Zou Yang's promise of generous rewards had allowed the merchants to readily gather three million taels. However, what caused Pang Tong and Zou Yang immense frustration was that the newly acquired three million taels had vanished overnight. The storeroom where the silver was kept had been robbed!
"Damn it!" Pang Tong furiously kicked over a table. "Which son of a bitch did this? How did they know we had raised the money and where we hid it? Who leaked the information?"
"General, could there be a mole among us?"
"Who knew where the silver was stored?"
"You, me, and the men escorting the silver," Zou Yang wiped the sweat from his brow. Having just lost three million, and then losing another three million, their sanity was on the verge of collapse.
"Arrest all the men who escorted the silver and interrogate them one by one. I want to see who dared to steal my silver without fear of death!"
"General, catching the thief is important, but we're running out of time. Where can we possibly raise the silver now?"
Pang Tong's brow furrowed. They had already approached the merchants once. If they asked again, it wouldn't be so easy.
"How much silver can you produce?"
"At most, I can come up with two hundred thousand taels, that's the absolute limit. But we need three million taels!"
Pang Tong calculated the silver he had on hand, about thirty thousand taels. They were still short by two million five hundred thousand taels. "Tell the merchants' guild to raise another two million five hundred thousand taels."
"The people in the guild are shrewd and calculating. I'm afraid..."
"Put a salt field up for auction, highest bidder wins!"
"General, are you insane? Salt fields are government property. Even if we dare to sell it, someone has to dare to buy it. If we're caught, it's a capital offense!"
"With the current floods devastating Jiang Zhou, losing one or two salt fields is understandable. We can register the auctioned salt fields as damaged and convert them to private ownership."
Zou Yang still felt it was too risky. But if they couldn't produce the silver, their official positions would be lost. The higher-ups wouldn't care if the silver was robbed or stolen; failure to deliver would mean their doom!
Zou Yang rushed to find the merchants' guild, proposing to auction a salt field with a starting bid of two million five hundred thousand taels.
The merchants were hesitant. Before they arrived, they had heard rumors. Even though they coveted the salt fields, they dared not act rashly. Moreover, these were government salt fields. To buy and sell them privately was a capital offense! Making money was important, but one needed to be alive to spend it.
Zou Yang confidently explained to everyone that the auctioned salt field would be converted to private ownership. However, no one bid. They had already obtained salt permits, which allowed them to legally sell illicit salt. But salt fields were different. Owning one wasn't a golden goose; it was a death warrant!
Despite Zou Yang's every effort, no merchant dared to bid. They all made excuses about insufficient household savings and refused to participate in the auction.
Desperate, Zou Yang suggested they all pool their resources to buy the salt field. Not much more, just four million. Three million for the tribute, and he and General Pang would each contribute fifty thousand.
Hearing this, the merchants became even more wary. They even started believing the rumors and whispered amongst themselves, exchanging information. In the end, they only agreed to go home and consider it, promising to give an answer in two days.
Zou Yang watched the merchants leave, clenching his teeth. It was understandable that the merchants were hesitant. This was a significant deal, especially after they had just defrauded three million taels with salt permits. Now they were asking for four million. These shrewd merchants wouldn't easily part with their money.
News of the salt field auction's failure quickly reached Xiao Man. She calmly arranged her tea set. "Tian Que, have some tea."
Zhan Tian Que sat opposite Xiao Man and took the tea. He drank it in one gulp. Xiao Man refilled his cup, and Zhan Tian Que emptied it again without a word.
"You! Tea is meant to be savored. If you gulp it down like that, can you taste anything?"
"It's not as good as plain water," Zhan Tian Que honestly replied.
Xiao Man glared at him. "After following me for so many years, how can you still not know how to appreciate tea?"
"My Lady, you're making things difficult for me," Zhan Tian Que said innocently. "I'm a rough man. I prefer wine, not tea. Whether it's water or tea, as long as it quenches thirst, that's enough. This tea of yours doesn't even quench thirst!"
Xiao Man rolled her eyes at him and refilled his cup again. "Learn from me. Take a sip, let the tea water fully contact your taste buds, then swallow it slowly, and savor the lingering flavor..."
"Stop tormenting me!" Zhan Tian Que remained unmoved. "You're in such a good mood teaching me tea, are you thinking of another wicked way to torment people?"
Xiao Man said disdainfully, "Just because I'm in a good mood, I want to torment people?"
"Then who are you planning to harm?"
"A dog's mouth can't spit out ivory!" Xiao Man said with extreme distaste. "Have you hidden the stolen silver?"
"Don't worry, no matter how hard they rack their brains, they won't find where the silver is," Zhan Tian Que said excitedly. "With six million taels, it's enough for our expenses for several years."
"You're easily satisfied! Six million? You should aim for ten million!"
Zhan Tian Que gave a thumbs-up. "My Lady, you have a truly black heart!"
"How am I black-hearted?" Xiao Man retorted. "Doesn't building dikes cost money? Doesn't rerouting rivers cost money? Doesn't buying grain cost money? Doesn't post-disaster reconstruction cost money?"
"That's the court's business. Would you use the money you worked so hard to steal?" Zhan Tian Que looked unconvinced. "You'd at most contribute the court's seven hundred thousand taels."
Xiao Man rubbed her nose. "The court is so rich, it won't miss my little bit."
"You have the nerve to say that. Does the treasury of Yu Sheng have as much money as you do?" Zhan Tian Que looked as if he had seen through her. "Now you intend to annex both Jiang Zuo and Jiang Zhou. If outsiders knew that the truly wealthy person is you, even the Emperor would wish to dig out the money from your hands."
"I'm poor, I have no money!" Xiao Man sipped her tea. "By the way, Pang Tong and his men have repeatedly lost the tribute money. They must be desperate. Now, the only way for them to make money is through the salt fields. Take this opportunity to..."
"Take down the salt fields?"
"Fool!" Xiao Man said irritably. "Are government salt fields that easy to take? Do you think Mo Han took on this thankless task without a plan? Anyone who tries to take them with him around will have bad luck!"
"I heard from Qin Xue that Wen Mo Han listens to you. If you ask, he'll give it to you!"