Chapter 0005: Su Yonglin does not wish to become the Pirate King

Su Yonglin also knows that in terms of salt, the Jin Dynasty is much more conscientious than the Southern Song, with relatively lower prices and better quality. Therefore, the people living at the border between the Song and Jin dynasties almost exclusively consume Jin salt instead of Song salt

In this manner, although Su Dingguang has passed away and the Su family currently lacks any official representatives, the connections in the official realm have still been maintained by Su Yonglin, with others providing assistance in covering for them

According to Su Yonglin, some officials in certain areas publicly crack down on the sale of illicit salt, while in reality, they are deliberately tarnishing the reputation of government salt.

Although the Su family fleet ultimately emerged victorious, Old Man Bian was struck by a stray arrow and unfortunately lost his life. His wife, overwhelmed by grief, soon passed away as well, leaving Su Yonglin suddenly an orphan

The results of the investigation proved that Su Yonglin's judgment was not incorrect

Thus, this thrilling "change of dynasty" has come to a close

Therefore, it is not just Dinghai County; the entire Qingyuan Prefecture is almost entirely consuming the private salt of the Su family. There are also many people in other regions who rely on the Su family's private salt, and they are all very grateful for it, voluntarily assisting the salt traffickers of the Su family in concealing their whereabouts to evade the investigations and pursuits of the officials

What Sun Yuanqi did not expect even more was that Su Yonglin was also not a character who would remain quiet

Su Yonglin nodded

Of course, Su Yonglin also felt embarrassed to speak ill of his grandfather, as what he is doing now is quite similar.

Su Yonglin immediately made up his mind, deciding to take decisive action without hesitation, seizing the opportunity to act while the key figures of the Su Dingguang Private Salt Group were holding a meeting on the island

It can be said to be a phenomenon that is not uncommon

Zhao Kaishan has sent someone to inform us that he is preparing to officially take action in April, although the specific date has not yet been determined. He is currently making the final preparations and requests that we hasten to meet.

The trade share seized through battle was quickly occupied by other factions, and Su Shengren's death did not bring back any benefits

He does not know whether Su Yonglin is aware that this matter was instigated by himself

How many people and horses can he gather

After stabilizing the situation, Su Yonglin went to Lin'an to pay a visit to Sun Yuanqi

They are quite clever, using inferior goods to pass off as quality, conveniently raising prices, causing some honest individuals to suffer losses and profiting from them, while also pushing more common people to the brink of tolerance, leading them to buy the privately produced salt in which they have shares instead of the official salt.

The same salt, earning money twice, a blood profit

He secretly incited two important assistants of Su Dingguang to kill Su Yonglin, divide the sales share of the Su family, promised to be their protector, and attempted to gain greater benefits from this.

First, he summoned Su Yin, the head of the Su family's intelligence division and also his trusted confidant, to inquire about the latest developments in the north

How is the preparation at Zhao Kaishan's place going? Is there any latest news coming in

Thus, he could only seethe in silence, feeling that those two fellows were utterly useless, unable to even contend with a mere young lad, while on the surface, he continuously reassured Su Yonglin, encouraging him to proceed with confidence and boldness

They lacked experience, which is why they initially established the puppet regimes of the pseudo-Chu and pseudo-Qi to govern the Central Plains—Su Yonglin felt that the nature of these two puppet regimes was quite similar to the Manchukuo supported by the Japanese

Therefore, he absolutely cannot tolerate dying at the hands of a mediocre corrupt official

When Su Dingguang began his "entrepreneurship," he also collaborated with local salt officials to deliberately tarnish the reputation of government salt, squeezing out its market share and allowing private salt to flourish, resulting in everyone profiting handsomely.

Fighting is one thing, ruling is another; these are two separate matters

Ten thousand people? So many?

Su Yonglin had no choice but to need him

The smuggling of salt is rampant, kickbacks are prevalent, the central government manages its own affairs, and local authorities operate independently.

The common people are like this, and the bureaucrats are not much different.

Sun Yuanqi cannot be killed, but the traitors within his own ranks are a different matter

Su Yin nodded

In order to validate this judgment, Su Yonglin, during the four years following Su Dingguang's death, repeatedly dispatched Su Yin to the north to infiltrate the Jin Kingdom and gather intelligence, conducting on-site investigations in the regions of Shandong, Henan, and Hebei.

In the twentieth year of Shaoxing, in order to compete for the market, the Su family fleet engaged in a naval battle with another large smuggling salt gang.

In some places, the official salt is truly harmful to the point that consuming it can lead to illness

Although his rank is not high, he holds significant power and enjoys substantial benefits. The influential figures who appreciate him are very pleased with his management, and their words hint at the intention to continue promoting him

After a chaotic battle, Su Yonglin killed all of them and their confidants on the island.

Su Yonglin conducted a detailed study and analysis of this matter, and various signs indicate that Su Yonglin's judgment was correct

He arranged for his trusted aides, Su Yong and Su Changsheng, to suddenly launch an attack during the meeting, resulting in the capture and immediate execution of those two assistants and their loyal followers.

Upon hearing Su Yin's words, Su Yonglin immediately felt that the Jin people were practically ready to hand over the land of Shandong to them

This gave rise to the private salt trading groups along the border between the Song and Jin dynasties

In this way, the official salt can still be sold at a high price

What exacerbated the situation was that Su Dingguang, who originally had the support of Sun Yuanqi within the Lin'an court, began to harbor suspicions about the Su family, thinking that "the master is young and the country is in doubt"

In order to further gain their support, Su Yonglin not only provided monetary incentives but also specifically offered them free refined salt

When Su Dingguang was alive, Su Yonglin did not show any signs or reveal anything, and there was nothing remarkable about him, which led them to let their guard down

However, Sun Yuanqi did not anticipate that Su Dingguang had already taken precautions against this

Sun Yuanqi felt somewhat awkward at that time

He cried as he recounted the story of his "desperate counterattack after encountering danger," presenting a large amount of wealth and land deeds to Sun Yuanqi, pleading with Sun Yuanqi to continue to protect the Su family for the sake of his grandfather's reputation

Of course, one cannot say that the Jin people are at fault; when a small tribe faces a great nation, should they not feel a sense of insecurity

As time passes, previous events seem as if they never occurred

There are many people who do this, and Su Yonglin cannot be considered the best among them by any means

After Su Yonglin took charge of the private salt group, he frequently organized activities benefiting the people, such as buy two get one free, buy five get two free, which naturally garnered the welcome of the common people

However, they never expected that Su Yonglin was ruthless and decisive; while a meeting was in progress, she suddenly erupted and launched an attack, brandishing her knife without a word.

Su Dingguang had only one son, Su Shengren. After this blow, he was greatly saddened and was unable to manage affairs for a time, resulting in the Su family's trade share missing the best opportunity for expansion

At that time, he even contemplated going directly to Lin'an to kill Sun Yuanqi, and then heading north immediately

Su Yin's field investigation provided Su Yonglin with a wealth of firsthand information regarding the living standards and political situation of the people in the Jin Tong District

Their private salt is high-quality salt with a fine white granular texture, refined through a process that ensures its safety far exceeds that of government salt, and it is also much cheaper than government salt

Soon, Su Yonglin returned to the main base in Dinghai County and immediately began to take action, racing against time

Thus, Su Yonglin organized all the materials at hand and began to conduct a class for her core team

Soon, he was promoted from the position of Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Finance to that of a Senior Official, achieving a commendable advancement in his official career

However, it must be said that the notorious reputation of official salt cannot be attributed to just one or two officials; the very nature of this coercive buying and selling model makes it impossible for quality goods to emerge.

Su Yonglin continues to sell illicit salt, engaging in bribery at various levels

Of course, Su Yonglin's life ambition is not to become a pirate king who smuggles salt; this is merely a means for him to achieve his goals

The salt administration of the Southern Song Dynasty was rotten from top to bottom, from inside to outside, starting from the production process itself which was already foul and decayed

He also quite needs the financial resources of the Su family

Can a few hundred thousand Song soldiers conquer and rule over tens of millions of Han people

Yes, a few months ago, Jin Ting relocated several Mongolian Jurchens to the Shandong region, among which two decided to settle in the areas of Juzhou and Mizhou. According to past practices, someone was bound to have bad luck again. Therefore, Zhao Kaishan secretly persuaded several landlords in Juzhou and Mizhou to join him, roughly estimating that they could gather an army of ten thousand.

In this era, the average daily income of the common people in Lin'an is around 100 wen, which is approximately the same price needed for daily survival. The lower-class citizens are essentially living paycheck to paycheck, unable to save much money

Moreover, he has clear goals and a course of action. He needs to accumulate sufficient capital through the means of smuggling salt, which will facilitate his armed uprising against the Jin state at an opportune moment in the future

Approximately ten thousand people

Both are "national parasites" that exclude official salt from the market, forcing the common people to purchase their private salt for consumption

Sun Yuanqi continued to serve as the protector of the Su family in the central government, leveraging the financial resources of the Su family to navigate various connections and seek advancement in his official career

From this point on, Su Dingguang fell into a state of decline, often falling ill, and he barely managed to hold on until the twenty-fourth year of Shaoxing, when he passed away due to illness

He is more confident now

Although the Song government was driven away, the Han people who originally lived in the Central Plains did not leave; they continued to reside there, deeply rooted for generations. The Jurchens, seeing so many Han people, felt uneasy.

During this period, the capital of the Jin state did not even dare to be located in the Central Plains, but was instead situated far away in the Shangjing Huining Prefecture of Liaodong, which sufficiently demonstrates the Jin people's insecurity regarding their rule over the Han people in the Central Plains

Upon his passing, the Su family immediately lost its authoritative figure in the official realm. At that time, Su Yonglin was only sixteen years old, and no one believed he could inherit the family business. The Su family's private salt group was in a state of anxiety, which is likely what is meant by the saying "when the leader is young, the country is in doubt"

And now is the time for him to achieve his goals

Such table manners, tsk tsk tsk, are simply astonishing

He joined the illicit salt trading activities early on, and after several years of experience, he has become thoroughly familiar with the entire process of selling illicit salt, possessing a certain degree of control over the entire Su family salt syndicate.

However, since Su Yonglin came to pay a visit and continued to offer bribes, it indicates that Su Yonglin intends to maintain this ecosystem.

The Jin dynasty nominally ruled the Central Plains, but in reality, this rule was riddled with flaws, akin to a sieve, with holes appearing everywhere without any need for prodding.

Each time the court launched a "thunderous and swift" strike, it failed to land on the Su family

Su Dingguang secretly placed informants beside two important assistants during his lifetime, who informed Su Yonglin about their conspiracy with Sun Yuanqi

However, he quickly calmed down, realizing that this matter required an appropriate timing and meticulous preparation, and that he could not act impulsively without careful consideration, so he endured it.

There are certainly more officials than Su Dingguang who personally engage in the trafficking of illicit salt, and there are definitely more than one official who receives kickbacks from salt traffickers and acts as a protector.

Su Yonglin was somewhat surprised: "Is someone else going to join him?"

Whether one knows or does not know is not important; what matters most is that the business continues to operate