Chapter 32: Public Sentiment

"It has been over three days since Zheng Lao beat the corvée laborer Yue Ji to death, yet no concrete report has been received. The city's populace is seething with talk; I fear unrest among the people. As Chief Officer, you bear overall responsibility for patrol and pursuit of criminals — why has the murderer not yet been brought to justice?" Yang Fangzao asked the Chief Clerk beside him.

Yang Fangzao's expression was as composed as ever, betraying nothing of his thoughts. After three days of ferment, the Yue Ji murder case had spread to every corner of Tongcheng County Seat. The Yue family had set up their mourning hall directly on South Main Street, where countless citizens passed by each day. The impact had already surpassed that of an ordinary homicide — it truly presented Yang Fangzao with a difficult problem.

The Chief Officer he referred to was Tongcheng's Chief Clerk, Xu Shiliang. The Chief Clerk was nominally the head of the clerks, hence the common title Chief Officer, and was also counted among official ranks, but belonged to the category of unranked miscellaneous officials.

The Chief Clerk's status had been repeatedly downgraded from that of County Magistrate's assistant in the early Ming. After the mid-Ming, the role's duties were fixed as patrol and pursuit of criminals — roughly akin to a police chief — barely considered a member of the county yamen staff. But because it lacked a strong position in the Ming power-balance system, its standing before the County Magistrate was far inferior to that of the Assistant Officials; when facing a strong-willed magistrate, one might even be beaten with the plank.

Xu Shiliang stepped forward, glanced at Yang Fangzao's expression, and then said cautiously, "Replying to Your Excellency, it is true that the corvée laborer Yue Ji was beaten to death by Zheng Lao. This Zheng Lao is a household servant of Country Squire Wu, usually working as an auxiliary at the Wu family's New River Pawnshop, and he also holds a broker license to conduct some brokerage business. Yue Ji ordinarily worked as a porter at places like Qingfeng Market. That day, he had purchased new grain outside the city and returned, and was selling it without authorization at Qingfeng Market, bypassing the brokerages. He happened to encounter Zheng Lao and his associates; words were exchanged, a clash ensued, and he was beaten to death."

Yang Fangzao stared at the desk for a long moment. The case had occurred in broad daylight with numerous witnesses; there was nothing convoluted or unclear about the facts. The trouble lay in Zheng Lao's background.

When Yang Fangzao had taken up his post, he had met all of Tongcheng's country squires. Wu Yingqi was a Presented Scholar of the thirty-second year of the Wanli reign, and had successively served as Yunnan Regional Inspector, Zhejiang Circuit Censor, and Southern Court of Judicial Review Minister — his official career credentials were exceedingly solid.

He also knew this matter was thorny. Although the County Magistrate governed all county affairs, when dealing with these retired country squires, one could not simply look at the matter itself. Behind any country squire were many fellow examination graduates and colleagues, a web of connections intricate and complex. Once a powerful figure was offended, failing to resolve the matter would be the least of it — even the magistrate's own career prospects could be affected.

But a homicide case in broad daylight had to have a conclusion; otherwise, the County Magistrate could not give a satisfactory account either.

Having thought this through, Yang Fangzao turned to the County Vice-Magistrate. "Sir Zhou has been in Tongcheng a long time and understands the local situation better than I do. How should this matter be handled more appropriately?"

Zhou County Deputy glanced at Xu Shiliang and said, "Since Yue Ji is dead, even if the murderer has fled, there must ultimately be a conclusion. Some days ago, a dispatch came from the Huiningchi Grand Defense Circuit, stating they would come to Anqing for an inspection in the eighth month. If a homicide case remains long unresolved, it will be difficult to deal with then. The Chief Officer's primary duty is apprehending criminals; besides arresting the suspect, he should also reach an early conclusion on the cause of death and submit a detailed report to Anqing Prefecture as soon as possible."

Xu Shiliang said in a low voice, "According to the Borough Head, Yue Ji ordinarily suffered from a chronic wheezing ailment. It would not be strange if he perhaps died of a sudden attack of his own illness."

Yang Fangzao's face showed displeasure. Xu Shiliang dared not provoke the Wu family and now wanted to rule Yue Ji's death as sudden illness. For an ordinary homicide, that would be fine — the magistrate would hardly bother to intervene. But Zheng Lao had killed a man on the street this time; with everyone knowing about it, how could it be glossed over?

Yang Fangzao said coldly, "Though we govern only a single county, myriad living souls dwell here — all are the fathers and mothers who feed and clothe us. What the common people seek is simply peace and security; the foremost duty of an official is pacifying the locality. Tongcheng is a land of supreme virtue — how can we permit a murderer who killed in broad daylight to roam free beyond the law? If he should violently harm someone again, would we not be failing the people of Tongcheng?"

With this heavy charge laid down, there was no room for Chief Clerk Xu to utter half a word of rebuttal. Xu Shiliang could only bow and say, "Your Excellency speaks rightly. This humble official has been instructed."

The County Vice-Magistrate paused for a moment, then spoke. "Then let the Coroner conduct an examination. Whether beaten to death or died of illness, write it down first. I have heard that the Yue family plans to hold the funeral procession today, carrying the coffin through the city. When that happens, public sentiment will be stirred; we must not let it provoke any pointless disturbances."

Yang Fangzao felt the discussion was straying off topic. Xu Shiliang had clearly been trying to stall and evade just now. The core issue at present was apprehending Zheng Lao, not determining Yue Ji's cause of death. Seizing the pressure created by the charge he had just laid down, he coughed once and took up the thread. "It has been three days since the homicide. Has Zheng Lao's whereabouts been traced?"

Xu Shiliang said somewhat guiltily, "On that very day, this humble official dispatched personnel from the Punishment Office and the Fast Squad to make the arrest. Zheng Lao has an outer residence on Ou Family Street, but no trace of Zheng Lao was found. This humble official also sent men to post wanted notices at the six city gates. These past two days, the Fast Squad has also been searching at the homes of his various relatives and friends..."

Yang Fangzao cut him off. "Since it is an outer residence, where then is the main residence?"

Xu Shiliang, hearing the impatience in Yang Fangzao's tone, quickly lowered his head and said, "It is said to be within Country Squire Wu's estate."

"Has the Wu Residence been searched?"

"Country Squire Wu's estate gates were tightly shut. This humble official went twice and was denied entry both times."

After speaking, Xu Shiliang lowered his head and stared at the ground. Yang Fangzao was silent for a moment. Since the Wu family would not open their gates, the Fast Squad would absolutely never dare use force against a country squire.

If this matter dragged on too long, the common people's emotions might spiral out of control, and Anqing Prefecture might also apply pressure. At present, none of Tongcheng's gentry and scholars had come to intercede. But if it remained unresolved for long, and pressure came from multiple sides at once, Yang Fangzao would be placed in a very passive position.

Yet Yang Fangzao was, after all, only the Acting Magistrate, here for two or three months at most. Chief Clerk Xu could not get the Wu family to open their gates. Yang Fangzao was the highest authority in Tongcheng; by principle, only he could step forward. But Yang Fangzao had no reason to offend Wu Yingqi, whose official credentials were so profound, for the sake of a mere corvée laborer. The best approach was to placate Anqing Prefecture and the Branch Surveillance Circuit, then drag things out until the new magistrate took office and let that new magistrate have the headache. Thus, weighing two harms, Yang Fangzao felt that stalling was also the better choice.

Thinking this, Yang Fangzao said to Chief Clerk Xu, "Post more wanted notices at the six gates and in the markets and streets. Assign additional constables to inspect passersby at the six gates."

"Your Excellency, some of the Fast Squad personnel have already gone down to the countryside for the Tax Grain Comparison. The rest are hunting the criminal within the city. I fear there are no extra hands..."

Yang Fangzao cut him off impatiently. "Then personnel from all Three Squads can be deployed. You are the Chief Officer — must I teach you how to deploy personnel? The show of force must be made large. In short, anyone with a Blue Combat Garment can be sent out. The common people must be made to know that the county yamen is hunting the murderer!"

As a Miscellaneous Official, the Chief Clerk, though lacking status compared to the County Magistrate and Assistant Officials, still far outranked the Xuli clerks, and had his own separate office.

However, the Main Hall was packed with people. Chief Clerk Xu had borrowed Yang Fangzao's authority to requisition idle personnel from every office under his command. Even the busiest Household Office had people drawn from it. Pang Yu was a newcomer in the Household Office and had a Constable Uniform, so naturally he was pushed forward.

Pang Yu stood close to He Xianya, while Jiao Guozha stood on He Xianya's other side.

These past few days, He Xianya had been accompanying Jiao Guozha as an auxiliary and was relatively clear on the details of the Yue Ji case. Pang Yu looked at the array of people around him and asked He Xianya, "Can they actually catch Zheng Lao or not? Is deploying this many people any use?"

He Xianya shook his head, glanced sideways at Jiao Guozha, and only when he saw that Jiao Guozha was chatting with another Runner did he reply in a low voice, "The day Zheng Lao killed the man, someone saw him enter the Wu Residence. Big Brother and the others went three times. The Wu Residence sent a steward to respond the first time; after that, they wouldn't even open the side gate."

Pang Yu craned his neck to look at Jiao Guozha. The day Zheng Lao and his gang had humiliated Jiao Guozha, Jiao Guozha had originally been very excited to hear of Zheng Lao's arrest. But after having his nose bloodied at the Wu Residence these past few days, his momentum had deflated again.

Pang Yu, for his part, was not about to let him off the hook.

With more people below, it grew noisy. Chief Clerk Xu struck the Alarm Wood, and once silence fell below, he said, "The Punishment Office and the heads of the Three Squads are all present. This time, His Honor has granted me the authority to muster personnel, and we must, without fail, apprehend Zheng Lao and bring him to justice. Let us all discuss and set out a plan for how to divide the assignments."

That Zhang Clerk of the Punishment Office, having been severely suppressed by the County Vice-Magistrate last time, had been keeping a very low profile lately. Seeing that the squad heads were not speaking, he spoke first: "The Punishment Office is primarily responsible for litigation and the jail. We have already taken the witnesses and testimony from that day. This time, the Coroner didn't even accept the hand-opening fee and completed the autopsy. Yue Ji's family dependents are still seeking someone to draft the plaint; other matters can only wait until Zheng Lao is brought to justice."

Wang Dazhuang, hearing this, said, "Patrol and criminal pursuit have always been the Fast Squad's business. The Spring Tax must be pressed for collection in this eighth month, and the Autumn Grain levy begins at month's end. The yamen's various daily affairs still need doing. The Runner Squad doesn't know how to use swords or iron rulers — we can't catch that suspect. Can you Fast Squad people handle your own business properly and not make trouble for others?"

The Zhuang Squad head also voiced support. "Sir Xu, the Zhuang Squad has always had only twenty or thirty men. The six city gates must be guarded all day, and the evening street-clearing is also handled by the Zhuang Squad. We truly have no strength left to send more men for a manhunt."

The constables of the two squads waiting below erupted in clamor, all directed at the Fast Squad. This was precisely the season for going to the countryside for the Tax Grain Comparison. Whether the latter half of the year would go well or poorly all depended on the income of these two months. Many had even pooled money to buy License Tickets, waiting to go down to the villages — who knew they would all be dragooned by the Chief Clerk to catch a murderer. Moreover, everyone knew Zheng Lao's background; he was ruthless in his daily dealings and no one dared cross him — hardly the sort of easy target one could just turn in. Naturally, not a single person was willing.

The Fast Squad Head swept his eyes over those constables and said indignantly, "What are you all yelling about? Street-clearing naturally has the Night Watchmen. No one here is an outsider — why put on such a show of propriety? As if my Fast Squad doesn't guard city gates. The North Arch Gate and Xiangyang Gate also have Fast Squad men. By your logic, guarding city gates has always been the Zhuang Squad's business — so why does my Fast Squad have to handle this wretched duty?"

"Squad Head Li, what you're saying is unreasonable. The Fast Squad helping guard the north-facing two gates was decided by Sir Gu. You agreed to it on the spot in the hall that day — that was an agreement to Sir Gu. Now coming to my Zhuang Squad to complain — is that quite proper?"

Fast Squad Head Li immediately shot back, "Exactly so. The duties of the Three Squads are all set by our superiors — there is no such thing as 'always.' If you want to talk about 'always,' let's go all the way back to the Grand Ancestor's time. The Fast Squad, whether Foot Runners or Mounted Runners, were all for delivering messages and relaying orders. Since when was it fixed that they handle patrol and criminal pursuit?"

The Zhuang Squad Head was momentarily at a loss for words. Squad Head Li then fixed his glare on Wang Dazhuang. "The gambling dens, stall licenses, wandering physicians, monks and Daoists, inns — a whole pile of matters in the Eastern Market — wasn't it the Runner Squad that clung to those like death? Aren't those patrol matters? When there's profit, you don't say it belongs to the Fast Squad. When it comes to hunting criminals, then you say it belongs to the Fast Squad. Does my Fast Squad owe you something?"

Wang Dazhuang turned his head aside and said, "It's not right for you to talk like that. Saying 'always' refers to recent times. You open your mouth and it's the Grand Ancestor — were you alive back in the Grand Ancestor's time or something? Anqing Prefecture has six counties; in five of them, the Fast Squad handles patrol and criminal pursuit. Why should your Tongcheng Fast Squad be any different? Runners get six taels of wages and rations; Mounted Runners get over sixteen taels. The silver you draw should match the ability you have. When drawing silver, you don't say a word, but in the end, you can't even catch one murderer. Knowing full well everyone's waiting on these two months' harvest, yet we're all made to help your Fast Squad catch a killer. My apologies — my Runner Squad won't take this on."

Squad Head Li pointed at Wang Dazhuang. "Wang Dazhuang! Sir Xu told us to discuss this, meaning everyone has a share. You say you won't take it on — if you've got the guts, let's go before Sir Yang's hall and you say it again."

"Fine, let's talk. If we're going to talk, we'll start from the beginning and I'll repeat every word you just said, so Sir Yang knows the Fast Squad is playing dead dog, trying to foist its own business onto others."

Squad Head Li's eyes went wide. He pointed at Wang Dazhuang and walked straight toward him — it looked as if the two were about to come to blows.

"Enough!" Chief Clerk Xu slapped the official desk impatiently. "This case is the county yamen's affair — no one can shirk it. Everyone here: the Fast Squad will hunt the criminal within the city; the Zhuang Squad and Runner Squad will guard the six gates. Zheng Lao must not be allowed to flee the city. Only when this case is concluded will everyone return to their squads' regular duties. If you want to go to the countryside for the Tax Grain Comparison, then bring Zheng Lao to justice sooner!"

Outside the main gate of the Wu Residence on South Main Street, a sea of people had gathered. The Yue family was holding the funeral procession that day and had dragged the coffin directly to the Wu Residence's gate. The relatives were even scattering paper money at the doorstep.

Pang Yu had been assigned to guard the south gate and had to pass via South Main Street. Carrying an iron ruler, he and He Xianya had great difficulty threading through the crowd. They stopped at a spot just outside the human circle, toward the south, and stood watching the spectacle for a while.

Inside the human circle, smoke and flames curled, and wailing shook the heavens. The onlooking commoners were shouting curses at the Wu Residence's main gate. Seizing the moment with so many people present, that Fast Squad Head Li led a few Runners to the front of the Wu Residence gate once more, to show the gathered crowd that the authorities were still trying to arrest the man.

As a result, the commoners turned and pointed at the Runners, cursing them loudly. Some people, hidden within the crowd, even threw stones at the Runners. Squad Head Li and his group hastily ducked behind the stone lions at the gate for cover, while the watching commoners all cheered loudly.

Tongcheng in the eighth month was stiflingly hot. With so many people here and paper being burned, it was even more like a steam cage. Pang Yu had already taken off his Constable Uniform and held it in his hand. Watching the Fast Squad take a beating, he found it merely amusing and watched with cheerful relish.

He Xianya wiped the sweat from his forehead and said in a low voice, "I didn't have a chance to tell you earlier, Second Brother. That Yue Ji usually looked for work at Qingfeng Market, helping several grain shops with deliveries. Sometimes he would buy up grain outside the city himself and sell it to city households needing to purchase grain."

"Did Zheng Lao forbid him from selling grain?"

"Exactly. Because the Autumn Grain Levy is mostly commuted tax, small farmers need to go to grain merchants to sell their grain and exchange it for silver before they can pay at the county yamen's bench. Zheng Lao and those brokerages know the small farmers must exchange for silver at this time, so they collude with the grain merchants to suppress grain prices. A picul that normally fetches one tael can be pressed down to five mace, and they use oversized scales to weigh the grain — a hundred thirty or forty catties barely counts as one picul."

Pang Yu clapped his hands. "So that's it. With such a huge price gap, porters like Yue Ji saw the profit in it and bought grain from outside the city on their own to sell to city residents. He might buy at five or six mace and sell to the commoners at nine mace — buyers, sellers, and even the small farmers all benefit. The only ones who lose out are Zheng Lao and his gang. Zheng Lao had to ensure grain shop prices were uniform to achieve a monopoly; he absolutely could not tolerate anyone exploiting the price spread to profit in the middle."

"Truth is, that Yue Ji was just running a tiny business. The common folk would only buy about ten catties at a time. Yue Ji would carry over a hundred catties on his shoulder pole, and after selling it all he'd earn two or three mace of silver. Old Zheng couldn't even tolerate that. Yue Ji had just sold to a few familiar households along the street when he ran into Old Zheng's gang. Old Zheng tried to seize his grain pole, the two of them started grappling over it, and that enraged Old Zheng's bunch. They beat him to death right there on Qijiajie, where Yue Ji lived."

Pang Yu laughed. "It's not about how much or how little Yue Ji sold. Old Zheng and his lot collude with the grain merchants to form a monopoly. They see anyone who privately buys or sells grain as cutting into their profits. There have to be plenty of people doing the same trade as Yue Ji, and Old Zheng must beat down every single one he sees — otherwise his price-fixing ring couldn't hold. Men die for wealth. As long as there's profit, there's a natural economic motive driving people to put their minds to it. Even if one Yue Ji dies, others will still do it later."

He Xianya shook his head and sighed. "All for two or three mace of silver — one dead, one on the run."

"Aren't the small farmers worse off?" Pang Yu, seeing no fresh excitement, led the way toward the south gate. "Small farmers toil a whole year to grow some grain. The moment it's harvested, these grain merchants skim half the value right off the top, just so the farmers can exchange it for a bit of silver to pay their taxes."

He Xianya picked up the thread. "Isn't that the truth. And then there are the Ward Constable, the Village Chiefs, the Tax Register Clerks, the Brokerages — not a single one of them is easy to deal with. After the county yamen finishes collecting, they still have to ship it to the two capitals, north and south, and when it reaches the local granaries, there's another inevitable cut waiting."

What He Xianya didn't say, in fact, was that the county yamen's Household Office, Chest Attendant, and Silver Husbands were even less easy to deal with — but since he himself was on the inside, it wasn't convenient for him to say so.

Pang Yu walked on, musing. "Our Ming Dynasty's cost of tax collection is hardly low. Looked at this way, for every tael the court actually receives, the common people likely pay no less than three. No wonder Tang said the most important thing about the Complete Book of Taxes and Corvée isn't memorizing it, but knowing how to use it."

"Probably more than four taels. And that's only at harvest time. When the lean season comes, these grain merchants…" He Xianya was just getting into full flow when he saw Pang Yu wave down two porters by the roadside.

He Xianya said in surprise, "Second Brother, what are you calling porters for?"

"We're heading to the south gate anyway. I'm going to buy some grain outside the city too. Take advantage of the cheap prices and store a few months' worth. Of course I need porters."

He Xianya was badly startled and quickly grabbed Pang Yu. "Second Brother, you absolutely mustn't. Yue Ji is a warning right before your eyes. These past two days, no one in the city dares buy grain privately anymore…"

"When others are afraid is exactly the time to strike. Right now, public anger in the city is boiling over, Old Zheng's gang has vanished without a trace, and no one dares come stop you." Pang Yu said easily, "If I had the capital, I'd buy ten thousand catties right now and stockpile it. Selling it slowly to the neighborhood would still turn a profit."

He Xianya furrowed his brow and thought for a long while. What Pang Yu said seemed to make sense, yet he couldn't fully set his mind at ease. Thinking it over, they soon reached the south gate.

Pang Yu greeted the several bailiffs already at the gate, then swaggered out through the gate with his three porters. Sure enough, quite a few farmers were carrying their loads into the city at the gate.

Outside the south gate was the Official Road from Tongcheng to Huaibei. Along with Xiangyang Gate, this was Tongcheng's most bustling city gate. The street outside the south gate had many shops and plenty of hawkers. Even Tongcheng's human market was here — people with grass markers stuck in their hair, selling themselves, knelt in a long row by the roadside.

Pang Yu stretched out his iron ruler to stop a few of them. When the farmers saw it was a bailiff, iron ruler in hand, they were all badly frightened. Hastily and obediently they stopped and set their grain loads on the ground. Each was a full shoulder-pole load. Pang Yu wanted to test the weight, so he crouched down, shouldered the carrying pole, and heaved upward.

"Agh!" Pang Yu's shoulder stung with pain. The load didn't budge an inch. Pang Yu had done some strength training lately, but his shoulder truly couldn't take this kind of pain. He had no idea how these farmers carried over a hundred catties and walked so far.

"Your strength is really something. How far did you walk to get here?"

One of the farmers bobbed his head and bent his waist obsequiously. "Came from Willow Tree Village. Reckon it's about seven li."

"That's incredible stamina." Pang Yu gave the farmers a thumbs-up.

The farmers naturally had no idea what that hand gesture meant, but they all broke into simple, honest, foolish grins. Their smiles all carried a fawning note — they didn't dare actually laugh at this bailiff. Though a bailiff was like an ant in the County Magistrate's eyes, before these small farmers, he represented authority.

"I'll take this grain. I'll give you five mace too… forget it, this young master will play the good man. Six mace of silver per dan, a full dan being one hundred twenty catties."

The moment the farmers heard this, they were effusively grateful. They all knew the market rate, and these terms were naturally far better than the grain shops offered.

One farmer spoke up. "Then where would the officer have us deliver it?"

"He Xianya, take them to my family's shop front." Pang Yu said to He Xianya. "Go outside the city and enter through Yimin Gate."

He Xianya acknowledged and followed the city moat around from outside. This way, they spent very little time inside the city and drew even less attention.

Once He Xianya was far off, Pang Yu prepared to go to the city gate for his shift, to see whether Old Zheng would come walking right into the trap.

Just as he was about to lift his foot, he heard a soft voice behind him.

"Uncle."

Pang Yu had assumed it was meant for someone else, but the voice seemed to overlap with some impression deep in his mind.

Pang Yu frowned and turned around. He saw a tiny figure kneeling by the roadside, a Grass Marker stuck in the ground behind her. On her face, those jet-black eyes glistened with tears, yet remained clear and bright.

"Sun Tianxiu!"