Chapter Thirty-Three: The Navigation Chart of Xunyang River

  Although it was already the cold winter season, a layer of sweat appeared on Qian Botong's chubby round face as he awkwardly said: "It's not that we are incompetent, but because the Xiangjiang River is treacherous and difficult to cross, countless boatmen have lost their lives. We beg you, Liu Zhanggui, to show great compassion and bestow upon us the navigation chart of the Xiangjiang River, so that the tens of thousands of boat workers in Shu can be deeply grateful."

  Liu Ze smiled and said, "Since this map has been given to Old Man Bai, one thing cannot be owned by two masters. If you want to buy it, just find Old Man Bai, why bother coming all the way to Luoyang?" Liu Ze naturally understood that Old Man Bai monopolized the huge profits of the Xiangjiang shipping route and would not easily share them with others.

  As expected, Qian Botong shook his head and sighed: "If the Old White was willing to sell, we wouldn't have had to come all this way. The Old White has always been at odds with my shipping company, and now he monopolizes the Yangtze River transportation, with a vast fortune pouring in. For us to try to buy the navigation chart from him is like trying to get a tiger to give up its skin."

  "Since you have a grudge against Bai Lao Da, how did you know that I would have the Yangtze River navigation map? Could it be that Bai Lao Da revealed it?"

  "At first, we couldn't be certain, but after Old White transported the Shu brocade for Manager Liu, he openly solicited business and every day his ships sailed through the Xiangjiang River without a single loss. In the past, only half of Old White's ships would survive when traveling through the Xiangjiang River. We suspected something was amiss and concluded that Old White must have had the navigation chart for the Xiangjiang River in hand."

  "Even so, how can you be certain that this dirty picture was drawn by me? Maybe Old White got it from somewhere else?"

  Qian Tong's face turned red, he wanted to speak but stopped, looking at Liu Ze who was smiling and waiting for his answer, had no choice but to force himself to say: "If I say it out loud, Liu will laugh at me. After Bai Lao Da obtained the navigation chart, business has been booming, recruiting many sailors, we then sent our trusted men to infiltrate their ships, that's how this information was gathered."

  Liu Zehaha burst out laughing, it turned out that the art of espionage was not a product of modern times, but had already existed in the Han Dynasty. He said: "Qian Hui Zhang sent someone to sneak into Bai Lao Da's ship, I'm afraid it's not just about gathering information, but also looking for an opportunity to take action and steal the navigation chart. But that navigation chart is Bai Lao Da's lifeblood, how could he let your people get their hands on it so easily?"

  Qian Tong wiped the sweat from his face and said: "Ashamed! Ashamed! Qian and others have no other choice, can only beg Liu Zhuang to show mercy, you just name a price, we will not haggle."

  Liu Zexin thought to himself, the navigation chart was given to Old White, but it could only be used for him to make a fortune alone, which was far from the original intention of benefiting the people of Chuan when he gave it to him. Since Qian Botong intended to buy it, why not do a favor and let him have it? On one hand, it would help expand the shipping industry in Yizhou's Xiangjiang River, and on the other hand, he wouldn't have to worry about his own financial difficulties anymore. He said, "Oh, since Liu Zhanglao has come from afar, I'm a bit curious to see how much this chart is really worth?"

  As soon as Liu Ze showed his intention, Qian Botong was overjoyed and immediately regained his spirit. He said: "Thank you, Mr. Liu. We naturally understand that this map is just a piece of paper, but it's more precious than ten thousand taels of gold. The Ten Great Ships of Shu specially prepared one hundred thousand taels of yellow gold for it. I hope Mr. Liu can bear to part with it."

  When they heard that the price was 100,000 taels of gold, Jian Yong, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and others were stunned. A painting worth 100,000 taels of gold? This was unprecedented. Jian Yong and Zhang Fei recalled how Liu Ze had given the navigation chart to Bai Lao Da, who had generously accepted half the shipping fee, which was only 5,000 taels of gold at that time. Now, Qian Bo Tong's asking price was 100,000 taels of gold, which was truly astonishing. Everyone's eyes were fixed on Liu Ze, waiting for his reaction.

  Qian Botong's gaze swept across, seeing that the people of Fuyuan Village were all stunned and speechless. He couldn't help but feel secretly pleased with himself. He picked up his teacup and took a sip, waiting for his gaze to fall back on Liu Ze's body. When it did, he was shocked, almost spitting out the tea in his mouth. Liu Ze played with his teacup, saying: "This Mengding tea from Shu is sweet and fragrant, rich and mellow, but compared to the Longjing tea of Mingfu, it's still a bit inferior."

  Qian Botong didn't know what the "Mingqian Longjing" was, but he clearly heard the word "difference" from Liu Ze's mouth. He hastily said: "This map is naturally worth a fortune, I am willing to pay 20,000 taels of gold... Oh no, 30,000 taels, hoping that Manager Liu will help me out."

  Liu Ze said calmly, "Qian Hui Chang will probably be disappointed and leave empty-handed. If it were April, there would still be peonies to admire, but unfortunately, with winter approaching, the scenery is not very good. The weather is cold and freezing, and I'm afraid Qian Hui Chang, who is used to the warm weather of the south, won't be able to withstand the harsh cold of the north. If there's nothing else, please return to Yizhou as soon as possible."

  As soon as Liu Ze issued the order to expel the guests, Qian Botong was greatly alarmed and said: "We have come from afar, not fearing the severe cold, but only for the livelihood of the 100,000 boatmen in Yizhou. We hope that Mr. Liu will take into account the interests of the 100,000 boatmen in Yizhou and the great navigation of Xiangjiang for a hundred years, and show some compassion. Our shipping association is willing to jointly contribute 50,000 taels of gold, sincerely wishing to purchase the navigation chart. We beg Mr. Liu to fulfill this wish."

  Liu Zexin said, "People say that businessmen are treacherous, and indeed they are. I'm sure this 50,000 taels is not the bottom line." He slowly continued, "Money Hui Zhang, it's not that I don't want to sell, but this painting was already sold to Old White. As the saying goes, 'a woman cannot marry two husbands, and a commodity cannot be sold to two masters.' If I were to sell it to you today, wouldn't I lose credibility? Money Hui Zhang offered 50,000 taels, which is already an astronomical price, but even if it's an astronomical price, compared to credibility, it's still somewhat cheap."

  Liu Zei's words were double-edged, explicitly stating that credit was worth more than ten thousand taels of gold, but implicitly suggesting that even fifty thousand taels would not be enough to buy credit. Qian Botong was well-versed in business and could not have missed the underlying meaning. He turned around and whispered to several people accompanying him, saying: "Liu Zhanggui, one should not speak in riddles in front of a wise man. This time I came to Beijing with only ten million taels of gold, and now I am willing to offer all of it, just for one favor. Please, Liu Zhanggui, do not decline, the people of Yizhou will be eternally grateful for your kindness."

  Liu Ze listened and was certain that this must be Qian Botong's bottom line. He decided to spare him. "When I first gave the navigation chart to Old Man Bai, I asked him to use it to benefit the people of Yizhou. Who would have thought that today he would use it for personal gain, which is far from my original intention? Now that Qian Hui Zhang has repeatedly asked for it, thinking about the livelihoods of tens of thousands of sailors in Yizhou, if I were to refuse to sell it again, it would indeed be unkind. Alright, I will let you have this chart, but I hope Qian Hui Zhang won't keep it private and can use it to benefit our hometown."

  Qian Botong was overjoyed when he heard that Liu Ze was willing to sell. "I will certainly not disappoint Mr. Liu's expectations." He turned around and ordered the gold to be brought up.

  Before long, some men came in with ten large boxes, opened the lids, and they were all filled with glittering gold ingots. These must have been the gold that was loaded on the horse carriage outside. Qian Bogong said: "There are ten boxes here, each containing 10,000 taels of gold, totaling 100,000 taels. Please, Liu Zhanggui, verify this."

  Liu Ze nodded and arranged for Jian Yun to inspect the gold, while he himself retreated to the back hall to draw a map of the Three Gorges waterway. Fortunately, the navigation chart they had found last time was archived and not deleted, so it didn't take half an hour to finish drawing it. When he came out, Jian Yun had already finished inspecting the gold, and Liu Ze handed the map over to Qian Bo Tong. Qian Bo Tong held the map in his hand, opened it up to look at it, and several attendants also gathered around. Everyone was a connoisseur, and after taking a glance, they were convinced that it was the real deal without a doubt. They were all excited and thanked Liu Ze profusely before taking their leave.

  Looking at the golden glittering gold on the ground, except for Guan Yu, everyone else had already experienced it for the second time. The first 100,000 taels of gold were exchanged after going through thousands of hardships, while this time's 100,000 taels were exchanged with just a thin piece of paper, and everyone was still like in a dream.

  "How did you know they would pay 100,000 taels of gold? In our opinion, even 10,000 taels is a sky-high price." Jian Yong had already learned about the Phoenix Valley from Zhang Fei's mouth. Since everyone on that side had changed their address to Liu Ze as "Master", Jian Yong also changed his mouth to call him "Master".

  Liu Ze didn't mind, saying: "Can businessmen easily reveal their bottom line as soon as they open their mouths? I observe that although they are determined to get this map, every time they make an offer, it has not reached the bottom line. They just want to get the map so badly that they start with a price of 10,000 taels. If they started with 1,000 taels, the final deal would still be 10,000 taels."

  "Alas! I knew this map was so precious, I shouldn't have given it to Old White in the first place. It was only worth 500 taels then, not even a fraction of its current value."

  Liu Ze smiled and said: "If we don't give it to Old White, how can Qian Botong find his way here?"

  Zhang Fei was speechless, shaking his head and saying: "Anyway, it was sold cheaply at the time, and let Bao Da pick up a big bargain. Five hundred taels were exchanged for ten million taels that someone else bought."

  Liu Ze smiled and said, "Third brother, be content with what you have. Bai Lao Da has already given us 500 taels of silver. Even if he didn't give us this map, I would still want to give it to him for free. It's all thanks to Bai Lao Da that we were able to sail through the Xun Jiang River and now Qian Bo Tong is willing to buy it from us at a high price. If you take the map to Qian Bo Tong, he might not even be willing to pay 50 taels of silver for it."

  Jian Yong sighed in admiration and said: "Master, this move of yours is truly ingenious and unparalleled."

  Liu Ze smiled but didn't speak. In modern terms, Bai Lao Da had just done a live advertisement for Liu Ze, and it was precisely because of his promotion that the value of the navigation chart increased, which is why Qian Bo Tong came to buy it at a price of 100,000 gold, seeking him out and going door-to-door. Liu Ze deeply understood that there was a world of difference between them.

  Jian Yong continued, "From now on, the navigation of Xiangjiang will no longer be dominated by Bai Lao Da. With numerous boats competing for passage, transportation between Shu and the Central Plains will be greatly improved, benefiting the people of Yizhou immensely. However, I'm afraid the price of Shu brocade in the capital city will plummet."

  Liu Ze slightly nodded, suddenly realizing that he had forgotten about this. It was now the tenth month of Guanghe 2 (178 AD), and the Di people of Ba Commandery in Yi Province had rebelled against Han, attacking the three commanderies of Shu (Shu Commandery, Guanghan Commandery, and Qiongwei Commandery) and Hanzhong Commandery. Emperor Ling dispatched the Colonel-Director of the Retainers, Xiao Yu, to lead troops from Yi Province to quell the rebellion. The war had been ongoing for years, but the Di people had yet to be pacified. In Guanghe 5 (182 AD), Emperor Ling followed the advice of Cheng Bao, the Administrator of Yi Province, and appointed a new governor who was known for his integrity to win over the rebels. Soon after, the Di people surrendered to Cao Yun, the Governor of Ba Commandery. This meant that the Di people had already rebelled, but since the Han dynasty's messaging system relied on horse relays, and the roads in Hanzhong were blocked, it would take at least half a month for news to reach the capital.

  "The people of Yi State will benefit from this, but that probably won't happen until three years later." Liu Ze thought to himself. When Qian Botong returns to Yi State, who knows what expression he'll have when he sees the navigation chart he bought for 100,000 gold is as useless as scrap paper? Although after three years of peace and quiet, it can still be put to use, but this peaceful world is about to end with the Yellow Turban Rebellion. What's the significance of this small map compared to the misfortune of the entire world?

  "Your Excellency, why would you say such a thing?"