"Why are they giving me tribute?"
Yang Ge's face darkened. "Did you give them trouble?"
Fang Ke hastily shook his head like a rattle-drum. "No, no! Even if you lent me twice the courage, I wouldn't dare make trouble for them!"
There was something interesting about that answer. Yang Ge knitted his brows and said sternly, "Explain it to me carefully. What exactly is going on?"
Fang Ke glanced at him cautiously and lowered his voice. "You've heard about grain prices rising in the county lately, haven't you?"
Yang Ge nodded.
Fang Ke offered an ingratiating smile. "Well, they're afraid we'll give them trouble, so they've taken the initiative to grease our palms..."
Smack!
Yang Ge suddenly slapped the dining table and barked, his expression severe, "When I tell you to explain, you explain every last detail! Try to pull the wool over my eyes again, and don't blame me for forgetting we're comrades and disciplining you!"
Fang Ke jumped, his face instantly taut, and gave a concise report. "Reporting to the Banner Commander: the three major grain firms have joined forces to control the movement of grain and provisions throughout Hebei Circuit, Henan Circuit, Huainan Circuit, and both Jiangnan circuits. They're secretly stockpiling supplies and driving up grain prices. Wherever they go, powerful nobles guarantee their passage, and gold and silver pave the way. The portion delivered to you is merely routine, not an isolated case."
Yang Ge froze for a moment, then said incredulously, "You mean the three major grain firms are exploiting this temporary grain shortage caused by the court stockpiling provisions for war to rake in money? Luting County is the gateway to the Upper Capital, a vital part of the capital region. How dare they?"
Fang Ke replied, "The gateway to the Upper Capital... still isn't the Upper Capital, is it?"
Yang Ge said, "No, how can a racket that falls apart with a single poke possibly grow this big? Are all the civil and military officials at court dead?"
Since they had already gone this far, Fang Ke stopped concealing anything. "Surely you don't really think these major grain firms made their fortunes by selling grain in good harvest years and pocketing the difference?"
"Then you're seriously underestimating these great merchants!"
"For grain merchants, the scraps of silver they earn from ordinary margins are only enough to get by. If they want to make a killing, they have to wait for a grain shortage like this!"
"Think about it. Grain prices rise, and the common folk can't afford anything to put in their cooking pots. But they still have to live, don't they?"
"So what do they do?"
"They sell whatever they have!"
"If they have cattle and sheep, they sell cattle and sheep. If they have houses, they sell houses. If they have land, they sell land. If they truly have nothing left, they sell their sons, their daughters, and themselves!"
"With one hand, those great merchants sell grain at sky-high prices and make a fortune. With the other, they buy cattle, sheep, houses, and land for a pittance. When the good harvest years come, they sell it all off and make another fortune!"
"With profits coming and going like that, one famine year earns them as much as a hundred years of grain-sale margins in good harvest years!"
"Don't be fooled by those businessmen who've earned a few copper coins, swaggering around and throwing their weight about, thinking they're somebody."
"In the eyes of the truly powerful, they're nothing but pigs in a pen!"
"Once the opportunity comes, a single stroke of the knife can strip away the family wealth they've accumulated over generations!"
That brief speech.
It opened Yang Ge's eyes to an entirely new "perspective." He struggled to untangle his thoughts. "No, isn't there anyone who'll intervene in something this big? Does Great Wei belong to them?"
Fang Ke sneered. "Who would intervene? Who would dare? Just think how many prefectures and counties grain has to pass through to reach us from Jiangnan East Circuit. How many checkpoints? If they can control the grain moving along every route, don't you understand what that means?"
Yang Ge said, "With so many prefectures and counties involved, so many links in the chain, so many people, can they really keep it airtight every single time? Has no one ever exposed it to the Imperial Court?"
Fang Ke considered it, then replied, "Leaving aside whether anyone can get it before the Imperial Court, even if someone does, who can guarantee the investigators sent down aren't working for the people backing them?"
"Even if we take ten thousand steps back and assume it really reaches the point where it can't be covered up, all that happens is a few merchants and petty officials doing the work get killed. The bigwigs pocketing the benefits won't lose a single hair!"
Yang Ge stared blankly at Fang Ke's composed face, then looked at the bundle of silver on the dining table. The more he thought about it, the more a chill crept into his bones.
If he had heard these words from Shen Fa, he might have been shocked by the darkness among Great Wei's powerful elite, but he would never have felt this bone-deep dread.
After all, Shen Fa was both a Thousand-Household Commander in the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the scion of a military family. It was perfectly natural for him to know about the dirty dealings at the top.
But what standing did Fang Ke have?
Even a small fry like him understood every twist and turn of it!
And what standing did Yang Ge himself have?
Even a small fry like him fell within the scope of their payoffs!
At a loss for words, he muttered to himself, "So rotten. So rotten... so fucking rotten!"
He knew feudal dynasties were rotten. Every dynasty throughout history had its own brand of rot.
After all, he had even served as the history class representative back in secondary school.
But knowing was one thing.
Experiencing it firsthand was another.
All he felt now was suffocation, as though he were drowning in the middle of a mighty, surging river.
Given his education and the environment he had grown up in, he truly struggled to understand how great figures who had already attained high office, with wealth and glory enough to last a lifetime, could sink to such depths for money...
Could they really sleep at night with that money in their hands?
When they woke from dreams at midnight, did no wronged souls wail in their ears?
Watching the emotions shift across Yang Ge's face like colors on a palette, Fang Ke dared not make a sound.
Only after a long while did Yang Ge speak. "Apart from my share, did you all get any?"
Fang Ke answered cautiously, "Everyone did. Two hundred taels for each Junior Banner Officer, thirty for each guardsman."
Yang Ge glanced at the bundle of silver on the dining table. "So they've spent three thousand taels on our unit alone? What lavish spending!"
Fang Ke dared not answer.
Yang Ge remained silent for a long time, then pointed at the bundle of silver on the table. "Return my share. I'll pretend I know nothing about yours. Once you get back, bring me three messenger pigeons immediately!"
Fang Ke jumped and hurriedly said, "Banner Commander, we can't refuse this money! Have you forgotten what I told you before..."
Grinding his back teeth, Yang Ge cut him off harshly. "I haven't forgotten. Return only my share. If anything happens, I'll bear it myself. None of you will be dragged into it!"
Fang Ke pleaded earnestly, "Banner Commander, listen to me just this once. I know you're kind and righteous, but this really isn't the time to act on impulse! The old saying goes that cutting off someone's source of wealth is like murdering their parents. With so many bigwigs rubbing their hands, ready for a fat New Year, would they let small fry like us ruin their plans? Besides, do you think His Majesty really knows absolutely nothing about this rotten business? Is that possible?"
He was panicking a little.
Truly panicking...
"Don't fucking use your bullshit theories to hold me hostage!"
Yang Ge swore, his expression violently agitated. "All I know is that what they're doing will leave countless people unable to survive this winter! If I were just an ordinary commoner, fine-at worst, when I got hungry enough, I'd rob those bastards myself. But since I hold this position, I fucking have to do what this position demands!"
"They want me, Yang Ge, to become their accomplice and lapdog?"
"In their fucking dreams!"
Fang Ke said, "Banner Commander..."
Yang Ge's eyes widened like a bull's. "Fang Ke, we're comrades, and I won't drag you all into this. But if you fucking dare keep whining at me, believe me, you'll be the first one I take the knife to!"
Fang Ke's face went pale, then red. After a few breaths, he suddenly swept the silver off the table, scattering it all over the room. Then, red-faced, he laughed harshly. "Fine! We're comrades, so don't tell me you'll bear it all yourself. The moment those pigeons reach home, someone will pick up the scent and come sniffing around. Then it won't just be you dying-none of our brothers will get off lightly!"
"If you're going mad, I'll go mad with you this once! I'll go home for my horse right now and ride to the capital overnight to see Lord Shen and report your intentions!"
"If we die, we brothers die together! Neither of us gets to be a heartless, faithless bastard!"
Yang Ge said, "Piss off! I've got no family or ties. If anything happens, I won't drag anyone down. Why are you going mad with me?"
Fang Ke gave a scornful snort. "You say that as though I have family or ties!"
With that, he solemnly cupped his fist toward Yang Ge. Ignoring Yang Ge's shout to stop, he turned, opened the door, and strode away.
Before you continue