Chapter 1869 - Out with the Old, In with the New (Part 5)

Outside the West Gate of Guangzhou lay what had originally been a plain crisscrossed by waterways. However, the area near the city had been developed early; settlements had formed outside the West Gate as early as the Sui dynasty, creating residential fang wards. The old-timeline street and alley names like "Yangren" and "Dexing" that survived in Guangzhou were the names of those ancient wards. This area had quite a number of streets and residences.

But the commercial district outside the West Gate ended there. Walking further west, one found farmland and villages, with rivers crisscrossing and lakes and ponds scattered like stars—a scene of rural wetland countryside. At this time, there were no "West Gate mansions" to speak of. All were small villages where one could see from one end to the other. Those living in brick-walled compounds were either wealthy families or at least small landlords. Most homes had bamboo frames plastered with yellow mud, with plank doors outside. Only prosperous families could afford sturdy oyster-shell wall houses.

Near the Shang-Xia Jiupu area stood a temple called Xilaian—the Temple of Coming from the West.

Though not especially large, this ancient temple was the predecessor of the famous Hualin Temple in the old timeline. Xilaian itself had no small pedigree. Legend had it that when Patriarch Bodhidharma crossed the sea and arrived in Guangzhou, later generations honored him as a high monk from the Western Buddhist realm and called his first landing place the "Place of Coming from the West." This name had been used ever since. The temple Bodhidharma built upon reaching Guangzhou was Xilaian, one of Guangzhou's five great monasteries through the ages.

Not far from Xilaian stood a dilapidated temple of unknown origin, its original name now lost. Everyone called it Jinhua Temple—the Golden Flower Temple. It was said to have been a subordinate temple of Xilaian. After the Guandi Temple was reclaimed and restored by local officials, the Guandi Temple faction that had congregated there seized this temple outside the West Gate as their headquarters.

The monks of Xilaian were naturally no ordinary monks, but faced with this gang who claimed to "fear neither Heaven nor the King" and whom even gentry and officials avoided, the monks could only swallow their bitterness. Never mind the Golden Flower Temple, which had completely become the beggars' kingdom—even at Xilaian, from the main gate to the second gate, beneath the eaves, day and night gathered crowds of beggars, noisily harassing pilgrims. The monks dared not intervene.

The Gao ancestors had established their headquarters here with purpose. Before the Qing dynasty, the West Gate plain was still a major shipping zone. The densely networked waterways served not only as shipping channels but many connected to the Western Moat and Daguan River, allowing passage up the Western Moat all the way to the typhoon shelter near Yuexiu Hill. One could also follow the Liubo or Lizhiwan channels to the Lizhiwan harbor—and busy shipping zones naturally offered much to be skimmed.

Since the Gao ancestors had seized the Golden Flower Temple over a century ago, the beggars naturally spent no money on maintenance. The buildings had fallen into ruin; Buddhist statues and offering tables had long since vanished. Only the original main hall remained relatively intact—this was where the Chief Beggar of Guangzhou conducted his "court" business.

Though the Gao family's hereditary Chief Beggar position made them merely beggar chieftains, their "official authority" was considerable indeed. The hall had a proper judge's bench and seat, with water-and-fire clubs and cangue-shackles flanking both sides. At the entrance stood two beggars holding wooden clubs, bellies thrust out—quite the yamen style. The most prominent feature in the entire "courtroom" was a great club standing beside the seat, a full zhang tall and as thick as a rice bowl, wrapped in yellow cloth. This was the so-called "divine staff."

The staff was said to be imperially bestowed. Whenever a beggar committed crimes, the Chief could bring forth the staff and beat the offender to death on the spot without consequence. Of course, this was just talk. No one had ever seen what the staff looked like beneath its yellow cloth covering. Besides, the Chief had plenty of ways to dispose of a beggar without such elaborate procedures.

Walking past the "great hall" through the courtyard where the Gao family's secretaries conducted business, through the central gate, one entered an entirely different world—the Gao family's private residence. Compared to the filthy beggar den in front, this was truly another realm.

Though the Gao family had been "Chief Beggars" for generations, they had never actually begged for a single day. The entire family lived in luxury with servants attending them. Though their status was base and despised, their food, clothing, and enjoyment exceeded many a prominent household.

However, the Gao residence had been rather subdued lately. Not long ago, Gao Tianshi had suddenly "expired." Though the funeral had been held, they were still in mourning. The Gao family might be beggar chiefs, but they still observed basic "filial piety." The newly succeeded Chief, Gao Lingxiang, naturally couldn't openly feast, enjoy opera, and indulge—his several brothers were dissatisfied with his succession and watched him like hawks.

With trouble at home and danger abroad—the various dagu restless and grumbling—Gao Lingxiang had no heart for wine and pleasure.

At this moment, he who had been promoted from "Young Master" to "Master" reclined on a Xiang-concubine bamboo couch, with several maids attending—some holding chilled lychees, others fanning him with palm-leaf fans.

Standing in the corridor outside was a steward from the Mo family. Having walked over in the sweltering heat, his face dripped with sweat, yet he could only maintain a smile, not daring even to wipe his brow, waiting to be summoned.

Just after the Australians began tearing down the shop-frontages in Guangzhou city, Mo Rongxin had sent his daughter-in-law with lavish gifts to pay her respects. The pretext was celebrating her father-in-law's birthday. Well, not long after that birthday, the old man had kicked the bucket. Every time Gao Lingxiang saw someone from the Mo family, he felt something was off.

Gao Lingxiang was in his forties this year. In ordinary times, for an eldest legitimate son of a wealthy family, a father dying in middle age might even be cause for celebration—certainly his wife felt that way. But he couldn't feel any joy.

With troubles both internal and external, while his father had been alive, he could command the dagu below as easily as his own limbs. Gao Lingxiang, on the other hand, had barely managed to stabilize the various dagu through tremendous effort, relying on his father's trusted aides and his mother's family's influence. "Stabilized" was generous—undercurrents still churned below. Given any opportunity, those dagu and his brothers might well jump out and make trouble again. And beyond that, the Australians were watching like tigers—he vaguely knew that Gao Tianshi's sudden death was connected to the "sorcery case" that had been the talk of the town.

Sorcery was no small matter. Gao Lingxiang had questioned a few of his father's trusted subordinates; each had been vague and evasive. But from their shifty responses, he knew the rumors were not groundless.

This was a crime warranting extermination of nine generations! Gao Lingxiang nearly dropped his jaw in terror. His father had been shrewd his entire life—how had he gotten mixed up in this? He dared not think too deeply. He could only carefully review all the letters and notes in Gao Tianshi's study, burn anything potentially connected to the matter, and send trusted men to the various dens to quietly investigate whether there were any others in the know, preparing to gradually silence them one by one.

Seeing the Australians make no move, Gao Lingxiang felt slightly relieved. He reflected that after the Australians arrived, his father's failure to make any gesture of allegiance had been a mistake; getting involved in the sorcery case was outright suicidal. Though the Australians appeared calm now, they were step by step cutting off the Guandi Temple faction's revenue streams. At this rate, before long he wouldn't be able to maintain this operation—everyone followed him for the veneer of brotherhood and generational loyalty, but underneath it was all about money. If the Gao family couldn't protect the dagu's livelihoods, what use was this Chief Beggar?

Fundamentally, his father had failed to defect to the Australians in time and secure a document confirming him as "Chief Beggar of Guangzhou under Great Song." Now to seek allegiance was too late!

These past days he had been thinking about how to establish connections with the Australians—ideally with one or two Australian officials, bearing heavy gifts. Even if it meant emptying the family treasury, it would be worth it. As long as he could keep his position as Chief Beggar of Guangzhou, everything was negotiable.

Now the Mo family had suddenly sent someone with a visit and generous gifts. Who knew what scheme they were plotting? But the Mo family patriarch was the Director of the Wenlan Academy. Every year, considerable sums could be extracted from the academy. For them to come to him now must be academy-related. When the Mo family had initially sent his sister to congratulate his father's birthday, it had been connected to the dozen-plus academy shop-frontages on Chengxuan Avenue.

The Wenlan Academy had been troubled of late. The academy's trustees and managers were mostly a bunch of Guangzhou's "bad gentry" who had seized the rich endowments for themselves, profiting while treating the students miserably. Several times the students had risen up in protest, but Mo Rongxin and Zhong Aijiao—the academy's "Heng-Ha Twin Generals"—had suppressed them through various means every time. Now with the change of dynasties, and hearing that the Australians were upright and incorruptible, the students had risen up to make trouble again.

Thinking about how his in-law father had made the concubine-born son marry his sister with an air of condescension, and how when he had gone to the Mo household for the wedding, the Mo family had been evasive, as if his presence sullied their family reputation—the entire ceremony had been perfunctory. Not only had his sister's mother, Third Concubine, wept in rage, but his father's face had been dark with displeasure.

In the old days, they hadn't put his family in their eyes. Now they couldn't handle a few pedantic scholars and needed help! At this thought, Gao Lingxiang gave a cold laugh and sat up.

"Let him in."

Only at this summons did the steward, who had been standing with hands folded in the corridor, carefully step over the threshold and enter the outer study, cool and pleasant with its blocks of ice.

(End of Chapter)