Ever since Yang Sichang received Chen Yuanbo's letter, a certain subtle and rather unflattering thought had quietly taken root in his heart.
How should it be described?
Sothing like a petty, an little schadenfreude.
"Those rebels you pacified will definitely rise again. I already warned you, but you refused to listen. Fine then. I'll just sit back and wait to see you fail."
To be honest, this kind of thinking was hardly rare. It was human nature. Anyone who claid they had never harbored such thoughts was either lying to others or lying to themselves.
Yang Sichang waited.
He waited for news.
He waited for the day Chen Yuanbo would finally send a frantic ssage, admitting that Hu Teng had rebelled once more, begging the Governor General to dispatch troops to put out the fire.
But that day never ca.
Instead, what appeared before him was Hu Teng himself.
Hu Teng arrived dressed neatly and impeccably, his expression bright, his posture upright. He looked radiant, almost glowing, with an air of integrity that made him seem like a model citizen plucked straight from a morality textbook.
He did not look like a rebel at all.
Faced with this scene, Yang Sichang felt a storm of emotions churning inside him. He did not know how to face Chen Yuanbo.
On one hand, there was guilt. He felt ashad of the cynical thoughts he had secretly harbored.
On the other hand, there was genuine relief and even joy. These rebels truly seed to have turned over a new leaf.
At that mont, one of his officers leaned in again and pointed discreetly at soone in the distance.
"Governor General, that man over there was also a rebel leader."
"And the one over there too."
"And this one as well."
The officer hesitated for a mont, then added with quiet amazent, "It seems the rebel leaders are wearing different colored hats."
He had noticed that the forr rebel leaders were easy to identify. They wore either white hats or blue hats, standing out clearly among the crowd.
Chen Yuanbo smiled faintly when he heard this.
"They beca rebel leaders back then because they had so education. They could read and write, or they had technical knowledge about mining. Naturally, after joining us, they were assigned to managent roles. Those wearing white hats are responsible for decision making. Those wearing blue hats handle technical work."
Yang Sichang asked, "Then the yellow hats just dig. Dig and dig?"
Chen Yuanbo nodded without hesitation. "Exactly."
Yang Sichang nodded along as well, silently engraving this system into his mind.
Noted.
Of course, he would never openly admit such a thing to a re sixth rank prefect.
"I understand now," Yang Sichang said aloud, his tone steady. "I shall take my leave."
Clinging stubbornly to the last scraps of his dignity, Yang Sichang maintained a composed expression as he prepared to depart. Chen Yuanbo escorted him for five li. Only after Chen Yuanbo turned back and disappeared from sight did Yang Sichang finally allow his stiff posture to relax.
He let out a long breath.
"Ah. I barely managed to hold myself together in front of Chen Yuanbo," he said with a sigh. "He really has done sothing extraordinary with Daizhou."
Tie Niaofei glanced sideways at the truck nearby. The cara mounted on it was still recording.
Excellent.
Yang Sichang's every expression, every sigh, every flicker of emotion had been faithfully captured.
Tie Niaofei turned to him and said, "Governor General, in my humble opinion, Daizhou's success can actually be sumd up in one word."
Yang Sichang raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
Tie Niaofei shrugged casually. "Money."
"It is nothing more than throwing money at problems. Disobedient bandits beco obedient once you give them money. Stubborn commoners beco compliant once you give them money. As long as you are willing to pay, who in this world would refuse?"
Yang Sichang fell silent, pondering this seriously. After a mont, he nodded. "You are not wrong."
Tie Niaofei pressed on. "We can do the sa."
Yang Sichang shook his head imdiately. "Impossible. I do not have that kind of money. Even if I wanted to, the imperial court would never approve such spending. I truly do not understand where Chen Yuanbo found such enormous funds."
Tie Niaofei chuckled softly. "All of his money cos from the local gentry of Daizhou."
"Daizhou has wealthy families like Sun Chuanting's, as well as many rich gentry and landowners. They were thoroughly frightened by the last Manchu raid. Now they are pouring silver into Daizhou's developnt, hoping to protect their own estates."
Yang Sichang exclaid, "So that is how it is."
He sighed deeply. "Alas. I… no, I cannot do the sa. Xuanfu and Datong are border garrisons. Their economies are weak. There are barely any wealthy gentry or landowners here. There is simply no way to raise that much money."
At that mont, Tie Niaofei straightened his back and said proudly, "I have money."
Yang Sichang froze.
Then his eyes lit up. "rchant Tie. You… you are willing to fund ? To support this Governor General?"
Tie Niaofei nodded calmly. "I have always done business with the Xuan Da border armies. The Xuan Da Command is practically my second ho. Now that my ho is in trouble, how could I simply stand by?"
He continued, "Besides, if the Xuan Da Command collapses, my future business will suffer as well. Helping the Governor General is the sa as helping myself."
Yang Sichang was overjoyed. "rchant Tie. You truly are my lucky star."
Tie Niaofei laughed. "A small matter. Truly nothing worth ntioning. I only hope that the Governor General will rember my contribution in the future and lend a hand after your promotion."
Yang Sichang replied solemnly, "If rchant Tie assists this Governor General in suppressing these rebels, then when rewards are distributed, your rits will be substantial. How could I possibly fail to promote you?"
Tie Niaofei chuckled again. "Then it is settled. I will imdiately return south and transport more funds and provisions. We will simply copy Daizhou's thods and follow their example."
"Chen Yuanbo may have money," he said with a snort. "But do I, Tie Niaofei, lack it? My funds will not be less than his."
Yang Sichang said, "Then I leave everything in your capable hands."
The two parted ways on the official road.
Yang Sichang headed north, returning to the Datong garrison.
Tie Niaofei turned south, toward the Central Plains.
Almost the mont they separated, Tie Niaofei reached out and pressed the cara's power switch. Click. The recording stopped.
He clutched the cara tightly and burst into loud laughter.
"That Yang Sichang is killing . Hahahaha. Absolutely killing ."
"When I bring this back and show it to the insiders, everyone will laugh themselves sick."
A few days later.
Tie Niaofei returned to Pingyang Prefecture and handed the cara's mory card to Li Daoxuan.
Li Daoxuan gave the footage a quick edit, trimming it down to the most entertaining highlights, then distributed it to various locations.
This kind of material would never be broadcast on Gaojia News. However, all managent personnel within Gao Family Village were allowed to view it privately.
Yang Sichang's carefully maintained dignity in front of Chen Yuanbo was completely shattered.
Several days later, a massive shipnt of grain and silver, transported by Tie Niaofei, arrived in Datong.
With abundant supplies on hand, Yang Sichang's confidence surged.
Following Daizhou's model, he began recruiting workers on a large scale through work relief programs, opening mines, and building roads.
The so called rebel faction mbers of the Xuan Da Command imdiately threw down their hoes and rushed to apply for jobs.
Three months later.
The unrest in the Xuan Da Command was fully quelled.
Yang Sichang ticulously recorded how the Jin rchant Tie Niaofei had provided funding, opened mines, recruited laborers, and dismantled rebel factions. He compiled everything into a morial and submitted it to the imperial court.
After reading it, the Chongzhen Emperor Zhu Youjian issued a decree.
"Yang Sichang is a man of outstanding talent and can be put to good use."
Then he added another line.
"Jin rchant Tie Niaofei, for funding the nation's efforts to suppress unrest and for his exceptional contributions, is hereby granted the title of Imperial rchant."
From that day on, Tie Niaofei enjoyed unrestricted trade rights across the vast territories of the Ming dynasty.
He even gained the privilege of supplying goods to the imperial family.
Of course, he had no intention of going to the capital.
In his opinion, the imperial court was best left alone.
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