Scripture of Days Past

”After you left, Wu Wei and Sun Bin began expanding everywhere, and the stock price continued to rise,” Wang Cailiang said. ”Nearly all the prominent clans and cotton fabric merchants in Northern Mountain Manor have purchased Azure Sun Trade Association stocks. Then, just as you predicted, Sun Bin began working with the prominent clans in the other manors of Spirit Province to open branches together.

”After that, they began recruiting all kinds of powerful and renowned figures to promote the Azure Sun Trade Association’s stocks. Wherever they went, they made sure to secure endorsements from the local governors and county magistrates, leading many to believe that the branches were opened by the imperial court. More and more people began buying stocks, and at its peak, the stock price rose all the way to five taels of silver per share.”

Liu Yao was astonished to hear this.

If I had told my steward to buy stocks before I left, I would already be making a fortune!

As the wealthiest man in Heavenly Melody Manor, Liu Yao was naturally very interested in financial matters.

”Everything was going smoothly until the Fei Clan got involved,” Wang Cailiang continued.

”The Fei Clan? As in the Fei Clan of the Grit Manor’s Five Joy County?” Liu Yao exclaimed.

”That’s right,” Wang Cailiang confirmed with a nod.

It was the very same Fei Clan that former Grand Secretary Fei Yi belonged to.

”Master Fei may have been removed from his position as grand secretary, but he still wields considerable influence as one of the leading figures of the Vast Heavens Faction,” Wang Cailiang continued. ”He contacted all the prominent clans in Spirit Province as well as various powerful figures of the Vast Heavens Faction. They claimed to have pooled together five million taels of silver to found the Cloud Midst Trade Association, which will compete directly with the Azure Sun Trade Association in the textile industry. On the day of its grand opening, all the most powerful officials in Spirit Province were in attendance, making quite a statement.”

Chu Qiguang nodded thoughtfully, then turned to Qiao Zhi and asked telepathically, What happened to Fei Yi in the past life?

After he was removed from his position as grand secretary, he was determined to return to the imperial court, Qiao Zhi replied. He pulled a lot of strings in an attempt to get back in the Yong’an Emperor’s good graces, and I heard that every one of the six ministries received money from him at some point. However, the Yong’an Emperor was determined to move on without him, and he spent the rest of his life unable to return to the imperial court.

During the land reforms, Grand Secretary Wu took the opportunity to target Fei Yi with a series of unfavorable policies, reducing him to a sorry state. From then on, the Vast Heavens Faction completely fell into complete disgrace. During Grand Secretary Wu’s decade-long term, not a single member of the Vast Heavens Faction was able to secure the jinshititle in the imperial examination.

It was only when Grand Secretary Wu’s term ended that the Vast Heavens Faction finally began to recover. As you can imagine, they retaliated against the Wu Clan. It was often said that these two grand secretaries created an irreparable rift within the officialdom, and I think that description is very fitting.

The two of them began a cycle of bloodshed and retaliation that turned officials into sworn enemies rather than colleagues. Things got so bad that these political conflicts took precedence over national affairs, ultimately becoming one of the main causes of the Great Han Empire’s downfall.

How did Fei Yi die? Chu Qiguang asked.

When the northern fiends invaded, he led the entire Five Joy County in a valiant resistance, but in the end, they were overwhelmed, Qiao Zhi recounted. The fiendish army stormed into his clan to seek revenge, but he and all his clansmen had already hanged themselves. In the end, their bodies were desecrated and thrown into the wilderness.

Throughout their exchange, Wang Cailiang continued speaking, completely unaware of the telepathic conversation between Chu Qiguang and Qiao Zhi.

”After the Cloud Midst Trade Association was founded, they began poaching people from the Azure Sun Trade Association by offering them several times their current wages and salaries. In particular, they made extensive efforts to recruit the workers responsible for producing the water-powered looms and spinning machines.

”The Azure Sun Trade Association was naturally unwilling to let these workers go. They put the workers in shackles and even hired fifth-state martial artists to watch over them, both to protect them and prevent them from escaping. The conflict between the two trade associations has continued to escalate, and on several occasions, the Cloud Midst Trade Association has blatantly sent martial artists to storm the Azure Sun Trade Association and steal its workers.”

None of this came as a surprise to Chu Qiguang. Trade wars were similar in nature, whether in this world or back on Earth.

”The Cloud Midst Trade Association is wealthier and has more connections, while the Vast Heavens Faction also has more powerful martial artists than the Azure Sun Trade Association,” Wang Cailiang continued. ”They even called upon Jin Haitian from the nine border military bases. He single-handedly bypassed all of the Azure Sun Trade Association’s most powerful martial artists and stole some workers.”

Jin Haitian is one of the Eight Han Resurgence Generals, Qiao Zhi explained. However, he hasn’t received that title yet. He later betrays the nine border military bases, after which the emperor officially appoints him as one of the Eight Han Resurgence Generals and bestows upon him the name Jin Hailong. He’s a disciple of Zhou Junyan, the spear god of the nine border military bases, but he has always opposed their defiance of the imperial court.

Thus, he began working secretly working with the imperial court and played a very important role in toppling the nine border military bases. Also, in the past life, he was the first of the Eight Han Resurgence Generals to reach the Dao Comprehension state.

Chu Qiguang nodded in response and committed the name to memory.

”After abducting the workers, the Cloud Midst Trade Association also began producing water-powered machines and issuing shares,” Wang Cailiang continued. ”Right now, the Cloud Midst Trade Association has the backing of the nine border military bases, while the Azure Sun Trade Association has brought the Huiqin Feudal Lord into its fold. From what I know, the northern fiends have also gotten involved, and even Yi Siman has purchased stocks from both trade associations.

”Both sides are doing everything in their power to destroy the other, causing their stock prices to fluctuate wildly. Apparently, even the Imperial Heavenly Dao and the Immortal Dao have gotten involved. By my estimate, the combined net worth of the two trade associations has most likely already exceeded ten million taels of silver.”

After hearing Wang Cailiang’s account of the situation, Chu Qiguang had gained a clear understanding of the current state of affairs.

”Wang Cailiang, Liu Yao, I want the two of you to come with me to meet someone tomorrow,” he said. ”There’s still one important player who has yet to enter the game.”