Chapter 247: A Great Man Cannot Go a Single Day Without Authority

In late June of the twenty-third year of King Zheng of Qin, Anlu County, which had just seen two major cases break out, received a very interesting personnel transfer.

Anlu County's Right Commandant Zheng Shou was transferred to Yidao County to serve as County Commandant. Although it appeared to be a lateral transfer, in reality it was a demotion.

Anlu was a large county with over ten thousand registered households, while Yidao was a "minority autonomous county" with barely over a thousand households of registered commoners. Moreover, in April, a vile incident had occurred where the county commandant was killed by the local Ba barbarians. Although the rebellion had been put down, anyone could see that Yidao was hard to govern, and going there to serve as an official was tantamount to exile...

This demotion was expected, because the Legalist school in power, unlike the Huang-Lao school that favored tranquility and non-action, was characterized by "urgent governance." Coupled with the influence of King Zheng of Qin's own impatient temperament, a climate of seeking quick success and instant benefits pervaded from top to bottom. Those who could show political achievements in the short term were easily promoted. For example, within a hundred days of Governor Ye taking office in Nan Commandery, he issued several consecutive decrees to kill bandits, prune powerful local magnates, and rectify official conduct, earning the King of Qin's praise and a free hand to act.

However, in over a year as an official in Anlu, Zheng Shou had accomplished almost nothing. Until the Yun Man case broke, this Right Commandant Zheng Shou knew very little about his crimes, forming a stark contrast with the capable efficiency of Heifu and others, and was probably deemed "mediocre" by the Commandery Commandant.

After receiving this appointment notice, Zheng Shou had his servants pack up the luggage at home, while his heart was filled with bitterness.

He was a man of Han from Yingchuan Commandery and had not submitted to Qin for many years. Influenced by over thirty years of past thinking, after taking up his post in Anlu, he was far too friendly to the local magnates. In the first year, he was directly a puppet of Yun Man, going along with whatever he said.

This year, as those meritorious Qin conscripts returned to their hometowns, he only then managed to seize back some power from Yun Man by appointing them as Commandant Clerks, Patrol Officers, Village Chiefs, and Platoon Chiefs.

But with the investigation into the Yun and Li clans' collusion with the feudal lords, Zheng Shou then discovered that those locals he had recruited as minor officials actually felt no gratitude toward him at all. In particular, Commandant Clerk Li Xian had long been investigating the Yun clan's dirty secrets, yet never breathed a word of it to him...

Only then did he understand that these old subordinates of Heifu still regarded Heifu as their benefactor, and saw him as a stranger.

Official business had long been handed over. Zheng Shou dragged his feet for a few days, and only after attending the farewell banquets hosted by the County Magistrate and County Deputy did he reluctantly set out, taking only the carriage he had come with, pulling a cart of luggage, and a few maidservants and servants as he left his post.

When he reached the city gate, he was surprised to find it crowded with people, mostly officials from the Commandant's office led by Li Xian, as well as minor officials from various departments like Nu and Yue, also waiting there.

Zheng Shou thought these people had come to see him off, and for a moment felt both surprised and delighted. However, those people were all craning their necks looking westward. Only when Zheng Shou's carriage approached did they suddenly realize and hurriedly turn around to salute.

"We are waiting here to see Lord Zheng off."

It was Li Xian who was quick-witted, spinning a lie on the spot, and he took out his money pouch, smiling: "This is a parting gift from us. May Lord Zheng's official career be smooth from now on..."

Only then did the others react, and they all hurriedly took out their money pouches, improvising some parting gifts on the spot, some as much as three or four hundred coins, some as little as a hundred. Zheng Shou felt somewhat uncomfortable, always feeling this was like charity.

Among these people, Heifu's old subordinates were almost all present, and they were also holding brooms used for welcoming—that is, sweepers—to show the intention of sweeping the path in welcome.

How could Zheng Shou not understand? These people had not come to see him off, but to welcome Anlu's new Left Commandant.

As some leave, others come. Besides Zheng Shou being transferred away, Heifu, who served in the commandery as Left Military Clerk, was transferred to Anlu County to serve as Left Commandant...

By sheer coincidence, the day Zheng Shou left was precisely the day Heifu arrived at his post. Upon inquiring, Li Xian and the others said that Heifu had already reached Beijiao Township and would soon arrive at the county seat.

"Will Lord Zheng not wait a while longer?" Li Xian asked.

"No need. I have already explained all the handover matters to you all. The appointment notice requires me to assume office before the seventh month. It is already late June, I can delay no longer."

Zheng Shou did not wish to linger either. He had the driver speed up to leave Anlu, and instead of taking the main road to the commandery seat, he took another road southwest to avoid running into Heifu midway and the mutual awkwardness.

Looking back at those old subordinates holding brooms and craning their necks, compared to his own shabby departure with no one to see him off, and the warm welcome Heifu was about to receive, the bitterness in Zheng Shou's heart was beyond words. He could only secretly think: "Having backing really does make a difference!"

Clearly, besides the demotion, his transfer was also to make room for Heifu. Commandery Commandant Li You was determined to let Heifu monopolize Anlu's military authority.

The vacancy for Anlu's Right Commandant would not be filled for several months. Before then, all military and bandit affairs in Anlu would be decided by Heifu...

Thinking this way, Zheng Shou actually felt a little better.

"After the fall of the Yun clan, Heifu's old subordinates, holding military merit ranks, have virtually seized real power in the County Commandant's office and wield considerable influence in the townships and villages. Hah! No sooner has Half-County Yun fallen than a Half-County Heifu arrives! Being transferred away at this juncture, avoiding his edge and escaping being his puppet, is actually not a bad thing!"

Half a shichen after Zheng Shou left, Heifu indeed arrived. Because Qin laws and decrees strictly forbade officials from bringing old subordinates to a new post, and before becoming a senior commandery official, they were not even allowed to have aides. Thus, Heifu still only brought his appointment notice, official tally, and his driver Sangmu, the two of them leaving Jiangling in one cart.

But by the time he reached Beijiao Township in Anlu County, the number of followers had grown. The Patrol Officer here, Dongmen Bao, was his die-hard loyalist. Without a word of objection, he had been waiting at the county border with a group of village and hamlet constables, and on the pretext of going to the county seat on official business, brought several men to escort him the whole way.

Dongmen Bao had the village and hamlet constables under him surround the carriage front and back, and said with conviction: "A new official taking office is precisely the time to show the county folk his prestige. How can we let his momentum be weak?"

"Of course," he added with a grin, "after all the events of these past two years, who in the county doesn't know the Village Chief's prestige and renown?"

As he spoke, he personally held the horse's bridle for Heifu, like a foot soldier at the front. Heifu scolded him: "A'Bao, you are at least a ranked official in a township. Leading my horse, aren't you afraid of being laughed at?"

"In this Beijiao Township, who dares laugh at your father!"

Dongmen Bao's temperament was still the same. He raised an eyebrow and swept his gaze over the villagers pointing and whispering at him by the roadside. The crowd immediately fell silent and walked away pretending nothing had happened. It was clear that after half a year as Patrol Officer, Dongmen Bao had reached a level where the entire township feared him.

A month ago, Heifu had been ordered to come arrest Yun Man; he came in a hurry and left in a hurry, only meeting Dongmen Bao briefly. So Dongmen Bao had a lot bottled up, and for the rest of the journey, he boasted profusely about himself.

"When I first arrived at Beijiao Township, the local township magnates still tried to bully me. I just followed the method the Village Chief told me: first suppress the bandits, arrest the idle loafers, and execute a few according to law to establish authority. Then the township magnates knew I wasn't someone to be trifled with and dared not slight me."

In their conversation, Heifu also learned a piece of good news: Dongmen Bao's wife was pregnant again. Who knew if, besides that pair of strapping twin daughters, she could bear him a son this time...

Willows, rice paddies, and ponds full of lotus flowers were gradually left behind. When they reached the edge of the county seat, Heifu received an enthusiastic welcome even greater than at Beijiao!

A student from the academy was pushed to the very front by the crowd—it was Jing. Last time Heifu returned, he hadn't even managed to see his younger brother. Hearing that Heifu was coming back to Anlu as an official, no one was happier than him. He came up and grinned: "Second Brother, we've finally been waiting for you!"

At this moment, the crowd behind also bowed in salute. One person squeezed out from the crowd, holding a broom in both hands, and bowed low: "Your subordinate officials respectfully welcome the County Commandant to his post!"

Heifu looked and laughed. It was none other than an old acquaintance, Centurion Chen—Chen Bu.

Speaking of which, of the two centurions from Heifu's conscript labor days, Centurion Bin, deeply implicated in the Yun Man case, had been executed along with Yun Man. Centurion Chen, however, had been shuffled around these past few years, transferred from centurion to Commandant Clerk in another county, and after making a full circle, was transferred back to Anlu.

Heifu got off the carriage, helped Centurion Chen up, and exchanged greetings with Yue, Nu, Li Xian, and the others, smiling as he said: "Gentlemen, you've made a mistake. I'm no outsider, why greet me with brooms?"

"Holding brooms" was a ceremonial rite of this era for welcoming an official to his post. The original idea was that when a guest was coming, the host would clean the house beforehand to show respect and welcome. Although holding a broom, one did not actually sweep; it was merely a gesture, walking ahead with the broom to lead the way, guiding the official into the county, as if personally sweeping the path to await him.

But Heifu felt very much like the host. Coming to Anlu this time was like a wanderer returning home.

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, the crowd, like stars clustering around the moon, escorted him into the city and toward the government offices. Along the way, many familiar faces, seeing Heifu, bowed from a distance, their eyes envious and admiring. Facing his fellow townsmen, Heifu was not arrogant either, cupping his hands in salute to each.

He first paid his respects to the County Magistrate and County Deputy, and only then arrived at the County Commandant's office. It had long been arranged by Li Xian and the others to be tidied up until it looked brand new, the main hall doors wide open, awaiting its new master.

Upon entering, everything was as before, including the large jujube tree in the courtyard, standing graceful and tall, its flowering season nearing its end.

Over the past two years, Heifu had come and gone here countless times. He recalled the first time he came here, still a lowly common soldier, led in by Centurion Chen, sitting on his heels and bowing nervously. Now, he was moving in as the "master" of this place, and Centurion Chen had instead become his subordinate, fawning and currying favor the whole journey. Comparing the two, Heifu could not help but feel deeply moved.

When the news came that Heifu was to be transferred to serve as Anlu County's Left Commandant, many in the commandery were puzzled, and some even secretly laughed at him.

Because the post of Left Military Clerk was ranked at two hundred dan. Though a subordinate official, it was still a commandery post, low in rank but heavy in authority, and moreover kept one constantly at the side of the Commandery Commandant.

The county Left Commandant post was ranked equivalent to four hundred dan. It seemed like a promotion, but if a Military Clerk came to the county on inspection under commandery orders, the County Commandant would still have to receive him with apologetic courtesy!

To make an analogy, Heifu remembered reading Romance of the Three Kingdoms in his past life. It mentioned that after the Yellow Turban Rebellion was quelled, Liu Bei, for his merits, was appointed Commandant of Anxi County. He happened to encounter an Inspector touring the counties. Liu Bei went outside the city wall to greet him and saluted the Inspector, but the Inspector sat on his horse and merely answered with a slight flick of his whip, which led to the story of Zhang Fei furiously flogging the Inspector...

The systems of Qin and Han were similar. Although Qin had no Inspectors, the rank was equivalent to a Military Clerk—both were commandery officials of one hundred or two hundred dan, low in rank but heavy in authority. Pointing and glancing at a County Commandant was considered normal. So in the eyes of many in Jiangling City, they would rather be a hundred-dan clerical commandery official than a ranked county Left Commandant of three or four hundred dan.

However, a County Commandant also had things a Military Clerk did not, such as the warm welcome of fellow townsmen and old subordinates, and having his own independent office to work in.

"And real, tangible military authority! Plus the chance to train fellow hometown soldiers!"

That defensive battle at Yidao had made Heifu understand that on the battlefield, only soldiers he had personally trained were reliable. And in this era where hometown ties were extremely strong, the most trustworthy and dependable people, those who would share weal and woe with you and never abandon you at critical moments, were still the sons of your hometown.

After arriving at the main hall, Li Xian and the other Commandant Clerks, following protocol, presented the gilt-bronze wooden tiger tally symbolizing Anlu County's military authority.

Unlike the tiger tally that the commandery governor or commandery commandant would temporarily hand to him and he had to return immediately afterward, this item — as long as he held office for a single day — he could keep it in his possession the entire time!

Clutching this tiger tally, surrounded by his former subordinates and clerks, Heifu, after arriving in this era, finally felt for the first time the sensation of holding "power" in the palm of his hand!

Though this power was small — his orders could not go beyond a hundred li, the soldiers he could train numbered no more than a thousand-odd, and he still had to act according to Qin law — to Heifu, it was like a person originally lost and helpless amid the chaos of the world suddenly seizing a sharp blade.

From now on, not only could he be another's blade, he also had a blade in his own hand!

This long-absent sense of security was exquisitely wonderful; Heifu was like a shark that had tasted fresh blood — once he grasped it, he was unwilling to let go.

A hint of a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth: "No wonder they all say, a true man cannot go a single day without power!"

PS: Chapter 2 at 10 PM.

(End of chapter)