Legend of the Magnate Episode 38 Recap
> Legend of the Magnate Recap
Li Qin’s manager advised him against continuing his struggle with Gu Pingyuan, noting that Li Qin had opened 188 salt shops and was losing money daily due to high wages and rent. Li Qin, defiant, questioned whether his profits could still surpass Gu Pingyuan’s. The manager revealed that Gu Pingyuan had opened 231 shops across Guangdong, Guangxi, Shanxi, and Shaanxi, and that his profits were enormous.
Li Qin refused to accept defeat, declaring that Gu Pingyuan was openly defying the imperial court’s salt administration and he would report him to the capital. The manager urged him to give up, reminding Li Qin that with his father, Li Wantang, gone, they had no one powerful to support them, and they had truly lost.
Rui Lin, pleased with Gu Pingyuan’s victory, summoned him and commended his cross-provincial trade strategy, made possible by the abolition of the provincial monopoly ban. Gu Pingyuan explained how he used canal transport and horse caravans to bring salt from Changlu, Sichuan, and Lianghuai to regions like Jiangxi, Guangdong, and Shaanxi, where natural salt reserves were scarce and demand for preserved foods was high, leading to significant profits.
Rui Lin even suggested Gu Pingyuan for a high-ranking position in the newly established Ministry of Commerce and offered him 20% of the Salt Industry Guild shares for his contributions. Gu Pingyuan declined, asserting that the imperial court was not suited for business and that he simply wished to return to Anhui with his family, as previously agreed. He criticized the court for clinging to outdated Confucian doctrines while foreigners approached with guns and cannons.
Gu Pingyuan admitted he was only forced to innovate due to Li Wantang’s relentless pressure. Rui Lin offered to resign and join Gu Pingyuan’s business, but Gu Pingyuan insisted on returning home to mourn his mother, stating the outcome was still uncertain. Meanwhile, Li Qin stormed into Rui Lin’s office, demanding to see the accounts.
Rui Lin presented the ledgers, reminding Li Qin that only a month remained in their bet and he would collect debts after Li Wantang’s seventh day of mourning. Enraged, Li Qin ordered Rui Lin’s guards to sharpen their blades and ensure no one left the premises alive, but Rui Lin calmly dismissed his threats. After Li Wantang’s funeral, Li Qin traveled to Shanghai to meet Richard of Xianghe Trade House. Li Qin proposed to mortgage sixty of Lianghuai’s salt shops.
Richard was concerned about the official connections tied to these assets, but Li Qin assured him that in Qing China, large businesses without such backing were merely "useless fat pigs," making his shops, with government bank shareholders, the most secure collateral. Richard, advocating for "borderless commerce," offered Xianghe Trade House’s funds and "assistance beyond funding," explicitly stating this referred to British warships and gunboats stationed in the Huangpu River, ready to protect Li Qin and their investment.
Richard then approached Rui Lin, stating his desire to open a Xianghe Trade House branch in Jiangning and be Rui Lin’s neighbor. Rui Lin, annoyed by the foreigners' boldness, refused to make a decision without Li Qin’s personal confirmation and approval from the imperial court. He suggested Richard take the matter to the Office of General Management in the capital. Richard’s translator noted that Richard had anticipated Rui Lin’s typical bureaucratic stalling tactics.
Gu Pingyuan, summoned by Rui Lin’s envoy, Tu Ying, expressed frustration that high officials had no solutions, leaving commoners like him helpless. He condemned Li Qin as a "national traitor" for mortgaging the salt fields to the British. Rui Lin, despondent, confessed to Gu Pingyuan that he should have arrested Li Qin earlier and lamented his soft-heartedness in waiting for the mourning period, which led to Li Qin’s betrayal.
He pointed to British warships in the Yangtze, recalling the opium wars, and sought Gu Pingyuan’s advice. Rui Lin revealed he had sent "The Elements of International Law" to the Office of General Management, hoping to declare salt a state monopoly. Gu Pingyuan criticized Rui Lin’s leadership as alternating between oppressive authority and constant retreat, a strategy he deemed ineffective against the British. Rui Lin admitted his country’s weakness and wished for ten ironclad warships.
Later, aboard a foreign ship, Richard told Li Qin that Rui Lin seemed to have "given in," though it was likely mere politeness, assuring him Rui Lin would become "increasingly cooperative." Li Qin learned that the Office of General Management was also adept at stalling, indefinitely postponing signing dates.
Richard admitted the British Empire currently had nothing as profitable as opium to wage war over, but Li Qin retorted that his father spent ten years to control only a fifth of the Qing salt industry, proving its immense profitability. Richard then warned Li Qin that if he stepped off the ship, even the British Empire could not guarantee his safety. Li Qin defiantly stated he would surrender when the time was right.
An imperial edict soon arrived, expressing the Emperor and Empress Dowager's shock and fury over the British envoy holding deeds to the Lianghuai salt fields. They declared the salt industry vital to the nation and demanded Rui Lin resolve the matter within a month and raise sixteen million taels for war reparations. Failure to do so would result in the confiscation of all Liangjiang officials’ assets. Rui Lin was distraught, calling the situation hopeless.
Desperate, Rui Lin pleaded with Gu Pingyuan to persuade Li Qin to come ashore, offering to give Li Qin the entire Lianghuai salt industry and an official post, just to keep it out of foreign hands. Gu Pingyuan scoffed at Rui Lin's idea of tricking Li Qin, asserting that Li Qin had already anticipated all consequences, rendering Rui Lin’s threats and promises useless. Rui Lin sent Tu Ying to negotiate with Li Qin.
Rui Lin offered to appoint Li Qin as the head of the Salt Industry Guild and allow Gu Pingyuan and his family to return to Anhui. Rui Lin read Li Qin's reply, delivered by Tu Ying: Li Qin would only come ashore if Gu Pingyuan, whom he blamed for destroying his family, was exiled back to Ningguta and chained there "like a dog for the rest of his life." Rui Lin was appalled, calling Li Qin’s demand despicable.
Rui Lin turned to Gu Pingyuan, explaining he couldn’t agree to such a demand after all Gu Pingyuan had done for Liangjiang. Gu Pingyuan offered to be exiled himself, tired of the constant struggles. Rui Lin, however, reiterated his unwavering resolve not to let the salt industry fall into foreign hands, even if it meant war. Gu Pingyuan then offered to act as Rui Lin's proxy in negotiations, confident he could succeed where Rui Lin could not.
His condition was that if he succeeded, Rui Lin must allow him and his family to return to Anhui, never to be bothered again. After much deliberation, Rui Lin reluctantly agreed, promising Gu Pingyuan freedom to come and go in Liangjiang as he pleased if he resolved the crisis. Gu Pingyuan returned home to discuss going back to Anhui with Chang Yu'er, who was pregnant with their child.
He informed her about Li Qin mortgaging the salt fields to the British and the presence of British gunboats in the Yangtze, suggesting they go back to Anhui to grow tea. Chang Yu'er expressed concern about the warships, but Gu Pingyuan believed there would be no war, only difficulties in doing business. Suddenly, Li Qin arrived at their doorstep. Enraged, Gu Pingyuan confronted him, calling him a "bastard" and attempting to strike him, before Chang Yu'er intervened.
Li Qin explained he couldn't enter Nanjing for fear of Rui Lin's tactics. He sarcastically suggested Gu Pingyuan should have stayed in Ningguta, blaming him for destroying his family and leaving him with nowhere to go. A flashback showed Li Wantang on his deathbed, asking Gu Pingyuan to protect Li Qin, describing him as clever but impulsive. The next morning, Gu Pingyuan brought Li Qin to Rui Lin.
Rui Lin declared that Li Qin had no place left in Liangjiang, as the Emperor and Empress Dowager were furious and confiscating all his property. He urged Li Qin to cooperate, promising to protect him if he handled the salt matter properly, as the Qing Dynasty could not afford such a scandal. Li Qin challenged him, asking what if he refused.
Rui Lin threatened to have Li Qin killed, cremated, and his ashes scattered at sea, making his contracts with the British invalid. Li Qin, unfazed, revealed he had already signed a share transfer contract with the British Consulate. He warned Rui Lin that if his personal safety was threatened, the British warship on the Yangtze River would retaliate, daring Rui Lin to test his resolve. Rui Lin accused Li Qin of being determined to betray his country.
