Chapter 1772 - Joy and Sorrow
"What are you doing, Master?" The Third Concubine was bewildered. She knew what this thing was—an Australian product called a cigar, just strong tobacco, nothing particularly rare. After smoking, clothes and hands reeked of it. She had no idea why her husband was suddenly treating it so solemnly—a half-smoked one at that. "It's not worth anything, and it's rather filthy."
"What do you know?" Gao Ju smiled. "This is the Gao family's prosperity for generations to come!" His spirits high, he ordered, "Open a jar of that Lanling wine they sent from Jiangnan!"
Seeing him so pleased, the Third Concubine bustled the maids off to prepare. She added a cup and chopsticks for herself and sat beside him to pour wine and keep him company.
Gao Ju rarely discussed business with women. But today, unable to contain his excitement, he told her about his reunion with "Chairman Wen."
"...Who'd have thought life's turns could be so dramatic!" Gao Ju sighed. "Back then, when the three of them stood in my courtyard, I could have finished them with a flick of my finger. Now look at them—great men!"
The Third Concubine said, "This matter—shouldn't we be cautious? The Ming hasn't fallen yet. What if the Court takes back the city? And look at Master Li—he still hasn't been released."
Gao Ju laughed. "Take it back? If they could, would they have needed me to organize the ransom money? Back when the Australians held only a single county and numbered but a small force, they still managed to annihilate General He's entire army and compelled Governor Li to pay tribute. Now they're even stronger—they took a famous city like Guangzhou without so much as a cannon shot. The Ming's mandate is exhausted, I tell you. A change of dynasty is less than ten years away. As for Li Luoyou—'I gave my heart to the bright moon, but the bright moon shines on the ditch.' He still nurses a hopeless devotion to the Court. Would the Australians want him? Besides, his family has properties up north—he wouldn't dare take up this post."
The Third Concubine remained uneasy; she could only clasp her hands and murmur, "Amitabha. If you say so, then all your handmaid can do is pray the Australians march into the capital and become emperors as soon as possible."
The next day, Gao Ju went to Zheng Shangjie and declared himself willing to serve as Chairman of the Federation of Industry and Commerce. Zheng Shangjie commended him and issued on the spot a Letter of Appointment along with a Special Pass—with this pass, he could see her at any time.
"Master Gao, now that you've accepted this appointment, the Federation of Industry and Commerce is officially established. But for now, you're a general without an army. You must organize all the shops and businesses in the city as quickly as possible." Zheng Shangjie began assigning tasks. "I know Guangzhou's merchants are a motley lot, with many factions. The Teochew-Swatow group and the Cantonese group alone have plenty of bad blood between them; incidents of underhanded dealing are hardly rare. Getting them to sit down together won't be easy."
Gao Ju said, "Thank you for your concern, Director Zheng. Such things have certainly occurred. But that was in the past. Now that the Senatorial Council has overturned heaven and earth, with heavy laws for chaotic times, they're all tucking their tails between their legs. Who'd dare stir up trouble now? As long as Mayor Liu and Director Zheng hold the fort, none of this is a problem."
Zheng Shangjie nodded. This Gao Ju was no simple man. His words were plainly a demand for the Senatorial Council's unwavering support—clearly someone who, once power was in hand, would wield it boldly. That was fine. Whatever his actual abilities, at least he dared to think and act. That was precisely what they needed for opening up a new work front.
The reason they had chosen Gao Ju as chairman was not only his old connections to the Senatorial Council but also because he was a complete outsider—not a member of the two largest merchant groups in the city: Teochew-Swatow and Cantonese. This avoided any appearance of favoritism. An outsider in charge would have no qualms about breaking up local merchant cliques and dismantling monopolies.
Zheng Shangjie said, "Master Gao, rest assured on that score. The Senatorial Council will use every means to support you fully. You need have no reservations."
Organizing the Federation by having Gao Ju issue a rallying cry alone was far from sufficient. Besides, he wasn't the city's top merchant; his influence was limited. They would still have to rely on administrative orders. Zheng Shangjie assumed the post of Federation Secretary-General, and a public notice was issued requiring all commercial establishments in the city to obtain a Business License. Traders without storefronts likewise had to obtain one.
The licensing office was set up at the former Salt Tax Bureau Yamen—now the site of the new Guangzhou Municipal Tax Bureau and Monopoly Bureau. Through the licensing process, the municipal government could roughly ascertain the number, types, and approximate scale of all shops in Guangzhou. Self-reported data naturally had issues—concealment, exaggeration, understatement—but these could be adjusted through later inspections. It was far better than their current state of near-total ignorance, knowing only a handful of major industries and merchants.
After obtaining a license, each shop simultaneously joined the Guangzhou Municipal Federation of Industry and Commerce and received a membership card.
Once both documents were in hand, shops also received two tinplate plaques to be hung prominently at their premises.
He Guirong had been pacing in the courtyard of his main hall for what seemed like an eternity. Today was the third day since the Australians had announced Business Registration, and once again he'd sent a colleague bearing the old ya permit to try his luck—though he himself knew this was purely wishful thinking, hoping heaven would take pity.
On the very first day of registration, he had sent his clerk with the permit. The scene outside the Salt Tax Bureau had been a sea of people. The clerk had queued for half the day before reaching the desk. At first everything went smoothly—questions, registration, all passed—but when it came time to issue the license, he was flatly refused:
"We don't do ya permits here. Take that back."
The cadre who spoke was polite enough, but no matter how the clerk pleaded, the Business License simply wasn't issued.
The clerk hurried back to report. He Guirong, already on edge, sent people to ask the others. The news was grim: not one of them had obtained a license. All had been turned away with the same words: "We don't issue ya-firm licenses."
This struck He Guirong's already taut nerves like a bolt of lightning. Ever since the Australians arrived, he had tried every avenue to gain an audience—with no success. In desperation, the ya brokers had been prepared to offer, public and private together, a hundred thousand taels in tribute to the Australians—just to exchange their Ming permits for Song ones. Who'd have thought there was simply no way in!
He Guirong could not fathom why the Australians were so cold to them. Director Zheng had even received the owner of a blacksmith shop—yet she refused to see the ya men!
Since ancient times there had been ya brokerages. It was a mutually beneficial relationship with the government—nothing but advantages for public and private alike. Why reject such an obvious boon? What game were the Australians playing? Could it be that their tribute wasn't generous enough? Yet they hadn't even sent word!
At this point, if the Australians so much as opened their mouths, he'd bankrupt himself willingly!
Just as he was at his wits' end, his personal attendant ran in to report that the broker who had just gone to get a license had returned—again without one.
"...Master Xu says to tell you, the Australians have posted a notice: as of May 1st, anyone operating without a license will be classified as 'unlicensed business' and shut down. Please find a way at once..."
"Enough! You may leave!" He Guirong's face was like frost.
But the attendant didn't withdraw. He added, "Master Xu also says the Australians' refusal to issue ya-firm licenses may be connected to those Teochew-Swatow grain merchants from the Haiyang Guild Hall—they lodged a complaint..."
"What?!" He Guirong's brows and eyes twisted together. "Explain!"
"Yes! Master Xu says he's learned that the grain merchants went to Da Shijie more than ten days ago and met with a Senator. He doesn't know how much silver they spent, but they bought off the Australians not to exchange ya permits..."
"Is this true?" He Guirong glared.
The attendant shrank back. "That's what Master Xu said."
"Go at once and invite Master Xu and the other masters here! Tell them I have urgent matters to discuss!"
The "masters" he spoke of were all leading figures in the ya trade. Without being named, the attendant knew exactly who they were and immediately left. He Guirong thought to himself that he'd been careless indeed—through all his scheming, it had never occurred to him that the Teochew-Swatow crowd would steal a march and meet the Australians first, dazzling a Senator with silver!
In terms of financial muscle, the Haiyang grain merchants far outstripped the ya brokers. Who'd have thought these "foreign strongmen" would seize this opportunity to challenge the ya "local snakes"!
The assembled brokers all understood the gravity of the situation. They had no intention of giving up the windfall of "buying and selling thin air" and making money without lifting a finger.
"If it comes to spending money, we can't outspend them," said the broker the attendant had called "Master Xu," with evident worry. "They're rich and powerful, and they've got a head start..."
Everyone felt the prospects were bleak.
"Hmph—the deer hasn't fallen yet!" came a sinister voice.
He Guirong, racking his brains for a solution, looked up. The speaker was his own clerk-advisor. "Master Shi, what do you have in mind?"
"We can't outbid them in silver. But they're outsiders after all. Even if their corpses litter the streets, no one will cry out on their behalf. Dead men have no silver to spend. And I don't think the Australians are fools."
"What if the silver's already been delivered?" someone asked. "If you've taken someone's money, there has to be some accounting."
"Wouldn't that be even better for the Australians? Money received, but the givers are dead—that's called 'dead men tell no tales.' Any promise can be denied. Then they can turn around and take the ya's silver too. What's not to like? All officials are man-eaters who don't spit out the bones. I don't believe the Australians are any exception!" Master Shi gave a grim chuckle.
At these words, the brokers felt as if a fog had lifted. Master Xu couldn't help sticking up a thumb. "Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!" The others chimed in, chattering their approval. The ya men were no gentle souls; this wasn't the first time they'd done such things. To discipline uncouth out-of-town merchants, they'd hired outlaws to murder, set fires to boats and warehouses—nothing new for them.
(End of Chapter)