Episode Summary
Ruilin forces Li Qin and Gu Pingyuan into a dike-building competition to determine who gets the salt monopoly. Li Wantang uses his political connections to pressure Ruilin. Meanwhile, a rice shortage causes a crisis in Nantong. Gu Pingyuan and Li Qin team up to take down a corrupt hoarder by flooding the market with grain, betting a priceless jade bead that they can crash the prices.
Spoiler Alert
The Salt Wars
Li Qin wants that Lianghuai salt monopoly bad. He drops 200,000 silver taels to help Ruilin out of a jam, thinking that buys him the rights. But Ruilin is slippery. He worries about the Li family getting too powerful. He makes up excuses about foreigners and stalls. Finally, he sets up a face-off. Li Qin has to race Gu Pingyuan to repair the flooded river dikes in Nantong. If Li Qin wins, he gets the salt. If he loses, the monopoly stays open.
Ruilin plays the victim card hard. He claims the court won't send money for the dikes until next year. So, Li Qin and Gu Pingyuan have to fund this construction contest themselves. Li Qin is furious. He knows Ruilin is squeezing him. But he refuses to lose. He decides to build his section of the dike even higher than the requirement just to prove a point.
Desperate Measures
Money is one thing, but you need bodies to do the work. The flood scattered the locals, so there are no laborers. The guys go to the Ninth Marshal for help. The Marshal is in a bind too. He can't pay his soldiers and fears a mutiny. He suggests using prisoners and rebels to build the wall. It’s a grim solution. Gu Pingyuan and Li Qin agree because they have no choice.
They buy the best stone and wood they can find. Magistrate Su Yuhua inspects the sites and is impressed. The Ninth Marshal delivers two thousand injured prisoners. Gu Pingyuan shows some humanity here. He orders their wounds dressed and treated before forcing them to work.
Daddy Dearest Steps In
Li Wantang isn't playing games. He bought himself a government title, the Lianghuai Salt Commissioner. He marches straight to Ruilin. Ruilin tries to bluff. He says he already wrote a report praising Li Qin’s generosity. Wantang sees right through it. He knows Ruilin is playing his son for a fool. Wantang drops the hammer. He has Prince Gong’s backing. He gives Ruilin a choice: stay out of the salt business, and you get a promotion back to the capital in three years. That is how you negotiate.
The Apple Eater
Gu Pingyuan gets home to find Magistrate Su Yuhua devouring his fruit bowl. The guy ran hundreds of miles and ate six apples in one sitting. He brings bad news. Grain merchants in Nantong are hoarding rice. They bought up stock from five provinces to drive up prices. People are starving. Su wants Ruilin to issue an order to stop it.
Gu and Li take this to Ruilin. Ruilin is useless as usual. He has no money and tells them to figure it out. Li Qin hesitates. But he can't watch people die of hunger. He teams up with Gu Pingyuan to take down the gougers.
The Big Bet
They confront the head honcho of the rice cartel, Yang Qianwan. This guy is arrogant. He claims to have backing from Prince Chun and refuses to lower prices. Gu Pingyuan gets bold. He bets he can force the price down in ten days. Li Qin backs him up with a massive wager. He puts up the jade bead from his hat. It’s a rare treasure; the only other one belongs to the Empress Dowager Cixi.
The Sting
Here is the plan. Gu Pingyuan heads to Jinling. Li Qin travels to other provinces to spread rumors about high prices and buy rice. They are going to flood the market. They use Li’s money to secretly buy grain, then have their friends disguise themselves as merchants to sell it in Nantong.
Gu tells Ruilin the plan. Ruilin throws in a pathetic 20,000 taels to help. Chang Si and Mr. Liao dress up as merchants from Shanxi and Anhui. They march into Nantong and start selling. Yang Qianwan takes the bait. He buys all their stock, thinking he can hoard it and flip it. He makes a quick profit, but he doesn't realize he's walking into a trap. Gu Pingyuan is ready to bleed him dry.
