Chapter 113: The Four Departments

José felt a little ill at ease. Lin Qian pulled a cigar from a drawer and handed it to him, saying, "In a few days I'll be going to Macao again. This time I'll assign you a Haicang junk, and send two Cangshan junks as escort. On the seas off Fujian and Guangdong, no one with eyes open should dare rob your ship anymore."

José sat down at the navigation table, took the cigar, and said, "With three warships sailing together on this route, it'd be good enough if we don't rob others."

"This trip to Macao, help me take care of three things."

José sat up straight and listened.

"First, for firearms, buy more rapid-fire cannons, matchlock muskets, black powder, cannonballs, musket balls, and such. Only purchase four Siren cannons."

This era had no standardized classification of cannon calibers, and the naming of Spanish and Portuguese cannons was heavily influenced by religion.

For instance, the Siren cannon was the large-caliber ship cannon used on galleons.

When the Santa Ana was refitted last time, only two Siren cannon positions were added per side, making four in total.

The rapid-fire cannon was a light type of mother-and-son gun. Because it was breech-loading, its rate of fire was extremely fast, capable of forming dense firepower in a short time, effectively countering the boarding tactics most prevalent along the Ming coast.

This rapid-fire cannon had a more famous name in the Great Ming — the Folangji cannon.

During the previous refit of the Santa Ana, the six small cannon positions added to the upper deck were meant for installing Folangji cannons.

It wasn't just the Santa Ana that could mount them — large Fujian junks and Haicang junks could also be fitted after simple modifications. The compatibility was very high.

It was precisely the cannon best suited to Lin Qian at this stage.

José noted this down and asked, "What about the second matter?"

"Second, go to Macao and find a clockmaker. Spend however much silver it takes, and invite him to the island."

"Third, help me ask the councilor whether he has coffee. It's a beverage native to Africa, later introduced to the Ottoman Empire, and now it may have spread to Italy. If the councilor has a way, have him get some; if not, forget it."

José: "Clockmaker, coffee — I've remembered."

"That's all. You may go." Having said this, Lin Qian took one last puff and extinguished the cigar.

José went out, and when he reached the door, Lin Qian called him back.

Lin Qian said calmly, "This time I'm not sending Quartermaster Zhou to accompany the ship. You'll go to Macao alone. Don't disappoint me."

José pushed the door open and left.

A sea breeze blew over him, and his spine ran cold.

After José left, Lin Qian rose and did his daily exercise. After a simple workout, he wiped his face with a towel and had someone summon Chen Jiao and Zheng Zhilong.

A moment later, the two entered the captain's cabin, clasped their fists, and said in unison, "Helmsman."

Lin Qian took out cigars and offered them to the two men; neither accepted.

Lin Qian put the cigars away, sat back behind the navigation table, and said, "How are things on the island lately? Any quarrels, fights, thefts, or the like?"

If one were to compare it to a company —

Since establishing Nan'ao town, Lin Qian's main energy had gone into financing and investment.

The internal affairs of Nan'ao town were generally managed by Chen Jiao and Zheng Zhilong in turns.

The two exchanged a glance, exchanged a few words of deference, and then Chen Jiao spoke first.

"When we first landed on the island, the main labor force was all used for clearing forests, leveling ground, and building houses.

Every islander had work to do, so things were fairly stable.

This past month, the houses have been mostly built. Quite a few islanders have become idle, with no work to do and no income. Fights and thefts have gradually increased."

Zheng Zhilong followed up: "The helmsman need not worry. There's still plenty to do on the island — paving roads, reclaiming farmland, for instance. Once everyone gets busy again, these miscellaneous troubles will taper off."

"When such disputes arise, how are they handled?" Lin Qian asked with a slight frown.

"Same as on shore. Thieves get caught and beaten; ordinary quarrels are brought before the crowd to judge, and whoever's in the wrong yields on his own." Zheng Zhilong paused as he spoke. "It's just that this method doesn't work every time. Some matters can't be sorted out in a short while, and even the arbitrators can't make up their minds."

Lin Qian picked up the Inca gold button and toyed with it between his fingers.

Chen and Zheng knew Lin Qian was thinking and dared not interrupt.

After a long while, Lin Qian flipped his hand and closed his fist around the gold button: "We can't let this go on unchecked. The island needs a governing body."

Zheng Zhilong's eyes lit up: "Does the helmsman mean we should establish a yamen?"

"Right, exactly a yamen." Lin Qian's tone was firm. "But we're not a county office. We'll call it the Administrative Hall, divided into four departments, overseeing military defense, civil households, public works, and penal justice."

This was an institution Lin Qian had designed based on the Great Ming's central Six Ministries, minus the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Rites.

With a mere three thousand people on the island, Lin Qian could still manage the appointment and dismissal of officials himself.

As for diplomacy and the civil examinations, the island had no need for them yet. The Ministry of Rites' other miscellaneous functions could for now be folded into the Department of Civil Households.

Through the ages, bureaucratic institutions have always been easy to expand from simple to complex, and hard to simplify from complex to simple. So at this stage, Lin Qian would rather have the yamen with fewer functions than add departments that drew salaries for doing nothing.

Moreover, the reason for giving them strange names like "Administrative Hall," "Department of Military Defense," and "Department of Civil Households" was to avoid offending the Great Ming's taboos.

If he established a county yamen and set up the Six Ministries, that would be, in the Great Ming's eyes, rebellion beyond any doubt.

With these strange names, it would be seen as an islanders' self-governing body, able to numb the sensitive nerves of Ming officials.

Lin Qian explained the detailed functions of the island's four departments, then added: "All clerks in the four departments must be appointed through fair examinations. Before the examinations select the talent, have people temporarily fill the posts."

Chen Jiao was quite surprised: "Examinations? The islanders don't know a single character. What would they be tested on?"

Lin Qian: "Good question. That's the first duty of the Department of Civil Households — to teach the islanders to read. Only those who can recognize and write characters can pass the examination and become full clerks of the four departments."

Linking literacy to civil service exams solved both the literacy problem and the talent problem — killing two birds with one stone.

The more Zheng Zhilong listened, the more fervent his gaze became. He thought to himself: "The helmsman truly harbors great ambitions! Back home, everyone praised how remarkable the sea merchant Li Dan was, and I even secretly harbored thoughts of going to serve him. I truly was a frog at the bottom of a well, short-sighted and ignorant!

Compared to the helmsman, Li Dan is nothing but a mere wokou — hardly worth mentioning!

Now that I'm fortunate enough to follow the helmsman, given time, who's to say I won't one day reach the pinnacle of officialdom!"

Seeing that the two had no objections, Lin Qian continued: "I've already drawn up a list of temporary appointees. The directorship of the Department of Public Works will be temporarily held by Eldest Brother; the directorship of the Department of Penal Justice will be temporarily held by Brother Yiguan."

"Yes!" The two rose to accept the orders.

Zheng Zhilong was so excited his face glowed red.

After lunch, Lin Qian gathered all his brothers in the officers' mess for a meeting and announced the establishment of the four departments.

Lin Qian also took the opportunity to appoint the other two temporary department directors.

"The Guard Bureau's acting director, Lei Zhendong."

"Yes!" Lei Sanxiang solemnly clasped his fists. Given his temperament, he had little interest in the position of director, but since the helmsman had appointed him, he saw no reason to refuse.

Lin Qian said: "The Guard Bureau is mainly responsible for crew training and militia deployment. In the coming months, we need to prepare to recruit another hundred sailors and two hundred militiamen."

After giving instructions to Lei Sanxiang, Lin Qian continued.

"The Civil Household Bureau's acting director, Zhou Youcai."

Scholar Zhou rose and acknowledged the order.

"The Civil Household Bureau has only one task in the coming months — teach the islanders to read!" Lin Qian finished, then patted Scholar Zhou's arm, "Second Brother carries a heavy burden. My apologies for the hardship."

There was no helping it — among Lin Qian's subordinates, Scholar Zhou was the only one with talent for internal administration. Anything involving numbers and writing had to go through him.

Merely negotiating with that merchant surnamed Hu already required Scholar Zhou's intervention; piling the task of raising the island's literacy rate onto him as well was truly asking a great deal.

Lin Qian then added: "As for the literacy campaign, Brother Yiguan must lend a hand!"

Zheng Zhilong acknowledged.

Finally, Lin Qian's gaze swept across the faces of the several acting directors, and he cautioned: "All of you brothers have suffered under cruel officials and know the hardships of common folk. I earnestly hope each of you will restrain your subordinates and commit no missteps!"

Everyone rose and clasped their hands together in unison: "We obey!"

Early morning.

The book peddler Wang Hao arrived by boat at Houjiang Bay.

Ever since he had schemed his way into the picture-book business, he had become the island's only book dealer.

Added to that last big deal selling coal, the silver he had earned on the island in a little over a month already exceeded what he made in a year on the mainland.

This time he came to the island not only carrying the latest Capital Gazette, but also a large batch of new illustrated books.

Among them, the best was *Pan Jinlian's Lewd Demise at the Mandarin Duck Tower*.

Like *The Plum in the Golden Vase*, this book borrowed from the story of *Water Margin*, but its style was far cruder and more direct.

With a ratio of one page of text to three pages of illustrations, and the enormous scale of its detailed depictions, it was sure to spark another wave of reading frenzy on the island.

Wang Hao walked out of the cabin, paid some men to help unload the cargo, and meanwhile surveyed the harbor before him.

He saw that in just a few days' absence, Nan'ao City had changed considerably.

Most eye-catching was a squad of men dressed as petty clerks — five in total, three carrying long and short cudgels and two bearing swords, patrolling back and forth around the docks.

Wang Hao inwardly thought this boded ill. He knew the character of petty clerks well, and figured that since he had run into them today, he would inevitably have to part with some silver to ward off disaster.

Sure enough, after the clerks got a clear look at the goods he was transporting, they walked straight toward him.

"You're the one selling books?" a leading clerk asked.

Wang Hao stepped forward, bowing and scraping, and smiled: "That's right, just a humble trade to put food on the table."

As he spoke, Wang Hao took several books from the crate and pressed them into the clerk's hands: "*Pan Jinlian's Lewd Demise at the Mandarin Duck Tower* — the newest illustrated book from Jiangnan, extremely explicit in content. Please enjoy them, sirs."

"Who wants that from you?" The clerk pushed the books back.

Wang Hao cursed inwardly — clerks had only just appeared on the island and were already fleecing people like this. Truly, all crows under heaven are equally black. He gritted his teeth, took two taels of loose silver from his waist, and offered it over.

"Forgive this lowly one for not knowing proper manners — this is for you sirs to buy some drinks."

The clerk frowned: "You're a strange one. Who asked you for silver?"

Wang Hao was taken aback, thinking: "Is their hand that black? Two taels isn't even enough?"

The clerk pointed at the books and asked: "Since you sell books, do you know how to read?"

Wang Hao nodded.

The clerk asked again: "Do you know arithmetic?"

Wang Hao affirmed again.

The clerk then pulled a sheet of paper from his bosom and handed it to Wang Hao, saying: "Take a look at this — what's the total?"

Wang Hao glanced at it. On the paper was a very simple arithmetic problem — the monthly transactions of some merchant, eight or nine entries, asking for the sum.

Wang Hao calculated the answer at a glance, handed the paper back, and replied: "Three taels and five mace."

The clerk's face lit up with delight: "The bureau is recruiting literate people who can do sums to teach. Monthly pay is five taels of silver. Are you interested?"

Five taels a month — the remuneration was extremely generous.

Wang Hao judged himself barely literate, not fit to mislead other people's children. Besides, every month he came to the island to sell books, his net profit was no less than five taels anyway.

Therefore, he very carefully declined the clerk.

He had expected to have to shell out some disaster-avoidance money, but to his surprise, when the clerk heard his refusal, he simply walked off on his own.

This left Wang Hao extraordinarily astonished.

He fingered the two taels of silver in his hand, feeling a vague unease in his heart.

By now the books had been unloaded from the boat. Wang Hao paid the fare and hired men to carry the books to his original stall.

Along the way, Wang Hao saw that Nan'ao City had changed greatly.

The vendors who used to occupy the roads with their stalls had all retreated to the roadside, leaving the streets wide and clear.

Where one used to see people drunk and brawling in the streets, now there was none of that at all.

In a short time, the atmosphere in the city had transformed from a barbaric frontier to something like an old Jiangnan town.

Upon reaching his stall, Wang Hao paid the porters and took out the books himself to arrange them.

No sooner had he brought out *Pan Jinlian's Lewd Demise at the Mandarin Duck Tower* than it drew a crowd of onlookers, who flipped through it one after another and then paid with satisfaction.

In just one morning, Wang Hao had earned five mace of silver.

While watching the stall and eating his lunch, he saw two passersby across the street get into a fight over a minor quarrel.

The islanders were fierce by nature and struck with heavy hands — in no time at all, both men were bleeding from the head.

Wang Hao enjoyed the spectacle with his meal, watching with great relish, when suddenly a squad of clerks rushed out from an alley, produced long cudgels, separated the two men, and took them away separately. The remaining clerks dispersed the crowd of onlookers.

Wang Hao found it dreadfully dull.

Before long, the two returned to the street, their wounds simply dressed, all resentment between them gone—they parted ways like ordinary passersby.

Wang Hao clicked his tongue in wonder, unable to fathom what means the clerk had used to resolve the conflict so quickly.

After lunch, Wang Hao continued selling books. He had just stood up when he heard a shout from diagonally across: "Picture books for sale! All illustrations—no reading needed to understand! Thrilling stories, once you start you can't sleep!"

Wang Hao's heart sank. He looked over and indeed saw a book stall diagonally opposite, the stallkeeper hawking with gusto, holding in his hand a copy of *Pan Jinlian Meets Her End at Mandarin Duck Tower*.

That stallkeeper's setup was far larger than Wang Hao's, with a greater variety of picture books displayed openly in the open, and two apprentices helping out—in no time the crowd was drawn over.

His had been the only book stall on the island; this newcomer setting up diagonally opposite was clearly a challenge.

Wang Hao flew into a rage. He piled every copy of *Pan Jinlian Meets Her End at Mandarin Duck Tower* out in the open and began shouting for buyers just like his rival.

He hawked all afternoon until his voice was nearly hoarse, finally managing to hold his own.

In the evening, an apprentice from the opposing stall came trotting over, carrying a teapot.

Drawing near, he said: "My master says you've been shouting all afternoon and your throat must be tired, so he sent me to bring you some tea."

Wang Hao didn't even look at him, just waved impatiently: "No need, no need."

The apprentice stepped closer and said: "Don't refuse, sir. Where's your cup? Let me pour you some."

Wang Hao snapped angrily: "Get lost! Bringing tea to a book stall—do you think I don't know what trick you're playing?"

The apprentice froze, then turned to look back at his own stall, where the stallkeeper was frantically gesturing at him.

The apprentice simply tossed the teapot—it landed square on Wang Hao's book stall, scalding tea gushing out and soaking every book.

Wang Hao flew into a fury, cursing: "You thieving scoundrel! Not even bothering to hide it now, are you? Come on, we're going to the authorities!"

In his rage he grabbed the apprentice by the arm—and felt it strangely soft and smooth.

A triumphant smile crept across the apprentice's face. His other hand flew to his collar and tore it open, revealing thin shoulders and a bright red bellyband.

"Ah—!" The apprentice shrieked.

Only then did Wang Hao suddenly realize—this apprentice was a woman.

His face went pale with shock, and he released his grip abruptly.

But it was too late. The crowd had already closed in, and there stood a disheveled woman and a helpless, bewildered man frozen in place.

Wang Hao could no longer talk his way out of it.

Just then, someone in the crowd called out: "Sis!"

Wang Hao looked closely—it was the other apprentice.

He ran up with fury written all over his face, pointing at Wang Hao's nose: "My sister kindly brought you tea, and you molested her! Are you even human?"

Wang Hao's lips stammered: "She—I didn't—"

Without giving Wang Hao a chance to defend himself, the male apprentice said to the crowd: "Everyone, be the judge—what should we do with this scum who molests a decent woman in broad daylight?"

"Throw him off the island!" someone in the crowd shouted.

Urged on by the male apprentice, the cries grew louder.

A voice came from outside the crowd: "Disperse, all of you. Right and wrong will be decided by the Criminal Justice Office!"

The crowd's noise died down, and they parted to make a path.

Three clerks from the Criminal Justice Office walked over, glanced at the people present, and asked: "What's going on here?"

Both apprentices—the man and the woman—were stunned.

The Criminal Justice Office—what was that?

Weren't disputes on the island always settled by the people around them?

At that moment the stallkeeper from the far stall also came over, bowing to the clerks: "Honored sirs, this humble one is Li Zheng, a book peddler from Qinyou Studio of Chaoyang County. The victim here is my apprentice. We still need to rush back to Chaoyang tonight, so we won't trouble you sirs with this matter."

According to official procedure, if the victim in a case declined to press charges, the matter could be settled privately.

To his surprise, the clerk said: "Molesting a decent woman is a serious crime. We're afraid we must trouble ourselves. Speak up."

The book peddler Li Zheng panicked. He stepped closer, pulled a silver ingot from his belt, pressed it into the clerk's hand, and whispered: "I really must return to Chaoyang tonight. Please, sir, be lenient."

The clerk took the silver, weighed it in his hand: "Oh? So you're openly attempting bribery too. If you don't explain yourself properly, your crime won't be light. Speak quickly."

The onlookers also chimed in: "That's right, with the Criminal Justice Office here to decide, just say it."

Li Zheng could only steel himself and say: "This humble one came to the island today to buy books, saw a fellow tradesman, and wanted to make his acquaintance, so I sent my apprentice to bring him tea…"

"Bullshit! Bringing tea? If I'd taken that tea, it would've ended up spilled all over my stall for sure. That trick of yours is old news—everyone's seen it before, and you dare pull it out again!" Wang Hao bellowed.

The clerk snapped at Wang Hao: "You, shut your mouth."

Then he said to Li Zheng: "Continue."

Li Zheng: "This man was ungrateful, and worse—he… he coveted my apprentice's looks and molested her in the street."

Looks?

The clerk glanced at the female apprentice. She had no figure to speak of, no face to speak of—black as a lump of charcoal, with a coarse voice. If you didn't look closely, you really couldn't tell she was a woman.

That counted as looks?

The clerk was already forming a judgment in his mind.

Li Zheng's scheme was full of holes from the start. His original idea had been to create a pretext to shift attention away from the dousing of the books.

As long as the authorities didn't interfere, the common folk would usually side with a wronged woman, making the molestation charge stick and driving the rival off for good.

The two apprentices had been hired on the spot, all to drive Wang Hao away so he could monopolize the lucrative book-selling business on Nan'ao Island.

To that end, he had come to the island several times to scout the ground, confirming the plan would work.

He had also deliberately chosen the evening to strike, to avoid the eyes of passersby.

Who could have expected that when it came time to act, some Criminal Justice Office would show up to handle matters? He'd never seen such a yamen on the island before.

All Li Zheng could do now was insist that Wang Hao had molested her.

As long as he and the two apprentices held their ground, the matter would simply fizzle out.

The clerk questioned them for a while but got nothing out of them.

He asked around the surrounding commoners again, but unfortunately no one had witnessed the incident.

Li Zheng felt relieved inside—as long as there was no evidence, he could muddy the waters and slip through.

The clerk said sternly, "I warn you all—molesting women is a grave crime on this island. At the very least, you'll get five lashes, and false accusers face the same punishment. Since things haven't gotten serious yet, you'd best confess now, lest it become harder to settle later."

No one answered.

The clerk waved his hand and had the several people escorted away. After a few steps, they stopped before a house.

The house's main door stood wide open, wisps of blue smoke curling upward, and inside was enshrined a statue of Mazu.

The clerk escorted the group before the Mazu statue and respectfully offered incense.

Then he pressed incense sticks into Wang Hao's, Li Zheng's, and the others' hands, making them offer incense as well.

"Now, tell the whole story again before Mazu," the clerk said. "Speak the truth—if anyone lies, Mazu will know."

The people of Fujian and Guangdong held Mazu in the utmost reverence. Seeing this display, the female apprentice had already lowered her head, unable to speak.

Li Zheng steeled himself and recounted the earlier events once more, but this time he stammered, his heart racing, sweat beading on his back.

"Still daring to lie!" the clerk barked.

Li Zheng and the male and female apprentices were so frightened they dropped straight to their knees.

"Tell Mazu the truth!" The clerk's voice was stern, brooking no defiance.

Seeing that the matter had already been exposed, Li Zheng had no choice but to honestly relate the whole story from beginning to end.

"What a villain—to dream up such a vicious scheme!" Wang Hao spat, then said to the female apprentice, "Shameless!"

The clerk said, "False accusers share the same punishment—five lashes for each of the three, and you must also compensate Wang Hao for the losses to his book stall!"

Wang Hao said, "Just have him give me his book stall as compensation."

The clerk said coldly, "Any objections?"

Li Zheng said nothing.

"Take them away—carry out the punishment in the street!"

Moments later, heart-rending screams from Li Zheng and the two apprentices echoed from the street in the distance.

Wang Hao clasped his hands and said, "Thank you, sir, for clearing my name."

The clerk waved his hand. "Merely doing my duty."

Several days later, Wang Hao took a boat back to Chenghai County.

The moment he set foot on the dock, he ran into Zhang, the dock patrol officer.

"Oh, if it isn't Master Wang! Just back from across the way? Made a good bit of silver on this trip, eh?"

Wang Hao smiled and clasped his hands. "Thanks to your good fortune, sir."

With that, he busied himself moving his goods.

Zhang the patrol officer crouched to the side and said, "The military stockade on Nan'ao Island has been there for over forty years now—folks have always been leaving, never arriving. Yet in these past two months or so, a great city has risen from flat ground, and many more islanders have appeared. Don't you find that strange?"

Wang Hao answered casually, "Strange or not, as long as I can do business and earn a meal, that's enough for me."

Zhang the patrol officer shook his head vigorously and said with meaning, "That's wrong thinking. If the people on that island were camp soldiers, then it'd be called doing business—otherwise, it's called trafficking with sea bandits!"

Everyone up and down Chenghai County knew full well what sort of people were on Nan'ao Island—so why was the patrol officer bringing this up today?

Wang Hao was puzzled, then suddenly thought of something. He hurriedly pulled three qian of loose silver from his belt and pressed it into the patrol officer's hand, saying, "Thank you for the warning, sir. Please accept this small token for drinks!"

Zhang the patrol officer took the silver, a smile spreading across his face. "Well said. Master Wang, go about your business—I'll look around elsewhere."

Sure enough, once he'd taken the silver, he left.

Wang Hao couldn't help but smile bitterly. He'd only been on the island a few days, yet he'd nearly forgotten the rules on shore.

On the way home, Wang Hao couldn't help thinking—he made good money traveling back and forth between the two places doing business, but every trip he had to endure the fleecing of petty clerks.

And now that a Li Zheng had appeared on the island to steal his business, in the future there would be a Zhang Zheng, a Zhao Zheng.

Selling picture books was no long-term plan.

Perhaps he should try teaching?

Not only would he avoid the hardship of traveling back and forth, he could also net a full five taels every month.

And given how honest and capable the clerks on the island were, there was a good chance that five taels would make it into his hands intact.

At this thought, Wang Hao couldn't help stopping in his tracks and gazing back at the sea.

He mused to himself—the county said the people occupying the island were a band of sea bandits, but were there sea bandits like this?

Compared to the island, Chenghai County itself was more like a den of thieves.

(End of chapter)

Yahei

Fenyuan

Pen