Chapter Eighty-Five: The Setup
In the days that followed, two major things happened at the Southern River dockyard.
First, the Sun brothers’ merchant ships sailed grandly past, their holds packed to the brim.
Second, the Liu Shipping Company’s shop was surrounded by the yamen.
And with today counted in, this made the third time.
A good many onlookers had gathered outside the shop, most of them inland freight merchants, with a smaller number of dealers who had come to deliver goods.
“How strange,” someone in the crowd muttered. “Why has Boss Liu been inspected so often these past few days?”
“Exactly. This never happened before.”
“Could it be that the newly arrived magistrate doesn’t buy Boss Liu’s tricks?”
Just then, the shouts of the Sun brothers rose from the riverbank.
The shabby boats of before had now been replaced by lavish great ships.
“Have you noticed? The volume of cargo moved by the Sun brothers has been growing bigger and bigger lately.”
“Yeah, I heard the two brothers have hooked up with the authorities.”
“So the rumors were true?”
As the words fell, several men at the back exchanged looks.
“Why don’t we go ask?”
With that, they trotted off toward the Sun brothers.
In a tea shop not far away, Li Yunzhi and Lu Xin sat facing each other.
Lu Xin watched the scene with great interest and gave a soft sigh. “Lord Li, this move of yours is truly aimed at the heart as well as the body.”
“Can you speak properly?” Li Yunzhi said with a faint smile. “I call this ridding the people of a scourge.”
“A fine ‘ridding the people of a scourge’ indeed!” Lu Xin cupped his hands in admiration.
The corners of Li Yunzhi’s mouth lifted as he looked at Lu Xin with a subtle, meaningful expression. “Lord Lu, I have something I’d like to ask.”
“Go ahead.”
“By rights, since you had just taken office, Liu Zhen should have sent you quite a lot of gifts, shouldn’t he?”
Lu Xin smiled and nodded.
“And did you accept them?”
“I did. I take all who come.” Lu Xin was quite open and forthright, his tone easy. “Not only did I accept them, I spent them too.”
“River works, repairs for the people’s livelihood, all of that costs money, doesn’t it?”
“Since Boss Liu was willing to subsidize it, why should I, as magistrate of the Southern River, refuse such kindness?”
Li Yunzhi glanced sideways at Lu Xin and gave him a thumbs-up. “If we’re talking about striking at the heart as well as the body, Lord Lu is better at it than I am.”
The two men smiled at each other, and Lu Xin went on, “So before Lord Li left Northern Ridge, this was what you came here to accomplish?”
Li Yunzhi nodded.
Lu Xin said with layered meaning, “You really went to great lengths for two old subordinates, my lord.”
“Of course.” Li Yunzhi chuckled. “Men of my old family cannot be made to suffer such humiliation wherever they go.”
After a pause, he added, “After today, the Southern River offices will likely be busy for a while. I’ll have to trouble you, Lord Lu.”
“A small matter.”
Li Yunzhi gave a slight nod, left the tea money on the table, and turned to depart.
Lu Xin watched his back quietly and murmured to himself:
“Mastermind tactics, hidden depths.”
“Ah, Prime Minister Su, it seems the Crown Prince’s pawn is about to slip out of control.”
Two days later, at the Riverside Inn.
Li Yunzhi was packing his luggage.
The brothers Sun San and Sun Si came running in excitedly, their faces bright with joy.
“Young Master!”
“They’ve arrested that Liu fellow!”
Li Yunzhi turned slowly, as calm and unruffled as drifting clouds. “That man has committed crimes enough to last a lifetime. Prison was only a matter of time.”
Sun Si took a gulp of water and said excitedly, “Young Master, you don’t know this, but this morning the freight merchants nearly trampled down my brother’s and my residences. They kept saying that from now on they’d follow our lead!”
“My brother and I have finally held our heads high!”
Li Yunzhi smiled and signaled for Eleven to close the door.
“Young Master.” Sun San was not as thrilled as Sun Si. Brow slightly furrowed, he said calmly, “How did you know those freight merchants would report Liu Zhen’s crimes to the yamen?”
Li Yunzhi gestured for the brothers to sit, then explained at length.
“Liu Zhen has monopolized the market these years, making the dockyards a filthy mess.”
“A few days ago he came under official suppression, and the two of you rose with the tide.”
“Those freight merchants would naturally kick him when he was down and come over to your side.”
“After all, everyone is just looking to cling to a stronger thigh; whose thigh it is makes little difference.”
Sun San drew in a long breath and recalled everything Li Yunzhi had done over this period.
With only a single move to ride the momentum and create momentum.
He had not only dealt with Liu Zhen, that local tyrant, but also made the two brothers the masters of the Southern River dockyards.
“Brilliant!” Sun San could not help but clap and praise him. “From beginning to end, the Young Master never showed his face. With only a small scheme, he drove Liu Zhen into a dead end!”
Sun Si took up the thread. “I’m afraid Liu Zhen would never have imagined, even if he racked his brain, that all of this came from someone he had never even met.”
“The Young Master has the bearing of a prime minister!”
Just as the two brothers were lost in admiration for Li Yunzhi’s wisdom, Li Yunzhi suddenly spoke gravely.
“No.”
“You must remember this: this matter has nothing whatsoever to do with me.”
“It was entirely thanks to the two of you that Liu Zhen was brought down!”
His tone carried an unmistakable note of command.
The two men froze, bewildered.
Sun San was the first to grasp his meaning, and said in a low voice:
“Liu Zhen was not that clever. If the Young Master had appeared in person, he could have been taken down without the least effort.”
“You deliberately concealed your identity this time, so there should be some other purpose.”
Li Yunzhi gave a slight nod, his gaze deep.
“From this day on, the Southern River freight network will be under your control.”
“I need you to do something for me.”
Sun San and Sun Si exchanged a look, then answered in unison, “Young Master, just give the order.”
Li Yunzhi spread out a map, took up a brush, and gently tapped the tip against the paper.
“The waterways of the Southern River are well connected. It is the transport hub of the entire Great Qian.”
“You will use the Southern River as your base and radiate outward across the whole realm to build a freight network.”
“Use the identity of freight merchants as cover, and secretly gather intelligence from all regions.”
“I will open Zhang family umbrella shops in every prefecture and county. The shops will serve both as contact points and as relay stations for information.”
Sun Si listened in a daze, but Sun San already understood everything.
“So that’s why the Young Master suddenly wanted to help Miss Zhang open branch stores.”
“This is a plan to lay out the whole world!”
Li Yunzhi remained silent, his expression still solemn.
If he wanted to preserve himself amid the open and covert struggle between the Crown Prince and Su Ming, he had to know the movements of all sides.
The Crown Prince held great power in the capital.
To establish his own intelligence network under that man’s nose would be no easy thing.
Lu Xin belonged to Su Ming. At least until the Crown Prince was brought down, they were on the same boat.
So beginning with the Southern River was the best choice.
“Young Master, with such far-reaching plans, could it be that you are preparing to return to Northern Ridge?”
Sun San was visibly excited now, his hands trembling slightly.
“Not exactly.” Li Yunzhi smiled faintly. “I merely do not wish to be used as someone else’s chess piece.”
Sun Si was instantly displeased and slapped the table hard. “Who would dare? Who would dare use the Young Master as a pawn?!”
“My father-in-law,” Li Yunzhi said without the slightest concealment.
“Who?” The two brothers were dumbstruck. “Yo-young Master is married?”
“Yes.” Li Yunzhi sighed in helplessness. “An adopted son-in-law, too.”
“This is outrageous!” The two brothers slammed the table in fury and said in unison, “The Young Master is the noble heir of Northern Ridge. How could he suffer such humiliation!”
“Young Master, just say the word, and we’ll kill him for you!”
“Go on, then,” Li Yunzhi said lazily. “The Prime Minister’s Manor. Su Ming.”
“Su...” The two of them fell silent at once. Scratching their heads, they pretended nothing had happened.
Su Ming’s ruthlessness was known to all under heaven.
Even the Emperor had to give him some measure of face. He was truly a man second to none!
“Th-the Prime Minister’s Manor... that’s not necessarily unacceptable, right, Si’er...”