novelSusiti Chapter 44 Rumors Enter the Market, Hidden Blades Are Drawn
Chapter 44 Rumors Enter the Market, Hidden Blades Are Drawn
Autumn in Chengdu is short.
The ginkgo leaves had only turned yellow a few days ago, but winter was already in the air. A charcoal seller pushed his cart along the street, calling out his wares, while pedestrians, bundled up in thick coats, hunched their shoulders and hurried on their way.
It was warm inside the teahouse.
The "Tingfeng Pavilion" near the South Gate always has good business. The owner is a good person, the tea is good and the water is hot, and the storyteller is quick-witted. It's packed every afternoon.
Today is a little different.
After the storyteller took a break, several tea drinkers gathered in a corner, speaking in hushed tones, yet becoming more and more enthusiastic as they continued.
"Have you heard? The South China Sea is exempt from taxes for three years. Those barbarians eat and drink for free and don't pay a single penny of tax."
"I've never heard of that. My second uncle cultivates mulberry fields in Qianwei for Shu brocade, and he paid the full amount of taxes this year. Why do we have to pay when the barbarians don't?"
"Hey, you don't know yet. The imperial court traded Shu brocade with Eastern Wu, and all the money they made went into filling the hole in the south. Who grew the Shu brocade? It was us Yizhou people. It's like using our blood and sweat to support the barbarians."
The shopkeeper brought over the teapot to refill the water, listened for a couple of minutes, and then remained silent.
I've been hearing this kind of talk every few days for the past two weeks. It's not just in teahouses, but also in taverns, markets, and docks—people are gossiping about it everywhere.
At first, they were secretive, but these past two days they've become bolder and are talking about it as if it were the truth.
Anyone with a brain can guess who's pulling the strings behind the scenes.
Ma Su did not drink tea today.
He was dressed in casual gray clothes, with a folding fan at his waist, and sat by the window on the second floor of Tingfeng Pavilion. He didn't touch the tea that was served, but listened for half an hour.
After listening, he went downstairs, threw two copper coins at the shopkeeper, and left.
Back at his residence, he wrote down what he had heard in a memorial and sent it to the Prime Minister's residence. At the end of the memorial, he added his own judgment—
"The rumors originated in Jianwei, Guanghan, and Shujun, and were mostly spread by ordinary people in the city. However, the wording was uniform and the tone was consistent, which was definitely not spontaneous. Someone was behind the scenes who coordinated the rhetoric."
When Zhuge Liang received the memorial, he was discussing matters with Jiang Wan.
After reading it, he handed it to Jiang Wan. Jiang Wan read it and placed the document on the table.
"They've made their move."
Zhuge Liang held his teacup but did not respond.
"Prime Minister, should we send someone to investigate? If we trace it back to those teahouses, we should be able to find the source."
"So what if we investigate?" Zhuge Liang put down his teacup. "We find out they're Li Yan's men, and then what? Punish a few gossipy idlers in teahouses? If word gets out, the court will be punished for its words, and our reputation will be even worse."
Jiang Wan fell silent. That made sense. Rumors only get bigger the more you try to suppress them.
"So we just let him cause trouble?"
"His Majesty has made arrangements."
Jiang Wan glanced at Zhuge Liang. The Prime Minister didn't continue, nor did he press further.
In the Imperial Study, Dong Yun was giving a report.
"The three silk shops under the Fei family in Jianwei have recently hired more than twenty employees in the past half month. These employees don't sell silk during the day; they go to teahouses and taverns and sit down to talk about the duty-free business in southern China."
Liu Shan flipped through the register in his hand without raising his head.
"What about Wang Fu?"
"The Wang family of Guanghan took a different approach. They paid several impoverished scholars to write two folk songs, which they then taught to children to sing in the streets."
"What folk song?"
Dong Yun recited two lines: "The people of Yizhou plant mulberry trees, and the barbarians enjoy their coolness. Three taxes are waived each year, and the Han people shed tears."
Liu Shan paused for a moment.
I put down my pen and leaned back in my chair.
"Well written, and it even rhymes."
Dong Yun wasn't sure if this was a compliment or an insult, so he didn't dare to respond.
Where is Zhang Wei?
"The Zhang family of Shu Commandery is the most cautious and has not made a move. However, their properties in Chengdu have recently been frequently hosting officials from Yizhou who have come from other places, gathering several groups of people under the guise of banquets."
Liu Shan thought for a moment: "What ranks are those officials?"
"Most of them were county magistrates, county assistants, or lower-ranking officials below the prefectural governor."
"interesting."
Liu Shan took out the genealogical chart of the Yizhou gentry from the hidden drawer and added a few strokes next to the name "Zhang Wei".
"Dong Yun".
"Your subject is here."
"Tell me, how can you make someone swallow back the rumor they're spreading?"
Dong Yun thought for a moment: "Let him discover that the cost of spreading rumors outweighs the benefits."
"Not enough." Liu Shan stood up and walked to the window. The courtyard was piled high with fallen leaves, unswept. "Letting him swallow the rumors himself isn't enough. He needs to refute them for me."
Dong Yun was stunned.
Ask Li Yan to refute the rumors for His Majesty? How could that be possible?
Liu Shan didn't explain. He turned around and gave instructions on two things.
"First, have Jiang Wan allocate funds from the national treasury to repair official roads in Jianwei, Guanghan, and Shujun. The wages should come from the profits of the Shu brocade trade, and local people should be hired."
"Secondly, the road construction notice clearly states that the funds come from Nanzhong Trade and are specifically for the livelihood of the people of Yizhou."
Dong Yun pondered for a moment.
Road construction requires hiring people, and hiring people requires paying them. The people of Yizhou received their wages in kind, and naturally they knew that the benefits of trade with Nanzhong did not just go into the national treasury.
What's even more ingenious is that the notice clearly states "South China Trade Fund".
Once this road is repaired, those previous rumors that "Nanzhong Duty Free is harming Yizhou's interests" will become a joke. Who would still believe it? Taking the wages to repair the road while criticizing Nanzhong Duty Free would be a slap in the face to them.
"I will take care of it immediately." Dong Yun bowed and withdrew.
As I reached the door, I was called back.
"Where's the investigation into Zhou Cang at Yong'an Palace progressed?"
"His resume before entering the palace is still under investigation. The reply from Fuling says that there is indeed a Zhou family in the area, but there is no such person in the family genealogy. I suspect that 'Zhou Cang' is an alias."
"continue."
After Dong Yun left, Liu Shan carefully put away the relationship chart.
Pick up Li Yan's third folding slip from the corner of the table—it still had those four words on it: "To be discussed later."
He picked up his pen and crossed out those four characters.
A new line of comments was added:
"The military affairs in the south are of great importance. I hereby order Protector-General Li to personally inspect the south for a month, to conduct on-site investigations of the military system and land reclamation matters, and to discuss the matter further upon his return to the capital."
After writing and drying the ink, he summoned the eunuch.
"Deliver this memorial to the Central Protectorate before the morning court assembly tomorrow."
The eunuch took the folding book and ran off.
Liu Shan sat back down in his chair and stretched.
Li Yan was sent to inspect the southern regions, and he was gone for a month. By the time he returned, the roads had been repaired, the rumors had been dispelled, and the people of Yizhou were happily receiving their wages. Who would listen to his old stories then?
More importantly, with Li Yan not in Chengdu, Fei Guan, Wang Fu, and Zhang Wei were leaderless. Ma Su's implementation of the rotation system provided a perfect opportunity to relocate mid- to low-level officials during this one-month window.
When Li Yan returned, the pieces on the chessboard had already been moved.
It won't be easy for him to turn things around again.
A breeze picked up outside the window.
A few withered leaves were swept into the room and landed on the table, covering a corner of the relationship diagram.
Liu Shan picked up a withered leaf, looked at it, and then casually threw it away.
Some things can't be rushed.
Like autumn leaves, if you sweep them one by one, you can always get them all clean.
Prime Minister's House.
After receiving a copy of Liu Shan's reply, Zhuge Liang remained silent for a long time.
Ma Su happened to be nearby and leaned over to take a look.
"Send Li Yan to Nanzhong?"
"Um."
"Gao—" Ma Su blurted out, then swallowed it back.
Zhuge Liang glanced at him and said, "Say what you want to say."
"Lure the tiger away from the mountain. Once Protector Li leaves, those families in Yizhou will be scattered like sand. We should implement the rotation system this month, and when he returns, we'll have made it a fait accompli."
Zhuge Liang offered no comment. He carefully put away the copy and asked Ma Su, "Has the list of those to be rotated been prepared?"
"It's done. Thirty-six people, involving twelve counties."
"Bring it to me tomorrow so I can see it."
Ma Su acknowledged the order and excused himself.
Zhuge Liang sat alone under the lamp.
On the table was a list of provisions for the Northern Expedition, with half-finished figures written on bamboo slips.
He picked up his pen and continued calculating.
I calculated two lines and then stopped.
He picked up his pen and wrote a few words in the corner of the inventory, then crossed them out. He repeated this three times before finally putting down his pen.
The erased writing was blurry, but barely legible.
"This son resembles his great-grandfather."
The candlelight flickered, swallowing the trace of those words into the shadows.
The night in Chengdu is quiet.
The rumors are still circulating on the streets, but they won't last long.
Construction of the official road in the three prefectures is about to begin.
Li Yan's luggage is about to be packed.
A game of chess, where pieces are placed silently.
[End of Chapter]