Chapter 187 The Illegal Salt Dealers

People on vacation always tend to be a bit more arrogant.

But Wei Yu’s arrogance was quite distinctive—he stayed up all night packing, and early the next morning, he left the capital with his personal guards.

He moved so fast that Emperor Wei didn’t even react in time!

Even those officials who had just learned of the Second Prince’s haul of money at the morning court, and those who wanted to post notices about the Wise King’s household or probe into the Wise King’s affairs for various reasons, in the end were simply dismissed with a vague “His Highness is not in the capital” by the gatekeeper.

Just yesterday, the Wise King had attended court together—so why was he suddenly not in the capital today?

Such a prime opportunity to make connections with officials, the Wise King just gave up on it? Didn’t even throw a banquet to celebrate properly? Such a great moment to receive rewards was wasted?

Is this really how the Wise King behaves?!

While everyone in the capital was bewildered, Wei Yu had already ridden his horse all the way to neighboring Tianshui Commandery.

After all, the holiday was only one month long; with such limited time, it was unlikely he would travel to other provinces for vacation.

Wei Yu had calculated that even with a fast horse, going to Huzhou would still consume at least one-third of the time just on the road.

One-third of the time spent riding fast.

He was going on vacation to relax and enjoy leisure time, not to torture himself on the road!

Anyway, there were many places in Great Wei that Wei Yu hadn’t visited or seen yet. Nowadays, any decent spot to pick was an unspoiled 5A scenic area.

No need to worry about deserted wilderness—just bring enough silver and people, and with a pair of eyes that can discover beauty, he could enjoy himself anywhere!

Although Tianshui Commandery was close to Xijing, it was not as prosperous as Xijing.

Wei Yu had already sent Yi Shisan ahead by foot to Tianshui City to buy a house and make preparations, so he wasn’t in a rush on the road; when he saw something novel or beautiful, he would stop to take a look.

Passing a small village along the way, he caught sight of a small group who were dealing in illegal salt.

But this group was different from typical illegal salt dealers.

Usually, illegal salt dealers sold salt because official salt was expensive, so they sold at lower prices to the commoners, but these guys were holding new white salt bought from the government and selling it at prices even higher than blue salt to the remote mountain villagers who lacked information!

The government sold new white salt at fifty wen per jin, but these dealers charged even more than blue salt, claiming to be “sincerely selling at a loss” to the villagers.

Their conduct didn’t just deceive the mountain villagers who rarely went into the city—it openly fleeced the government’s resources!

How could Wei Yu, who had developed the white salt to benefit the people, stand for this?

This was clearly squeezing money out of him, a blatant slap in his face!!!

Wei Yu was very furious.

After all, this was happening in Tianshui Commandery, not far from Xijing.

With such proximity, how could there still be villagers unaware of the new white salt, allowing these salt dealers to profit?

What does that indicate?

It clearly shows that the government’s publicity was insufficient and had not penetrated down to the grassroots level, revealing a lack of genuine dedication to the people’s welfare and honest governance.

If Tianshui Commandery was like this, could other places be any different?

They were probably even worse!

In front of the villagers, Wei Yu exposed the salt dealers’ true nature and promoted the new white salt. Then he ordered Ding Facai to arrest and bind the dealers and send them to the officials, also writing a letter to inform his father.

Orders to local officials to go deeper into the grassroots to promote the salt—Wei Yu only needed to remind his father about these matters.

His father, an Emperor with a wise heart who wanted to be remembered in history, would certainly take action once he learned about these minor incidents.

Having been on the throne for so many years, it was unlikely that the old man needed Wei Yu to remind him to handle everything thoroughly. With so many court officials and hundreds of minds combined, they could probably twist black into white.

Upon receiving the letter, Emperor Wei was indeed angered by the incompetence of the officials below.

Illegal salt dealers were a given—these things happened repeatedly as long as there was profit, and could only be curbed by increasing inspections and punishments.

But the fact that villagers had been deceived into buying new white salt was something that could be held accountable, right?

The new white salt had been launched two months ago—if the officials had put in some effort and reminded their subordinates just a bit more, these scams would not have happened near the capital!

Near the capital!

That alone felt like a slap in the Imperial Court’s face.

Whatever others might say, whether they thought the villagers were foolish or not, Emperor Wei was not particularly concerned about that. He was more focused on the officials’ administrative abilities.

Too incompetent!

The very purpose of producing the new white salt was to protect the people from toxic salt, yet the officials below failed to recognize its importance and neglected its promotion!

Emperor Wei was furious; when he reissued orders to intensify the promotion of new white salt, he also took the opportunity to punish a group of corrupt officials in the Salt Affairs Department.

His Majesty rarely lost his temper, but once angry, even ten horses couldn’t pull him back.

During the investigation, officials were trembling with fear, hastily restraining their actions, afraid that their corrupt deeds might also be discovered by His Majesty and that they would be dragged down together.

When the dust settled in the Salt Affairs Department, the officials also learned the truth—that this matter was originally initiated by the Wise King, who had already left the capital!

Some found the scene somewhat familiar, and upon reflection realized that when His Majesty had suddenly launched an investigation into usury matters, causing panic throughout the capital, the instigator seemed to be the Wise King as well!

The officials were overwhelmed with mixed feelings.

Regarding Wei Yu, they were filled with both hatred and joy.

People with different stances had completely opposite attitudes toward the Wise King’s conduct.

It is said that great achievements come after thorough preparation. The Wise King had lived in seclusion in the deep palace for a long time and was not outstanding, but how could the dragon bow down?

Look at what the Wise King had done—how long had his household been established?

Other princes might not have accomplished as much in several years as he had in a short time. Truly, capable people cannot stay hidden; winning his Majesty’s trust was proof of the Wise King’s abilities.

It was just a pity that the Wise King’s erratic tactics—sometimes good, sometimes bad, with too many unpredictable events—caused collateral damage; it was virtually indiscriminate, and the officials had no idea what he was really trying to achieve!

Because of this, officials who had planned to side with Wei Yu hesitated when it came to the new white salt incident.

It could be said that Wei Yu’s own efforts had made the officials regard him with a new level of respect.

A mixed blessing, really.

Sensing the undercurrents swirling beneath the capital city, Pei Zhi stroked his beard at the mansion, deeply moved.

As the saying goes, “One who meets wind and clouds shall become a dragon,” and this probably best described the Wise King.