Chapter 41

Wang Shoucheng looked at his son, who was covering his face with a look of defiance, not knowing what to say. After a long while, he pointed at Wang Chenglin and scolded him in a choked voice, "You... you ungrateful son, what can I say to you? It's all my fault for spoiling you too much, which has led to you causing such trouble."

It had to be said that Wang Chenglin was someone who acted on impulse without thinking. Even at this moment, he had not come to his senses. He endured the burning pain on his face and said defiantly, "Father, I just burned a few of the Yue family's shops, and at most, a few people died. What's the big deal? Is Yue Yang going to lead an army to invade Yingzhou City? Unless he wants to rebel!"

"You... you fool!" Wang Shoucheng was almost driven to the brink of anger by his foolish son. He wanted to give him another slap, but this time Wang Chenglin had learned his lesson. As soon as he saw his father raise his hand, he immediately stepped back and hid to the side. Finally, Wang Shoucheng put down his hand and scolded, "You good-for-nothing, who only knows how to eat, drink, and play, what do you understand? After the Yue family's salt shops were burned, anyone with a brain in Yingzhou City knows we are responsible!

"There are laws in the country and rules in the family, and every industry has its own regulations. We are no exception. If everyone acted like you, once there was a conflict, they would send people to burn others' shops and kill their employees. In that case, no one would do business anymore, and everyone would just fight and kill each other all day! Now, everyone knows that we were behind last night's incident. Who in Yingzhou City will still do business with us in the future? Our family's reputation, built up over a hundred years, has been ruined by you. Do you understand?"

"There's such a thing?"

Hearing his father's words, Wang Chenglin thought about it and realized it was indeed true. Although he was hot-tempered and impulsive, it didn't mean he was stupid. After his father's explanation, he finally understood. Realizing he had indeed done something foolish, he looked anxiously at Wang Shoucheng and said, "Father, then... what should we do now?"

"What should we do? How should I know what to do?" Wang Shoucheng glared at his son angrily, then took a deep breath and said, "Since the incident has already happened, the most important thing now is not to let others catch us. We can't admit it. I will immediately transfer those involved to Datong Prefecture or Taiyuan Prefecture. The situation is not at its worst yet. As long as we deny it, even if the Yue family suspects us, they can't do anything. We just need to get through this period. Once your elder brother arrives in Taiyuan Prefecture in two months, things will be easier. I'm sure he will give us some face as a censor."

Saying this, Wang Shoucheng couldn't help but glare at his son again, scaring Wang Chenglin, who was about to step forward, to retreat.

Just as Wang Shoucheng was about to say something, a hurried footsteps sounded outside the study. The door opened, and a middle-aged man in his forties, clutching his left arm, stumbled in. Before Wang Shoucheng could speak, he fell to his knees in front of him, sobbing, "Brother, it's bad! The batch of blue salt we transported from Datong Prefecture was ambushed outside the city. All the dozens of employees and guards were killed. I only managed to escape back to Yingzhou City with the help of the servants!"

"What... when did this happen?"

Wang Shoucheng stood up abruptly, feeling a wave of dizziness. His body swayed, and he almost fell. Wang Chenglin, seeing this, quickly rushed forward to support his father, helping him slowly sit down in a chair.

Wang Shoucheng slowly sat down, took a deep breath, and asked, "Shouye, tell me everything that happened!"

This man was Wang Shoucheng's younger brother, Wang Shouye. He sobbed and recounted the entire incident...

It turned out that the Wang family had recently imported a large batch of blue salt from Qinghai. This batch was massive, totaling over 20,000 dan, transported by over 200 carts, 100 employees, and nearly 200 guards. Due to the importance of the matter, Wang Shoucheng had personally sent his younger brother, Wang Shouye, to escort the blue salt to Yingzhou City.

Unexpectedly, when they were about 20 li away from Yingzhou City, they were suddenly attacked by a group of people dressed in various colors. These people had ambushed them on both sides of the road, shooting arrows and crossbows at them. Caught off guard, over 100 employees and nearly 200 guards fell. By the time Wang Shoucheng and the guards reacted, most of their people were already down. The remaining dozens of guards, not daring to engage the attackers, fled hastily with Wang Shouye toward Yingzhou City. The attackers pursued them relentlessly, only stopping when they were less than a li away from the city walls. By then, only one of the dozens of guards protecting Wang Shouye remained.

Listening to Wang Shouye's tearful report, Wang Shoucheng seemed to age ten years in an instant. His spirit dimmed, and he sighed deeply, "He has indeed taken revenge on us, and it happened so quickly! The Wang family is in grave danger!"

"Brother, who is he? What exactly happened?" Seeing Wang Shoucheng's dim and lifeless expression, Wang Shouye became anxious. He had been in Qinghai escorting the salt and was not in Yingzhou, so he was unaware of recent events.

Wang Shoucheng glared at Wang Chenglin and said, "Hmph... what happened? Ask your good nephew! This is all his doing!"

Wang Shouye was taken aback, then turned to Wang Chenglin with a serious look and asked, "Kuanliang, what exactly happened?"

Faced with his uncle's stern gaze, Wang Chenglin dared not lie and recounted in detail how he had sent people to burn the Yue family's salt shops.

"Kuanliang... you... how could you do such a foolish thing!" Wang Shouye was almost stunned. He pointed at Wang Chenglin helplessly and scolded, "Kuanliang, do you know that if this news gets out, our family's reputation will be ruined? And this attack on me is definitely the Yue family's doing. What a pity for our family's tens of thousands of dan of blue salt and over a hundred guards!"

Only now did Wang Chenglin realize how foolish he had been. He had thought that by using strong-arm tactics, the Yue family would submit and withdraw from Yingzhou City. But now he understood that Yue Yang was not incapable of using force; he was just following the basic rules of the game. Once Wang Chenglin broke those rules, Yue Yang immediately showed his true, ruthless nature.

Thinking about this, Wang Chenglin could no longer hold himself up and collapsed to the ground. Wang Shouye ignored his guilty and fearful nephew and turned to Wang Shoucheng, asking, "Brother, what should we do now? Although I haven't dealt with the Yue family's young master, from this encounter, I can tell he is a ruthless and cruel person. His revenge will not stop here. We will face more of his retaliation."

Wang Shoucheng was at a loss. Although he was known for his cunning, he realized that his usual schemes were useless in this situation. The only thing left was a direct confrontation, which was something the Wang family lacked.

Seeing the troubled look on Wang Shoucheng's face, Wang Shouye said loudly, "Brother, our family still has over 200 guards and 100 servants. Why don't I gather them and fight the Yue family? Even if we die, we won't let them have it easy!"

"No!" Wang Shoucheng quickly stopped his brother's impulsiveness and shook his head, "No, the situation is not at its most dangerous yet. Moreover, your elder nephew, Chengdong, will soon be appointed as a censor in Taiyuan Prefecture. Once he arrives, he can use his official position to suppress the situation. At that time, the Yue family will have no choice but to back down. For now, we must endure. Starting tomorrow, all Wang family caravans must not leave Yingzhou City!"

Thus, after much hesitation, Wang Shoucheng decided on a temporary strategy of endurance. However, the situation did not end there. He never imagined how ruthless Yue Yang could be.

Although the Wang family adopted a policy of endurance, they still had hundreds of people who needed to eat and live. They had to go out to purchase food and daily necessities. Starting from the eighth day of the tenth month, Wang Shoucheng began receiving reports from his subordinates that Wang family members were constantly being attacked, with many injured or even killed. On the night of the twelfth day of the tenth month, over ten Wang family shops in Yingzhou City were set on fire, resulting in dozens of employees being killed or injured. By the time the night patrol arrived, the arsonists had vanished without a trace.

More seriously, from the fifteenth day of the tenth month, news began to come from Taiyuan Prefecture and Datong Prefecture that multiple Wang family shops in both places had been set on fire simultaneously at night. In a single night, the Wang family's hard-earned business, built over a hundred years, was almost completely destroyed. The news shocked the entire Shanxi province!

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