Episode 22 recap: Ding Bao Zhen infiltrated the salt industry and discovered some flaws in the transportation process.
Boss Feng was delighted to see Li Pei Rong return safely. Li Pei Rong had saved Boss Feng twice, so Boss Feng hired him as the chief instructor. Taking advantage of this, Li Pei Rong had Ding Bao Zhen pretend to be his uncle and cousin, claiming that they were seeking refuge due to a disaster in their hometown. Li Pei Rong hoped that Boss Feng would arrange a job for Ding Bao Zhen. Boss Feng readily agreed and arranged for Ding Bao Zhen and the shopkeeper to go out of town to transport salt.
During the journey, the shopkeeper explained the intricacies of the salt trade. In the Qing Dynasty, anyone could sell salt, but they had to purchase a salt permit in advance and were not allowed to transport salt privately. Only people of Boss Feng's status could obtain salt from the government. Ding Bao Zhen accompanied the shopkeeper to buy a salt permit from Mr. Li. He needed eight thousand kilograms of salt, and he also gave Mr. Li a silver ticket. Impressed by his cleverness, Mr. Li doubled the amount of salt permit for Ding Bao Zhen. Ding Bao Zhen privately asked the shopkeeper about this situation and learned that it was a common practice, and the officials never intervened.
In the evening, Ding Bao Zhen recorded and organized the information he had discovered in the salt field over the past few days. The return journey the next day went smoothly, thanks to the silver tickets in the steward's hands. They were allowed to pass through each checkpoint as long as they paid the officials. Ding Bao Zhen asked the steward about the official they encountered earlier, and the steward explained that as long as the official received the money, he wouldn't inspect them. General Heng Xun was influential and had control over both the lawful and unlawful activities in this area, and everyone at each checkpoint had to obey him.
The salt merchants had arrived at the shop, and Li Pei Rong and the others had returned with the salt. They had made a good harvest this time. Ding Bao Zhen claimed that the long journey had exhausted him, so he declined the job arranged by Boss Feng and returned home to rest. That night, Ding Bao Zhen wrote a memorial about the salt trade. He knew the intricacies involved, including smuggling and bribery in the salt field. The key issue lay in the transportation process, and only by controlling this link could they confirm everything. However, Chen Yun Fei was worried that disturbing the interests of many people would implicate Ding Daren.
Empress Dowager looked at Ding Bao Zhen's memorial and knew that it revealed a complex situation. She sent the memorial directly to the military office and instructed them to handle it according to the memorial. Prince Gong placed the memorial in front of En Cheng and discussed it with him. En Cheng was concerned that removing the salt permit and the salt merchants' involvement would cause unrest. Prince Gong remembered their previous attempt to implement the salt trade in stages, which had ultimately been abandoned. En Cheng understood Prince Gong's implication and agreed to implement the measures outlined in the memorial.
Qi Songru and his classmates were drinking and listening to music when they were mocked by others, saying that he didn't have the qualifications to be selected as a tribute student and relied solely on Ding Bao Zhen. Feeling deeply humiliated, Qi Songru had to leave. However, the other group thought that Qi Songru had insulted them and beat him up. En Cheng happened to pass by and drove away the crowd, but he only glanced at Qi Songru before leaving.
Heng Xun's interests were being interfered with by Ding Bao Zhen. He planned to report to the Empress Dowager and request her decree. At this time, Wang Daren advised him to calm down, but Heng Xun didn't want to see the silver he was about to obtain slip away. Wang Daren suggested changing the salt tax to a miscellaneous tax to make up for the loss. That night, Qi Songru contemplated his future and decided to present his family heirloom jade pendant to En Cheng in order to climb the social ladder. With his term at the National Academy of Learning coming to an end, he hoped that En Cheng could arrange a position for him. However, En Cheng felt that helping Qi Songru would be like slapping Ding Bao Zhen's face and told him to wait for further instructions.
Heng Xun received a letter from En Cheng stating that they needed to cover a deficit of over ten thousand taels of silver. He decided to raise prices through the Ministry of Revenue, while Wang Daren and others were at a loss. Suddenly, they thought of a solution: using the national treasury. The officials and soldiers below began to manipulate the treasury as instructed, but a soldier felt that the disturbance was significant and unusual. The Ambassador of the Granary urgently reported the situation to Ding Bao Zhen, who didn't know the underlying reasons but remarked that the Ministry of Revenue was responsible for supplying food and that the transportation of grains seemed abnormal. The ambassador explained that they sold the good quality grains and filled the supply with inferior ones.
Ding Bao Zhen realized that they were substituting inferior goods for superior ones, indicating a hidden agenda. He sent Li Pei Rong to investigate the matter by following the ambassador. The concerned soldier below worried that the new grains hadn't been sold yet but were being returned, and Wang Daren assured him that General Heng Xun was in control. Meanwhile, Li Pei Rong disguised himself as a soldier and infiltrated the grain storage area, where he discovered marks on the bags.
Later, Li Pei Rong went to a grain shop to buy old grains and coincidentally, a group of soldiers used the provincial treasury silver to purchase all the old grains. On the other hand, Chen Yun Fei also found discrepancies in the provincial treasury accounts, confirming the situation. Chen Yun Fei, on behalf of the governor, borrowed the account books from various grain shops under the pretense of investigating the provincial treasury.
Wang Daren received the report and hurriedly brought the provincial treasury's account books. Song Daren arrived at the riverside and voluntarily handed over the account books to Ding Bao Zhen, expressing his remorse. He believed that with his testimony and the account books, they could implicate General Heng Xun. He sincerely repented and hoped to be spared, as he had evidence not only of Heng Xun's embezzlement but also of his bribes to higher-ranking officials. However, Ding Bao Zhen believed that even with that evidence, Song Daren's safety couldn't be guaranteed.
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