Chapter 164: The Alliance of All (Part IV)

The main hall was in turmoil. In an instant, people tore off their hypocritical masks and revealed ugly faces, standing there like malevolent ghosts without the slightest warning.

Sima Ge had originally planned it all out: starting from the theft of the items buried in the earth, catching the suspect, and the matter would be concluded. He had not expected that the people beneath him would act as if in collusion, suddenly turning to revolt against Sima Ge right here. Yet, upon careful reflection, it was hardly surprising. Merchants are driven purely by profit; they cannot be bound by mere family ties or friendship. Only mutual benefit can make human relationships truly amicable.

"Everyone, please remain calm! Please remain calm!" Sima Ge called out. "The weather is turning warm, and it is inevitable that people's tempers grow short. There must be some misunderstanding here."

Zimu hurried over from the back, deeply worried to see his master surrounded by the dense crowd.

Baozi shouted, "The things we want are very simple! All your damn rules don't count anymore! Just return to us what is rightfully ours!"

Yunniang chimed in, "Ganjiang and Moye are no ordinary treasures! How is it that after all these years, we've never heard of Master Sima having any fine wine in his possession? Could the treasure buried in your earth actually be our family's Ganjiang and Moye?"

Sighs of dismay and angry curses simultaneously ignited the artillery of attack. Sima Ge’s loyal guards closely shielded their master to protect him from harm. At this moment, Sima Ge's thoughts were no different from Huang Changjun's: everything he had done was not truly for himself, so why was it so difficult to try and do some good for the people?

"I! Sima Ge, harbor no ill intentions whatsoever!" Sima Ge declared. "My heart and soul are entirely devoted to the commercial district, contributing to the prosperity of Chang'an City! When you all initially chose me as your leader, you hoped I would guide everyone toward a happy life! Now, as you can all see, the commercial district has changed immensely. Haven't we enabled more ordinary people to put food on their tables, wear decent clothes, and live with dignity?"

Yet, those who had come here to stir up trouble were far from ordinary people. They were mostly shopkeepers and influential figures within the commercial district who had been completely crushed by Sima Ge's reforms, leaving them worse off than their own servants.

"Talk of a happy and wonderful life!" Baozi scoffed. "I started out as a commoner. That good-for-nothing Zhang Bao Dan next door has been lazy since childhood, but after twenty years of hard work, I finally secured a shop of my own. To help Zhang Bao Dan out, I even took him in as an assistant and gave him a bowl of rice to eat. Just as I thought the bitter days were finally coming to an end, what you're doing now is driving me to my grave!"

A jeweler added, "My ancestors were all honest merchants who have done business in the capital for hundreds of years. Who among you could manage weddings or funerals without our family? There is no such thing as a free pie falling from the sky! Everything we have was forged through the arduous sweat and toil of ordinary people. Where on earth does this notion of equality come from?"

Sima Ge gave Zimu a subtle wink, motioning him closer, and whispered in his ear, "It seems these people have no intention of leaving. We've bestowed so many benefits upon the common folk; now is the time for them to repay us."

Zimu immediately grasped the meaning. He darted out through the back door and hurried away from Sima Ge's carpentry workshop.

***

Inside Baozi's shop, various idlers were sprawled across the floor. The mild spring temperature made it the ideal season for them to drift into sweet dreams.

"Wake up, all of you! Your master is in trouble, and you're still sleeping here?" Zimu urged.

An employee yawned, "What trouble could there possibly be? Chang'an City is so peaceful. Even if the Hu tribesmen were to invade, they'd still have to show some respect to our Emperor, wouldn't they?"

Zimu was rendered speechless. These petty commoners completely lacked any sense of crisis, their minds entirely dulled by comfort.

"It's not about the Emperor today! It's your own master! He's causing trouble over at our Master Sima's place! Get up right now!"

The employees remained indifferent, acting as though nothing of consequence had occurred.

"Our master? That coward Baozi? He's no master of ours anymore. He has no money, and you can't even find him when you need him. We have nothing to do with him!"

You can't carve rotten wood! Zimu felt a surge of fury. This bunch lacked even the slightest fighting spirit; it was as if the floorboards were their natural habitat, and they believed they could live wonderful lives simply by lying here.

"Who do you think gave you the life you have now? It was Master Sima! Doesn't a drop of water received in need deserve to be repaid with a surging spring? Now is the exact moment for you to return that favor!"

The employees remained detached from the matter. Some even retorted that there were other shops around and told him not to come making trouble here, claiming they wanted to embrace the world intimately and escape worldly worries. Such behavior made it clear to Zimu that counting on these mediocre fools—or rather, this rabble—was entirely futile and would yield nothing.

***

Over at the House of Everything, A Zhen deliberately waited for a moment when no one else was around to seek out Luo Gan and discuss matters.

"I have always valued fairness in my dealings," A Zhen said. "The gold you shared with me previously proved that we can cooperate long-term in the future. I have no reason to deceive you."

The words spoken by the man before him were somewhat perplexing, but to Luo Gan, A Zhen currently had nothing to gain by harming him. After all, intelligence brokers viewed interests very clearly, knowing precisely what benefited them and what did not.

According to A Zhen, Sima Ge had already aroused the wrath of both gods and men. People had gathered en masse at the carpentry workshop, and following A Zhen's instigation, Sima Ge's current situation could hardly be described as optimistic. If so, there was no need for government officials to intervene; the mob alone would deal a crippling blow to Sima Ge's foundation.

"What are your plans for the next step?" Luo Gan asked.

"Since we are capitalizing on the anger of the others in the commercial district, we should let that anger take root and sprout," A Zhen replied. "The bigger the commotion, the harder it will be to rein in. Ultimately, a resolution will emerge, allowing them to make the trouble while we reap the benefits."

Luo Gan was quite satisfied with this. Avoiding excessive exposure while solving the problem was certainly ideal, though it meant missing a chance to stand out brilliantly and propel himself straight to the leadership of the commercial district.

The two were conversing quite harmoniously when Yanshan walked in through the door.

"Guild Master," Yanshan reported, "there are martial guards outside saying that the Duke of Song has an urgent matter and is summoning you to see him."

At this moment, Luo Gan was extremely cautious. Had the Duke of Song finally weathered the storm? Was it time to re-enter the main progression of the game? Luo Gan felt a mixture of joy and anxiety.

"What I find most unbelievable is precisely this," A Zhen remarked. "Ordinary merchants rarely maintain connections with high-ranking nobles and ministers."

Luo Gan did not yet fully trust A Zhen. Naturally, anyone coming from Anping County would know certain things about him—those belonged to the Anping faction. As for the capital's intelligence network, Luo Gan interacted with it based on a principle of mutual cooperation.

"It's nothing out of the ordinary," Luo Gan said. "I'll go take a look and be right back."