Chapter 264: 262 — The Merchants

"Bang, bang, bang!"

A burst of pounding sounded at the gate.

The courtyard gate opened. The household slave, seeing officials outside, hurriedly asked, "What business brings you, sirs?"

"For your master!"

The official handed over a proclamation and said, "Every great household in the counties around Guangzhou is to obey. The Regional Commander feared that if the notice were posted at the roadside pavilion, you'd all be too blind to see it, so he ordered it delivered in person to the great houses. Take it quickly — I still have the next house to go to."

The household slave took the proclamation, but the official did not leave.

The slave had no choice but to go back inside with it. Soon a higher-ranking household slave came out. This senior slave produced a handful of copper cash and said with an ingratiating smile, "For the sirs to buy tea."

"Very kind!"

The official took the copper cash, tucked it smiling into his breast, and immediately left the premises.

The expansion in Guangdong had been too rapid. Only in the northern and eastern regions of the province had officials, propaganda corps members, and peasant association cadres been stationed. Moreover, conditions in those areas were extremely complex, and many matters had to be handled slowly.

As for Guangzhou Prefecture, Zhao Han had already drawn personnel who were arriving in a steady stream, but for the time being the Guangzhou officials were using local men.

The senior household slave carried the proclamation inside. "Master, that Heavenly King Zhao has issued an order. All firearms held privately by the people are to be surrendered in full to the yamen, and henceforth private manufacture of firearms is forbidden."

"He says surrender them and we just surrender them?"

Xie Shijun's face showed a cold sneer. "With all the great clans of Guangzhou Prefecture — is he going to search them house by house?"

"The master is quite right," the senior household slave said obsequiously.

A while later, a household slave came in to report: "Master, Old Master Deng invites you to take tea."

"Ready the sedan chair!"

In truth it was right in Foshan Town, not far at all, but Xie Shijun still went by sedan chair, and with a retinue of over a hundred men escorting him to and fro.

Those gathered together today were all merchants of the iron-smelting trade.

In the past, the greatest iron-smelting family of Foshan was called the "Lis of Narrow Lane," which was the family of Li Daiwen, the Minister of Revenue.

The Li family's rapid rise had begun with official orders.

For ever since the mid-Ming period, the imperial cauldrons of the Palace Directorate, the army cauldrons of the Ministry of War, and the official cauldrons of the Ministry of Works had all been procured long-term from Foshan Town. Foshan cauldrons were even sold as far away as the Mongols, suffering no damage from the jolting of horseback, and were deeply loved by the steppe herdsmen.

Foshan cauldrons first traveled north by water, then went along the Meiling Ancient Road into Jiangxi, entered the Yangtze via the Gan River, and were transported all the way to Beijing.

After Li Daiwen became a high official, the court bought cauldrons only from the Li family. If other merchants wanted to sell cauldrons, they too had to go through the Li family, and so the Li family naturally flourished.

Now, the Lis had been jointly done to death, and the properties under their name had been carved up completely by the other merchants.

Even the goods and wealth of the Guangzhou Maritime Trade Office had been divided up by these merchants, because at the time Fei Ruhe was still far away in Huizhou and had not yet arrived.

"Everyone has seen Heavenly King Zhao's proclamation, I take it?" Deng Yunqiu asked.

Deng Yunzhan, whom Zhao Han had appointed director of the Guangzhou Maritime Trade Office, was a clansman of this very Deng Yunqiu. Only, the two had probably long been estranged; and the one who had proposed banning private possession of firearms was also a Deng clansman — Deng Yunzhan.

Huang Zhaoxiu said, "The arm can't twist the thigh. Let's just comply."

Though the arms trade brought money in fast, the volume of orders was small. If private arms manufacturing caused trouble for their other businesses, the loss would outweigh the gain. Many merchants who did not make firearms, or made very few, were perfectly willing to carry out Zhao Han's order.

The Foshan merchants could also be split from within.

"No," Xie Shijun objected at once. "This isn't a question of money, nor a question of firearms. It's that we toiled bitterly to take the city — surely that counts as some merit? This Heavenly King Zhao first killed a man right before our eyes, and now he wants to confiscate firearms, yet he still hasn't breathed a word about how business is to be conducted from now on. What is he after? I'd say he means to burn the bridge after crossing the river!"

Feng Yangdong cautioned, "I've heard from merchants coming from Jiangxi that this man has a kindly face but ruthless hands, and he likes to set rules. If you abide by his rules, he's easy to deal with. If you don't abide by his rules, he'll arrest people — at worst, confiscate property and exterminate the clan; at lightest, sentence them to exile in the mines."

"Then let him set the rules!"

Xie Shijun slammed the table. "How exactly is business to be done from now on, on land and at sea — he should have set the rules out long ago. What's he scheming, putting it off and saying nothing?"

Feng Yangdong said, "Confiscating firearms and banning private manufacture — that is setting the rules."

A thought stirred in Deng Yunqiu's mind, and he suddenly saw the light.

Right, this was setting the rules.

And moreover, it was to see who obeyed the rules and who did not. Those who did not obey would be punished ruthlessly. Heavenly King Zhao's true intent was probably to lure the snake out of its hole, and then kill the chicken to warn the monkeys!

Deng Yunqiu understood this clearly, but he did not say it aloud.

Because Zhao Han was sure to put one family to death — without putting one family to death, he could not establish his authority. That being so, he would simply wait for some fool to walk into the blade. Better the other fellow die than oneself; the Deng family would just quietly surrender its firearms and be done with it.

Xie Shijun suddenly asked, "That General Zhao the Second…"

"His surname is Fei — he's already changed it back to his original name," Deng Yunqiu reminded him.

"Right, that General Fei," Xie Shijun said. "A few days ago at the dock, that man did not kneel or bow. Such arrogance! In my view, there must be some rift between General Fei and Heavenly King Zhao — they didn't even bother to keep up appearances in front of everyone. And I've heard that this Heavenly King Zhao was formerly a household slave of the Fei clan, just as Empress Lü's family was to Liu Bang. Why not cultivate ties with the Fei clan in every way? Heavenly King Zhao certainly won't stay in Guangzhou forever. Once he leaves, if we're on good terms with the Fei clan, won't we have everything?"

(The dock scene, saying that Fei Ruhe did not kneel and that this showed disrespect to Zhao Han, is purely from the merchants' perspective. Why do some readers say the protagonist is hypocritical? Perhaps the author did not write it clearly enough.)

Everyone, including Deng Yunqiu, suddenly saw the light.

Right — they could cultivate ties with the Fei clan, and then carry on playing the game however they liked.

Just as they had done before: outwardly submitting to the imperial court, while drawing in and bribing the local officials, then feigning compliance while thriving in defiance.

Why resist?

Only fools resist the authorities. Their consistent method had always been to corrupt the authorities!

Xie Shijun smiled. "Last month, I sent General Fei five hundred taels of silver. He accepted every bit of it."

"I sent three hundred taels."

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"I also sent a hundred taels to General Liu under his command."

"…"

As each man reported the amount of his bribe, they all burst into loud laughter, their hearts instantly reassured.

And so they arrived at a strategy —

For this period, whatever Zhao Han said to do, they would cooperate fully. Once Zhao Han left, they would use the Fei family's influence to continue drawing in and corrupting the officials. In a year or half a year at most, they could make Guangzhou return to its old ways.

They knew the routine far too well. When it came to corrupting officials, they had countless methods.

Zhao Han's weapon was the blade; their weapon was silver.

……

"All the firearms have been turned in?" Zhao Han asked with a smile.

Fei Ruhe said, "Very eager, absolutely no private stashes. They didn't dare try anything forceful."

To deal with these Foshan merchants, Zhao Han didn't need to draw a blade at all. There were two ways to pull the firewood out from under the pot.

First, Foshan has no iron mines. Set up checkpoints directly on the river routes and forbid iron ore from being sold to Foshan.

Second, besides iron woks, Foshan produces many other iron goods that need to be shipped from Jiangxi to the north for sale. Zhao Han can simply order that no iron goods be allowed north!

These two methods would put the Foshan merchants in a death grip.

As for the bribe silver, Fei Ruhe had handed it all over. And not just Fei Ruhe — the other officers along this route, and the propaganda officers embedded with the army, many of them had taken silver too.

After Fei Ruhe accepted the first payment, he summoned the military judge and the propaganda officer and said with a laugh, "If someone offers silver, take it. But record every tael taken — consider it a donation from the merchants to support military provisions."

Some people will certainly be corrupted, but never someone at Fei Ruhe's high level.

Especially Fei Ruhe — he could casually ask Zhao Han to set him up with some business, and his household would be rolling in wealth. Why would he need to embezzle your few hundred taels?

Zhao Han sighed and said, "Their being so cooperative actually worries me a little. Especially with the Maritime Trade Office about to be established — I'm afraid people will be bringing silver every day. Who knows how many officials will be able to resist."

Deng Yunzhan suddenly interjected, "This must be strictly investigated. In the two hundred-plus years since the Great Ming was founded, merchants have been buying off officials with silver. They come, and they buy off one after another. Nine out of ten officials cannot resist the temptation. The remaining one in ten who are honest and selfless either turn a deaf ear and play the muddled official, or enforce the law impartially and get bought out and transferred away."

"Call those few in."

The ones called in were officials who had just arrived.

Fang Shengchang, Prefect of Guangzhou, who had raised troops with his brothers and brought two counties over to Zhao Han's side.

Guo Shunyu, Superintendent of the Guangdong Maritime Trade Office, a scion of a gentry family who had joined during the three-county period. Previously he had served as Jiangxi Transport Commissioner, responsible for grain and tax transport across all of Jiangxi.

Zou Guangdi, Chief Clerk of the Guangdong Branch of the Anti-Corruption Bureau, a poor scholar from Anfu County who had previously served as Xiao Huan's deputy.

Tu Tingying, County Magistrate of Nanhai, a juren by degree, who had bound up Regional Commander Yang Jiamo and delivered him to Zhao Han.

Fei Yu, County Magistrate of Panyu — Fei Yuanjian's page boy.

Gan Dashou, County Magistrate of Xiangshan, a juren by degree, who had bound up Regional Commander Yang Jiamo and delivered him to Zhao Han.

"We pay our respects to the Regional Commander!"

The six men came in together.

Zhao Han said, "You've been in Guangzhou three days now. Have you sorted out all the various official documents and archives?"

"A complete mess," Fang Shengchang replied.

Xiangshan County administers what later became Zhuhai, Zhongshan, and Macao. Gan Dashou had not gone directly to his post, but had stayed in Guangzhou to help sort out the Guangdong archives.

Zhao Han asked further, "What about the customs revenues of the Guangdong Maritime Trade Office?"

Guo Shunyu answered, "Guangdong has four major customs barriers. The first is at Nanxiong, with a tax quota of forty-three thousand taels. The second is at Chaozhou, with a tax quota of fifty-eight thousand taels. The third is at Zhaoqing, with a tax quota of forty-one thousand taels. The fourth is the Maritime Trade Office itself, at forty thousand taels per year — and even that often cannot be collected in full."

The customs station at Nanxiong taxed the trade route "Guangdong–Jiangxi."

The customs station at Zhaoqing taxed the trade route "Guangdong–Guangxi."

The customs station at Chaozhou taxed the trade route "Guangdong–Fujian."

All three of these were inland river customs stations, and the tariffs they collected were all higher than the maritime customs duties of the Maritime Trade Office!

What was even more absurd was that, with maritime customs quotas set so low, they still could not be collected in full every year.

Zhao Han said coldly, "Tell them how the Guangzhou merchants go about co-opting and corrupting officials."

Deng Yunzhan cupped his hands toward the six and said, "Whenever a high official arrives to take up a post, the merchants invariably host banquets. If the high official refuses to attend, they probe for his preferences. For one who delights in poetry and verse, the merchants will put up money for local luminaries to hold a literary gathering. For one fond of romance and beauty, the merchants will summon famous courtesans, or even present beautiful women as concubines... If the high official proves impervious to all enticements, the merchants will approach his attendants, approach his family members. In four words: they seep in everywhere!"

"Did you hear that?" Zhao Han asked.

Zou Guangdi straightened his back. "The Anti-Corruption Bureau will show no mercy!"

"I trust the Anti-Corruption Bureau," Zhao Han said with a smile.

Officials in the Anti-Corruption Bureau rise in rank especially fast. At this stage, there is no need to grind through seniority — catch the corrupt and the embezzlers, and you accumulate merit.

Guo Shunyu cautioned, "Watch out for the local clerks."

With expansion across provinces, it is impossible to fill all clerk positions with men from Jiangxi. Otherwise, work in Guangdong could not proceed at all — they could not even communicate with the locals. In this era, there is no universal common speech.

Zhao Han instructed, "As for the local clerks, let bygones be bygones for whatever they did before. But from now on, if any are found taking bribes or embezzling, dig up their old accounts and deal with those too!"

"Yes, sir!" Zou Guangdi said, clasping his fist.

"Report!"

"Regional Commander, Zheng Zhilong, the Mobile Corps Commander of Fujian Coastal Defense, has arrived in Guangzhou with his fleet!"

(End of Chapter)