Chapter 1634 - Welcome Banquet

Seeing the skepticism around the table, Huang Binkun described the various measures implemented in Lingao since the Australians' arrival: road construction, bandit suppression, water conservancy projects, the clarification of land tax measurements... He rambled through many initiatives. His listeners hung on every word.

After a long while, Liang Cunhou finally exhaled. "Put that way, the Australians sound like capable ministers presiding over a well-governed realm."

Huang Binkun fell silent. He had inadvertently spoken at length in favor of the Hair-bandits—something he himself had not anticipated. How am I supposed to make contact with loyal and righteous men this way? Yet he remained unwilling to tell lies and indiscriminately disparage the Hair-bandits' genuine accomplishments.

"The Australians truly bring a new atmosphere!" someone exclaimed, clapping in praise.

"Brother Huang must also be in the Australians' service. Otherwise, how could you know so much?"

"Learning literary and martial arts only to sell them to the imperial family—Brother Huang is full of learning. Just the man to teach the Australians to understand the principles contained within."

"I've heard there are very few scholars among the Australians. 'Since ancient times, one can conquer the world on horseback, but cannot govern it on horseback.' It's only natural for Brother Huang to be valued..."

Though they addressed "Brother Huang," in their hearts they all meant "myself."

Most of these scholars possessed modest family properties, lacked avenues into officialdom, wrote mediocre essays, and faced bleak prospects for passing the imperial examinations. Though they resided in the south, their channels for news far exceeded those of ordinary folk. They observed the court's ineffectual suppression of disturbances in Shaanxi and Shandong, bandits running rampant throughout the interior, Eastern Tartars hammering at the borders beyond the passes... internal troubles and external threats pressing from all sides. Their ambitions for fame and glory had dimmed considerably. The Australians occupying Qiongzhou were still expanding their power—they possessed both financial and military might, presenting a vague temptation to this group of men who could see no future for themselves.

Those with some meager family assets simply hoped to establish connections with the Australians as Master Gao had done, trading Australian goods to grow rich. Those who were ambitious yet penniless secretly dreamed of joining the dragon early and earning themselves immense wealth and honor.

The only problem was that they had absolutely no opportunity to speak with the Australians. Though a sprawling Australian commercial port stood right outside Guangzhou's city gates, the people bustling within were all local commoners. Moreover, as Young Master Liang had observed: in the dignified Great World, there were essentially no True Hair-Bandits—only their subordinates.

Among those present, if anyone could converse with "suspected True Hair-Bandits," it was only Young Master Liang. The Liang family maintained close associations with Manager Guo, and the largest local charity hall was jointly operated by them. In recent years, however, the Liang family had refrained from deeper interactions with Manager Guo, seemingly keeping a deliberate distance. And given Young Master Liang's temperament, asking him to build bridges for everyone would prove rather difficult.

Now that a Scholar Huang intimately familiar with the "Hair-Bandit Situation" had arrived, everyone naturally treated him like a treasure. One after another, they desperately beat around the bush with their questions.

Huang Binkun laughed bitterly to himself. What disciples of sages are these? Every last one is a profit-chasing fellow! The Great Ming hasn't even fallen, and already they dream of becoming ministers who follow the dragon!

"Though they may be capable ministers of a well-governed realm, they all possess the manner of harsh officials," Huang Binkun attempted to steer the conversation toward vilifying the Hair-bandits. "Their laws are enforced strictly. The common people are faulted for every minor infraction. Even the gentry and scholars enjoy no exemption..." As he spoke, he recounted the Hair-bandits' various "misdeeds": being seized for hard labor for urinating anywhere, receiving lashes for spitting... And of course, the most heinous offense was their refusal to grant scholars preferential treatment. Not only had they merged the poll tax into the land tax, but they had erased tax exemptions entirely in a single stroke.

This did dampen the atmosphere of "Lingao as paradise on earth" by a few degrees. If nothing else, this "refusal to treat scholars preferentially" cooled the enthusiasm of the assembled scholars considerably.

"As the saying goes, governing a great nation is like cooking a small fish. With the Hair-bandits acting thus, I fear it will not last long. The lesson of Qin is not far behind!" one scholar sighed.

Huang Binkun was about to voice agreement when Lin Zunxiu frowned and said: "If the laws are so harsh, how would the people of Lingao survive? How could they possibly be living and working in peace and contentment?"

"Qin's collapse stemmed not from harsh laws, but from the abuse of the people's labor!" another scholar interjected. "Qin's laws were severe from the time of Shang Yang's reforms. Why did the state not perish then, but instead go on to unify the six kingdoms? This proves harsh laws themselves are not the root of chaos!"

This scholar appeared quite young, his clothes shabby—rather conspicuous among this group of xiucai. "I believe the Australians' success lies precisely in the benefits of severe laws and harsh punishments. Setting aside everything else—regarding the various abuses in taxation, could the Australians have eliminated them without severe laws and harsh punishments?"

"This is Wu Ming," Scholar Shi whispered. "He's, well, not even a xiucai..." There was a note of disdain in his voice. "But his insight isn't bad. He simply enjoys making provocative statements."

"One cannot put it that way... Though abuses are indeed rampant in taxation, the grain-tax households and gentry form the foundation of the court. Actions like those Brother Huang describes—I fear they will chill people's hearts." Someone voiced concern.

The debate continued for a while. It seemed quite a few approved of the Hair-bandits' "severe laws and harsh punishments"—mostly those from urban industrial and commercial families who had no vital interests in land taxation but placed great importance on social order. They greatly appreciated the Australians' various practices.

"Consider only that a few years ago the Australians marched troops past Guangzhou City and wiped out so many bandits. The four suburbs have been peaceful ever since. That alone is a tremendous benefit."

Huang Binkun frowned inwardly. Stealing a glance, he noted that Lin and Liang showed no objection to the increasingly "Ming traitor" remarks, so he merely offered casual responses. Beyond silently chanting "merchants are cold-blooded," he discussed Lingao's local customs—iron ships and small trains, even the appearance of Fangcaodi School and the students' strange clothing. This provoked the others at the table to click their tongues in wonder.

After the second round of wine was served, Lin Zunxiu finally sighed wistfully: "Alas, Young Master Huang. National affairs have grown difficult these days, with refugees rising everywhere. Sometimes I actually want to sell this restaurant and, like the Australians, open a vast, enormous factory. Hire these refugees. Upward I could repay Heaven's grace; downward I could benefit the common people."

Huang Binkun pretended to nod solemnly, putting on a look of profound agreement. But in his heart, he understood that these scholars had already fallen under the Hair-bandits' influence. He wondered whether any clear-sighted individuals remained in this County School who could perceive the Hair-bandits' treacherous designs.

Just as everyone sat pondering, the cook's voice rang out: "Third course—Dragon and Tiger Fight!" With the announcement came a wretched female voice from outside: "Master, please show some mercy—the child hasn't eaten in days, Master—"

Hearing the commotion, everyone walked to the corridor to look. They saw a disheveled woman leading a five or six-year-old girl, bowing and begging for food throughout the outer hall. Diners either ignored her, feigned blindness, or angrily berated the waiters. Several shop assistants dragged the madwoman-like figure, desperately pulling her toward the exit. But she would not be moved. All could hear only the woman's frantic wailing and screaming.

Witnessing this, Lin Zunxiu merely snorted, flicked his sleeves, and returned to his seat. Seeing the host resume his place, Huang Binkun followed. The scholars sighed for a moment before returning to their seats one by one. Only the portly Young Master Shi took his own bowl, heaped several large pieces of meat onto the rice, and went out of the private room carrying it.

Everyone sat in silence. Huang Binkun wanted to say something but stammered and could not find the words.

After a while, Scholar Shi returned slowly. "Ah, truly pitiful, truly pitiful. Husband died, cast out by her brother-in-law, hasn't eaten in days. Have some mercy. I let the mother and daughter eat their fill and sent people to escort them to Manager Guo's charity hall." He rambled on, but no one at the table responded.

Scholar Lin said: "You save them for a moment but cannot save them for a lifetime. This bit of misery counts as miserable? There are hundreds of times more wretched souls in Nanhai County alone! You might as well go see how many road corpses the charity hall collected today for the crematorium. Even if you save these two, there are thousands upon thousands of destitute across the eighteen provinces under heaven—can you save them all? People are eating human flesh in the Central Plains. In the end, they'll all become roving bandits, coming to find us for food with knives and spears. I say we might as well close our eyes and simply eat. Muddle through wherever we can—spare ourselves the trouble of worrying about the country and people to no avail!"

Once Lin Zunxiu's words landed, Huang Binkun watched the faces of all the scholars present turn pale. The freshly served Dragon and Tiger Fight steamed fragrantly, yet not a single person moved to lift their chopsticks.

"Ah, if only I could open a vast, enormous factory—a cannon factory—not only would I make money and help quell the chaos in the realm, but the poor people I hired would also have food to eat." Lin Zunxiu mused aloud.

Huang Binkun raised the wine in his cup. "These days roving bandits rise everywhere and the Eastern Tartars are a scourge. Young Master Lin's concern for national affairs and the court is admirable. I toast you a cup."

"Hah, the court?" Lin Zunxiu laughed. "If I built that cannon factory, whether the Emperor or his officials, they should repay the city redemption fees, the happy donations, and the happy contributions they owe me, shouldn't they?"

At this, the entire table burst into laughter, and the atmosphere gradually grew lively.

"Of course, my family doesn't have the money to open a cannon factory either. Haha, selling these few restaurants wouldn't begin to cover the cost." Young Master Lin said dejectedly.

"Come, come, come—eat, eat. Dragon and Tiger Fight." The atmosphere at the table revived. The scholars gradually opened their hearts and mouths. One spoke of how many shi of grain his family had happily contributed back in the day; another claimed that was nothing—their old man nearly hanged himself raising the city redemption fee. Fortunately, Master Gao acted rather decently and managed to return it all the following year. Otherwise, the salt tickets in hand would have become a pile of worthless paper.

"Gao Ju, decent my ass!" At the mention of Gao Ju, someone else chimed in with complaints—when the Purple Treasure Studio issued shares a few years back, it was Gao Ju who created obstacles, preventing his family from buying more even when they wanted to. When they sought to visit Manager Guo, it was again Gao Ju who slandered them and had people block them at the door.

Various wine-table tales flew about, making Huang Binkun feel somewhat overwhelmed by the chaos. But the scholars present remained intensely curious about Australian affairs and insisted he speak, so he was obliged to select some novel subjects—like Hair-bandits constructing buildings and farming—to discuss.

Conversely, Young Master Liang, though he said little, seemed to Huang Binkun to have been observing him throughout the evening.

(End of Chapter)