Chapter 586 – Spendthrift Women, Where Did the Money Go? (3)
Meng Clan and Liu Clan have no enmity?
Of course, they do! It’s a hatred that can’t coexist under the same sky!
Back in the day, Meng Liang met a tragic end. Meng Zhan was left to grieve, his hair turned white from sorrow, spitting blood several times. After the grand funeral, he fell seriously ill, bedridden and languishing.
Finally recovering, he felt that Meng Liang’s death was suspicious beyond belief.
He knew Meng Hunyun well—though he had been promoted to the position of Meng County’s constable, Meng Hunyun remained down-to-earth and honest, lacking the cunning to orchestrate intricate plots. Besides, he had openly provoked and leaked hints about something “cheap” several times.
Not to mention that ambushing supplies required a large number of hands. When Meng Hunyun fled Meng County, he took quite a few people with him, but they were all a motley crew of wounded soldiers. Many died along the way; how could they possibly have the strength to eliminate the elite of the Meng Clan and humiliate them repeatedly during the process?
While bedridden, Meng Zhan pondered and thought things weren’t that simple; there surely had to be a mastermind behind Meng Hunyun.
Once he regained his health, he dispatched people to Hejian County to dig up information carefully.
Unfortunately, Cangzhou’s Meng County was very distant from Hejian County, and with hard riders making haste, it took a month for a round trip—a slow way to exchange information.
By the time Meng Zhan shifted his suspicions toward Liu Zhi, Liu Zhi had already become a chief examiner in the capital, having stepped down from the position of Hujun’s governor and been promoted to Chongzhou’s shepherd. He had just finished his evaluations and quickly assumed office, heading to the Dongqing border, thus spanning the entire Dongqing landscape from north to south.
And what about Meng Hunyun?
By then, Meng Hunyun had already taken over a thousand troops to Chongzhou to avoid the storm, completely dodging the Meng Clan’s spies.
Meng Zhan initially wanted to target the Liu Clan to test Liu Zhi’s response, as he had no evidence to prove Liu Zhi masterminded Meng Hunyun’s murder of Meng Liang. However, there were only ordinary clanspeople from the Hejian Liu Clan, with the crucial Liu Zhi in Chongzhou and the younger ones studying in Langya County.
At that time, the Emperor had already crushed the Northern Border Marquisate, leaving a power vacuum that required a trusted confidant.
Thus, the Meng Clan became the best choice, partially diverting Meng Zhan’s attention.
Until about six months ago, Meng Zhan received news about a fierce general named Meng Hunyun operating within Fengyi County, leading troops to conquer Maolin County!
Meng Hunyun? He wasn’t dead?
Meng Zhan felt like he was infused with blood, quickly sending people to investigate. After several days of back-and-forth, he finally gathered solid information.
Meng Hunyun was still the same Meng Hunyun, the former constable of Meng County, now a captain in Liu Xi’s advance camp.
And who is Liu Xi?
Liu Zhi’s only son.
And who is Meng Hunyun?
The chief perpetrator behind Meng Liang’s murder, who toyed with Cangzhou and obtained grain through deception.
With these two linked together, Meng Zhan didn’t need any evidence. He could conclusively determine that the mastermind behind the killing of Meng Liang was Liu Zhi!
Four or five years had passed; the hatred of losing his son was not something he could forget for a moment. When he thought of his beloved son’s bloodless corpse lying in a cold coffin, he couldn’t subdue his resentment… even though he had some shady dealings with Liu Zhi, how dare this person be so ruthless as to take Meng Liang’s life?
To Meng Zhan, Meng Liang was no different than Liu Xi was to Liu Zhi!
The grudge of a slain son cannot coexist!
Meng Zhan had wanted to distance himself from the war between the Emperor and Changshou Wang, but now he was stepping right into it, planning to use it as leverage to help one side win and then attack Liu Zhi’s family. Little did he know the Emperor’s promises were mere smoke, behind which he was led astray by a scheming concubine.
With no choice, Meng Zhan had to switch targets, abandoning the Emperor and turning to cooperate with Changshou Wang.
Liu Zhi killed his son, and he was determined to eradicate the Liu Clan!
Innocent Liu Zhi bore the burden for Jiang Pengji, but how many families had been harmed by Jiang Pengji?
Far away in the northern border, another storm was brewing.
The Northern Border King was an adept player; he carved out a bloody path from an ordinary royalty and became the king of the North, possessing some talent.
The losses at the horse farms had become irretrievable, with large numbers of war horses dead causing a bleeding heart, but for now, the most important thing was to stabilize the situation to minimize losses for all the tribes and herders. When it came to compensating for losses, money naturally became essential.
Speaking of money, the managers of the Northern Border trading houses turned pale.
To combat foreign merchants and secure Northern Border interests, the Northern Border King, upon the advice of the “wise one” Wu Libai, organized various industries into a trading alliance that benefited all parties while increasing the competitiveness of local commerce.
However, as is the case with alliances, there are both upsides and downsides.
They recognized the value of “Heavenly Palace Amber,” and after some hesitation, they merged to absorb the stockpile of Gu Xin’s Ju Bao Zhai, planning to employ Gu Xin’s tactics of “price speculation” and “hunger marketing,” maximizing the scarcity utility of “Heavenly Palace Amber.”
Alas, they hadn’t raked in much profit before the Horse Plague struck, leading to another thunderous wave of war horse deaths and losses at the horse farms…
Now needing real gold and silver to plug the leaks, they were shocked to find that their liquid funds were less than a quarter of usual.
The Northern Border trading houses indeed had wealth, but much of it was tied up in shops, horse farms, war horses, broodmares, foal logistics, and precious goods… Converting those into gold, silver, and jewels made the Northern Border trading houses wealthy enough to rival nations, but when it came to ready cash…
Bang! Bang!
“Where’s the money? Don’t tell me someone embezzled it?”
The head secretary slammed the table with a deafening clap, his beard nearly flying off from rage.
The junior secretary trembled and stammered, “Even with ten times my guts, I wouldn’t dare to do that…”
The head secretary, fuming, grabbed the documents handed over by the other and read them in a blink.
All the entries matched, but where did the trading house’s money go?
Glancing at the end, the head secretary’s face turned a shade of green, and he sighed, “Let’s find a way to sell all the ‘Heavenly Palace Amber’…”
The junior secretary hastily interjected, “But—”
The head secretary interrupted, “There are no buts! What’s most urgent now is to come up with some cash; the authorities need it.”
Everyone knows how precious “Heavenly Palace Amber” is—no gold or gems can rival it. Who knows, in a few years, it might get even more expensive. After all, they had heavily underpriced Gu Xin, and even if sold at market price, it would still guarantee profit.
Not only wouldn’t they incur losses, but they’d also earn a handsome profit.
Everyone understands this reasoning, but time is of the essence; they can’t afford to wait.
With no choice, they could only dispose of the “Heavenly Palace Amber” to obtain real gold and silver.
At this moment, they stumbled upon a rather awkward situation.
Most Northern Border noblewomen hailed from noble origins, and many trading houses were established by these noblewomen’s families.
When they purchased “Heavenly Palace Amber,” they didn’t pay in gold or silver but instead resorted to “accounting,” “buying on credit,” or “direct withdrawal”… Worse still, some claimed to use money but were essentially using the trading house’s funds, a distinction with little difference between putting money from the left pocket into the right one!
Among them, Wu Libai’s wife was the most extravagant, sweeping up ten full sets of headpieces in one go.
Yet, the trading house didn’t see a single coin; instead, they ended up with a pile of IOUs.
To these noblewomen, the trading house was just a family-run business; was there a need to pay for something they bought?
