Chapter 306: Acting Magistrate of Poyang

Strictly speaking, Hei Fu's title of Poyang Magistrate should have the word "Acting" in front of it — meaning he is the temporary county head.

The Qin state was highly efficient; military conquest was almost always accompanied by the establishment of new commanderies and counties.

After the Jing region was pacified and divided into commanderies and counties, four commanderies were set up in the Huai River's northern region, while Jiujiang Commandery was established in the Huai River's southern region. In the plans of the King of Qin and his ministers, this commandery's territory was to be vast, encompassing not only the entire Chu region south of the Huai, but even crossing the Great River and Pengli Marsh to administer as far as Poyang.

However, because a large number of officials had already been assigned to the various counties south of the Huai, Jiujiang Commandery could not, for the moment, find a suitable candidate to take up the post in Poyang. Following precedent, they appointed Hei Fu, the man who had conquered this place, as Acting Magistrate, placing Poyang under military administration for the next several months.

Thus, Hei Fu's authority as Acting Poyang Magistrate was extraordinarily broad. He held not only the civil administrative powers of an ordinary county magistrate, but could even oversee judicial matters — to say nothing of military affairs. Hei Fu still concurrently held the post of Detached Division Major in the Southern Expedition Army, and in military matters continued to follow the orders of Li You.

"So my official remit is the three-in-one combination of County Magistrate, County Commandant, and County Assistant."

Hei Fu toyed with the black-ribboned bronze seal and clicked his tongue. "This acting magistrate post of mine — I wouldn't trade it even for a full magistrate's appointment!"

The assembled officers roared with laughter. Of course Hei Fu was joking; if their guess was right, once the southern campaign ended, his time as acting magistrate would come to an end too.

Hei Fu looked toward Ji Ying, who had made a trip to Jiujiang Commandery on his behalf. "Tell everyone what news you heard over there."

"I heard people say that Xiong Qi, who falsely claimed the title of King of Chu, is already dead!" Ji Ying's opening words brought major news to the group.

It turned out that during the eleventh and twelfth months, at roughly the same time Li You was attacking Changsha and Hei Fu was subduing Pengli, Wang Jian and Meng Wu had also linked up with Tu Sui's tower-ship force. Supplied with grain from Nan Commandery, they built pontoon bridges and crossed the Great River, launching their offensive against Jiangdong — the last pocket of Chu resistance.

Wang Jian's assault was swift and fierce, pitting overwhelming weight against a featherweight, and he drove the Chu remnants back in rout after rout. The last King of Chu, Xiong Qi, also died at Danyang.

Now, the Qin army had already begun its attack on Gusu. That place would likely be the final bastion of the Jing-Chu remnant people…

This was the latest news Ji Ying had gathered. By now, perhaps, the Qin army had already taken Gusu and fully seized the Wu lands.

Hei Fu addressed his men: "Old General Wang has already pacified Jiangdong. We too must march south at an early date, seize Upper Gan, and bring the entire Gan River, from source to mouth, under Qin official governance!"

For him, Poyang was not the endpoint, but the starting point.

Unlike Pengze, this place had a long history. Three hundred years ago, during the Spring and Autumn period, the Chu state had already built a city wall here and begun settling and governing it. Now, Poyang's outer wall measured seven li in circumference and its inner wall two li. Its inhabitants were mostly Chu people, numbering over a thousand households, making it the largest city in the present-day Jiangxi region.

As a local, Xu Shu, who was skilled at planning and strategy, analyzed the situation for Hei Fu: "During the Spring and Autumn period, Wu and Chu repeatedly fought over this town. Why? This land has broad valleys and great rivers, and it sits at the junction of Wu and Chu. It borders the Great River to the north and is separated by layered lakes to the west. Armies marching in and out have always used it as a thoroughfare. Moreover, following the Po River eastward leads to the headwaters of the Zhe River, and drifting downstream from there one can reach Kuaiji. Going south along the Yugan River and crossing the mountain ridges brings one to Ouyue and Minyue… Therefore, Poyang is the key strategic point of Yuzhang."

Hei Fu had some interest in those two places — they should be the later Wenzhou and Fujian, currently ruled by Yue chieftains. Xu Shu added that the present-day Yue chieftains mostly claimed descent from King Goujian of Yue. Besides Minyue and Ouyue, even the Yangyue Mei clan on the middle reaches of the Gan River did the same.

That was the path Hei Fu had to take going south, but before setting out, he first had to stabilize Poyang.

The next day, Hei Fu had Li Xian and Xu Shu come to see him at separate times and asked them for strategies to pacify Poyang.

Their opinions were remarkably similar: in the governance of a true king, nothing is more urgent than dealing with bandits and thieves! The remnants of Lord Poyang and Lord E had fled into the mountain forests, single-mindedly seeking revenge for their two lords. In the eyes of Qin officials, they had already become bandits and thieves and must be exterminated.

Hei Fu then used his authority to appoint Five-Hundred-Man Commander An Pu as Head of the Bandit Bureau, with five hundred men under him responsible for Poyang's public order. Every few days they would enter the villages and mountain forests to carry out sweeps.

Once there were men to hunt down the "bandits and thieves," the second task was to re-establish order.

On this matter, Li Xian and Xu Shu diverged.

Li Xian believed that Qin's legal and administrative system should be moved to Poyang wholesale and unchanged, appointing military law officers from Anlu as prison officials to govern the people with strict law.

Xu Shu, however, believed this was absolutely unnecessary.

"The Major has only just taken Poyang, and the people's hearts are not yet settled. You cannot suddenly bind them with Qin law. The Chu enfeoffed lords never missed a chance to tell the common people that Qin law is harsh, cruel, and brutal. If you press too hard, it will instead breed resentment among the people, and they may even aid the bandits."

Although Hei Fu very much wanted to bring the famous "three-article covenant" to Poyang, he dared to use the gold produced at the Gold Extraction Site for military funds, but he absolutely did not dare tamper with the law.

"Titles and ritual vessels cannot be lent to others." For the feudal lords of the Spring and Autumn period, the vessels were the symbolic ritual bronzes — the ding-cauldrons, gui-tureens, and bell-chimes. For the Qin state, the Qin legal code was the vessel of the state, and anyone who recklessly altered it would suffer the harshest punishment…

Hei Fu dared not act recklessly. After thinking it over, he adopted Xu Shu's suggestion and announced that until the County Assistant appointed by Jiujiang Commandery arrived to take up the post, Poyang would be governed entirely according to old customs. In this way, he neither overstepped his bounds nor made a concession to the local powerful families, making them willing to cooperate with the Qin army.

Hei Fu also released some of Lord Poyang's subordinate soldiers who were willing to submit. After they returned home and spread word of the Qin army's "benevolence," the Chu people of Poyang breathed a collective sigh of relief, and the tense, heavy atmosphere within the city relaxed somewhat.

After completing this task, it was already mid-first month. Magistrate Hei busily set Xu Shu and Li Xian to arranging the spring plowing.

Since it concerned this year's food supply, even though the Chu people still somewhat resisted Qin rule, they dared not delay. Hei Fu thus got to witness the Jiangnan region's farming method: "fire-plowing and water-weeding."

The so-called "fire-plowing" was what is usually termed "slash-and-burn." Hei Fu discovered that the farmers inside and outside the city did not plant the previous year's fields. Instead, they went to mountain forest wastelands far from the city and set a huge fire.

The fire burned away the couch grass on the hillsides and the shrubs mixed among them, leaving the ash as fertilizer. Then they sowed dryland crops like millet and beans. The locals called this "burning the wastes."

Besides the drylands, there were also many paddy fields along the banks of the Po River, where they grew rice. Li Xian went to inspect them once, and upon returning, described the scene he had witnessed to Hei Fu.

"In Nan Commandery, farmers all use oxen to plow for rice cultivation. But here in Poyang, no one even knows what ox-plowing is! Not just the common people — even the nobles and powerful clan heads know nothing of it, and they often slaughter oxen for food."

"When they plant rice, the entire family goes into the paddy fields barefoot to trample the rice stubble loose and tread the weeds to death. This is what they call water-weeding…"

With this comparison, Hei Fu realized just how terrifyingly obsessive the Qin state was in promoting advanced production methods. Even in the most remote villages, people could more or less learn techniques like ox-plowing and compost-fertilizing from the field officials.

Chu was different. The King of Chu's orders could not reach the border enfeoffed lords, and most of those lords were ignorant and short-sighted. This led to a situation where, across the vast Jiangnan region, ox-plowing practically did not exist.

"Li Xian, what do you think would happen if I promoted ox-plowing and compost-fertilizing here?" Hei Fu asked Li Xian.

Li Xian, however, thought it would be very difficult. "Jiangnan is vast in land and sparse in people, with abundant natural resources. Add to that the hot climate and two harvests a year, and the farmers become lazy. They scatter seeds everywhere and do rough, casual plowing, yet can still scrape together a full meal. Even if famine strikes, they can eat the fruit in the mountain forests or fish and clams and the like."

"Therefore, intensive cultivation techniques like ox-plowing and compost-fertilizing, even if forcibly promoted, would be hard to see results from in a short time — unless you bind them with Qin laws and decrees, forcing them to farm that way."

His words made sense. Hei Fu nodded and said, "In that case, these civil administrative matters should wait until the war ends and the real officials arrive, then be slowly implemented."

Hei Fu did not want to waste too much time either, as long as no famine broke out this year.

By late first month, Hei Fu had already had Li Xian scrape together and stockpile several thousand dan of grain and fodder, completing preparations to set out again. And the request he had sent Ji Ying to deliver to Jiujiang Commandery at the start of the month had also received a reply…

On the last day of the first month, Hei Fu once again assembled his subordinates. Under their expectant gazes, he produced a stack of appointment documents approved by Jiujiang Commandery.

This was the final matter Hei Fu had to handle: selecting the men to accompany him south and arranging the personnel to stay behind.

"Five-Hundred-Man Commander Zhao Tuo will concurrently serve as Acting Patrol Officer of Pengze, responsible for the defense of the entire Pengli Marsh. Little Tao will accompany me south."

"An Pu will continue as Head of the Poyang Bandit Bureau, responsible for local public order."

"Wu Yang is appointed Superintendent of the Gold Extraction Site. Jing is appointed his Assistant Superintendent."

After arranging these people, Hei Fu still lacked one person — someone who could take charge on their own, handle administrative affairs, keep Poyang under control, and flexibly manage relations with the Yue people of Yugan.

Everyone fell silent. They could guess that this person would be one of the two: Xu Shu or Li Xian.

Li Xian felt somewhat uneasy. Ever since Xu Shu became Hei Fu's advisor, Hei Fu had mostly adopted his suggestions. For instance, a few days ago, when Hei Fu separately asked the two of them how to stabilize order in Poyang, Li Xian had advocated copying Qin law wholesale, but Hei Fu had ultimately used Xu Shu's strategy of governing people according to their customs.

This gave Li Xian a tremendous sense of crisis, a fear that his position would be replaced.

He had even mentally prepared himself for it.

Therefore, when Hei Fu placed the appointment document into his hands, Li Xian was somewhat stunned.

"Li Xian is appointed Acting Commandant of Poyang, with a salary rank of four hundred dan…"

Hei Fu pressed the yellow-ribboned bronze seal issued by Jiujiang Commandery into Li Xian's hand and said sternly, "When I am not here, the city of Poyang will rely on you to keep it in order. Do not impose harsh governance. Be careful in dealing with all parties. Until the new officials from Jiujiang Commandery arrive to take over, absolutely no mishaps are permitted! If you make a mistake, I, as your recommender, will also be punished!"

With official business concluded, it was time for personal matters. Heifu put away his sternness and broke into a smile, clapping Li Xian on the shoulder. "Though it carries the word 'acting,' you are still a County Commandant. Congratulations, Commandant Li. You no longer need to wait ten or twenty years — your ambition is already fulfilled!"

"You now sit in the very position I once held!"

"Congratulations, Commandant Li." Dongmen Bao and the others chimed in with their own congratulations, genuinely happy for Li Xian.

Li Xian let them jostle him, staring at the appointment letter and the official seal and cordon in his hands, finding it all a bit unbelievable.

Was this Heifu's trust in him, or a reluctant measure to placate the old subordinates?

Normally, Li Xian would have pondered this at length, but this time, his mind went completely blank.

That was right — Heifu had personally vouched for him this time, recommending Li Xian and becoming his patron.

This bond already far surpassed that of ordinary superior and subordinate.

In the past, although Li Xian was the subordinate Heifu relied on most, he had never felt, as Dongmen Bao and Gong Ao did, that he owed Heifu his life. At most, he felt a touch of gratitude for Heifu's mentorship, working diligently for him simply to cling tightly to this powerful patron's coattails.

But now, a thought rose from his heart: he would gladly die for Heifu...

After the others had left, Li Xian faced Heifu and resolutely prostrated himself, his forehead touching the ground.

"Without the Marshal's recommendation to the Jiujiang Commandery, how could Li Xian ever have become Acting Commandant? This grace, this sentiment — Li Xian will never forget it! Nor will Li Xian's descendants ever dare to forget!"

Heifu merely helped him up and said with a smile, "What did you call me?"

Li Xian raised his head, a little at a loss. Heifu now held quite a few official titles — what should he call him? Marshal? County Magistrate?

But the next moment, understanding dawned on him. He kowtowed once more and, in a voice only the two of them could hear, addressed Heifu with utter sincerity:

"My lord!"

(End of chapter)