Chapter 55: Xiao Zhanfeng

“Student Xiao Zhanfeng pays his respects to the master,” the man standing at the bottom of the steps said, bowing deeply.

Wu Mingjin looked at the young scholar at the bottom of the steps. He was dressed in a green robe and wore a Confucian scholar’s cap, clearly a scholar of the Ming Dynasty. His every move, his speech and conversation, all indicated that he was very likely a real “xiucai,” not the kind of poor commoner with rough hands and feet that the short-hair thieves favored.

Wu Mingjin had long since seen scholars who had defected to the short-hair thieves, but most of them were old students who had failed to obtain a degree. Scholars with official titles who had defected were few and far between.

“Please, sir, no need for ceremony,” Wu Mingjin said politely. When Wang Zhaomin had said that the short-hair people wanted to “hire” an advisor for him to “help with cases,” he already knew what was going on.

He was called an advisor, but in reality, he was a “supervisor.” Wu Mingjin knew that going to Leizhou, and being an official in the short-hair people’s territory, was like the Monkey King in the Buddha’s palm. It was better for him to be sensible and play dumb.

In fact, wasn’t Wang Zhaomin, who was by his side, already a “spy” for the short-hair people, watching him at all times? Not to mention that Chief Xiong had also thoughtfully prepared several servants and bodyguards for him. They all looked respectful, but in reality, they were his personal jailers.

Thinking of this, Wu Mingjin couldn’t help but sigh, “Once you enter the officialdom, it’s as deep as the sea, and from then on, integrity is a stranger.” If it weren’t for being an official and being able to earn a few more silver taels to retire to his hometown in the future, how could he have come to this?!

At that moment, with a smile on his face, he took out the letter of appointment he had prepared long ago. He had written it himself on a large red post, with the words “Letter of Appointment” written on it. The annual salary was twenty-four taels of silver, with an additional two taels as a gift for the three festivals. He added a slip to the envelope, which read, “For the esteemed Mr. Xiao.”

Xiao Zhanfeng accepted the letter of appointment, and the two exchanged some pleasantries. As was customary, Wu Mingjin was to host a banquet for Advisor Xiao. Xiao Zhanfeng politely declined.

“Since I have received the master’s letter of appointment, I still need to go back and settle my family matters before I can accompany you to your post.”

“Oh, where are you from, sir?”

“I am from Xuwen County.”

That’s not bad, Wu Mingjin thought. Xuwen was a county under the jurisdiction of Leizhou, so it would be much more convenient with him around. The short-hair people were really thoughtful.

“Please rest assured, master. I will go home and be back within two days. I have already arranged for someone to book first-class tickets on the Dabo Shipping Company.”

There were regular ships to Guangzhou every day, but the ships with first-class cabins only ran once every three days. Master Wu and his party would have to stay in a private room at the hotel in Bopu for two days—the Dabo Shipping Company had ships to Guangzhou every day, and the regular ships departed every two days.

Xiao Zhanfeng did indeed rush back to Xuwen that day. However, he was not going to settle any family matters—Xiao Zhanfeng had no parents, no wife, and no children. He was a typical bachelor who had enough to eat for himself and his whole family.

He rushed back to Xuwen to arrange work in advance—three days ago, Xiao Zhanfeng had been appointed as the deputy station chief of the Foreign Intelligence Bureau’s Leizhou station. He was fully responsible for the officialdom work in Leizhou, with a focus on monitoring Wu Mingjin.

Three years ago, Xiao Zhanfeng had helped Chang Shide and his colleagues defeat the unemployed workers who were trying to cause trouble in the sugar industry war. He had thus won the appreciation of Chen Tianxiong and others. However, Xiao Zhanfeng did this without any consideration of personal gain. After the destruction of the Haiyi Hall, although he received a reward of twenty taels of silver from Chen Tianxiong, he politely declined the invitation to work as a clerk at the South China Sugar Factory or the Leizhou Sugar Industry Guild.

“I need to study hard and get a degree before I can consider a career in business,” Xiao Zhanfeng had said to Chen Tianxiong at the time. “I will accept this silver, as it will be used for my studies.”

It turned out that Xiao Zhanfeng had been in love with his cousin since childhood and they had secretly made a marriage pact. But his family had fallen into such decline, and he was a down-and-out scholar who had failed in his studies. Even if his uncle and aunt were not snobbish, they would never marry their daughter to such a poor and destitute man.

Chen Tianxiong secretly felt it was a pity. This young man had a chivalrous spirit and a strong desire for knowledge. He had originally wanted to cultivate him well, but he didn’t expect him to still consider studying as his only option.

However, it was not a bad thing for a person to have ambition. Chen Tianxiong immediately nodded and said, “In that case, I won’t force you. If you need anything, just go to South China. The door of my South China Sugar Factory will always be open to you.”

The two of them drank and talked happily under the lychee tree in Xiao Zhanfeng’s home. After the wine, they said their goodbyes and parted ways.

Thus, Xiao Zhanfeng began to study diligently without any distractions, and finally obtained the title of “fuxue shengyuan.” Although it was the lowest rank of shengyuan, it was still a degree. Just as Xiao Zhanfeng was excitedly rushing to his uncle’s house to report the good news, he received the news that his cousin was already engaged and would be married on a chosen date.

Although he had obtained the title of shengyuan, he was still a poor man. At best, he could only be a tutor in a private school and barely make a living. His cousin was already eighteen years old and could not be delayed any longer. His uncle and aunt’s actions could not be said to be “unreasonable.” Xiao Zhanfeng had no words to express his bitterness. He could only return home dejectedly. On the way, he was drenched by heavy rain and fell seriously ill when he got home.

After recovering from his serious illness, Xiao Zhanfeng, who was already disheartened and filled with hatred for the Ming society, finally decided to find Chen Tianxiong and “defect to the short-hair thieves.”

“In that case, why don’t you first work as a clerk at the Sugar Industry Guild…”

“No, Mr. Chen, I want to go to Lingao,” Xiao Zhanfeng said firmly. “To study Australian studies. I have heard that the Australians in Lingao have set up schools to teach Australian studies. I want to go there to study and seek a future under the Australians.”

Chen Tianxiong was greatly surprised. He had met many Ming intellectuals, and many of them were interested in “Australian studies,” but most of them dismissed it as “strange skills and obscene tricks.” Few people delved into the reasons, and even fewer were willing to learn it. He couldn’t help but be a little more cautious.

“If you want to learn Australian studies, it’s not impossible at the South China Sugar Factory…”

“Mr. Chen, are you not willing to let me go to Lingao?” Xiao Zhanfeng said loudly. “How can I not know what the Australians are doing in Lingao! To be honest with you, I’m not going to be a shengyuan of the Ming Dynasty anymore—I’m going to Lingao to be a xiucai of the Great Song!” With that, he bowed deeply. “Please grant me this!”

Thus, Xiao Zhanfeng handed the keys to his house to Chen Tianxiong and asked him to manage it on his behalf. He himself took a few clothes, a few books, a seal, and a pair of twisted silver bracelets—his parents’ “mementos”—and boarded a sugar transport ship to Lingao. From then on, he embarked on the road of serving the Senate and the people.

Xiao Zhanfeng’s defection caused a small sensation in the Senate at the time. Before that, although there were a few shengyuan among the naturalized citizens in Lingao, they were either displaced by various natural disasters and passively taken in, or they were really unable to make a living and came to Lingao to seek a livelihood. There had never been a person with a degree who had actively defected to Lingao. Xiao Zhanfeng was the first xiucai to actively and firmly “defect to the short-hair thieves” with a clear banner and a firm stand.

After Xiao Zhanfeng left the quarantine camp, he first entered the National School in Lingao to study—he obtained a Class A diploma. Then he enrolled in the Civil Affairs Training Class, which was commissioned by the Civil Affairs People’s Committee to specifically train local administrative cadres. During his studies, Xiao Zhanfeng not only studied hard, but also submitted many memorials to discuss matters, showing a desire to “give pointers” and “offer advice” to the Senate. However, as his studies deepened and he continued to “visit and study” in various parts of Lingao, Xiao Zhanfeng’s memorials became fewer and fewer, and finally disappeared completely—he soon realized that in terms of governing the country and the people, he was just showing off his meager skills before an expert.

After graduating, Xiao Zhanfeng was successively sent to several villages in Lingao to serve as a village chief. Then he was promoted to a civil affairs assistant of the commune, and then transferred to Danzhou to work in the Danzhou county office. He was young, had a good education, and grasped new knowledge and new concepts faster and more thoroughly than the naturalized citizens who came from peasant or small merchant backgrounds. He soon became a key training target of the civil affairs department, and was prepared to become one of the first batch of naturalized citizen county magistrates in the future.

This time, he was transferred to Wu Mingjin’s side. Although it was mainly the intention of the Intelligence Bureau, the civil affairs department believed that it was also a good opportunity for training, so they readily agreed to this secondment.

Xiao Zhanfeng and a few of his entourage disembarked at Haian. He did not go back to his home in the county town—he had no relatives and no property at home. Instead, he went directly to the Leizhou Sugar Industry United Guild.

He reported his impending arrival and the start of his work to the person in charge here, Yan Maoda. Although the station chief of the Leizhou station was Wen Tong, his main energy was on the sugar industry, and he was not very concerned about other affairs and had no energy to care. The actual person in charge was the deputy station chief and general manager of the Vietnam Trade Company, Yan Maoda. His public identity was the chief executive of the Leizhou Sugar Industry Guild, and he secretly controlled all the forces under the Senate in the three counties of Leizhou.

“Of the three counties in Leizhou, Xuwen is the one we have the deepest control over,” Yan Maoda introduced the situation. “Whether it’s the county magistrate or the yamen runners and clerks in the three shifts and six rooms, we are almost at the point of giving orders and having them carried out. Haikang and Suixi are a little worse, but those officials and petty officials have all been dealt with, and they generally won’t cause trouble for themselves.”

Yan Maoda said, and then asked someone to take out a thick file box from the cabinet.

“This is the material I copied for you according to the notice from the Intelligence Bureau. It contains the personal and family information of all the officials, clerks, gentry, and large households in office in the three counties of Leizhou. It also contains a general overview of the basic situation of the whole county, including farmers, population, and output.”

“Thank you so much, Chief!” Xiao Zhanfeng greatly admired the Australian’s meticulous style of doing things. In his long administrative practice, he had long realized the key importance of intelligence and information—it could be said that the Australians’ ability to be invincible in all kinds of tricky affairs was largely related to their ability to grasp and transmit all kinds of intelligence at any time.

“Hehe, you’re welcome. Wu Mingjin is just a figurehead. You have to work hard,” Yan Maoda said with a smile.