Chapter 101: Bannermen

Ever since the Qing army massacred Gaoyao County four years ago, the county had never recovered its former population or prosperity. Even now, the entire county had no more than five or six thousand able-bodied men, and that was only thanks to its proximity to Zhaoqing Prefecture.

Otherwise, it would likely still be an empty town like many county seats in western Guangdong.

It was also thanks to the Qing soldiers that the current County Magistrate of Gaoyao, Qin Ming, did not have to worry about the annual taxes, because the Ministry of Revenue had downgraded Gaoyao from a first-class county under the Ming to a third-class county.

Last year, when Li Dingguo of the Southern Ming invaded, the court had further decreed a three-year tax exemption for all prefectures and counties the Ming army had passed through.

By his reckoning, less than two years had passed, so there was still one more year without taxes to pay.

With no taxes to hand over to the court, the post of county magistrate was naturally comfortable, and there was plenty of money to be skimmed on the side.

As for the common folk—well, the court showed you compassion, so surely you ought to show a little compassion to His Honor the magistrate as well. Looked at one way, the county's population dropping by seventy percent was a hardship.

But looked at another way, there was still thirty percent left! The court might not care about that thirty percent, but this old master certainly does.

Do you think it was easy for me to travel a thousand li to this land of southern barbarians to take office? It would be best if you people showed some understanding.

If you don't, then this old master will have to show some understanding of you!

Gaoyao County town was not large. Unlike the prefectural seat, which had four gates, it had only two, one east and one west.

The Green Standard troops were stationed by the east gate, and the common folk did not dare live next to the soldiers, so most of them willingly settled in the west part of town.

Only those great families with connections to the soldiers or with members holding office dared live in the east part.

The county yamen was also in the east part of town—the same yamen from the old Ming days, dilapidated and in sorry shape. By the look of it, it had not been repaired in at least fifty years.

When Magistrate Qin took office, he had been so angry he cursed his Ming predecessors roundly: What were you all doing? The yamen has fallen into this state, and you couldn't even be bothered to fix it up!

Fine—if you wouldn't repair it, then this official won't either. Fixing it up wouldn't mean I'd get to live in it for the rest of my life, so why should I do a favor for my successor for nothing?

Better to take advantage of this last tax-free year and scrape together as much silver as I can. Next year I'll grease the palms at the Governor-General's office and the prince's residence, and by hook or by crook get myself transferred somewhere else.

Where there are people, there will be commerce.

Few as the people of Gaoyao County town were, there were still several thousand able-bodied men, and counting the old and weak, a population of over ten thousand. Moreover, being not far from the prefectural seat, traveling merchants still passed through from time to time.

Thus the town had two wine shops, both located in the west part of town, doing business with the neighbors and outside merchants.

Though business was dismal, and they often had to put up with soldiers from the east part of town coming to eat without paying, still, dismal as it was, they managed to scrape by.

Sometimes they encountered reasonable soldiers who did pay, more or less, and in that way they naturally avoided closing at a loss. What the shopkeepers did not know was that these soldiers had brains too.

If no one ever paid, the wine shops would go under, and without wine shops, where would they go to eat and drink? Was the food in camp fit for humans?

So no matter what, they had to give the shopkeepers some money. Otherwise, everyone would suffer together.

That day, the waiter at the Four Seas Wine Shop had just wiped down the tables and benches and opened the door boards to start business when he saw a large gang of Green Standard soldiers suddenly appear on the street.

The waiter's heart, and that of the shopkeeper who came out after him, went cold on the spot. They were steeling themselves to receive these Green Standard lords when, on closer look, every one of the soldiers seemed unfamiliar.

Then they heard the accents—eh? Since when had the county gotten a bunch of soldiers from another province?

Those out-of-province soldiers had apparently just entered the town and were unfamiliar with it.

The moment they found a wine shop, they rushed over like starving dogs spotting a slab of fat meat, shouting and whooping with glee, so fast that the waiter was dumbstruck and had nowhere to dodge—he was simply shoved aside.

"Bring out all the good food and drink, and be quick about it! If you're slow, this lord will use his knife to make you quick!"

After those soldiers with out-of-province accents entered the shop, they sat down in groups of three or five, pounding the tables and yelling for the waiters to bring out good wine and good food.

Drawn by the racket from the first arrivals, more and more out-of-province soldiers on the street heard the commotion and surged over.

Looking down from the upstairs window, it was a dense black mass, jamming the narrow street so tightly that not a drop of water could pass—like a temple fair, no fewer than several hundred men.

The waiters were terrified by this gang of out-of-province soldiers who had burst in. Staring at the long sabers and long spears laid out brazenly on the tables, they all stood dumbfounded, too frightened to move.

The shopkeeper, at least, had seen something of the world. The moment he heard the soldiers' accents, he knew they were in trouble: Good heavens, isn't that the accent of Liaodong? Could it be these soldiers aren't Green Standard but bannermen?

Gaoyao was only a few dozen li from the prefectural seat of Zhaoqing. The shopkeeper often went to the prefecture on business and frequently visited the provincial capital as well.

Even if he had never seen the fearsomeness of the bannermen with his own eyes, he had heard people talk about it, so he knew these bannermen lords could not be offended. He hurriedly told the dazed waiters to get to the back kitchen and bring out the wine and food.

The shopkeeper's plump wife did not know how fearsome the bannermen were and stood there gawking foolishly. The shopkeeper, alarmed, quickly pulled her aside and waved his hands repeatedly, signaling her to hurry and hide in the back courtyard.

The shopkeeper had guessed right. This gang of out-of-province soldiers really were bannermen from Liaodong—genuine Han Bordered Blue Banner troops under the command of the Prince of Jingnan.

These Han troops did not dare run wild in the provincial capital, because too many eyes were watching. The princes too feared the court's censure, so they kept them on a tight leash, and ordinarily they did not dare be too brazen.

But once out of the provincial capital, these Han troops instantly became lords, utterly overbearing. No one dared offend them, no one dared provoke them, and no one dared discipline them.

After marching several dozen li and finally making their way to Gaoyao County, how could the Han troops not be in high spirits?

Watching these bannermen lords eat and drink their fill in his own shop, the shopkeeper was truly pained to the core, yet he had nowhere to air his grievances.

He even had to keep a smile fixed on his face at all times, lest some drunken bannermen lord beat him up—that would truly be losing the wine and food and getting himself hurt on top of it.

The situation at the Four Seas Wine Shop was much the same at the Guest Welcome across the street.

Had anyone barged in at that moment, they would have thought they had entered the same establishment, for what they saw in both places were soldiers gulping meat and swilling wine by the bowlful, waiters staring in stupefaction, and shopkeepers with faces full of pained flesh.

While these two wine shops were being tormented by the Bordered Blue Banner Han troops, the pedestrians on the street and the other shops did not escape their depredations either.

"Halt! I said halt!"

"Government troops catching a thief, and you still dare run!"

The bannermen, intent on extorting the common folk and scraping together some silver, shouted loudly and openly along the street, utterly disregarding the Gaoyao county yamen runners who had come upon hearing the news.

Those runners were cunning enough themselves—they knew they could not afford to provoke these bannermen, so none of them would come forward. They all watched from a distance and sent men back from time to time to report what they had seen to His Honor the magistrate.

Over on the other side, when County Magistrate Qin Ming heard that bannermen had arrived, he too was thrown into a panic.

He sent men to the Green Standard garrison in the county to find out what was happening, but the word that came back was that the county's garrison Battalion Commander was personally leading the bannermen toward the west part of town.

Done for. Done for!

Qin Ming did not need to think to know what that crowd was up to. His subordinates asked him what to do. What could he do? He sent everyone out, then hid in the rear quarters of the yamen and refused to ask about anything.

Ask no idle questions, ask no idle questions...

The sudden flood of so many out-of-province soldiers terrified the people of Gaoyao.

At first they had thought these soldiers were merely passing through, but with all that shouting about "government troops catching a thief," even the slowest of the common folk could figure out what these soldier lords were up to.

Those on the street with quick wits immediately slipped away quietly or hid in the shops on either side. Those with slower wits were not so lucky.

The soldiers who had been shouting "government troops catching a thief" suddenly all stopped, then one by one their faces hardened. They drew their long sabers from their waists and set to work in groups of two or three.

Those who hid thought they could escape, but the bannermen simply smashed down doors and entered houses, leaving no place untouched. The common folk, unarmed and frightened half to death, were thus extorted without restraint by the well-prepared Bordered Blue Banner Han troops.

"Those calluses on your hand—how come they look like they come from holding a blade?"

"Sir, I've been wronged, wronged! This humble one farms the land—I don't hold a blade..."

"No?! Damn it, this is my trade—you think I can't tell? You son of a bitch, you won't talk straight? I'd say you're tired of living!"

"Spare me, sir, spare me..."

"Got any silver on you?"

"N-no... no..."

"Brothers, this man is a Ming army spy! Seize him!"

"Wait... sir, this humble one has silver, has silver!"

"Now you're being sensible. Scram!"

"........."

Everywhere in the town were ferocious Bordered Blue Banner Han troops, turning the place upside down. From time to time came the shrieks of women and children, the thud-thud of doors being kicked in, and the crash of pots, bowls, and dishes falling, one after another.

Any person at all—whether a town resident, someone come to do business, or a traveler visiting relatives or passing through—without exception, the moment the Han Banners saw them, they were seized and threatened. Without handing over silver, there was no hope of getting away.

A merchant who had come from Zhaoqing Prefecture on business happened to be passing through Gaoyao with his assistant. He had intended to enter the town for a meal, but as luck would have it, no sooner had he stepped through the gate than the Han Banners arrived.

At first, the merchant did not think anything would happen. After all, those entering the town were government troops, not bandits—what was there to fear?

But once the Han Banners began extorting the whole town, the merchant was so frightened he did not know what to do, for he was carrying several banknotes in his money pouch. If these bannermen searched him and took them, he would lose everything.

The assistant, seeing soldiers grabbing people everywhere, was so scared his legs were trembling. Master and servant resolved to leave at once, but just as they were about to flee, they saw a company captain leading several soldiers running straight toward them.

"Halt!"

Master and servant both jumped. Seeing the man's eyes sweeping over them, the merchant knew things were bad. He hurried forward, clasped his hands in salute, and said with an ingratiating smile, "Sir, may I ask why you have stopped this humble citizen?"

The company captain asked, "What do you do?"

"Answering the sir, this humble one is here to visit relatives." The merchant did not dare tell the truth. He knew that if he admitted to being a merchant, he would certainly suffer a great misfortune today.

"Visiting relatives?"

The company captain did not believe him. He curled his lip and cursed, "If you're here to visit relatives, then why did you dodge the moment you saw us?"

You're shaking down the whole street for silver—how could I not run? The merchant cursed inwardly, but aloud he said, "The sir misunderstands. This humble one was not dodging the sir at all. I merely happened to be on my way."

Hearing this, the company captain let out a cold "heh heh" and said in a mocking tone, "Is that so?"

"Yes, yes..."

Seeing the company captain's unfriendly expression, the merchant's heart lurched, and he wished he could leave at once. Nervously, he said, "Sir, this humble man and his servant have always been law-abiding.

The sirs are busy catching criminals, so this humble one will not delay the sirs in their duties." With that, he snapped at his assistant, "What are you standing there for?

Get out of the sirs' way!"

The assistant hurriedly stepped aside, but the company captain and his men burst out laughing. One bannerman stepped in front of master and servant and said with a nasty grin, "Trying to leave? No way!"

The company captain's face darkened further, and he barked, "Tie them up!"

The merchant turned pale with fright, and the assistant's face drained of all color. The bannermen had long had ropes ready, and without further ado they moved to bind master and servant.

The merchant struggled desperately in terror. The two bannermen tying him cursed angrily, "Stop squirming! Move again and you'll be sorry!"

The merchant pleaded bitterly, "Spare me, sir... spare me..."

The company captain snorted, "Spare you? That can be arranged—but it depends on whether you know what's good for you." As he spoke, his hand reached toward the merchant's chest.

What he clutched to his chest was his entire life savings. If they confiscated it, how would his whole family survive?

In his desperation, the merchant found strength from somewhere, broke free of the two banner soldiers holding him down, and bolted. But before he could run, a sudden chill touched his neck — a long blade was already pressed against it.

When the shop assistant saw this, he let out a sharp "Ah!" and his eyes rolled back as he fainted dead away, so convincingly that the two banner soldiers about to bind him thought he had died.

The company captain bent down and checked the assistant's nose. Finding he was still breathing, he spat in disgust, straightened up, and shot the merchant a withering look.

"Trying to run, are you? ******, you won't take the easy way, so you'll get the hard way.

I'd say you're tired of living! Brothers, bleed this blind fool a little!"

"Right away!"

The banner soldiers were masters of empty threats and feigned menace. One stepped forward, flicked his wrist, and the tip of his blade grazed lightly against the merchant's neck.

The merchant felt a sting at his throat and thought his head was about to be cut off, terrified out of his wits. Where there's life, there's hope. Money is a worldly possession — you don't bring it into this world, and you don't take it with you. If his life was gone, what use was silver?

The merchant stamped his foot and pleaded in a tearful voice, "Sirs, don't kill this humble commoner! Don't kill me! I have silver, I have silver!..."

At these words, the company captain and his men broke into expressions of wild delight.

"******, if you'd been sensible earlier, you wouldn't have had to suffer this flesh-and-blood pain!" The company captain spoke with mocking ease as he reached toward the merchant's waist. "Where's the silver?"

"In my... in my bosom..."

The moment the merchant finished speaking, it was as if all his strength drained away, and his body went limp, sagging toward the ground. The company captain quickly ordered his men to hold him up, then reached into the merchant's chest.

Just then, the sound of battle cries reached his ears. The sound drew nearer and nearer.

The insolent peasants dare resist?