Chapter 140: Uproar

After digesting the bad news, Zhou Qi looked at Sun He, his face full of gloom. “Brother Sun, why would Zhao Ji suddenly appear at Yonghe Grain Shop? It can’t be just a coincidence, can it?”

Sun He was equally curious and irritated. “I’ve already sent people to investigate. We need to see if the Liu family has some powerful backing to have brought Zhao Ji in for help. If they really have a strong patron, we’ll have to reconsider our plans carefully.”

“We were indeed careless,” He Liujin nodded in agreement. “We thought the Liu family was just some rural landlord with a few fields, but it turns out they have connections like this. If we don’t thoroughly investigate, it could ruin our entire operation.”

At this point, no one cared about mocking Sun He anymore.

They had waited two days for Lü Hui’s scheme to unfold, only for it to fail at the last moment, wasting their time for nothing.

With the big battle imminent, if they couldn’t quickly resolve the issue at Yonghe Grain Shop, how could they continue collaborating to make money afterward?

Just as they were about to say more, the door to the private room was pushed open, and a cold gust of wind swept in.

The group shivered before seeing Xu Weichang enter with a stern expression. They quickly stood up.

Sun He was about to speak when Xu Weichang’s tone turned grave: “I’ve learned about the situation at Yonghe Grain Shop. I’ve already dispatched people to investigate the Liu family’s background. For now, let’s not cause any trouble. We’ll wait until we fully understand our opponent before making any moves.”

The others naturally obeyed.

After discussing the current situation in the capital, a servant outside reported that the investigation into the Liu family’s background was complete.

Everyone’s expressions brightened as they urged the servant to enter and explain in detail.

After hearing the report, they finally understood. The Liu family had no deep-rooted connections, but their son-in-law, Xue Yuanhao, was someone to be reckoned with.

Over the past two months, the reputation of the Xue father and son had spread throughout the capital. Although the grain merchants had never met them, they had heard of their exploits.

“So it turns out the family has an official. It’s no surprise they could call on a city patrol inspector to intervene!”

Sun He felt bitter. Had he known about this connection earlier, he would have been more cautious when taking on the job or at least warned his cousin-in-law, so he could have been prepared instead of running into trouble blindly.

Zhou Qi’s expression grew serious. “The Xue father and son aren’t simple at all, especially the younger Xue. They say, to save his father, he fought fiercely in the imperial prison, killing no fewer than twenty people. Afterwards, the imperial guards didn’t dare make a move and respectfully escorted the father and son out.”

He Liujin scoffed. “Brother Zhou, don’t listen to those rumors. I specifically asked some trusted imperial guards. During that period, no guards were killed or injured in the prison. How could he have killed so many?”

“Then have you found out what really happened in the prison that day?” Zhou Qi asked with interest.

“Well, I didn’t ask in detail…” He Liujin hesitated.

In truth, he had asked, but his contacts were stationed at the southern garrison office and weren’t very clear on what happened in the imperial prison.

However, since the southern office manages military discipline and records, if the northern office had lost so many men, they would have had to report it to the southern office to update the records. Since no such report came, no one died, so he was confident in his statement.

“Being able to single-handedly rescue his father from the imperial prison shows that young Xue isn’t ordinary.”

This alone was enough to make the grain merchants take Xue Rui seriously, let alone his other deeds.

Xu Weichang rubbed his forehead, his face grave. “Zhao Ji’s involvement here must be the Xue family’s doing. What do you think we should do?”

Wang Guiqing hesitated a moment before advising, “Maybe we should just leave Yonghe Grain Shop alone for now. Their total stock is only about three thousand shi of grain, insignificant compared to us. It won’t affect the bigger picture. Instead, we should take direct action elsewhere to avoid missing a good opportunity.”

“That makes sense. It’s not worth making a big fuss over Yonghe Grain Shop. We can deal with it slowly later,” He Liujin agreed.

The other two looked to Xu Weichang, waiting for his decision.

Xu Weichang was troubled. Though Yonghe Grain Shop’s low prices didn’t greatly hinder their profits, it did impact his plans. He needed to think carefully.

Just then, there was a knock on the door, followed by the servant’s voice outside: “Master, I have something to report.”

Xu Weichang was weighing his options and felt irritated by the interruption. He snapped, “Blind fool, get lost!”

“Old Brother Xu, calm down. Maybe it’s good news,” the others quickly urged.

After a while, Xu Weichang growled, “Let him in.”

The servant cautiously opened the door but, seeing his master’s anger, stayed at the entrance and whispered, “Master, our shop received word that several other grain shops in the city have lowered their prices.”

“Lowered their prices?”

Everyone froze.

Since the grain merchants had agreed to raise grain prices in the capital by twenty to thirty percent, all the grain shops, big and small, had earned much more and were waiting for Xu Weichang and the others to act again.

Yonghe Grain Shop’s refusal to raise prices was foolish enough, but others lowering prices was absurd.

Xu Weichang frowned. “By how much did those shops lower their prices?”

If the reduction was slight, maybe they just wanted to clear stock and recover funds.

That would be manageable. Given their wealth, they could buy up the grain from those shops. Surely they wouldn’t leave money on the table as Yonghe Grain Shop did.

The servant grimaced. “I heard they lowered prices by almost thirty percent, the same as Yonghe Grain Shop.”

The group’s expressions darkened.

One Yonghe Grain Shop was manageable, with only two or three thousand shi of grain—not enough to affect the overall market.

But if several shops did this, that was a considerable amount.

Their price cuts were clearly influenced by Yonghe Grain Shop.

If they didn’t stop it in time, and others followed suit, their calculations would be ruined.

Xu Weichang pondered a moment and said to the servant, “Go to those shops and tell them Master ordered no price reductions. If they don’t comply, they will be expelled from the guild!”

This was a serious threat. Those grain shops were going against the grain merchants in the capital.

If expelled, they would be crushed by competitors and have a hard time doing business.

Anyone wanting to operate smoothly in the capital would understand the gravity of this warning.

The servant hesitated. “Master, I fear those shops won’t take this seriously.”

“What do you mean?”

Xu Weichang knew his servant well. If he dared say this, there must be a reason, so he didn’t reprimand him but asked for an explanation.

The servant smiled wryly. “Those shops, I heard, belong to the British Duke’s estate.”

“The British Duke’s estate?”

The grain merchants exchanged glances.

If there was a family in the capital no one dared offend, the British Duke’s house was among the top.

They truly wouldn’t dare make an enemy of them lightly.

Xu Weichang felt a headache coming on.

If it were other grain merchants, some pressure and persuasion would make them yield.

But the British Duke’s shops answered only to the emperor; no one else’s face mattered.

After much thought, Wang Guiqing spoke up: “Brother Xu, to solve this, we need to address the root cause. I heard the British Duke’s estate is short of silver lately. When we raised prices, they followed. But Yonghe Grain Shop’s refusal to raise prices has made many citizens hesitant. Business at the major grain shops has dropped considerably in recent days. The British Duke’s estate must be eager to get cash and thus lowered prices to sell quickly. If we can pressure Yonghe Grain Shop to raise prices, the people won’t be able to resist and will rush to buy grain, forcing even the British Duke’s shops to raise their prices again.”

“Brother Wang is right,” Sun He and the others nodded repeatedly.

Given the situation, Xu Weichang couldn’t remain idle.

He stood and said, “In that case, I’ll personally handle the Yonghe Grain Shop issue. Meanwhile, count the grain stocks held by all the merchants in the guild so we have a clear picture.”

“Leave it to you, Brother Xu,” they said as they rose to see him out.

...

Two days passed in the blink of an eye.

The Wala army stationed at Zijing Pass had been quiet during this time.

According to the Ministry of War, cavalry reinforcements from Juyong Pass were en route to join General Ye Xian’s forces, expected to arrive within two to three days.

Thanks to this brief respite, the court had time to calmly adjust deployments and resolve internal matters.

That morning, when Xue Rui arrived at the Astronomical Observatory, he noticed the officials and students there were all in high spirits, the tension of impending war lifted.

Curious, he inquired and learned that it was payday, so everyone was in a good mood, less fearful of the looming conflict.

Since the defeat at Tumu Fortress, the court had spent huge sums on troop deployments, grain stockpiles, arms manufacturing, and stabilizing the people—money flowing out like a flood from the treasury.

Last month’s salaries were delayed because the treasury was empty. Officials had their silver stipends withheld for a month, only allowed to collect grain allowances in Tongzhou, with the arrears to be made up next month.

During this national crisis, officials understood the court’s difficulties. A one-month delay wasn’t the same as no pay. Although life at home was tighter, no one starved, so there was little resistance to the decision.

Fortunately, after the capital lifted its emergency measures, grain taxes from the provinces were gradually delivered, relieving the court’s urgent needs.

With the Wala army encircling the city, poised to attack at any moment, Emperor Zhu Qiyu and his ministers decided to distribute the owed salaries together to stabilize officials' morale.

Compared to empty words of encouragement, paying salaries was more effective at boosting spirits. Officials at the Astronomical Observatory were naturally no exception.

The Observatory had many recipients of the imperial grain stipend.

Even though dozens had died at Tumu Fortress, the Observatory still had over 250 officials and students—more than many other offices.

Officials’ salaries were set by court regulations. Astronomical students’ were different: only a few seasoned ones earned more than one shi, most received seven dou, and the Yin-Yang tower assistants about three to four dou.

This time, two months’ payments were combined, a significant sum.

Early that morning, Xu Dun had brought over ten people and seven or eight carts to the Ministry of Revenue.

The officials and students eagerly awaited Xu Dun’s return with their salaries.

They waited anxiously until noon when Xu Dun and a dozen clerks finally came back.

Seeing the Observatory’s director return exhausted and gloomy, the students crowded around, excited but quickly noticing the heavy atmosphere.

Deputy Director Gao Mian looked outside and saw the empty carts, then asked, “Director, why have you returned empty-handed? Has the court changed its mind?”

Xu Dun sighed and said to a student beside him, “Go fetch Supervisor Bao to the main hall for a meeting. Also bring Xue Rui and tell him I have something to discuss.”

“Yes, sir.”

The student hurried off.

After a short wait, Xu Dun and Xue Rui entered the hall.

“Director, what business do you have with me?” Xue Yuanhao had heard about Xu Dun’s failure to collect salaries but didn’t understand why he summoned him.

Xu Dun chose his words carefully and said tactfully, “Lord Xue, have you recently offended someone?”

“What do you mean by that?” Xue Yuanhao looked puzzled, clueless.

Xu Dun glanced outside to see many students gathered at the entrance and sighed.

“Today I went to the Ministry of Revenue to collect the Observatory’s salaries but was told by the official Han Zuo that there were discrepancies in the salary roster. They sent it back to the Ministry of Rites for re-verification.

“I then went to the Ministry of Rites and learned the roster was just returned this morning. According to an assistant official there, Qin Yu said the Observatory’s officials and students’ salaries were reported according to previous standards. Even if there were slight errors, the Ministry of Revenue usually overlooks them.

“But this time, all other offices passed their verification except ours. The Ministry of Revenue held up our payment. Later, Lord Qin asked a contact at the Ministry of Revenue and barely obtained a clue…”

“Is the clue that my father offended that Han Zuo?” Xue Rui interrupted.

Xu Dun shook his head. “I can’t be sure. You should think about whether you might have offended Han Zuo. If there’s a problem, apologize quickly so I can collect the salaries and distribute them.”

“I have no contact with Han Zuo, not even met him. How could I have offended him?” Xue Yuanhao smiled bitterly. He’d been an official less than a month. It was beyond strange to offend a Ministry of Revenue official for no reason.

Observing the conversation, Gao Mian coldly remarked, “Maybe you were too arrogant and upset someone. I advise you to apologize to Director Han soon. The officials and students all rely on these meager salaries. If the delay continues, there’ll be an uproar.”

Though his tone was personal, his point was valid.

The Astronomical Observatory was a clean government office; officials only earned their salaries, no extra perks. The salaries had already been delayed a month. If delayed further, even if officials didn’t mind, the students living on these stipends would grow resentful. This was serious.

“Since this concerns me, I’ll get to the bottom of it. Director, rest assured, I’ll give the Observatory’s officials and students a satisfactory answer,” Xue Yuanhao sighed and took responsibility willingly.