Chapter 76: Official Loans

"Your subordinate Yang Erming of Junlian pays respects to Lord Pi."

The young County Magistrate, clad in a seventh-rank civil official's robe, knelt in the main hall and saluted Pi Yingju with deep reverence.

Pi Yingju could originally have offered no return courtesy at all, because in the Ming Dynasty, a subordinate meeting a superior to report official business was explicitly required to kneel, and the superior had no need to return the gesture — when no official business was being reported, kneeling could indeed be avoided. But within this rule, whether a subordinate meeting a superior counted as reporting business was very hard to define, since any meeting generally involved some matter; after all, two local magistrates wouldn't just run into each other buying vegetables at the market.

In the distribution of power, the subordinate was also extremely weak, so by the late Ming, this rule had evolved into kneeling for any meeting with a superior, to avoid displeasing the superior, while the superior did not need to return the courtesy.

But today, Pi Yingju left the seat of honor, personally helped Yang Erming to his feet, and introduced him one by one to the assistant officials of the prefectural office. He also personally introduced Yang Erming to the clerks of the prefectural office's six sections, the Document Receiving Section, the Archive Repository, the Administrative Office, and the Postal Relay Office, which could be considered giving Yang Erming full face.

"Jinxian (Yang Erming's courtesy name), young and promising. Before you came to take up your post, someone told me that this term's Tongcheng County Magistrate is likely the youngest county magistrate since the founding of our dynasty. Seeing you today, I now know those words were not empty."

Yang Erming's face reddened, and he said in a low voice, "Your subordinate has been lifted along the way by various lords, and to be ranked in the Third Class was truly the sheerest luck."

Although Yang Erming's responses were passably proper, in Pang Yu's eyes, there was still a sense of unreality up to this moment.

Yang Erming had by now changed into his official robes, and this slightly callow middle-schooler before him was indeed the new County Magistrate. Pang Yu had never seen the statistics, but he estimated that in the nearly three hundred years of the Ming Dynasty, Yang Erming was absolutely one of the youngest county magistrates ever. It also showed how strict the imperial examination system was — even if it was a mere child, as long as he passed the Presented Scholar exam, the Ministry of Personnel had to assign him a post.

Yang Erming was precisely a Third Class graduate of the seventh year of the Chongzhen reign, granted Tong Presented Scholar status, fourteen years old this year, and his initial appointment was Tongcheng County Magistrate. The initial appointment had a great influence on future promotions. For a Third Class Presented Scholar, an initial appointment as county magistrate in Nanzhili was a fairly good placement. The best was to become a Censor or enter the Hanlin Academy as a Hanlin Bachelor — of course, the quotas were limited, and as a Tong Presented Scholar from the third list, without some background, it was not so easy. And without having served as a Hanlin Bachelor, according to the unwritten rules of the Ming official world, one could not become a Grand Secretary in the future.

However, Yang Erming was too young, and these rules might not apply to him. At fourteen, he came to govern a region. Even if he served a full six-year term, he would only be twenty, and by then the promotion channels would be very abundant — he could rise toward Vice Prefect or Prefect, or possibly move in the direction of Censor.

If by chance he moved toward Censor, whether as a local Regional Inspector or in the Censorate in the Capital, his prospects would be boundless. Therefore, when facing a county magistrate of Presented Scholar background, Pi Yingju did not dare put on too many airs. Who knew — in a few years, if Yang Erming were promoted to Regional Inspector, he might instead become his superior. If it were a Juren county magistrate, Pi Yingju would not have been so courteous, because a Juren could never become a Censor, only rising within the local system, and thus could never become Pi Yingju's direct superior.

Pang Yu also had no idea what the Ministry of Personnel was thinking. If it were up to Pang Yu to arrange, keeping him as a Capital Official to gain experience before sending him out might have been better. Because no matter how Pang Yu looked at him, Yang Erming seemed like a child — especially when he spoke, it felt as if his voice hadn't even finished changing, still carrying a bit of a child's tone. Perhaps ancient people developed later; his stature hadn't reached the development level of later-era middle-schoolers either.

Even if Yang Erming was supremely talented, social experience still required the accumulation of years, and with his shota-like image, it would be very hard to establish true authority before those old foxes in the county office.

People from every section office around the main hall had come out to watch, whispering in low murmurs, some pointing and gesturing at Yang Erming, covering their mouths and secretly laughing — it seemed they indeed lacked the usual awe reserved for a county magistrate.

Pang Yu swept his gaze around. Yang Erming's advisor had been following behind him the whole time, occasionally offering reminders, while the two servants, one old and one young, stayed far back. They were somewhat timid, as if not yet fully accustomed to an occasion like the prefectural office.

Pang Yu said in a low voice to Jiang Fan behind him, "Magistrate Yang is probably not from an official family."

"Squad Leader, why do you think so?"

"If he were from an established family, the two household servants would be thoroughly accustomed to government offices and wouldn't wear such fearful expressions."

Jiang Fan nodded. Pang Yu continued, "Later, if the two of them separate, go and make friends with the young one. Sound out the identities of all of them clearly."

"Yes. But why not the old household servant or the advisor?"

"The advisor is too shrewd, always full of wariness — that kind of person is not easily befriended, and approaching him now would only provoke his dislike. The old household servant is relatively steady, plainly dressed and unconcerned with his appearance — that kind of person has no desires, and you'd likely get a face full of dust. That young household servant has lively eyes, his clothes are kept very clean, and his hair is neatly gathered in a net cap — you can see he has some aspirations for the quality of life. Where there are aspirations, it's easier to make friends. Don't be afraid to spend silver."

"There's also an old woman at the inn, who also came with Lord Yang."

Pang Yu laughed. "Then if you're willing to use a honey trap, you could give the old woman a try too."

"For the Squad Leader, using a honey trap once wouldn't matter, but it's truly inconvenient. Squad Leader, when you left, you should have brought that female aide along — she'd be just the thing to use now."

"That female aide is precisely inconvenient to bring out."

Having said this, Pang Yu thought of Zhou Yueru. After the uprising was suppressed, this woman had neither come to serve as an aide nor gone to help at the medicine shop. Only after the old woman returned did she come to the new residence twice, helping with some housework. In nearly three months, she hadn't repaid the mortgage even once; instead, Pang Yu had given her over ten taels of silver in return.

However, she still maintained a relatively close relationship with Mr. Yu's wife. In Pang Yu's view, as long as she could handle this matter well, that bit of silver wasn't wasted. This trip to Anqing had also shown him that having a female aide did sometimes offer certain conveniences.

"Just keep an eye on that young household servant. When he's alone, go and strike up a conversation. Be sure to ask clearly about the circumstances of those people, and what that strange person does. This household servant has followed Yang Erming the whole way here, so he should know more clearly than the Personnel Office."

Jiang Fan answered in a low voice. Pang Yu was about to add a couple more words of advice when he suddenly heard a call from the platform.

"Tongcheng's Pang Squad Leader."

Pang Yu started. Recognizing Pi Yingju's voice, he hurriedly stepped up onto the platform, not daring to get too close, and hastily knelt. "This humble one, Pang Yu of the Tongcheng Constable, pays respects to Lord Pi and Lord Yang."

Pi Yingju gently told Pang Yu to rise, then said to Yang Erming, "Has Jinxian already met Pang Squad Leader? During the Tongcheng Uprising some days ago, it was Pang Squad Leader who single-handedly quelled the unrest. These days, even Nanjing knows of Pang Squad Leader's name. The uprising has only just been put down, and the journey is indeed somewhat unsettled. With Pang Squad Leader accompanying Jinxian to take up his post, I can set my mind at ease."

Yang Erming's face was still a bit flushed. He didn't quite dare look Pi Yingju in the eye and said with his head lowered, "I met him earlier at the inn. I also asked about the civil unrest and only then learned that Lord Pi personally entered Tongcheng to quell the chaos, which makes this subordinate… somewhat admire you."

"That day, rioters like Huang Wending swarmed the suburban area, their numbers nearing ten thousand, clamoring to first break Tongcheng and then break Anqing. Yet Lord Pi, fearing no danger or hardship, faced Huang Wending and the others and rebuked them severely. That awe-inspiring righteousness cowed the bandits, and the greater part of them dispersed that very day. It was only later that this humble one was able to borrow the lord's prestige and, by luck, render some small merit. In the final analysis, it was Lord Pi who broke the bandits' momentum and preserved the peace of Tongcheng."

As soon as Pang Yu delivered these words, everyone in the prefectural office took careful note of him — first, to see the legendary constable whose courage was said to top Tongcheng, and second, to see who could deliver flattery so nauseatingly thick.

Pi Yingju accepted such flattery with composure, because he had indeed gone to offer amnesty to the rioters during the uprising, and the detailed report submitted to Zhang Guowei had described it exactly so — that he had severely rebuked the rioters, and the rioters had bowed their heads and admitted their faults, thus preserving Tongcheng's county granary and jail.

What Pang Yu now said dovetailed perfectly with that. Pi Yingju smiled serenely and said with an air of great modesty, "It is my duty; whatever I did was only what I ought to have done."

Hearing of Pi Yingju's heroic deed, Yang Erming, perhaps somewhat awed, moved with a slight awkwardness. Only after a moment did he say to Pi Yingju again, "It was all because I came too slowly, causing Lord Pi and Magistrate Yang to personally face danger. I am ashamed."

After exchanging further courtesies, Pi Yingju had the Personnel Office and the Rites Office handle the procedures for Yang Erming. Yang Erming's advisor quickly beckoned to the old servant behind him, and the old servant, carrying the appointment certificate, hurriedly followed them to the Personnel Office.

Pang Yu turned to look and saw the young servant below had been left where he was, looking somewhat at a loss, not knowing what to do — precisely at his most awkward, most insecure moment.

At that moment, Jiang Fan walked up beside that household servant and began chatting with him warmly.

……

"The Squad Leader was right; that household servant was indeed easy to befriend. Your subordinate has found out everything clearly. That person who came along is from the Capital, lending official seal money."

Pang Yu asked, puzzled, "What official seal money?"

"It's like lending at high interest specifically to Presented Scholar waiting for vacancies. According to that household servant, many Presented Scholars, after passing the exams, don't have enough silver. The Ministry of Personnel doesn't have many vacancies either. To secure a vacancy, one must grease palms everywhere in the Ministry of Personnel, and perhaps also go around the Capital visiting fellow townsmen and same-year graduates to socialize and pave the way for the future. So, except for those from especially wealthy families, no one has enough silver. There are people who specialize in lending high-interest loans to Presented Scholar, to be repaid after they take up their posts."

"Damn, it's so marketized." Pang Yu rubbed his chin. There were many things about the Ming Dynasty he had never heard of — for example, that criminal punishments could be served by a paid substitute. Now, this business of lending money to officials was also something he hadn't expected.

And this was indeed the ecology of the late Ming official world. In the Capital, outside the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War, there were large numbers of loan-shark brokers who lent money to officials, collecting interest after they took up their posts. There had even been cases of officials driven to hang themselves by loan sharks.

"You mean that person who came along lent high-interest money to Magistrate Yang in the Capital and followed him to his post to collect the principal and interest."

"Exactly."

"How much did Magistrate Yang borrow?"

Jiang Fan said in a low voice, "One thousand three hundred taels. The IOU is written for two thousand taels. And that's said to be on the low side for borrowing."

Pang Yu frowned in thought for a moment, then smiled. "Then I'll go have a talk with that person."