It’s simply the biggest joke—having to trade your own grain for the salt you’ve produced yourself. How could there be such logic in this world?

Do you know how the Jiangnan salt merchants live? They have crowds of servants, eat only the finest foods, and spend their days in drunken pleasure and dreams.

Simon King brother, what about us? We ride camels, rushing through wind and snow in the desert, and after a whole year, we only make a pittance. Isn’t it all because we have no one in the court to support us?

We can only earn a bit of hard labor money!

I’ve had enough of days like this. The Ming dynasty is about to collapse; it’s time for a change of dynasty.

Simon King brother, if you want to find a powerful backer, you have to do it early. While the Jurchens still have use for us, let’s work harder and make more money. When the Jurchens take over the Central Plains in the future, we can be as wealthy as the Jiangnan salt merchants!”

The more Daniel Walker spoke, the more excited he became. By the end, he was waving his arms, extremely agitated.

Simon Ford slowly climbed down from the city wall and walked away without looking back.

Daniel Walker shouted from the city wall, “Changlu brother, yes or no, give me a straight answer!”

Simon Ford stopped, looked back at Daniel Walker on the wall, and said, “You can make all the decisions. My Fan clan will follow wherever you lead.”

Daniel Walker hurriedly slid down from the earthen city wall, quickly caught up and grabbed Albert Ford’s sleeve, saying, “You’re the backbone for all of us.”

Simon Ford sneered, “You even dare to trade with camel traders I refused. I think it’s best for you to be the backbone!”

Daniel Walker opened his mouth, “How would I dare…” Halfway through, seeing the anger on Albert Ford’s face grow, he quickly said, “It was only five thousand jin of refined iron.”

Simon Ford asked, “Which route did you take?”

Daniel Walker mumbled, “The western pass.”

Simon Ford grew furious, “Was it the Shahu Pass in Shanxi, or the Fugu Pass in Guanzhong?”

Daniel Walker replied with a forced smile, “It was Fugu Pass!”

Simon Ford breathed a sigh of relief, sat down on a large stone, and pointed toward Zhangjiakou, “This place will soon be abandoned. The Shahu Pass is too dangerous; Fugu Pass is farther, but it’s safer.

Daniel Walker, listen to me: for this shipment, you must go along, and you must tell Hong Taiji that our goods can only be delivered to the Tumet Mongols. From now on, we’ll only make exchanges with the Tumet Mongols outside Fugu Pass. As for how he settles with the Mongols, that’s none of our business.”

Daniel Walker said with a bitter smile, “How could I have the qualifications to meet Hong Taiji? Fan brother, you were once praised by Nurhaci; only you can go. Only then will there be a chance to see Hong Taiji.

Why don’t we go to your shop and discuss this slowly? It’s freezing out here—not a good place to talk business!”

Simon Ford sighed, “Whatever we say out here will be blown away by the wind. If we talk inside, I fear it could bring disaster to our whole clan.”

Daniel Walker said, “We are merchants!”

Simon Ford said, “The Ming dynasty is rotten to the core…”

Daniel Walker laughed, “Nowadays, I only have eyes for silver. As for the Zhu emperor, he’s not even worth a glance.

As for the common people, it’s just a change of emperor. Even if Hong Taiji becomes emperor of the Central Plains, it’s still better than the Zhu emperor!”

Simon Ford shook his head, “You only see how Lü Buwei once traded emperors like goods and felt so pleased, but you don’t know that even with all his power, Lü Buwei still couldn’t escape a blade to the neck in the end.

The situation in this world is impossible to predict.

I thought Nurhaci, riding the momentum of his great victory, could take Ningyuan in one go, but who knew Ningyuan would become his death knell.

You have to act with caution…

We merchants never get up early without profit. If we’re to be loyal to the emperor and love the country, who will care for us?

The Ming dynasty now—the emperor neglects state affairs, is too lenient with the scholars, and too harsh with the commoners. Farmers can’t bear the tyranny, rebellions break out everywhere, as lively as a boiling pot. Suppress the east, the west rises; suppress the west, the east rises again. One day, the lid won’t hold.

Everyone says we merchants only care for profit and have no thought for home or country, only for our own gain.

After all these years, I’ve seen it clearly: those top scholars and jinshi in the court are the real traitors.

They don’t care about this country, so don’t blame me, Simon Ford, for not seeking the nation’s benefit, but instead putting my trust in the Jurchens!

I don’t care about the survival of the Han people, only about my own family’s interests.

And don’t say I’m someone who forgets righteousness for petty gain. These days, those who talk about righteousness all the time—are they really righteous?

No so-called righteousness is as solid as having silver in your pocket!”

After saying this, Simon Ford seemed to have exhausted all his strength. He staggered into the Small North Gate, slapped the city wall hard, and a brick came loose in his hand. With a squeeze, the green brick crumbled to dust.

Simon Ford laughed up at the sky, pointed at the city wall of Zhangjiakou, and said to Daniel Walker, “This must have been built by the Tian Shenglan family, right?”

Daniel Walker laughed, “The city defenses were built by Martin Green, Lillian Field, Arthur King, and Raymond Fox, using thirty thousand taels of public funds, but actually pocketing three hundred thousand taels. The commander here asked the emperor for six hundred thousand taels, and three hundred thousand were left over.

When building the city, these four families paid the craftsmen generously, and everyone in the city made money. Everyone was delighted.”