Chapter Thirteen: Literati and Merchants

  Yue Yun returned to the camp and handed over the tiger tally to Yue Lei. However, there was nothing in his hands that needed to be taken over.

  In the few days when he was ill, most of the miscellaneous things in the Beidi army were actually handled by Yue Lei. Yue Yun was just a small white-collar worker in the city in his previous life and didn't understand these military affairs. When encountering subordinates coming to report on matters, they all pushed them to Yue Lei. Even when encountering some major events, Yue Lei did not dare to take charge of himself and came to ask him, he would say: "Second brother, you handle it." The whole style was like a boss who had washed his hands.

  After Yue Yun handed over his work, he also notified Guan Ling and Niu Tong, two young generals, to select 500 of the most elite Baibao Army cavalrymen to follow him on the expedition tomorrow. Although this route is mostly within the Song army's defense zone, he must bring the most elite soldiers with him to be cautious, in case something unexpected happens.

  Guan Ling and Niu Tong had been staying in the camp for several days, with no battles to fight and unable to go out. They were often assigned by Yue Lei to comfort the people, and they were already feeling suffocated. As soon as they heard that they could follow Yue Yun to Chu State, they were overjoyed. After receiving the order, they hurriedly went to select soldiers.

  After arranging these things, Yue Yun began to practice his marksmanship again. After practicing for half a day, he felt extremely tired and returned to his own tent to take a comfortable nap.

  But as he lifted the curtain of his tent, he saw Wang Tong sitting upright inside.

  "Huh? Wen Qing, you're here?" Yue Yun saw Wang Tong in his own tent and didn't find it strange, because he already had the pass token that Yue Yun had given him, allowing him to come and go freely within the camp. Moreover, judging by the time, he should have gathered most of his men by now, and it was about time to set out.

  "Great Master! Now I'm in trouble!" Wang Tong's face was anxious and uneasy, seeing Yue Yun hastily came up to greet him with a bow.

  "Cut it out! Cut it out! No need for formalities between us two."

  Yue Yun's heart suddenly cooled down by half, and he hastily went forward to support him, asking: "What exactly happened? What made you so frightened?"

  "Alas, it's still those scholars who look down on merchants and their ilk. They think that all the merchants need to do is provide funds for this petition, and then they themselves should be the ones to go to Lin'an to see the Emperor! However, those merchants want to take advantage of this opportunity to make some connections in Lin'an, maybe even get acquainted with a few high-ranking officials, which would definitely be beneficial for their future business. So how could they possibly give up on such a great chance? Right now, the two groups are still arguing nonstop in my private school."

  Wang Tong let out a long sigh and said, "I've been trying to persuade them for half the day but they won't listen, so I took advantage of their fierce argument and snuck out the back door to find you. This matter probably only the young master can suppress!"

  Yue Yun's heart skipped a beat, she didn't expect that in this era, the prejudice of intellectuals against businessmen had reached such an extent, not even willing to be colleagues. Looking back, it wasn't just intellectuals, but also local officials who were extremely polite to those big entrepreneurs, afraid that they would run away from their jurisdiction and reduce tax revenue. Even Foxconn's sweatshop was given preferential policies by many local leaders, plus discounted land, racking their brains to attract them to their city. This is really a world of difference between heaven and earth!

  Wang Tong, as a literati, could accept and travel with merchants to make joint petitions. It seems that in this era, it was already considered unconventional. However, his attitude of having no objections to this arrangement at the time misled himself into thinking that although Southern Song literati looked down on merchants, they did not excessively discriminate against them. He didn't think much of it. But now it seems that he overestimated the tolerance of the literati of this generation.

  Time was of the essence, so Yue Yun immediately brought two bodyguards and rode with Wang Tong through the refugee camp-like Zhu Xian Town to a private school in the town center.

  As soon as Yue Yun walked into the private school gate, he heard the noisy and bustling voices of debate from the people in the courtyard.

  Yue Yun looked around the courtyard and saw about fifty or sixty people on the left side, all wearing Confucian robes and scholar's hats, with ages ranging from over twenty to over sixty. The few people standing in front were arguing with someone, while those behind them occasionally burst out laughing, clearly looking down on their opponents.

  Inside the private school on the right side, there was a large group of merchants wearing silk clothes and brocade robes. They were relatively larger in build compared to those who read books. Most of them were middle-aged men with very angry expressions on their faces. The ones standing in front were also red-faced and thick-necked, arguing with the scholars in the front row.

  Judging from their expressions, both sides have clearly lost their tempers. They are only one step away from physically fighting.

  The leader of the scholars was an old academic with some white hair, in his sixties, tall and slender, wearing a blue long gown, with his hair combed back on top of his head, holding a simple wooden hairpin, with many wrinkles on his face, but still relatively fair skin, with a long mustache.

  His face flushed with anger, he loudly said to those merchants: "The way of the gentleman is that the wise are not perplexed, the benevolent are not anxious, and they give up profit for righteousness. This is the foundation of the way of the gentleman. You are just greedy merchants, what virtue or ability do you have to join us scholars who worry about the country and the people in petitioning the officials in Lin'an?"

  Standing opposite him was the leader of the merchants, a middle-aged man in his fifties, with a short and stout build, white face and short beard, wearing a silk brocade robe with a green bamboo pattern on a blue background, a seven-colored silk waistband with a bright green jade pendant hanging from it, and a red jade crown on his head. His slightly darkened face was embedded with a pair of sharp and shining small eyes, showing that he was a shrewd person. However, when he heard such impolite words, he also got angry, with his ears flushing red.

  He retorted in a stern voice, "You bunch of hypocrites, spouting righteousness and morality, but what you're doing is pulling the ladder away after crossing the river. This time, if it weren't for us merchants providing funds, would you have had enough money to go to Lin'an? Now that we've taken your money and arranged the itinerary, you think you can just abandon us? Is there such a good deal?"

  As soon as the middle-aged businessman finished speaking, several scholars immediately retorted with sarcastic remarks and biting satire. The words were extremely sharp. This middle-aged businessman obviously had a high reputation among merchants, and immediately several merchants rushed over. They couldn't reason with them, but their physique was much stronger than that of the scholars. They immediately got into a scuffle with those scholars. Both sides looked like they were about to draw swords.

  Yue Yun knew that the literati of this era were mostly self-proclaimed and looked down on merchants who sought to profit. They did not want to associate with businessmen, let alone go to the emperor together to petition. If they were allowed to continue making trouble, their planned "mass petition" event would never be achieved.

  He composed himself and deliberately laughed loudly, saying: "It's really lively here!"

  His voice was not small, and the crowd in the yard who heard it turned their heads to see a young man of about twenty years old standing at the door with a smile as warm as spring breeze.

  He had fair skin, clear eyebrows and eyes that shone with a sharp light. His appearance was exceptionally handsome. He wore a suit of bright qilin armor, a beautiful silver-white silk cloak, a purple-gold helmet on his head, and held in his hand a shining silver spear.

  Most people standing here don't know Yue Yun, but they can all feel the sharp aura emanating from this handsome young man, knowing that he is no ordinary person.

  But the old scholar saw that he was well-versed and knowledgeable, seeing his attire, knew that he must be a general of the Yue family army, and his position was not low, at least he was a commander-level officer.

  He was about to step forward and ask, but unexpectedly, Yue Yun handed the bright silver spear to a nearby soldier and instead bowed to him first, then asked politely: "I don't know your esteemed surname and name, sir. What brings you here to argue?"

  That old scholar saw Yue Yun's courtesy was complete, and his heart suddenly had a good impression. He hurriedly returned the courtesy, but still said with lingering anger: "I am Zhang Zetian of Chenliu, who has been invited by King Xian to go to Lin'an to petition for the people of Central Plains. I didn't expect these merchants to follow us, it's really too presumptuous!"

  Wang Tong whispered to Yue Yun at this time, "This old gentleman was a successful candidate in the imperial examination during the Xuanhe period and served as a Hanlin scholar in the Huizong court. He is also skilled in painting and has painted a famous work called 'Along the River During Qingming Festival', which I heard the previous emperor liked very much. He has quite a reputation in Henan Province. This time, he strongly supports the petition to Lin'an, but he strongly opposes merchants traveling with him."

  "What? 'Along the River During Qingming Festival'?" Yue Yun's face turned pale with shock. He had naturally heard that "Along the River During Qingming Festival" was one of China's top ten most famous paintings, but he never thought that the author of this painting would be right in front of him.

  He met a historical celebrity all of a sudden today, which made him feel somewhat excited.

  And it seems that this terminal's influence is not small either. If you want your plan to go smoothly, it will be easier.

  Yue Yun also guessed that the key to the problem lay in this Zhe Duan, and as long as he was persuaded, the rest of the scholars would not be a big problem.

  He thought for a moment, then stepped forward, bowed his hands and said with a smile: "I am Yue Yun, the commander of the Yue Family Army's rear guard, Hou Hu Jun. Today, I learned that you gentlemen are going to Lin'an to petition the imperial court. I represent my father, Yue Fei, and the Yue Family Army to come and congratulate you. I wish you gentlemen a smooth journey, may the imperial court deeply understand the people's suffering and adopt good strategies to comfort the people."

  Zhang Zetian and the surrounding scholars and merchants, upon hearing this, all bowed their heads in unison and said with a respectful face: "Your humble servant did not know that Master Yue had arrived, and was remiss in welcoming him from afar. Please forgive our offense!"

  Yue Yun smiled slightly and said, "I came down in a hurry and didn't notify you all beforehand, what fault do you have? On the contrary, I just stood at the gate of the temple for a moment and heard your discussion about whether merchants are qualified to represent the people to petition in Lin'an. Yue Yun is not talented, but he also has some of his own views."

  Zhang Zetong and the scholars, although they respected Yue Yun very much, but that was based on his being the eldest son of Yue Fei, and his bravery in battle, with merits for consecutive defeats of the Jin army. In their eyes, Yue Yun was at most just a young military general who was used to fighting.

  At this time, however, Yue Yun said that there were still some opinions on whether merchants were qualified to participate in the petition. They all looked at each other in dismay, thinking that a young official like him could have what profound insights into such state affairs?

  Zhang Zhe Duan also had a puzzled expression, but still politely bowed and said: "Young Master Yue, Zhang would like to hear more!"

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