Chapter 22: 022 The Incorruptible Governor

In the Ming dynasty, the county seat of Yanshan was not at Hekou Town on the Xin River, but at Yongping Town on the Yanshan River.

Early morning.

Feng Xun, the County Magistrate of Yanshan, had been waiting early at the guesthouse, with many scholars standing behind him.

Fei Yinghuan stood there yawning incessantly, inwardly cursing the Governor without end; had the clan head and his own father not admonished him repeatedly, he would never have bothered wasting time with this idiot.

After who knows how long, a menial servant opened the main gate, and Governor Wei Zhaocheng strolled out, followed only by a single middle-aged attendant.

Master and servant alike were plainly dressed, every inch of them proclaiming what it meant to be incorruptible.

"I am ashamed, ashamed, to have kept you all waiting." Wei Zhaocheng clasped his hands and smiled.

County Magistrate Feng Xun immediately stepped forward and said with an ingratiating smile, "Sir Yaohai, do not reproach yourself; the fault is ours for arriving too early."

"Greetings, Sir Yaohai." The assembled scholars all bowed.

Wei Zhaocheng stroked his beard, swept his gaze across them, and nodded with a faint smile. "The county's fine talents seem to have grown by a few more today."

Feng Xun hastened to introduce a new face: "This is our county's provincial graduate candidate Hu Mengtai, courtesy name Youli."

Hu Mengtai cupped his hands and bowed. "This junior pays his respects to Sir Yaohai."

Wei Zhaocheng saw that although the man's clothing was ordinary, the jade pendant at his waist was far from cheap, and knew at a glance he came from a prominent local clan. His smile grew ever more warm and kindly as he took Hu Mengtai's hand and said, "Youli has the bearing of a man of talent — so young and already a provincial graduate; you are destined to be a pillar of the state!"

"Sir Yaohai's praise is excessive; this junior is unworthy of such honor." Hu Mengtai said modestly.

After some more pleasantries, Feng Xun introduced another: "This is our county's stipend government student, Ren Yixie…"

"A descendant of Sir Si'an?" Wei Zhaocheng asked at once.

Ren Yixie, unable to conceal the pride on his face, cupped his hands and said, "A latecoming junior scholar pays his respects to Sir Yaohai."

Wei Zhaocheng immediately took his hand as well and encouraged him: "Sir Si'an was a great contributor to the School of Principle. You must study diligently and not let your ancestor's name be tarnished."

Ren Xiyi was a direct disciple of Zhu Xi; the posthumous titles of Zhu Xi, Zhou Dunyi, Cheng Hao, Cheng Yi, Zhang Zai, and others were all proposed and petitioned for by Ren Xiyi, and for this he was regarded as a great contributor to the School of Principle.

As a descendant of Ren Xiyi, Ren Yixie quickly said, "Your earnest instruction, elder, rings like a great bell; this junior would never dare forget it even for a moment."

This whole hypocritical charade continued on.

Standing before the guesthouse gate, Fei Yinghuan felt a strong urge to cut the Governor down with a single sword stroke.

Dithering and dawdling, fishing for fame and reputation — it was utterly sickening!

Two days earlier, at the Fei ancestral residence in Henglin, Fei Yinghuan had had his hand held by Wei Zhaocheng in just the same way.

At the time he had felt somewhat flattered, but he soon discovered that any scholar from a prominent clan would have his hand held by Wei Zhaocheng for a good long while.

On closer inquiry — good heavens, a new power at court.

Last year's Governor of Jiangxi was Yang Bangxian, a man far from the capital and ignorant of the political upheavals there. He actually had Zhou Dunyi, Cheng Hao, and Cheng Yi removed from the Shrine of the Three Worthies and a statue of Wei Zhongxian installed in their place, turning Jiangxi's Shrine of the Three Worthies into a shrine to Eunuch Wei.

A complete fool, and the outcome was predictable.

Left Deputy Censor-in-Chief Lu Wenxian was promptly selected as Governor of Jiangxi, but before he even left the capital he was impeached and dismissed.

Right Deputy Censor-in-Chief Zhang Yangsu succeeded to the post of Governor of Jiangxi. This gentleman at least made it out of Beijing, but unfortunately, while still on the road, he was inexplicably impeached and dismissed as well.

This fellow Wei Zhaocheng — he himself was Chief Supervising Secretary of the Office of Scrutiny for Personnel, and his teacher was none other than Chen Yuting, Right Censor-in-Chief of Nanjing.

After Chongzhen overthrew Wei Zhongxian, Chen Yuting took part in the Nanjing capital evaluation, while Wei Zhaocheng participated in compiling the nationwide roster of officials.

When the compilation was finished, Wei Zhaocheng was promoted eight ranks in one leap, becoming Chief Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices!

Even that did not satisfy him; he went on to topple two Deputy Censors-in-Chief and got his wish, coming to Jiangxi as Governor.

…

The County Magistrate himself acted as guide, accompanied the whole way by the crowd of scholars, with a great host of their servants following behind.

With clerks and runners clearing the way ahead and bringing up the rear, the procession stretched for two or three li.

Leading the Governor to a commoner's lane, County Magistrate Feng Xun pointed at a low pavilion and said, "Sir Yaohai, this is the renowned Baoben Archway."

Wei Zhaocheng promptly straightened his robes and cap, stepped forward to examine the pavilion's plaque, and exclaimed in delighted surprise, "It is indeed Master Zhu's own calligraphy! I must pay my respects!"

Wei Zhaocheng lifted the hem of his robe and knelt, performing a prolonged kowtow before Zhu Xi's inscription; the scholars behind him could only follow suit in grand obeisance.

After the kneeling and bowing, Wei Zhaocheng rose to leave, but then noticed a stone stele beside the pavilion, carved with a large cabbage.

Wei Zhaocheng frowned and asked, "This is a pavilion bearing Master Zhu's inscription — who dares to set up a stele here without authorization?"

Feng Xun replied, "It was done by a former county magistrate."

"Tear it down!" Wei Zhaocheng ordered.

Feng Xun hastily whispered a warning: "Sir Yaohai, it would be inadvisable to remove it; doing so would surely provoke public outrage."

Wei Zhaocheng paused, then said, "Explain in detail."

Feng Xun explained: "Ten years ago, a great disaster struck Yanshan; famine was everywhere, and on top of that the Liaodong levy was imposed. At the time, the people of Yanshan numbered only twenty thousand, yet the Liaodong levy imposed was thirty thousand taels. County Magistrate Da Jiliang carved the Cabbage Stele and inscribed upon it: 'Those who are fathers and mothers to the people must not be ignorant of this taste; for our innocent children, we must not let them wear this look.' He ate coarse grain and drank vegetable soup alongside his officials, and persuaded the great clans to release grain to relieve the people — thus was peace preserved in this region."

Wei Zhaocheng fell silent at once, at a loss for words. The waters here ran rather deep!

Yanshan County's economy was flourishing — how could its population have been only twenty thousand?

Countless commoners must have sought shelter under the gentry and powerful clans, not appearing in the government's yellow registers.

And as for persuading the great clans to release grain to relieve the people?

There was likely a flash of swords then; the county magistrate must have used thunderous measures!

Wei Zhaocheng stared at the signature on the Cabbage Stele, carefully searched his memory for information on this Da Jiliang, and soon clapped his hands and laughed. "So it is Director Da — I never imagined he had such achievements in governance."

Feng Xun said in surprise, "Magistrate Da has become a director?"

Wei Zhaocheng said, "He was just selected this year as a Vice Director in the Ministry of Revenue. I was charged with the grand evaluation of officials throughout the realm, and Director Da's uncommon surname was rather easy to remember."

Da Jiliang had served as county magistrate of Yanshan for six years, making life miserable for the local powerful families, so they pooled their money and bought him a post as Prefect of Ganzhou.

The southern Jiangxi region was known for its fierce folkways and numerous bandits — originally a bitter assignment — but who would have thought that Da Jiliang would thrive there, only to be sent off to Shanxi with money from the local powerful families… In just a few short years, he had actually worked his way up to Vice Director in the Ministry of Revenue.

What was even more interesting was that both Wei Zhaocheng and Da Jiliang were of the Donglin Faction.

Only, Da Jiliang had been branded a Donglin partisan by the eunuch faction, stripped of his official rank while serving in Shanxi, and was now being reinstated as a comrade recognized by the Donglin Faction.

Gazing at the Cabbage Stele before him, Governor Wei felt ill at ease no matter how he looked at it; after a few words of praise, he hurried away, never again mentioning the matter of smashing the stele.

The long procession left the county seat and boarded boats bound for the former residence of Xin Qiji.

Yongping was the equivalent of Yanshan County's central town, and the passenger boat Zhao Han rode on was moored by the bank just outside town.

Fei Yinghuan took Wei Jianxiong and broke away from the group, quickly reaching his own boat and telling the helmsman, "Follow the boats ahead!"

Zhao Han, Qinxin, Jiandan, and Jiupo, having played cards too late the night before, were all still lazing about asleep in the cabin.

Hearing the commotion, they immediately rose and paid their respects:

"Young master! Uncle Wei!"

"Father! Master Wei!"

Fei Yinghuan twisted his neck, plopped himself down, and said wearily, "Enough chatter, hurry over and help me press."

Before Zhao Han could even react, the Hum-Hah-Hey trio had already rushed forward with lightning speed.

Jiandan and Jiupo took the left and right, tasked with pounding Fei Yinghuan's legs, while Qinxin circled behind to knead his shoulders.

"Ahh, that hits the spot!"

Fei Yinghuan closed his eyes and enjoyed the massage, unable to resist grumbling: "This blasted Governor Wei, always putting on airs — I fear he's nothing but a corrupt official who knows only factional strife. The common folk of Jiangxi are in for a world of suffering."

Zhao Han asked, "Isn't the rumor that Governor Wei is upright and frugal?"

Fei Yinghuan clicked his tongue and said, "That's exactly what I'm afraid of!"

What's free is often the most expensive.

An official who flaunts his probity — when he secretly turns corrupt, it'll bleed you dry, not something a few trifling coins can satisfy.

Wei Zhaocheng had to topple two vice censors of the right just to get the post of Governor of Jiangxi — would he leave meekly without gorging himself fat?

His eyes sweeping over the cards on the table, Fei Yinghuan suddenly grew keen: "There's still some distance to Jiaxuan's tomb. Old Wei, sit down, keep me company playing cards for a bit."

Wei Jianxiong sat cross-legged, picked up the cards, and asked, "Why so many cards?"

Jiupo said, as if presenting a treasure, "Brother Han has a new way to play — two decks shuffled together. Four of a kind lets you draw a replacement, and winning off that replacement tile multiplies the points by a ton. You can also go for All Triplets — pong, pong, pong, pong and you win…"

"Sounds rather novel. Explain the rules in detail," Fei Yinghuan said with a smile.

And so, the group began playing mahjong once more.

Fei Yinghuan, Wei Jianxiong, Zhao Han, and Jiupo sat at one table. Qinxin continued massaging his shoulders, while Jiandan sat beside him serving as the young master's tactical card advisor.

After a few rounds, Fei Yinghuan finally grew familiar with the rules, and indeed it was far more entertaining than the old way of playing.

Greatly pleased, Young Master Fei said, "Old Wei, take out some money and deal it out — playing without stakes just isn't satisfying."

Wei Jianxiong produced several strings of Jiajing tongbao coins and distributed two strings to each person at the table. All wins and losses were covered by Fei Yinghuan; even those not playing got bonus money.

As for that Governor Wei, Fei Yinghuan had long since forgotten him entirely.

Meanwhile, on the neighboring boat, Hu Mengtai — who hailed from the Hu clan of Yongping — seemed equally disinclined to continue attending Governor Wei on his excursion.

Hu Mengtai was even more interesting. Unwilling to waste any more time, he suddenly stepped out of the cabin and walked to the bow, then — splash — "accidentally" fell into the water.

"The young master's fallen into the river! The young master's fallen into the river!"

The household servant shouted in panic.

Fei Yinghuan was in the middle of building a pure flush. Hearing the shouts, he immediately ordered, "Row over and rescue him, quick! Pong — eight of bamboo!"

The river surface bustled with activity; several nearby passenger boats worked together to pull Hu Mengtai out.

Fei Yinghuan forbade anyone from touching the cards, walked out of the cabin, and called across the water: "Brother Hu, are you all right?"

"Our young master has passed out," shouted the Hu family servant.

Fei Yinghuan said, "Hurry back to the county seat for medical treatment."

The Hu family boat hastily turned around. As the two boats passed each other, the unconscious Hu Mengtai suddenly blinked, casting a sly, conspiratorial grin at Fei Yinghuan.

Fei Yinghuan slapped his thigh hard and sighed with regret: "Such a brilliant stratagem — how did I not think of it? Brother Hu is truly a great talent."

Wei Jianxiong said, "Shall we… fall into the water too?"

Fei Yinghuan scolded, "You fool! That trick only works once, not twice — it'd be nothing but a crude imitation!"

Zhao Han watched, speechless. What kind of people were these?

(Offering a book: Rebirth: Rise of Hong Kong, a new work by the great author Bintie.)

(End of chapter)