1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3846

Yue Shizong's flattery made Lu Congshan feel somewhat guilty. He knew that his only skill was using his power to amass wealth in chaotic times, nothing as noble as Yue Shizong made it out to be.

At the same time, Lu Congshan didn't believe that the other party's reason for joining Haihan was simply because the Embroidered Uniform Guard wanted to cause him trouble. There were too many unclear aspects to this whole matter, and Yue Shizong did not explain it in detail, so Lu Congshan could only be skeptical.

However, the fact that Haihan was able to win over Yue Shizong, a diplomat representing the Ming Dynasty, and even have him act as a go-between to bring him here shows that he must have been treated quite well. This made Lu Congshan a little curious about what kind of conditions Haihan planned to offer him.

This question naturally had to be answered by Shi Chengwu: "Lord Lu, I know you govern Jiujiang well and are a rare talent. Therefore, our country can offer you two options. First, after the matter is accomplished, you can continue to serve in Jiujiang Prefecture. However, to be honest, the top position certainly cannot be given to you again. You can only serve as an advisor to assist our country in managing Jiujiang. Of course, if you perform exceptionally well, you will certainly have the opportunity to serve in the court again in the future."

"Secondly, if Lord Lu loses interest in continuing to serve as an official, he can choose to retire and become a wealthy man. He can purchase land in our country to become a landlord, or buy a house to live in as a recluse, or continue to run his Lufa Bank business."

"No matter which path you choose, Lord Lu's property and businesses will be preserved, and his children and relatives will have a fair chance to take the imperial examinations in our country."

"But I must make this clear from the start: you can only choose one of these two paths. Lord Lu can no longer continue to hold office while running a business!"

Lu Congshan was slightly surprised after hearing this. He did not expect that Haihan would prepare the option for him to stay in the Jiujiang government and continue to serve. Although he would have to give up the top position, he was familiar with Jiujiang and it would not be difficult for him to make some achievements in time. At that time, he might really get the opportunity to serve in the court again, just as Shi Chengwu said.

However, becoming a businessman was not Lu Congshan's goal. He preferred the feeling of being in the officialdom to doing business.

As for money, Lu Congshan understood that he already had so much wealth that he could not spend it all in his next life. Now, what he needed to care about was not how to make more money, but how to preserve his existing assets.

Although Lu Congshan was the Prefect of Jiujiang, a high-ranking official of the fourth rank, he was not necessarily able to keep his vast wealth. He knew that there were many people in Jiangxi's officialdom who secretly coveted his property, but most of them just hadn't found a suitable opportunity to strike.

However, the frequent activities of the secret police in Jiujiang recently made Lu Congshan very uneasy. If the court had its eye on him, then a single imperial edict from the capital could easily confiscate all of his property.

Even if the imperial court hadn't discovered the shady dealings in Jiujiang, Lu Congshan wouldn't have been confident he could protect his family's property if Haihan launched another campaign.

A few years ago, when Yingtian Prefecture fell, many officials fled from Nanjing all the way to Jiujiang. At that time, Lu Congshan got to know a lot of gossip and heard many stories of their gold, silver and valuables being robbed by the soldiers along the way.

So recently, Lu Congshan has been thinking about how to transfer his assets to a safe place, a place that will not be affected by the imperial court, his colleagues in officialdom, or even the war.

After much deliberation, he concluded that the only place that could meet these stringent conditions was the Haihan Kingdom. It was said that the assets of those powerful figures who had previously pledged allegiance to Haihan had been properly preserved. Transferring large sums of money would be extremely difficult to conceal from the Haihan authorities, and besides, if it were done secretly, any mishap would be irreversible.

The most appropriate approach would be to obtain prior approval from Haihan's official authorities and complete the transfer process under their supervision and protection, thus minimizing the risks.

But this raises a new question: if they don't pledge allegiance to Haihan, why should the other side help them?
Just as Lu Congshan was desperately searching for a solution, Yue Shizong's letter arrived in Jiujiang Prefecture. The information revealed in the letter made Lu Congshan realize that this might be the solution he had been seeking but could not find.

So even though he knew the risks of a private visit to Tongling were extremely high, Lu Congshan still came. He wanted to personally confirm whether the other party could really provide him with a solution that would solve the problem once and for all.

The two paths proposed by Shi Chengwu seem quite feasible to Lu Congshan and worth trying.

Seeing that Lu Congshan had been deep in thought for a long time, Yue Shizong pressed on, saying, "Lord Lu, I've heard that your Lufax business is quite successful, and I'm afraid there are many envious people. You should deal with it as soon as possible!"

Yue Shizong didn't clarify whether he was dealing with those who were jealous of him or with Lu Faxing's businesses, but Lu Congshan already understood his meaning.

To reach an agreement with Haihan, Lufaxing would be the best pledge of allegiance. By transferring his assets to areas under Haihan's control, such as Nanjing, through Lufaxing, he should be able to gain Haihan's trust and thus achieve subsequent cooperation.

The only question now is whether Shi Chengwu's promise is credible and whether he can truly fulfill the conditions he has proposed.

Lu Congshan carefully chose his words and slowly said, "General Shi, if I act according to your arrangements, what guarantees are there?"

Shi Chengwu said, "If Lord Lu is not at ease, I can take you to Hangzhou to meet with the leaders of our Executive Committee in person. I'm sure you won't question what they say, will you?"

Lu Congshan was somewhat tempted. If he could meet with the Executive Committee, he might be able to negotiate better terms. However, arranging this was not easy; a round trip to Hangzhou might take half a month, and he couldn't afford to disappear from Jiujiang for that long.

Seeing that Lu's eyes were darting around, clearly weighing the pros and cons in his mind, Shi Chengwu knew that his words had worked. He immediately added, "If Lord Lu is too busy with official duties to go to Hangzhou in the near future, that's alright. I can have the Executive Committee issue you a letter of appointment in advance, so you can take office in Jiujiang after the matter is completed. If you want to go to Jiangsu and Zhejiang to become a wealthy man, I can also arrange for you to purchase property in advance, relieving you of all your worries."

Lu Congshan said, "General Shi's consideration is very thoughtful, I admire him! In that case, if I, Lu, still refuse, it would be rather rude of me."

Shi Chengwu said solemnly, "If Lord Lu is unwilling to cooperate, that's fine too. I won't make things difficult for you here. However, if we meet on the battlefield in the future, there will be no room for sentimentality."