Chapter 104: Why Would a Eunuch from the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs Need a Rifled Musket?

The capital.

The news that Wang Chengen had received an imperial order to take possession of a rifled musket spread like wildfire, quickly consuming the entire city. The Eight Great Shanxi Merchants, who possessed an insatiable desire for such firearms—with their long range, high precision, and rapid firing cycles—were the first to receive the intelligence.

"Wait a minute, he’s a eunuch from the Directorate of Ceremonial; what would he want with a rifled musket?"

The Eight Great Shanxi Merchants were bewildered. Without needing to notify one another, they soon gathered spontaneously. Inside a mansion owned by the Fan family, over a dozen wealthy merchants clad in silks and jade argued heatedly, their faces flushed and spittle flying.

"Continuing to fund the Jurchen is a dead end!"

"The Chongzhen Emperor is no longer human; he can summon his ancestors! How are we supposed to fight the Manchu Qing? You tell me, how!?"

"The Battle of Ningyuan was a crushing defeat for our army! A million soldiers besieged the city, and they deployed ten thousand cannons; they literally leveled Ningyuan to the ground! Since ancient times, who has ever done such a thing?"

"This war is unwinnable!"

"Dorgon has been trembling for a month. When I went to see him last time, he was so terrified he looked like a ghost. Even if you asked him to fight, he wouldn't dare!"

"Shut up, Chang Wei!"

Fan Yongdou roared, slamming his teacup onto the red sandalwood table with a dull thud. Chang Wei was stunned for a moment, then sneered, "Head of the Fan family, it was you who said those Eight Banners wild boars would march into the pass as if walking on flat ground, and you told us not to worry about the cost of funding them!"

"My fool of a son was led astray by your sweet talk, throwing money away like water. If you don't give me an explanation today, don't blame me for flipping the table and quitting!"

Fan Yongdou’s eyelids twitched. He glanced at the solid red sandalwood table and muttered, "Go ahead and flip it. If you have the strength for that, we might not be losing!"

This red sandalwood piece weighed at least a thousand catties. Even if he knew martial arts, he couldn't lift it!

Chang Wei’s face turned from green to white. He slapped his foolish son in frustration, cursing, "You unfilial idiot! Even if I handed the family business to our servant Laifu, it would be better than leaving it in your hands!"

The young master of the Chang family held his head, aggrieved and silent, knowing he had blundered.

*Ahem!*

Cao Sanxi cleared his throat, acting as a mediator, and hurriedly waved his hands. "Alright, alright, Old Chang. Your grip is so strong, don't beat my nephew into a stupor. Look, we’re here to discuss what to do next, not to settle scores."

"A businessman who can calculate will always have a source of wealth; if you don't count the costs, you're just working for nothing. That is the philosophy of the Chang family!" Chang Wei scoffed, clearly losing his reason. He glared at his son, who usually had a head for business, and seethed with resentment.

Reason? Half of the Chang family’s fortune was tied up in this! How could he be reasonable?

"Regardless of what we do next, we cannot continue to stand against the Ming," the head of the Kong family said gravely.

"Ha! No kidding. Whose skull is hard enough to withstand a rifled musket? And that steam engine—I hear that when they lay down railways, it runs steadily and fast, pulling hundreds of thousands of catties of cargo at once. If we hadn't all been paying to support those people at the Heavenly Artisan Pavilion, would there even be any business left for us merchants if they hadn't invented that thing?"

"Rifled muskets, steam engines... he might as well build a super-ship and take all the money from maritime trade, too!"

"Hey, don't say that! Be careful of a self-fulfilling prophecy!"

"If you ask me, we should just hide this stuff. Didn't those people in Jiangnan do exactly that back in the day? They hid all the records of the voyages to the Western Seas, keeping them only in the minds of their direct heirs, and have been monopolizing Western trade for two hundred years, growing fat off the profits!"

"And what about that rifled musket? Has anyone managed to get their hands on one? They manufacture the firearm across forty different departments, with eight departments storing the parts. To this day, let alone knowing how it’s made, we haven't even managed to get a single component!" the head of the Hou family complained incessantly.

Fan Yongdou felt a headache brewing. He slapped the table and shouted, "Stop arguing! We are creating our own chaos and leaving ourselves wide open. Lately, the men from the Western Depot have been slinking around like ghosts, circling our doorsteps! If they find any evidence, we’ll all end up in prison!"

Chang Wei spoke up suddenly, "The fear is that they aren't even thinking about putting us in prison. Wang Chengen just took that musket—can he really resist the urge to use it?"

"What I worry about most is this Wang Chengen, and yet he’s the one who slipped out of our sight."

At this, the Eight Great Shanxi Merchants fell into a collective silence.

*Would it kill you to keep your mouth shut?*

Fan Yongdou’s face twisted. After a long pause, he spat out, "How could the Emperor allow this? He’s a eunuch from the Directorate of Ceremonial; what is he doing with a rifled musket?"

*He’s obviously coming for you! Did you think he was going bird-watching?* Chang Wei sneered, refusing to respond.

The dozen wealthy merchants present silently turned their eyes toward the open window, feeling a sense of dread. Without ceremony, they stood up and retreated into the blind spot where they couldn't be seen from the doors or windows.

Only the head of the Fan family remained in the main seat. The problem was, he couldn't move; merchants lived by these rules—the host must remain in the host's seat. Once you retreated from this position, you were done for good.

Fan Yongdou swallowed hard, clearly realizing this, and his voice trembled slightly. "Um, Chang Wei, you know martial arts, could you do me a favor and close the doors and windows?"

"I, Chang Wei, do not know any martial arts!" Chang Wei replied coldly.

Suddenly!

*Bang!*

A gunshot rang out, and a smoking, pitch-black bullet hole appeared in the solid red sandalwood table!

"Ah!!!"

"Wang Chengen is here!!!"

"Fan Yongdou, you damn traitor, did you lead the eunuch here?"

The room descended into chaos, filled with screams and curses. Chang Wei instinctively performed a backflip, scurrying into a corner with a look of terror, trembling violently!

"And you said you didn't know martial arts!" Fan Yongdou roared, abandoning his seat and scrambling to hide behind Chang Wei, cursing incessantly.

*Ugh~*

It wasn't until Chang Wei pinched him until his eyes rolled back that he finally stopped.

Chang Wei growled, "I told you I didn't know martial arts, and I meant it. It’s just a tiny thing; you think you're better than me?"

"Chang Wei, stop!" Cao Sanxi urged, "We’re at this point now; we can't afford internal strife!"

"Old Fan, your house must have a secret room or something, hurry and let the brothers hide!"

Fan Yongdou hesitated. His residence not only had a secret room but several hidden escape tunnels. However, the items inside included highly sensitive intelligence. As the chief intelligence handlers for the Manchu Qing, just a few of those letters would be enough to have their entire families executed. If the Eight Great Shanxi Merchants were united, that would be one thing—they would all die together. But recently, the other seven families had been distancing themselves from him, and some were already harboring thoughts of confessing to earn leniency, hoping to hand him over to Wang Chengen as a prize!

He glanced suspiciously at Chang Wei.

Chang Wei’s brows arched, and he barked, "If you dare say you don't have one, just start digging right now!"

*Boom!*

The slightly ajar door was kicked open, and an eerie, shrill voice echoed in everyone's ears:

"Have what?"