I Rely on Beauty to Stabilize the Country - Chap 54
Chapter 54
Once Gu Yuanbai returned to the court, everyone gradually calmed down.
The person who had been secretly watching the assassins delivered a message to Gu Yuanbai. After gathering information about the capital, the group of assassins sent by the Jiashen Society hastily left before the city gates closed yesterday.
As Gu Yuanbai listened to the news while tidying up, he smiled faintly and said, “A new batch of personnel from the Supervisory Office has already arrived in both southern Jing and Jiangnan regions.”
The majority of the Jiashen Society’s forces were in southern Jing, as it was chaotic and convenient for hiding. A smaller portion was in the Jiangnan region. Unlike southern Jing, where the rebel forces would be directly crushed, they would likely resort to coercion and temptation when dealing with the wealthy and influential figures in the prosperous Jiangnan region.
Gu Yuanbai tossed the towel into the basin and glanced briefly at the people around him. Even Xue Yuan failed to hold his gaze for more than a moment. Finally, Gu Yuanbai’s gaze settled on the topographical map hanging on the wall.
It was a map of the Daheng Dynasty that he had just ordered to be placed there.
At the bottom left corner of the map were southern Jing and Jiangnan.
Gu Yuanbai focused his gaze on this area and let out a sigh, saying, “It’s finally about to begin.”
He had long been coveting the various mines in southern Jing.
The terrain of southern Jing was naturally fortified, surrounded by mountains on three sides, with only one side open, facing Jiangnan directly.
To the south, it bordered Guangdong Nan; to the left, it connected with Guangdong Xi. Both were places where the imperial court exiled serious offenders. For example, the former deputy chief of the Imperial Censorate, Feng Chengzhi, was exiled to Guangdong Xi.
Such a place possessed natural defenses, and the complex network of powerful local forces believed that the emperor could not deploy troops to suppress them, which was the main reason.
Among the local powerful forces in southern Jing, the Lu family in Huainan held a prominent position. If we talk about the top figures here, the Chen family, as the leading local force, took the first place. Their ancestors were government officials, and their connections with officials were intricate. They were ostentatious and arrogant to the point where if a local official accidentally collided with them while riding a horse on the street, they would openly drag the official down and beat them.
Engaging in murder, controlling government affairs, and levying unauthorized taxes, the heavy taxation burden left the common people in a miserable state.
As time went on and their influence grew, southern Jing had already formed a political power led by the Chen family.
And these powerful figures were all the remnants of Lu Feng’s control over the court.
The head of the Chen family was called Chen Jinyin. Chen Jinyin was already old, and his youthful shrewdness had been replaced by greed. He no longer had the drive to strive and instead enjoyed the fruits of his labor. He didn’t care about the other members of the family, but when it came to his mines, that was a different story.
As one grows old, they also learn to indulge in luxury. Chen Jinyin used the finest porcelain from the imperial kiln, his fruits were sourced from as far as Yongxing in the north and Liangzhe in the east, the freshest batch of fruits in the entire country. He ate good rice and the most tender cuts of meat from livestock.
Luxury had intoxicated Chen Jinyin’s thinking, and it had also intoxicated the entire Chen family’s thinking. If the Chen family indulged so extravagantly, who among the other powerful figures would willingly be inferior to them?
When those in power were absorbed in pleasure, the common people beneath them suffered even greater hardships.
When Gu Yuanbai had his people track the Jiashen Society members all the way to southern Jing and Jiangnan, he took the opportunity to place his own men in these two regions. In early April, he had his people disguise themselves as a merchant caravan and staged a trade war in the southern Jing area.
He conducted this trade war in a highly publicized manner, completely adopting Guan Zhong’s strategy, except he replaced the act of buying deer with buying mines using money.
Mines were a significant geographical advantage in southern Jing, and when Gu Yuanbai’s people swiftly delivered the heads to the Jiashen Society, it was also in April.
At the time, it was the sowing season, and according to Gu Yuanbai’s plan, the people disguised as a merchant caravan stayed in southern Jing for two months. They fully showcased the grandeur of the prosperous area as merchant caravans, declaring, “We only need ores, any kind of ores will do, as much as you have. As long as we find a mine, we can exchange the ores for money.”
The caravan sought ores while generously distributing money. As soon as they obtained the ores, they immediately exchanged them for money. This successful approach made the farmers in southern Jing forget about their unplanted fields and they went to the mountains daily with their hoes to dig and search for mines.
News of this event reached the ears of the local powerful figures led by the Chen family. They went even further and suspended all the work of their servants and tenants, making them spend day and night searching for mines in the mountains and then selling them to Gu Yuanbai’s caravan.
Two months later, after the sowing season had passed, the fields in southern Jing were left barren, and Gu Yuanbai’s caravan departed. The common people had no choice but to continue mining and sell the ores to passing merchants. Surprisingly, many people earned more from mining than they did from farming.
And half a month ago, people in southern Jing unexpectedly discovered a gold mine!
The excitement spread throughout southern Jing, from the powerful figures to the common people. Mining became even more fervent. Naturally, the Chen family claimed ownership of the gold mine. With this gold mine, they possessed a literal golden mountain. Chen Jinyin had completely lost himself in the mines, sending all his servants and tenants to dig for ores.
As the people witnessed the actual excavation of the gold mine and the previous ores being sold, who cared about food? They could earn money by mining, and with money, couldn’t they buy food?
Jiangnan was known as the land of fish and rice, where the rice grown was fragrant and sweet. The people from southern Jing transported food, opened food shops, and as long as they had money, they could buy food without having to cultivate their own land. They could spend the remaining time mining and earning money. Wasn’t this better than farming?
Therefore, even now, the food in southern Jing was purchased with money. They couldn’t keep up with the sowing season, and all of southern Jing devoted itself to the passion for mining. Under such circumstances, Gu Yuanbai easily took control of the trade war.
On this day, Chen Jinyin was basking in the sun and enjoying iced tea in his residence.
His sweaty youngest son walked over and plopped down, picking up a piece of ice that hadn’t melted and stuffed it into his mouth. He casually complained, “Those managers are really troublesome. Just because the rice and grains from Jiangnan have increased in price, they insisted on dragging me over to discuss it.”
Chen Jinyin replied, “They’ve never seen gold and silver mountains. They even want to take advantage of these trivial benefits.”
The youngest son smirked, “I think so too. We can afford it anyway, so let them raise the prices. I guess the people from Jiangnan are envious of us, thinking that our family has discovered a gold mine, so they deliberately increased the prices.”
Chen Jinyin’s heart had already been covered in the golden glow of gold. His old eyes were hazy, and he couldn’t think clearly anymore. After hearing his youngest son’s words, he also felt the same and cursed, “Those people in Jiangnan are so poor that all they can do are these petty tricks! They raised the prices because they know we will buy. Well, I won’t buy. I already have a gold mine. I’ll eat the rice from wherever I want. Even the emperor doesn’t eat as well as I do. Didn’t we buy some good rice before? Let’s eat that first.”
“Alright,” the youngest son agreed, “I’ll take care of it.”
But as he stood up, he suddenly faced the sun and had a moment of dizziness. A terrible and absurd thought emerged in his mind.
He turned to look at Chen Jinyin and hesitantly said, “Father, now that we have the gold mine, will the court send troops to attack us?”
This ridiculous statement made Chen Jinyin burst into laughter, even tears streaming down his face. He made a bold declaration, “Let them come and attack! I want to see what kind of troops the court will send to attack me! I hold the power over the government offices in southern Jing. Here, I am the local emperor. The court sending troops to attack? Let them come, hahaha.”
Upon hearing his words, the youngest son realized he had been overthinking. He quickly left to reject the inflated prices of the merchants from Jiangnan who deliberately manipulated the grain prices.
And so, half a month later…
Ningyuan County, Jiashen Society.
Xu Xiong-Yuan was engaged in a conversation with Liu Yan. Their expressions were intimate, indicating a high level of trust between them.
Zhao Zhou asked, “In the past half month, the Chen family discovered a gold mine, and the entire southern Jing region has been caught up in the enthusiasm for mining. Liu Xiong, why did you prevent the people from the Jiashen Society from going to mine?”
Liu Yan sighed, “Zhao Xiong, haven’t you thought about it? Although the gold and silver mines are tempting for us, this is southern Jing, a place filled with chaotic forces. Those local strongmen can’t even be restrained by the emperor himself. Our Jiashen Society is already struggling to operate in secret. How can we possibly have more control over them than the emperor? In this situation, even if we discover a gold mine, in the end, it will be snatched away by the Chen family.”
Zhao Zhou had to admit that Liu Yan’s words made sense.
Xu Xiong-Yuan also found it reasonable, but the implication that he was less influential than the emperor made him very unhappy. His smile towards Liu Yan faded, and he said, “Are these strongmen really that powerful? Do they have troops?”
Liu Yan naturally smiled and replied, “They don’t have troops, but when you combine their household servants and tenants, they have over two to three thousand people. Moreover, they have intricate and complex relationships with officials, using their influence to bully and expand their power.”
Xu Xiong-Yuan discontentedly said, “How can their two thousand household servants compare to my five thousand elite soldiers!”
Involuntarily, he thought that if even small merchants could seize a gold mine, then it should be an effortless task for his five thousand elite soldiers to claim it.
Zhao Zhou seemed to know what he was thinking and repeated word for word the thoughts in Xu Xiong-Yuan’s mind.
Liu Yan was astonished and immediately tried to dissuade him, “Absolutely not! These local strongmen have various connections, both close and distant. If the general tries to forcibly seize the gold mine, anyone related to the Chen family will rise up against us! The authorities will become aware of the general’s presence, and they might even send troops to suppress us. Besides, such actions would be no different from acting like bandits.”
Xu Xiong-Yuan and Zhao Zhou exchanged a glance and thought together that Liu Yan was good in many ways, but he was too narrow-minded like a scholar.
How could this be called seizing? Even if they truly obtained the gold mine, it would only be a gift from the Chen family.
They tacitly skipped over this topic and reassured Liu Yan with smiles. However, in their hearts, they were already contemplating whether it was worth the risk of being discovered by the authorities to snatch that gold mine.
If the people sent to assassinate the emperor in the capital succeeded, that would be great. Xu Xiong-Yuan devoutly thought that if the Buddha truly existed, he should protect him, the true dragon. Let the people in the capital successfully assassinate that wretched emperor.
Once the emperor was dead, the court would have no time to bother with the Jiashen Society. With no imperial heir, Xu Xiong-Yuan didn’t believe that those imperial relatives could avoid causing chaos.
And once chaos broke out, it would be the time for him, the true dragon, Xu Xiong-Yuan, to rise.
At that time, forget about the Chen family’s gold mine, the entire world’s gold mines would belong to him, Xu Xiong-Yuan!
Hahaha, how exhilarating!
