Chapter 174: What He Saw and Heard

A customs barrier was added at Nanchang, privately established by the Jiangxi Governor and the Provincial Administration Commission without the court's approval.

The pretext, of course, was raising funds to suppress bandits — as for where the money actually went, no one knows.

Ding Kui Chu stood atop the Nanchang city gate tower, making a show of inspecting the defenses, but inwardly he was utterly miserable. He was the newly appointed Left Provincial Administration Commissioner of Jiangxi — seemingly a promotion, but in truth someone had cut off his source of wealth.

This fellow had previously served as Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, and after Fu Zonglong was dismissed as Governor-General of Ji-Liao, he had even taken charge of acting Governor-General for Ji-Liao affairs.

Acting Governor-General of Ji-Liao — and then being tossed to Jiangxi to serve as Provincial Administration Commissioner, what kind of nonsense was that?

Though that post carried high risk, one misstep and you'd follow Yuan Chonghuan to the grave. But high risk meant high reward — silver came rolling in, more than you could spend in ten lifetimes.

Historically, how much did Ding Kui Chu skim?

After the Qing troops marched south, this wretch commandeered Southern Ming court warships and shipped off over two hundred thousand taels of gold and more than two million taels of silver. He even dispatched seventeen maidservants to wait day and night upon the officers in charge of transporting the silver. And after the great defeat at Haikou, when Qu Shisi donated five thousand taels of his own money to fund troop recruitment and begged Ding Kui Chu to contribute something too, Ding Kui Chu refused to part with a single coin.

In the end, he was captured by the Qing general Li Chengdong. Ding Kui Chu wanted to surrender, but with all that money in his hands, how could Li Chengdong bear to let him surrender? His entire family was slaughtered on the spot, and the fortune vanished without a trace.

Ding Kui Chu had dared to embezzle even as Governor-General of Ji-Liao, facing the Tartars head-on — the rebels in Jiangxi were nothing to him!

On his eighth day in Nanchang, Ding Kui Chu set up a customs barrier to levy tariffs on passing ships. Li Maofang was naturally willing to cooperate, and the two set aside their factional rivalries, quickly colluding together.

As for Regional Commander Yang Jiamo, they ignored him completely — what did a mere military officer matter? If he wanted silver, he could go seize it himself.

The passenger boat Fei Yinghuan was traveling on was held up two li south of Nanchang, slowly queuing to pay the tax and pass the checkpoint.

"How can the customs tax be so high? This business is impossible to run!"

"They levy it once at Jiujiang, and again at Nanchang. Once this trip is done, I'm done with the Ganzhou route — from now on I'll switch to the Hekou side."

"I've seen eunuchs set up checkpoints, I've seen princedoms set up checkpoints, but in twenty years of trading, this is the first time I've ever seen a Governor and a Provincial Administration Commissioner set up a checkpoint!"

"My family's second master also holds office at court — he'll surely impeach those two scoundrels!"

"Those two corrupt officials are worse than the rebels. In Linjiang Prefecture and Ji'an Prefecture, even the rebels don't set up checkpoints — they only collect berth tax at the docks."

"..."

Fei Yinghuan stood on the deck, the murmur of discussion reaching his ears from time to time — every last one of those merchants was seething with rage.

Civil officials privately setting up customs barriers was truly outrageous, and Fei Yinghuan admitted he didn't have that kind of nerve.

The customs silver came in fast — some goods were taxed one part in thirty, some one in twenty, some one in ten. Jiujiang already had an official customs barrier, and now here was another at Nanchang. For merchant ships coming in from the Yangtze, once they passed through both barriers, there was basically no profit left to speak of.

They were even taking a loss!

Fei Yinghuan felt that Jiangxi was finished. If Zhao Han couldn't be swiftly wiped out, this kind of exploitation would truly make life unbearable for the common people.

Life truly was unbearable for the common people, and Zhao Han was getting a terrible headache too.

Jiangxi itself produced no salt. Guangdong salt had been cut off by the Governor-General of Liangguang, and Huai salt now had to pass through two customs barriers. At present, the salt price in Linjiang Prefecture and Ji'an Prefecture had already doubled compared to last year — and that was with the Regional Commander's office stepping in to provide subsidies and ordering salt merchants not to raise prices recklessly. Otherwise, the price might well have tripled or quintupled.

Zhao Han's finances were nearly at the breaking point. He was now seeking to buy smuggled salt from Huguang, transported through the territory of the Sweeping King.

After waiting the better part of a day, Fei Yinghuan finally cleared the checkpoint.

They had not traveled far when they saw several hundred cavalry, lined up in a long single file, standing foolishly on the riverbank.

Jiangxi Regional Commander Yang Jiamo gazed out at the boundless expanse of paddy fields and felt like weeping. He had brought several hundred household retainers with him to his post, all in iron armor, and today he had led his troops out to familiarize themselves with the terrain — they could only dismount and lead their horses the entire way.

It was either paddy fields or hilly ground — cavalry charges were out of the question, and even forming ranks was impossible.

Back when Li Maofang and Li Ruolian had fled on horseback, a journey of less than two hundred li had taken them a full ten days. Several of the government army officers who had fled on horseback then were captured by Zhao Han. The reason was simple: some horses had stepped into paddy fields and gotten their hooves stuck, while others had been galloping along the field ridges and accidentally toppled over.

"Ah!"

Yang Jiamo stabbed his spear into the muddy ground, feeling like a fierce tiger locked in a cage, with nowhere to unleash his strength. He would rather fight roving bandits in the north than come here to fight rebels — the greater part of his several hundred household retainers was now effectively useless.

Fei Yinghuan gazed at those cavalrymen from afar and couldn't help laughing out loud.

Wei Jianxiong said, "Cavalry still has its uses. When it comes to a decisive battle, ship them close to the battlefield. If there aren't too many paddy fields, you can seize the moment to charge the lines. Jiangxi troops who've never seen cavalry before will surely collapse."

"Using cavalry in Jiangxi — the terrain is simply too restrictive." Fei Yinghuan shook his head repeatedly.

In the blink of an eye, the passenger boat reached Linjiang Prefecture. Fei Yinghuan was astonished — this city was still bustling as ever, showing no sign at all of being occupied by rebels.

He entered a restaurant, and a waiter hurried over to greet them: "What would you gentlemen like to eat?"

"Just bring a few of your best dishes, no wine." Fei Yinghuan was here on an inspection tour; he didn't want to expose himself, and he also feared that drinking might lead to trouble.

The food was served, and he had barely taken a couple of bites when beggars appeared in front of the restaurant.

They were called beggars, yet they didn't quite look the part, for their clothes were not tattered. They seemed like alms-seeking monks, yet they wore no monastic robes — just bare, shaven heads.

Suddenly, a runner appeared, seized one of the bald beggars, and dragged him away.

Finding this curious, Fei Yinghuan called the waiter over and asked, "Are those monks? Why are they being arrested by the officials?"

The waiter laughed and said, "Those are fake monks without ordination certificates. After General Zhao took Linjiang Prefecture and saw how many temples and shrines there were inside and outside the city, he sent men to check the ordination certificates. And guess what? They caught over a thousand fake monks and fake Daoist priests — only thirty-some were genuine clergy. Those temples and shrines have all been given to the poor to live in now, and the largest temple was turned into an almshouse."

Fei Yinghuan asked curiously, "The expelled fake Daoists and fake monks — they're not even allowed to beg for alms?"

The waiter answered, "Begging for alms is allowed, but you must have an ordination certificate. Otherwise, you're considered a beggar, and Mr. Zhao does not permit beggars within his jurisdiction."

"Now that is unusual." Fei Yinghuan suddenly recalled that, on his way from the docks, he indeed had not seen a single beggar. He couldn't help asking, "Where have all the beggars gone?"

The waiter said, "Those with all their limbs intact can sign up for labor. The young ones are sent to the porcelain kilns or the arms workshop as apprentices; the older ones are sent to various construction sites as helpers. Those who are truly too old or physically disabled are sent to the almshouse to sew clothes and make shoes for the soldiers. Mr. Zhao has decreed: those who labor shall eat; those who do not labor shall not eat."

Fei Yinghuan waved the waiter away and sighed, "Brother Han always does things that catch people off guard."

Wei Jianxiong teased, "The two of them lived as beggars, and I heard they were bullied by vicious beggars — so naturally, he can't tolerate beggars in his territory."

"That's an interesting way to put it." Fei Yinghuan couldn't help smiling.

Incidentally, many of the fake Daoist priests purged by Zhao Han switched careers to fortune-telling.

A small number, however, were not only literate but also knew how to concoct elixirs — these were seized and sent to the arms workshop to manufacture gunpowder. The formulas and procedures were provided under the guidance of Song Yingxing, and these Daoists picked it up very quickly.

Having eaten and drunk his fill, Fei Yinghuan continued strolling about. When he reached a spot near the west gate, the street suddenly erupted in noisy clamor.

Pedestrians hastily parted to the sides as a squad of soldiers came bearing weapons.

Once the soldiers had rushed past, the common folk grew curious about what was happening and swarmed after them in a crowd to watch the excitement.

Fei Yinghuan hurried after them too. They ran for a full half a street before the soldiers ahead finally came to a halt.

Li Zheng bellowed, "Surround the place! Don't let a single one escape!"

The two-story building was swiftly encircled by soldiers. Suddenly, someone leaped from a second-floor window on the side, limping as he tried to flee into the crowd.

"Seize them!"

Too bad they ran too slow — they were caught after just a dozen or so paces.

The soldiers smashed open the doors and charged in. Cries, screams, and pleas for mercy mingled together and drifted out to the street.

Li Zheng stood at the doorway and addressed the onlooking commoners: "From this day forward, gambling houses are forbidden. If you discover five or more people gathering to gamble, you may all report it to the authorities. Half of the confiscated gambling money will be given to the informant!"

The moment these words were spoken, it caused an instant sensation.

A commoner right there on the spot shouted: "I report one — there's a gambling house on Dongyuan Street!"

Li Zheng smiled. "Troops have already been dispatched there."

Another passerby in fine clothes asked: "Soldier sir, is gambling in one's own home also forbidden?"

Li Zheng explained: "If you are hosting guests, you may gamble modestly at home for amusement. Don't think about exploiting loopholes. Whether it is truly hosting guests or gathering a crowd to gamble — one investigation will make it perfectly clear!"

One by one, the gamblers were dragged out, and the beating of their buttocks began right there on the street.

Zhao Han had set the rule: the plank must not strike the waist or back, nor must it strike bone, to avoid crippling anyone. But striking the flesh of the buttocks was permitted, and the trousers had to be removed — the harm was minor, but the humiliation was extreme.

"Ah!"

The grown girls and young wives who had come to watch the excitement all turned their heads away, for at the gambling house entrance, a row of bare white buttocks was on display.

"Well struck!"

"Isn't that Old Fourth Chen? He's really made a name for himself this time."

"Deng Jiu is in there too. Hey, Deng Jiu, that hairpin you pawned last month — you still haven't redeemed it. What jewelry did you pawn this time? Keep gambling and your wife will run off with another man!"

"..."

The gamblers all covered their faces, no longer caring about the pain, wanting only to finish the beating and go home.

Not only was the gambling money confiscated, even the cash the gamblers carried on them was searched out and taken by the soldiers.

Then these gamblers could get lost. Next to be led out in bonds were all the gambling house employees, each one trussed up tightly, every last one of them sent to the mountains to dig ore.

One fellow still dared to pull strings, fawning in a low voice: "Company Commander Li, my maternal granduncle serves in the county yamen. He cooperated with the land redistribution a while back, and His Honor the Prefect personally commended him. You see, we're all on the same side — it's just the floodwaters washing over the Dragon King Temple. If Company Commander Li would only release me, this humble one will surely repay you."

"What is your maternal granduncle's name?" Li Zheng asked with a smile.

The man answered: "My maternal granduncle is called Huang Zhi. He holds xiucai rank and works as a clerk in the county yamen."

Li Zheng smiled and asked: "This gambling house — does he have a share in it?"

"He does, along with several of the big households in the city," the man said. "Just a few days ago, the masters were still discussing sending a monthly silver token of respect to His Honor the Prefect, His Honor the County Magistrate, and also to Company Commander Li."

Li Zheng's smile grew even brighter. "Very good. Men — go and coordinate with County Magistrate Yuan. Request that he arrest Huang Zhi for interrogation!"

The man was instantly struck speechless, staring dumbly at Li Zheng.

(End of chapter)