Chapter 473: The Iris and Orchid Grow in a Secluded Valley

That night, the Magistrate of Pei County hosted the passing dignitary at his residence. Heifu was respectfully ushered to the seat of honor, while the Magistrate, the Assistant Magistrate, and the Commandant took their seats in order along the eastern mat. Further back sat the chief clerks of Pei County; the Magistrate had summoned every section head to attend and help create a warm, welcoming atmosphere. They too were seated on the eastern side, while the retainers Heifu had brought along — Chen Ping, Gong Ao, and others — sat on the western mat. The two sides faced each other across the room in silence.

As night deepened, the official maidservants of Pei County filed in carrying food boxes and laid out the meal for the assembled officials, while female musicians plucked zithers, blew mouth-organs, and performed gentle songs and dances.

Heifu was long past the days when he was a poor military household boy who had seen little of the world. He had since entered countless mansions of high-ranking nobles and attended victory banquets where the Emperor himself toasted the guests. To the county magistrate and clerks, his bearing exuded an air of nobility — never deliberately flaunted, yet ever present around him.

Every word Heifu spoke was met with smiling faces from everyone present, whether they had heard him or not, whether it was funny or not. Every dish brought to the table was introduced with enthusiasm by the Magistrate.

"Junior Prime Minister, please try this — it is our Pei County's most famous delicacy... dog meat!"

Heifu looked at the dog meat on the platter. It had just finished cooking, a brownish-red color with a bright sheen, rich in aroma and delicious in flavor. It was chewy without being tough, tender without being greasy. The taste was decent enough.

He just wondered — was the man who slaughtered the dog named Fan Kuai or not...

Chewing the dog meat, Heifu smiled. As early as last winter, he had sent people to open a brown-sugar shop in Pei County. But because shipping costs were far too high, business was dismal, and it could not compete at all with the imitation "black sugar" made by the old Chu nobility in Huainan — their sugar was boiled a bit too long because they had not fully mastered the technique, turning it dark in color, hence the name "black sugar." Being close to the Si River, their product was cheap.

Last month, when Heifu took time to escort his wife and child to Nan Commandery to stay with his mother, Yan had worn a pained expression and reported on the Pei County branch in exhaustive detail. But Heifu had said it did not matter; making money was not his goal. He was setting a long line in Pei County to catch a big fish...

No — a whole school of fish!

Looking across thousands of years of Chinese history, there are three most famous regional power blocs: one is Zhu Yuanzhang's Huaixi hometown faction, one is the early Han Feng-Pei bloc, and the third is the modern-era Furans.

It is not that Pei County is some extraordinary land that produces outstanding people, where every man is a talent fit to be general or chancellor. But neither can one say they were utterly without ability, owing everything to Liu Bang alone, like chickens and dogs rising to heaven.

In Heifu's view, this was what he and Chen Ping had once discussed as "poverty or success depending on the times." For a person to achieve great things, it depends not only on whether the moment's momentum can be seized, but also on whether one meets the right person.

The iris and orchid grow in secluded valleys; it is not because no one is there that they cease to give off fragrance. There are many secluded valleys in the world with irises and orchids, but some meet the wrong person and perish together before they can even rise. The Feng-Pei bloc, however, walked the path all the way to the end. This was a group victory coalesced around a single individual; after they achieved fame and success, it gave people the false impression that their homeland was a land of generals and chancellors.

Among these men, the good and the bad were mixed; there is no need to blindly worship them. Heifu had no thought of digging them all up with one scoop, but among them were true gems — those few figures still renowned two thousand years later surely possessed real ability...

Relying on the branch shop's operations and a year's worth of continuous intelligence from the young fellows of Anlu, Heifu had more or less found everyone he was looking for. By now, he truly knew Pei County like the back of his hand.

So Heifu swallowed the dog meat in his mouth and praised, "Indeed extraordinary. If nothing else, this dog meat — the land east of the Pass certainly surpasses the land within the Pass."

The Pei County Assistant Magistrate at his side had not found a gap to speak with Heifu until now. Seizing the moment at once, he rose and offered a toast: "Junior Prime Minister, dog meat paired with fine wine tastes even better!"

Heifu, however, waved his hand, gesturing for the Commandant to sit. He raised his wine cup and addressed everyone present: "Nan Commandery belongs to Western Chu, and Si River Commandery is also Western Chu. The songs, dances, and speech here all make me feel as though I have returned home. My thanks to the Magistrate, the Assistant Magistrate, the Commandant, and all the officials for your hospitality!"

The Provincial Party Secretary toasting the county civil servants — this was no small matter. The dozen or so men on the eastern mat hurriedly rose to their feet and said in unison, "The Junior Prime Minister's presence in Pei County is our honor!"

This speech made the Pei County officials feel that this Governor of Jiaodong Commandery was no typical Qin official. They could also understand eight or nine-tenths of the Nan Commandery dialect he spoke. At once, beyond their awe and deference, a sense of closeness grew, and the atmosphere became less rigid than before. For a time, cups and goblets crossed back and forth. Gong Ao, a man of bold and unrestrained nature, began to go over on his own initiative and challenge the Pei officials to drinking bouts.

Qin was a classic case of "the magistrate may burn down the mountain, but the commoner may not light a lamp." Group drinking was strictly forbidden among the common people, but once your noble rank reached a certain level, drinking was as ordinary as drinking water, and gathering in crowds to feast was no crime. In the lands of Qi, Chu, Yan, and Zhao especially, this prohibition was far looser, and the price of alcohol east of the Pass was much cheaper than within the Pass or in Nan Commandery.

Meanwhile, Chen Ping, the chief strategist seated at Heifu's lower right, also rose gracefully and walked over to two Pei officials whose seats were second only to the Commandant's. He toasted them, laughing heartily from time to time, deep in pleasant conversation...

Chen Ping was his usual self. Whenever he followed Heifu to a new place, he liked to alight from his carriage by the city gate and walk around alone, getting a feel for the local customs and conditions. Today was no different. Before the banquet began, Chen Ping had come to tell Heifu that he had met two capable local officials that day — one named Xiao He, the other Cao Shen.

What a coincidence — both were men Heifu had instructed the brown-sugar branch to pay special attention to.

The branch shop Heifu had set up in Pei County reported directly to him. Chen Ping did not know the inside story and merely assumed his lord was "scheming something big." He was not a narrow-minded man; when he discovered interesting talents, he would still mention them to Heifu — that, too, was the duty of a chief aide.

"Chen Ping."

Heifu called Chen Ping over and introduced him to the Pei County Magistrate and Assistant Magistrate: "This is my retainer, also a meritorious official who rendered distinguished service in the campaign against the Xiongnu. His surname is Chen, given name Ping, and his current noble rank is Grand Master..."

"Grand Master!"

The three senior officials of Pei County exchanged glances. This scholar, as young as Heifu himself, actually held a rank equal to that of the Commandant and Assistant Magistrate. No wonder he could sit at Heifu's lower right.

"We have been most remiss — most remiss."

Chen Ping toasted the three officials again with a few modest words, but Heifu continued to praise him, as if casually: "Not only that — he is also the future Chief Clerk of Jiaodong Commandery."

"Hiss — so young and already made Chief Clerk..."

Cao Shen, the bushy-bearded man in the fifth seat on the eastern mat, drew a sharp breath. A Commandery Governor's Chief Clerk was equivalent to the Governor's personal secretary, a post normally held by the most trusted retainer. Although the salary was only two hundred bushels, about the same as theirs, the power was immense: the Chief Clerk could manage everything the Governor managed. When local county magistrates went to pay their respects to the Governor, they had to go out of their way to curry favor with the Chief Clerk, or else they would easily be given the cold shoulder. When the Governor was away, the Chief Clerk could administer the commandery's affairs jointly with the Commandery Assistant.

That afternoon, Cao Shen had merely felt deep envy toward Heifu. Now, it seemed he fell far short of even this pretty-faced Chen Ping.

Xiao He, however, showed no great surprise. He merely smiled and said, "No wonder Master Chen's words were so extraordinary. It turns out we should be addressing him with the honorific 'Superior Official.'"

Heifu then introduced Gong Ao and the others. One by one, the retainers exchanged formal greetings with the Pei officials. Aside from Gong Ao, who was also a Grand Master, among the guests who followed Heifu, not a single one held a rank lower than the fourth grade!

This was what they meant by "when one man finds the Way, his chickens and dogs rise to heaven."

Seeing that Heifu was not arrogant and had introduced his own retainers, the Pei County Magistrate, out of courtesy, naturally began to introduce his subordinates to Heifu as well — though he did not expect this dignitary to remember the names of such minor figures.

"This is the Chief Clerk, Xiao He."

Xiao He rose and saluted. His bearing was proper, neither servile nor overbearing. Heifu, however, smiled. "Xiao He? I have heard that name."

The Magistrate said in surprise, "The Commandery Governor knows of Xiao He?"

The Xiao clan was a prominent family in Feng Township of Pei County, with several dozen related households, an old-established local lineage. Three years ago, when the Pei County Magistrate first arrived to take up his post, as a man from Wei he was a stranger in an unfamiliar place and found it hard to get anything done. He thus recruited a large number of local prominent elders as officials; Xiao He and Cao Shen were among them.

Xiao He served as the Magistrate's "flawless scribe" — in other words, his secretary. He was cautious and methodical, capable and efficient, skilled in administrative management. All matters, internal and external, high and low, he handled in full detail, arranging everything in perfect order. He was thus promoted to Chief Clerk, equivalent to the head of the county's Organization Department in later ages, overseeing personnel appointments and dismissals and performance evaluations — a position of high rank and heavy weight, and the Magistrate valued him greatly.

That Xiao He was so capable and his reputation widely known in Si River Commandery's official circles was one thing. But that Heifu, a key court minister and a grand regional governor, should actually know of him — that was a strange thing indeed.

Not only the Magistrate, but Xiao He himself raised his head and fixed his gaze on Heifu.

"Of course I know."

Heifu pointed at Xiao He and said, "The day before yesterday, when I passed through the Si River Commandery seat, the Governor, the Commandery Commandant, the Commandery Assistant, and the Supervisory Censor hosted a banquet for me. At the table, I joked that Jiaodong is far from the heartland within the Pass, that I am unfamiliar with conditions in Qi and will find it hard to govern, and asked whether Si River Commandery had any capable officials I might take with me as support."

"The Supervisory Censor of Si River Commandery then pointed me toward Pei County. He said that Pei County has a Chief Clerk named Xiao He. The year before last, when the Supervisory Censor toured the counties to assess official performance, Xiao He was ranked first in the entire commandery!"

The Qin dynasty had a strict assessment system for government officials, overseen by the Supervisory Censor — the equivalent of a provincial disciplinary inspection committee. Performance was evaluated every year; those with good results were promoted, those with poor results were demoted. With his flawless case records and outstanding performance, Xiao He had taken first place among the several hundred officials of Si River Commandery in the twenty-ninth year of the First Emperor's reign...

"The Supervisory Censor said he greatly admired Xiao He, considered him a rare talent, and was preparing to recommend Xiao He for a post at the Censorate in Xianyang. But... Xiao He refused. And not just once — he refused three times!"

This was old news from the twenty-ninth year. At the time, it had caused a sensation in Pei County and even throughout the entire Si River Commandery bureaucracy. There was no one who did not know of it.

Everyone, including the Magistrate, had felt sorry for Xiao He, thinking he had missed a golden opportunity to soar to success — spend a few years burnishing his credentials in Xianyang, then be sent out to a post, and he would at the very least be an Assistant Magistrate...

At this point in the story, Xiao He's expression remained as calm as ever. Chen Ping, seated across from him, however, gave him a deep look, reassessing the man.

Heifu continued, "As the common saying goes, water flows downward, but people strive upward. Xiao He, I too am most curious — why were you unwilling to enter Xianyang, to enter the Censorate?"

Xiao He finally spoke. He cupped his hands and said, "This humble official had his difficulties..."

This forty-year-old man slipped into character in an instant. Tears streaming down his face, he said, "This humble official has a seventy-year-old mother at home! My mother is still alive, but her years are advanced. As her son, I dare not travel far from her!"

"Clerk Xiao is truly a filial son."

Heifu voiced his admiration, but inwardly he chuckled. Xiao He might genuinely have had such concerns, but filial piety was also the best possible excuse for refusing a Qin dynasty summons or transfer — although the Legalists scoffed at the three-year mourning period, they were staunch supporters of fulfilling one's filial duties while one's father was still alive.

"In that case, this Clerk Xiao had best remain at home and fulfill his filial duties with all his heart. I would not dare ask the Magistrate of Pei County to part with a man he so cherishes."

Xiao He breathed a sigh of relief, returned to his seat with respectful deference, and looked up — across from him, Chen Ping was watching him with a faint, ambiguous smile. Xiao He smiled back.

Turning his face again, he saw his good friend Cao Can looking full of regret.

If this opportunity had fallen to him, Cao Can, he certainly wouldn't have refused it like that.

Seeing that Heifu had been tactfully refused by Xiao He before he could even open his mouth, the County Magistrate, fearing Heifu might get angry, quickly said, "Xiao He has his difficulties. If the Junior Chief Architect can make use of any other officials in the county, as long as the commandery permits it, you may freely transfer them for your use!"

"Is that true?" Heifu laughed. "Aren't you afraid, Magistrate of Pei, that I'll empty out the Pei County government offices?"

The Pei Assistant, who had been looking for a chance to speak with Heifu, chimed in, "Just one or two people — what harm could that do?"

"Straightforward! Then I shall choose!"

Heifu clapped his hands, rose and descended from the hall, bypassing Xiao He entirely, and stopped at the seat below him — where Cao Can sat, a man who had always been subordinate to Xiao He, who admired Xiao He's ability, and who also regretted the opportunity Xiao He had let slip.

"This is... Warden Cao?"

"This humble official is indeed Cao Can! Greetings to the Junior Chief Architect!"

Cao Can was thirty-seven or thirty-eight years old, but he had never had contact with such a high-ranking official. He hurriedly rose and cupped his hands in salute, his heart thumping wildly!

Heifu smiled. "I heard from Chen Ping that Warden Cao is also a capable official. In the commandery's assessments of all officials, you also ranked first among wardens, and your overall ranking was second only to Clerk Xiao. Since you took office, the thieves and bandits in Pei County have all vanished, not daring to cause trouble. In the criminal cases you've handled, everyone has found your judgments fair, and no one has appealed for retrial."

After praising Cao Can at length, Heifu continued, "Is your family situation like Clerk Xiao's, with parents to tie you down? If not, Jiaodong Commandery happens to lack a Bandit-Suppressing Right Clerk, someone who can catch criminals and uphold the law. I think Warden Cao could very well go and give it a try!"

PS: When the Qin Chief Prosecutor oversaw the commanderies and their subordinate officials, he often made distinctions. Xiao He was then serving as a Sishui Commandery Clerk, and was ranked first. The Qin Chief Prosecutor wished to submit a recommendation to summon Xiao He, but Xiao He firmly declined, and thus was able to avoid going. — "The Hereditary House of Chancellor Xiao"

(End of Chapter)