Chapter 175: Expenses

"Are all the matters concerning the Great River Shipping Company properly settled?"

In the rear office of the Garrison Command, Liu Ruogu and Jiang Fan entered Pang Yu's study for the first time. The walls held no calligraphy or paintings, only a single sword hanging there. The bookshelf held just five or six books, and the desk was rather bare.

Liu Ruogu cupped his hands and replied to Pang Yu, "The shipping company premises are right at the docks, and are already being used for the brokerage's business."

Pang Yu nodded and gestured for Liu Ruogu and Jiang Fan to sit, then waited for Pang Ding to come brew tea.

Two maids had now been bought for the rear office of the Garrison Command, but Pang Yu did not allow them into the study; they only did cleaning work. Usually the guards handled the tea-brewing, and today Pang Ding happened to be right here.

Once Pang Ding had finished, Pang Yu turned back to the two and asked, "Are the docks and the shops in the city stable?"

Liu Ruogu hurriedly replied, "To answer Your Excellency, no one is causing trouble at the docks. Your Excellency has taken control of the brokerages and the porters in one move. If any shop refuses to pay the tax silver, no porter dares deliver their goods. After Chen Ten Prefectures stepped in yesterday, the small brokerages operating at the docks all came one after another to see me. From now on they will pay the tax silver according to regulation. Most of the boat dock masters have also agreed to let us serve as the Silver Head, and will begin paying next month. Only a few run by the gentry families are excluded."

Pang Yu paused for a moment, then asked, "What is the background of those gentry families?"

"Mostly scholars, and one old aristocratic family that has not yet left. They have many hands in their establishments and are close to the docks. These past two days they have been transporting goods themselves. Several of them have declared that they never paid anything to the Luo Family before."

"For the distance from shop to dock they can deliver themselves, but when grain from various regions needs to enter the city, surely they cannot transport, load, and unload it all themselves. Jiang Fan, your porters must not help them transport goods. Restrict their trading volume. Ruogu, negotiate with them further. Even if these few cannot be brought in line for now, it will not affect the overall situation. There is no need to stir up a hornet's nest."

Jiang Fan responded, "Your subordinate will remember. Aside from their own shop workers, if any other laborers come to solicit work, I will have the porters go and break them up."

Pang Yu nodded approvingly and tapped his fingers on the armrest. "Since the docks are stable, withdraw the battalion soldiers first. Keeping them stationed at the docks all the time — if the several Zuotang Guan at the yamen ask about it, it will likely be hard to explain."

Liu Ruogu bowed and said, "The battalion soldiers can indeed be withdrawn. Your Excellency's troops are different from those elsewhere, but outsiders do not know this. These past two days, some boats on the river saw soldiers present and left without daring to dock, which has somewhat affected everyone's business. Over time, resentment may accumulate. However, once the battalion soldiers are withdrawn, the yamen's influence will return to the docks…"

Liu Ruogu hesitated, then glanced up at Pang Yu.

Pang Yu knew he was referring to the Xuli in the two levels of yamen in Anqing and Huaining. The docks were a place where money and goods converged, and the presence of such people was never absent. Pang Yu and Jiang Fan had come out of the yamen, and Liu Ruogu had spent half his life dealing with these Xuli, so they all understood these people very well. While they had no political voice, when handling local matters, offending them made things very inconvenient.

"For the Clerks and Senior Clerks in the two levels of yamen, calculate a number and set an annual quota for them. For the scribes and the Three Squads Bailiffs below them, select the key ones and also set a quota. As for the rest, they are not permitted to come to the shops under the dock guild to conduct He Mai or extortion schemes in the future."

"If this sum of silver is truly calculated, it will not be small. If those below still come…"

"Then you will record the most troublesome individuals and hand the list to me for handling." Pang Yu clasped his hands together, his fingers drumming alternately on the back of his hand. "We are establishing a guild at the docks. People entrust their silver to us. Since we have taken on the role of Silver Head, we must provide benefits to the shops. Only when people feel the silver is worth its price will there be no resistance to increasing it later."

Liu Ruogu did not understand what Pang Yu meant by "handling," and did not pursue the question.

Pang Yu looked at Liu Ruogu and said, "The docks were once a place where dragons and snakes mingled. Now that we are taking control, we must establish the rules properly. The shops pay silver, and we must protect their peace, allowing them to do business at ease. Equally important, when traveling merchants come from outside to do business, the moment they arrive in Anqing, they are gods of wealth bringing us silver. If any shop or brokerage dares to set traps to cheat them, you must stand up for the Hangshang. Only in this way can we attract more Hangshang, and in the end, everyone's business will thrive. Ruogu, you must first explain this reasoning to all the shop owners."

After Liu Ruogu acknowledged, Pang Yu turned to Jiang Fan. "All the riffraff of every description, Green-Skin Ruffians, swindlers, and thieves who loiter around the docks — except for the people of Bai Shun Tang — are to be driven out now. As long as it is official business, I will naturally provide cover. The Canal Gang must not fear stirring up trouble."

Jiang Fan took out a sheet of Petition Paper and handed it over. "The clerk Your Excellency sent has finished drafting the regulations for the Canal Gang. Please review them, Your Excellency."

Pang Yu took it and laughed heartily. "Now that is the right way. You must learn to use documents. Not only should you consult the clerk often, but you must also learn to write them yourself. At the very least, you must be able to read, otherwise how would you know if a document is well-written or not?"

Jiang Fan offered a smile in return and probed cautiously, "According to Your Excellency's intention, the gang members are divided into four tiers, distinguished by the number of cudgels. Upon joining the gang, one is a Single Cudgel. The brave and responsible are Double Cudgels. Those steady and capable of managing affairs are Triple Cudgels. As for the source of the members' expenses, my humble thought is that each day, the porters going to work would buy a tally stick. This would make collection simple and convenient."

Pang Yu shook his head as he read. "Issuing tally sticks was originally a favor from you. If they have to buy them, it becomes a transaction, making it seem instead like you are exploiting the porters, and the cohesion between superior and subordinate will be lost. The feeling you should give the porters is that they exert their strength, and you pay them silver. Therefore, you must revise this clause. As for where the silver comes from, once you have the people — a gang of nearly a thousand — do not fix your eyes solely on the docks. The benefits of a single area are a fixed sum; they must always be seized from others."

After skimming through it once, Pang Yu put away the Petition Paper. "The most critical matters are money and personnel. Although the regulations are brief, they cover most points. However, the part on how to unite the gang members is still somewhat lacking in intent. Wait until I have examined it in detail before discussing it with you. Do not be afraid to invest more thought. Upon this Great River, there are millions of porters, Caoding, and boatmen. As long as they are properly organized, no one will dare look down on them. What drifts upon the Great River is all silver. With one of you managing the brokerages and the other managing the Canal Gang, I want the Sheng-Tang Ferry to become the safest and most prosperous dock on the Great River."

…

After the two had left, Pang Yu took out a register. On it were the latest organizational numbers. The six Hundred-Company Commander Bureaus were already at full strength. The Garrison Command had also separately organized a hundred men, making a total of seven hundred men now.

Pang Yu studied it carefully. There were over a hundred Squad of Five leaders. Although his memory was good, many matters had been interfering lately, and some names had become a bit fuzzy again. Now that he had a free moment, he took it out to reinforce his memory.

Pang Ding came over to clear away the tea cups. Pang Yu glanced at him and said, "Does the Central Army have no duties today?"

"Of course there are, but I have an urgent matter to tell the young master."

"What is it? Is Zhou Guniang looking for me?"

Pang Ding rolled his eyes, set down the tea cups, and sat down nearby. "The army's silver is about to run out again."

"The seven thousand taels allocated last time are already used up?" Pang Yu rubbed his chin. In truth, he often looked at the account books, and it did seem there was not much left. An army was a gold-devouring beast, and a strictly trained army even more so. Just feeding these seven hundred men every day was no small sum.

Equipment, uniforms, and barracks all needed improvement. Currently, they were all infantry. To achieve the combined water and land advance Pang Yu planned, they would also need to add cavalry and boats, which meant even more expenses. The price of an ordinary draft horse was around twenty taels, a riding horse reached thirty taels, and a military horse of suitable age exceeded forty taels. Just thinking about it gave him a headache.

Pang Ding pursed his lips. "When other people serve as Military Officers, they all earn silver. Young master, you are losing silver on it. Just the Military Stipend Silver alone costs over a thousand taels a month. The uniforms and hats are all new, the blades and equipment are all new — couldn't the old ones still be used? And they must have meat every day. I've never heard of anyone raising soldiers like this."

"And no one drills soldiers like this either. It won't be a loss forever." Pang Yu smiled. "It has only been five months since the Roving Bandits passed through. Before they come next time, we have this leisure to drill troops. Spending more silver now is better than having our heads chopped off when the time comes."

"When the Roving Bandits come, we'll board the Water Camp's boats and cross the river. Let's see those Roving Bandits get across." Pang Ding said, pained at heart. "Back at Yunji Temple, the young master got his share of over twenty-six or twenty-seven thousand taels of silver. Later, you opened Bai Shun Tang, both of which are good ways to earn silver, yet I haven't seen any silver accumulate. Now, after spending, just over ten thousand taels remain. Each month, more goes out than comes in. If we use it for another two or three months, I'm afraid it won't be enough."

"It is indeed somewhat insufficient." Pang Yu put away the register and rubbed his forehead. "Wang Gongbi's military pay has been issued for two months. After the Grand Coordinator Yamen and the Military Defense Circuit Yamen have been squared away, only seven qian of silver per soldier reaches our hands. If we just distributed it like that, every soldier would be dissatisfied, and when battle comes, not a single soldier would be usable. Better then to pocket the Empty Payroll and give full silver to a few dozen men who could at least save your life in a fight. The reason Pan Keda and the others used to keep Household Retainers in the past stemmed from this. Our shortfall is even greater than Pan Keda's, because I have two hundred more men than the official quota. But our methods of earning money are also more numerous than Pan Keda's. The docks can now earn money for us."

Pang Ding stood up and said, "I've calculated it for the young master. Anqing's annual Tribute Grain is eighty thousand shi. The Tribute Grain sold to Jiangnan is at most just over two hundred thousand shi, and that was in previous years. With the Roving Bandits wreaking such havoc this year, it's uncertain whether it will even reach that number. Even taking a one-in-ten cut, that's over ten thousand taels of silver. But once the various boat dock masters, small brokerages, and government officials take their shares, and after paying Liu Ruogu and those managing the brokerages, we're left with only three to five thousand taels of silver — just enough for you to maintain the troops for two or three months."

"Tribute Grain is the largest bulk item. Others must also be collected. The docks and the shipping company are only the first step." Pang Yu closed his eyes and pondered silently for a moment. "However, the places requiring silver will soon multiply. There is some money I particularly wish to spend, but unfortunately, I cannot spend it."

Just as he said this, Guo Fengyou's voice came from outside. "Your Excellency, He Xianya has returned and is waiting outside the gate."

Pang Yu clapped his hands at Pang Ding. "Speak of him and he arrives. Quickly, let him in."

Pang Yu walked out of the study and waited for He Xianya in the courtyard of the rear office.

A moment later, He Xianya walked in behind Guo Fengyou. His expression was somewhat displeased. In the past, he could see his second brother whenever he wished; he had never encountered being stopped outside the main gate before, especially when Guo Fengyou knew full well his relationship with Pang Yu.

The moment he saw Pang Yu, he quickly quickened his pace, passed Guo Fengyou, and bowed to Pang Yu. "Greetings, Your Excellency."

Pang Yu laughed heartily, stepped forward to lift his arm, and looked him up and down. "It has been so long since I last saw you, Third Brother, I truly felt unaccustomed to it. You have finally returned. Did the matter go smoothly?"

He Xianya looked up at Pang Yu and said, "The matter of the Restoration Society Society Journal has been settled."