Chapter Eighteen: The Decisive Strike (With Gratitude to Sister Feng for Her Generous Support)

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Chen Yuchong glanced at Ye Xi, his eyes brimming with undeniable smugness. “Young Miss, this round has been won by Chen.”

His words were blunt and lacking in courtesy, even somewhat unbecoming. Yet, for Tu Mu and the others present, a familiar feeling finally emerged—this was the true Chen Yuchong: arrogant and overbearing, proud and conceited. His previous humility had merely been patience before victory.

Yun Zheng rolled his eyes at Chen Yuchong, mocking, “Chief Steward Chen, displaying such overt delight—have you envisioned any grand blueprint for expanding and strengthening the distillery?”

The loyal maidservant of Chen Yuchong immediately flushed with anger. “You scoundrel, how dare you disrespect Lord Chen!”

Yun Zheng rubbed his stiff neck and eyes, feigning discomfort. “Not at all. I suffer from a bit of trachoma, and my eyes are uneasy. Lord Chen is magnanimous and surely wouldn’t mind.”

Chen Yuchong snorted softly, thinking privately that with his victory assured, there was no need to bother with petty arguments.

“Of course, it’s not just about brewing,” Chen Yuchong boasted. “Years ago, I cultivated friendships with many Dutch merchants and have maintained contact with the outside world. Recently, I learned that Westerners discovered a marvelous plant called tobacco in the West Indies. Smoking it refreshes the mind. I believe this item will inevitably become universally popular.”

(Note: In this context, the “Red Barbarians” referred to the Americas as the West Indies.)

Members of the Yun family army frowned. Amid national crisis, how could Chen Yuchong only think of such crooked ways to make money? Tobacco was nothing more than a pastime, its widespread cultivation inevitably consuming vast fertile land. In times of famine, this was tantamount to cannibalism.

Their concern was well-founded. In Yun Zheng’s previous world, a similar tragedy had occurred. In the late Qing dynasty, under the immense burden of reparations, the rulers cultivated opium poppies extensively within the country. This led to an increase in addicts despite Lin Zexu’s earlier anti-opium campaigns.

Moreover, the profit from poppy cultivation far exceeded that of food crops, causing fertile land to be devoted to opium, which greatly exacerbated famine during the Qing’s decline.

Similarly, during Mongol rule, vast tracts of farmland were converted to mulberry trees and other cash crops for profit, leading to food shortages. At its peak, the Yuan dynasty’s population was approximately 20% less than the combined population of the Southern Song and Jin dynasties before the Mongol invasions.

In Yun Zheng’s view, while excessive focus on agriculture to suppress commerce was unwise, neglecting industry for hollow financial prosperity was a path to national ruin.

Seeing the anger on Yun Zheng’s group’s faces, Chen Yuchong grew even more smug, confident that under the imperial envoy’s watch, no one dared to confront him openly. “It’s not just tobacco; there’s also opium. The English invented a method to refine opium, producing a purer, better-tasting form called ‘Afu’.”

Yun Zheng suddenly felt an urge to smash a hot ashtray filled with burning embers into Chen’s face, then toss him along with the opium into a lime-lined pit and douse it with water.

Historically, in Yun Zheng’s original world, this was precisely when British-improved opium began flowing into China via Dutch merchants. Many tobacco vendors mixed opium into their tobacco to increase addiction.

Since the Wanli Emperor was addicted to Afu and neglected governance, the rise of tobacco and opium soon alarmed the Chongzhen Emperor, who issued strict anti-smoking edicts, even decreeing death for addicts.

However, with the country in turmoil, these edicts were ineffectual. After the Manchu conquest, tobacco and opium spread widely, culminating in the disastrous late Qing era where opium smoking was nearly universal.

(Is this Chen Yuchong one of the historical promoters of opium in the late Ming? Even if I don’t kill him, he’s already courting death in His Majesty’s eyes.)

“What? You dare to be so reckless even before the imperial envoy?”

Ye Xi’s crimson lips parted calmly. “The imperial envoy is a celestial being; naturally, no one dares to be disrespectful.”

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“However, I have urgent and important matters to report to His Majesty. Thankfully, the imperial envoy is present, providing the perfect opportunity to relay this message.”

“I have been secretly investigating the accounts of the Maotown Liguo Distillery under the secret orders of Guizhou Governor Zhu Xieyuan. Now, I possess ample evidence proving that Chen Yuchong has committed extensive financial fraud in managing the distillery, siphoning off large profits to cultivate his own retainers with the intent to establish a separatist domain.”

At this, an uproar erupted.

The accusation of “cultivating retainers to establish a separatist domain” seemed like slander—after all, every local chieftain did the same. For those who held or exercised chieftain power, this charge was superficial and weak.

The key was the previous sentence: “financial fraud at the distillery.”

The Maotown Liguo Distillery was not Chen Yuchong’s private property. Although private brewing and selling were not prohibited in the Ming, a distillery of this scale had to be state-run. Most profits were due to be handed over to the court.

In fact, Chen Yuchong gained many official connections through this distillery, enabling him to turn Chishui City into an independent kingdom in just six years.

During this difficult national period, embezzling profits meant for the court was a capital offense.

Moreover, the emperor was already burdened by insufficient military funds and had even donated large sums from the royal treasury. If Ye Xi’s accusation was true, Chen Yuchong’s punishment would be severe beyond measure. It would no longer be a question of whether Shao Jiechun could save him, but whether Shao would preemptively imprison Chen to protect himself.

Chen Yuchong’s expression remained unmoved. “Young Miss, what nonsense are you spouting? I have always submitted the distillery’s accounts punctually. The superiors are vigilant; if there were any discrepancies, my head would have rolled long ago.”

“You think you have covered every detail? Alas...” Ye Xi sighed softly, her aura like dewdrops on lotus leaves—crystal clear and exquisite, possessing a captivating charm in that breath. “That is precisely why you had to deceive even your own people. I want you all to see someone.”

With a gesture, several present were struck with horror.

Because before them stood a man who should neither be alive nor appear at this moment.

“A ghost!” someone exclaimed.

A grim figure staggered into the hall, his eyes and the back of his head pierced by bloodied holes, making his face all the more terrifying.

“How is this possible...” Chen Yuchong furrowed his brow. “Daoist Li, you’re not dead?”

Daoist Li grimaced with hatred. “Not dead, so I can avenge you, you heartless villain!”

This sudden twist caught most present completely off guard.

Ye Xi’s expression remained calm and ethereal. “Everyone saw Yun Zheng kill Daoist Li. The sword energy pierced through his eyes and out the back of his head—such a wound should be fatal. But is there a way not to die? Daoist Li was at his strongest moment, breaking through the life-and-death bottleneck.”

Yun Zheng interjected, “All this was, of course, relayed to Chief Steward Chen through an insider. Chen lacked the capability to infiltrate spies within the army. Therefore, this insider was an important resource lent by the powerful figure behind Chen. It must be said that Chen is highly valued by this person. Unfortunately, this time, that person is destined to lose everything.”

The “powerful figure” Yun Zheng referred to was none other than Shao Jiechun, political rival of Guizhou Governor Zhu Xieyuan, the top commander of the Ming southwest front. As Governor Zhu’s protégé, Yun Zheng seized every opportunity to attack Shao Jiechun.

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Yun Shiyi, a servant, suddenly turned pale. He recalled the scene when Yun Zheng killed Daoist Li. Yun Zheng’s sword was deflected by Daoist Li’s parry, then with his other hand, he formed a finger into a sword and shot a beam of sword energy that pierced Daoist Li’s head.

But now it seemed deliberate. What if Yun Zheng intentionally allowed his sword to be parried? That final strike could have truly pierced Daoist Li’s brain—once the Purple Palace is breached, even a reincarnated Zhang Sanfeng couldn’t survive.

Therefore, it was highly likely Yun Zheng used an “attacking through obstacles” technique to shatter the blood vessels in Daoist Li’s brain, creating the illusion that his brain was pierced.

In other words, Daoist Li was stunned by internal energy rather than killed.

Yun Shiyi looked at Daoist Li, who did indeed appear somewhat dazed.

Ye Xi casually brushed back her jet-black hair. “I realized at the moment Daoist Li feigned death and sprang up that a living Daoist Li might be more useful than a dead one. As for his severed head, it’s far easier to make a corpse look authentic than a living person. Creating a fake to impersonate him is no hardship.”

“The demon monk was lustful, the Daoist greedy—not only stealing but also skilled in finances. He once managed the Wudang sect’s assets to generate daily profits.”

“Deputy Envoy Chen is pragmatic and would never miss out on such talent.”

She spoke with intelligence and poise, her confidence illuminating her exquisite beauty. Her jade-like skin, delicate nose, and snowy neck radiated a divine glow, making her seem like a celestial being descended to the mortal realm.

“Conversely, to prevent the five local chieftains from discovering the distillery’s financial corruption, Chen completely excluded their influence from the distillery. Besides raising taxes, he also forcibly conscripted labor to expand the distillery. The scale of these benefits is incalculable.”

“We have access to the false accounts submitted to the court; here is one such copy. Daoist Li reviewed the true accounts over a dozen times. Though he cannot recall them all, he remembers the majority.”

“If now there is someone with formidable calculating power who uses parts of the true accounts combined with all the false ones, they could deduce the full truth.”

As Ye Xi spoke, her gaze turned to Yun Zheng, her eyes suddenly softening with warmth.

“Daoist Li could have become a successful merchant like Lord Chen before bankruptcy, but his straightforward nature made him a bit simple-minded. Thus, he did not realize at first that sending him and the demon monk to investigate was actually because he knew too much and they wanted us to eliminate him.”

“But Deputy General Yun saw my hint and decided to deceive everyone to keep Daoist Li alive. Now, we can verify the distillery’s financial irregularities.”

By having a few independent accountants cross-check the books, they could prove Yun Zheng’s reconstructed true accounts were flawless.

Huo Kuangyan exclaimed, “What? You are Deputy General Yun Zheng?”