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!
