Volume 2: Eagle vs. Dragon Chapter 96: Rupture
"It's not that I'm desperate, it's that you won't give me a way out." Wu Chengjian said, "You asked me to admit that I colluded with Heshen and stole the imperial property. You're fine, and you can get what you want by tying yourself to Heshen. But have you ever thought about us little people, the big shots who are so high up? If you fail, and Heshen comes after me, how can I live? If you succeed, then my theft of the imperial property is a capital crime! And I colluded with Heshen, which is a crime upon crime! With these two crimes added together, I will definitely be killed in the market. Since I'm going to die anyway, why should I flatter you and let you manipulate me? It's better to be a human being before I die!"
Guangxing said: "You have done a good job in reporting this. When you look back, your merits and demerits will be offset, and you may not die."
"What kind of temper do the emperors of the Qing Dynasty have? Do you really think I don't know since I'm in Guangzhou?" Wu Chengjian sneered: "You won't even believe what you said!"
Guangxing finally calmed down.
It was obvious that the Wu Chengjian in front of him was not the ignorant "Southern Barbarian" he had imagined. The other party obviously knew a lot about the affairs of the Qing imperial court.
He couldn't bring himself to go into the cell, so he dragged a bench over and sat outside. He softened his tone and said, "Forget it. I, Guangxing, underestimated you before. Wu Chengjian , you are indeed a genius from the Thirteenth Line. No wonder even Jishan couldn't catch you last year."
"You make it sound like Jishan is something special." Wu Chengjian said with a smile, "If he wasn't a Manchu, if he wasn't in that position, he wouldn't even be able to make it as a small merchant like Pan Yiliang Ma in the Thirteen Hongs."
Guangxing frowned, but still calmed himself down and said, "Wu Chengjian, do you know why Cai Qinghua sealed the stolen goods after he found them?"
Wu Chengjian said, "Once the box is opened, my Wu family will have no way out. Once it is confirmed that the stolen goods are stolen, no matter whether I can finally get close to Heshen or not, I will definitely die. Whether our whole family lives or not depends on the emperor's mood at that moment. But who am I, Wu? Is it worth it for the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi to violate the rules and mobilize troops to surround the Thirteen Factories for two days and one night? So you were not interested in me from the beginning."
When he said these words, he didn't look at Guangxing at all, as if he didn't care about his reaction at all: "Since you are not interested in me, you naturally can't open the box on the spot. At least you have to leave me with a thought, keep me hanging, make me feel that there is still a way out, let our Wu family try to operate quickly, and let me look for people like a headless fly, preferably to the Guangdong Customs, Liu Quan, and Heshen. If Jishan and Liu Quan are willing to help, of course you will be happy, so that you can drag Heshen into the water step by step. If Jishan and Liu Quan do nothing to save him, that's even better. I might die with Heshen in my arms when I am enraged. So not only did you not open the box, you also locked me up in this Guangzhou prison where anyone can come in and take a walk."
At this point, Wu Chengjian stopped and smiled: "It's a pity that all your plans have failed. After I, Wu, came in, I didn't look for Heshen or Liu Quan. The Wu family didn't touch any relationship except spending some money to bribe the jailers. Liu Quan did come, but I still didn't move after he came, so Master Guangxing, you couldn't sit still and couldn't help but come to me in person. Am I right?"
Guangxing frowned again. What Wu Chengjian said was indeed his plan. This tactic of waiting for the cat to catch the mouse and then giving it a glimmer of hope worked well in other places, but why didn't it work for Wu Chengjian? Not only did it not work for Wu Chengjian, but Heshen's reaction was also somewhat beyond his expectations.
He adjusted his thoughts and said, "Since you also know that as long as the box is not opened, it will be a way for you to survive, then the matter can be discussed."
Wu Chengjian asked, "How do we discuss this?"
Guangxing said: "Since you also know that we are not interested in your life and property, then there is room for negotiation here, Wu Chengjian, don't you think so?"
Wu Chengjian asked: "What do you mean?"
Guangxing said: "Let's work out a way to make Heshen unlucky and let you live."
Wu Chengjian asked: "What method?"
Guangxing dragged the bench closer and waved to Wu Chengjian, who then took two steps over, leaving only two prison pillars between them.
Guangxing lowered his voice and said, "Since you have spies in Beijing and even know that I am the current emperor's favorite, then you must also know how much the emperor hates Heshen."
Wu Chengjian nodded.
Guangxing continued, "So if you can get close to Heshen and bring him down, His Majesty will be very pleased. Then I will plead for you, showing that you are in Cao's camp but your heart is with Han. When His Majesty knows this, he will definitely pardon you. Maybe because of your meritorious reporting, he will even reward you with a top hat and a flower feather. By then, not only will you be able to save your life, but you will also be able to be the head merchant of the Thirteen Hongs in no time."
Wu Chengjian said: "This sounds somewhat reliable."
Guangxing smiled and said, "So you agree?"
Wu Chengjian said: "No problem. But can you ask the emperor to give me an imperial decree first?"
Guangxing frowned: "This is a secret matter, how can I give you an imperial decree?"
Wu Chengjian said: "If there is no imperial decree, a secret decree will do."
Guangxing said: "What secret decree? There is no such rule in the Qing Dynasty."
Wu Chengjian said: "If that doesn't work, let the emperor write me a handwritten letter. It doesn't need to be signed, just a casual note will do."
"How can the emperor's calligraphy be spread lightly?" Guangxing said, "But don't worry, I came to Guangdong in the first place on the emperor's secret order. If you work for me, you are working for the emperor. The emperor will not treat unfairly those who work for him."
Wu Chengjian looked at Guangxing and suddenly laughed.
This smile stung Guangxing and made him feel extremely uncomfortable. He felt that the way Wu Chengjian looked at him with a smile was like looking at a fool.
"Master Guangxing," Wu Chengjian said with a smile, "Do you think I'm a fool?"
Guangxing frowned and said, "What do you mean!"
Wu Chengjian asked: "Do you know why I am willing to cooperate with Liu Quan?"
Guangzhou frowned, not knowing what Wu Chengjian's intention was in asking this question.
Wu Chengjian himself answered: "I am willing to cooperate with Liu Quan not only because of Heshen's power, but also because Liu Quan did not treat me as a fool. Heshen and Zhongtang behind him did not treat me as a fool either. Only a fool would think that I, Wu Chengjian, am a fool."
Guangxing said angrily: "Wu Chengjian, what do you mean!"
Wu Chengjian said calmly, "Gao Jiashi Guangxing, you can't even get a secret letter from Emperor Jiaqing. Not to mention a secret letter, you can't even get a single word from Emperor Jiaqing, right?"
Guangxing's face suddenly turned dark.
Wu Chengjian showed no consideration for his feelings. "Don't even mention asking for a secret imperial edict. You didn't even dare to let the emperor know that you were secretly communicating with me and instructing me to get involved with Heshen. Am I right?"
Guangxing said coldly: "You are really judging others by your own standards!"
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "You still don't want to admit it? Well, let me point it out again: Emperor Jiaqing's temperament is different from Emperor Qianlong's. Emperor Qianlong has a broad mind... well... a broad mind, and is well versed in political schemes, so he can tolerate both good and evil, otherwise there would be no place for Heshen in the Grand Council."
"Broad-minded" is a good word, but to tolerate both good and evil is to imply that Qianlong was deliberately harboring filth. Of course, this cannot be said openly.
"But Emperor Jiaqing, haha, his character... that... his character is noble and pure, and he cannot tolerate filth. He is a moral ruler, and he loves moral gentlemen who are honest and upright."
The words that Wu Chengjian used to describe Jiaqing all sound good, but it is a good thing for a scholar to have a "high character" and "intolerance of filth", but it may not be a good thing for an emperor to have such a tendency.
"Since the emperor is such a person," Wu Chengjian said leisurely, "how could he possibly order you to come to Guangdong to do such a sneaky thing? Cai Qinghua doesn't know the temperaments of the two emperors. Fu Chang has been in Guangzhou for a long time and has not been well-informed. Maybe he can't figure out your bottom line, so he was deceived by you. But in fact, I guess you didn't come here this time to receive any imperial decree. You came here secretly. Right?"
Guangxing looked at Wu Chengjian again , and his eyes were as if he had seen a ghost!
The emperor of the Qing Dynasty had always deliberately distanced himself from his ministers, and maintained a strong sense of mystery in front of them. Except for those close to him, few people could understand his temperament. Zhu Gui could figure out a little bit, but he was loyal to the emperor and patriotic, and he had to keep the saints’ secrets secret, so he could not discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the two generations of emperors with his advisor.
Guangxing had been in Beijing for a long time and had the opportunity to visit the imperial palace several times. His father was also a former Grand Secretary, so he had some understanding of the temperaments of Qianlong and Jiaqing. However, he never expected that a mere security merchant far away in Guangzhou could actually tell the difference in temperament between the two generations of emperors in one sentence, and that he understood it more deeply and clearly than himself!
Wu Chengjian continued , "You just said that you are the favorite of Emperor Jiaqing. Haha, in fact, how much favor you have is something you know in your heart. Maybe you get praised in front of others, or you get a few compliments for doing things that suit the emperor's wishes. But that's the most. If you really want to be a confidant who can tell the current emperor dark secrets, you, Gao Jia Guangxing, can't be considered one!"
Every time he said one more word, Guangxing's face darkened, but Wu Chengjian had no intention of stopping: "So this time, you simply can't risk offending the emperor and speak for me in front of him. On the contrary , you want to use my merits in linking up with Heshen to continue to curry favor with Emperor Jiaqing. The situation has really reached the cusp of the storm. If it were Governor Zhu, perhaps he would have a 20% to 30% chance of taking the risk to plead for me in order to keep his word. What about you, Guangxing of Gaojia clan? Your Gao family can forget your ancestors and abandon your surname for fame and wealth. With people like you, you want me to take advantage of the situation with empty words - if I, Wu Chengjian, believed you, I wouldn't have to wait for you to come. Yihehang would have been sold out ten times."
Before he finished speaking, Guangxing was so enraged that he shouted angrily, "Shut up, shut up! You shut up!"
