Chapter 452: The Welcoming Banquet

Seeing their disbelief, Huang Binkun recounted some of the measures taken in Lingao since the Australians’ arrival: building roads, suppressing bandits, constructing water conservancy projects, clarifying tax acreage… He rambled on, and his audience listened with rapt attention.

After a long while, Liang Cunhou finally let out a breath, “The Australians seem to be capable ministers of a well-governed state.”

Huang Binkun remained silent. He had unintentionally said many good things about the Cropped-Hair Bandits, which even surprised himself. How can I rally loyalists like this? Yet, he was unwilling to tell lies to slander the bandits’ achievements.

“The Australians truly have a new air about them!” someone exclaimed in praise.

“Brother Huang must be working for the Australians, otherwise how would he know so much?”

“Having learned both civil and martial arts, one sells them to the imperial family. Brother Huang, with his vast knowledge, can surely enlighten the Australians on these principles.”

“I hear there are very few scholars among the Australians. ‘One can conquer the world on horseback, but one cannot rule it on horseback.’ It’s only natural that Brother Huang would be highly regarded…”

Although they said “Brother Huang,” in their hearts, they were all thinking of themselves.

Most of these scholars came from families with small businesses, had no connections to enter officialdom, were mediocre in their studies, and had dim prospects of passing the imperial examinations. Though they were in the south, their access to information was much better than that of the common people. Seeing the court’s inability to suppress the chaos in Shaanxi and Shandong, the rampant bandits in the interior, and the Eastern Barbarians pressing on the borders… they were beset by internal and external troubles. Their desire to seek fame and fortune through the traditional path had faded. The power of the Australians, entrenched in Qiongzhou, was growing. They had wealth, they had military might, and they offered a vague temptation to this group of men who saw no future for themselves.

Those with some property hoped to connect with the Australians like Master Gao, to sell Australian goods and get rich. The ambitious and penniless secretly hoped to be among the first to follow a new dragon, to win for themselves immense wealth and status.

But they had no opportunity to even speak with the Australians. Although there was a large Australian trading post just outside the city gates of Guangzhou, the people bustling about inside were all locals. And as Young Master Liang had said, there were hardly any real “Cropped-Hair” in that grand “Great World”; they were all their subordinates.

Among them, the only one who could claim to have spoken with a “suspected real Cropped-Hair” was this Young Master Liang. The Liang family was very close to Proprietor Guo; the largest charity hall in the area was a joint venture between them. However, in recent years, the Liang family had not deepened their relationship with Proprietor Guo, seeming to intentionally keep their distance. And given Young Master Liang’s personality, it would be quite difficult to get him to act as a go-between for everyone.

Now, with the arrival of this Scholar Huang, who was familiar with “Cropped-Hair affairs,” everyone naturally treated him as a treasure, relentlessly trying to get information out of him.

Huang Binkun smiled wryly to himself. These were no disciples of the sages; they were all driven by greed! The great Ming hadn’t even fallen yet, and they were already dreaming of becoming founding ministers for a new dynasty!

“Though they are capable ministers of a well-governed state, their methods are those of cruel officials,” Huang Binkun tried to steer the conversation back to slandering the Cropped-Hair Bandits. “Their laws are harsh, and the common people are easily punished. Even the gentry and scholars are not exempt…” He then proceeded to list the bandits’ various “misdeeds,” such as being forced into hard labor for urinating or defecating in public, being whipped for spitting… Of course, the most heinous crime was their refusal to give preferential treatment to scholars, not only implementing the single-whip tax system but also abolishing tax exemptions for scholars.

This managed to dampen the “Lingao is a paradise on earth” atmosphere in the room. If nothing else, this “refusal to give preferential treatment to scholars” cooled the enthusiasm of this group of scholars.

“As the saying goes, ‘governing a great state is like cooking a small fish.’ The Cropped-Hair Bandits’ methods are unlikely to last long. The lesson of the Qin is not far off!” a scholar sighed.

Just as Huang Binkun was about to agree, Lin Zunxiu frowned and said, “If the laws are so harsh, wouldn’t the people of Lingao be living in misery? How can it be said that they live and work in peace and contentment?”

“The fall of the Qin was not due to harsh laws, but to the excessive use of the people’s labor!” another scholar interjected. “The laws of Qin were severe since the reforms of Shang Yang, so why didn’t the state collapse then? Why did it eventually unify the six states? This shows it’s not the root of chaos!”

This scholar looked very young and was dressed shabbily, standing out among this group of scholars. “I see that the Australians’ success is due to the benefits of strict laws and harsh punishments. Let’s not talk about other things. Just the various corrupt practices in taxation, how could the Australians have eliminated them without strict laws and harsh punishments?”

“That’s Wu Ming,” Scholar Shi whispered. “He’s not even a scholar…” His tone was slightly disdainful. “But his insights are not bad; he just likes to make shocking statements.”

“You can’t say that… Although taxation is rife with corruption, the grain-producing households and the gentry are the foundation of the court. The Australians’ methods, as described by Brother Huang, would likely alienate people,” someone said with concern.

A few others then debated the point. It seemed that many of them approved of the Cropped-Hair Bandits’ “strict laws and harsh punishments”—most of them came from urban merchant and artisan families, had no vested interest in land taxes, and placed a high value on social order. Thus, they greatly admired the Australians’ various methods.

“Just look at how the Australians sent troops to Guangzhou a few years ago and wiped out so many bandits. The suburbs have been peaceful ever since. That’s a great benefit.”

Huang Binkun frowned secretly. He glanced at Lin and Liang, who seemed unconcerned by the increasingly “pro-traitor” remarks. He could only offer a few noncommittal responses, silently muttering “merchants are so fickle” to himself, while talking about the scenery and customs of Lingao, like the great iron ships, the small trains, and even the appearance of the Fangcaodi School and the students’ strange uniforms. He kept his mouth shut about why he had come to Guangzhou, which only made the others more curious.

After the second round of toasts, Lin Zunxiu finally sighed and said faintly, “Alas, Young Master Huang. The country is in dire straits, and refugees are everywhere. Sometimes, I think about selling this restaurant and, like the Australians, opening a big factory, hiring these refugees. It would be a way to repay the grace of Heaven above and benefit the common people below.” Huang Binkun pretended to nod seriously, feigning deep agreement, while understanding in his heart that these scholars had been influenced by the Cropped-Hair Bandits. He wondered if there were any clear-eyed people left in this county school who could see through the bandits’ sinister intentions.

As everyone was pondering, the cook’s voice rang out again from outside, “Third course, Dragon and Tiger Fight!” Along with the announcement of the dish, a miserable female voice came from outside, “Sir, please have mercy, my child hasn’t eaten in days, sir—”

Hearing the commotion outside, everyone went to the corridor to look. They saw a disheveled woman with a five or six-year-old girl, bowing and begging for food in the main hall of the restaurant. The diners either ignored her, pretended not to see, or angrily scolded the waiter. Several waiters were trying to drag the crazed-looking woman out, but she wouldn’t budge. All they could hear was the woman’s frantic cries.

Seeing this, Lin Zunxiu just snorted, flicked his sleeve, and sat back down. Seeing the host return to the table, Huang Binkun followed suit. After a moment of sighs, the other scholars also returned to their seats. Only the portly Scholar Shi took his own bowl, filled it with large pieces of meat and rice, and went out of the private room. The rest sat in silence. Huang Binkun wanted to say something, but he couldn’t find the words.

After a while, Scholar Shi slowly returned. “Alas, how tragic. Her husband died, and she was driven out by her brother-in-law. Hasn’t eaten in days. Out of pity, I let them eat their fill and sent someone to take them to Proprietor Guo’s charity hall.” Scholar Shi rambled on, but no one at the table answered him.

Scholar Lin said, “You can save them for a moment, but you can’t save them for a lifetime. You call this tragic? In this city of Guangzhou, in Nanhai County, there are countless people a hundred times more miserable than them! You might as well go see how many bodies the charity hall has collected from the streets today to be sent to the cremation grounds. You can save these, but there are millions of poor people in the eighteen provinces of the empire. Can you save them all? In the Central Plains, people are already eating human flesh—and in the end, they all become roving bandits, coming to us with swords and spears for food. I say we might as well just close our eyes and eat, drink, and be merry. We’ll muddle through as best we can, and save ourselves the trouble of worrying about the country and the people!”

As soon as Lin Zunxiu’s words came out, Huang Binkun saw the faces of all the scholars present turn pale. The newly served “Dragon and Tiger Fight” was fragrant, but no one was in the mood to pick up their chopsticks.

“Alas, if I could open a big factory, a big cannon factory, not only would I make money and quell the chaos in the world, but the poor people I hire would also have food to eat,” Lin Zunxiu said leisurely.

Huang Binkun raised his cup of wine, “With roving bandits rampant and the Eastern Barbarians causing trouble, Young Master Lin’s concern for the country and the court is admirable. I toast to you, Young Master.”

“Heh heh, the court? Once I’ve built my cannon factory, whether it’s the emperor or the officials, they should all pay me back the ransom money and the ‘voluntary’ contributions they owe me, right?” At these words, everyone at the table laughed, and the atmosphere gradually livened up.

“Of course, my family doesn’t have the money to open a cannon factory. Heh heh, even selling these few restaurants wouldn’t be enough,” Young Master Lin said dejectedly.

“Eat, eat, the Dragon and Tiger Fight.” The atmosphere at the table became lively again, and the scholars gradually opened up. One talked about how many shi of grain his family had “voluntarily” contributed back then, another said that was nothing, his family’s old master almost hanged himself to raise the ransom money. Fortunately, Master Gao was reliable, and they got it all back the next year. Otherwise, the salt vouchers in their hands would have become a pile of waste paper.

“Gao Ju, reliable my ass!” The mention of Gao Ju brought more complaints. Someone grumbled that when the Ziminlou issued shares a few years ago, it was Gao Ju who obstructed things, preventing his family from buying more. When he wanted to meet Proprietor Guo, it was also Gao Ju who slandered him and had him turned away at the door. All sorts of dinner table gossip flew around, which Huang Binkun found rather annoying. But the scholars were very curious about the Australians’ affairs and insisted he talk. He had no choice but to pick some novelties about the Cropped-Hair Bandits building houses and farming. As for Young Master Liang, although he didn’t say much, Huang Binkun felt that he was constantly paying attention to him.