Chapter 290: Chu Family Secrets

Chu Zhongtian was unwilling to accept this and quickly pressed, "Brother Wang, can we still find a way to get another batch of salt certificates?"

Wang Fu shook his head with a bitter smile. "In previous years, it wouldn't have been a problem, but as you know, Brother Chu, our border garrisons and merchant strongholds suffered heavy losses from the foreign raiders this year. This batch of salt certificates was only put together with great difficulty, by gathering surplus grain from warehouses all over the country. Getting another batch is absolutely impossible."

"Then what about the salt business for the coming year?" Chu Zhongtian slumped back into his chair, looking as if he had aged many years in an instant.

He knew it was likely hopeless, but he asked just in case.

Wang Fu gritted his teeth and said, "Brother Chu, I do have an idea."

"What is it?" Chu Zhongtian asked eagerly.

Wang Fu explained, "I've contained everyone who knows about this salt certificate robbery. If anyone asks, I'll deny it, acting as if the certificates weren't stolen. We can use the salt certificates from the year after next to tide us over. Once we get through this, everything will be fine."

Salt merchants conduct business on a massive scale, and sometimes a year's worth of salt certificates isn't enough. Therefore, the government keeps an reserve of certificates for the next three years to be used as needed.

However, using these reserve certificates comes at a cost, most notably a much higher price.

A regular salt certificate costs 1.5 taels of silver, but an advance certificate for future years requires 2.1 taels, which acts like loan interest. This policy also serves as a form of macroeconomic regulation for the imperial court, preventing salt merchants from flooding the market with vast quantities of salt due to excessive profits.

"But that would make the salt certificates far too expensive," Chu Zhongtian said, frowning. With various additional expenses, the cost would be three or four times higher than usual, which was prohibitive.

Wang Fu shook his head. "Brother Chu, you've misunderstood. What I mean is to advance those salt certificates and pretend they are next year's. Once we recover next year, we can gather enough certificates to return to the treasury. This way, no one will be the wiser, and it will solve our immediate crisis."

Chu Zhongtian's expression changed. "Absolutely not! That's undermining the imperial court. If discovered, it would be a grave offense!"

Wang Fu replied, "With your connections in Mingyue City, Brother Chu, and our Wang family's long-standing operations, it wouldn't be easily exposed. Besides, advancing salt certificates is something various families have done in previous years. How many have truly paid the full amount?"

Chu Zhongtian stated gravely, "But in previous years, these were small advances that everyone turned a blind eye to. This time, it's an entire year's worth of salt certificates. The scale is too large. I can't agree to it, absolutely not."

Wang Fu sighed. "Brother Chu, forgive my bluntness, but what other choice do we have?"

"From what I hear, illegal salt has become rampant this year, and much of your Chu family's salt isn't selling, is it?"

"If you couldn't sell it when the salt certificates cost 1.5 taels, you'll certainly struggle now with costs approaching 4 taels. And even if you do sell it, how much profit can the Chu family make? The Chu family is vast, with enormous expenses on all fronts. Without income from the salt business, you'll likely face a financial deficit very soon, won't you?" Wang Fu analyzed.

Chu Zhongtian's expression shifted, and he abruptly stood up. "Our Chu family has a legacy of several centuries. We can withstand this level of loss."

While it would be painful, at worst, it would mean selling off some ancestral lands.

Just as he was about to get angry, Wang Fu suddenly knelt before him, grabbing his leg. "Brother Chu, your Chu family is vast and can afford it, but our Wang family cannot. With our border strongholds already looted, the Wang family is on the brink. If news of this salt certificate robbery gets out, our family will be completely ruined. Brother Chu, we've been friends for so many years, and I've never asked anything of you before. Please, consider this my plea!"

"Brother Wang, please get up, what are you doing!" Chu Zhongtian quickly helped him to his feet. Among the prominent families, the Chu and Wang families were the closest, having considered each other friends for decades.

"The Wang family is on the verge of collapse. What good is this old face of mine if that happens?" Wang Fu simply slumped to the ground, refusing to get up.

Chu Zhongtian's expression flickered. "Let me think about it. This matter is truly significant."

Hearing the softening in his tone, Wang Fu was overjoyed. "Thank you, Brother Chu. Your willingness to consider it is more than I could ask for. Whether it succeeds or not, we'll leave it to fate."

When Chu Zhongtian returned and mentioned the matter to Qin Wanru, her face went pale with shock. "Of course not! Husband, how could you be so foolish as to agree to something like that!"

Chu Zhongtian sighed. "I know how dangerous this is, but what Wang Fu said isn't entirely wrong. If we strictly pay the advance silver for every salt certificate, the cost of official salt would be too high, and ordinary people simply wouldn't buy it."

Qin Wanru said anxiously, "So what if they don't buy it? The Chu family can afford to lose a year's income. Now that the imperial court has sent Sang Hong to keep watch, if we make any moves and he finds out, we'll be in serious trouble."

"The Chu family's situation isn't as good as you think," Chu Zhongtian said gravely. "In previous years, we incurred losses annually. Only after Chu Yan started helping out in recent years did things improve slightly, but we still can't withstand such a massive loss."

Qin Wanru couldn't help but ask, "I've actually wanted to ask for a while: even with our mismanagement, the Chu family controls two extremely lucrative businesses—salt and iron. Where has all the money gone? Why have we been losing money every year?"

"I never intended to hide this from you, but you've always had too many concerns to ask," Chu Zhongtian explained. "You must know about the Provincial Salt Administration Office, right?"

"Of course, I do," Qin Wanru replied.

Chu Zhongtian then slowly recounted the full story.

Due to the immense profits from salt, successive dynasties established a special department to oversee its production, transportation, distribution, and anti-smuggling efforts.

The one overseeing Mingyue City was the Linchuan Prefecture Salt Administration Office.

The head of this office, the Salt Commissioner, held an extremely lucrative position, coveted by countless officials.

However, because the Chu family had managed the salt business in Mingyue City for centuries, anyone aspiring to be the Salt Commissioner generally needed the Chu family's approval.

To some extent, these Salt Commissioners were either members of the Chu family or people closely associated with them.

But in official circles, where favors are exchanged, few officials are truly incorruptible.

Every Salt Commissioner, along with their deputies and lower-ranking officials, would, to varying degrees, line their own pockets.

Successive heads of the Chu family could only turn a blind eye to this. Firstly, these were officials close to the Chu family, and secondly, it was an unwritten rule of officialdom; what happened in the Salt Administration Office was no different from other government departments.

Furthermore, after leaving office, these Salt Administration officials, at various levels, would either be promoted to the central court or transferred to powerful local positions, forming a vast network within the government that could not be easily disturbed.

If the Chu family dared to speak out, they would offend an extremely formidable force.

Over centuries, this accumulated, and the actual deficit in the Salt Administration Office's treasury grew to an astronomical sum.

In the past, they could conceal it through various accounting tricks, but by Chu Zhongtian's generation, the figure had become too immense to hide any longer.

"So, for all these years, the money the Chu family earned has been used to cover the centuries-long accumulated deficit in the Salt Administration Office's treasury?" The color drained from Qin Wanru's delicate face.

Chu Zhongtian offered a bitter smile. "Precisely."

"Why?!" Qin Wanru's face was filled with anger. "Why should our Chu family have to make up for the money embezzled by successive salt officials?!"

Chu Zhongtian said gravely, "Because the Chu family has been able to hold onto Mingyue City, a rich fiefdom abundant in salt and iron. Do you think we could have kept such a lucrative position solely on our ancestors' merits? It's only thanks to the strong protection of those officials over the years that our Chu family has maintained this stronghold."

"It wasn't always this complicated, but in recent years, I've sensed that the Emperor might be planning to move against our Chu family. I had to prepare for the worst, making sure the Salt Administration's accounts at least appeared sound enough to withstand an imperial investigation."

Chu Zhongtian paused, then continued, "This is also why I've had the confidence to remain neutral, despite pressure from both the Emperor and Prince Qi. We have countless imperial officials as our backing! They are the last people who want something to happen to the Chu family, because if it does, not a single one of them will escape the consequences!"

Qin Wanru suddenly had a thought. "That ledger you so solemnly entrusted to Chu Yan last time—you said it was a record of transactions with business partners. Now, it seems likely to be evidence of the corruption of successive Salt Administration officials."

Chu Zhongtian nodded. "Exactly. As long as that ledger remains safe, no matter how much the Emperor or Prince Qi want to deal with the Chu family, we will remain untouched!"