Chapter Sixty-Eight: Departure

“Miss is asleep,” Chunliu immediately realized that this person’s secret visit late at night must have important news to tell, and immediately said, “I’ll go wake her up.”

“No need!” Wu Zhixiang said unexpectedly, “You quickly inform Miss Pei that that rotten-gutted scoundrel Lu Yizhong has already sent a note to Nanhai County, asking them to issue a warrant to arrest the young lady. Please ask your young lady to quickly avoid them.”

Chunliu had originally thought that this Scholar Wu was just a profligate son who was greedy for money and lust, but she did not expect him to have such a chivalrous heart at a critical moment. Her heart couldn’t help but warm up, and she curtsied:

“Thank you, Young Master Wu, for your high righteousness.”

“You don’t have to thank me. It’s better to let your young lady find a place to hide quickly. Once you enter the prison, even a god will have to shed a layer of skin! And her matter is too big, no one dares to guarantee it!” Wu Zhixiang said, put on his eye patch, and quickly turned around and disappeared into the darkness.

The news that Nanhai County was going to arrest Pei Lixiu quickly reached Guo Yi. Although he didn’t know why they were arresting her first instead of him, Guo Yi believed that the time to retreat had come. If they couldn’t catch Pei Lixiu, they would turn to arrest him.

He thought for a moment and called for Sun Chang:

“You immediately send people to the Ziminglou and evacuate the people according to the plan. Don’t worry about the heavy goods. The servants from other places can go to Shopkeeper Sun’s place to hide. Tell a few unfamiliar subordinates to block the local servants near the Ziminglou tomorrow morning. Don’t go to the shop.”

If Nanhai County couldn’t catch the main person, they would probably arrest a group of servants who were still in the building to make up for it—there was no need to let them get involved.

Guo Yi gave Sun Chang a booklet and a seal, “This is an account opened at Delong in Sun Kecheng’s name. You give it to him to pay for everyone’s settlement allowance.”

“Understood, I’ll go do it right away!” Sun Chang left in a hurry.

Guo Yi was packing things, dealing with documents, and moving objects. Before he knew it, the sky was already slightly bright, and he was very hungry. He quickly had someone bring breakfast. Originally, he had a dedicated cook, but he had dismissed him a few days ago. Now he ate breakfast from the big kitchen with the rest of the people.

While he was eating, Sun Chang hurried back to report: everything was done.

“You should also eat quickly. Go to Zizhenzhai later and tell Shopkeeper Shen to stop the business today. It’s best for him to go to the countryside to hide for a while to avoid being caught in the crossfire.”

“Yes!” Seeing that the entire Zichengji had become empty, Sun Chang couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness—to suffer this disaster for no reason! “Owner, can we still come back?”

“Of course we can,” Guo Yi said calmly. “We’ll be back in a few months.”

“Yes!” Sun Chang saw his confidence, but he didn’t know where it came from. In his opinion, the Australians were just good at working and making money. They couldn’t fight against the Ming Dynasty. Were they going to Beijing to find connections with the big shots? While he was lost in thought, a servant quietly came to report: someone was requesting a meeting.

“No,” Guo Yi said. There was no need to be hypocritical with anyone anymore.

“The visitor says there is an urgent matter!”

“Who is it? Where is the card?”

“The visitor refuses to say, only that the matter is urgent and can only be discussed with you, Owner Guo, in person.”

“Alright, let’s see him then.”

The visitor was a middle-aged man who looked like a scholar. After greeting him, he looked at Sun Chang with hesitation.

“I have a confidential matter to report.”

Sun Chang quickly withdrew.

“To be honest,” the middle-aged man lowered his voice, “I have come under orders to inform you: Guangzhou Prefecture has received a high order and will arrest you, the owner, and all the people in the three shops of the Zi brand tomorrow morning.”

Guo Yi raised his eyebrows in surprise: he had long expected to be arrested and his property sealed, but he did not expect someone to come and inform him specifically.

He usually had some connections in the various yamen, but so far only some vague news had leaked out. This was the first time he had heard such clear news.

“Thank you, sir, for coming to inform me!” Guo Yi said, “I wonder who your superior is? I will surely thank you heavily another day!”

“It is not convenient to tell you who my master is. I am just here to inform you, owner: leave cleanly, don’t leave any objects or documents behind. There is no need to panic, Guangzhou Prefecture will definitely come tomorrow.” After saying these words, the visitor got up and left.

Although Guo Yi didn’t know who this person was, the credibility of his words was ninety-nine percent. The sentence he emphasized was the key point. What did he mean by “don’t leave any objects or documents behind”—obviously, the person who sent the messenger was afraid that something important left in the Zi brand would harm his interests.

Although he couldn’t guess who it was for a moment, this person must be an official, and his position was not low. The last sentence: “There is no need to panic, Guangzhou Prefecture will definitely come tomorrow” was not clearly telling him that he had a whole day to run away today, and could even leave with his people in a grand manner?

Thinking of this, Guo Yi was suddenly enlightened. He immediately ordered all the people who were staying at Huifu Street to be gathered.

There were still thirty or forty people in the house on Huifu Street, Zizhenzhai, and Zichengji who were supporting the storefront. Most of them were from other places and could not go home for a while. Guo Yi had already arranged with Sun Kecheng to place this group of people.

“Everyone came from their hometown to work for our Zi brand. This is our fate,” Guo Yi said. “The Zi brand has not treated everyone badly. Your monthly salary and year-end bonus are the best in Guangzhou. Our Zi brand has always been a legitimate business in Guangzhou: we have never done anything illegal. Not to mention the imperial taxes, we have never dared to be short of the offerings to the officials. This time, everyone probably knows: the government will not let us do business in peace and wants to seal this shop…”

Many of the shop assistants shed tears. They had been here for at least a year, and some for almost three years. There were many big businesses in Guangzhou, but there was no one like the Zi brand that was so considerate to its employees. Not only was the monthly salary better than elsewhere, but they also received a year-end bonus based on their ability. When they were sick, the shop took care of their medicine. When some shop assistants died, the shop not only provided a coffin, bought a grave, and held a funeral, but also brought their families to be placed in the outer counter: the old, the young, and the women, even if they were not good at working, were arranged to do some light work and given a few months’ salary to live on.

Now such a righteous business was being forced to close down. Everyone was indignant at the owner’s encounter, and at the same time, they thought of their own bleak future, and felt a sense of gloom.

“It doesn’t matter if the shop is sealed. As long as our people are still here, the Zi brand will always be here,” Guo Yi said loudly. “In as little as three months, or as long as half a year, I, Guo Yi, will come back, and I will stand here, stand here—” He originally just wanted to calm people down and let them not break up, and wait for them to come back in peace. However, at this moment, he remembered the days and nights he and his colleagues had spent in Guangzhou, and he couldn’t help but be filled with emotion. For a moment, he didn’t know what to say. After a pause, he said, “and set off firecrackers with everyone to reopen the business!”

After speaking, he instructed to give everyone six months’ wages, and those who were willing to return to their hometowns for the time being would be given travel expenses. Those who were not willing to go back would first work at Sun Kecheng’s place.

The shop assistants took the money and left in batches, reluctant to part. Guo Yi had no time to be sad. He quickly led people to search everywhere to see if any important things were left behind. He was busy until the lanterns were about to be lit, then he quietly changed his clothes and left in the crowd.

During this period, other warning signals were sent—a broken black clay pot was thrown at the entrance of the residence on Huifu Street. This was a signal sent by the spies he had placed in the yamen of Nanhai, Panyu, and Guangzhou in times of crisis, indicating that the officials were about to take action against him.

At this time, the entire residence and property on Huifu Street, as well as the Ziminglou, were completely empty. Only two shop assistants and ten escorts from Qiwei were left to guard each place.

“Are all the people gone?” In a heated pavilion, a middle-aged man in a brocade robe and jade belt asked casually while flipping through a book.

“To answer your question, my lord, there are only a few escorts watching the houses now.”

“Have the people from Nanhai County been dispatched?”

“No.”

The middle-aged man reading the book was none other than the governor of Guangdong, Li Fengjie. Early this morning, the magistrate of Nanhai County had personally come to ask for his instructions: Lu Yizhong had given him a note, asking him to immediately arrest Pei Lixiu. Should this matter be handled or not?

In normal times, the county magistrate would not have come to ask for his instructions. There was no reason to refuse a request from the governor’s staff to arrest someone. But it was another matter to arrest Owner Guo’s concubine.

The three businesses of the Zi brand were coveted by more than just Tian Hongyu and Eunuch Yang. There were also several big shots among them. The magistrate of Nanhai County was afraid that if he helped Lu Yizhong arrest the person and the property ended up in the hands of the father of the emperor’s consort—if that happened, and Eunuch Yang and the other big shots were to vent their anger on him, he would not be able to bear the consequences. So he quickly came to report to the governor.

“If Adviser Lu wants to arrest someone, then let him. But you should still take a look at the public granary in your county. You should go and take a look at the public granary first,” Li Fengjie said in a noncommittal tone.

“Yes, yes, I understand,” the county magistrate understood.

After the county magistrate left, Li Fengjie paced around in his office for a few turns. He called a patrolman over:

“Go to Guangzhou Prefecture and have them prepare the fire signs and warrants, and prepare to dispatch to arrest Guo Yi and all the other Australian criminals!”

Then he called a trusted retainer and gave him some instructions.

Now that he heard the retainer he had sent report back, everything was within his plan, and he was very pleased.

“Hmph, let’s see how you guys who are making wishful calculations will continue to play.” Thinking of Lu Yizhong’s embarrassed look when he couldn’t explain to Tian Da, a smug smile appeared on Li Fengjie’s face.

The next day, the yamen runners of Nanhai County and Guangzhou Prefecture were dispatched in large numbers, and they sealed the residence on Huifu Street, Zizhenzhai, Zichengji, and Ziminglou respectively. Of course, neither Guo Yi nor Pei Lixiu was caught. Even Sun Chang, Shen Fan, and other witnesses who were supposed to be “brought to justice” were nowhere to be found. Only a dozen or so escorts who were guarding the houses were taken to the yamen. These escorts naturally knew nothing, only that they were hired by Owner Guo to guard the houses. Sun Kecheng had already prepared the “big threshold” posts and silver, and had bailed out the escorts before nightfall.

Portraits of Guo Yi and others were immediately posted at all the city gates to be arrested, but everyone knew that it was just a waste of effort. Those who knew the inside story of the seizure knew that the Australians had left very calmly, and had clearly planned it long ago.

Wang Zunde was extremely unhappy, and the search results were a great disappointment. Whether it was Huifu Street or the three Zi brand businesses, a lot of goods and fine items were seized, and a lot of Australian goods were harvested, but there were no important things like documents and letters. Not a single piece of paper was left for land deeds, house deeds, or account books! As for the people, not to mention the “leaders,” not even an important shop assistant could be found!

Hearing the report from Guangzhou Prefecture, he knew that someone must have leaked the news. He couldn’t help but be secretly annoyed. He wondered who it could be. The one who ordered the arrest of Guo Yi was Li Fengjie. Since he wanted to arrest him, he would certainly not have tipped him off. After thinking about it, he couldn’t think of who would have leaked the news.

Thinking that there were actually people in Guangzhou who did not regard the court as important and even tipped off the Australians, Wang Zunde was very annoyed. He wanted to investigate, but for a while he didn’t know where to start: the governor’s yamen, the governor’s yamen, Guangzhou Prefecture, and Nanhai County all knew about the seizure and arrest. There were hundreds of officials, big and small, in these four yamen, and any of them could have known about it.

Could it be that Guangzhou was full of traitors who were in league with the bandits? Wang Zunde was greatly worried.

At this time, Lu Yizhong came to request a meeting, asking how to dispose of the seized property of the bandits.

“How much property was seized?” Since someone had secretly reported that Adviser Lu had privately sent a note to Nanhai County, asking Nanhai County to arrest Pei Lixiu, Wang Zunde’s trust in this adviser had greatly decreased. He had always looked down on people like meritorious officials and imperial relatives: he believed that they either lay on the merits of their ancestors, or relied on the connections of women’s skirts, had no real talent, and only knew how to plunder and enrich themselves. The fact that Adviser Lu had mixed with such people made him quite despise him—this person was too obsessed with fame and fortune!

“Guangzhou Prefecture and Nanhai County are still taking inventory. A detailed list will be presented in a few days. Here is a brief list,” Lu Yizhong’s face was gloomy: he had given his word to Tian Da, but unexpectedly, the magistrate of Nanhai County was not in the yamen that day, and the other officials in the county either said they had something to do or that the magistrate was not present, so it was not convenient to deal with it. As a result, it was delayed for a day before they went to arrest the person, and the Ziminglou was already empty. Subsequently, the yamen runners of Guangzhou Prefecture came to seal it again. Not only did the dedication fall through completely, but even the Pei Lixiu that Tian Da wanted was not caught.

Tian Da was furious—he had achieved nothing on this trip to Guangzhou. How would he explain it when he returned? He cursed him in his mansion and even threatened to strip him of his position as adviser, making Lu Yizhong extremely embarrassed.

Wang Zunde casually flipped through the list. Apart from the properties on Huifu Street and the Ziminglou, there were also various commercial “money-making tools,” chairs and benches, and some small machines of unknown use…

Wang Zunde was not interested in these. He was concerned about how much property could be seized.

A lot of property was seized from the several businesses, but there was no silver. He looked again, and there was no gold or silver. Apart from the various goods left behind, there were only some playthings and decorations. The most valuable were the full-length glass mirror and the mahogany grandfather clock in Pei Lixiu’s room.

“No gold, silver, or fine items?” Wang Zunde asked. He had originally hoped to use this part of the seized fine items to reward the soldiers during the expedition.

“Apart from various goods, only a few hundred pieces of brocade and silk women’s clothing were seized. There are also a few hundred bolts of silk and cloth. In addition, there are dozens of boxes of women’s jewelry.”

“What’s the use of this!” Wang Zunde shook his head in disappointment. These things could not be rewarded to the army, let alone supplement the military pay. As for selling the seized goods, it would take several months—and he knew very well that the officials below would inevitably enrich themselves when handling such matters. It would be good if three or four taels of silver could be turned over to the government for every ten taels of goods. He suddenly became suspicious: had a lot of gold and silver been privately swallowed by the people below—but he thought that at most they would swallow half, and they would definitely not dare not to report any at all.

“I heard that the Zi brand has a lot of dealings with the major businesses in Guangzhou. Are there no deposits in other places?” Wang Zunde asked.

“Without the account books, we don’t know the names or the numbers, so we can’t pursue them.”

“Hmph, immediately issue a notice, ordering all businesses to report on their own and pay up within a time limit. Those who fail to report or pay by the deadline, I will not let them off lightly!”

“Yes.” Lu Yizhong thought that the governor’s attempt to force the merchants to obediently hand over the Australian’s payments by bluffing was probably not feasible—not to mention others, Gao Ju would not buy it. If there were account books, it would at least be some proof.

However, it would be too ugly if not a single tael of silver could be collected. Lu Yizhong’s mind turned, and he had already thought of a way. No matter what, he would have to force the various businesses that had dealings with the Zi brand to contribute some silver to show for it. This should be able to get fifty or sixty thousand taels of silver. Although it was not enough to be used as military pay, it was enough for rewards.

Lu Yizhong knew that he had lost Wang Zunde’s favor by running errands for Tian Da this time. He decided to try to redeem himself in this matter.

While Guangzhou was in an uproar over the things left behind by the Guangzhou station, Guo Yi and others had already withdrawn from the city. However, they were not too far away. Zhang Xin was in charge of the Dongguan branch of the Qiwei Escort Agency, directing the escort agency’s actions. Now their main eyes and ears were the escort agency. A part of the native staff evacuated from Guangzhou was also temporarily under his command, scattered to gather information, especially news of the government army’s actions.

As for the Delong Bank, Meng Xian had also made preparations for transfer—although everyone judged that the risk to Delong was not great—he had made backups of all the account books. The original copies were all transferred to a secret location for storage. The most important were a few secret remittance accounts, all of which were handled by Delong for the high officials and nobles in Guangzhou. Some of the materials, if even a little wind of them leaked out, could become good material for the censors to report on hearsay. For the sake of safety, Meng Xian also temporarily transferred to a safe house in the city to hide, letting the shopkeeper handle everything at the counter.

The others were scattered to the various county towns in the Pearl River Delta to hide and wait for an opportunity. Yan Maoda simply went to Leizhou to discuss the next step of the sugar industry cooperation and trade with Vietnam with the Leizhou station.

As for Guo Yi, he decided to take this opportunity to return to Lingao once, on the one hand to report on his duties, and on the other hand to discuss the next work arrangements with the Colonial Trade Department and the Foreign Intelligence Bureau.