So, the head constable from Jiande County, after he got a posting on a ship, changed his name to Gaosheng – a name he chose because, well, officials are always climbing the ladder, and it sounded lucky. Sure enough, Lord Lu took a shine to him. However, although Leader Hu successfully wiped out the bandits, he still had to stay here for a while to clean up, anywhere from a couple of weeks to a month before he could return to the provincial capital. Lord Lu naturally had to go back with him. Gaosheng was new here; although he worked diligently and brown-nosed his way into Lord Lu's good graces, he wasn't sure if he had Lord Lu completely fooled. Catching thieves was his job, and he was sweating bullets about solving the case before the week was out. Fortunately, Lord Lu was a gruff bloke with a temper as unpredictable as the weather, who loved to hear good things. As long as someone flattered him, even if it was total rubbish, he would be happy. Who was Gaosheng? Lord Lu saw right through him the very first day, so Gaosheng tried his best to flatter him. Lord Lu just had to lick his lips, and the tea appeared; a yawn from Lord Lu, and the cigarette was lit and ready to go. In short, he could do everything in advance without Lord Lu's orders. A boss couldn't ask for a better underling!
Three days passed. That evening, Gaosheng gave Mr. Lu a light in the cabin. Mr. Lu chatted with him and asked, "How many people are there in Mr. Zhuang's yamen (government office)? Who did you serve before? How did he recommend you to me?" Gaosheng quickly replied, "There are a whole bunch of people in Mr. Zhuang's family. There's a very wealthy accountant; two young masters, one born to the main wife and the other to the concubine; and a young lady born to the main wife who got married last year, and her husband works in the yamen. I used to serve the accountant, but I got into an argument with the concubine's mother, and she badmouthed me to Mr. Zhuang, who then let me go from serving the accountant. I had served him for over six years without making any mistakes. The accountant felt bad and spoke to my master, recommending me to serve you." Mr. Lu said, "It's inconvenient when an experienced servant leaves." Gaosheng replied, "Yes, once you get used to serving a master, you don't want to change. So the accountant said that if I couldn't find a good place, after a couple of months, once my master calmed down, he would let me come back. Now that I'm serving you and have a roof over my head, I don't want anything else." Mr. Lu asked, "How much money can the accountant make in a year?" Gaosheng said, "Anywhere from twelve hundred to three or four thousand." Mr. Lu said, "So according to you, after managing the accounts for ten years, he should have at least twenty to thirty thousand?" Gaosheng said, "He made a lot, but he also spent a lot, so he didn't save much." Mr. Lu asked, "How come?" Gaosheng explained, "Our accountant is crazy about buying jade jewelry. A jade bracelet costs three hundred taels, and he believes 'you get what you pay for.' As long as the item is good, he's willing to spend money. He also loves buying clocks and watches—gold watches, silver watches, desk clocks, wall clocks—spending over eight thousand taels in total. He'll buy any watch, even old junk. He can fix them good as new, so he loves this. If it weren't for these two things, he would've saved a lot of money in a year!" Mr. Lu was interested in his words but didn't say anything, and Gaosheng didn't mention it again. After they finished their smoke, the two went to sleep.
The next day, Gaosheng asked his mate to bring five pieces of cashmere sweaters onto the ship to sell. They were priced at over four hundred yuan, but the seller would take two hundred. Mr. Lu haggled him down to two hundred and ten. Mr. Lu only had fifty-odd yuan left, not enough money, so he told Gaosheng he would pay fifty yuan now, with the rest at the end of the month. The seller agreed, but wanted the rest in five days, not at the end of the month. Mr. Lu figured he had other things he could pawn, so he agreed to the five-day deadline and first gave Gaosheng fifty yuan. Gaosheng saw they were the same sweaters Mr. Wen had lost, but said nothing and passed the money on to the seller.
Old Man Lu snagged a steal and was over the moon. He looked at it over and over again, praising how cheap it was. Gao Sheng said, "I know this guy; his family used to be really wealthy and had plenty of stuff. Items worth a hundred yuan often sold for just ten or twenty. Now that he's tasted the sweetness, he'll definitely come back tomorrow. When he does, drive a hard bargain and buy more good deals." Old Man Lu replied, "You need money to buy good deals." Gao Sheng said, "He knows me, it's all good. If I didn't know him, would he have left the clothes and walked away with just fifty bucks?" Old Man Lu didn't respond; he was deep in thought. After a while, he lay down for a smoke, and while Gao Sheng was lighting his cigarette, he said, "I need your help with something." Gao Sheng quickly asked, "What's up?" Old Man Lu said, "Didn't you mention that Second Master Zhuang likes to buy jade and foreign clocks?" Gao Sheng replied, "Yeah, but unfortunately, there aren't any around now. If there were, I guarantee they could sell. As long as the items are good and can fetch a decent price." Old Man Lu was thrilled to hear this and whispered, "I have those items now." Gao Sheng said, "You've got these things? Why didn't you mention it before?" Old Man Lu explained, "You've only been here for a few days. How would I have known Second Master Zhuang likes these?" Gao Sheng said, "With these items, you can definitely make money." Old Man Lu said, "But my stuff is good; I'm not sure if he'll know what he's looking at." Gao Sheng replied, "Take them out and let’s have a look, set a price, and don’t sell for less than a certain amount." Old Man Lu asked, "Do you know about these items?" Gao Sheng said, "I've been with Second Master Zhuang for a long time; I see these goods every day. Although I don't fully understand them, I know a bit." Old Man Lu said, "That's even better. I don't know much about these items either. They were entrusted to me by a relative to sell. Let’s get them out, put a price on them, and make sure we don’t get ripped off."
One person said, and the other took out the key, opened the box, and pulled out a few things: a ring and a gold watch. When Old Man Lu opened the box, he seemed afraid of being seen by others. He first asked everyone to leave, leaving only Gaosheng. After the items were taken out, Gaosheng took a look and found they were exactly as described when reporting the case to Old Man Wen. He felt a surge of happiness and annoyance. Happy because he had really caught the thief, just as he had expected; annoyed because those useless old fools were doing such shady business in secret. Now that the items were in hand, it meant he wanted to blow the whole thing wide open. But then he thought, "Shoot, what did I tell them? If this blows up, we'll all look bad. Best to play it cool and report to the magistrate later." So he acted nonchalant, waited for Old Man Lu to take out all the items, and locked the box again. He put the ring on his thumb and said to Gaosheng, "This jadeite's a lovely green. With this gold watch, how much do you think it's worth?" Gaosheng secretly laughed in his heart, mocking him for mistaking it for green jade. He took the watch in his hand, turned the winding crown, tightened the mainspring, and pressed the button, making it tick. Old Man Lu heard the watch ticking, was very surprised, and thought, "Is it a watch that tells time?" Gaosheng examined the items carefully and asked Old Man Lu, "How much are you asking?" Old Man Lu said, "Name your price." Gaosheng said, "I'd say this ring should be worth fifteen hundred taels." Old Man Lu hesitated and said, "That's too much! Don't price it too high, or we won't make a sale! Less is fine, you decide, what about this watch?" Gaosheng said, "This watch is from the Atlantic, it should sell for at least three hundred taels here." Old Man Lu said, "Think that's too steep?" Gaosheng said, "Nah, it's fine! I'll take them, I can easily sell them." Old Man Lu, although very happy in his heart, couldn't help but feel his heart pounding, and solemnly passed over these two items to Gaosheng.
Gaosheng took the things, wrapped them in cloth, and tucked them into his robes. He then accompanied Mr. Lu to enjoy themselves for a while before taking his leave to go ashore. He first found Mr. Wen's boat and asked the steward to deliver a message: "The constable who'd been investigating has something to report to you in person." Mr. Wen ordered him to come in. After the constable entered the cabin, he first greeted Mr. Wen and then stood with his hands hanging by his side. Mr. Wen asked, "Have you found the things?" The constable replied, "Yes, sir. I've been working around the clock since receiving the task from the county magistrate. I've searched all over town but couldn't find a thing. Finally, I found it today." Mr. Wen was very happy to hear this and asked, "Where did you find it?" The constable was reluctant to say and only replied, "I found it on the boat. Take a look, sir, and I'll report back to the county magistrate." As he spoke, he handed the items to Mr. Wen. Mr. Wen said, "The rest is easy to talk about, but this jade ring is my most beloved treasure. Look how beautiful this green color is! It's impossible to buy one for two or three thousand dollars now. You actually managed to find it for me—you're quite good! I'll talk to Mr. Zhuang later and see that you're well rewarded. Where is the thief now?" The constable said, "The thief is right here. Although the thief has been caught, I can't apprehend him without authorization. I need to report to the official and notify my superiors before I can arrest him." Mr. Wen said, "Is this guy too tough for you?" The constable just smiled and remained silent. Mr. Wen looked at the items again and wrapped them in cloth. The constable took them and said, "I'll report to the magistrate now and be back tomorrow." Mr. Wen nodded.
The constable went back into the city to report, informed the gatekeeper, and then reported to his superior. When Master Zhuang heard it was Mr. Lu, he was surprised and said, "He actually caught the culprit! That was quite a feat. What are we going to do?" Immediately, he called the constable in and asked him how he found out. The constable explained what happened and said, "I showed Master Wen the goods, and they're the ones that were stolen. So, what should we do, Master?" Master Zhuang was silent for a moment and asked, "Did you tell Master Wen it was Lu?" The constable replied, "No, sir, I didn't tell him." Master Zhuang said, "That's good. You didn't tell him. It's not about Lu; it's about keeping our superiors happy. It'll be a real problem if Master Wen complains. If Master Wen says my people are all thieves, we'll both be in trouble. Let's get Master Wen in here and sort this out together. You can go. I'll talk to Master Wen, and you'll get your reward. We can't let Lu get away with this scot-free. He needs to learn his lesson. He can't just keep the 150 taels, can he?" The constable thanked him and left.
Old Man Zhuang sent someone to invite Old Man Wen to come to town, saying that they had found his belongings and asking him to come in for a detailed discussion. Pretty soon, Wen arrived in a sedan chair. Right after he got off, he said that the cops in Jiande were really impressive, as they had managed to recover his things. Old Man Zhuang said, "Wen, we'd have to be idiots not to look for your stuff!" After saying this, he sat down. Wen insisted, "Old Zhuang, you’re teasing me again. Since my belongings have been found, I must repay you." Old Man Zhuang replied, "Don't worry about it. It's yours." Wen insisted that since his belongings had been found, he naturally had to repay the money. Old Man Zhuang said, "Yes, the stuff is found, but the 150 taels haven’t been accounted for yet." Wen expressed his satisfaction with getting his things back, saying that a hundred bucks is nothing compared to that relief. He wanted to give the cops a hundred taels as a reward. He then asked where the thief was. The cops replied that they had found the belongings, but catching the guy's been tough. We gotta catch him.
Zhuang said, "That's exactly why I asked you to come and talk. Can you guess who stole it?" Wenqi replied, "That day, Zhao borrowed fifty bucks from me, saying it was for his lover Lan Xian. Later, everyone said Lan Xian was framed! I was too busy those days and didn't pay attention to this. Only afterwards did I find out that Zhao cried for three days and nights because of this. Now that the stolen goods have been found, we can catch the real culprit and get justice for the deceased." Zhuang said, "Brother, we can't worry about the dead woman now; let's focus on the living." Wenqi said, "In these situations, it's 'save the living, forget the dead.' But this isn't even a life-and-death case, so why bring that up? Who stole it after all? Speak up!" Then Zhuang laid out the whole story: how the constable disguised himself, how Lu helped him sell the stolen goods, the process of solving the case, and his thoughts on the matter. He also said, "My suggestion is to keep this quiet. Lu has complicated relationships, and it's to save face for the boss." When Wenqi heard that it was Lu who stole it, he exclaimed, "He'd steal? Never in a million years!" Zhuang said, "You think being a cop cleanses a guy's soul? There are plenty of people with human faces but beastly hearts like him!" Wenqi had nothing to say, and after a while, he said, "Brother, let's keep this quiet. We don't want to embarrass the boss, or our colleagues. The stuff's back, let's forget about the hundred bucks. But brother, don't expose this in front of him; I work with him, and it would be awkward. Wait till I'm gone, then you can have a word with him." Zhuang replied, "We gotta make him sweat a little." Wenqi agreed, and the two chatted for a while longer before he took his leave. After Wenqi left, Zhuang sent for Lu.
Since Lu Zongye sent Gao Sheng to deliver something, it has been three hours and he has not returned yet, making Lu Zongye suspicious. Suddenly, the officials from Jiande County came to invite him into the city, saying there were some matters to discuss. Lu Zongye felt a cold dread. He worried, "Wen's belongings were lost, and a report was made in the county with a record of the case. I should not have been so careless to believe Gao Sheng's words and send the things to his brother. What if they find out? What should I do?" With this thought, he was beside himself with worry. He then considered, "The money lost by Wen Laoqi was said to be stolen by Lan Xian. Now that Lan Xian is dead and the case is closed, they may not suspect me anymore. Once I've gotten rid of the stuff, they will only focus on figuring out if it was the right stuff and may not pay attention to this matter." With this in mind, he felt slightly relieved. He thought again, "I have met the officials in the county a few times; he invited me to dinner, and I have reciprocated, so we're sort of friendly. Maybe it's about something else, who knows?" While thinking this, he changed his clothes, got into the county's official sedan chair, and pondered along the way.
Upon entering the city gate and arriving at the county yamen, the sedan chair stopped under the hall. A soldier handed in the name card, but no one came out for a long time. He was sweating bullets in the carriage and asked another soldier to inquire about the situation. However, the person who went in did not come out, making him even more frantic! He thought to himself, "I should've faked sick! Now it's too late." He then got out of the sedan chair and walked to the front gate to find out what was happening.
I met someone, guess who? It was Old Man Menzheng. Lu Zongye didn't know him, but he knew Lu Zongye. After meeting, the old man said, "Zongye is here, we have something urgent to discuss with the master, you wait outside for a while." After speaking, he led the way. Lu Zongye was completely baffled, so he had to follow. When they arrived at the gatehouse and sat down, Old Man Menzheng went back inside. Lu Zongye was used to sitting in the gatehouse and didn't mind. But after waiting for a while without being called in, he started to feel uneasy. After waiting a bit longer, Old Man Menzheng came back out and ordered, "Tell the master the gentleman's here." Lu Zongye was even more puzzled. After a while, he heard someone ask, "Are the family of the woman who died outside the city and the woman who died on the boat here yet?" The answer from below was, "They have been urged to come." Lu Zongye's blood ran cold! He heard Old Man Menzheng say again, "The boss wants the cop to bring up the jade bracelet and gold watch he found." Before the words were finished, Lu Zongye saw through the glass window a cop with a red tassel hat entering.
Lu Zongye was already terrified when he heard about checking the bracelet and watch, but when he saw that cop, he went weak in the knees and slumped onto the bench. He felt like he was dreaming, questioning if any of it was real. Why was he so scared? Because that cop—the one with the red tassel hat—was the guy he'd hired to fence the loot! Now he understood, they'd set him up, using fake servants to steal his loot, and he'd walked right into it. Thinking back, he was mortified. He wanted the earth to swallow him whole.
After sitting for a while, Mr. Lu finally regained his composure, and Mr. Menzheng entered. He greeted with a smile, "Sorry to keep you waiting, Mr. Lu, but we're still tied up with some official business." After speaking, he smiled at him. Mr. Lu stared at him blankly, unsure of what to say. After thinking for a while, he managed to ask, "What's going on, Mr. Menzheng?" Mr. Menzheng replied, "Mr. Lu, you're an official, what is there to not understand? How would I know?" After speaking, he smiled at him again. Mr. Lu knew he'd been caught and couldn't keep up the act any longer. He reluctantly put down his dignity, stood up from the chair, and knelt on the ground, continuously kowtowing and shouting, "Sir, please save me! Sir, please save me!" Mr. Menzheng was originally smiling, but he did not expect him to suddenly kneel down and kowtow. He was so surprised, he just knelt down too, not knowing what else to do, and tried to assist him, saying, "I can't accept that, Mr. Lu, please get up! Let's talk." Mr. Lu refused to get up, insisting that he agree.
As the two were at a standstill, suddenly someone lifted the curtain and entered. Upon entering, he laughed heartily, "What in the world is going on here? Why are you kneeling?" Mr. Menzheng saw this person and quickly stood up, standing respectfully. Mr. Lu looked up and saw that it was Mr. Zhuang, feeling embarrassed with a flushed face. He also stood up, bowing his head in silence. Mr. Zhuang said, "You have been here for a while; they have been delayed by official business and have not come to reply, making you wait for a long time." With that, he led Mr. Lu away. Mr. Lu's legs were so weak, he could barely walk, so Mr. Zhuang had his servants help him. When they sat down in the flower hall, Mr. Zhuang first chatted with him for a while. Mr. Lu gradually regained his composure, but he could only mumble and nod, too shaken up to speak.
After resting for a while, Mr. Lu wanted to test Mr. Zhuang's attitude, but Mr. Zhuang simply brushed him off and avoided talking about the matter. Mr. Lu became anxious and, with no other choice, knelt down again and said, "I'm in deep trouble, sir! Please, spare me!" Mr. Zhuang pretended not to know and asked, "What's going on here? What's with the kneeling? Get up quickly!" Mr. Lu replied, "If you don't agree, I will kneel here and never get up again!" Mr. Zhuang said, "What exactly is the matter? I don't understand at all." Mr. Lu explained, "You sent constables to secretly investigate me. What else don't you understand?" Mr. Zhuang responded, "This is even stranger. When did I send constables to investigate you? What are you afraid of? The more you say, the more confused I become!" Mr. Lu still refused to get up, so Mr. Zhuang urged him to get up and speak quickly. Mr. Lu said, "I might as well come clean. I was confused for a moment and shouldn't have taken something belonging to Mr. Wen. The item is now with you, and I know I was wrong. I just ask you to save me some face. I'm willing to return the item to him and be at your beck and call forever, never forgetting your kindness." Then he banged his head on the ground again and again.
When Mr. Zhuang heard this, he stood still. After Mr. Lu finished kowtowing, Zhuang deliberately said with a stern face, "I thought it was someone else who stole the stuff; the people on the ship wouldn't be so bold. So it's you. You could've been more discreet. Since Mr. Wen lost his things, the leader thought it was someone he brought who stole it, and he insisted that I solve the case. I couldn't solve the case, and I received a lot of scolding in front of the leader! Mr. Wen kept hounding me for money; I had no choice, I slipped him five hundred taels, but he still thought it was too little. Now that I know it was you, this is easier to handle. You are a person brought by the leader, and you are colleagues with Mr. Wen; they won't ignore you. As long as I bring you to the leader, I can get myself off the hook. We're all mates, so why make things hard for you? Get up quickly, let's leave the city together." Mr. Lu was so anxious that he knelt down and cried, refusing to get up. Mr. Zhuang said, "I can't believe this. You, a high-ranking official, would actually be so short of money that you would resort to stealing. They caught you in the act, and I'm willing to help you cover it up; those underlings would each get at least two or three thousand lashes. If I just let you walk, how can I explain this to them? Should we still handle cases in the future? You're an official too; you should get it."
Lu begged Zhuang to spare his life, crying that he still had an 83-year-old mother at home. If she found out he had committed a crime, she'd be devastated, making his guilt even worse. He swore he'd do anything he asked to repay Zhuang. Seeing his pitiful state, Zhuang thought he had suffered enough. Everyone whines when they're caught, right? But official business was important, and delaying it wouldn’t do. So he decided to let him go. He sighed and said, "Shoulda thought of that earlier!" He didn't want to make things difficult for Lu, but Mr. Wen's money had to be repaid. He had already given five hundred taels on Lu's behalf, and the constables had worked hard, so they deserved at least one hundred taels as a reward. Did Mr. Wen really have to pay this money? Lu said he had only taken one hundred and fifty taels, not five hundred. Zhuang replied, "I don't know about this. You go and talk to Mr. Wen face to face." Lu expressed his gratitude and asked for a few months' extension to repay the money after getting his salary. Zhuang sighed again, saying that the Emperor's money was cursed. You had to wait until you got your salary before you could repay your debts. What would the soldiers eat during these months? You lot are useless! If the country had a crisis, wouldn't it be a complete disaster? I'll be a good person to the end and won't bother with your affairs anymore, but the five hundred taels I paid out have no proof. You need to write a receipt for me. I'll go to Mr. Wen to plead your case; whether it works or not depends on your luck. You must give the one hundred taels reward to the constables today, so they have some benefits and keep quiet, not spreading rumors outside. Although Lu was in a dilemma over the one hundred taels, he agreed. He thanked Zhuang, who had someone write a receipt for him. He could barely hold the pen, let alone write, sweating profusely. In the end, he had Zhuang's assistant write it for him, and he drew a cross himself. Zhuang took the receipt and had him shown out.
Mr. Lu thanked the official profusely and wrapped up the paperwork before heading out. As soon as he left the house, he bumped into a copper who smiled and asked if he wanted to take a palanquin or ride horseback back. This made him feel even more embarrassed, so he practically bowed himself to the ground, apologizing profusely to the copper. The copper invited him to his house, but Mr. Lu declined, saying he would send money and the goods over later. He hurriedly got into the palanquin. Zhuang sent Wen a note about the missing cash and how he'd handled it. Mr. Wen was pleased and figured it was settled, seeing as they were mates. He gave the copper one hundred taels of silver and four dollars. After receiving a reply, Master Zhuang sent the copper to thank Mr. Wen on the ship.
After returning to the ship, Mr. Lu pawned everything he could, except his best clothes and the family flag, and managed to gather sixty taels to deliver to the county office. He sweet-talked the gatekeeper to pass on the message to Master Zhuang, asking him to accept the sixty taels now and the rest later. Master Zhuang just shrugged it off when he heard about it. Mr. Lu had the goods returned to the copper and invited him to dinner to smooth things over. The copper declined, saying, "Just keep your nose clean, and we're good. No need for dinner." Mr. Lu felt mocked by this, and his face burned with shame as they parted ways unhappily.
From then on, Mr. Lu avoided Mr. Wen, although Mr. Wen was understanding and comforted him in private. Although Mr. Lu was grateful, he still felt uneasy. That's just how things go sometimes; nothing surprising.
Now, about Zhejiang Governor Liu Zhongcheng. He sent Hu to lead the troops to Yanzhou to suppress the bandits. He was constantly worried things would blow up, a real worrywart, always blaming his bad luck. He kept sending telegrams for updates. The day before Hu arrived in Yanzhou, he received an urgent telegram saying that the bandits were running wild and tough to handle. He became even more worried. Later, he heard that as soon as the troops arrived, the bandits were scared away, but he didn't believe it till he got Hu's good news report. The next day, he received another report saying that the bandits were completely eliminated, and he was very happy, with officials all the way down to the lowliest congratulating him. He immediately sent a telegram to reward Hu and let him submit a special commendation report.
After a couple of days off, Hu reported the detailed situation of suppressing the bandits and attached a list of those who deserved credit. After reading it, Liu Zhongcheng summoned the chief clerk, Dai Dali, and asked him to draft a memorial, basically saying the bandits were running wild, Hu took them down, and thanks to some divine intervention, they were wiped out. All the soldiers and officials involved were real heroes, and they won fast, so he asked the Emperor to give them medals. He handed the list of Hu to Dai Dali for him to write. Dai Dali took a look and saw that the first name on the list was Master Zhou's. He froze, didn't know what to say, and just left.
I returned to my desk, holding a pen, thinking about how to deal with Zhou the Elder. In my heart, I thought, "This should be a simple matter, but it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The problem is that Commander Hu's got this guy's back. If I reject his memorial, I’ll offend Commander Hu; if I don’t reject it, I feel stifled." I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Halfway through writing, I got a craving for a smoke, so I lay down and lit a cigarette. Then I checked the draft again; the beginning described the bandits' atrocities in wildly exaggerated terms, like something out of the Taiping Rebellion. In the middle, I wrote that I'd appointed Commander Hu to command the land and water forces, personally guiding and urging the anti-bandit operations. Thanks to the bravery of the soldiers, the situation was quickly brought under control. I secretly added that I’d shown great leadership. Seeing this, I suddenly thought, "This matter should focus on the merits of the Prime Minister; that would be appropriate. The Prime Minister can't exactly blow his own horn; as long as the situation is explained clearly, so that the higher-ups can see it, at least there will be a good write-up from Personnel. In this way, Commander Hu will be under the Prime Minister, with only him recommended in the memorial; the rest will be swept up in the big case – that'll teach 'em. The major case must be handled properly before reporting; buying myself some time to deal with Zhou the Elder."
With my decision made, I put away the half-completed memorial I had written, left the document room, and headed to the office where approvals are signed. I knew that Liu, the Censor, was still working there, and since he was used to seeing us document officers in casual attire, I simply lifted the curtain and entered. Liu asked me to sit across from his desk and inquired about the matter. I said, "Your Excellency, I believe the success of the recent suppression of bandits in Yanzhou is entirely thanks to you. You're giving all the credit to Hu Dao, which is kind, but your own contributions shouldn't be forgotten! Without your command and coordination, Hu Dao wouldn't have been able to accomplish it so smoothly." Liu replied, "You are right, but I can't praise myself." I quickly handed him the memorial with both hands and said, "Your Excellency, please take a look. Is my draft acceptable? There is an ancient saying: 'the grunt work is done by the soldiers, the glory goes to the commander.' The credit for this matter indeed belongs to you, and the people Hu Dao brought along are even less competent. If we recommend them together, it might be rejected. It's better for us to think it over before submitting it. This way, your credit will not be overlooked; and when they see that we are not being dishonest, not only will Hu Dao's recommendation not be rejected, but they will also appreciate your support, making them feel that you are serious and responsible. In the future, even if we recommend a few more people in major cases, those officials who love to find fault won't be able to find any mistakes." Liu was focused on the memorial at that time and didn't pay much attention to what I said. Later, when he heard my subsequent words, he found them very reasonable and nodded repeatedly. He then said, "Those people who went with Hu Dao should be given some benefits; otherwise, they might feel disheartened." I replied, "There are too many people recommended this time. If it is rejected, it will be difficult to handle things in the future. Now, we can include them all in the major case. Everyone has their own abilities and connections; as long as they inform the department, they will definitely be approved. Although it may damage their reputation a bit, it ensures success, and in the end, you are helping them, and they are benefiting. If even you, sir, feel disheartened, what hope is there for the rest of us?" Liu was very pleased with what I said and repeated, "You are right... go ahead and make those changes. As for Hu Dao, write him a letter and convey my intentions to him. I am not revoking their recommendations, but rather trying to help them, so we'll wait, and they'll be included in the next major submission."
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I saw the plan succeed and was very happy, nodding repeatedly in agreement before leaving. After revising the memorial, I quickly wrote a letter to Commander Hu, tactfully pointing out that his previous report only praised his subordinates while neglecting the Deputy Commander's contribution. The Deputy Commander was very unhappy about this and wanted to shelve the matter, refusing to report it. Later, I put in a lot of effort to get him to recommend one candidate for the position of Xiantai, while temporarily holding off on the others. Commander Hu was very worried after receiving the letter. He only realized after finishing the letter that it was all thanks to his old friend, me. He immediately reported to thank the Deputy Commander and also wrote me a letter expressing his gratitude. Because the previous report was drafted by Mr. Zhou, he suspected that Mr. Zhou was trying to hog all the credit and didn't want to give any to his superiors, almost causing the person I recommended to be rejected. It seems that this person is unreliable. From then on, his relationship with Mr. Zhou became more distant and less trusting than before. To be continued!
