Chapter 866: Seeing a Dragon in the Field

Translator: Atlas Studios    Editor: Atlas Studios

Huang Wenxian walked into the hall and bowed deeply to the Old Master. “On behalf of His Highness, the 500,000 soldiers, and the thousands of commoners in the North, I thank the Xie family for their benevolence.”

After that, Huang Wenxian brought Xie Xun to the Ye Residence to visit Ye Xiaoci.

Ye Xiaoci looked to be in his forties and had a beautiful beard. Compared to ordinary middle-aged scholars, he was a little taller and stronger, but his aura seemed reserved and elegant.

At this moment, he was playing chess with his aide when the servant in front of him came to report.

Ye Xiaoci frowned.

The Xie Residence operated a wide range of businesses. It involved almost half of the Great Zhou Dynasty’s business and controlled half of the Great Zhou Dynasty’s shipping. Its business spanned the north and south of the river, and the inner and outer seas.

In terms of the other half of the shipping volume, it wasn’t that the Xie family wasn’t capable, but that they had a good relationship and often left room for maneuver. The Xie family had a lot of influence on the southeast coast and even in the Jianghuai area, forming an equal with the n.o.bles in the Shanxi area.

The “merchant guild” in the North was as fierce as a tiger, but it was entrenched in the northwest. Even though they were greedy for the rich people in the south, they still did not dare to cross the line and touch the fat meat that belonged to the south.

On the surface, when the Xie Residence moved to the North, it looked like a small stone that had been thrown into the lake and could not cause any waves. However, there was an unknown undercurrent hidden at the calm bottom of the lake.

In terms of family management, the Xie family had already threatened the interests of most of the n.o.bles in the North.

Even if the “merchant guilds” in the North joined forces to suppress them, the Xie family would not be controlled by others. The sea near Liancheng was the capital for the Xie family to resist the n.o.bles.

The three provinces of Liaodong were military towns. Previously, because of King Li of Zhou’s case, the n.o.bles of the three provinces of Liaodong were the first to bear the brunt and were cleaned up. King Yue Fei also took the opportunity to further control the three provinces of Liaodong and devoured most of the local forces.

The Liaodong area was King Yue Fei’s territory. The merchant guild was weak, so it was impossible for them to restrain the Xie family on the sea.

Princess Shaoyi, who was behind the Xie Residence, and the Yue Fei’s Residence had also restrained the n.o.bles, causing them to be wary. Before there was a need to form a death grudge, no one dared to do anything rash.

“The sky is about to change.” Ye Xiaoci lost interest in playing chess and threw the white chess piece back into the chessboard.

The aide was a little surprised. “Why do you say that, sir?”

Ye Xiaoci said meaningfully, “The Xie family has lived in Quanzhou for generations, and their foundation is also in the Jianghuai and the southeast coast. Why should they give up on their business?”

The aide subconsciously said, “In the King Li of Zhou’s case, in order to appease the Imperial Court’s thunderous anger, the n.o.bles have pushed out many scapegoats to take the blame. They’ve already suffered a huge blow. Some of the n.o.bles are afraid of the power of King Yue Fei and have turned to Yue Fei to seek refuge with him. Yue Fei took the opportunity to further control the situation in the North and gained the upper hand in the battle with the n.o.bles. However, Yue Fei did not take the opportunity to pursue the n.o.bles. Instead, he hid and waited for the opportunity. In my opinion, it’s best not to use the hidden dragon.”

Concealed dragons were “hidden”. This line was at the bottom of the hexagram and was called “First Nine”. It suggested that dragons hid in the abyss, and the depths of yang were deep. They should wait for an opportunity and not use it so that it would be beneficial to their next move.

Ye Xiaoci smiled but did not say anything. A golden dragon would not stay in a pool and would fly into the sky once there was a storm. He had never underestimated Yin Huaixi.

This storm was the storm of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Seeing that he did not refute, the aide continued, “Then, the n.o.bles joined forces and pulled each other together. The struggle between the two sides also fell into a stalemate. As mentioned in the Warring States Strategy, the two tigers competed with each other. The small one would definitely die, and the big one would definitely be injured. It’s also true that a hidden dragon should not be used. It’s obvious that Yue Fei is farsighted. The Xie Residence is now led by Princess Shaoyi. This is the opportunity King Yue Fei has been waiting for.”

Ye Xiaoci smiled. “The first hexagram of the 64 hexagrams of the I Ching is called the Force hexagram. It’s called the Hexagram of the Creative Heavens. Both of the lower and the upper trigrams are made of the trigram for ‘force’. The hexagram suggests that hidden dragons should not be used. The line in the first position is a solid line. It suggests that the dragon is hidden in the ground, and its hidden virtue is not obvious. This is how to describe Yin Huaixi.” His smile paused, and his voice stopped. Then, he changed his tone. “It’s appropriate.”

The aide’s heart was in turmoil, but he did not show it on his face. “The Xie family has climbed up to the King of the North of Yue Fei and is protected by him. They should be used by him. The Yu family and even the royalists behind Princess Shaoyi have restrained the n.o.ble families, preventing them from acting rashly. The huge channels and connections behind the Xie family are also important chess pieces to suppress the n.o.bles. From the looks of it, the North has already become a battlefield for the merchants. The conflicts between the merchants affect the overall situation of the North.”

Other than sighing, the world was not surprised that the Xie family had moved to the North.

Meanwhile, the Xie family’s operations in the Huai River and the southeast coast had already reached the limit. If they wanted to further expand their family business and acc.u.mulate money, they needed to rely on stronger n.o.bles.

The North was vast and had abundant resources. There were also two trade routes. In the early years, Emperor Gaozu had issued a national policy to strengthen the borders and resist external forces. All the merchants in the world were eager to follow him. The Xie family had Princess Shaoyi behind them and had gotten close to Yue Fei, the King of the North. Now that the n.o.bles were weak, it was only right for the Xie family to come to the North to develop.

The world did not suspect anything.

After guessing this, the aide finally understood why Lord Ye had said that the sky in the North was about to change.

Ye Xiaoci said playfully, “After the hidden dragon is used, it will appear in the field, and that it will be advantageous to meet a great man. This line is second in position and is also called ‘Second Nine’. There is a collision and a dragon emerges. Therefore, it’s a dragon wandering in the wild and staying above the people.” He clapped his hands and said playfully, “It’s also a Force hexagram. However, the field turns into a force. The force represents heaven, while the field represents the earth. Heaven is masculine, and the earth is feminine. Heaven and the earth are compatible. The dragon is in the sky and on the ground. It suggests that one will always be successful.

One could see the larger situation from a small part. One could tell that there was probably something else behind the Xie family’s visit to the North.

The aide hid the shock in his heart.

“Yesterday afternoon, Huang Wenxian came to look for me and told me that a large number of refugees had gathered outside Longcheng. Now that the temperature is rising, I’m afraid a plague will erupt and the government will be on guard.” Ye Xiaoci stood up and tidied his clothes. “The Xie family wants to use money to clear the way for King Yue Fei. I think they can help me.”

The aide understood. Looking at how much the Xie family could worry for Lord Ye, he could basically foresee the outcome of this business war.

Before leaving, Ye Xiaoci sighed. “The n.o.bles of the North are indeed too outrageous. Isn’t it good to be a person? Why do you have to be a Pixiu who has a mouth but no a.n.u.s and swallows everything without leaking? No matter how much money a Pixiu collects, it’s still a beast. It’s time for someone to step forward and uphold justice.”

Whether they would give up their wealth to save their lives or not depended on how much the Xie family wanted to do.

Ye Xiaoci went to the living room.

Not long after, the butler led Huang Wenxian, Xie Xun, and the others into the living room.

It turned out that they were just visiting in private. It was fine as long as they were polite. There was no need to kneel to an official.