Chapter Eleven: The Salt Route (V)

“I implore General Li to come to my rescue!”
Huangfu Yun’s sudden act of kneeling left Li Kuo at a loss for a moment.
“Miss Yun, please get up first. We can talk things through slowly.”
Li Kuo sighed and helped Huangfu Yun to her feet. “Miss Yun, it’s not that I’m unwilling to stand by you. But the Prince of Gaoyou has deep roots in the Jianghuai region. I’m new here and not yet familiar with everyone. Even if I wanted to help, I can’t just station an entire battalion of soldiers outside Zimo Pavilion, can I?”
“You really came up with that!”
The maid, Chisu, glared at Li Kuo. “Zimo Pavilion is a business meant to make money—we need to welcome guests from all directions. If you have soldiers surround the building, how can we do business? Besides, Aunt Sun won’t spare you then!”
“Hmm.”
Unwilling to argue with the maid, Li Kuo continued, “That’s why this matter can only be resolved by the Prince of Gaoyou himself.”
Huangfu Yun fell silent for a long time before sighing, “But the Prince of Gaoyou has a reputation for being lustful. He’s coveted me for a long time—how could he just give up so easily?”
Li Kuo shook his head. “Not necessarily. Everyone has weaknesses. If we don’t put pressure on him, he certainly won’t give up on his own. But if we present something that scares him, might he back down?”
“What do you mean, General Li…”
Huangfu Yun found Li Kuo’s reasoning very sound and nodded in agreement.
“Do you happen to have any leverage over the Prince of Gaoyou?”
Li Kuo blurted out the question directly.
“Well…”
Huangfu Yun was caught in a dilemma. Earlier, she had found a secret letter on the Prince of Gaoyou, containing highly confidential information. Revealing it would surely shock Li Yi. But should she hand it over to Li Kuo?
After all, she had only known him for less than a month. Even though she had a good impression of him, some decisions couldn’t be made based solely on feelings. If the Prince of Gaoyou found out she had stolen his letter and sought revenge later, might he kill her to silence her?
Moreover, that letter involved many people, and its exposure would surely cause a huge uproar in the Jianghuai government circles. Though she wasn’t familiar with court politics, she knew the old principle of officials protecting each other.
Although Li Kuo seemed decent, he was still a general of the Tang Dynasty. If any of the people involved in that letter were his old friends, would he still stand by her against Li Yi?

Li Kuo seemed to understand Huangfu Yun’s thoughts. He simply shrugged and said, “If Miss Yun doesn’t trust me, I won’t force her. But I must advise her—this Prince of Gaoyou is no good man. Even if you destroy that evidence, as long as he knows you’ve seen it, you’ll surely not escape his revenge.” His words were calm, but Huangfu Yun was horrified upon hearing them. Indeed, she had thought that avoiding conflict would keep things peaceful, not realizing that these princes and nobles might not be skilled in other areas, but they were absolutely experts at scheming and plotting. If he found out she had seen that secret letter, the consequences could be unimaginable. Taking a deep breath, Huangfu Yun finally resolved to take out the letter from her sleeve and handed it to Li Kuo, saying, “General Li, please take a look. Yun found this letter on this man.” “Miss, why are you showing him even this?” The maid, Chi Su, was clearly upset and pouted in complaint. “Don’t be rude! General Li isn’t that kind of person; he will surely stand by us.” Huangfu Yun gave the maid a glance and bowed to Li Kuo, saying, “General Li, please don’t mind her.” Li Kuo nodded slightly and unfolded the red letter. After reading it carefully, he folded it back with anger and said, “So this is really happening!” “I was also shocked at first. I never expected that the salt trade in Jianghuai has been controlled by these people. In this case, five-tenths of the annual salt profits go to the salt merchants themselves, three-tenths go to local officials and nobles, and only pitiful twenty percent is paid to the national treasury.” Although she wasn’t very familiar with taxes, Huangfu Yun could see the enormous profits involved. No wonder these court officials were so corrupt—they must have received so many benefits from the salt merchants. How else could they spend extravagantly and indulge in pleasure every night with just their annual salaries and land revenues? Ah, it seems there’s no clean place in this world. “Miss Yun, this matter is extremely serious. If you trust me, give me this secret letter so I can handle it.” When Li Kuo saw the two characters “Prince Yong” written in cinnabar ink, he realized this case was bound to involve many people and might even change the course of the succession struggle. If handled carelessly, such a case could lead to chaos and bloodshed, so he couldn’t afford to be careless.

“General Li, you’re overthinking it. Since Yun’er handed this letter to you, it means she trusts your character. Rest assured, Yun’er has never shown this letter to anyone else. If others ask again, she won’t say a word. Go ahead with your plan—if you can restore peace to the Jianghuai region, Yun’er will have done something meaningful for the people here.”
That year, after my grandfather was convicted, all the men in our family were exiled to Lingnan, while the women were sent to the imperial entertainment agency. Later, Sun Fangfang, realizing her beauty and talent, used her connections to change her status to that of a private prostitute and trained hard to become a famous courtesan.
Still, she was ultimately a woman of low virtue. In the eyes of those with pure backgrounds, she was nothing but a prostitute! The phrase “a beauty who brings disaster” referred to people like her—she made countless wealthy men squander their money and caused many officials to neglect their duties. Heh, it was all her fault—didn’t they bear any responsibility at all?
Merchants have always been seen as a threat to the state, but she wanted to use this opportunity to prove that she too had a family and a country in her heart!
“Miss Yun’er, your sense of righteousness truly earns my admiration!”
Li Kuo nodded and said, “But if Li Yiruo discovers the secret letter is missing, he’ll surely come back to trouble you. What then…”
“General Li, there’s no need for you to worry about me!”
Huangfu Yun interrupted Li Kuo, “I’ll simply insist that I didn’t see it. Without evidence, what can they do to me? Go ahead with your plan—don’t let such trivial matters hold you back. Heaven watches what people do. It’s not that justice won’t be served; it’s just that the time isn’t right yet! The Prince of Gaoyou has committed countless evils. If we use this incident to deal with him, it will also rid the people of Jianghuai of a threat!”…
“Pack your things. We’re returning to the capital right now!”
Upon returning to the camp, Li Kuo ordered his trusted subordinates like Zhang Yanji and Zhou Wucui to be called together to discuss returning to the capital. After studying the situation all night, he had already formed a preliminary plan. The people mentioned in the secret letter were all corrupt elements profiting from salt trade. From Prince Li Lin to ordinary officials in various prefectures, almost the entire officialdom in Jianghuai was involved. If the imperial court still received full salt taxes, it was impossible.
These corrupt officials only cared about money, treating the imperial tax system as worthless. They deserved to be executed!
But since this matter was extremely serious, revealing it too early might lead to accusations from villains. The best course of action now was to return to the capital immediately and present the secret letter directly to the emperor. With such solid evidence before the emperor, he doubted those corrupt elements could find a way to clear their names!

“But, Brother Kuo, it’s an order from the Ministry of War, not the imperial court—border generals aren’t allowed to return to the capital on their own.”
Although Zhang Yanji knew Li Kuo was an impulsive person, he couldn’t help but give him some advice. After all, border generals held military power and were deeply distrusted by the imperial court. If they returned to the capital without an imperial order, even if the emperor said nothing, he would still harbor resentment. Kuo was already in a precarious position; if Yang Guozhong tried to frame him again, even the emperor’s judgment might be skewed.
“Ordinary people! It seems the gap between geniuses and ordinary people is quite obvious.”
Zhou Wucui shook his head and said, “Not to mention that Qi Lang has already been removed from his position as governor of Shule and is no longer considered a border general. Even if he were, extraordinary circumstances allow for extraordinary measures. If we go by your logic, would Qi Lang be committing treason if he went to assist the emperor now?”
“I’m too lazy to argue with you!”
Zhang Yanji shrugged irritably and said, “What I mean is, whether it’s the Prince of Yong or the crown prince, what does it have to do with us? That crown prince is more calculating than a needle’s tip. Have you forgotten how he abandoned us? Why should we risk our lives for him?”
“Ah, Yanji, you’re thinking again!”
Li Kuo smiled bitterly and waved his hand. “I’m returning to the capital not to serve the crown prince, but to report the true situation of salt transportation in the Jianghuai region to the emperor. Even if the crown prince is involved, I’ll act without hesitation. I’m just removing pests from the Tang dynasty’s bureaucracy.”
Zhang Yanji scoffed dismissively, “Brother Kuo, there are so many pests in the Tang dynasty’s bureaucracy—do you really think you can handle them all? Besides, do you really think Yang Guozhong will let you deliver your report to the emperor? Don’t forget—a large portion of those salt profits goes to the prime minister!”
“Ordinary people! Why do some people act without thinking? If Qi Lang weren’t completely confident, would he take action at this time? Don’t forget—he’s the tutor of the imperial concubine and can enter the palace freely, without having to worry about Yang Guozhong at all!”
Zhou Wucui puffed out his cheeks slightly, shook his head, and spoke in a tone full of disdain.