Chapter 361: First Step

Inside the Jiaofang Division, amidst the bustling crowd, the Yuan family of Runan and the Yang family of Hongnong had raised the ransom for the Wang family daughter to seventy thousand strings of cash.

Outside the Jiaofang Division, Shen Ye looked at Chen Ji and asked with a smile, "What's wrong? Don't you trust me? I am, after all, the poetry champion of the Huqiu Poetry Society and have been a guest of many nobles. It's not uncommon for me to know some salt merchants."

Chen Ji smiled and replied, "Then please."

As Huang Que boarded the carriage, Steward Gui proactively approached him, saying, "Allow me to assist you."

As he spoke, Steward Gui used his left hand to steady Huang Que's arm, subtly checking his sleeves for any weapons. Simultaneously, his right hand supported Huang Que's back, his palm quickly sweeping past the area around his waist.

In an instant, the search was completed without anyone noticing.

When Shen Ye boarded the carriage, Steward Gui discreetly searched him as well.

Only after confirming that neither Huang Que nor Shen Ye carried any weapons did he relax.

Chen Ji observed this scene impassively, and a thought suddenly struck him.

Now that the succession dispute had begun, Steward Gui seemed even more concerned about Chen Ji's life than Chen Ji himself.

At this moment, Steward Gui turned to Chen Ji, his expression unreadable, and said, "Young master, please get in!"

Chen Ji stepped into the carriage, instructing, "To Meihua Ferry, stop at the back gate!"

Steward Gui sat in the driver's seat, but his body was slightly angled towards the carriage. If anyone were to attack Chen Ji, he could immediately intervene.

The carriage swayed as it headed towards the outer city.

After getting into the carriage, Chen Ji no longer discussed business. Instead, he smiled at Huang Que and asked, "Brother Huang, how are things between you and Miss Qi? At the last literary gathering, I saw you two often exchange glances, and even today, you keep looking at her!"

Huang Que stammered, "Miss Qi merely appreciates my writings. My dear brother, please don't make wild guesses and ruin Miss Qi's reputation!"

Shen Ye patted Huang Que on the shoulder and said, "Brother Huang, don't beat around the bush with Brother Chen Ji. You and Miss Zhaoyun are clearly in love, and now Master Qi Xianshu also looks upon you favorably. What's there to hide?"

Huang Que sighed, "I'm worried that..."

Shen Ye interjected, "You're worried that getting close to Miss Qi will make the literati in the capital say you're climbing the social ladder or taking shortcuts? Brother Huang, with your talent, even without clinging to high branches, becoming a *jinshi* is well within your grasp. Why bother with idle gossip?"

Huang Que shook his head, "I've failed the examinations twice; I don't possess the talent Brother Shen speaks of! And I'm not worried about people accusing me of clinging to power; for Miss Qi, bearing some criticism is nothing. My concern is that I'm not worthy of the Qi family!"

As they spoke, the carriage drove out of Yanle Alley and onto Chongwenmen Street.

Seeing that Chen Ji was taking his time getting to business, Huang Que finally lost his patience. "Brother Chen Ji," he asked, "you mentioned earlier that you have three hundred thousand salt certificates?"

Chen Ji offered a slight smile, adopting the manner of a young master from a prominent family. "That's right! My family has entrusted the salt business to me, but I find managing the salt house too troublesome. It would be much simpler to just sell off the salt certificates, saving me effort and worry. I'd rather spend that free time enjoying an outing with a few friends!"

Huang Que's heart stirred, and he cautiously probed, "How much silver does my dear brother intend to charge for these salt certificates?"

Chen Ji smiled reassuringly, "Brother Huang, there's no hurry to discuss this now. Let's talk it over slowly while we drink once we reach Meihua Ferry!"

After the carriage passed through Zhengyang Gate, it arrived at the back gate of Meihua Ferry in the time it takes an incense stick to burn.

The man at the gate bowed immediately upon seeing Chen Ji alight from the carriage, saying, "Master!" Chen Ji subtly pressed his left thumb into the base of his little finger, signaling that outsiders were present.

Understanding the signal, the man gently opened a narrow brown door beside him. "I'll lead the way, gentlemen!" Once inside, the man guided Chen Ji towards Meirei Tower.

Huang Que looked around curiously and asked, "It's usually bustling in Baishun Alley, so why is Meihua Ferry so quiet?"

The guide explained, "Sir, you may not know, but recently, the 'Four Dreams of Bianliang' performance at the Jiaofang Division has become famous throughout the capital. Also, the courtesan Willow from Jinling arrived in the capital a few days ago and is staying at the White Jade Garden of the Sanshan Guild. So, for the past few days, patrons in the capital have either flocked to White Jade Garden or the Jiaofang Division, leaving our Meihua Ferry a bit quiet."

Arriving in front of Meirei Tower, the guide pushed open the vermillion red doors.

Huang Que and Shen Ye were astonished to see that the spacious main hall of the covered tower was empty, with over a dozen large, open boxes casually placed on the floor.

The boxes were full of salt certificates, and a few more were scattered on the floor.

Huang Que quickly stepped forward and picked up a salt certificate from the floor, carefully examining the text on it: "Collection No. 2369, hired today by the Chen Family Salt House, to transport two hundred *jin* of official salt to Gongyi County, Yuzhou."

On the corner of the salt certificate, there was also an exquisite vermillion red seal. The seal bore the character "Chen," with a strange symbol next to it.

"These are the first batch of salt certificates from the 32nd year of Jianing!"

Huang Que carefully caressed the salt certificate, while Chen Ji made to go upstairs, saying, "Brother Huang, these salt certificates aren't going anywhere. Let's go upstairs for a drink first; the banquet is already prepared!"

Huang Que, however, put aside any thought of drinking. "Brother Chen Ji, what price are you setting for these salt certificates?"

Chen Ji smiled and said, "My Chen family only pays four *qian* of silver to exchange these salt certificates from the Ministry of Revenue. How about selling them to you, Brother Huang, for one *liang* of silver each?"

Huang Que was startled, feeling quite tempted.

But after a moment's thought, he sighed softly, "The price my dear brother offers truly incites greed! However, I cannot take such advantage of you. These salt certificates can easily be sold to any salt merchant for two *liang* of silver. So, I'll buy them for two *liang* of silver each. Even at two *liang*, it's still an enormous bargain, as the Eight Grand Merchants sell their salt certificates to us for four *liang* apiece!"

This time, it was Chen Ji's turn to be surprised.

Huang Que looked a bit troubled. "My dear brother, in the past, when we bought salt certificates from the Eight Grand Merchants, we always pooled our money with other salt merchants. Coming here in such a hurry, I'm afraid I can't make a decision on my own!"

When doing business with smaller salt merchants, the Eight Grand Merchants always sold salt certificates in bundles of ten thousand. If a smaller salt merchant didn't have enough money, sometimes hundreds of people would pool their funds for a single order, then privately divide the certificates after purchase.

Chen Ji smiled and said, "It's alright, Brother Huang. You can start by buying a hundred certificates. If that's too much, even ten is fine. My salt certificates can be sold individually!"

Huang Que's eyes lit up. "Is that true?" Shen Ye chuckled, patting his shoulder, "When has Brother Chen Ji ever misled you?"

Huang Que quickly selected ten salt certificates, then hesitated for a moment before saying, "My dear brother, I need to send someone on horseback to Changlu Salt Field to exchange these certificates for salt and see if they are truly valid. Then I'll... Oh, pardon me, pardon me, I am being too suspicious!"

When salt merchants used salt certificates to obtain salt, the salt fields would stamp the certificates. This stamp was necessary for the certificates to be recognized at various checkpoints.

Only salt certificates that could be exchanged for salt were valuable; otherwise, they were worthless.

Chen Ji smiled and said, "No worries, Brother Huang. Feel free to take them and verify. If they can't be exchanged for salt, you can come back to me for a refund!"

Huang Que cupped his hands to Chen Ji and Shen Ye in farewell. "I'll take my leave first. If this deal works out, I'll host a banquet to entertain both of you!"

With that, he left Meihua Ferry without looking back.

Chen Ji looked at Shen Ye and asked curiously, "Brother Shen, aren't you buying any salt certificates?"

Shen Ye closed a box, then calmly picked up his robes and sat on the lid. "If I didn't know you so well, my dear brother, I might genuinely have been fooled by you!"

Chen Ji feigned confusion. "What do you mean, Brother Shen?"

Shen Ye laughed heartily. "It's no secret that you're battling the Chen family salt house. The Chen family salt house isn't selling a single *jin* of salt anymore, and it's already a big commotion in the outer city! If you truly didn't care about the salt business, why would you be so eager to seize the salt certificates?"

Chen Ji scrutinized Shen Ye, realizing that he was more than just a "poetry champion."

Shen Ye continued, "My dear brother, you're pretending to be a profligate young master from a wealthy family, lowering the price of the salt certificates so much, but all you want to do is use me and Brother Huang to attract more salt merchants here! I bet there isn't even a banquet prepared upstairs in your Meirei Tower!"

Chen Ji no longer concealed his intentions. He found another box and sat opposite Shen Ye. "Indeed, no banquet has been prepared!"

Shen Ye's smile deepened. "I hope you won't be so stingy next time, my dear brother; if you're putting on a show, you should go all out! But I am curious, what do you intend to do by attracting so many small salt merchants? The three hundred thousand salt certificates you have aren't enough to satisfy all the salt merchants in the land; they want more than you can imagine!"

Chen Ji said impassively, "Why don't you guess what I intend to do, Brother Shen?"

Shen Ye shook his head. "I can't guess!"

Chen Ji probed, "Brother Shen, do you intend to expose me?"

Shen Ye laughed heartily. "Why would I expose you, my dear brother? Not only will I not expose you, but I'll also write over a dozen letters tonight and ask the capital's post station to send them south by fast horse, informing all the salt merchants I know about these salt certificates. Consider it me helping you out!"

Chen Ji frowned slightly. "What do you want, Brother Shen?"

Shen Ye shook his head. "I'm simply very curious. I don't seek any other reward; I just want to see what astonishing feat you'll accomplish next!"

Chen Ji suddenly changed the topic. "Since Brother Shen is willing to help, perhaps you could help with one more thing! I'm curious: from which salt houses do smaller salt merchants like Brother Huang usually buy their salt certificates?"

Shen Ye pondered. "Salt merchants from Lianghuai usually buy from Caoji and Yangji Salt Houses, while those from Liangzhe buy from Xuji and Zhangji."

Chen Ji thought for a moment, then asked, "Why do the Eight Grand Merchants sell salt certificates to other salt merchants? Wouldn't it be better for them to keep them and convert them into silver themselves?"

Shen Ye sighed, "It's simply because the imperial court levies too much salt tax!"

"Salt tax?" Chen Ji was puzzled. "Isn't the salt tax already included in the salt certificates? Salt merchants pay the salt tax when they purchase the certificates from the Ministry of Revenue. So why is there talk of additional levied salt tax?"

Shen Ye patiently explained, "The imperial court's collection of salt tax actually forces those large salt merchants to buy new salt certificates! For example, the Yangji Salt House already has four hundred thousand salt certificates stockpiled, and the Caoji Salt House has even more, nine hundred thousand. They clearly don't need to buy any more salt certificates this year, but if they don't, where will the court's money come from? The court can't possibly receive no salt tax revenue this year, can it? So, the court can only compel them to buy more!"

Chen Ji suddenly understood.

Because the salt certificates were priced far below market value, the silver the court earned from selling them annually was insufficient.

And because the silver was insufficient, the court couldn't allow salt merchants to pre-purchase certificates for next year, the year after, or the year after that. This method, a temporary solution that caused greater problems, was the reason for the over-issuance of salt certificates.

As for Wu Xuanyi, Wu Xiu's distant relative, after he became the third-rank Salt Transportation Commissioner, the reason he could increase salt taxes by twenty percent was simply by leveraging his connection to Wu Xiu to make the salt merchants purchase an additional twenty percent.

Chen Ji suddenly asked, "How many salt certificates do the Eight Grand Merchants hold now?"

Shen Ye lowered his head in thought. "Probably around two million certificates, though I don't know the exact number. After all, there's no way to verify how many they've sold privately!"

Chen Ji said solemnly, "Thank you!"

Shen Ye stood up, smoothed the wrinkles from his clothes, and walked out of Meirei Tower. "I'm off now. I'll come back tomorrow!"

Chen Ji asked curiously, "The imperial examinations are approaching, Brother Shen. Aren't you going to study?"

Shen Ye walked away, laughing loudly. "It's as good as mine; it'll be a breeze."

Once he was out of earshot, Paoge came down the stairs. "He's quite an arrogant scholar!"

Chen Ji turned to look. "Where is Miss Zhang?"

Paoge explained, "Miss Zhang said her mother has put her under house arrest, so from now on, she can only come in the mornings. In the afternoons, she has to stay home and learn needlework! Yet she managed to sort out all these salt certificates in just one morning, and even learned all thirty-six oaths of the Hongmen, all the codes, and all the hand gestures. How can such an extraordinary woman be sent home to learn needlework? Isn't it a pity?"

Chen Ji looked at the moonlight outside Meirei Tower. "In this era, people are bound by countless rules set by dogmas. Every rule is a rope, tying down each individual!"

Paoge mused, "Why don't you..."

Chen Ji suddenly stood up, interrupting Paoge. "Paoge, a journey of a thousand miles has finally begun with its first step, but it is *only* the first step! It will take Huang Que's men six days to travel from the capital to Changlu Salt Field and back. I'm also heading back and will return in six days!"

Paoge scratched his scalp with his pinky finger. "You're clearly a smart kid, so why are you so indecisive on this matter?"

Chen Ji left Meihua Ferry, boarded Steward Gui's carriage, and leaned against the carriage wall, closing his eyes to rest.

Steward Gui flicked the whip, and after the carriage had pulled away, he quietly asked, "How many salt certificates did you sell tonight?"

Chen Ji didn't lift his eyelids. "Ten!"

Steward Gui's voice deepened. "After all that trouble, you only sold ten? And for how much silver?"

Chen Ji replied, "Two *liang* of silver per certificate!"

Steward Gui couldn't help but question him, "How could you sell them so cheaply? This way, your salt house's accounts will show a much greater loss than in previous years! You don't seem unintelligent, so how can you be so muddled when it comes to business?"

Chen Ji opened his eyes. "Steward Gui, don't you usually chum the waters before you go fishing?"

Steward Gui hesitated. "I don't have the leisure for fishing!"

Chen Ji suddenly changed the topic. "Steward Gui, why are you so concerned about the succession dispute?"

Steward Gui, while driving the carriage, said sternly, "Chen Ji, don't treat this matter as a joke!"

Bailu Pavilion!

"After the apothecary was destroyed by the Secret Service, many of our Military Intelligence Bureau's spies lost their provisions and faced extreme hardship. Furthermore, many infiltration and defection operations could no longer be carried out! If you can gain control of the Chen family, you will surely be able to revitalize the entire situation!"

Chen Ji asked curiously, "Why not report this to the Military Intelligence Bureau? What has been done is of utmost importance; the court should allocate a sum of silver!"

Steward Gui shook his head. "The Master already has too many burdens to bear. We should find a way to solve this ourselves; why trouble him further? Besides, our dynasty is currently facing hardship among the populace. We came to the Southern Dynasty to assist in the great cause, not to add insult to injury for the court!"

Chen Ji leaned back and looked at the carriage ceiling. This Steward Gui was not the strategist of the Military Intelligence Bureau, which might explain why Lu Jin did not promote this trusted confidant to head the bureau after his reinstatement.

However, this man was the sharpest and most loyal blade within the Military Intelligence Bureau.

Who the blade kills depends on the one who wields it.

Chen Ji said softly, "Rest assured, Steward Gui, I will do my best!"

Steward Gui was silent for a long time before softening his tone. "I don't quite understand what you're doing now, but you can rest assured. With me protecting you, ordinary people won't be able to harm you!"

Chen Ji chuckled, "Thank you, Steward Gui!"