Chapter 2132 - Contributing Money and Effort

The Weighing and Commission Firms—Pingma Hong—emerged organically from the river trade flowing up and down the waterways. Without official brokerage licenses from the Ministry of Revenue, they possessed no monopolistic privileges. Competition among firms ran fierce, their survival dependent on cultivating relationships with traveling merchants known as "water guests." The business demanded substantial capital, as purchasing and selling on clients' behalf often required advancing payment for goods.

Many local grain merchants traced their lineage back to these Pingma Hong. Years of intermediary trade had made them intimately familiar with clients both upstream and downstream. Once they'd accumulated sufficient capital, they specialized—though most retained their old habits, passively waiting for Guangxi "water guests" to deliver grain to their doorsteps for storage, then waiting again for Guangdong "water guests" to arrive for purchase. The only shift was from earning commissions to capturing the price differential.

Before entering the city, Xie Erren had studied the "Overview of Wuzhou" compiled by the External Intelligence Bureau. The booklet provided detailed intelligence on Wuzhou's geography, culture, commerce, customs, livelihood, society, and key figures—equipping cadres taking over the city with a working knowledge of their new subjects.

Thanks to this dossier, he possessed clear understanding of the "village worthies" in attendance: their family connections, reputations, approximate wealth, and more. Generally, Wuzhou's notables differed little from those elsewhere. Excepting the exceptionally virtuous or corrupt, most practiced benevolence only when it didn't conflict with self-interest. They'd donate money and grain for disaster relief while simultaneously exploiting the crisis to annex land and acquire servants. They'd provide coffins for roadside corpses while dispatching bailiffs to arrest and beat tenants into paying rent.

These Bureau directors couldn't truly count as "village worthies"—not a single gentry family had sent representatives. Such caution was understandable, though among the merchants who did attend, quite a few served as "connections" and "white gloves" for Wuzhou's gentry. Though no one from the Wu Zhixiang family—which maintained deep ties with the Senate—served as director, Director Da Xinxuan operated under their patronage. He was, in essence, their agent.

Fence-sitters! Xie Erren thought with private contempt. But his forces remained thin, grain and money scarce—he needed to utilize them. So he socialized, exchanged pleasantries, lavishly praised the directors for their "public-spiritedness and righteousness," their "benevolent acts" in establishing porridge stations and collecting corpses. Then he pivoted:

"Wuzhou has suffered tremendous calamity. Devastation confronts the eye inside and outside the city walls. The people endure hunger and cold—all this requires your dedicated efforts, gentlemen."

Uneasy glances exchanged around the room. Everyone understood the subtext. But since Director Xie commanded both guns and moral authority, compliance was required. "These are duties we gladly undertake," they chorused.

"That scoundrel Xiong Wencan set fires when he fled, leaving the city ruined and the people without livelihoods..." Xie Erren established responsibility first: This mess requiring your money wasn't my doing—blame Xiong Wencan. "I've identified several urgent matters demanding immediate attention."

As he spoke, an orderly suddenly announced that the pai-jia heads from the twelve she (districts) within Wuzhou city and eleven fang (wards) outside had arrived and awaited orders.

"Show them in. They'll join our discussion."

At his command, the pai-jia heads filed in. Most were small businessmen with underworld connections—men who knew their territories intimately and could navigate yamen politics. They were "Earth Lords" through and through, classic local strongmen.

These Earth Lords understood that regardless which dynasty's emperor reigned, their role remained indispensable. Since they couldn't qualify as major households financially, they lacked the apprehensive expressions worn by the Bureau directors. They entered in disorderly fashion, dropping to kneel and kowtow.

"Rise, everyone. The Senate doesn't practice such formalities." Though Xie Erren said this, he privately enjoyed it immensely.

"The immediate priorities are threefold: first, public security; second, city defense; third, relief. Accomplish these three, and the rest follows naturally."

Nothing remarkable in these priorities. The Rehabilitation Bureau had convened privately yesterday, producing an eleven-point rehabilitation plan that included these three elements. Still, since the Australian Prefect Master had spoken, everyone echoed in unison: "The Master speaks wisely!"

"How many refugees currently reside in the city?"

Master Qiao, the Rehabilitation Bureau's Deputy Director, hastily extracted a folded paper from his sleeve. The Bureau distributed porridge daily and issued bamboo tallies—from these tallies they could estimate the refugee population roughly.

"Based on bamboo tallies distributed at various porridge stations, approximately four thousand mouths."

"It's decreased substantially?" Xie Erren exhaled with relief at hearing only four thousand-plus, having been told by Zhu Mingxia before entering that over ten thousand refugees had been rounded up leaving the city at night.

"Master, this is still quite substantial." Master Qiao looked pained. During the Tianqi-Chongzhen years, all of Cangwu County contained merely 6,698 households and 27,424 people—including a significant rural portion.

Though Yellow Register figures were notoriously inaccurate, and Wuzhou attracted large migrant populations as a regional commercial hub, the city proper and suburbs combined held only thirty to forty thousand souls. Four thousand-plus refugees represented an alarmingly high proportion.

After liberation, refugees with homes to return to or relatives to shelter them had already dispersed. Those remaining were entirely destitute, empty-handed and homeless. Simply meeting their basic food and shelter needs would demand considerable effort.

He glanced at the naturalized Deputy Director who'd accompanied him to assume control of Wuzhou. "Is an exact count being conducted?"

"It's underway, but the refugees are widely scattered—it'll take several days," the naturalized Deputy Director replied. "Master Qiao's estimate shouldn't be far off, though..."

"Where are the refugees sheltering now?"

"Most are scattered in temple shelters throughout the city. Some have been housed at the drill grounds outside. However, quite a few remain on the streets."

Two drill grounds existed outside Wuzhou: Sanhezui and Ximatan. Both featured barracks from the original Ming garrison. Ximatan's drill ground, situated 2.5 kilometers west on the Xun River's north bank, lay relatively distant from the urban center and now served as Zhu Quanxing's 3rd Battalion station. Sanhezui's drill ground functioned as a temporary detention center for Ming army prisoners, though Zhu Quanxing had also sheltered some refugees there.

"All temples and large buildings capable of sheltering refugees—inside and outside the city—must open their doors wide," Xie Erren declared firmly. "Not one refugee sleeps on the streets. Understood?!"

Street-dwelling refugees obstructed traffic and created hygiene and security hazards.

"Yes!"

"Excellent." Xie Erren nodded, then gestured to his secretary. "Display the responsibility zone map."

The secretary promptly hung a map—one depicting Wuzhou city proper, with neighborhoods inside and outside the walls clearly delineated. Different-sized areas were outlined in various colors. Closer inspection revealed each area numbered with Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, with names inscribed alongside. Further scrutiny showed these were the names of the Rehabilitation Bureau "village worthies."

While puzzlement rippled through the audience, Xie Erren explained: "These are your responsibility zones. Since you've stepped forward to serve Wuzhou's people, you naturally can't merely sit and converse in the Bureau offices. Each person assumes responsibility for one area. Don't worry—I'll assign cadres to take charge. You and the pai-jia heads in your districts need only cooperate effectively with the cadre."

Xie Erren chuckled, then continued:

"Each of you bears responsibility for your assigned zone and will patrol alongside the pai-jia heads of each she and fang. Any refugees you encounter sleeping in the open—regardless of their willingness—must be registered and sent to shelters. If I discover any oversights, I'll direct those refugees to your homes and ask you to support them as honored guests..."

This provoked alarm, and they hastily pledged their utmost efforts. The Bureau directors' faces turned uniformly miserable. What kind of cadre is this? Clearly Master Xie's proxy. We might not see Master Xie for days, but this zone-assigned 'cadre' we'll have to face constantly.

Next, Xie Erren announced several regulations:

Upon intake, refugees would be registered and issued "Refugee Certificates." Refugees were forbidden to wander freely and must return nightly to their assigned shelters. During daylight, they'd operate collectively in groups of ten according to "Work Dispatch Slips."

The core rehabilitation policy: relief through work.

Effective immediately, relief stations would provide only two thin porridge meals daily to the elderly, young, sick, disabled, and pregnant. All refugee men and women above thirteen years would be organized into labor teams. Rations would be issued based on days worked.

Rations would be calculated via work points, implementing a "more work, more pay" system. However, each person must complete a basic daily workload in exchange for rations; excess labor could be compensated in cash.

If refugees were simply compelled to work, inevitably some would show up without genuine effort. Xie Erren lacked manpower for extensive supervision and management. Overusing local clerks and runners would intensify conflicts. Ultimately, he'd decided to emphasize "economic incentives."

Work points carried specific workload requirements. The system had operated in Lingao for years. Mature precedents existed for determining work point allocations and corresponding workloads—highly convenient. This established framework emboldened Xie Erren to implement the work point system.

Xie Erren calculated privately: Once the city walls are repaired and ruins cleared, we'll commence road and sewer renovation projects. The war just ended—the common people won't dare cause trouble yet. We'll avoid Liu Xiang's Guangzhou debacle, where six months of demolition and construction generated universal complaints.

Since refugees would contribute labor, the required money and grain would naturally necessitate the Rehabilitation Bureau to "contribute funds according to means."

"I recognize none of you possess mountains of gold or silver, nor mountains of grain. Though this benefits the hometown, it's not your personal property after all—parting with resources stings..."

"We wouldn't dare hesitate, wouldn't dare." The village worthies protested even as their faces creased with pained reluctance.

"Therefore, this expense will be shared among all major households in the city. Common folk lack resources to bear such burdens—I must ask you gentlemen to shoulder the greater load," Xie Erren concluded.