"What are they trying to bribe me for?"
Yang Ge’s face darkened, "Did you cause them trouble?"
Fang Ke hurriedly shook his head like a rattle drum, "No, no, even if you lent us courage, we wouldn’t dare to upset them!"
Yang Ge frowned at the interesting remark and said sternly, "Tell me in detail, what exactly is going on!"
Fang Ke cautiously glanced at him and whispered, "Recently, there’s been a rise in grain prices in the county, have you heard about it?"
Yang Ge nodded.
Fang Ke, smiling apologetically, said, "It’s because they fear our meddling, so they came to butter us up first..."
"Slap!"
Yang Ge suddenly slapped his hand on the dining table, his expression solemn as he barked, "If I tell you to explain, explain meticulously. If you dare to be careless again, don’t blame me for setting aside our camaraderie and disciplining you myself!"
Fang Ke was startled, his face instantly tensed up as he succinctly said, "Reporting to the commander, the three big grain merchants have colluded to control the grain circulation across Hebei Road, Henan Circuit, Huainan Circuit, and the two Jiangnan circuits. They secretly hoarded grains, inflated grain prices, and wherever they went, they were protected by the authorities and paved the way with gold and silver. The silver they’ve brought to you is merely a routine matter and not an isolated case."
Yang Ge was stunned and said incredulously, "Are you suggesting that the three major grain merchants are exploiting the transient famine caused by the court’s hoarding for war to make a fortune? But Luting County is an important gateway to the capital, how dare they!"
Fang Ke replied, "The gateway to the capital...ultimately isn’t the capital itself, is it?"
Yang Ge said, "That’s not the point. How can such transparent dealings become so massive? Is everyone in the court dead?"
Fang Ke, having said so much, simply didn’t hide any longer, "Could it be, you truly think these major grain merchants made their fortunes by selling grain at a premium during bountiful years?"
"Then you’re greatly underestimating these great merchants!"
"Being a grain merchant, the small profits made from daily price differences barely make ends meet. To really make a fortune, you have to wait for times of grain scarcity!"
"Think about it, when grain prices rise, the common people can’t afford to buy grain for their pots, but they still need to live, right?"
"What do they do then?"
"Sell whatever they have!"
"If they have cattle and sheep, they sell those. If they have real estate, they sell that. If they own land, they sell that. If they have absolutely nothing left, they sell their sons, their daughters, themselves!"
"Thus, the merchants earn a hefty sum by selling grains at high prices with their left hand, and buy cattle, real estate, and land at low prices with their right hand. When the bountiful years come, they sell these again and make another fortune!"
"These profits, a single year of famine could equal what they’d earn in a hundred bountiful years from the difference in grain prices!"
"Don’t be fooled by those businessmen strutting around and flaunting their little earnings, thinking they are somebody."
"In the eyes of the true great men, they are merely pigs in a pen!"
"Just waiting for the opportunity to come, then with one stroke, they clean out the wealth amassed by these lesser men over generations!"
A short conversation.
It opened Yang Ge’s "perspective", he diligently untangled his thoughts, "That’s not right. How can such a big issue go unmanaged? Does Wei belong to them?"
Fang Ke sneered, "Who will manage it? Who dares manage it? Just say the grain has to travel from Jiangnan East Circuit to here, how many prefectures and checkpoints does it pass through? Since they can control all the routes of grain distribution, don’t you understand what that means?"
Yang Ge said, "Involving so many prefectures, so many links, so many people, can they ensure it’s always watertight? That not once has it been brought up in court?"
Fang Ke thought for a moment and replied, "Let’s not discuss whether anyone could bring it up to the court. Even if it were brought up, who could guarantee that those sent to investigate aren’t backed by them?"
"And even if the matter really reached a point where it could no longer be covered up, it would only result in the death of some businessmen and minor officials involved in the dealings. The real benefactors, the great figures, wouldn’t lose a single hair!"
Yang Ge stared blankly at Fang Ke, who looked untroubled, then glanced at the packet of silver on the dining table, feeling increasingly horrified.
These words, if he had heard them from Shen Fa, he might have been shocked at the darkness of Wei’s elite, but he wouldn’t have felt horrified.
After all, Shen Fa was both a commander of the imperial guards and from a military family. It was only normal for him to know these dirty secrets of the upper echelons.
But what was Fang Ke’s status?
Even such a minor character as him understood all the ins and outs!
What was Yang Ge’s identity then?
Even such a minor character was within the scope of their bribes!
Muttering to himself, at a loss for words, he said, "So dark, so dark... damn so dark!"
He knew the feudal dynasty was corrupt, as had been all the dynasties throughout history.
After all, he had once been the history class representative in high school.
But knowing was one thing.
Experiencing it firsthand was another.
Now, he felt suffocated, as if drowning in the center of a raging river.
With the education and environment in which he was raised, it was difficult for him to understand how those who had already attained high positions and wealth could still be so depraved over money...
Could they really sleep at night with that money in their hands?
Did they truly not hear the mourning of aggrieved souls in their dreams at midnight?
Fang Ke, observing Yang Ge’s face as complex as a painter’s palette, dared not speak.
After a long while, Yang Ge finally spoke, "Besides me, are there others in your place?"
Fang Ke cautiously replied, "Everyone has, little standard bearers two hundred Silver Taels each, strong men thirty Silver Taels each."
Yang Ge glanced at the package of silver on the table, "That means, just from our side, they’ve splashed out three thousand Silver Taels? That’s quite the spending!"
Fang Ke dared not respond.
Yang Ge was silent for a long time, then pointed at the package of silver on the table: "Return my share, what’s happening at your end I will pretend to know nothing about, and after I return, bring me three carrier pigeons immediately!"
Fang Ke got scared and hurriedly said, "Chief Banner, we really can’t refuse this money, have you forgotten what I told you before..."
Yang Ge, grinding his teeth violently, interrupted him: "I haven’t forgotten, just returning my share. If something happens, I’ll take responsibility, it won’t involve you guys!"
Fang Ke pleaded earnestly, "Chief Banner, just listen to me this time, I know you are kind and righteous, but this is not the time to act on a whim. The old saying goes that cutting off someone’s fortune is like killing their parents. How could you and I, as petty people, spoil the big shots’ plans? Besides, do you think the Emperor truly knows nothing about these corrupt affairs? Is that possible?"
He was a bit panicked.
Really panicked...
"Don’t fucking use that shitty theory to try and coerce me!"
Yang Ge exploded with cursing, his expression indescribably irate: "All I know is that their actions will cause many, many people to not survive this winter. If I were just a commoner, it would be fine, at worst I’d starve, I could just go rob those bastards myself. But since I’m in this position, I damn well have to do what this position demands!"
"Do they want me, Yang Ge, to be their accomplice and lackey?"
"In their fucking dreams!"
Fang Ke: "Chief Banner..."
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Yang Ge, eyes bulging like a bull’s, said: "Fang Ke, we are comrades-in-arms, I’m not dragging you guys down, but if you fucking continue to nag me here, believe it or not, I’ll start by taking you down!"
Fang Ke’s face turned from pale to red, and after a few moments, he suddenly swept all the Silver Taels on the table across the room, and then with a flushed face and a fierce laugh, he said: "Fine! We’re in this together, don’t talk about taking it all on yourself. Those carrier pigeons of yours will have been sniffed out as soon as they reach your home, and then not only will you die, our brothers will not fare well either!"
"If you want to go mad, I’ll go mad with you this time. I’m going home to get my horse and will head to the capital overnight to report your intentions to Shen!"
"If we die, we brothers die together, nobody will be heartless and disloyal!"
Yang Ge: "Fuck off, I have no relatives, nobody gets dragged down if something happens. Why the hell are you going mad with me?"
Fang Ke scoffed disdainfully, "As if someone has relatives!"
After speaking, he solemnly bowed to Yang Ge, ignored Yang Ge’s protests, turned, opened the door, and strode out.