Volume 3: The Richest Man in the World Chapter 54: Human Life is the Worthless
Wu Chengjian took out a bowl of warm minced meat from the food box and said, "You can eat it yourself, or you still need me to feed you."
"My hand is not broken." Zhou Yijin smiled, took the minced meat and started eating.
Wu Chengjian learned a few massage techniques for Zhou Yijin's condition. He opened the bottom layer of the food box to reveal the warm water inside. He moistened it with a towel and wrung it dry. He first wiped Zhou Yijin's feet. Zhou Yijin stopped and called out, "Hao Guan, let Xiao Jiu come."
Wu Chengjian knew that he was not good at serving people, so he gave the towel to Wu Xiaojiu who came in again, and then helped Zhou Yijin to massage wiped Zhou Yijin's legs and feet, he helped Zhou Yijin to wipe his body. Wu Chengjian had just finished massaging his legs and massaged Zhou Yijin's soles, asking, "Do you feel anything on your soles?"
"Yes." Zhou Yijin had also finished eating the minced meat. While letting Wu Xiaojiu rub his back, he said, "My legs have been itching these days."
Wu Chengjian was delighted: "It's getting better, just bear with it."
He finished massaging Zhou Yijin's feet, and Wu Xiaojiu finished wiping his feet and left. Wu Chengjian came over to massage Zhou Yijin's shoulders, arms, back and waist. He got very close to her and whispered to her about what had happened outside during this period of time.
When Tan Shouwu came in, he had already brought some news, but it was just a few words after all. After listening to Wu Chengjian's words, Zhou Yijin said: "It's similar to what we thought before."
"Almost good?"
Zhou Yijin smiled and said, "Almost as bad." He glanced at his feet and said, "A little worse. If it weren't for me, maybe you wouldn't have to come up."
"Don't say that again. Heshen would never let me stay in Guangzhou. You have escaped. With his ability, he must have other plans." Wu Chengjian said, "If I don't want to get out, I have to run away from the beginning, take my wife and children, and set sail. So it's not you who drags me down, it's me who drags you down - how many years has it been since the rebellion case? All the cases that should have been settled have been settled. You are a legal advisor, not among the three horizontal and three vertical clans, and you are just a friend. If it was just when the case was exposed, it would be fine, but it has been so many years. If it wasn't for my matter, who would be so bored to dig up such an old thing?"
Zhou Yijin nodded, and from then on he stopped complaining to Wu Chengjian. Seeing that Zhou Yijin had calmed down, Wu Chengjian said, "I met Heshen."
Zhou Yijin raised his eyebrows, obviously very interested in the ruler of the dynasty: "How is he?"
"He is more handsome than I expected, more cold than I expected, and more... terrifying than I expected!" Wu Chengjian said, "I feel like I can't hide anything from him, and I'm afraid I can't beat him either."
As he spoke, he described the process of entering Heshen's mansion and meeting Heshen, as well as the conversation between the two sides. The process was not long, and there were not many words. The conversation between Wu Chengjian and Heshen was only a few sentences, but Zhou Yijin felt heavy-hearted when listening to it, and his expression changed several times.
Wu Chengjian proposed three plans in succession, but Heshen refused to agree to any of them.
The first sentence, "I beg the Lord Zhongtang to show mercy and show leniency," was simply a plea for mercy, so it was understandable that Heshen did not agree.
The second sentence was the beginning of his idea, which was to ask Heshen to spare his family and to state the specific conditions.
But Heshen did not respond, or he had no interest at all. Then Wu Chengjian had to put forward the conditions himself, "The Wu family is willing to donate all the family property, just asking for the safety of the family and the livelihood of the farmers." This meant that the Wu family was willing to leave the house and just wanted to save their lives.
However, Heshen still disagreed. Wu Chengjian had no choice but to put forward his final bottom line: kill himself and save his family.
Unfortunately, Heshen was still not satisfied, so he put forward his condition: Wu Chengjian had to come and help him.
To outsiders, Heshen not only did not punish Wu Chengjian, but instead promoted him. This was truly a favor instead of a punishment. However, Zhou Yijin knew very well that that was exactly what Wu Chengjian could not accept the most.
As early as in Guangzhou, Wu Chengjian made a judgment on the overall situation: Heshen would definitely fall - all subsequent decisions were based on this premise. This is the biggest reason why he tried his best to distance himself from Heshen (although he could not do it). So once he came to help Heshen, he was completely on Heshen's side.
Being suppressed and persecuted by Heshen is only a short-term discomfort. If the overall situation really turns out to be as Wu Chengjian expected: Heshen falls and Jiaqing takes power, then the Wu family will have a chance of revival.
On the contrary, if they come to help Heshen now, they may have some good days in the near future, but after the world turns upside down, the Wu family will have no place to stand on this land of China. If this is the case, it would be better to give up everything and flee overseas from the beginning.
When Zhou Yijin heard this, he sighed: "You said that when you came to discuss with me, he didn't kill you... It's really an anomaly."
Wu Chengjian remained silent.
That day he put forward his demands and conditions to Heshen, but Heshen was not interested in any of them. Then Heshen put forward a condition in return, and his meaning was very clear at the time: I just want you to take a stand publicly!
Considering Heshen's status, Wu Chengjian made excuses several times in a row, to the point that Heshen almost had to force him to come forward. At this point, Heshen was still willing to let go of the past grudges as long as Wu Chengjian could understand the current situation. But even so, Wu Chengjian did not agree on the spot, which was very insincere. Judging from Heshen's position, Wu Chengjian's choice deserved to be killed - procrastination is disloyalty!
So Zhou Yijin said that Heshen did not kill you, which was an anomaly.
Wu Chengjian had finished massaging the acupuncture points by then, and rubbed his hands, saying, "After meeting him this time, I am more certain of one thing. He is a man who considers the pros and cons of everything, and is not the kind of person who kills people out of joy or anger. To him, human life is the least valuable. Money and power are the only valuable things."
Zhou Yijin put on his clothes and said, "If that's the case, then it's really not the right time for him to kill you now."
"Yes." Wu Chengjian said, "We have to take over all the assets of Yihe Bank before we can start. I have annoyed him several times in a row, but he has no emotion at all. He is not annoyed with me, not angry with me, and makes decisions without any emotion. So your life and my life are worthless to him. What is valuable now is my money, my ability, and the role of Yihe Bank."
"Killing someone only takes one blow, but getting your money, your people, and your property is not easy." Zhou Yijin pondered and said, "He must have made some plans before, but I don't know how long it will take."
He was Wu Chengjian's adviser, but was more inclined towards official matters in the northern capital. His understanding of the internal operations of Yihehang was far less in-depth than Wu Chengjian himself.
Wu Chengjian said: "The wealth in my hands can be more or less. If I confiscate the property and exterminate the whole family, even if I dig three feet deep into the ground, I can only get a few million taels, and the loss will be more than . Moreover, of the millions of taels of confiscated property, I am afraid that only a few hundred thousand taels will be able to enter the national treasury. Heshen has been in power for many years and is proficient in business. He doesn't need anyone to tell him this truth. He understands it very well."
Zhou Yijin had been in Guangzhou for many years and was familiar with the operation of the Thirteen Hongs. He knew that the wealth in Wu Chengjian's hands was not just money.
If He Shen decided to confiscate the family property, as soon as the wind blew, the beasts would pounce on them. Before the confiscation team arrived, the Wu family's most valuable assets, such as the tea mountains in Fujian, the shops in Guangzhou and Foshan, the large ships that connect the sea, the merchant caravans in various provinces, etc., would be divided up. These are "money-making things" and their value is simply inestimable. In addition, cross-credits, etc., would be immediately denied, and the domestic trade system and overseas commercial routes that had been operating for many years would collapse in an instant - these would be pure losses.
As for after the house-raiding team arrived, deceiving the superiors and concealing the truth from the subordinates was inevitable. The imperial envoy would take one layer, the local senior officials such as the governor, supervisor, and governor would take one layer, the fatherly officials such as the prefect and county magistrate would take one layer, the clerks and yamen runners would take one layer, the handling personnel would take one layer, and the local gangs, ruffians, and the evil servants in the house would all take the opportunity to get some of the leftovers.
If Heshen had sent bannermen to supervise, the bannermen would have had to take over more and more of the money. With the original family property of millions, it would have been a lot if a few hundred thousand could be deposited into the treasury. Even in the cases of property confiscations in Beijing, the chief officers could not control the officials at all levels, let alone the Wu family far away in Guangzhou.
Therefore, once the Wu family's assets, which were worth tens of millions, were confiscated, at most millions of dollars could be squeezed out, and only one in a hundred would be stored in the treasury. This was a very unprofitable mess for both the Qing Dynasty and Heshen himself.
Wu Chengjian said: "So, He Shen will not kill me until he minimizes the losses."
Zhou Yijin said, "But given his way of doing things, he couldn't have waited until you entered the mansion to see him before he started to take action. He should have started to lay out the plan long before you entered the mansion... No, long before you came to Beijing. Ah, no, no, it should have been even longer before. I was lured to Beijing as part of this operation."
Wu Chengjian said: "If we want to minimize the losses, the best way is to transfer the industry from A to B, just like when Pan, Wu, Lu, and Ye swallowed up the Cai family. It would also be best if someone from within the family could inherit the part that is difficult to transfer, such as Cai Shiqun inheriting the Cai family. This way, the losses can be minimized."
"Well..." Zhou Yijin said, "Given the current situation of the Wu family, the best situation would be for Pan, Wu, and Ye to join forces to attack from the outside. At the same time, if there is a problem inside the Wu family, then Pan, Wu, and Ye will attack from the outside, and someone inside the Wu family will attack from the inside. With both internal and external attacks, Yihehang can be split up. Pan, Wu, and Ye will swallow up part of the industry, and then try to transfer these industries to Heshen, and the gold and silver will be confiscated and returned to the national treasury. In that way, Heshen can swallow up half of the Wu family's industry, and the commercial vitality of Guangdong and Hong Kong can be preserved. And if the vitality of Guangdong and Hong Kong is preserved, those systems that can make money will have the greatest value - this is the best situation for Heshen."
They both spoke in low voices, but Wu Qi was right outside the prison door. He had witnessed many of these events and even experienced them personally. He would occasionally miss a sentence or two, but he could still understand the whole thing. Suddenly, he thought of the various changes that had taken place in the Wu family before Wu Chengjian came to Beijing.
At that time, everyone in the Wu family was focusing on the dispute between the uncle and the sister-in-law, and the dispute over inheritance between the second house. Now, after listening to the conversation between Wu Chengjian and Zhou Yijin, Wu Qi couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat!
He could never have expected that what seemed to be a dispute between an uncle and a sister-in-law within the Wu family might actually involve the minister of military affairs of the current dynasty!
Thinking about the end of Cai Shiwen and the rise of Cai Shiqun, Wu Qi couldn't help but feel a chill rising from the soles of his feet. It turned out that the business war in Guangdong was so cruel!
It turned out that Cai Shiwen's defeat and Cai Shiqun's success had been clearly arranged by the "higher-ups" long ago, and it was not at all as people speculated: it was caused by the hatred and affinity between the two Cais and Wu Chengjian.
Wu Qi has always thought that he was smart since he was a child. He would serve Wu Chengjian as a servant and he always believed that it was because of his loyalty. But now, a thought suddenly came to him: If there was a chance to put himself in Hao Guan's position... then he would definitely be eaten up without leaving anything behind!
Inside the cell, Wu Chengjian said, "My eldest sister-in-law has little experience in outside affairs, so she was also tricked by others. But fortunately, she has true feelings for me in her heart. It is this uncle-sister-in-law relationship that thwarted the outsider's attempt to cause internal strife in the Wu family."
The dispute between uncle and sister-in-law was resolved smoothly, seemingly thanks to Wu Chengjian's strategy, but in fact, the key was the true feelings between Cai Qiaozhu and Wu Chengjian, which was the most valuable part of the whole game - if the deep trust between them was less than a little, Wu Chengjian would not dare to completely delegate power to Cai Qiaozhu, and Cai Qiaozhu would not return the power of the Wu family after resolving her doubts. Then Wu Chengjian's plan would not be able to proceed, and he would have to go down the road of splitting up Yihe or completely suppressing the first house.
"There is another advantage for us." Wu Chengjian continued: "I'm afraid that Qi Guan will not dance to the tune of others this time."
Zhou Yijin raised his eyebrows - this was unexpected good news!
After Wu Chengjian told Zhou Yijin about Pan Youjie's movements before he left, he became more certain.
They are all people who have been rolling around in the Thirteen Hongs and have climbed to the positions of the Four Major Families. No matter whether it is Pan or Wu, Lu or Ye, each of them has his or her true feelings hidden seven or eight layers beneath each of their actions.
Zhou Yijin, with just a few words, penetrated through the seven or eight layers of concealment and directly pointed out Pan Youjie's true purpose: "It's not easy!"
Zhou Yijin sighed, "So... he doesn't think highly of Heshen either."
