Chapter 668: The Storm in Yangzhou

In the third month of spring, when the misty flowers bloomed, Yangzhou presented a scene of thriving prosperity. Officials, gentry, commoners, merchants, and artisans of every trade together fueled the city's flourishing, and in the two years since it had returned to Han rule, it had surpassed even its former glory.

Yangzhou today was both the seat of the Huaidong Circuit—a land of prime essence—and the Great Han's sole port of entry for the Southern Tang. Countless Southern Tang merchants crossed the river from Jiangdong to trade, and fully three-tenths of the boats plying the canals came from the south. The port duties alone fattened Yangzhou's treasury.

Yangzhou's prosperity indeed owed three parts of its credit to the Southern Tang. By the same token, through this private commerce, the north bank's penetration of Jiangnan was growing ever more potent. In the single item of Huai salt alone, they held the very lifeline of the south—for over two years now, the common folk of Jiangnan had scarcely tasted cheap salt.

The Fiscal Commission's yamen stood apart, close to several large wharves, with an open view and convenient transport. The building was newly constructed, grand and imposing—for a commission with such abundant emoluments, diverting some funds to build a respectable office was no problem at all.

Yet just as spring warmed and flowers bloomed, a formless shadow of cloud hung over the Fiscal Commission's yamen. Besides the commission's own clerks, there were over a hundred fully armed guards from the Eastern Capital—the escort of the imperial commissioner sent to investigate this case. To show how seriously the matter was taken, Liu Chengyou had personally selected two squads of armored guards from the Inner Palace to accompany him.

And ever since these commissioners from the Eastern Capital had taken up residence in the yamen, the clerks and officials coming and going on business had grown far more subdued, no longer flaunting themselves as before. After all, even Fiscal Commissioner Zhao Feng was under surveillance.

Those dispatched by imperial decree to investigate in Yangzhou were Shen Gou, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and Sun Fang, Left Vice Censor of the Censorate. Sun Fang was a confidant of Zhao Li, the Left Chief Censor, who had personally promoted him; Shen Gou enjoyed a reputation for virtue at court and had been recommended by Fan Zhi to come south.

At present, all twenty-odd staff members of the Fiscal Commission had been summoned. Shen and Sun, the two imperial special envoys, sat behind the hall's desk. Fiscal Commissioner Zhao Feng wore a stiff face, head slightly bowed, his clenched fists hidden beneath his sleeves betraying his unsettled heart. The special envoys had been investigating for half a month, and now it seemed a conclusion was at hand.

After a look around to confirm everyone had arrived, Censor Sun Fang signaled to Shen Gou and, receiving his affirmation, turned to face the assembled officials of the Fiscal Commission. Chin raised a notch, he drew out a document, cleared his throat, and called: "Zhao Feng!"

Zhao Feng's heart tightened further. Just as he was about to respond, he heard Sun Fang's cold, hard command: "Take him!"

His mind went blank for an instant. As the guards stepped forward to seize him, he struggled fiercely: "I am the Fiscal Commissioner of an entire circuit! Even if you are imperial special envoys, how dare you arrest me without authorization?"

Seeing his bluster, Sun Fang stroked the thin mustache on his upper lip and said flatly: "Fiscal Commissioner Zhao, are you asking me for evidence? I can tell you—between myself and Lord Shen, we hold a thick stack of indictments against you, every one verified by investigation. This case was personally ordered investigated by His Majesty the Emperor himself! If you have any grievance, you may wait until you reach the Eastern Capital and state your case before the Three Judicial Offices. But if you dare resist arrest now, do not blame me for being merciless."

Hearing Sun Fang's words, Zhao Feng's face visibly paled several shades, and his arrogance sank at once. In truth, ever since the matter had been reported to the Eastern Capital, he had been unable to eat or sleep in peace. What was even more alarming was that the Emperor and the court's attention to this affair far exceeded his imagination—within days, the investigating envoys had arrived, swiftly taken control of everything above and below, and he had not even devised a means of response or escape.

In fact, had Zhao Feng been clever enough, he ought to have fled to Jiangnan before the court's envoys arrived. Of course, that would have been an admission of guilt, and even if he fled south, if discovered, he might well be sent back north by the Jinling court to curry favor with the Northern Han.

A man like Zhao Feng had the nerve to be corrupt, and his greed was especially voracious, but once the matter came to light, he had no means or ability to counter the charges or clear himself—he could only sit and wait for death.

After Zhao Feng was taken, the rest dared say even less. Those whose names were called submitted meekly to imprisonment. Some even prostrated themselves and confessed outright. In but a moment's time, nearly half the staff of the Huaidong Fiscal Commission had been arrested.

Seeing the situation settled, Sun Fang turned to Shen Gou: "Lord Shen, what do you think we should do next?"

Shen Gou was a modest man, normally soft-spoken, but at critical moments he carried considerable authority. At the question, he considered briefly: "We split into two groups. You take men to confiscate the homes of these corrupt officials, and I will go to the Surveillance Commission!"

"Good!" Sun Fang wasted no words, even showing a hint of swagger.

This trip to Yangzhou to investigate was something Sun Fang had actively requested of Zhao Li—he intended to make his mark, to add a merit to his record. This was a rare case that had drawn the Emperor's personal attention.

Upon arriving in Yangzhou, he had immediately placed several censors of Huaidong under control, with forceful methods. In the internal purge, he worked with practiced ease, wasting little effort to expose two censors implicated in the affair.

The Great Han had been founded for barely ten years in total. In these early days of the dynasty, inheriting the corrupt customs of the previous era, the malfeasance of wicked officials was still quite crude and blatant—utterly unable to withstand investigation or scrutiny. Perhaps in another decade, the Great Han's corrupt officials, after struggling against the censorial and law-enforcement agencies, would conduct their affairs with greater "artistry."

On the fourth day of the third month, the atmosphere in Yangzhou remained tense throughout, from top to bottom, from the government offices to the common folk, all abuzz with talk. Most commoners watched the downfall of those Yangzhou and Huaidong officials with idle amusement, chattering away. But the powerful magnates and merchants with interests tied to the government grew anxious, fearing they might be implicated.

In the evening, Administration Commissioner Wang Pu returned to Yangzhou, without any fanfare, slipping quietly back into his yamen. He had barely entered and not yet taken a sip of hot tea when his subordinate, Administrative Assistant Zhang Yi, came looking for him: "Governor, you've finally returned!"

Wang Pu had gone north this time to inspect the Hongze Lake works in Si and Chu prefectures. After a year and a half of excavation, with tens of thousands of laborers, the project was progressing well. Of course, Wang Pu's choice of this particular moment to go north was not without the thought of avoiding the political storm brewing in Yangzhou.

But no matter how one looked at it, Yangzhou was, after all, his territory. When trouble arose, extricating himself cleanly was no easy matter.

"What has happened?" Seeing Zhang Yi's anxious face, Wang Pu blew on the steam rising from his teacup and asked unhurriedly.

This Zhang Yi had originally been an officer of the Tang army in Shouzhou, a subordinate of the surrendered general Xu Xiang—the very one who had urged Xu Xiang to surrender with such extraordinary "magnanimity" back then.

After submitting to the Han, he had been given official posts, and later Wang Pu discovered him, finding the man capable, decisive, and a rare talent, and gradually promoted him. Now he was a high official of the circuit, one of the more successful among the Southern Tang civil and military officers who had surrendered.

Seeing Wang Pu's unhurried manner, Zhang Yi also calmed himself somewhat and reported: "Today, Shen and Sun conducted large-scale arrests and confiscations in the city. From Zhao Feng on down, half the officials of the Fiscal Commission have been taken, already affecting the commission's operations. Over at the Surveillance Commission, several officials were also arrested right in front of Lord Zheng!"

"Shen and Sun, though bearing the court's commission, have been far too overbearing and arbitrary—they treat us Huaidong officials as if we were nothing! Especially that Sun Fang—vicious and cunning, single-mindedly seeking merit. Governor, we must do something, or else I fear he'll bring the fire to the Administration Commission's door!"

Hearing this, Wang Pu held his teacup, pondered a moment, then raised a hand in a calming gesture: "In your view, what should I do? Shen and Sun are special envoys bearing imperial decrees—can I lead opposition against them? Moreover, were the officials taken from the two commissions innocent? Did Shen and Sun arrest people without distinguishing right from wrong?"

Zhang Yi gradually cooled down as well. After mulling it over, he said with a grave expression: "But now, the mood in Yangzhou is one of panic. The officials of every office have no heart for their work!"

At these words, Wang Pu's expression suddenly turned stern: "If that is so, what we should do is admonish all above and below to keep to their posts and attend to their duties with composure! If their hearts are clear, what need is there for suspicion or fear?"