newbobooks Chapter 635 Even a mighty dragon can't suppress a local snake.
Chapter 635 Even a mighty dragon can't suppress a local snake.
The lights were still on in the study.
Gu Junze pressed himself against the window and heard a man's fawning voice coming from inside.
"President, the prefect is pressing us hard. We need to hurry up with the next batch of goods."
"Hurry up, hurry up, are you trying to kill me?!" a rough, hoarse voice cursed impatiently. "Tell him that top-quality iron isn't like cabbage, it's not something you can just come up with whenever you want! Tell him to wait a little longer!"
"Yes Yes."
Soon, the person inside came out, and the study light went out.
Gu Junze waited for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn to make sure no one was there before pushing open the window and slipping inside.
He walked around the study, his gaze finally settling on the huge rosewood bookshelf.
He reached out, neither knocking nor touching, but instead gently pressed down on the seventh book from the left on the third row of the bookshelf.
"Click."
With a soft sound, an entire wall on the side of the bookshelf slowly slid open, revealing a hidden compartment just wide enough for one person to pass through.
There was no gold or silver jewelry in the hidden compartment, only two locked iron chests.
Gu Junze pulled a thin wire from his boot, and with two soft, crisp clicks, the lock opened.
The first box contained an account book.
The records show the transactions between Jinxiu Pavilion and various weavers in the city, with every transaction clearly documented.
Granny Sun's cloud-patterned brocade was prominently listed, with a purchase price of five taels.
He closed the book without expression.
The second box was opened.
Inside, there was also an account book.
The ledger's paper was yellowed, and another business deal was recorded on it in extremely small print.
"In February, three thousand catties of fine iron were purchased and sent to the blacksmith shop in the west of the city."
"In April, we obtained three hundred sets of armor and five thousand arrows."
In May, five hundred bushels of grain and fodder were purchased.
Gu Junze's pupils shrank to pinpoints in an instant.
As you turn the pages, you see every transaction, every batch of goods... The sheer quantity of these weapons, armor, and provisions is enough to arm an elite private army of several thousand men.
At the end of each record, the final destination of the goods was written in vermilion ink by the same person in charge of the handover.
Chen Taimo, Prefect of Chengdu.
What a fine prefect of Chengdu!
This is not collusion between officials and businessmen; it is clearly an attempt to rebel.
When we returned to the villa, the sky was already beginning to lighten.
Chu Ruohan hadn't slept all night, and when she saw him return, she immediately went to greet him.
Gu Junze told her about the two account books.
Chu Ruohan's face changed, all color drained from her eyes.
"This...this is..."
“It’s treason,” Gu Junze said for her, his voice devoid of any emotion.
"What are you going to do?"
Gu Junze poured himself a cup of tea that had gone cold and drank it all in one gulp.
"Even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake." He looked out the window at the sky just before dawn, his eyes as deep as an ancient well.
"Since the snake refuses to come out of its hole, let's smash its den first."
He took the small bamboo tube out of his pocket again.
I spread out a new sheet of paper, picked up my brush, and dipped it in ink.
He didn't write much nonsense, but simply stated the contents of the secret account and the current state of Chengdu's military preparedness, with the city's defenses being entirely controlled by private soldiers.
Finally, I attached my plan.
After writing the letter, he rolled it up into a thin roll, stuffed it into a bamboo tube, and tied it to the leg of the carrier pigeon.
He walked to the window and opened it.
In the dim light of dawn, he let go of her hand.
The gray pigeon took flight, breaking through the morning mist, and sped off towards the northern capital.
Chu Ruohan sat at the table, having not slept all night, but her eyes showed no signs of fatigue; on the contrary, they shone with an astonishing brightness.
“They’ve woven a net in the city.” She tapped her fingertips lightly on the table, a gesture very similar to Gu Junze’s.
“Use the Brocade Pavilion to control the weavers, use the Hundred Herbs Hall to control life and death, and use the prefect’s power to filter out all those who disobey.”
"At the center of the net is Prefect Chen Taimo," Gu Junze said calmly.
"The worst thing about a net isn't being cut with a knife, but having fish crawl out and tear it apart." Chu Ruohan looked up at Gu Junze.
There was a sharpness and decisiveness in her eyes that one would only find in the business world.
“They got to where they are today by monopolizing the fabric business. Since that’s the case, let’s create another business opportunity for them.”
"A business that is not under his control."
Gu Junze looked at her, a faint smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.
He knew that his wife would have to get involved herself.
The next day, it was as if a huge boulder had been thrown into Chengdu.
Several huge red paper notices were posted in the most crowded places in the city.
Especially at the entrance of Weaver Girl Lane, the red paper almost covered half of the mottled wall.
There was no official seal, nor the name of any business.
He wrote several large characters using only the coarsest ink.
"The Weaver Girl Competition".
The notice was simple and direct, not asking about background or setting any thresholds; anyone who could weave could participate.
The bottom line of text, like a ball of fire, burned everyone's eyes.
"The first place winner will be awarded five hundred taels of silver."
Five hundred taels.
In Weaver Girl Lane, a lame man leaned against the wall and read the notice word by word.
He was surrounded by people in front of and behind him.
Those faces, usually numb from poverty and illness, all came alive at this moment.
The sounds of breathing and heartbeats became heavy.
What is five hundred taels of silver?
It means replacing the leaky house, ensuring the children have enough to eat, getting doctors and good medicine for a sick family member, and... a way out.
The crowd was deathly silent for a moment, then erupted into chaos.
Five hundred taels! Did I hear that right?
"Who's going to spend so much? Are they crazy?"
"Forget whether he's crazy or not, look carefully, what's the competition topic?"
Some people squeezed to the front, staring at the red paper and black words, reading them word by word.
"The theme of the competition is 'Lost Memories.' The requirement is to weave traditional patterns that are not accepted in the market but are exquisitely crafted..."
Upon hearing this, a light suddenly shone in the cloudy eyes of several elderly weavers in the crowd.
Those hidden skills that Manager Wang dismissed as "old relics" and "nobody wanted"!
Those intricate patterns they thought they would never have the chance to touch again in their lives suddenly became an opportunity to exchange for five hundred taels of silver.
This is no competition.
This is a belated gesture of respect to these old bones who have been trampled into the mud.
Lin House.
Manager Wang stumbled and crawled into the study, his face deathly pale.
"Boss! Boss! Something's happened!"
Behind the desk, a shrewd-looking middle-aged man was playing with two jade walnuts. Hearing this, he didn't even lift his eyelids.
"Why panic?"
"Outside... someone posted a notice outside, announcing some kind of Weaver Girl Contest, with a prize of five hundred taels of silver for the first place!"
Manager Wang's voice trembled, "Isn't this blatantly trying to steal our talent from Jinxiuge? Those poor bastards are eyeing us with greed!"