Chapter 142: Building a Harmonious Lingao (Part 3)

Zhang Youfu was already waiting outside the main hall. He was an old acquaintance of Xi Yazhou’s. He had been the one to represent the county in all dealings with the Transmigration group, and it could be said that among all the gentry in the county, he was the one with the most favorable impression of them—he had earned a considerable amount in fees over the past few months.

He welcomed them into the main hall. Inside, crimson candles burned brightly. In the center stood an eight-immortals table, laden with a banquet. A middle-aged scholar in the hall stood up as Wen Desi and the others entered, bowing with his hands clasped and a broad smile on his face. He greeted them and invited them to be seated with extreme warmth, completely lacking the stiffness of a first meeting. Everyone knew that this was the real host of tonight’s banquet.

The man was none other than Wu Mingjin’s private secretary, Wang Zhaomin. He had watched the entire process of Xiong Buyou’s visit from behind a screen and had repeatedly read the letter afterwards.

Having served as a private secretary for many years, he was very experienced. The transmigrators’ purpose in organizing a joint village defense was crystal clear to him. He estimated that this group of “Kun thieves” of unknown origin had plans similar to those of Zheng Zhilong, who had recently accepted the court’s amnesty: they didn’t want to be enemies with the government but hoped to occupy a piece of territory on the coast to conduct maritime trade, much like Zheng Zhilong’s occupation of Zhongzuosuo.

No matter how sharp Wang Zhaomin’s mind was or how rich his experience, he would never have guessed that this group’s true goal was to overthrow the Ming dynasty and replace it. In his view, their refraining from attacking the county town was a signal to the government that they would not cross a certain line—in comparison, Zheng Zhilong had actually occupied a government-controlled city.

With this as a premise, the conditions proposed by the “Kun thieves” were not excessive. After careful consideration, Wang Zhaomin believed it was possible to negotiate with them, to haggle over the price and terms. After all, the other party had presented over a hundred genuine pirate heads as a meeting gift, a clear sign of their sincerity.

Wu Mingjin was helpless. He was unwilling, but he was powerless to change the current situation and could only play along. Thus, he sent Wang Zhaomin to make contact and negotiate.

In another time, the dishes at Landlord Zhang’s banquet would have been considered meager by the well-traveled transmigrators. But for these men, who had been eating fish and vegetables for months, the whole chicken, whole duck, large chunks of stewed meat, and an entire roasted suckling pig with crispy, golden-brown skin were enough to make their mouths water, starved as they were for fatty foods.

Of course, there were also fresh vegetables and plenty of wine, a locally produced spirit. As for “fresh seafood,” it was not on the table—it was too common and worthless in this area.

For the sake of maintaining appearances, the eight accompanying transmigrators, serving as guards, could not join the main table. Only Xi Yazhou and Wen Desi, enduring the resentful glares of their comrades, got to enjoy the feast.

The others squatted in the outer hall, where there was another table. However, it only held one elderly chicken and a few bowls of green vegetables. One bowl of sliced meat was piled high, but after each person took a slice, they discovered it was just fried sweet potatoes underneath. There were only eight slices of meat—clearly prepared with the exact number of people in mind.

However, they didn’t dare to eat much. Having been repeatedly frightened by the medical department’s doctors about the problem of parasites, they remained wary of locally prepared food. They were also on guard against potential poisoning. Two men stood guard at the main gate, and two others guarded the side.

After a few polite exchanges and several rounds of drinks, and after the two commissioners had sampled the roasted suckling pig, the conversation turned to the main topic. Zhang Youfu spoke first. He again probed about the Executive Committee’s request for the villages to attend a meeting in Bairen City. He also expressed that the county’s gentry were willing to assist the Executive Committee with grain and funds. As long as a figure was set, it would be delivered on time, making it unnecessary for them to organize any joint defense militia.

Wen Desi asked bluntly, “Is this the Magistrate’s idea, or the idea of the county gentry?”

Zhang Youfu was at a loss for words and looked uncomfortably at Wang Zhaomin. This line of questioning had actually been instructed by the magistrate’s secretary, Wang Zhaomin. The gentry themselves were not opposed to organizing a joint defense militia. The northern part of Lingao had long suffered from pirate raids, and many local bandits colluded with them, robbing travelers and kidnapping people for ransom. The gentry and their tenants had suffered greatly. They had lost some faith in the county yamen, and if a powerful group was willing to take the lead in organizing them, they would be happy to participate.

Wang Zhaomin interjected, “It is, of course, the gentry’s idea.”

Xi Yazhou sneered slightly. “The gentry’s idea?” He tapped his finger on the table. “On the seventeenth of the twelfth month, what did Wu Ya say to the village elders in Meitong Village? On the twentieth of the twelfth month, Fu Bowen went to Nada, Meiyang, and Meiguo villages. What did he say then? And just the day before yesterday, didn’t your registrar specifically go to Bowen Village to say something about ‘when the heavenly troops arrive, you’ll be reduced to ashes’?”

A shiver went down Wang Zhaomin’s spine. He never expected these “Kun thieves” to be so well-informed about the county’s actions. He forced a smile. “It is common for county officials to inspect the countryside—”

“Whether you inspect or not is none of our business; it is your duty,” Xi Yazhou said. “Recently, the county has been pressing very hard for the autumn grain tax in the countryside. I suppose you’re short again?”

“Collecting the imperial grain and national taxes is a matter of course. What is wrong with that?”

“Times are tough lately, with many pirates and bandits. We wanted to set up a joint defense militia, but you gentlemen won’t allow it,” Xi Yazhou said with a grim smile. “Who knows what might happen to the grain transport convoys on the road—”

Wang Zhaomin flinched. If the other party had threatened to attack the city, he wouldn’t have been afraid—if they wanted to attack the city, they would have done so long ago instead of coming here to negotiate. It was surely just an empty threat. But robbing the grain convoys was beneficial to the “Kun thieves” and harmless to them, while for Magistrate Wu, it was a matter of life and death.

He quickly smiled and said, “You are all loyal subjects of the court. Your desire to organize a militia is for the benefit of the local people. This matter can be discussed, it can be discussed.”

Wen Desi took another bite of the crispy suckling pig—the flavor was indeed richer than what he had eaten in the future. He said, “Mr. Wang, let’s be frank. Magistrate Wu is, after all, the parent official of this county. As law-abiding citizens who uphold the principle of ‘protecting the territory and pacifying the people,’ we would certainly not make things difficult for him. On the contrary, we wish him a ‘speedy promotion’.”

Wang Zhaomin nodded, his mind made up. He gave Zhang Youfu a meaningful look. Zhang Youfu quickly stood up, made an excuse, and left.

Lowering their voices, the two sides began their secret negotiations.

Initially, Wang Zhaomin only agreed that the county yamen would adopt a tacitly approving attitude towards the matter. But Wen Desi firmly refused. In his view, tacit approval was no different from refusal. From the experience of another time, tacit approval was just a prelude to a future ban. Although this wouldn’t hinder the Transmigration side itself, the villages would have their reservations.

Finally, they reached an agreement: the county would no longer obstruct the transmigrators’ organization of a joint defense militia. However, the initiative could not come from the transmigrators themselves but must be proposed by the baozhang (head of a local self-defense unit) of a certain village. This was not difficult. Wen Desi suggested that Damei Village take the lead. After the petition was submitted, the county would affix its seal and approve it.

The transmigrators promised to be responsible for the county’s defense against pirates, to organize bandit suppression, and to maintain peace in the four townships. At the same time, they would not interfere with the county yamen’s execution of its daily administrative affairs and would even assist the yamen in certain tasks when necessary, such as the collection of the autumn grain tax. If the county was unable to meet its tax quota in the summer or autumn, the transmigrators would provide assistance—the method of assistance to be discussed later.

The transmigrators would continue to pay the salt tax and various miscellaneous fees for the Maniao salt fields they controlled, with an additional “extra” one hundred taels per year for the county’s miscellaneous expenses. The Dongmen Market would pay an annual miscellaneous tax of ten taels, and the county yamen would issue an official “market license” to the Dongmen Market, recognizing its status as a marketplace.

They agreed that all heads of pirates captured by the Transmigration group in their operations would belong to the county yamen, as would any captured seals, symbols, flags, and documents. All other spoils of war would belong to the transmigrators.

If Fu Bowen was willing to return to Bopu to serve as its inspector, the transmigrators would allow his return. They would even build him a new yamen and provide him with twelve archers. All his miscellaneous expenses would be covered by the transmigrators.

The county yamen would provide the transmigrators with all conveniences within the scope of the law, such as capturing runaway slaves, pursuing indebted tenants, and handling property and land transfers. Since the transmigrators had no Great Ming household registration, Wang Zhaomin suggested establishing a “Bairen Village” and registering seven or eight households with the county. This would give the transmigrators a legal entity; otherwise, various documents and contracts could not be written.

Finally, of course, came the discussion of personal benefits. Wang Zhaomin was extremely attentive to this, not only actively fighting for his own interests but also striving to increase the stakes for his master.

After some haggling, Wen Desi agreed to give Master Secretary Wang three hundred taels of silver and Magistrate Wu one thousand taels. They also reached an agreement to jointly sell salt in Lingao County town and the fourteen markets throughout Lingao. The transmigrators would be responsible for the supply, while the procedures for converting private salt to official salt and the sales would be handled by Master Secretary Wang, with the profits split fifty-fifty.

To avoid suspicion, they agreed that Zhang Youfu would act as the liaison for passing messages. If a face-to-face meeting was necessary, it would be held at Zhang Youfu’s house.

Finally, Wang Zhaomin advised Wen Desi and the others that if they were to be active within the county in the future, it would be best to get rid of their “Kun” hairstyle and short clothes to avoid being too conspicuous. Wen Desi laughed it off, but later thought there might be some merit to it. In the future, they would need to build relationships with the gentry and farmers, and making themselves too different would be detrimental to integrating with the masses.

With the matter settled, a weight was lifted from both sides. The wine flowed more freely. In the heat of the moment, Wen Desi presented the prepared gifts. For Magistrate Wu, it was a goose-egg-shaped glass mirror. For Master Secretary Wang, it was a glass cup. All other officials in the county received a string of freshwater pearl bracelets, the kind that sold for five yuan a string in the pearl wholesale market—according to reports from the Guangzhou advance team, the freshwater pearls they had brought were very popular in Guangzhou.

Master Secretary Wang was naturally overjoyed. These “Kun thieves” really knew how to do things.

Since it was already dark and the city gates were closed, Master Secretary Wang could not return to the city and stayed at Zhang Youfu’s house for the night. Wen Desi, having finished his business, was in no hurry to leave. They still needed to have a good talk with their liaison, Zhang Youfu.