The imperial envoy Tong Ziliang rested in Nanjing for half a month, got better, completed his official duties, and raked in almost a million taels of silver. Figured there wasn't any more money to be squeezed out of Nanjing, he prepared to return home.
Before departing, a Daoist from Anhui and two county magistrates came to greet him. When he was leaving, the officials from Jiangning and Shangyuan Counties, knowing he wasn't taking a boat, specially prepared a dozen or so big boats for him. The Commander of the Yangtze River Fleet also sent a dozen or so gunboats to escort him. The trip took several days. He skipped Wuhu since he had no business there. When they were near Anqing, he got the usual welcome from the local officials, no need for all the fuss. Since Anhui's governor, Jiang Zhongcheng, was also being investigated, he hung around Anqing, checking the warehouses, handing out funds, and looking into Jiang Zhongcheng's case.
Jiang Yuzhai, Anhui's governor-general, is from Sichuan. He used to be the governor of Shandong and was transferred to Anhui only last spring. Trading Shandong for Anhui was like swapping a busy beehive for a sleepy backwater, which Jiang Yuzhai was not very happy about. This was mainly because, at that time, bandits were rampant in the northern part of Anhui, around Fengyang and Bozhou. The court believed that Jiang Yuzhai, with his military background, had successfully subdued bandits in Caozhou, Shandong two years ago, so he was transferred to Anhui specifically to deal with these bandits, utilizing his talents. After taking office, Jiang Yuzhai sent Huang Baoxin as the Circuit Intendant and Hu Luanren as the deputy general, leading five battalions to suppress the bandits, instructing them to improvise. However, they failed and requested reinforcements, claiming that the bandits were too powerful. Jiang Yuzhai then sent Gai Daoyun as the commander, leading newly trained regular and reserve troops, as well as three or four battalions, to support them. He ordered them to strike hard when encountering bandits. Those bandits were a ragtag bunch and could not withstand the siege of so many troops. In less than three months, the bandits were wiped out, and the village? Gone. Apparently, they shelled it. They returned triumphantly, and Jiang Yuzhai wrote a petition for reward; Hu, the deputy general, was promoted to commander, Gai, the commander, was promoted to governor, and Huang, the Circuit Intendant, was given the title of "Batulu" for his bravery. Just as they were feeling pleased, they did not expect to be reported by an imperial censor, accusing them of indiscriminate killing and Jiang Yuzhai of shielding the bandits, disregarding human lives. So that's why they sent in Tong Ziliang to sort things out.
Before Governor Jiang arrived in Anhui, there was an acting magistrate named Diao Maipeng here, and he was universally popular. Those lucrative postings from the province were either always handled by him or supervised by him; he had a share in all of them. But except for his superiors, no one had a good word to say about him. Governor Jiang had long heard of his reputation. Upon taking office, when discussing Anhui's official business with other officials, he said, "Why do we have so many acting magistrates and district magistrates in Anhui, and not a single one who can actually get anything done?" The other officials were all stunned, and their faces fell. Governor Jiang paused for a moment and continued, "If there really was a capable one, why is Diao always indispensable for all tasks? Even if he really can get things done, how much can one person do? Always running around, even if he is capable, I'm afraid he won't be able to keep up!" It finally dawned on them that he meant Diao Maipeng, and they all breathed a sigh of relief. However, they also realized that the Governor was dissatisfied with Diao Maipeng, and they dared not say a word in his defense. Those poor acting district magistrates who had never gotten any assignments were secretly pleased.
Diaomaipeng got wind of it pretty quick. He had been in Anhui for more than ten years; things had always gone his way, and never had he faced such a raw deal. At first, he angrily said, "I'm quitting tomorrow!" His family and friends told him to hang in there. Someone suggested, "The new governor's probably just been taken in by some gossip. Once he gets to know you, he'll see how capable you are." His relatives and his wife both urged him to be patient. After two days, Diaomaipeng calmed down, didn’t resign, and continued to honestly serve as an official. But the governor had bad-mouthed him to the local officials, so they weren't exactly thrilled to work with him anymore, and a few days later, they handed off some of Diaomaipeng's duties to others. Those were mostly honorary titles; his real work stayed the same. Seeing things weren't looking good, and fearing more trouble, Diaomaipeng scrambled to smooth things over with the local officials and the governor, kissing up to keep his job. Resigning was the furthest thing from his mind. Jiang Zhongcheng was a pretty decent guy, and seeing everyone else sticking up for Diaomaipeng, he agreed to give him another chance. The other officials told Diaomaipeng to suck up to the governor if he wanted to keep his job. Diaomaipeng was grateful, worked harder than ever, and started scheming about how to win the governor over. He figured, "Flattery's easy, that's not the point. I need to find out the governor's secrets, something nobody else knows. Or, if he's planning something, I'll beat him to it—show him I'm the best." But the governor was the governor; he was just a lowly official, and they didn't even know each other—how was he supposed to find out the governor's secrets? That night, he couldn't sleep a wink.
Back in the room, getting ready to sleep, suddenly a maid (servant) was reported by her colleagues for stealing and was caught with stolen goods. This maid usually had a good relationship with the mistress, often speaking ill of others in front of her, but now she was in trouble. The mistress had to have someone watch over the maid and sent people to find the person who introduced her. The plan was to wait for the introducer to arrive and then send them together to the authorities to deal with the situation.
From finishing dinner to nearly two in the morning, the introducer eventually got there. The mistress was still angry in the room, and the introducer and the maid knelt on the ground together. At this moment, Diao Maipeng happened to walk in and asked what was going on. The mistress explained the situation, also scolding the introducer for dawdling. The introducer explained, "It's because the magistrate's third wife gave birth to a young master yesterday and asked me to find a nanny. I sent one in the morning, but it was rejected; I sent another in the evening and waited for a long time. So it delayed things here; please forgive me."
The mistress was even angrier when she heard this, saying he was using the magistrate's third wife to pressure her. Just as she was about to get angry, Diao Maipeng seemed to sense something, and seeing that the maid was young and looked clean, he had an idea. He quickly signaled the mistress to drop it. The mistress looked confused. Diao Maipeng leaned in and whispered a few words to her, and she understood; indeed, she did not ask further questions.
Diao Maipeng asked the introducer to stand up and said, "You can't judge a book by its cover; you introducers can't control everything. If the person you introduced steals, it's not your fault. But since you introduced her, you still need to say a few words. The mistress was angry earlier because you arrived late; now that things are clear, it's no longer your concern." The introducer was originally terrified that the mistress would punish him too, but when he heard Diao Maipeng's words, he was overjoyed and quickly thanked him. Then, he turned around and gave the maid who stole two slaps, really chewing her out.
Diao Maipeng said, "I was going to send this person to the county for a serious dressing down. But if I do that, it wouldn't be good for you. So I'm just letting you take her. As long as you recover the stolen items, I'll spare her this time for your sake. Tell her to find a new job somewhere else and behave herself." The old woman left, overflowing with gratitude, following the intermediary and showering them with thanks as she departed.
