The Three Spirit Stones

Just a few days after the Great Snow Festival, a long mule caravan appeared outside the city of Bianjing. The mule carts were loaded with goods, including more than 400,000 kilograms of sugar, worth more than 800,000 taels of silver.

At first, Cheng Yu planned to sell it at one tael of silver per catty, but later Zhao Heng said that it was too cheap and should be at least two taels of silver per catty. He changed his mind and felt that it was not necessary to sell it so cheaply at the beginning and there had to be room for a decrease in the future, so he sold it at two taels per catty.

Several shopkeepers of Cheng Mansion had been waiting with their staff eagerly. When they saw the convoy, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

These sugars have cost their Lord a lot of effort, and there must be no leakage.

Everyone rushed over to greet them. The freight forwarders were very happy to see them and exchanged greetings.

After the goods were transported back to the warehouse and counted, and the handover formalities were completed, one of the shopkeepers took the others to the inn that had been booked long ago to settle down and have a meal, while the other took them to meet the Marquis.

Arriving at Cheng's house, several people followed closely into the side hall, where Cheng Yu was already waiting.

When they saw him, the three of them fell to their knees and shouted,

"I greet the Marquis and wish him good health and longevity!"

Cheng Yu was also very happy to see them. He helped them up one by one and said, "No need to be polite, get up quickly."

Then they had wine and food served and invited them to take their seats.

Although Zhang Fugui and Zhao Zhuanzi now saw Cheng Yu's polite and gentle attitude, they had seen him kill people without blinking an eye before, and they had psychological trauma in their hearts. They dared to sit only halfway on the stool, and carefully watched his expression while eating and picking up food.

But Li Sanleng was much more casual. He felt that he had met Cheng Yu too late. The two of them toasted each other and talked and laughed!

The reason was that Cheng Yu only beat him into submission, but never killed anyone in front of him. Another reason was that he was a generous man and respected heroes the most in his life.

The Marquis is a martial arts expert who values ​​his promises and keeps his word. Despite his high position, he is enthusiastic about serving the people. In his mind, he is a top hero.

While eating, the three of them reported in detail what had happened in the past six months. After eating and drinking, Cheng Yu asked the accountant to give them some silver to stay in Bian Jing for a while. After kneeling in thanks, they went back to the inn to rest.

……

……

The New Year is approaching, and every household is preparing to buy New Year goods.

Residents in the capital city found that there were a lot more frosted candies for sale during this period. The quality was very good and the price was surprisingly cheap. One pound of frosted candies cost two taels of silver, which was more than ten times cheaper than before.

In the past, only the rich and powerful would serve a small dish of frosted sugar at banquets to dip in dishes. Ordinary people could not afford it.

But nowadays many people can afford this price, and it is an excellent choice for making desserts, rice cakes, candies, preserved fruits, and sugar water.

Sugar sales were booming for a while, and some savvy vendors even stockpiled hundreds or even thousands of kilograms of sugar and sold them in distant counties and cities to make a profit.

In less than ten days, the more than 400,000 kilograms of sugar were almost sold out. The Cheng's Sugar Store headquarters on Nanxunmen Street was filled with customers who had placed orders for the next batch of sugar, and the shopkeepers were so busy writing orders and collecting deposits that their hands were tied.

In the imperial study, Zhao Heng was so happy that he couldn't close his mouth when he saw the 400,000 taels of silver notes sent by Cheng Yu.

It’s not that he had never seen 400,000 taels of silver before, but he was really excited to be able to earn so much in such a short period of time!

This sugar, like salt, can be used as a daily necessity. Think about those salt merchants who live a life of luxury and are extremely wealthy.

In name, the emperor owned the entire world, but the use of the national treasury had to be approved by the three departments of the cabinet. Although he also had a private treasury, it was also limited. Who would complain about having too much money?

These 60% of the sugar shares can be directly deposited into his own private vault, so he no longer needs to look at the faces of those old officials when he wants to do anything in the future.

It makes me happy just thinking about it!

……

These ten days or so were the happiest days for Zhang Fugui and his friends.

There was so much food, drink and entertainment in the city of Bianjing, the girls in the brothels were so beautiful, and there were new things happening in the brothels every day. These people were having so much fun that they didn't want to leave.

But now it is almost the twelfth lunar month, and the Chinese New Year is just over a month away. They must return to the village before the New Year, so they plan to return on the first day of the New Year.

On the night before the first day of the new year, Cheng Yu ordered more than a dozen tables of banquets to see them off. During the banquet, everyone toasted him one after another, and he accepted all of them. His drinking capacity was amazing, and the atmosphere of the banquet was once very high!

The next day was the first day of the twelfth lunar month. Cheng Yu was going to court, so he sent two shopkeepers to see the convoy off in advance.

……

……

In the Purple Palace Hall, Song Zhenzong Zhao Heng sat on the dragon throne and listened to reports from all officials. The seal would be sealed on the 20th of the twelfth lunar month and there would be a month of annual leave, so there were a lot of affairs in the court during this period.

At noon, when the eunuchs on duty were about to shout, "If you have anything to report, please report it." When a royal censor stepped out and said to Zhao Heng, "Your Majesty, I have something to report."

"explain,"

"I want to impeach the loyal and brave Marquis Cheng Yu for colluding with the bandits, nurturing the bandits for his own benefit, and privately setting up a sugar factory to make huge profits."

This statement immediately caused a commotion, and the eunuchs on duty shouted,

"Silence, silence,"

Zhao Heng glanced at Cheng Yu who was standing not far away and asked Wang Yushi,

"Is this true?"

Wang Yushi bowed and said to him, "Your Majesty, this is absolutely true. The Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery was an official appointed by the court, but he broke the law knowingly and colluded with bandits. The hot-selling frosted sugar in the capital during this period was brought in by these bandits. They occupied the mountain roads between Hangzhou and Bianjing, robbing and killing passing merchants and pedestrians, and committed numerous crimes. Among them, there was a man named Li Sanleng who was a fugitive after killing a local gentry."

"Today was supposed to be the day for these bandits to leave. Kaifeng Prefecture received a tip-off and has captured these bandits. They are now being held in the Kaifeng Prefecture Prison. Also captured were the two shopkeepers of the Cheng Mansion."

Hearing this, Cheng Yu frowned.

He had already told Zhao Heng about using bandits to transport goods. Zhao Heng also had concerns at the time, but Cheng Yu explained that the bandits were most familiar with the local terrain, so it was very advantageous to use them to transport goods. With a source of income, they would no longer engage in murder and robbery, so this was killing two birds with one stone.

At this time, Wang Yushi continued, "Not only did the loyal and brave marquis nurture the enemy, he also privately set up a sugar factory in Linping, Hangzhou to make huge profits. Sugar, like salt, is a necessity for the people's livelihood and should be managed by the three departments of the court, but he dared to own it privately. The frosted sugar he brought to the capital this time is worth more than 800,000 taels..."

When the court officials heard this number, they were immediately furious.

The value of a batch of goods is so high! The key is that they were sold out in just ten days. If you can sell them for another year or two, wouldn’t you be rich enough to rival a country?

Immediately, several ministers came forward and demanded that Cheng Yu hand over the sugar factory to the management of the Three Departments.

When Zhao Heng on the throne heard this, he remained calm on the surface, but in his heart he had already cursed.

My money has just been deposited into my private vault and I haven’t even had time to warm it up yet, and you guys are already in a hurry to come and rob it?

You bunch of hypocritical guys, which one of you is not secretly running a lucrative business behind the scenes? When you come to me, you have to be reported to the Three Departments, right?

It’s not impossible to give it to the Three Officials, but I have to be full first. You want to snatch it away after I’ve just taken a bite?

Is this justified?

Is there any royal law?

"His Majesty,"

Wang Yushi continued, "The loyal and brave marquis disregarded the laws of the court. I request that Your Majesty remove him from his official position and title and hand him over to the Dali Temple for trial and judgment."

Zhao Heng pondered for a moment and said to Cheng Yu, "Loyal and Brave Marquis,"

"I am here,"

Cheng Yu stepped out in response.

"Is what Censor Wang said true?"

"Your Majesty, what Censor Wang said is true but the words he used are inappropriate,"

"oh?!"

"First of all, these bandits are transporting goods for me. They are my subordinates. How can they be said to be colluding? They are doing things for me, so isn't it right for me to pay them? How can they be said to be keeping the bandits for their own benefit?"

"As for setting up a private sugar factory, is there any law that prohibits private individuals from opening a sugar factory? Weren't the sugars sold in Bianjing City privately run? Or have they always been run by the three departments? As for the claim of seeking huge profits, it is even more nonsense. In the past, frosted sugar sold for dozens or hundreds of taels per pound, but now I only sell it for two taels of silver per pound. How can it be said to be making huge profits?"

Cheng Yu looked at Wang Yushi and the others and said coldly,

"I sold it cheaply because of my ability. What does it have to do with you, the Imperial Censor Wang? What does it have to do with you, the Three Officials?"

After hearing what he said, another censor Zhang came out and pointed at him and said righteously, "No matter how you argue, you can't change the fact that they are bandits. You, an official appointed by the court, actually took in bandits as your subordinates and spoke out shamelessly. You ignore the court laws so much that dismissing you from your post and investigating you is the least of your punishment."

After saying this, he turned around and bowed to Zhao Heng, saying, "Your Majesty, please understand. There is irrefutable evidence that the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery has taken in bandits. Please order an investigation."

Zhao Heng, who was sitting on the throne, also felt a little resentful towards Cheng Yu.

Why do we have to use bandits when there are so many people who can do nothing?

If you think they are obstructing the transportation of goods, why not send troops to confiscate them? Now that this glaring handle has been caught, how can I help you?

Just when Zhao Heng didn't know what to say, Cheng Yu said to the two men, "Two Imperial Censors, you keep saying that they are bandits, but what were they before they became bandits? Could it be that these people were born bandits?"

Then he turned to Zhao Heng and said, "Your Majesty, do you want to know how they became bandits?"

When Zhang Yushi heard this, he immediately drank.

"Lord Zhongyong, please don't change the subject. No matter what the reason is, it is not a reason to go up the mountain and become a bandit, rob and kill people on the road."

"You are wrong, censor. There is no love without reason, and there is no hatred without reason. A few people are thieves, perhaps it can be said that it is due to their personality, but when hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of people are thieves, the reason behind this needs to be deeply considered by the court."

While the two were arguing, an old minister in his fifties stepped out and bowed to Zhao Heng, saying, "Your Majesty, what the Loyal and Brave Marquis said makes some sense. We should really explore the reasons why so many people went to the mountains to commit thieves."

This person is Prime Minister Kou Zhun.

"I second the motion,"

Right Counselor Li Di also spoke in agreement.

When two important officials spoke up, Zhao Heng immediately said, "I also want to know why these people went to the mountains to become bandits. Send an order to have them come before the emperor."

"As you wish~"

Immediately, an eunuch went to Kaifeng Prefecture Prison to deliver the order.

Some of His Highness's ministers looked at each other, as if they felt that things were developing somewhat unusually.