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Written by: Realhistories

Category: Officialdom Unmasked

Published: 23 November 2024

Created: 23 November 2024

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Zhen Shouqiu (Zhen Ge Xue) discussed with Shen Zhongtang how to deal with those new Hanlin scholars and decided not to see them at all, nor let them come to socialize. After everyone discussed and agreed, they worked together, and those new Hanlin scholars were constantly rebuffed, and none of them could be seen. Later, they realized that they couldn't get by in the capital, so they all left and looked for work elsewhere. People in the capital heard that they had left and praised Zhen Ge Xue for his brilliant plan, and Zhen Ge Xue was quite proud of himself.

One day, Zhen Ge Xue set up three tables of wine at home and invited his classmates to enjoy the chrysanthemums and drink. When Shen Zhongtang heard about it, he said, "What a lovely way to spend an afternoon – appreciating chrysanthemums and drinking wine! Why didn't you invite an old fellow like me?" Someone passed on the message to Zhen Ge Xue, and he hurriedly went to explain in person, saying, "I would have loved to invite you, but the house is too small, and there are too many guests; I'm afraid of neglecting you, so I didn't dare invite." Shen Zhongtang said, "I'm very happy! When I come that day, there's no need to spend money; I can't eat much anyway, just manage." Zhen Ge Xue was, of course, happy. Because Shen Zhongtang was coming, even though he said there was no need to spend money, Zhen Ge Xue threw in another table of food and ordered a few dishes that Shen Zhongtang loved. It was agreed to start at two o'clock that day, but before one o'clock, Shen Zhongtang came beaming. Seeing that all the guests were his students, he was even happier.

After all the guests arrived, Shen Zhongtang suggested that everyone write chrysanthemum poems. "I've forgotten all about different poetic forms," Shen Zhongtang said. "Let's just write five-character quatrains, like an exam paper; just shorten it to four lines. Although it's been a long time since I last wrote a poem, my hand is a bit rusty, but I can manage." Seeing Shen Zhongtang so enthusiastic, everyone eagerly got to work on their poems. After about an hour, Shen Zhongtang was the first to finish. Everyone rushed to read it, and indeed it was a five-character quatrain. Then the others also finished one after another, with twenty-seven poems in total, and three more promised. After the collection of poems was complete, Zhen Ge Xue asked Shen Zhongtang to review them. Among them, there were only two seven-character quatrains, one seven-character poem, nine five-character quatrains, and fifteen five-character quatrains. Why is that? Because five-character quatrains are easier to write than seven-character quatrains; they have simpler rhyming schemes, so everyone chose to write five-character quatrains. Shen Zhongtang was very pleased to see this and said, "Tomorrow, let Shouqiu draw a grid, divide the poems properly, and each person transcribe a copy, writing their names beneath the title 'Han Yuan Fen Shu Chrysanthemum Poems.' We'll send them to the Liuli Factory for printing and sale. Those calligraphers would surely snap them up!" Everyone was very impressed when they heard this.

During the banquet, Zhen Ge Xue stood up and after a while, took out two poems and handed them to Shen Zhongtang, saying, "These are poems by my two sons. Think they'll amount to anything?" Shen Zhongtang replied, "Alright, let me take a look." They were poems on the theme of chrysanthemums, with the words "Respectfully submitted to Master Zhongtang for his critique" written on top, and signed by "Zhen Xuezong and Zhen Xuexiao". Shen Zhongtang first looked at the names and said, "Great names! A man who remembers 'loyalty and filial piety' – what more needs to be said?" Then he looked at the poems and praised them repeatedly, "Impressive! The two brothers will definitely go far in the future; they are my students, and they will also 'shine in the court'. I really want to meet them." Zhen Ge Xue was overjoyed and quickly called his two sons out. Shen Zhongtang took a look; the older son, probably in his forties, wore a blue-topped hat; the younger, in his twenties, wore a golden one. Both were in official robes. They kowtowed to Shen Zhongtang, who allowed them to bow halfway and then asked them to sit down. Shen Zhongtang saw that Zhen Xuezong was wearing the official uniform of a fourth-ranking official, knowing that he was already an official, he asked, "In which department are you serving?" Zhen Ge Xue hurriedly answered, "He originally held a minor position in the capital, but now he has been transferred to Zhili Prefecture." Shen Zhongtang said, "Why didn't he pass the imperial examination?" Zhen Ge Xue said, "He's taken the exam ten times, he's not getting any younger, and since the regular route didn't work, he's been sent out to get some experience." Shen Zhongtang said, "Such a shame! With his talent, instead of waiting for the exams and a proper appointment, he bought an office and went off to the sticks. A real waste!" He then picked up their poems again, read them two or three times, and exclaimed, "What you say reflects what you feel," and this phrase is absolutely correct. The elder son's poem is good, but it's a bit whiny – a sure sign of repeated setbacks. Fortunately, he is bold, and in the future, he will also achieve something in an outside position. The younger son's poem is magnificent; needless to say, he will definitely become a high-ranking court official in the future." He then asked Zhen Xuezong, "When will you take office? Which province were you assigned to?" Zhen Xuezong replied, "I will go through the introduction procedures this month and have been assigned to Shandong." Shen Zhongtang said, "A good place! The Governor of Shandong is also my student; I'll write you a letter of introduction." Zhen Ge Xue originally wanted to ask Shen Zhongtang for help, but he was hesitant to ask. Now that Shen Zhongtang took the initiative to offer, he was immensely grateful, and quickly let his sons kowtow to thank Shen Zhongtang for his guidance. Shen Zhongtang was very happy; everyone drank and discussed literature until late before dispersing. The next day, Zhen sent his sons to thank Shen Zhongtang again, and once his papers came through, he went to take his leave. When they met, Shen Zhongtang solemnly handed him a personal letter to bring to the Governor of Shandong.

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Zhen Xuezhong's father, Zhen Gexue, was worried about his son going to Shandong alone for his new job, so he invited his father-in-law, Uncle Yu, to help take care of him. This uncle, who became a widower two years ago, came to Beijing to live with his sister, eating her food. Zhen Gexue was a frugal man, and the extra mouth to feed strained his household budget. He thought about sending Uncle Yu away several times, but he was old, and it was difficult to arrange. This time, it worked out perfectly for Uncle Yu to go to Shandong with his son. Although Uncle Yu was still spry and efficient, with his help, Zhen Xuezhong didn't have a care in the world. Uncle Yu was diligent and took care of everything himself, especially concerned about his nephew's affairs. The household staff, cooped up in Beijing, saw the trip as a chance to line their pockets. But Uncle Yu put a stop to that. They couldn't make a dime, let alone hire a carriage or find a decent inn. So they all hated the old man's guts and badmouthed him to Zhen Xuezhong.

He got to Jinan, Shandong, sorted out the paperwork, met a few people, and that was that. The Shandong governor got a letter from Shen Zhongtang, and knew he was supposed to look after Zhen Xuezong, so he gave him the once-over. There happened to be some river work going on, so the governor got Zhang Daotai, the chief manager, to help out. Zhang Daotai wrote to the governor, singing Zhen Xuezong's praises – said he was a whiz, they were short-handed, and could really use him on the river project. The governor agreed right away – they were clearly on the same page. Zhen Xuezong got the papers and went to thank the governor. The governor, in front of everyone, told him to do a good job, saying he hadn't planned on giving him a job so soon, but Zhang Daotai had put in a good word. People started whispering that he was in with Zhang Daotai, and started asking questions. Zhen Xuezong said he'd never met the guy, but nobody believed him – they thought he was keeping something under his hat. Zhen Xuezong was baffled, and just let them talk. He got to the river project, met Zhang Daotai, who was really nice, and the next day Zhen Xuezong was put in charge of buying supplies. He thanked Zhang Daotai, but worried about those guys being dodgy, so he wrote to his uncles. Uncle Tai was thrilled his nephew had a real job. He knew that buying supplies was a big deal – involved the national treasury, the people, even the officials' performance reviews. If nobody watched them, those guys would definitely steal everything. So he rushed right over. With Uncle Tai keeping an eye on things – they called him 'the hawk' – Xiao Xinxi, Pan Shifei, and the rest of the crew didn't dare to pull any funny business. Everyone hated his guts, naturally.

Zhen Xuezong arrived in the provincial capital and landed such a good job in less than a month. His cousin-in-law, a guy known as Second-hand Huang, came to visit. His wife is from Hubei, and Second-hand Huang is his eldest cousin. Coincidentally, that year he was working as a tax collector in Weixian, Shandong. When he heard that his brother-in-law got a job in the river engineering department, he planned to visit the provincial capital to mooch off his sister and brother-in-law. He took a two and a half month leave from his employer, brought the money and a servant given by his employer, and set off. When he arrived in the provincial capital, to save money, he refused to stay in a hotel. Since he hadn't seen his sister for a long time, he was afraid she wouldn't recognize him and had never met her husband, so he stayed with a friend first. After lunch, he changed into a slightly more decent outfit—a patched silk gown and an old sky-blue satin jacket, wore a big hat, smart boots, and dressed neatly. However, he was worried about what kind of visiting card to use to meet his brother-in-law. His friend suggested a simple "Dear Brother-in-law," but he felt it was too casual and wanted to write a visiting card with just his name on it. When asked what position his brother-in-law held, he said his brother-in-law was a high-up in the Ministry of Revenue and was going to be promoted to the governor of Zhili Province. His father-in-law was a very high-ranking official, and besides the Grand Academician of the Cabinet, he held the highest official position in the capital. His friend said, "Even if it's a family thing, I've never heard of that between brothers-in-law!" Second-hand Huang insisted that this was the rule of the officialdom. Since he was going to work in the river engineering department and would be working under his brother-in-law in the future, not writing a visiting card would seem informal. Even if he was going to see his sister, he had to present a card first. Seeing him so stubborn, his friend just sighed and told him to hurry up.

Huang Er Mazzi hurried out, asking around, and finally found his brother-in-law's mansion. He handed over his calling card, and the gatekeeper gave him the once-over and said, "The master's at work. Please go back." Huang Er Mazzi said, "If the master is not here, please help me tell the madam that this Huang has come to visit." When the gatekeeper heard that he wanted to see the madam, he took a good look at him and asked, "Are you family?" Huang Er Mazzi then explained, "The madam is my sister." The gatekeeper's demeanor changed and he asked, "Are you her brother?" Huang Er Mazzi replied, "We're related, though distantly." When the gatekeeper realized he was not a close relative of the madam, his expression changed. But considering that he was family on the madam's side, he couldn't afford to offend him, so he said, "Please wait a moment, I will inform the madam." Huang Er Mazzi thanked him repeatedly. After a while, the gatekeeper came back to invite him to see the madam. The madam came out in casual clothes and was about to bow, but Huang Er Mazzi had already knelt down. He kowtowed, got up, bowed again, and said, "I have been working away from home for these years and missed serving my auntie." The madam said, "Oh, please!" Then she warmly exchanged pleasantries with him. Huang Er Mazzi was very respectful, always addressing her as "Auntie" and "Ma'am," without mentioning "brother-in-law" or "sister." He then explained his purpose, wanting to find a job in the city. The madam said, "Family should stick together, but these matters are up to your brother-in-law to decide; it's not my place to interfere. Where are you staying since you came from so far away?" Huang Er Mazzi said, "I am temporarily staying at a friend's house and have not found a permanent residence yet." The madam said, "Okay, come and stay at the mansion for a few days. Your brother-in-law often comes to the city, so when he comes, we will figure something out." Huang Er Mazzi felt anxious after hearing the first half of the sentence, but when he heard he could stay at the mansion, he became happy. He expressed his gratitude to the madam again and then took his leave.

The family knew the wife had invited him to stay at the mansion, and because she'd asked, they were all very attentive to him, calling him uncle. Huang Er Mazzi was also very polite to them, saying, "I'm here looking for a job, hoping the boss will give me a chance. Let's help each other out, and please don't keep calling me 'Uncle'!" Everyone found him easy to get along with and liked him very much.

After a few days, Zhen Xuezong did not return due to official business, so he sent his uncle, Uncle Yu, to the provincial capital to handle affairs. Huang Er Mazzi had already inquired about this. As soon as Uncle Yu got off the car, Huang Er Mazzi sent a calling card that said "Nephew by Marriage" to pay a visit. After meeting, he addressed Uncle Yu as "Uncle Yu" and called himself "your nephew," explaining his intentions and requesting help from Uncle Yu. Uncle Yu was an honest man, and seeing him behaving properly, he thought he was a good person. The next day, after he'd finished his business, Uncle Yu was ready to go. Zhen Xuezong's wife asked him to take care of her brother, so Uncle Yu had to agree. As soon as Uncle Yu left, the family started gossiping about him. Huang Er Mazzi thought to himself, "He's not very popular—perfect!" He would often visit his sister-in-law in the main room pretending to pay his respects, but in reality, he was getting close to his sister-in-law. Coincidentally, the wife enjoyed chatting, and with this family member accompanying her, she didn't have to worry about gossip. So Huang Er Mazzi was highly valued in front of his sister-in-law, and family members also flattered him. This lasted about two weeks.

One day, Zhen Xuezong returned to the province due to official business and heard about what Uncle Yu had said before, filling him in. After meeting, Huang Er Mazzi was very humble, and Zhen Xuezong liked him, so Zhen Xuezong agreed to get him a job at the factory.

Huang Erma arrived at work and found that his brother-in-law was quite the big shot. Although he was just a purchasing agent, he had plenty of subordinates, and he was responsible for procuring all the materials at the site. Naturally, he had a lot of people kissing up to him. Although he was a committee member, in reality, he was just like the general manager. At that time, it was Yu Taifu who managed the money; even the recommended Xiao Xinxi and Pan Shifei held important positions in the general office. When Huang Erma first arrived, everyone went to visit him. At first, he didn't dare to call his brother-in-law directly and still referred to him as "our master"; later, seeing everyone calling him "boss," he also changed to calling him "boss." After two days, the boss asked him to check the materials, but he had no clue how to do it. Usually, he didn't dare to talk much with the boss and Yu Taifu, but he had a good relationship with Xiao Xinxi and Pan Shifei. The two of them knew he was the master's uncle, so they were closer to him than others. Huang Erma stayed at work for two days, then made an excuse to return to the provincial capital, saying he missed his sister-in-law. Everyone saw him heading to the provincial capital often, so they suspected his relationship with her was more than ordinary. They couldn't say certain things to the brother-in-law directly, so they used him as their go-between. As long as he mentioned something in front of his sister-in-law, the brother-in-law would know. After a few times, Huang Erma realized that someone was relying on him, so he began to get a bit full of himself, boasting to Xiao, Pan, and others about what snacks his sister-in-law treated him to that day and what dishes she added for him. He even pointed to an old fur coat and said, "This was given by my sister-in-law." Everyone took a look, and the coat was an old, re-dyed silk number—ancient, really. Pan Shifei loved to joke and said, "Your sister-in-law is too stingy. Why did she give you an old coat instead of a new one?" Huang Erma blushed and thought for a moment before saying, "She originally wanted to give me a new one, but I refused and wanted this old one." Everyone asked, "Why do you want an old one instead of a new one?" Huang Erma said, "We run around the construction site every day, with strong winds and a lot of dust. A new one would be ruined in a few days—such a waste! So I only want old ones to wear casually. Don't you get it?"

The next day, the butler brought the boss his grub and also sent a chunk of salted meat and a plate of buns to Uncle Tai and Huang the Second. Uncle Tai usually ate alone, so nobody ever knew about this. Huang the Second, on the other hand, was over the moon and told everyone, "Our missus is really thoughtful! She knows we work hard at the construction site, so she specially sent us food. I used to have two sisters—my older sister was a tightwad, married some schoolteacher, and popped her clogs not long after. But my younger sister, she was always a generous soul, not like the rest. That's why she's a lady now, see? I ain't lyin'!"

Next day, lunchtime, Huang the Second steamed a little piece of the missus's salted meat, sliced it paper-thin with a small knife, and laid it out on a little plate. At dinner, he gave everyone a sliver, saying, "This is from our missus, everyone try it." Then he tucked in, praising it all the while. After finishing, there were three slices left, so he told the lad to save the rest for later.

But this Second Master was a greedy guts and secretly took a piece to eat, mumbling, "They said it was so good, what does it taste like? I should try it too." The taste was really good, and he couldn't get enough, thinking to himself, "Since I've already eaten some, might as well eat it all. If Old Man Huang doesn't ask, no sweat. If he does, I'll blame the cat." After making up his mind, during dinner that evening, the food-snatching Second Master was nervous, hoping Huang Ermazi would forget about those three pieces of meat. However, Huang Ermazi couldn't forget about the three pieces of meat, and as soon as he sat down, he asked, "Where's my salted meat?" The food-snatching Second Master hurriedly asked the kitchen to bring another bowl of meat. Huang Ermazi said, "I didn't ask for more meat, I'm talking about the meat Auntie Gu gave me at noon, there were three pieces left, I asked you to keep them for me." The Second Master knew he couldn't hide it anymore, he stammered an explanation, then blurted, "Gone!" Huang Ermazi slammed his chopsticks on the table with a CLANG! and asked, "Where did it go?" The Second Master said, "Probably a stray cat got it." Huang Ermazi blew his top, letting rip a string of curses and demanding payment. The Second Master remained silent at first, but eventually couldn't take it anymore, grumbling under his breath outside the door, "Is it worth all this fuss over a bit of pork?" But Huang Ermazi overheard him and chased after the Second Master, threatening to tell the master and have him flogged if he didn't confess.

Other servants saw that things were getting out of hand and felt that the second master was wrong. They shouldn't run their mouths: "Your uncle is Madam's brother. If he hears you talking out of line, wouldn't he be angry? If he tells Master, do you want to keep your job?" The second master regretted it and was taken by others to bow and apologize to Huang Erma Zi, begging him not to tell Madam. Huang Erma Zi pretended not to agree at first, but finally relented under everyone's pleas. The second master ate crow in gratitude, and that settled the matter.

After this, Huang Erma Zi curried favor with everyone, and naturally, everyone treated him well. He thought to himself, "Except for Aunt Master and my uncle, no one dares to push me around." From then on, his status grew, and the servants flattered him, with some even expecting him to help speak on their behalf and having to please him.

Uncle fell ill for ten days, and it was usually Zhen Xuezong who helped handle things. But now he was extremely busy and annoyed after just two days. Huang Erma Zi seized the opportunity, being especially attentive in front of Zhen Xuezong, eager to work and starting to handle some matters. Huang Erma Zi popped in on his uncle several times a day, showing concern and attending to his every need. Uncle Master also liked him very much and praised him. Unfortunately, Uncle Master's illness worsened, and despite Zhen Xuezong inviting many famous doctors, it was of no use. Knowing his time was short, Uncle Master called Zhen Xuezong to his bedside, with Huang Erma Zi also present. Uncle Master held Zhen Xuezong's hand and said, "Nephew! After your mother passed away, you took care of me all this time. Now that I am old, I can no longer help you, and there's nothing I can do. After I die, you will manage the household's money yourself. Remember this: you can't trust anyone, not even family." Uncle Master was already struggling to breathe, and sweat poured down his face like rain. Zhen Xuezong, thinking of Uncle Master's kindness, couldn't help but cry, quickly offering him some ginseng soup and urging him to rest and not speak.

After a while, the old man regained his strength and struggled to say, "Not only do you have to manage your money yourself, but you also need to be careful when buying land and materials. While I was alive, I took care of these things for you, to save you the trouble. Even if others scold me or hate me, I don't blame them. I'm old now, and I don't expect anything in return. Besides me, no one is willing to do these thankless chores. Huang is very capable..." Before he could finish speaking, the old man couldn't catch his breath. Zhen Xuezong helped him lie down to rest, but the old man talked too much and suddenly passed away. Zhen Xuezong cried, arranged the old man's funeral, temporarily placed the coffin in the temple, and later sent it back to his hometown.

Huang Erma clearly heard what the old man said before he passed away. "You can't trust anyone, not even family." This made him feel uneasy, and he secretly cursed the old man, "Old man! I served you so well, yet you want to screw me over! Luckily, you didn't name names." Later, the old man said, "Huang is very capable..." Huang Erma thought that the old man might still have some dissatisfaction, but fortunately, he died before finishing his sentence. Zhen Xuezong only heard half of it and mistakenly thought that the old man was recommending Huang Erma to help him, so he praised him for being capable. After the old man's death, Zhen Xuezong handed over all the family affairs to Huang Erma. Huang Erma didn't expect to take over so easily and was overjoyed! He immediately started checking the old man's accounts, hoping to find some faults to retaliate.

After searching for a long time, he found nothing except a vacant room where thousands of copper coins were often stacked. Huang Erma went to Zhen Xuezong and flattered him, "It's not safe to keep so much money at home. It's better to deposit it in a money shop, which can earn interest and give you peace of mind. The old man is old, and there are things he may not have thought of." Zhen Xuezong said, "Don't speak ill of him like that. We need money at home at all times. How can we manage without some preparation?" Huang Erma hit a wall, felt unhappy, said a few complaints, and left, muttering angrily in his room, "Who cares about his handouts? What a rip-off!"

Huang Er was in a foul mood when the kitchen manager came to collect the food expenses. The kitchen manager knew Huang Er was his wife's uncle and had just taken over the household chores, so he didn't dare to slight him. He first greeted him, then took out the account book, smiling as he said, "Uncle, gotta trouble you with this." Huang Er grunted, "What's this then?" The kitchen manager smiled and handed over the account book. Huang Er had been a clerk in the county government office before and knew the kitchen always skimmed a bit off the top. He picked up the abacus and calculated that he should pay ninety-six cash in five days, deducting four cash and eight hundred wen, leaving a total of ninety-one cash and two hundred wen. The kitchen manager took the money, too scared to argue, and said with a smile, "Uncle, how'd you figure that? I'm a bit lost." Huang Er thought the kitchen manager was deliberately making things difficult for him, slapped the table, and scolded, "What's this nonsense? Think you can pull one over on me? Think I'm a fool? It's the same in every office! Today is my first day doing accounts, is it your first day in the kitchen too? If you think it's too little, then don't take it, leave the money here!" The kitchen manager hit a wall, took the money, and left. Huang Er continued to curse, "The lot of them are no good!"

The next day, the kitchen manager specially sent a ham to Huang Er, along with two dishes: braised pork elbow and stewed duck. He respectfully said, "I thought you might enjoy this, Uncle." Huang Er initially refused with a stern face. After repeated pleas from the kitchen manager, he finally relented slightly.

After the cook left, that evening he found the accountant, invited him for a drink, and asked him to put in a good word with Huang Er Mazi: "That 95% commission was supposed to be ours. It's just that Huang, in order to save money for the master, let us keep our accounts clean—the food expenses and banquet costs were all calculated less, not even giving us a commission. After you arrived, the people below are also willing to give you this money. But speaking of it, you can't get blood from a stone; isn't it still taking the master's money to make up for Huang? You are so clever, do you want us to ruin ourselves? So I have to ask you to speak on behalf of Huang in front of the master. Right now, rice, grain, firewood, and even vegetables are expensive. According to the previous amount, we really can't afford it. Can you cut us some slack? Starting from next month, add ten cents to each person's food expenses? That way I won't lose money, and you will benefit too. As for the master spending a few hundred more a day, small money doesn't matter, but for the big money, just massage the numbers a little more from the material expenses. This shouldn't be difficult to fudge, right?" The accountant drank and ate, so he naturally had to help, repeatedly agreeing.

In the evening, the accountant told Huang Er Mazi about this matter. Huang Er Mazi frowned and thought for a long time, saying, "Why didn't you say so earlier! I already told the master that he can't continue and recommended someone else to take his place. What am I supposed to do now? Go back and ask the master to let him come back? That's not going to fly!" The accountant was also startled when he heard this and quickly said, "This matter still needs you to get Huang to reconsider!" After a moment of silence, Huang Er Mazi said, "Fine, I can still explain to the master. I'll just say that the person taking over has something going on at home and can't come to work temporarily, so let the original person continue. We'll keep an eye out and hire someone else later. But I already told the new guy he starts tomorrow. You guys work it out with him. If he's cool, great. If not, whatever. I can't back out now."

Old Zhang, the accountant, came out and told the chef about this. The chef understood and said, "He just wants more money, right? I'll give him twenty copper coins and tell him not to come tomorrow. But if the guys working under us try to persuade him, he definitely won't agree. We still need to ask for the old man's help; you have to personally give him the money for it to be right." Old Zhang went to find Huang Er, that rascal, who said twenty copper coins probably won't cut it. After adding another ten coins, Huang Er finally agreed.

After this incident, everyone knew the old man was after money. Anyone who wanted to curry favor with his brother-in-law sent him cash. When his brother-in-law's job was relieved, he cleaned up nicely. And that's not all, folks!

Details

Written by: Realhistories

Category: Officialdom Unmasked

Published: 23 November 2024

Created: 23 November 2024

Hits: 68

So, the foreign ambassador in Beijing gets a report from his consul and feels that this matter must be taken up. He fires off a strongly worded message to the Prime Minister's office, asking the bigwigs in charge of international relations to handle it.

China's ministers have all climbed up the ranks through experience. By the time they reach the top, they're worn out – grey hair, deaf ears, and no fight left in them. They have to wake up at five in the morning to attend court, and by the time they finish work, half the day has passed and their energy is depleted. Therefore, each of them just wants to dodge extra hassle and rest a bit more if they can avoid dealing with something. Getting another word out of them was like pulling teeth. Their motto was: "Don't screw it up, and it ain't my problem."

Everyone thinks so. So, after receiving the envoy's note, the clerk took a look and knew it was a tricky international dispute that couldn't be ignored, so he quickly submitted the documents. Unfortunately, Lord Zhang shook his head, Lord Wang said nothing, Lord Li offered no opinion, and Lord Zhao simply returned the document to the clerk. The clerk asked, "How should we respond?" The ministers said, "Find out what the Prince thinks." The next day, they met with the Prince to discuss the matter. The Prince asked, "What are your thoughts? Should we accept their proposal? How should we reply?" The ministers looked at each other, and no one said a word. After waiting for a while, the Prince asked again, "Does anyone have any suggestions? Speak up and let's discuss." Lord Zhang, Lord Wang, Lord Li, and Lord Zhao were forced to speak by the Prince. Lord Zhang spoke first, "It's best to leave this to Your Highness; you'll make the right decision." Lord Wang quickly added, "I'm not sure, Your Highness. You have far more experience than I do. Whatever you decide is fine with me." Lord Li said, "They're right." Lord Zhao, having the least experience, dared not say much, just followed everyone and said, "Yes." Seeing that they couldn't reach a decision after talking for a long time, the Prince looked at the clock. Lord Zhang said there was something urgent at the office, Lord Wang said he had to visit a guest, and Lords Li and Zhao also had social engagements, so they all said, "Let's table it until tomorrow." After seeing off the Prince, they all left. Two days passed, the embassy did not come to follow up, and the Prince and the four ministers did not mention the matter again. By the third day, because the envoy had not received a response, he sent another note inquiring about it. They still couldn't make a decision. After discussing with the Prince for a long time, they just kept agreeing, without offering any concrete solutions. This day passed without a response to the envoy. By the fifth day, the envoy was angry, saying, "I sent you a note, but you ignored it!" So he wrote a letter saying that he would personally visit the next day at three o'clock to discuss face to face. The Prince and the ministers had to agree, replying, "We look forward to your visit tomorrow afternoon."

No time to waste when dealing with foreigners. The meeting was scheduled for three, but by two-thirty, the prince and his ministers had already arrived, all in their formal robes and court beads, waiting in a Western-style reception room. Just as it struck three, the envoy arrived. Starting with the prince, they each shook hands and exchanged greetings with him, then settled into their seats and were served tea and refreshments. The prince greeted the envoy first: "Long time no see!" Before the envoy could respond, Zhang interjected: "It's been over a month since we last met." Wang said: "I think we met last month." Li added: "It's been a while; we've all missed you." Zhao said: "We should meet more often." The envoy, understanding Chinese, politely acknowledged their greetings. The prince then said: "Beautiful day, isn't it?" Zhang said: "Lovely weather we're having." Wang said: "So glad you could be here!" Li said: "Good thing it's not raining; Beijing streets are a mess when it is." Zhao remarked: "Glad the weather cooperated!"

The ambassador asked, "Two days ago, I sent two diplomatic notes. I believe the prince and all the ministers have received them. Why haven't I received a reply?" The prince said, "Is it about Hunan?" Zhang also said, "About Hunan?" The ambassador asked, "So, what's the plan?" The prince and ministers cleared their throats. The ambassador asked again, "What do you think?" The prince said, "We need to investigate." The ministers all chimed in, "We need to investigate thoroughly before replying to you." The ambassador asked, "How long will it take to investigate thoroughly?" The prince said, "After the official documents are sent to Hunan, and waiting for their reply to reach Beijing, it will take at least two months." The ministers echoed, "At least two months." The ambassador said, "Our country has already investigated thoroughly. The governor is too weak, and a group of gentry are oppressing the people, nearly sparking another Boxer Rebellion. Our two countries have friendly relations, so I'm reminding you. The prince and the ministers don't need to investigate further; just handle it directly." The prince cleared his throat again, and the ministers also cleared their throats. Some even spat. After waiting for a while, the ambassador asked again. The prince said, "We need to discuss." The ministers all chimed in, "We need to discuss." The ambassador smiled slightly upon hearing this. Luckily, this ambassador had a good temper and understood the rules of the Chinese officialdom, which was to delay things day by day. If they really couldn't delay any longer, they had no choice but to comply. Therefore, at that moment, after hearing the prince and ministers' words, the ambassador did not push them too hard. He just said, "Waiting for official documents to investigate is not feasible. We can use the telegraph now; why not send a telegram immediately to inquire? You can receive a reply within two or three days, right?" This reminder prompted them to all say in unison, "Let's send a telegram to inquire, and once we sort it out, we will reply to you." As the ambassador was leaving, he added, "I'll check back in three days."

After seeing off the envoy, the prince was in a dilemma: "Should we agree to this matter, or not? If we don't agree, we have to find a way to deal with him!" Zhang was the most experienced among the officials and quickly came out to defuse the situation: "Your Royal Highness, you may not know, but we've dealt with foreigners many times before and have never contradicted them. We can't argue with them; we've gotta play ball." Then, he said to the three officials Wang, Li, and Zhao: "We've been handling negotiations for so long, don't you understand this little bit of diplomacy?" When Zhang said this, the prince was speechless, fell silent for a while, and cautiously asked, "Have you investigated this matter thoroughly?" Zhang replied, "No need, we'll play it by ear! When the foreigners arrive, we’ll do as they say; do you need to worry, Your Royal Highness?" In fact, they only vaguely knew that the envoy kicked up a fuss because of a murder case in Hunan that required negotiation. The envoy was dissatisfied with the governor of Hunan, saying he was too weak and demanded a replacement. As for the specific details of the case, they had no idea. They all pretended to know what was going on, and no one wanted to bother with this matter anymore. Afterwards, they discussed for a while, mainly about transferring the current governor of Hunan to another place and finding someone who could manage the situation with the foreigners to replace him. Zhang suggested, "Whoever we transfer, the foreigners may not be satisfied. It's better to feel him out when he comes to ask for a response the day after tomorrow, and then send whoever he suggests. This way, we can avoid conflicts with them in the future." The prince nodded, and that was that.

The bigwigs at the Zongli Yamen listened to the envoy; though inwardly reluctant to give in, they daren't defy him. Three days later, the envoy returned, starting with the usual pleasantries. They'd all been on tenterhooks. When it came to the main issue, the prince was the first to speak: "We'll swap the Hunan governor. We haven't picked a replacement yet, but someone who gets along well with your people would be ideal – makes future talks a lot smoother." The envoy said, "Right, the current Shandong governor, Lai Yangren, is a good'un. Old Governor Huang was a pain, but since Governor Lai took over, we've laid down hundreds of miles of track, and he even let us use some land outside Weixian for a drill ground. And you all know, building railways benefits everyone – Chinese people get to ride them too! We'll give the land back. Can't figure why old Huang was so against it. Governor Lai's a smart cookie; everyone likes him. Your government should appoint more men like him – good for the country. So, Your Highness, petition the Emperor to move Governor Lai to Hunan, and find another just like him for Shandong. That'll keep things friendly, wouldn't you say?" The prince and the officials exchanged glances. Finally, the prince murmured to Zhang, "If they rate Lai so highly, let's move him."

Zhang quickly shook his head: "No! No! If Lai gets promoted to the governor of Hunan, we’ll have to rethink the position in Shandong. They definitely won’t be satisfied, and moving him there won’t solve the issue. It would be better to appoint Dou from Shaanxi. When he was a local official in Tianjin, he got along really well with foreigners. Whenever there are new imported fruits or fancy new things, besides giving some to us, each foreign embassy gets a share. Don’t you think that’s thoughtful? If we move him to Shandong, they’ll be happy." The prince said, "Alright, let’s agree to it." Zhang replied, "No need to rush to tell them. If they don’t object, they’ll know we’re on board. Your Highness, you might not know this, but there’s a trick to playing it cool in diplomatic negotiations. We wait for them to take action, keep quiet, and they’ll understand we agree." The prince nodded. After discussing for a while, the envoys were getting antsy and asked again, "What’s the decision?" They stuck to their "silent consent" strategy and said nothing. The envoys were starting to get impatient. In the end, the prince couldn’t help but say, "You’ll get the official paperwork later." Upon hearing this, the envoys understood and stopped asking further questions. After exchanging a few more pleasantries, they took their leave. The next day, two imperial edicts indeed came down: the governors of Hunan and Shandong provinces were both replaced. The previous governor of Hunan wasn’t transferred to Shaanxi, which was considered a missed opportunity. Zhang had arranged this, saying Lai had offended some foreigners and needed time to cool things down before getting another posting.

Anyway, let's talk about the newly appointed top dog of Shandong, Dou Shihao. This guy used to be a small-time official, and he was a real smooth operator. Back when he was just starting out, he once went on a business trip with a junior official. The magistrate rode in a palanquin, but Dou didn't want to spend money, so he either rode in a palanquin or ran alongside the magistrate's sedan chair. Many people didn't recognize him and thought he was just the magistrate's big shot, not realizing he was actually the boss. His luck was really something that year when he was a deputy in the province and had nothing to do. The governor of the province had a father-in-law who was crazy about chess, so someone recommended Dou to him. He played ten games of chess with the father-in-law, and unbelievably, they drew every single game! Dou privately told someone, "I could've beaten him a hundred times over. But I didn't want to embarrass the old man, so I let him draw." The father-in-law, of course, noticed Dou's impressive chess skills, but he was a sore loser and wouldn't stop until he won a game. Luckily, Dou was clever and let him win a few moves on purpose. When the father-in-law finally won a game, he saved face and was thrilled, praising, "Even though I won against Mr. Dou today, his chess skills are top-notch. Only he can compete with me; others shouldn't even think about it!" Dou was over the moon to hear the father-in-law's praise. From then on, the father-in-law couldn't do without him, first having his son arrange some nominal tasks for him with a salary. Later, when the chance came, he recommended Dou for a promotion. Even the travel expenses for going to the capital to pay respects were sorted out by the father-in-law's son—let's not get into the details of that. When Dou returned from paying his respects in the capital, he leveraged his relationship with the father-in-law, did some good deeds, earned a nice stack of cash, and kept his superiors happy. So, he shot up the ranks, going from a small official in the prefecture to the chief of customs, then to the magistrate and the provincial governor, and finally, he became the governor of Shandong. He went from zero to hero in under a decade.

His ability to handle diplomatic affairs was honed when he was an assistant magistrate. After becoming a Customs Superintendent, such matters became even more frequent. What was his skill set? It was the secret of "tacit approval" that Zhang Dajun spoke of. When outsiders came to do business, if they followed the treaty, there was of course no problem. If they didn't, he would put on a show of arguing with them. When the foreigners got angry or resorted to strong-arm tactics, he would let them proceed without interference. Eventually, when they figured out his temperament, they would inform him about everything beforehand. Whether he agreed or not, they would just go ahead and do it themselves. Sometimes, when he faced trouble from above, he would consult the foreigners. They would say, "You've already given me your tacit approval. If you don't let me proceed, how can I? Now that it's done, you can't expect me to back down. If you want me to back out, you'll have to compensate me, and then I might stop. Why didn't you stop me sooner? I've already spent money, and if you suddenly try to halt me now, it will affect my business, ruin my reputation, and you'll have to pay me to settle this, or else it won't be over!" Dou Shihao listened and had nothing to say. Later, when the foreigners came asking for compensation, if they could negotiate, that was fine; if not, they would demand money, and he would actually pay up. After a few incidents like this, his superiors, seeing he was actually paying, started to turn a blind eye to future matters, as long as the foreigners didn't complain, they wouldn't blame him anymore.

Besides, after he became the governor for a few years, he was even more experienced. The foreigners who had suffered losses at his hands did not forget him. When they heard he was coming, they were all happy. Foreigners were constantly coming to see him. He saw every foreigner who came calling. He was busy dealing with those guys from overseas all day long, so how could he have time to manage local affairs? So someone reported: "The governor's got a million things on his plate, and he must take care of his health. If he keeps burning the candle at both ends, his energy won't keep up! We need to find someone to share his burden." Dou Shihao said: "Those guys wouldn't get it. Who can replace me? Unless we find someone who knows how to handle them, who can help me deal with these matters without me worrying and can make them satisfied, then I can rest assured. Do you have such a person?" Everyone couldn't recommend anyone, so they didn't say anything more. Later, this matter reached the ears of the foreigners, and they took the opportunity to recommend someone. They also mentioned that when a certain country was underdeveloped in the past, it borrowed talents from other countries, and then the country prospered. This was just the idea of finding a guide. When Dou Shihao heard this, he thought: "That's a great idea! Let's use foreigners to deal with other foreigners. Doing business with them will be easy to negotiate, and I won't have to worry. No more headaches with negotiations in the future. I can use this to relieve my burden, without foreigners coming to me all the time, and without fearing that they will say I'm not doing a good job. If it goes south, it's on him, not me." He made up his mind and immediately agreed, asking the foreigners to introduce a guide. The foreigner said: "This person studied politics and law and has obtained advanced diplomas." Dou Shihao said: "I manage ten prefectures, two direct-controlled prefectures, and 108 counties. I have to oversee all matters by myself. How can I be so busy? With this assistant, I can also take a break." Two days later, the introducer brought the contract, a wall of text in foreign languages. Dou Shihao couldn't understand it, so he sent it to the Bureau of Foreign Affairs for translation. The head of the Bureau added two more clauses, without changing much else. Monthly salary of 600 taels; sign a one-year contract first. Dou Shihao looked at it and had no problem, so he followed suit. He was already in China, so he came right away. After signing the contract, Dou invited him to stay at the governor's mansion to make things easier. The foreigner had no family, so he agreed and moved in. His surname was Ka, and the governor called him Mr. Ka. Everyone in the yamen called him Master Ka. In official circles, he was also called Lord Ka. Some who didn't know his surname respectfully called him "Mr. Foreigner."

So, Du Shihao starts his new job as magistrate, and bam! – murder case on day one. He felt that the draft prepared by the clerk was not acceptable and insisted on having Mr. Ka (a foreigner) give it the once-over. As a result, after explaining for a long time, they still hadn't explained the case properly. Everyone said, "Mr. Ka's a Westerner, he's all about Western law, not this Chinese stuff. Even if he *did* write it, it'd get shot down. Let's have our own people write it." Du Shihao had no choice; he pulled the document and let the local old gentleman handle it.

A few days later, another telegram arrived, asking him to train the army, establish the police, and open schools. Upon hearing this, he said, "These are all new policies. Gotta run this by the 'big cheese' – Mr. Ka." He quickly invited Mr. Ka to explain these matters in detail and help draft the regulations. Mr. Ka said, "Back home, this stuff is all specialized. For example, military training, the army has military schools, and the navy has naval schools; schools also have primary and advanced levels. I'm not an expert, so I can't just spout off." Du Shihao regretted a bit this time, frowning and saying, "You couldn't understand the murder case, and now you can't understand *this*? What *can* you understand?" Mr. Ka said, "Your laws are a mess, and even though you're trying to fix them, they're still a mess. I cannot handle things using your law. If you really want this done, I can recommend some people – plenty of 'em. What *do* I understand? If we ever need to deal with my country, you're all set. I've got this." Du Shihao had nothing to say, so he handed over those new policies to the local officials to handle and no longer sought Mr. Ka's help. Mr. Ka was also happy to be at ease, receiving his salary, eating and sleeping well, and living a comfortable life. And just like that, half a year went by.

One day, Mr. Ka's fellow countryman came to China with his wife and children and first arrived in Shandong. Because he didn't clarify the price with the porter, the porter took advantage of him, kept his luggage, and walked more than two miles, insisting on charging him five hundred copper coins per load. The foreigner was furious, knowing that Mr. Ka was at the Yamen, so he went to find him and explained the situation in detail, mentioning that there were three porters involved. Mr. Ka thought to himself, "I've been here for half a year and haven't done anything useful; I feel quite embarrassed. This time, I can finally get to do something useful." He went to find Governor Dou and angrily said, "The porters withholding my compatriot's luggage is no different from robbery! I know the laws of your country; these three porters should all be executed to set things right!" When Governor Dou heard this, he thought the porters were truly despicable, and if they had robbed a foreigner's luggage, they would definitely be severely punished. He immediately called the magistrate, informed him of the situation, and asked him to arrest the people. The magistrate soon returned and reported, "The people have been arrested and interrogated. In fact, the porters and the foreigner had agreed on five hundred copper coins per load. The foreigner refused to pay, so the porters withheld the luggage, saying, 'Five hundred copper coins per load was agreed upon, not a penny less!' The foreigner got angry and hit them with a stick. One porter's head was injured, and I have verified the facts. The three porters also got into a dispute, saying they didn't want the money anymore and returned the items, asking the foreigner to find someone else to carry them, as the deal was off. Later, the landlord came out to mediate, and each load was given three hundred copper coins, and the luggage was returned long ago. I believe the matter has been resolved, and the foreigner causing trouble for the general is really blowing things out of proportion!" The magistrate laid out the whole story. When Governor Dou heard this, he also agreed, saying, "The porters were wrong to demand a high price. But you hit them and didn't pay the agreed price, and now you claim the porters were robbing you and ask me to execute them, which is too much!" He called Mr. Ka, explained the situation to him, and asked him to go explain to the foreigner and to drop it.

Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, Mr. Ka slammed his fist on the table, banged his fist on the bench, and started yelling at Doutai, saying, "If I don't follow your Chinese laws, you say I'm no good; and now that I do, you still say it's wrong. You're clearly just trying to undermine me! Since you don't listen to me, why keep me?!" At this time, the foreigner let rip at Doutai for breaking their agreement, accusing him of breaching the contract: "Since you invited me, you didn't give me any power. Other foreigners will think I'm a joke! This is clearly damaging my reputation; who will invite me in the future? You owe me a year's salary, and on top of that, compensation for the damage to my reputation. If you don't compensate me, I will go to Beijing with you to find the consul to settle this!" After speaking, he tried to pull Doutai away. Doutai asked him, "Where to?" He said, "To Beijing!" Doutai replied, "Even if I wanted to go to Beijing, I'm a government official; I can't just up and leave without orders from above. If you want to go, you go by yourself. You're quitting, not me sacking you, so forget about the salary." When the foreigner heard Doutai's refusal, he became even more aggressive. Luckily, the county magistrate was still there and jumped in to mediate, persuading the foreigner, "Let's talk this over calmly. This guy's the top dog in the province; if you cross him, you'll be on your own here. Think about it." After thinking about it, the foreigner realized it was true and stopped talking. The county magistrate then begged Doutai to calm down, saying, "The Governor's a big shot; this guy's nothing. If the Governor gets mad, you'll be sorry." Doutai had no choice but to instruct the matter to be handled by the Foreign Affairs Bureau. The magistrate agreed, spoke to the Bureau Chief, and they both went to see the foreigner. They talked him into accepting a year's salary and promised to leave him alone after that. Once the foreigner got his money, he shut up.

Dou Futai got ripped off by a foreigner and regretted it, losing some of his faith in foreigners. Turns out, there were two reasons: First, Dou Shihao himself regretted getting taken; second, his father-in-law Shen Zhongtang wrote him a letter from Beijing, saying: "Many people in Beijing are talking about you now, saying that you hired a foreigner as a teacher, dropped the ball, and let things slide. It's a bad look. You should ditch that foreigner ASAP to avoid the gossip mill. We're family, so I'm giving you a heads-up." So Dou Shihao cooked up an excuse to get rid of the foreigner, saving face and his career.

Let's continue talking about his father-in-law, Shen Zhongtang. At that time, he was the Minister of Rites, a powerful Grand Secretary, and head of the Grand Secretariat. Although he was not in the military department and did not have as much power, he had long controlled the civil service examinations, and his students were everywhere. He was originally quite conservative, but with the court pushing through all these reforms, although he did not dare to openly oppose them, he always spoke with some complaints. One day, several provincial governors and officials jointly memorialized, suggesting reducing the number of candidates in the imperial examinations and emphasizing school education. The old man was angry when he heard this, muttering, "Don't talk about others; just those few, who didn't come from the imperial examinations? Now that they have succeeded, they want to block others' chances. This is truly unfair!" Later, he found out that among the censors who memorialized, there was one surnamed Jin and one surnamed Wang, both of whom were examiners he had appointed in the past, which made him even more furious! However, the court had already approved the memorial, and he couldn't say anything on the surface, so he instructed the gatekeeper, "Tell Wang and Jin that I'm not seeing them. Send their cards back." The gatekeeper agreed. Later, Wang and Jin were indeed blocked outside the gate and had to try to get through to him, but Shen Zhongtang was adamant and refused to accept them. The two had no choice but to give up. Some time later, there were provincial governors who memorialized again, suggesting that the court should treat students back from studying abroad well. When the old man heard this, he was so angry that his beard was about to explode, saying, "These students, making trouble at schools every day, how can we trust them with anything, let alone power? They'll be troublemakers even as officials!" He was about to invite his proud students who shared his views to discuss countermeasures, but before he could send out invitations, he heard that the court was turning all the temples into schools. Upon hearing this, he went cold all over, saying, "This is getting worse and worse! If this continues, who knows what kind of mess they'll make? I'm too old for this fight. I'll just pray Buddha sorts them out." That night, he was so angry that he couldn't sleep, and the next day he took leave to rest at home.

He is the Grand Secretary and the Minister of Personnel, so naturally many students and subordinates come to see him. Everyone knows that the teacher's illness cannot be cured by medicine. A student bravely said, "Teacher, I'm all in. Even if I lose my official position and my life, I will follow in the footsteps of Wu Shiyu and submit a memorial tomorrow to argue with reason. If it is not approved, I will take my own life in front of everyone to vindicate you!" Shen Zhongtang saw that this person was Qi Ling, courtesy name Xiaowan. During the palace examination, he was the chief examiner and ranked Qi Xiaowan's paper in the top ten, so he was retained in the academy for the second round. Bannermen often rose quickly through the ranks, so he has now become a scholar. Shen Zhongtang recognized him and raised his thumb, saying, "Brother, if you can turn this situation around, may Buddha bless you with a promotion. You will definitely reach my position in the future." Xiaowan immediately bid farewell to his teacher, saying, "I will go home and write the memorial. Please wait for news tomorrow." Although Shen Zhongtang was happy, he still had a sad look on his face, saying, "Xiaowan, if you really want to present a memorial, although it is a great act that will be remembered for generations, what about your family? How can I, an old man with a low official position, take care of you?" He fell silent for a moment. When everyone was about to leave, he insisted on personally seeing them off to their carriages. Everyone resolutely refused, saying, "The teacher never sees us out. If you see us out, it means you are shutting us out." So they walked to the eaves, standing there refusing to leave. Shen Zhongtang said, "I am not seeing you off; I am seeing off Brother Xiaowan. If Xiaowan really wants to emulate Wu, this might be our last goodbye. How can I not see him off?" Seeing him say this, everyone had to let him escort Xiaowan to the door.

Putting aside the scholar's return to write his memorial, let's just talk about Mr. Shen sending off the guests. Instead of returning to his room, he went directly to the space where he usually recites scriptures. In front of the Guanyin statue, he solemnly burned incense and kowtowed three times. After the last kowtow, he knelt on the ground for a long time, muttering a prayer. When he got up, he tried to recite half the Diamond Sutra but couldn't finish, so he had to continue the next day. From then on, he stayed at home to recuperate, taking three days off and then extending it for another three days. He was on pins and needles waiting for the scholar's memorial to bring an imperial decree. Even if it was rejected, since Shen Xiaoan said he wanted to remonstrate, his loyalty the other day showed he wasn't kidding. But whether the memorial was approved or not, and whether Xiaoan was alive or dead, there should be some news, right? Why no news for days? It's a mystery. His six days' leave was up, still no word from Xiaoan. He wasn't really that sick, and all that time off was making people talk. He had to go back to work. Shen recovered from his illness, and the students all came to visit, but Xiaoan was nowhere to be seen. Shen asked if anyone had seen Xiaoan in the past few days, saying he had been waiting for him for four days and his memorial had not been submitted. Was he just kidding the other day? If he doesn't keep his word, he's not his student anymore. At this time, Liu Xinming, who studied with Xiaoan, stood up to explain: Xiaoan blew his top at home after returning from the teacher's place that day. He saw several doctors but only got better with Western medicine. He slept the next day, then started on the memorial, but got heatstroke and needed over ten shots to pull through. Everyone says he should stay home and rest; heatstroke is serious. He should be able to visit the teacher tomorrow.

Teacher Shen said, "So that's how it is, life is important. He's even willing to take a Western doctor's medicine; would he really die over this? So I stopped worrying about him dying." After speaking, he was still quite angry.

Two days later, Shen Xiao'an knew that the teacher was upset and felt embarrassed to see him, so he had to ask many people to intercede before daring to go. Teacher Shen gave him the cold shoulder, not as warm as before.

On the way back from Teacher Shen's house that day, Shen Xiao'an was thinking about writing a really impressive memorial. He was still contemplating how to write it to move people. When he got home and got off the carriage, the steward came up to congratulate him. Shen Xiao'an asked what was going on, and the steward said that the Guangdong governor's position was open, and everyone was saying it would be him. Lord Wang, a high-ranking official, had visited, but since Shen Xiao'an wasn't home, he had asked the steward to pass on a message. Today, Lord Wang mentioned him again, so it seemed like a sure thing. Shen Xiao'an had originally planned to follow Wu Kedou's example and submit a memorial directly, but after hearing the steward's words, his ambition kicked in, and he forgot about this matter.

That night, he was like an ant on a hot pot, pacing around the house, wanting to write a letter to ask Lord Wang about it, but his family said it was too late and Lord Wang was probably asleep. He thought about writing to other friends, but was afraid they wouldn't know, which would only make things worse. And so, he tossed and turned all night. The next morning, as he was about to go out to inquire about the news, the word came down from the emperor, and someone else was appointed. Shen Xiao'an was left fuming and only then did he remember what he had said to Teacher Shen two days before, taking this opportunity to vent. Just as he started writing the memorial, his wife called him over, saying their young son had a fever and was feeling dizzy.

Shen Xiaoan, one of three brothers, had only one son, who was eleven years old. He was a bright boy, though not a prodigy. He finished reading the three classics at the age of eleven and was now studying the "Zuo Zhuan." His essays were already quite advanced, nearing the level of formal lectures, and the teacher said he would be able to finish it next year. Therefore, they doted on him. When their son fell ill, Shen Xiaoan was extremely anxious, and his wife stayed by their son's side, crying non-stop. Seeing this scene, Shen Xiaoan's ambitions took a backseat to his son's illness. He quickly asked the doctor to treat his son's illness and comforted his wife. After two frantic days, their son recovered, and Mr. Shen's vacation was over. He'd completely forgotten about emulating Wu Ke's studiousness and could no longer concentrate. Feeling sorry for the teacher, he had to make up a lie and ask someone to explain, just to smooth things over. He knew the teacher would be cold towards him, but he had no other choice. Later, this matter spread, and people gossiped that Mr. Shen's anger had terrified his students. Luckily, Shen Xiaoan was clever enough to avoid the fallout.

One day, Mr. Shen was sitting at home when the governor of Zhili came to visit. The governor bragged about his students who had returned from their studies and were very knowledgeable. The court had approved for them to take the exam, and outstanding candidates would be awarded the title of Jinshi or Hanlin. They'd need Mr. Shen to mark the papers. More good students would serve the country and bring everyone honor. Mr. Shen quickly waved his hand and said, "I'm okay with everything else, but I object to this Baohe Palace exam. If they can all participate in the palace exam, where does that leave us old-timers? The Hanlin Academy's been squeaky clean for centuries, and now they want to flood it with these outsiders? It'll be a disaster!" After speaking, he was very unhappy. The governor of Zhili had originally come to establish a relationship, but when he saw the conversation wasn't going anywhere, he took his leave.

So, there was this governor of Zhili Province who was particularly favored by the emperor. Whatever he said, the emperor would listen and never reject. After he returned, he recommended a whole bunch of his students for the emperor to test and admit. The officials at the palace guards received the news first. One military minister knew that Shen Zhongtang had a stubborn temper, so he had a bit of fun at his expense: "The students recommended by the governor of Zhili have all been rejected by us. Knowing that you don't like these people, I thought I'd let you know to make you happy." Shen Zhongtang was really happy when he heard this and repeatedly said, "Exactly! Even if the emperor approves, if I have to grade the tests, I would rather resign. I absolutely won't do this job!" The military minister said, "Zhongtang, you got that right!" The two then dispersed.

Who would have known that the next day, an imperial decree was issued to test those students who had graduated from studying abroad in the Baohedian Hall. Shen Zhongtang took a look and thought that the palace guards had no power to stop this matter. He could only sigh helplessly and say nothing. Two days later, the exams were over, and the next day he was appointed as the guy who grades the tests. At this point, it was too late to ask for leave. If he refused, he could not bear the charge of going against the emperor's orders, so he had to go dejectedly. Fortunately, there were not many exam papers, and there was more than one chief examiner. He was glad to have a bit of downtime and let others be busy. He probably flipped through the papers, picked one with no issues to put first, and handed it in. As a result, the court promoted talents out of the ordinary, rewarding the best with the title of Hanlin, and others as chief officials or county magistrates. In short, both officials in Beijing and those working outside the court were included.

Let's not talk about those who became chief officials or county magistrates. Let's talk about those who were appointed as Hanlin. According to the rules, they had to go see their teachers and elders. They couldn't skip these formalities. Shen Zhongtang was the head of the Imperial Academy and was in charge of them, so they had to come to pay their respects. Although these Hanlin scholars had returned from abroad and did not understand Chinese customs, since they had taken on this official position, they had to follow the procedures. At this moment, they had no choice but to just roll with it. So they inquired about the rules, prepared their gifts and cash, took their name cards, and went to visit Shen Zhongtang's private residence.

Shen Zhongtang had anticipated this. Two days in advance, he gathered all his former students who'd passed the imperial exams and said to them, "Getting into the Hanlin Academy used to be a real slog! Three provincial exams, three metropolitan exams, then the re-exams, the palace exams, the whole shebang – you name it! You’ve all been through these hurdles; can these newcomers easily cross them? These guys haven't lifted a finger, just scribbled a couple of essays and think they're Hanlin material? In the future, anyone can become a Hanlin official! But the Emperor's given 'em a break, so we gotta play along, right? And if he wants me to mark their papers, what am I gonna do, say no? I've got a bad feeling about this whole thing. Today, I’ve invited everyone here to discuss a way to resist; we gotta make sure they don't even *think* about setting foot in this place. Alright, lads, what are your ideas?" Everyone said, "Yes!" Shen Zhongtang asked them how to resist. Someone said, "We should write a memo to fail 'em. And no assignments from this office for these guys." Another person said, "Being a Hanlin is just a title, no seniority perks." Shen Zhongtang just listened, said nothing.

At this time, there was a scholar named Zhen Shouqiu, who was seventy-three years old. He had a sharp mind and quickly interjected, saying, "The teacher's methods are all about making them unwelcome. We need to make them so afraid they won't dare come. Now there is a way. Since they have become Hanlin scholars (elite members of the Imperial Academy), they will definitely come to pay respects to the teacher and acknowledge their seniors. The teacher cannot ignore them. If they give gifts, we'll gladly take them. We old seniors do not ask for anything from them. When they come, we have agreed not to see them together. We do not acknowledge them. Even if we meet elsewhere, if they call us seniors or old seniors, we will politely say 'I dare not', and ignore them. This way, they will run into some resistance and be afraid to see us. In the future, they will treat this Hanlin as a deterrent, and naturally no one will come again. But in order to resist, we must be united." Everyone agreed, saying, "Wonderful!" Shen Zhongtang nodded and said, "Shouqiu brother is absolutely right! I am willing to recognize them as students, but the gifts of respect must be doubled as usual. In our Chinese customs, anything with the word 'foreign' must be charged extra. Let's take our eldest child who just returned from Shanghai as an example. He said that in Shanghai theaters, foreigners have to pay double to watch a play. Although these people are not foreigners, they have returned from abroad after all, so it is not excessive for me to ask for more." The students all agreed, "Yes!" So it was decided that day that when those people came to pay respects to the old seniors, they would not be received, as a strategy of resistance. Everyone unanimously agreed, and then dispersed. And what happened next? Find out in the next chapter!

Details

Written by: Realhistories

Category: Officialdom Unmasked

Published: 23 November 2024

Created: 23 November 2024

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Hunan's governor wanted to use this exam to shake things up in the local government, but ended up implicating his own relatives. Unable to resolve the situation, he had to let it go, and it fizzled out. Later, fearing gossip, he had his subordinates inform the provincial government and let them handle it themselves.

The provincial government understood the governor's intentions and first grilled the captured "gunman," having the inspector question him twice before personally interrogating him. The provincial governor really laid it on thick, intimidating and threatening, but the "gunman" continued to deny everything. Everyone in the court thought he was nuts. The provincial governor then asked, "Does this guy have a family?" His wife and son rushed to the court, kneeling down and pleading, "He's always had asthma. He was going to a relative's birthday. A worker, Wang San, went with him. Wang San said he disappeared in the crowd near the exam hall. He looked everywhere but couldn't find him. I searched everywhere too! Then I heard about this… a gunman caught at the exam? It's him! But he's sick! He donated to get an official position, but never actually worked as one, and he can't even write! Please, your honor, let him go!" The governor ignored her, then said, "Even if he ain't a gunman, he's still nuts and gotta stay!" The man's wife continued to kowtow below.

They sent for the substitute prefect who was asked to bring in the "cheat." The substitute prefect said he was sick and couldn't come, so he wrote a letter and sent his steward to deliver it. While the officials read the letter, the steward explained, "My master was originally prepared to take the exam that day, but suddenly fell seriously ill in the middle of the night, feeling dizzy and unable to get out of bed at all." The provincial government said, "Since you're sick, you should have asked for leave!" The steward replied, "Your Honor, when the prefect mentioned it, my master was seriously ill. We were running around like crazy in the mansion, getting doctors and medicine, and we didn't have time for anything else. By noon the next day, my master was slightly better and remembered this matter, but it was too late." With that, he took out a few prescriptions, "These are from Dr. X on [date] and Dr. Y on [date]." He also said, "My master is still lying in bed and unable to get up now; they could send someone to check on him. These doctors can all be consulted." The provincial government nodded and instructed everyone, "Alright, you can all go. Keep an eye on the crazy guy for now. We'll wait for the prefect's orders."

Later, the provincial government reported the situation to the governor, providing an accurate account of the matter. The imposters were treated as lunatics and sentenced to imprisonment. "The candidate for prefect sent someone to investigate and indeed found that he was ill, with medical proof. However, since the candidate was sick, he should have taken leave in advance. The matter wasn't reported until his absence from the exam was discovered. Although there is no evidence to prove that he hired imposters, it cannot be said that he is free from negligence in his duties. How to punish him? We request the governor's decision on appropriate punishment." After receiving the report, the governor was concerned about gossip and did not respond directly. The next day, a notice was posted in the government office, stating: "We here at the Governor's office are fair and impartial, and we handle everything ourselves. This exam was held to select talents and govern the country. Officials should take their responsibilities seriously, work hard, and support the court's efforts to improve governance. However, the candidate for prefect did not show up for the exam that day, committing negligence. Furthermore, a lunatic named the accused was caught at the scene, and many people at the time said he was an imposter. Therefore, the provincial government was asked to investigate rigorously. The provincial government found that the prefect was ill that day, and the accused was indeed mentally ill, with medical proof and testimony from the individual's family. We've done our due diligence, but we still have some doubts, so all officials are notified: if there is evidence that someone took the exam on behalf of another that day, they must secretly inform the provincial government, then report to this court, and this court will personally interrogate. Once confirmed, immediate and severe punishment will be imposed according to the law. The rectification of governance and the selection of talents depend on this action, and we have high hopes for it! This is an official announcement."

After the notice was posted, some people who were jealous of the magistrate, as well as those who were catching people on the scene, each had their own ulterior motives. Some wanted to vent their anger, some wanted to show off, and two people actually wrote a petition and handed it to the provincial government for delivery. The next day at work, they all came to the government office. The first person came up and handed the petition to the provincial governor. The governor glanced at it, sized him up, and slowly said, "Look, he didn't do anything wrong, and you know it. But who doesn't know he's a relative of the governor? Why bother messing with him? Even if we get him fired, the vacant position may not necessarily fall to us, and we will offend him, which he will surely remember. Don't bother. If you really want me to, I guess I can. But between friends, we should look out for each other. That's my two cents. Think it over." Everyone listened to the governor's words and felt that it made sense. Those who hadn't submitted withdrew their petitions. Those who had already submitted apologized, withdrew their petitions, and said they'd learned their lesson. The governor quietly investigated and found that a few people were still dissatisfied, so he wrote down their names and passed them on to the governor.

The viceroy saw the notice posted for two days without anyone speaking, so he handled it according to the report from the provincial government. In short, the report said: "On the day of the prefectural exam, the magistrate did not show up due to illness. Although it was not intentional evasion, it was considered negligence of duty, and he received three serious reprimands. The ill man was temporarily detained and would be released back home once he recovered." As he issued orders, the exam results were also announced. The names of those few individuals who wanted to attack the relatives of the viceroy all ranked after the top three. Those who did well praised the viceroy's fair and just selection process. The next day, they all went to thank the viceroy. In the end, the top three were all associates of the viceroy. The first place was appointed to a vacancy in another place, while the second and third places were assigned tasks. Those ranked after the top three were left disappointed. Despite the reprimand, he was still given three or four assignments. Although everyone was dissatisfied, there was nothing they could do.

Because of his excellent performance this time, the viceroy especially appreciated him and thought that this young man was very capable. Not long after, he was recommended to show his face in the central department. After returning from the central department, he continued to work in the province and was assigned a position in the military office. After receiving his appointment letter and returning to the province, he went to visit the viceroy, and the next day he was assigned three important positions in the provincial education office, the Westernization Bureau, and the military affairs office, as well as being appointed as the chief secretary of the institute.

Mr. Shan, whose courtesy name was Zhouquan, had a dignified appearance and came from a formal educational background. As the saying goes, "If you master one, you master all." He excelled at writing the eight-legged essays and was equally proficient in handling affairs. Since taking on these four tasks, he had been busy every day without a break. The viceroy trusted him greatly, and what’s more, he was the viceroy's shadow, always agreeing without dissent.

One day, the governor made a mistake by writing the character for "France" ('法') as the character for "England" ('英') in a negotiation related to the French. Realizing his blunder, he humbly consulted with Dan, asking if his approach was correct. Although Dan knew that the governor had written "法" as "英," he didn’t call him out on it and simply said, "Perfectly correct, sir!" The governor thought to himself, "I consulted with Mr. X, and he said it was fine, so it must be fine." He then sent the document with this error to the office handling foreign affairs for processing. Several staff members received the document, saw that it was written by the governor himself, and promptly got to work on it. When they carefully reviewed it, they realized that the issue involving the French actually implicated the English, clearly a mistake made by the governor. However, they didn’t dare to correct the governor's writing, so they presented the document to Dan for what to do next. Dan said, "Of course I know the governor wrote it wrong. But you can't tell your boss he's wrong, can you? I'm just as troubled by this matter."

Shan spoke while looking around, and seeing that the document clerk and Second Brother Chong (nicknamed Chong Er Mohu) had not left yet, he waved and said, "Second Brother, come over here! I need to discuss something with you." Second Brother Chong asked in a hurry, "What's the matter?" Shan explained the situation and said, "There's no other way now; I can only ask you to write another official document tomorrow, include it with the other documents, and send it up for the Chief Secretary to review and see how he will instruct. I figure that after making one mistake, he won't make the same mistake again." Although Second Brother Chong was a bit slow, he understood at this moment and said, "Sir, this doesn't seem right. This document was just sent out today, and we're sending another one tomorrow. What if the Chief Secretary gets angry and says we're not careful in our work?" Shan became anxious, "So what if we hit a snag? The higher the position, the more snags you'll encounter. It's better than telling him directly to his face that he made a mistake, right? Besides, he's the top man in the province; would he really blame us for this? Just do as I say!" Second Brother Chong couldn't argue with him and had to comply. The next day when the paperwork was sent up, it was indeed included with the rest. The Chief Secretary reviewed the documents and suddenly said, "I've already instructed on this yesterday and handed it over to Shan to handle." Second Brother Chong remained silent. The Chief Secretary repeated himself. Second Brother Chong replied, "Shan said we need to have you review it." The Chief Secretary thought to himself, "Did the note I instructed on yesterday get lost?" So he instructed again. Little did he know, he'd gotten the character wrong again. After the paperwork came back down, Second Brother Chong had Shan review it. Shan only furrowed his brows and didn't say anything. Because there were too many people around, how could he dare correct his boss? If it got back to the Chief Secretary's ears, it would be troublesome. After looking at it, he set the document aside.

After waiting for a long time, he heard that the magistrate was alone in his office, so he slipped the document into his sleeve and walked up to him. He quietly opened the door and saw the magistrate sitting there writing a letter. He entered so quietly the magistrate didn't hear him. Seeing that the magistrate was busy, he didn't dare to disturb him, so he waited there for half an hour, the document clutched in his hand. The magistrate, wanting tea, called out, "Come!" and suddenly looked up, only then noticing Shan. He asked, "When did you arrive? What's the matter?" Shan replied respectfully, "I just came in, saw that you were busy, so I didn't want to interrupt." The magistrate sealed the letter while inviting him to sit down. After sealing the envelope, he slowly brought up the document. The magistrate said first, "About yesterday, I had already discussed it with my elder brother and given the order. They came to ask me again today. Aren't those guys a bunch of idiots?" Shan said, "Not only are they confused, but I'm confused too. You must know those foreigners' origins; they must be English, not French. I guess the people below must have misunderstood and written the English as French. You've got sharp eyes, so you corrected it for them." The magistrate listened, stunned for a moment, and said, "You got the document?" Shan answered, "I brought it." He pulled out the document and offered it with both hands. He continued with a stern face, "There are more English than French in China, so I suspect this matter must involve English people. Your correction was completely right." The magistrate did not speak, took the document, read it from beginning to end, and suddenly smiled, saying, "I made a mistake; they were not wrong." Shan pretended to be surprised and said, "They were not wrong? No way!" He snatched the document, studied it, muttered to himself, and nodded. He said, "Indeed, they are French. Without your correction, I'd be sunk. I'll go down now and instruct them to follow your orders." The magistrate said, "This has been delayed a day; get on it!"

Not provided.

Dan Daotai nodded repeatedly and said, "Got it," before leaving. Back in the office, he told his subordinates, "Don’t think this job is a walk in the park. You gotta know how to play the game. Send it up like that ten times, and it'll get bounced back." Chong Er hesitated and said, "I figured, just mark the mistakes in red and send it up, so he can understand it himself." Dan Daotai replied, "No way! Only during the palace examination and imperial examination do examiners attach notes for mistakes on the papers. I’ve been through this; don’t you get it? We are his subordinates now. If we attach notes for him, isn’t that just calling him out? Absolutely not! There are two lines in 'The Doctrine of the Mean' that I remember: 'In a lower position, do not command the superiors; the people cannot be governed.' What does 'command the superiors' mean? It’s all about keeping your boss happy. If you don’t, you’ll never get promoted, and if you’re not promoted, you can’t run anything. This is what 'the people cannot be governed' means." Dan Daotai was speaking passionately, while Chong Er was still confused and blurted out, "So, how'd you handle the General? How'd you get him to admit he was wrong? Teach me your ways!" Dan Daotai closed his eyes and said, "It's one of those things you just gotta learn by doing. You'll figure it out."

Some time later, word came to the county magistrate that a foreign tourist was shopping on the street when several children pulled his clothes and teased him. The foreigner blew up and lashed out with a stick, hitting one of the children on the temple—a fatal blow. The child couldn't dodge in time and fell to the ground, dying shortly after. The parents were furious and rushed to catch the foreigner. The foreigner freaked out, swinging the stick wildly, injuring several people nearby. The neighbors went nuts, grabbing the foreigner, taking away his stick, and tying him up with a rope before hauling him off to the magistrate. When the county magistrate heard about it, he was shocked; it was a matter of life and death. Upon careful inquiry, he found out the culprit was a foreigner. He thought, "This is above my pay grade." He immediately instructed his subordinates to wait for further instructions, skipping the autopsy, and hightailed it to his superiors.

When the magistrate learned the situation, he realized this was a difficult international case, very hard to handle. Immediately, the Deputy Magistrate was called to discuss countermeasures. The Deputy Magistrate asked, "The killer who killed someone is a foreigner; which country is he from? Once it's clear, we can inform the consulate to discuss solutions." The county magistrate was stumped, hesitated for a while, and then said, "It was a foreigner, I guess. I was in a hurry when I came, and I overlooked that." The Deputy Magistrate asked again, "Who was the deceased?" The county magistrate said, "He was a child." The Deputy Magistrate said, "I know he was a child! What does his family do?" The county magistrate replied, "I didn't think to ask. I'll go down and ask and then report back to the Prefect." The Deputy Magistrate scolded him for being confused and told him to find out immediately. The county magistrate had no choice but to retreat. Back at the yamen, he scolded the clerk, saying, "Confused! You came back without confirming the deceased's family background and the nationality of the killer! Now that the Deputy Magistrate has asked, I have nothing to say. Truly confused! Hurry up and find out!" After the clerk went down, he scolded the neighborhood chief in the same way. The neighborhood chief went out to inquire about the deceased's family and found out that he was the son of a tofu shop owner, from a humble background. When they asked the foreigner again, no one understood what he was saying. The county magistrate became anxious, knowing that Long Shilang in the city had recently become interested in Western thought and had invited a foreign student back from abroad to teach his son Western learning. He planned to hire him as a translator and immediately sent someone to invite him. After waiting for a while, the person returned empty-handed, saying, "Mr. Long left for the Hanlin Academy exams in Beijing two weeks ago." The county magistrate was worried, but then received orders from above, saying, "First, send the foreign killer to the Bureau of Foreign Affairs for placement. Once everything is clear, inform his consulate and then discuss solutions." The magistrate breathed a sigh of relief, quickly examined the body, questioned the family and neighbors, wrote up a report, and sent it to his superiors.

Let's get back to the point. Actually, this was all the idea of the prefect. He said to the governor-general: "We don't have a consulate in Changsha. This foreigner came here for tourism, and now a man has been murdered. If we don't handle this, the local people will definitely not accept it. But we don't have extraterritorial rights to prosecute him; we can't use our own country's laws to govern foreigners. I have been thinking about it, and keeping the murderer in the county is inappropriate. If he suffers any mistreatment in the yamen, and his own consul mentions it in the future, it won't be good for us. It would be better to place him under house arrest and ensure his comfort. We should await a reply from his consul. Then we can decide on a course of action." The governor-general said, "Very good." So after the prefect left, he immediately sent someone to the county to bring the man. The man was quickly apprehended, and there was a translator in the yamen who immediately asked him, "Which country are you from? What is your name?" Fortunately, there was a consulate in Hankou, Hubei Province, in the neighboring province, where he belonged, so they could inform them nearby. The matter was immediately reported to the governor-general, who then telegraphed the Governor of Huguang, asking him to inform the victim's consul and work out a solution together.

This District Magistrate is especially thorough in his work, never biased. He said, "This is a critical situation—it's a matter of life and death, and the culprit is a foreigner. There are many wealthy and influential locals in Hunan Province. If we don't handle this well and they unite with the foreigners to cause trouble, it will be a real mess. It's not good to handle it, and it's not good not to handle it. It's better to first explain the situation to these powerful local elites and ask for their help. In this way, they'll know we're in this together, making it easier to manage. However, the foreign consul won't be easy to deal with. Even though foreigners don't have to pay with their lives for killing someone, we can't just let him go. The problem is, even if we pin some charge on him, the consul surely won't agree. At this time, we need those powerful locals and the common people. When they get riled up and confront the consul, he'll naturally be intimidated by the public outcry. Then we can step in to calm the people and tell them not to cause trouble. The people will see that our government is on their side, and the storm will naturally settle down. By then, it will be easy to pin down the culprit's crime, the people will have nothing to argue about, and the foreign consul will have to thank us. We'll be heroes; everyone will be singing our praises. With the plan settled, he immediately prepared to visit several influential local gentry in a sedan chair to sound them out and see if he could get them on board."

Just as he was about to get into the sedan chair, someone came to report: "Those gentlemen feel that the Foreign Affairs Office should not give preferential treatment to the foreign murderer by not handing him over to the county for questioning. They are very dissatisfied and have printed thousands of flyers. They have arranged to discuss this matter at a meeting at a certain place tomorrow afternoon at two o'clock. The flyers have been distributed throughout the city. A large crowd is expected. If there's trouble, it'll be a problem." Upon hearing this, Dandao Tai quickly got into the sedan chair and urged the bearers to hurry. He visited Mr. Ye, Mr. Long, and Mr. Wang, these celebrities. He met all of them except Mr. Long, who was sick. Upon meeting, Mr. Wang immediately complained that the government was too weak and should not treat the murderer so leniently. Now everyone is dissatisfied and worried that something will happen tomorrow. Dandao Tai quickly said, "I am indeed indignant for the deceased. I will report to the higher authorities, negotiate with the consul, and handle it ourselves to appease the public!" Mr. Wang said, "Since we know that the people died unjustly, we should hand the murderer over to the county to make an example of him and calm the people's anger." Dandao Tai stepped closer and said, "Sir, as officials, we can only act according to the treaty. No matter which country he is from, he must be handed over to his own country's consul for handling. It would be a disgrace! But I have an idea. This murderer killed our Chinese people for no reason. If we let him go easily, not only will the people be dissatisfied, even the higher authorities and I will feel uneasy. So, I hope that you can call on everyone to work together. When the consul arrives, we can argue with him. If we win the argument, it will not only help the people seek justice, but also save face for us. Even the court will understand, given the public outcry." Mr. Wang said, "If the government does not help and only lets us subordinates take the lead, what good will that do?" Dandao Tai anxiously said, "Of course I'm making an effort! If I didn't make an effort, I wouldn't have come to discuss with you, sir!" After this conversation, Mr. Wang and the other gentlemen felt that Dandao Tai was a good official who truly cared for the people. Word spread like wildfire through Hunan Province, and he became a local hero.

Shan was worried that the locals would riot, which would make things even more difficult. The next day, he went to see Wang to discuss. After they met, he said, "The consul wired us to escort the killer to Hankou—it's their problem. My bosses and I weren't keen on that idea. Now, another telegram has come from them, saying the locals are already up in arms and urging him to come quickly to discuss a solution and keep the peace. The telegram has been sent, but there’s been no reply yet, and I don’t know what’s going on over there. I figured you’d be worried sick, so I thought I’d let you know. I hope you can persuade everyone not to act rashly. We’ll see justice done, I promise. Sometimes we need a little help from our friends to get things done. Once they're inland, they'll be easy pickings. So, just make a show of it, don’t actually start a riot. If anything happens to those foreigners, we’ll have a bigger mess on our hands." Wang was just out of mourning and itching to get back into things. After hearing this, he deeply agreed. But he had to save face, so he put on a show and blustered a bit. In fact, he didn’t want any trouble. After listening to Shan’s words, he repeatedly agreed. After Shan left, Wang's fellow villagers came to inquire about the situation, and he advised them, "Do not gather, do not cause trouble, wait for the consul to arrive; my bosses will definitely seek justice for the deceased." Everyone listened to him; he was respected around here. Things calmed down for three days.

On the fourth day, the consul finally showed up. He received a telegram from the Beijing Embassy telling him to get his butt down to Changsha and sort this mess out, so he came by boat. The local officials naturally had to treat him well according to the treaty, arranging accommodation and even hosting a sumptuous banquet. Let's skip the boring formalities. Speaking of the murder case, the magistrate said to the consul, "We Hunan folks are a stubborn bunch. During the Taiping Rebellion, it was the people of Hunan who contributed the most, every last one a tough nut. This time, the folks are furious and want that killer dead to avenge the victim. I hit the roof, reported it to the governor right away, and he sent in several battalions to guard the scene around the clock to keep things from blowing up. Otherwise, would the murderer still be waiting for you to arrive?"

The consul said, "The treaty says we're supposed to handle this ourselves; if the mob lynches him, I'll have to go crying to the governor." The magistrate replied, "Of course. Not only that, the minute they heard you were coming, they planned to storm the consulate and demand a public hanging. The locals are riled up, and we can't control them. What's your plan?" Upon hearing this, the consul pondered, "We're outnumbered and outgunned; if the locals start a riot, we're in trouble." But he couldn't back down, so he said, "Okay, then. I'll wire Beijing right away and get them to tell the home office to send a few gunboats. If this mob gets out of hand, we can't let them walk all over us."

When Governor Dan heard the consul say this, he replied seriously, "Consul, please don’t say that. While the relationship between our two countries is important, the public is in an uproar, and even our government cannot control them, let alone me. Before you arrived, the people wanted to cause trouble several times, and I went out to persuade them. I told them, 'Wait until the consul arrives; he will handle it fairly, so please don’t act recklessly.' You just got here today, and many people have gathered wanting to know what’s going on. It was only through my intervention that I managed to disperse them. If I hadn’t made the effort, there would have been chaos long ago. Could you still chat here peacefully? Even if you send a telegram to call for warships, that’s like locking the stable door after the horse has bolted. Let’s set aside other matters for now and talk about this murderer. He has committed intentional homicide, which is punishable by death according to our laws. How do you plan to handle it this time?" The consul replied, "Whether it’s intentional homicide or not, I must interrogate the criminal first to confirm. Even if it is intentional homicide, our country does not have the death penalty; at most, he will be imprisoned for a few months." Governor Dan remarked, "The punishment is too light; the people may not accept it." The consul said, "With such a large population in your country, those new-style scholars write articles, give speeches, and often talk about 'millions of our countrymen.' What does it matter if a child is killed? Are you afraid of losing a few people?" When Governor Dan heard the consul’s words, it was obvious he was mocking China. He originally wanted to refute him, but then he thought, "If we break ties, things will be even more difficult in the future. It’s better to please both sides. As long as he is satisfied with me, why should I make enemies with him?" So he smiled slightly, bid farewell to the consul, returned to Wang Shilang's house, and embellished his account of how he debated and pleaded with the consul. Those who didn’t know thought he was a good official who truly cared for the people. Later, everyone asked him, "How will that foreigner be dealt with in the end?" Governor Dan replied, "We’ll have to play this one by ear."

The district magistrate clearly knew that the consul and the gentlemen were on opposing sides. But on the surface, when he met the consul, he had to pretend to be afraid, saying how the villagers were rioting and making threats. "If I didn't suppress them, there would have been trouble sooner or later." He just needed to scare the consul to achieve his goal. When he met the gentlemen, he passionately declared, "We're getting walked all over! I am really angry! We haven't made it difficult for him yet, but I heard he wants to list all your names and send them to the Beijing embassy, claiming that this case is all because you incited the people to oppose him. He wants to use the charge of assembling a crowd to deal with you. If anything happens, with so many villagers, he won't know who did what. You'll be the ones to suffer."

At first, a few gentlemen dared to confront the consul, relying on public anger. Now that they heard they were going to be made scapegoats, many of them backed down. There are even many people begging the magistrate to keep their names secret. In this way, both the consul and the gentlemen regarded the magistrate as a good person.

In the end, the murderer was interrogated and sentenced to five years in prison. The consul said that according to their country's laws, killing someone would only result in a few years of imprisonment, so this was an aggravated punishment. The governor and the magistrate were speechless. The magistrate even went out of his way to suck up to the consul, saying that he was considering the overall situation and not favoring his own people, in order to please the consul. When he met the gentlemen, he indignantly said, "Although the murderer was sentenced to five years, I think it's too light. We need to make it look like we're doing something about it." He knew it was impossible to increase the punishment for a case that had already been sentenced; it was just lip service to appease the villagers. At this time, the gentlemen only wanted to keep their official positions, and they all advised the villagers, "The consul's sentence is good enough, considering. The magistrate's done what he could for us, and he's stood up for us. Everyone must not cause trouble again." After that, who was gonna rock the boat?

Wow, this big matter started off with a lot of hype but no substance, coming to nothing. But there was one man who handled things perfectly. The Governor was impressed by his strong ability to make things right, and he was grateful that this guy kept the people under control and prevented any unrest. When the Governor praised him, the diplomat also spoke highly of him. The local gentry looked to him as their protector and benefactor. Since the incident, everyone has seen how hard he has worked, running his butt off. Some colleagues in the yamen complimented him, saying, "That's what happens when you're good at your job!" He smiled proudly and said, "Although busy, I don't really feel the hardship. I had a plan from the start; with confidence in handling things step by step, I can always get it done." When asked for his secret, he just smiled and said, "It's my secret sauce; you wouldn't get it." Seeing that he refused to say more, everyone stopped asking.

After a while, the Consul completed his task and said his goodbyes and went back to his country. The local officials saw him off according to customs, which I won't detail here. In fact, the Consul thought that the people would surely cause trouble, but thanks to this one man, the situation was kept under control. Although nothing was said at the time in Hunan, upon reflection, the Consul was still unhappy and blamed it all on the local gentry in Hunan. He said that the Governor was too weak to control the people, letting them gather and basically failing as governor. He even listed a few leading gentry and reported them to the Minister in Beijing, demanding that they be punished and calling for the replacement of the Governor of Hunan. As a result, the foreign Consul had to negotiate with the Minister in Beijing once again. What happened next? You'll have to wait and see!

Details

Written by: Realhistories

Category: Officialdom Unmasked

Published: 23 November 2024

Created: 23 November 2024

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So, the Prefect of Haizhou and the interpreter returned to the government office from the ship and quickly asked the admiral if he had approved the letter they sent. The interpreter said the admiral was initially unwilling, but only after a lot of persuading did he agree and promise to help them in the letter. The Prefect was over the moon upon hearing this. That night passed, and the next day, the Prefect and his team went to the seaside to give the admiral a send-off before returning. Xiao Changgui also took the boat back to the province.

The next day, Mei Yunren indeed submitted a report, detailing the whole incident and finally wrote: "We nabbed the big one, and all those who contributed are asking for rewards." The prefect got Mei Yunren's report and the admiral's letter on the same day, which was immediately translated. The main content of the letter was a thank you for the reception and gifts. He also said the Haizhou officials had been great to him, thanks to the governor. The prefect and the interpreter had asked for promotions, leaving the decision on their new positions up to the governor. Their names are attached for review. After reading the letter, the governor thought to himself: "Meimu in Haizhou really came through. Even if they hadn't caught the bandits, I'd still promote him – he deserves it. That makes things even simpler. These prefect and interpreter managed to get the admiral to write to me; they're pretty clever. I'll bring them to the provincial office." And that was that.

The next day, officials from the regional and prefectural governments came to see the Zhitai. The Zhitai showed them the report from Haizhou about the magistrate and interpreter asking foreigners for help. The Fan Si spoke first, saying, "These guys went to foreigners for help – real smooth operators, huh? But if this sets a precedent, in the future, those unscrupulous officials will come with foreign letters, either seeking positions or interceding. It'll be a right mess. In my opinion, Haizhou Mei's solving of the theft case should be heavily rewarded according to regulations. As for the magistrate, who only knows how to network and disregards shame, the top brass should decide—either remove his position or give him a good dressing down, so he can learn a lesson." Unexpectedly, the Zhitai did not agree at all, his face stern as he said, "Look, times are changing! The court is vigorously employing talents, should we still be hung up on this? According to what you said, when foreigners come, we drive them away, ignore them, even if you are a loyal minister? In the end, if they get mad and send their warships over, you can't stop them; you'll just have to pay up. In the end, you are still involved. Think about it, is it worth it? It's better to be safe than sorry. The ancients said it well: 'You can tell a lot about a person by watching them carefully.' These two individuals can seek foreign help; they've got good vision. I see potential in this; they will definitely become diplomatic talents in the future. With a shortage of talent in China now, we should be nurturing talent, not picking on them." The Fan Tai, seeing the Zhitai's response, although unhappy, just shut up and left.

The prefect of Haizhou and the translator were summoned to the provincial capital by the governor-general, upon receiving the letter from the foreigner. Thrilled, they packed their bags and hotfooted it to the provincial capital (Nanjing). Upon arrival in Nanjing, they met with the governor-general. The governor-general, surprisingly, was all smiles, arranged seats for them, and chatted with them for a long time, mostly praising their good judgment. "Don't worry about going back just yet; I've got jobs for you both." Upon hearing this, they quickly expressed their gratitude again. The next day, the governor-general arranged for the prefect of Haizhou to work at the Office of Foreign Affairs, also serving as a member of the manufactory. As for the translator, since he was originally a teacher at the Haizhou school, he was promoted to a teacher at the Nanjing Academy, also serving as a member of the Office of Foreign Affairs. With that settled, they were each assigned their new roles. The prefect of Haizhou's post was temporarily filled by another official. Mei Yunren, for solving the case, was rewarded by the court and summoned to Beijing. Upon his return, Xiao Changgui was also given special attention by the governor-general, transferred to another camp as a commander, and in command of naval vessels. That's a tale for another time.

So, the Haizhou prefect, newly appointed supervisor of the factory, hurried to visit the boss, his deputies, and the other guys, and took office at the factory. Guess who the general manager of this manufacturing plant is? This guy had just taken office not long ago. His surname is Fu, and his given name was Bowan. His father had been a customs official, a magistrate, and twice a provincial governor. Later, a governor arrived who he didn't get along with, and he figured he was well-off enough, so he faked a sickness and retired. Fu Bowan had an older brother who unfortunately died at the age of sixteen, so all the family property went to him. Everyone called him Fu Baimillion. In fact, his family wealth was only about half a million or so, and "Baimillion" was just a way of speaking. Because he was short and fat, wearing thick-soled boots, he was barely five feet tall when standing in front of people. Also, he was the second eldest in the family, so everyone gave him the nickname "Second Hammer Fu." Before Second Hammer Fu had even turned a month old, his father had donated a position as a magistrate to him, so everyone respectfully called him "born a magistrate." However, this was only known by a few friends who were present at the time, and no one mentioned it again later. Everyone just knew him as Second Hammer Fu.

Second Bro Fu used to rely on his family's wealth to live a comfortable life at home without any desire to become an official. He spent his days smoking opium. Fortunately, he received guidance from some clever old soul who told him that smokers only need to have a good appetite and be able to eat greasy food to avoid the smell of smoke on their faces. Since he had a big appetite, he ordered the kitchen to kill two ducks every day—one for lunch and one for dinner—and the leftover bones were used to make soup with noodles the next morning. Every day for 365 days, he ate like this, becoming chubby and looking completely different from other smokers. He smoked three times a day after breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with the smoking pipe ready, and could take more than thirty puffs in one go. His craving for smoking was strong, smoking at least 100 puffs a day, costing him at least five or six coins. After smoking, hot towels were prepared in advance, and several attendants took turns to wipe his face, ensuring that there was no smell of smoke on him. After wiping his face, he looked at himself in the mirror and said, "I am so rich, even if I spend one or two taels of silver a day (approximately X dollars), who can control me? Besides, our family, with its imperial connections, will eventually have to become officials. If my face is grimy, how can I manage my subordinates?" The old-timers, though, saw he had a bit of pride about him, even if he did love his pipe. They encouraged him to get out there and make something of himself. However, he did not want to casually become a minor official and just coast along. He found it uninteresting to follow others to the provincial capital. He always wanted to do something special, such as going abroad, engaging in business, or getting a recommendation from a governor or provincial official to become a remarkable figure. But why would anyone bother him in his comfy life?

I didn't expect the opportunity to fall into my lap. By chance, a guy his grandpa had pushed up the ladder, surnamed Wang, has now also become an advisor to some big shot ambassador sent to a certain country. This bigwig, surnamed Wen Mingguo, is a pencil-pusher from the Hanlin Academy. He writes well, but it's all just hot air; he knows nothing about practical affairs. Moreover, foreign civilizations are progressing rapidly, and the foreign books he reads are ten years out of date, ancient history compared to the current situation. However, he is unaware of this and thinks he’s trendy, parading around someone else's cast-offs. Fortunately, some old-timers haven't heard of these things. After hearing his comments, they thought he was a sharp cookie and recommended him to the emperor. In those days, the court just rubber-stamped whatever the bigwigs said, and there was never any evaluation. When there was a vacancy for a diplomatic envoy, the list was submitted, and as long as someone spoke well of the candidate, the approval was immediate. When the imperial edict arrived, the usual thank-you's and pleasantries were just routine. Even if the emperor summoned you and asked a few questions, it was just a bit of bowing and scraping. Think about it, no matter who you are, if you haven't left the capital for years and suddenly you're sent abroad, even if you were well-read, you'd be completely lost when it comes to handling matters.

Returning to the point, after Commissioner Wen took office, he went to visit influential officials to seek advice on handling affairs. Some ministers who were concerned about the situation recommended individuals who had been abroad and understood the matters at hand to serve as advisors or assistants to him. Others were just playing the game, recommending people to curry favor for future promotions. At this time, Wang Guancha, who had been promoted by Fu's father, had already been recommended to serve as an advisor to Commissioner Wen. Wen highly valued him. Wang Guancha remembered Fu Erbangchui, the son of Fu Fantai, who'd already expressed interest in a government position and contacted Wang. Even though Wang was capable, he was strapped for cash. Since he was going abroad, he needed to get himself kitted out and sort out his finances. Although the court would provide some money, it was never enough, so he had to find a way to make some money. He knew Fu was rolling in it and was just about to ask him for a loan when Fu Erbangchui wrote to ask for his help in finding a job. Wang Guancha seized the opportunity and strongly recommended Fu in front of Commissioner Wen, asking Wen to take him along. The commissioner agreed. Wang Guancha sent him a telegram, asking him to meet in Shanghai. After meeting in Shanghai, even though Fu came from a wealthy family, he was still green and relied on Wang for guidance on many matters. As a result, they got along famously, and Wang got his wish. The two of them went abroad with the commissioner. Wang Guancha was the chief advisor, and Fu Erbangchui was already a Dao Tai, so he was above menial tasks and unskilled at anything else. Wang Guancha gave him advice, suggesting he bribe the commissioner by calling him "teacher," and the commissioner set him up with a sinecure.

Before becoming an important official, Wen Qinchai worked as a minor bureaucrat in the capital, doing whatever it took to make ends meet. He had a wife and two girls at home. His wife often wore patched clothes. Life was tough, with no servants, so she did everything herself—cooking, laundry, and household chores. If anyone else had landed such a good gig, they would have started splashing out right away. However, Mrs. Wen was down-to-earth and never forgot her roots. Even as the big shot's wife, she still did all the housework and looked after the kids. Their friends couldn't stand it and urged Wen Qinchai to talk to his wife. Wen Qinchai replied, "Do you think I don't know we're loaded now? But sometimes you gotta remember what it was like when we were broke. Now we've got money, should we just blow it all? What if things get tough again? So I figure we keep saving like we used to, right?" Seeing his point, the envoy had no choice but to agree. He was used to it and didn't find it strange. Since Fu Erbangchui had become the envoy's student, he naturally went to visit the envoy's wife as well. She said, "You're our master's student, so don't be so formal with me. Besides, we're a long way from home, not many Chinese around, so we're all family here. If you need anything, just ask. Think of me as your aunt, don't be shy." Fu Erbangchui responded, "It's great to be looked after by you both." After some small talk, he took his leave.

This bunch of expats, from the imperial envoy to the entourage, was led by old Fu Erbangchui, a local big shot, who brought a small fortune! Although he didn't bring his family, he had three or four housekeepers with him. He was always changing his clothes, saying, "Foreigners are really fussy about being clean." In summer, he changed into two outfits a day, and in winter, he changed once a day. And those dirty clothes? Had to be washed. Unlike in China, washing clothes is expensive abroad; with Fu Erbangchui's laundry habits, that's two gold coins a day! That's a chunk of change!

Lucky guy, that envoy. Since arriving abroad, his wife had been washing the family's clothes. They rented a house for the embassy. Their embassy was a small, multi-story building right on the street. Foreigners had laundromats and places to hang their laundry. The envoy's wife washed the clothes, but there was no space inside to hang them, so she strung everything up outside the window—pants, shirts, socks, even footwraps and those square shoe pads. Blue, white, the whole shebang, flapping in the breeze like a crazy flag display. Some foreigners passing by couldn't understand and said, "What kind of crazy parade is the Chinese embassy having? Besides the dragon flag, there are a bunch of long and square flags, blue and white, in various shapes—what's with all this?"

The story spread like wildfire, and everyone thought it was nuts. The story was in the papers the next day. Luckily, the envoy didn't speak English, but he never bothered to get them translated. So, it was big news, but they were clueless and just went about their business.

When Fu Erbangchui first arrived in a foreign country, his clothes were washed a few times, and someone told the Minister's wife that Mr. Fu was loaded, spending a fortune on laundry every day. The Minister's wife scoffed, "If I had all that money, I'd never be so wasteful! Our master and young master change clothes once a month, and I might only change mine every two or three months. But he, he changes clothes every day! He doesn't seem to care how much he spends a month. At this rate, he'll be spending half his salary just on laundry! Go tell him to bring his clothes to me; I'll wash them for him. He spends two dollars a day; I only need one, so he can save some money and I can earn a little, after all, it's all physical work." So, word got back to Fu Erbangchui. He felt awkward about letting the Minister's wife wash his underwear and socks, so he kept delaying. Later, the Minister's wife didn't want to lose a customer, so she personally spoke to Fu Erbangchui. He had no choice but to agree, and from then on, he brought his clothes to the Minister's wife for washing. Things went smoothly for the first two months; Fu Erbangchui kept paying the full foreigner's rate, happy to keep the Minister's wife pleased.

One day, a famous foreigner invited the Chief Minister to a tea party. The Chief Minister naturally brought his counselor and translator. It was a huge, fancy affair, with at least two to three thousand people, a who's who of local bigwigs, wealthy merchants, and international dignitaries. Fu Erbangchui was all dressed up in his finest clothes, sporting his fancy feathered hat, and squeezed in with the crowd. But he was too short, standing behind the Chief Minister, trying to see by tiptoeing, but always blocked and unable to see anything. The crowd was so thick he couldn't move an inch, and he was getting frustrated, just pushing and shoving.

And there she was, a gorgeous foreigner, right next to him. Foreign women at these tea parties, no matter how rich, would wear floor-length gowns but would be bare-shouldered, practically naked. Fu Erbangchui, crammed next to her, bobbed and weaved to get a glimpse, his head swiveling like a crazy metronome. She felt something furry and cool brushing against her arm—a persistent, ticklish touch—and had no idea what it was. At these affairs, women always had a male escort. The escort would ask the lady beforehand, and if she said no, the host had to find someone else. Anyway, her escort was some big shot—a count, they said, and a government official. Luckily, this count had dealt with Chinese officials before and knew what it was: a "flower feather," like a medal, a reward only the Emperor could give. He didn't know you could buy a flower feather, bless his cotton socks! She stepped back, peered at it closely, even touched it, then whispered something to the count, and that was that. Fu Erbangchui spent hours trailing the envoy, stuck in the back, missing everything. The taller guys saw it all, but he saw nothing. He was furious and didn't leave the embassy for three days.