Chapter 77: Seize Him

“One thousand five or six hundred people?” Liu Xiang was shocked. This small prefectural yamen actually had over a thousand yamen runners! And this didn’t even count the two counties of Nanhai and Panyu. If they were all added up, there would be at least three thousand clerks and yamen runners in Guangzhou.

According to modern standards, a city like Guangzhou with a population of hundreds of thousands, having three thousand “public servants” could be considered a streamlined organization. The burden on the people should not be heavy. The problem was that in classical Chinese society, officials were valued over clerks. Although they all ate “the emperor’s grain,” the officials ate the vast majority of the “emperor’s grain,” and what was left for the clerks was not even enough to “drink soup.” Whether it was the seven taels and two mace of silver per year for the six-room regular clerks, or the three taels and six mace for the “established” yamen runners, or even the six dou of rice per month for the lowest-ranking ones, it was not enough to live on, let alone the fact that the vast majority of people had no income at all. So these three thousand-odd people all had to find their own food.

These three thousand-odd people could not serve the public with an empty stomach, and they were the embodiment of the government’s power at the grassroots level. It was natural for them to use their power to extort money and demand bribes. The old-style government actually acquiesced to this.

One can imagine how severe the harm these three thousand-odd “public servants” caused to the people and the city’s economy. Liu Xiang looked at the large crowd below. If he didn’t have the “gun barrel” in his hand and a ready-made team of cadres and administrative staff to rely on, an outside official who came here to be an official would be lucky not to be sold by the clerks and still help them count the money.

He slowly scanned the clerks in the courtyard for more than a minute. The courtyard was silent, and only the sound of the wind blowing the leaves could be heard. After a long time, he said, “Since you have all abandoned the darkness and turned to the light and pledged your allegiance to the Senate, I have a few words to say. I hope you will all remember them in your hearts.”

Below, they immediately sang in unison, “Please, Your Excellency, give your instructions!”

Liu Xiang said, “I know that it is not easy for you to be on duty: the food and wages given by the Ming Dynasty are not enough to support your families—most of you don’t even have this small amount of food and wages; as for the officials, they treat you as slaves and lowly servants; the major and minor administrative affairs in this yamen, although it is said that the officials are doing them, are actually all your work.”

The expressions of the crowd changed slightly: whenever a new official took office, there would always be an official speech and instructions, which were nothing more than “strictly prohibiting corruption and abuse.” They would express their determination to “serve the country and the people,” and it was inevitable that they would also “admonish” the clerks, telling them to “do their work diligently” and “not to engage in malpractice,” and so on. In fact, these were all official clichés, and no one took them seriously. When this Master Liu opened his mouth, he spoke in a different tone.

Carefully savoring it, it was an affirmation of their work and also an understanding of their “difficulties.” The clerks couldn’t help but whisper to themselves. What kind of medicine was this Master Liu selling in his gourd?

Liu Xiang’s tone changed, “Naturally, there are no saints in the world who serve the public with an empty stomach, and you are not either. I have also heard about the great benefits of being a clerk. These are all things of the past. My Senate is generous and benevolent, ‘the chief culprits will be punished, and the accomplices will not be investigated.’ As long as it is not a matter of great public indignation, the past will not be pursued…”

The crowd was suddenly in an uproar. Although these words were a “reassurance pill,” they were also a “death warrant.” The quick-witted ones already understood that this Australian master was going to “kill the chicken to warn the monkey,” using someone’s head to intimidate the clerks and win the favor of the people. The faces of a few people immediately turned pale.

Liu Xiang was very satisfied with this effect. In fact, he already had an arrest list prepared by the Urban Work Department in his hand. There were more than a hundred people on it. Of the top ten, only four came to answer the roll call—it seemed that their noses were also very sensitive!

He suddenly shouted, “Meng Gongchang!”

With this shout, the entire yamen courtyard was suddenly silent. Meng Gongchang was a yamen runner of the fast shift. Although he was a “regular,” he was not a famous person.

Meng Gongchang trembled all over. He thought to himself that he could not be considered a “chief culprit” in any case. Could it be that this Master Liu was going to use him as the “chicken” to kill the chicken to warn the monkey? Although he was afraid, he did not dare not to answer. He had no choice but to step out of the ranks, and with trembling legs, he walked to the front of the eaves, clasped his hands and saluted, “I am here.”

“Can you read?”

“I can read.”

Liu Xiang threw down a piece of paper, “Read!”

Meng Gongchang tremblingly picked up the paper and unfolded it. It was a list with twenty or thirty names written on it in dense characters. He knew some of the people, and some were strangers. As for the people he knew, there were people from the fast shift and the soap shift; there were both “regulars” and “white members.” He couldn’t help but be secretly suspicious. He didn’t dare to delay and read it out loud:

“Wu Duoduo!”, “Zhao Xian!”, “Ai Fan!”…

Those whose names were called came to the front of the eaves and saluted with trembling bodies. Liu Xiang waved his hand, “No need to salute, stand aside!”

After the names were called, there were a total of thirty people, including Meng Gongchang himself, standing in a line at the foot of the steps. Their hearts were in a turmoil, and their bodies trembled like a sieve—they were not important figures among the yamen runners, and they were very suitable for the standard of being a “chicken.”

Liu Xiang nodded and said to Meng Gongchang, “I now appoint you as the captain of the detective brigade of the Guangzhou Special City Police Department. These people will be your subordinates!”

Meng Gongchang had originally closed his eyes and was waiting for death. Now he suddenly heard Master Liu issue an order on the spot, appointing him as a “captain.” Not to mention whether the official position was big or small, at least his life was not in danger. He felt as in the middle of a cold winter, he had drunk a cup of hot wine, which warmed him from head to toe. He knelt down with a plop and said with a trembling voice, “Thank you, thank you, Your Excellency, for your cultivation!” He kowtowed three times.

The remaining twenty-nine people also came to their senses and knew that they had been “favored by the emperor.” They all knelt down and kowtowed together.

“Alright! My Senate doesn’t have this set of kowtowing and greeting,” Liu Xiang waved his hand and said, “Since you are already the captain of the detective brigade, it is your duty to arrest the rebels! I have a list here. Arrest people according to the names! Mr. Lu, read it!”

“Yes!” Meng Gongchang was now full of spirit and stood at the front of the eaves.

Lu Yizhong quickly took a few steps forward and took the list—he had already guessed that Liu Xiang was going to arrest people in the hall. As the saying goes, kill the chicken to warn the monkey. If you want to use these people, it is impossible not to “show them your authority.” Lu Yizhong quickly unfolded the list, took a deep breath, and gathered his spirits, wanting to leave a good impression on Chief Liu.

“Zhen… Zhen… Hao… Ren…” Unexpectedly, Lu Yizhong stuttered on the first name. He was so surprised that he almost couldn’t read it.

The clerks present were also in an uproar.

Zhen Haoren was the household registration clerk of the Guangzhou Prefectural Yamen. Although he was just a small regular clerk, he was one of the most powerful people in Guangzhou. As the head of the household registration office of the Guangzhou Prefectural Yamen, the entire tax system of the Guangzhou Prefecture was in his hands. From the county magistrates to the grain tax collectors of the fifteen counties and one prefecture, they all had to look at his face. Although the prefect could put on the airs of a “master” in public, he was still polite to him in private. The local gentry also did not dare to offend him too much. A two-finger-wide note from him was even more effective than a county magistrate’s order.

Lu Yizhong had never expected that the first person to be arrested would be this “local prefect.” He had been in officialdom for a long time and had seen many “stubborn officials” who were clean and honest and were not afraid of the powerful. But he had never seen anyone who dared to really deal with the clerks, especially this household registration clerk who controlled the power of finance and grain tax. When he encountered a clean and honest and capable official, at most he would restrain his sharpness and temporarily lie dormant. The superior official would also know when to stop and would never pursue it to the end.

Zhen Haoren had not been to the yamen to handle official business for a long time. He commanded his disciples and grand-disciples to handle official business and abuse power at home or in teahouses. He was sure that even if the short-haired rebels took over the world, they would still need him. He didn’t even come to the roll call this time.

Meng Gongchang was also surprised. In the eyes of these clerks, Master Zhen was a figure in the clouds—the clerks of the six rooms were “li,” which was a level higher than them, who were “xu.” What’s more, he was the head of the household registration office, the most important of the six rooms!

However, Master Zhen did not come today at all. He quickly reported, “Reporting to Your Excellency, Zhen Haoren is not here! Please, Your Excellency, issue a warrant and a fire sign, and I will go and arrest him now.”

“Go quickly!”

Meng Gongchang did not dare to delay and immediately took a few brothers with him. Here, Lu Yizhong read out the second name:

“Bi Wusi!”

The crowd was in an uproar again. If Zhen Haoren was the “local prefect,” then Bi Wusi was the “local tyrant”—the head of the fast shift of the Guangzhou Prefectural Yamen. This position was not even considered a “li,” but a genuine “xu.” But his power was not much smaller than that of Bi Zhenhaoren.

He had the most henchmen and white members under him. Not only did all the local ruffians in the city have to listen to his orders, but the various “immortals” who came to the city to make a fortune from other places would not be able to open their business in the territory of this one prefecture and two counties if they did not give enough respect. As for the ordinary people, they were treated like grass.

Lin Baiguang had collected a lot of his black materials—in fact, they could not be considered black materials at all. Many of his evil deeds were already well-known in Guangzhou. He had more than a dozen lives on his hands. Although no one knew the specific number of his accumulated wealth, some people estimated that his annual “regular silver” was as high as several thousand taels, and his family property was at least over one hundred thousand.

Zhao Xian and Ai Fan were both yamen runners or white members of the fast shift. They were shocked when they heard that they were going to arrest Head Bi. Usually, they didn’t even have the chance to talk to Bi Wusi—he rarely came to the yamen. It was always his disciples and grand-disciples who gave orders. During the New Year and festivals or on his birthday, everyone would go to kowtow and give gifts together. If Head Bi said a few words to them with a smile, it would be a great honor.

Now that the superior official had ordered his arrest, they naturally could not disobey. They immediately pulled the chains in their hands and walked towards Bi Wusi.

Zhao Xian bowed with a fake smile and said, “Master Bi! I am on official business. Please bear with me…”

Bi Wusi came to answer the roll call in person today—he was not like Zhen Haoren who had a family secret to rely on, so he was particularly fawning. He couldn’t help but panic when he heard that Liu Xiang was going to arrest him. He still had some prestige after all. He waved his hand, and Zhao Xian and the others did not dare to arrest him by force.

Bi Wusi forced himself to be calm, cupped his hands upwards, and sneered, “What have I done to offend Your Excellency that you want to make an example of me? Although I am not a saint, I have also maintained peace in Guangzhou for these years, and the ruffians have not dared to cause trouble. Please, Your Excellency, think twice!”