Volume 2: Eagle vs. Dragon Chapter 80: The Struggle of Morality
Zhou Yijin's eyelids couldn't help but twitch twice. Although it was only a flash, the master and disciple were familiar with each other, so Cai Qinghua still caught it.
Cai Qinghua said: "You and I are from the same school. You learned all your skills from me. Even if you are better than me, I know exactly what you want to do. If the masters of both sides were evenly matched, you might have a chance of winning, but unfortunately..."
Zhou Yijin said: "It's a pity that the power of Master Zhu Di now is not comparable to that of a mere Hao Guan."
Hearing him mention the word "Emperor's Teacher", Cai Qinghua said, "It's good that you know."
Zhou Yijin said: "Since Master has already won the game, and has figured out all my details, and has a close eye on me, then why did you come here today?"
Cai Qinghua said: "Two things. First, I still want to persuade you to give up the dark and join the light..."
Zhou Yijin said: "Master, please don't talk about this matter. Since Master has guessed that Hao Guan's dismissal was just a show, then you should also know that we are still inseparable. Even if this matter is dangerous, I will not leave Hao Guan until the dust settles."
Cai Qinghua sneered, "If you wait until the dust settles and you want to leave, it will be too late! I may not be able to protect you by then!"
"It's too late, then." Zhou Yijin's face was calm, as if he was talking about someone else's life and death: "My life should have ended a few years ago, and it was Hao Guan who pulled me back from the gates of hell. The relationship between him and me is not just a simple guest-host relationship. He can entrust his life to me, and I can share life and death with him. When the time comes, even if I die at the hands of Master, I will not blame Master."
Cai Qinghua said angrily: "When I taught you the Three Rules, Eight Principles, and Seventy-two Breaks of Master Taoism, not one of them allowed you to share the disaster with the boss!"
"But I am no longer the Zhou Yijin of the past." Zhou Yijin lowered his voice: "Master, you should be able to tell."
The two of them looked at each other in silence, and did not speak until the remaining half cup of tea had grown cold.
Finally , Cai Qinghua sighed: "Fool!"
Zhou Yijin whispered, "Master, I'm sorry. I've made you worry about me for so many years."
Cai Qinghua's expression turned cold and serious, and he said, "Forget it! Then I will tell you the second thing now. Since I can't persuade you to leave Wu Chengjian, then I hope you can see the pros and cons clearly, and then help Hao Guan see the pros and cons clearly."
Zhou Yijin's thoughts skipped several steps at once: "So Master, you came here today because you want me to persuade Hao Guan?"
Cai Qinghua smiled slightly: "It's easier to talk to you. You should have heard about the current situation in Beijing. After this, I believe you have also seen the situation in Guangzhou clearly."
Zhou Yijin said, "In Beijing, the new emperor has ascended the throne. In Guangzhou, even the Guangzhou general who represented the Manchus to guard the south of the sky, the old man Fuchang, has surrendered to Master Zhu. I am not the only one who knows this. I think the nine major merchants in the Thirteen Hongs should all know this in their hearts."
"If you know clearly, then why do you still go against the trend?" Cai Qinghua said: "You are unwilling to leave Wu Chengjian because of friendship. But as a businessman, the basis for judging the direction of action should be the gains and losses, right? In this case, now is the time for you to change your business."
"Master, you are wrong." Zhou Yijin said, "Hao Guan's actions are not entirely based on personal and family interests. In his heart, he has the 'virtue of a businessman'. If he is not such a person, just because he saved my life, I would at most give him the right to protect his family, and I would not have to live and die with him."
Cai Qinghua said: "What kind of businessman's virtue is this?"
Zhou Yijin said: "The virtue of a businessman, in a small sense, is to be fair in business and to keep promises as good as gold. In a big sense, it means that when doing business, one should also consider the country and even have a heart for the world."
Cai Qinghua laughed out loud, with a sneer on his face.
Zhou Yijin sighed, "I knew you wouldn't believe it, Master... In fact, Hao Guan told . But you didn't believe it last year, and I don't think you will believe it now either."
"Stop talking nonsense like that." Cai Qinghua said, "If he really had a heart for the country, he wouldn't have clung to a traitor like Heshen!"
Zhou Yijin said: "Master, what you believe in for the country and the world is to stick closely to Emperor Jiaqing, follow Master Zhu, and overthrow He Zhongtang."
"Shouldn't it be so?" Cai Qinghua said solemnly, "Heshen is a scourge to the world and the source of corruption. The most important thing in the world right now is to overthrow Heshen. Only by overthrowing him can we restore order to the Qing Dynasty!"
Zhou Yijin said: "This is where Haoguan and Master have different perceptions. He has a sense of morality in his heart, but his morality is measured by another yardstick. For example, Master thinks that overthrowing Heshen is more important than anything else, and everything else can give way to this goal, but Haoguan thinks that whether Heshen is overthrown or not, the Qing Dynasty will remain the same."
Cai Qinghua's expression turned somewhat ugly.
Zhou Yijin pretended not to notice and continued, "Then Hao Guan thought that stopping the influx of opium was a major matter worth risking his life and ruining his family. But in Master's opinion, it was insignificant - at least it was something that could be put aside for the time being."
"You bring this up again!" Cai Qinghua frowned and said, "I really don't understand why you bring up opium again."
"Master, maybe you don't know the details of opium, but..." Zhou Yijin said, "At least there is one thing I don't know if you can believe: the influx of opium into China is really not a good thing for the people."
Cai Qinghua said: "Even if that's the case, so what? Even if opium is really harmful, how can it be compared with the harm done by Heshen?"
"If Master is willing to believe that opium harms the people, then some things can be explained more clearly." Zhou Yijin said: "Even though Heshen is corrupt, what really makes the new emperor intolerable is not his corruption, but because he is the roadblock for Emperor Jiaqing to truly grasp the power of the world. It is because the new emperor wants to overthrow Heshen, so in Master Zhu's mind, overthrowing Heshen is the top priority in the world! In other words, Heshen's harm lies in hindering the emperor, while opium's harm lies in harming the people."
Cai Qinghua's face changed and he said, "Yijin, what nonsense are you talking about!"
"Did I say something wrong? If I said something wrong, then why are you so anxious, Master?" Zhou Yijin said, "In fact, in Master Zhu's mind, things that hinder the emperor are the real big things. Things that harm the people can be put aside for the time being - what is this called? This is called the emperor is the most important, the country is second, and the people are the least important! This is the true idea of Master Zhu, whom you follow, and this is the 'official morality' that I have been deeply disappointed with over the years!"
Ignoring Cai Qinghua's face becoming quite ugly, Zhou Yijin continued: "As for Haoguan, what he wants is to protect his family first, and then to protect himself. Above that, he wants to do his best to benefit the country and the people. What he did may not seem as spectacular as overthrowing Heshen, but from what I have seen, what he did always benefited the people around him, and then benefited the people in the outer circle, and finally benefited the people he could influence. Isn't this concept of doing business in line with the Confucian concept of 'cultivating oneself and governing the country'?"
Cai Qinghua smiled up at the sky: "Yijin, Yijin, over the years, is this the only thing you have improved in? You are clearly a profit-seeking, opportunistic person, but you make him sound like a saint."
"Hao Guan is not a saint." Zhou Yijin said, "He has many shortcomings. Let alone being a saint, it's hard to say whether he is a good person - but when he does things, he at least has a conscience. It's just that you can't even tolerate this little conscience. Time and time again, you must put him on the stove. Can't you find someone else?"
"That's enough! Yijin, Yijin, I don't know what Wu Chengjian has been telling you all these years, but since you have already fallen into the evil path and are stubborn and have lost your way, I will not argue with you in this pointless way." Cai Qinghua said coldly, "Let's talk about the benefits first."
Zhou Yijin's eyes flashed with sadness, but he didn't insist on anything, just said: "Master, please speak."
"Let's get back to the point." Cai Qinghua said, "In today's situation, I think anyone who is smart should know where to go in order to avoid disaster and seek fortune."
Zhou Yijin asked: "Master, what exactly do you want me to do?"
Cai Qinghua said: "Even if it's for your own sake, for Wu Chengjian's sake, or for the Wu family's sake, go and persuade Wu Chengjian."
Zhou Yijin asked: "What do you want to persuade?"
"What are you trying to persuade?" Cai Qinghua sneered, "How many times have I told you? Abandon the dark and join the light! For Wu Chengjian, this is already the best opportunity."
Zhou Yijin pondered for a long time before saying, "That batch of hot goods was clearly stored in Xingchenghang's warehouse, but Master didn't make things difficult for Ye Dalin at all, because even if Ye Dalin was thrown into jail, it would not affect the overall situation."
Cai Qinghua chuckled.
Zhou Yijin added: "Similarly, arresting Hao Guan is not for the purpose of taking down Hao Guan or Yihe Bank. Even if the batch of red goods is opened, if it is just to sentence Hao Guan to death or to close down Yihe Bank, it will be meaningless to Governor Zhu and Emperor Jiaqing!"
Cai Qinghua snorted.
Zhou Yijin said: "So, it is not enough to have only the batch of 'physical evidence' in the Xingchengxing secret warehouse. We also need a witness who can implicate Heshen. Master, am I right?"
After hearing what Zhou Yijin said, Cai Qinghua said, "You are quite knowledgeable. You are worthy of being my good disciple."
Zhou Yijin said, "So Master wants me to persuade Official Hao to testify and use this batch of stolen goods from the palace to drag Heshen into the water, right? But Master, with just a batch of stolen goods from the palace found in Guangzhou and a Thirteen Hongs guarantor who had a brief encounter with Heshen's housekeeper, can you really overthrow the military minister and the prime minister who have been in charge of the government for more than ten years?"
