Chapter 71: Ze Society

"The newly arrived County Magistrate is surnamed Yang, named Yang Erming. I hear he's from Sichuan, a Tong Presented Scholar graduate of this year's third list. That's all I know for now."

He Xianya stood respectfully in Pang Yu's duty room, reporting to Pang Yu. "It was someone from the Personnel Office who inquired at the Anqing Prefecture Personnel Section. This is all the information they sent back."

Pang Yu tapped the desk. The window beside the desk was tightly shut, and the duty room door was half-closed, but footsteps and conversation from the corridor still drifted into the room. Pang Yu was very dissatisfied with this office. The corridor was bustling with people coming and going; leaving the window open was quite inconvenient, and with it closed, they still had to keep their voices down when discussing matters.

This was simply the condition the Fast Squad had to deal with right now. Xu Shiliang was willing to allocate a large duty room for Pang Yu in the Chief Clerk's office compound, but the center of power was, after all, in the county yamen, not the Chief Clerk's office. Moving over rashly might even displease the County Magistrate and the County Vice-Magistrate, so Pang Yu could only continue to stay here beside the corridor.

Tongcheng had just experienced great turmoil, and a transfer of power was imminent. For those who had lost influence during this period, it was a good opportunity to reverse the situation. For someone like Pang Yu who had gained influence, preserving his current position required extreme caution.

The Fast Squad's current standing in the yamen stemmed primarily from the support of the County Magistrate and the County Vice-Magistrate, and only secondarily from the Household Office. But Yang Fangzao was, after all, only the Acting Magistrate. Now that the civil unrest had been quelled, Yang Fangzao had also received definite news: he was to go to Fujian to serve as Prefect of Xinghua. The arrival of the new official County Magistrate would determine Tongcheng's power structure for the next six years.

The County Magistrate was a Circulating Official, a pure outsider who, before taking office, would be completely in the dark about Tongcheng. If he could become the first yamen employee the new magistrate got to know, naturally, future work would yield twice the result with half the effort.

This was naturally also very important to Pang Yu. Without the support of the top Chief Official, all his subsequent management improvements would be water without a source.

The Fast Squad now had twenty-three men on the roster, but Tang Weimin had yet to return, so the squad's finances were not yet running smoothly. Pang Yu was also still observing these people and had not assigned all the positions for the time being, so the organizational structure was somewhat loose, far from the ideal state Pang Yu had in mind.

Pang Yu's own plan was still to recruit some Auxiliaries. Once he got the pawnshops, gambling dens, and Brokerages in hand and could secure a fixed monthly income, he would then slowly strengthen the management system.

The foundation of everything lay in a stable income guarantee, plus the support of superiors within the power structure. If the Fast Squad still operated like before, sitting in the Runner Room as individual operators, there was no management to speak of; the relationship between the Squad Leader and the Runners was merely an exchange of benefits.

Therefore, for everyone in the county yamen during this period, how to maintain or elevate their position during the transfer of power was the most important thing.

Pang Yu stopped tapping the desk. "I sent Jiang Fan to Anqing Prefecture to stay there and gather information. When Magistrate Yang comes to take office, he will always have to go to Anqing Prefecture first to see Pi Daren before coming to Tongcheng."

Jiang Fan and He Xianya were somewhat similar in type. Neither was a martial man like Ruan Jin or Jiao Guozha; they didn't look like Runners who seized people, but rather like Advisors. Having both of them in the duty room at the same time was somewhat redundant.

He Xianya glanced outside the door and said, "I hear Wang Dazhuang is also inquiring everywhere and plans to send Wang Chaofeng to Anqing Prefecture."

Pang Yu thought back. That day when Wang Dazhuang had made things difficult for Pang Yu and Gu Xiaowu, it was this Wang Chaofeng he had sent to supervise the work, tormenting Pang Yu thoroughly for an entire night.

It seemed everyone had their eyes on Anqing. Although Yang Fangzao had not yet left, the middle-level cadres of the county yamen were already inquiring everywhere for news of the new County Magistrate, preparing to win a good first impression during the welcoming process.

"With his paltry manpower, he still wants to compete with my Fast Squad?" Pang Yu paused for a moment of strategic patience, then said to He Xianya, "You know of my personal grudge against Wang Dazhuang. This time, the Fast Squad also snatched four roster spots from the Runner Squad. Now we are like fire and water. Whatever our Fast Squad does, we must outdo him by a head, and the matter of welcoming the official is no exception."

"Then this matter hinges on Wang Chaofeng."

Pang Yu said, "Then I leave this matter to you to handle. Put in extra effort. Some of the old hands in the Fast Squad say that you rose from Auxiliary and want to be Squad Deputy without serving a single day as a Foot Runner, all because you are my third brother. I naturally know you have ability, but others do not. Although I can suppress them and keep them quiet, the best method is for you to show your skill and leave them with nothing to say."

He Xianya bowed and said, "Your subordinate will certainly handle it well and silence the others. I have already inquired carefully at the Rites Office. When welcoming an official, the Anqing Prefecture Personnel Office and Rites Office will both send an Official Document to inform us. The gentry, according to usual custom, go to Jieting Pavilion. The various officials within the county yamen, depending on their own opinion, should generally go to the County Boundary to welcome the official."

Pang Yu touched his smooth chin. "Then we shall go to Anqing to welcome him."

"If we go privately, Zhou County Deputy might harbor some displeasure."

"A good reminder. We must handle it with safety in mind when the time comes." Pang Yu nodded and asked again, "What has eldest brother been doing these two days?"

"He bought a former outer residence of the Wu family at the south gate. I hear it has three courtyards with gardens on the left and right. He's currently finding people to replace the furniture. In a few days, he'll probably host a housewarming banquet for friends and relatives. Apart from that, every afternoon..."

Pang Yu nodded slightly as he listened. Seeing He Xianya hesitate, he couldn't help but smile. "Between us brothers, there's nothing that can't be said. Is he going to the gambling den every day?"

He Xianya looked behind him and lowered his voice. "That nephew of Clerk Shen just reported for duty. He and eldest brother are gambling friends at the Silver Full Gambling Den. These two days, they've been wanting to meet at that gambling den all the time and never stay in the duty room."

"Then do you know how their wins and losses are going?"

"Eldest brother always charges in fiercely. Even if he wins at the start, he'll definitely lose it all back in the end. These two days, I hear he's lost over three hundred taels."

After He Xianya finished speaking, he stole a glance at Pang Yu, but Pang Yu showed no reaction, only saying softly, "That gambling den, I hear, was opened by Fang Yingqi. After he returned from Anqing, he bought up many people's family properties."

"He partnered with Liu Xiucai and bought this Silver Full Gambling Den on East Street, and also bought the Ye Family's Eastern Prosperity Tower on Zilai Street; it's still a food shop."

Pang Yu gave an assenting grunt. He Xianya probed, "Second brother, with eldest brother being so ostentatious, many people are privately speculating... some say he took Huang Wending's dirty silver, some say he took bribes from the bandit family dependents at the South Prison. I'm just afraid it will stir up trouble later."

Pang Yu looked at the desk without speaking. After a moment, he shook his head and said, "Think of a way to spread the word. It's best if people think he took bribes from the bandit family dependents."

"He did indeed take some," He Xianya said in a low voice. "People have come to him with requests. From what I know, he helped arrange the transfer of two prison cells."

Hearing this, Pang Yu couldn't help but rub his forehead. The interrogation of the rebels was not yet over, and judging by the Punishment Office's opinion, the longer the interrogation dragged on, the better, so they could keep the family dependents in suspense and continue extorting money from the various families.

The Fast Squad had gained some deterrent power, and the city of Tongcheng was stable, but the Punishment Office's methods always added elements of instability. Now that Yang Fangzao was about to leave office, he had no mind to manage the Punishment Office.

With the Chief Official silent, Pang Yu naturally did not dare to question it, because the Punishment Office was still their operational supervising unit. According to procedure, if the Punishment Office did not issue a License Ticket, the Fast Squad could not seize anyone. Once relations with the Punishment Office soured, the Fast Squad's future work would not proceed smoothly.

It was just that the Punishment Office had suffered successive blows recently, and coupled with Pang Yu's recent assertiveness, the Punishment Office had not dared to manage the Fast Squad. Once the new official took office and things returned to normal, Pang Yu would inevitably have to watch the Punishment Office's mood. Naturally, he dared not offend the Punishment Office too severely now.

"Call Pang Ding over later. Have him take charge of those few men at the South Prison. From now on, any matter concerning the South Prison must go through me for approval."

He Xianya acknowledged and then sighed.

Pang Yu rubbed his forehead and said, "This situation must change. No matter how we maneuver, it's all within the county yamen. A runner who reaches the top is still just a Squad Leader. Staying in this circle too long, you're forever stuck at the county yamen level."

He Xianya said, "Second brother could also purchase the title of Clerk, and later you could be promoted to Chief Clerk. In the past, one could even rise to County Vice-Magistrate or Zhubu. But now, with so many Juren and Imperial Academy Students backlogged, it's rare for a Clerk to be promoted to Miscellaneous Official."

"Last time it was said that once you become a Clerk, you can't become a County Magistrate. In the current situation, even rising from Clerk to Chief Clerk takes twenty years of grinding. To become a County Magistrate, it's at least more convenient to be a Juren or Tribute Student."

"Second brother means we should obtain an official scholarly status?"

"They have this society and that society, all scholars, at minimum a Xiucai. When you have free time, inquire about how to obtain a scholar's identity. I'll go join a society too."

At Liao Peak in Longmian Mountain, the cliffs and ravines were dappled with autumn colors. After the fresh rain, mist and cloud coiled about. Walking through the woods, the bird song was clear and secluded, as if encountering a fairyland on earth.

Pang Yu followed the mountain path, climbing the stone steps until he arrived outside the gate of a villa below Liao Peak. He saw the two characters "Ze Garden" written above the main gate.

This time, Fang Yizhi was already waiting in front of the gate. He cupped his hands toward Pang Yu and smiled. "From afar, I saw Pang Squad Leader stepping onto the mountain path. Fang calculated silently in his mind; Pang Squad Leader can rank among the top three for the shortest time climbing the mountain."

Pang Yu also cupped his hands. "I'm flattered that Young Master Fang remembers the times of all mountain climbers so clearly."

Fang Yizhi extended his hand and invited Pang Yu through the main gate. "I only remember the fast ones. Longmian Mountain is a place of numinous beauty. Every autumn, when appreciating the season, visitors come from all directions. Many pass by Ze Garden; I can't remember them all."

Pang Yu followed him into Ze Garden. This place served as a villa and was not designed like an ordinary residence. Upon entering the garden, there was a rockery and a lotus pond. A stream was diverted in from outside the garden, winding and circling within, instantly giving the garden scenery a lively spirit.

As Pang Yu walked, he said, "I hear that Mr. Fang is moving his entire family to Nanjing."

Fang Yizhi nodded. "It is true. My father has already sent people to Nanjing to search for a suitable residence. Once we leave Ze Garden, this Ze Society will also scatter." Fang Yizhi's tone held some melancholy; it was always so when leaving a place.

"Though Young Master Fang is leaving Ze Garden, Tongcheng remains Brother Fang's root. Whenever you return, Ze Garden will still be here."

Fang Yizhi laughed heartily upon hearing this. "I have lived in this Ze Garden for eight years. Every time I stay too long, I want to go out and travel far; when I travel far, I long to return. Today, suddenly leaving, not knowing when I can come back, I do feel some sadness. Pang Squad Leader seems to take it more in stride."

Pang Yu had lived in modern society before and was long accustomed to traveling north and south, eventually feeling no sense of belonging to any place. The ancients, with inconvenient transportation, naturally felt that sorrow upon leaving home much more intensely than someone like Pang Yu.

Fang Yizhi led Pang Yu into the rear garden. The courtyard was thickly planted with tall trees. Beside a small square pond stood a pavilion. Several people were already seated in the pavilion, gathered around a small low table, arguing loudly.

Taking advantage of not yet reaching the small pavilion, Fang Yizhi lowered his voice and asked Pang Yu, "Fang has heard that Ruan Xiansheng invited Pang Squad Leader to join the Zhongjiang Society."

Pang Yu said in surprise, "I am honored that Ruan Xiansheng thinks highly of me. It is true, but how did Young Master Fang come to know of it?"

"He's just spreading the word everywhere." Fang Yizhi paused briefly, then added, "Pang Squad Leader may not know this, but the story of how you, with just one sword, wiped out the rebels at Yunji Temple has already spread all along the river below Anqing. Some embellishers even claim you single-handedly quelled the civil unrest in Tongcheng. It might not be long before word reaches Nanjing."

"Is that so?" Pang Yu frowned and thought for a moment. It seemed he truly hadn't made good use of this publicity angle. In reality, cutting down over twenty heads in a single day was quite dramatic and very capable of satisfying people's appetite for the sensational.

With a bit of suitable artistic embellishment, it could earn him a very positive reputation, which would indeed be a great help for his future development.

"Thank you for the reminder, Young Master Fang. I will keep it in mind."

"Ruan Xiansheng's Zhongjiang Society focuses mainly on discussing military matters and swordsmanship. What he's likely taken a fancy to is Pang Squad Leader's reputation. As for Ruan Xiansheng himself… his past is rather difficult to speak of plainly. By all accounts, Ruan Xiansheng is an old family friend of the Fang Family, so by saying these things, Fang is somewhat playing the villain. But it would never be wrong for Pang Squad Leader to exercise a bit more caution."

Pang Yu knew Fang Yizhi meant well. He'd never had much of a concept of the Eunuch Faction before, and he still didn't now. Anyone could see that Ruan Dacheng was a man of strong ambition, but his contributions — donating Mobilization Silver to Wang Gongbi, funding recruitment for the Tongcheng county office — were real efforts. In Pang Yu's mind, Ruan was actually a bit more positive than some of those gentry who had made utter spectacles of themselves.

The two of them skirted the small pond and arrived at the pavilion. The several people inside all rose to offer greetings.

Pang Yu recognized most of them: Sun Lin, Mace Bingdeng, Jiang Chen, Jiang Zhihuai, and others. There was also a young man in a long gown whom he was meeting for the first time.

Fang Yizhi said to Pang Yu, "This is my paternal uncle, Fang Wen, courtesy name Erzhi."

Pang Yu was slightly surprised. This man looked even younger than Fang Yizhi, yet he was actually his uncle.

Fang Wen cupped his hands and laughed. "The uncle is actually a year younger than the nephew. Pang Squad Leader needn't scratch your head over a form of address — I treat all of Mizhi's friends as equals."

Pang Yu had no choice but to address him as Brother Fang, then exchanged greetings with each of the others in turn. Only Jiang Chen remained cold in demeanor; even Sun Lin's attitude was better than last time.

"Today is a gathering of our Ze Society. Last time, we agreed to study Current Affairs Essays and lecture on the Book of Changes and the Spring and Autumn Annals. But because Tongcheng has suffered a great upheaval — with the Tartars pressing at the borders abroad and the Central Plains boiling over at home — Wugong proposed that we should discuss military matters and study martial arts. Nothing is more urgent than strengthening the military, so today's topic is 'Strengthening the Military.'"

This was Pang Yu's first time attending a gathering of scholars. He could only listen to others speak first, so he quietly waited for someone else to begin.

Sun Lin had recently changed his courtesy name to Wugong and was the most eager about this topic. After listening, he spoke first. "In my humble opinion, the Tartars are the foreign invasion, and the Roving Bandits are the internal worry. If we speak of the harm done, the Roving Bandits are twice as bad as the Tartars. Villages dot the Central Plains like stars, and wherever the Roving Bandits pass, tens of thousands of people are displaced. A thousand towns and ten thousand villages all become ghost domains. The cruelty of the devastation is no less than what has happened in Liaodong. These were originally the sources of grain tax, but after the chaos, the surviving populace all become Refugees. They still need relief from other regions, and the moment relief falls short, the Refugees become the source of Local Bandits and Roving Thieves. This cycle repeats without end. The once flourishing Central Plains are now a thousand li of barren land."

Fang Yizhi softly recited, "Wild ghosts wail mournfully as dusk claims the sky; swirling dust and sand bury soldiers and war. Outside the southern wall, the blood of the war-dead has yet to fade; one gaze upon the Yellow River shows a thousand li stained red."

After a moment of silence among the group, Sun Lin continued, "It is all because the interior is hollow, almost as if left undefended. Take this civil unrest, for example. Huang Wending started with a mere twenty-odd men, yet threw Tongcheng into chaos for over a month, shaking dozens of counties and prefectures along the river. From Anqing Prefecture to Luzhou Prefecture, not a single soldier could be deployed. We still had to look to the Anchi Military Defense Circuit to transfer troops from Jiangnan, and even the troops of the Five Chief Military Commissions' defense forces numbered only a few hundred horsemen. That the mighty Nanzhili, the very region that supplies the realm's taxes, should be so weak — has such a thing ever been heard of since ancient times?"

Fang Wen clapped his hands and declared with fervor, "Well said! I once heard that during the Wokou troubles back then, fifty-three Wokou came from the sea and rampaged through three provinces with no one able to stop them. They even brazenly attacked Nanjing with just fifty-three men. The entire city of Nanjing shut its gates, and no one dared to go out and fight. At the time, I truly found it hard to believe, but having personally experienced the upheaval in Tongcheng, I now know it may not have been an empty tale."

Pang Yu listened, secretly clicking his tongue in astonishment. A band of fifty-three men marauding about was understandable, but assaulting a city was truly shocking to hear — and it also showed just how feeble the Ming Dynasty's south had become.

"Now the Roving Bandits run rampant, and Local Bandits swarm across the Central Plains. Although our Nanzhili is still at peace, we must not be careless." Sun Lin, worked up as he spoke, lifted the wine cup before him and drained it in one gulp. "In my view, the government troops cannot be relied upon. Every county, prefecture, and sub-prefecture must make preparations early — inspect and muster the Guards, organize Militia Training and Community Soldiers, and use Local Militia to defend the local land. That is the only long-term solution."

Sun Lin was about to continue, but Jiang Chen stood up and loudly declared, "What Brother Sun proposes is sufficient to protect one's home, but it is not enough to quell the chaos for the nation. Since ancient times, only with sufficient provisions can one strengthen the military. The court's Rations and Pay fall short of expenditures, and the Local Retention in the regions has been completely drained away by the Ministry of Revenue. Whether the County Granary or the county treasury, all are utterly empty. Militia Training and Community Soldiers are nothing but empty talk."

Fang Wen covered his mouth and said, "Brother Jiang is about to bring up that Paper Note Method again."

Fang Yizhi smiled. "All things have their underlying principles, which can be examined and verified in practice. The same holds true for the paper note method. Brother Jiang has mentioned his Paper Note Method many times, but always in vague terms. Today, he can explain it to us in detail."

Hearing the mention of issuing paper notes, Pang Yu's interest was piqued as well. He knew that in the early Ming, Precious Notes had been issued. Zhu Yuanzhang had enforced their use through administrative power, but because of imbalances in fiscal revenue, they could only be issued without restraint. The final Outcome was, naturally, ferocious Inflation. By the fifth year of the Yongle reign, they had already depreciated thirtyfold, and by the early Zhengde years, they were basically abolished.

He wondered what kind of paper note method a minor scholar like Jiang Chen had researched. Could it be that he had the potential to be a central bank governor?

"According to my calculations, the Ming Dynasty's silver reserves total two hundred and fifty million taels. All of this silver should be collected by the court. The court would issue fifty million in paper notes each year, with a five-year boundary, totaling two hundred and fifty million. By then, the common people's silver will have been nearly entirely extracted, after which it cannot be sustained. Therefore, after one boundary, the old notes will be exchanged for new. Once five boundaries have been implemented, the total amount of money circulating in the realm will be sufficient to balance it out." (Note 1)

After Jiang Chen finished speaking, he looked around with proud self-satisfaction. Pang Yu's mouth hung wide open as he stared blankly at the brimming confidence before him.

After a stunned moment, Pang Yu finally couldn't help but ask, "Then may I ask, Brother Jiang, how exactly do you plan to use fifty million taels' worth of paper notes to extract an equivalent amount of silver from the common people each year? By robbing them?"

……

Note 1: In the sixteenth year of the Chongzhen reign, the Ming Dynasty's final attempt to issue paper notes was proposed by this very Jiang Chen of Tongcheng.