something bad was going to happen."

The man next to him scoffed, "Feudal superstition."

Another man chuckled and joked, "You didn't say that last time. A twitching left eye means good fortune. You believed it more than anyone else."

The burly man said matter-of-factly, "Good things naturally come true."

Everyone laughed at what he said.

The river wind was biting cold at night, and the group kept stamping their feet to keep warm.

"Damn it, that bastard Lin Ruhai cut off people's livelihoods; the death of his son is retribution!"

"Retribution? If there really is retribution, then it shouldn't have been Lin Ruhai's son who died!"

"Oh, is there a story behind that?"

"Of course there's a story. Do you know why Lin Ruhai is so fixated on those families in Xincheng? It's because of his son... Unfortunately, there's no evidence. Those families are all backed by powerful officials from Jiangnan, and I've heard they even have connections in the capital. Lin Ruhai can only..."

A manager walked over and shouted angrily, "Are you tired of living?! Who gave you the right to talk nonsense here?!"

The burly men immediately shut their mouths.

With a snort, the foreman said, "We'll set sail once the loading is complete."

Just then, several dark figures flashed across the surface of the canal.

A burly man with sharp eyes exclaimed, "It's the Clippers!"

"Oh no, Lin Ruhai is back!"

The foreman turned and ran to the boat, shouting, "Set sail!"

The boatmen on board were thrown into chaos. They hurriedly raised the anchor, grabbed the poles, and tried desperately to propel the boat away from the dock.

"Whoosh—"

The steward screamed and staggered to the ground, clutching his right leg where he had been shot with an arrow, looking behind him in horror.

Several burly men immediately drew their knives, shielding the manager behind them. The blades gleamed coldly under the dim light of the dock lanterns as they stared intently at the approaching shadowy figure.

As they drew closer, they saw Lin Ruhai.

Holding a bow and arrow, Liu Feng led several salt soldiers, protecting Lin Ruhai as they slowly stepped forward.

Seeing a boat move, Liu Feng shot an arrow at it. The boatman on the pontoon screamed and ran into the cabin, clutching his wounded arm. Another boatman, unwilling to give up, grabbed the pole and tried to steer the boat away from the dock.

Liu Feng raised his hand and fired an arrow, hitting the boatman squarely in the neck. The boatman groaned and fell straight into the water.

The people on the other ships dared not move.

The manager then forced himself to his feet and looked at Lin Ruhai: "Let us go, and all this salt at the dock is yours."

Lin Ruhai remained silent.

The manager gritted his teeth: "I'll give you half!"

Lin Ruhai looked at him.

The supervisor was furious: "You, surnamed Lin, don't push your luck!"

Lin Ruhai looked at him, but still didn't say anything.

"Judging by the time, the main force of the salt troops is still on their way, and you barely have any men with you!"

The foreman grinned maliciously. "Brothers, if that Lin fellow is going to kill us all, we're all doomed anyway! Kill him, and we might have a chance to live!"

Upon hearing this, the boatmen grabbed their weapons and jumped off the boat.

Just then, a burst of gunfire erupted on the river. No one was hit; the ropes of the sails had been broken.

"A musket!" The boatmen panicked instantly.

The person in charge said, "Don't worry! They're outnumbered, they won't be able to fire many rounds of muskets..."

That's true, but nobody wants to get shot.

Before the man in charge could speak, Liu Feng struck him again in the left leg with an arrow, forcing him to kneel on the ground.

Lin Ruhai spoke up: "Drop your weapons."

Seeing that the other side was still hesitating, Liu Feng raised his hand and fired two arrows, and the two burly men in the front row fell to the ground with screams.

"Clang—"

It's unclear who let go first, but the ground was quickly littered with weapons...

"This is outrageous!"

Before dawn, the news reached the salt merchants.

During the reign of Emperor Daqian, the Lianghuai salt industry implemented the "Salt Management System," where the imperial court allocated salt permits to designated salt merchants, forming a monopoly system. This system facilitated the management and handling of donations apportioned by the imperial court (such as military supplies and disaster relief).

The silver used by Lin Ruhai for disaster relief and the reconstruction of the Yellow River dike in Xuzhou was donated by salt merchants who reluctantly agreed to it.

During Liu Jing's reign, the total number of merchants remained stable at eight, which led to the saying "Eight Great Salt Merchants".

These eight families are the Wang, Jiang, Huang, Bai, Cheng, Bao, Ma, and Hu families. Each family has the support of gentry and officials from Jiangnan, and they also have intertwined interests, forming a complex network of relationships.

The current head of the General Merchants is the Wang family. When the founding emperor made his southern tour, the Wang family ancestors even received him, indicating that their relationship with the Zhen family of Jiangnan is quite special.

Smuggling salt wasn't limited to just one or two households; every salt merchant in the Huai River region was involved. There was no way around it; the profits were simply too high, making it impossible for anyone to resist.

Therefore, the eight major salt merchants gathered at the Salt Merchants Association to discuss countermeasures.

The speaker was Mr. Ma, the business owner.

Mr. Wang, sitting in the main seat, glanced at him indifferently, as if to say: It's not like your people were arrested, why are you in such a hurry?

Mr. Ma, a straightforward businessman, said, "Why are you looking at me? Our eight families rise and fall together. If that Lin fellow manages to open a breach in this salt smuggling business, none of us will escape; we'll all be finished!"

Bai, whose subordinate had been arrested, quickly chimed in, "Old Ma is right, we must think of a solution immediately!"

The others remained silent, some sipping their tea with their heads down, some yawning absentmindedly, and others closing their eyes to rest, appearing as if it were none of their business.

Knowing that no result could be reached through discussion, General Manager Wang slowly stood up: "It's almost dawn, let's go together to pay our respects to the Salt Commissioner."

"Yes, the salt certificate was originally the office of the Salt Transport Commissioner..."

"Old Ma!"

Mr. Jiang, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them. Mr. Ma, realizing he had spoken out of turn, quickly shut his mouth.

Mr. Wang shook his head slightly and walked straight out.

He knew better than anyone else that this time, the emperor was truly serious...