Looking north towards the rivers and mountains

On the seventh day of the sixth lunar month, in Huangtian Port, Jiangyin Prefecture.

An official boat slowly approached the shore. A flag bearing the inscription "Assistant Chancellor of the Jiangzhe Province" fluttered on the mast, swaying in the river breeze. The entourage bustled about, carrying luggage, setting up gangplanks, and negotiating with the clerks on shore who were there to greet them.

A moment later, Su Tianjue came out of the cabin, stood at the bow, and looked around.

The dock was bustling with people. Porters carried sacks across the pier, and several merchant ships were loading and unloading cargo. Some people were shouting slogans, while others were arguing, creating a noisy scene.

Not far away was a warehouse with the four large characters "Huangtian Trading Company" painted on the wall in neat handwriting.

A little further away was a row of houses with tiled roofs and smoke billowing from their chimneys, just like any other ordinary riverside town.

"Is this Jiangyin?" Su Tianjue asked.

The accompanying clerk replied, "Reporting to the Councilor, this is Huangtian Port. Jiangyin Prefecture is a few miles south."

Su Tianjue grunted in response, not in a hurry to disembark.

The prefectural government had already received advance notice, and the prefectural magistrate, Zhu Daocun, along with several officials, greeted Su Tianjue at the dock. They had already met him. "You've come from afar, Councilor, you must be tired from your journey. A simple meal has been prepared in the prefecture..." Zhu Daocun said with a smile.

"No need, let's just find a place nearby," Su Tianjue said, gesturing to the surroundings.

Zhu Daocun seemed to have anticipated this. After discussing it with his accompanying officials, he went to Jiangxia City and found a tavern that was of a decent standard.

When Su and Zhu arrived, there were no other customers in the tavern.

Su Tianjue frowned slightly, but said nothing.

The shopkeeper bowed and scraped, personally setting out tea and snacks for them to have a bite to eat. Several waiters stood at attention, ready to serve at any moment. Su Tianjue sat down in the main seat, took the teacup, and took a sip. It was this year's new tea, with a mellow and rich flavor.

"Good tea," he praised.

Zhu Daocun smiled and said, "I'm glad the Councilor likes it. It's a local product from Wuxi, not worth much money."

Su Tianjue put down his teacup, glanced around, then looked away and asked, "How many years has Zhu Tongzhi been in Jiangyin?"

"More than three years," Zhu Daocun said, bowing slightly.

"More than three years, this is my second term..." Su Tianjue repeated, then said, "You should be aware of the pros and cons of Jiangyin, right?"

Zhu Daocun's heart tightened, but he remained outwardly calm and said, "As you are wise, Jiangyin is a barren land with poor people. It is only thanks to the relatively light taxes that the people can barely make ends meet. The weather has not been very good in recent years, but fortunately there have been no major disasters."

"There's no major disaster..." Su Tianjue said slowly, "but someone told me that Jiangyin is not peaceful."

Zhu Daocun paused slightly, then asked, "What does 'participating in government' mean...?"

"I'm not here to investigate a case," Su Tianjue waved his hand, his tone gentle. "I'm just passing by and taking the opportunity to learn about the local conditions. Feel free to speak. If what you say is correct, I'll pass it on to my superiors. If it's incorrect, I'll simply pretend I didn't hear it."

Zhu Daocun remained silent for a long time, his expression somewhat conflicted, as if he was carefully considering his words.

"Advisor," he waved his hand, signaling the minor official from the prefectural government who had come with him, along with the tavern waiters, to go to the kitchen to urge the preparation of the dishes. Only then did he speak, "Jiangyin does indeed face difficulties. First, there is a shortage of land and a large population; the people do not have enough farmland, and many have no choice but to seek a living elsewhere. Second, the patrol office lacks archers, its weapons are outdated, and bandits are rampant, which the prefectures and counties are powerless to suppress. Third..."

He paused, glanced at Su Tianjue's expression, and gritted his teeth, saying, "Thirdly, the local powerful clans are too influential; even the prefectures and counties sometimes can't control them." Su Tianjue picked up his teacup, blew away the foam, and casually asked, "Powerful clans? Which powerful clans?"

Zhu Daocun hesitated for a moment, but still said it: "Ma Tuo Sha Shao Shuyi."

Su Tianjue showed no surprise, simply setting down his teacup, leaning back in his chair, and saying, "The state can't do without him?"

Zhu Daocun lowered his head and remained silent.

Su Tianjue understood and asked again, "Zhu Tongzhi, tell me the truth. Could Shao Shuyi be planning a rebellion?"

Zhu Daocun's expression changed. He stood up, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "Counselor, I dare not make a rash judgment. I can only say that although Shao Shuyi has been domineering in Jiangyin all these years, he has not yet openly defied the imperial court."

Su Tianjue carefully pondered this passage; it was quite interesting.

He served as a secretary in the Ministry of Justice, an imperial censor, and an inspector of the provincial administration. During his tenure in Huguang, he overturned many wrongful convictions and was most adept at discerning the truth from the slightest clues.

Zhu Daocun's attitude towards Shao Shuyi was complicated, even subtly hostile.

This hostility came without reason, but Su Tianjue was far too good at making connections.

After arriving in Hangzhou, he often drank tea and chatted with his subordinates and clerks. His subordinates were relatively cautious and dared not talk about official matters, but they were willing to share anecdotes and interesting stories.

Su Tianjue heard that Fei Xiong, the deputy commander of the Grand Canal, was incredibly wealthy, yet he only had three daughters. His youngest was still young, his eldest was married to Zhu Daocun, and his second daughter, sixteen, was of marriageable age. However, Shao Shuyi of Jiangyin insisted on marrying her, becoming the laughingstock of Hangzhou's official circles. Some even whispered that Zhu Daocun, the assistant prefect of Jiangyin, had met his match; the Fei family's vast wealth might fall into someone else's hands, and Zhu Daocun might not be able to outmaneuver the infamous Shao Shuyi.

Su Tianjue didn't know what Zhu Daocun was thinking. But he knew that it was impossible for no one in Jiangyin's official circles to be talking about this matter, and Zhu Daocun must have been affected to some extent.

His attitude toward Shao Shuyi was very complex, likely including fear, worry, vigilance, and even anger.

Thinking of this, Su Tianjue was in no hurry to speak, and simply picked up his teacup and slowly drank.

The tavern was very quiet, with only the rustling of bamboo leaves in the backyard in the wind.

Zhu Daocun would steal glances at the other person every now and then, feeling somewhat uneasy.

"How about this," Su Tianjue suddenly said, "I want to meet Shao Shuyi. You pass on a message for me, without disturbing him, just say that a passing traveler wants to chat with him, he can choose the place, and I will go to the meeting myself."

Zhu Daocun was taken aback, but dared not refuse, and finally could only agree.

Su Tianjue noticed his predicament, smiled, and said, "Don't worry, I'm not here to cause him trouble. Fang Guozhen is causing trouble in the prefecture, and the province wants to ask Shao Shuyi if he's interested in helping the court."

Zhu Daocun suddenly realized and said, "This humble official will immediately send someone to search and see if Shao Shuyi has returned."

"No rush," Su Tianjue waved his hand and said, "I'm staying in the prefecture these few days, and I don't have anything else to do."

Zhu Daocun responded. He had originally planned to send someone to inform them after finishing his meal, but after thinking about it, he excused himself, hurriedly got up and went to the kitchen to instruct someone to send a message to the prefectural government.

Su Tianjue sat alone in the main hall of the tavern, lost in thought.

He was not unaware of Shao Shuyi's influence in Jiangyin; he had reviewed the case files and heard various accounts before arriving. What he saw and heard today was even more troublesome than he had anticipated—not because Shao Shuyi was particularly ruthless, but because the prefecture had long since stopped regarding him as a thief.

This is the most terrible.

A salt smuggler whose actions are tacitly accepted as "legal" by the government, a local tyrant with soldiers, ships, and territory, and someone who can influence the decisions of the prefectural government—such a person is only one step away from rebellion.

But will he actually take that step?

Su Tianjue didn't know because he didn't know Shao Shuyi yet.

But one thing he knew was that at this critical juncture, the court could not force Shao Shuyi to take the initiative.

The wind picked up again.

The bamboo in the backyard outside the window was bent over by the wind, then bounced back, bent again, and bounced again, as if it were competing with the wind. It was very tenacious and very skillful.

Once this clump of bamboo grows into a bamboo forest, even the wind will find it difficult to destroy.

On the eighth day of the sixth lunar month, when Shao Shuyi received the news, he was practicing with his guards, wielding a sword and shield.

He didn't rush to reply, but instead focused on finishing his sparring session with Fu Jian before handing the sword and shield to Tie Niu. He sighed contentedly and said, "That felt good!"

Fu Jian also put away his sword and shield and laughed, "Brother, you've only been practicing for three or four years, but your skills are already quite good. Even in today's army, you'd be considered a master."

"Oh? Really?" Shao Shuyi asked with considerable curiosity, "What if this happened sixty years ago?"

"It wasn't bad sixty years ago either," Fu Jian replied.

"Nonsense, you're only twenty this year, how would you know about things from sixty years ago?" Shao Shuyi laughed and scolded.

Fu Jian was a little embarrassed, but still said, "My grandfather was skilled with a sword and shield. Back then, he went south from Pizhou and fought more than twenty battles, big and small. His skills were quite good. I watched him practice martial arts when I was a child, and I think he was about the same as you, my elder brother."

Shao Shuyi laughed heartily. Fu Jian's grandfather was already quite old back then; was he praising me or insulting me?

When we sat down in the shade of a tree, Fu Yong had already brought over some herbal tea.

"Fan Tieshu, sit down," Shao Shuyi beckoned.

Fan Ting, the clerk from the prefectural government who came to deliver the message, didn't dare to look Shao Shuyi in the eye. After carefully sitting down on the stool, he kept his head down. He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt like someone was staring at his crotch.

"You said that Vice Chancellor Su Tianjue has come to Jiangyin and wants to see me?" After ordering a bowl of cold tea for the other man, Shao Shuyi asked.

In addition, he felt that the name Su Tianjue sounded familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere before.

"That's right," Fan Ting said. "Counselor Su spoke very politely, praising you for maintaining peace in the region, which is a great achievement. So he wanted to meet you and persuade you to serve the country."

"Serving the country?" Shao Shuyi understood.

Although he was sitting on a horse carrying sand, he was not completely unaware of news from the outside world.

By the end of May, Fang Guozhen had already occupied Haimen Port, looting everywhere. It was said that his followers had been spotted near Qingyuan Road, but they were repelled by the warships of the Coastal Ten Thousand Households Prefecture.

If nothing unexpected happens, the government should be frantically searching for ships, preparing to launch a major attack on Fang Guozhen. The few remaining naval warships at Liujiagang have been ordered to be deployed to Qingyuan, and some personnel and ships from the Han Chinese interpreter's army have also been transferred, but they haven't moved yet. Zheng Fan, a clerk at the Jiangyin Changshu Thousand-Household Office of the Grain Transport Commissioner, also received news that two days ago, an official from the province passed through Shipai, crossed the river northward, and requested that the Yangzhou Naval Ten-Thousand-Household Office be transferred southward.

Zheng Fan estimated that this move would not succeed, not because Yangzhou Road was unwilling, but because the Yangzhou navy was entirely engaged in water transport and few of them knew how to fight. Nevertheless, Hangzhou was indeed mobilizing all resources to prepare for the encirclement and suppression of Fang Guozhen.

Su Tianjue wanted to see him, perhaps to appease him, or perhaps to have him lead men to garrison eastern Zhejiang, or even to help the government seize the island.

It wasn't that the government lacked troops, but rather that they wanted to wear him down or test his intentions. They were even willing to offer him some benefits, but these were not what they wanted.

Although he and Lao Fang were sabotaging each other, he really didn't want the other to be finished.

Thinking of this, Shao Shuyi looked at Fan Ting and smiled, "Alright, it's time to go out and meet people. I intend to meet Councilor Su at Huangtian Trading Company, what do you think?" "I'll go back and report right away," Fan Ting said immediately.