Huangming

Chapter 338 Swift and Decisive Action, Starting anew with the People

The night was as dark as ink, and a thin mist hung over the surface of the canal.

Qi Shijiao's boat silently anchored in the shadows beneath the city wall of Yanzhou, with not even a night watchman on the shore.

It was obvious that Lu Wenzhao had already made arrangements.

Suddenly, a basket made of thick hemp rope was lowered from the city wall, with anti-slip hemp cloth wrapped around the knots.

Qi Shijiao glanced at Lu Wenzhao beside him, who nodded slightly, indicating that everything was in order.

Without further hesitation, he stepped into the hanging basket, followed closely by his two trusted confidants.

The basket slowly rose, and soon Qi Shijiao stepped onto the city wall of Yanzhou. The Imperial Guards guarding the city had already cleared the vicinity, leaving only a sentry in the arrow tower to keep watch.

"Your Excellency, Minister Yuan is waiting for you in the backyard of the government office."

Lu Wenzhao led the way in a low voice, his steps light as he walked through the quiet streets and alleys.

The city of Yanzhou had just experienced the chaos of war, and the streets were exceptionally deserted at night. Only the whistling of the wind through the ruins could be heard, and occasionally the crisp sound of patrolling soldiers' armor clashing could be heard.

The study in the backyard of the government office was still lit.

When Qi Shijiao pushed open the door, he saw Yuan Keli standing in front of the map, holding a wolf-hair brush in his hand, clearly still reviewing the defense deployment during the suppression of the rebellion.

This commander, who was appointed as an imperial censor to quell the rebellion of the Fragrance Sect in a time of crisis, still had a sharp edge to his eyes at this moment.

Ever since the emperor exceptionally promoted him to the position of Vice Minister of War and Assistant Minister of the Capital Garrison, and then exceptionally appointed him as Assistant Commissioner of the Shandong Provincial Surveillance Commission, concurrently in charge of military affairs, and to suppress the Wenxiang Sect rebellion, there has been much controversy in the court. Everyone felt that Yuan Keli was not qualified to suppress the Wenxiang Sect rebellion and would mess things up.

But as news of the victory in suppressing the rebellion spread, the doubts gradually subsided.

Real military achievements are always the strongest source of confidence.

"Your Excellency, we've been waiting for you for a long time."

Yuan Keli turned around, a hearty smile on his face, and quickly stepped forward, bowing with his hands clasped in greeting.

Qi Shijiao quickly returned the greeting, forcing a slightly tired but solemn smile on his face: "It was my fault for keeping the Minister waiting so late at night, I hope you will forgive me."

Yuan Keli stroked his short beard and laughed loudly, "We are both serving His Majesty, so why distinguish between us? Sit down and talk."

He pointed to the teacups on the table.

"Want to try some freshly brewed pre-Qingming Longjing tea?"

Qi Shijiao knew that Lu Wenzhao must have already informed Yuan Keli of his choice through a secret letter.

This upright and incorruptible official always judged people by their achievements. Seeing his warm attitude, he clearly regarded him as one of his own, someone he could work alongside.

"Without further ado."

Qi Shijiao took a sip of tea, put down the teacup, and his tone suddenly became serious.

"Now that the evidence against the officials of Yanzhou and Dongchang Prefectures is conclusive, tonight is the best time to take action."

He knew that since he had just arrived in Shandong, he had to establish his authority with swift and decisive measures.

If these deeply entrenched officials of the Qi faction are not caught off guard and brought to justice, it will only become more difficult to deal with them once they realize they are colluding and forming alliances.

Tonight's actions are not only the first step in purging corruption among officials, but also a declaration of his determination to the entire Shandong officialdom.

A hint of approval flashed in Yuan Keli's eyes, clearly indicating his agreement with his decisiveness:

“The governor is right. Commander Lu is already waiting outside the government office with his men, just waiting for the governor’s order.”

He took out a bronze token from his sleeve.

"This is the troop deployment order from the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner. Tonight, the troops of Yanzhou Guard, as well as the Shandong Provincial Governor's Battalion, will all be under the command of the Governor."

Qi Shijiao took the token; it felt heavy in his hand.

The five characters "Shandong Provincial Surveillance Commissioner" on the token gleamed coldly under the lamplight, like a drawn sword.

"it is good."

He stood up, his gaze calm.

"Then please have Minister Yuan oversee the central government, and I will personally lead the men to arrest them."

"With naval forces patrolling outside the cities and the Beijing garrison stationed inside, no one can cause any trouble in Yanzhou and Dongchang. Governor, just go ahead and do your job without worrying about anything else!"

Yuan Keli spoke with certainty, his eyes revealing a calm confidence that he was certain of victory.

During the hours he waited for Qi Shijiao, he had already laid out his plan:

Those people who were coerced by the Fragrance Cult have all been settled in temporary camps outside the city, where they are provided with porridge and meals every day.

Two thousand elite soldiers from the Beijing Garrison were stationed at the four city gates, clad in armor and with their swords and spears drawn, ready to suppress any disturbance at a single command.

As for those yamen runners and clerks who might have tipped them off, they had already been "invited" for tea by Lu Wenzhao's men.

Upon hearing this, Qi Shijiao raised an eyebrow slightly, his tone carrying the unique confidence of the leader of the Qi faction:
"With me here, Shandong won't be in chaos. I'm afraid the troops from the Beijing Garrison will be useless."

He wasn't lying.

The Shandong officialdom was deeply entrenched, and the Qi faction's influence extended throughout the prefectures and counties. With him, the leader, personally taking action, even if those officials were dissatisfied, they had to weigh the cost of resistance.

After all, no one dares to openly oppose the leader of the entire Qi Party.

This confidence is the result of his years of hard work, and it is also the reason why Fang Congzhe recommended him.

Yuan Keli gave him a deep look, said nothing more, and simply said, "I hope so."

Qi Shijiao no longer hesitated, turned around and strode away.

He had only brought two trusted confidants with him when he arrived, but now, as he left the government office, a large entourage followed behind him.

The commander of Yanzhou Guard personally led the team, with armored soldiers holding long spears and marching with a resounding gait.

The imperial guards of the Provincial Surveillance Commission had chains around their waists and sharp eyes.

The soldiers of the Shandong Provincial Governor's Battalion and the Imperial Guards led by Lu Wenzhao were responsible for clearing the road along the way to prevent any disturbances.

Before entering the city, Lu Wenzhao had already figured out the movements of officials inside and outside the city, the layout of their residences, and even who had a secret door and who kept warriors. He wrote all of this down on a piece of paper and handed it to him.

Therefore, the Qi Poetry Cult acted with astonishing speed, giving almost no one time to react.

"First, capture Wang Longde, the prefect of Yanzhou!"

Our first stop was the prefectural government office.

After learning that the new governor of Shandong was Qi Shijiao, and after receiving the gifts he sent to Qi Shijiao, Wang Longde was completely relieved.

He was drinking in the inner courtyard with his concubine when he heard the commotion and came out to put on his clothes. The imperial guards had already kicked open the courtyard gate.

Looking at the mess of wine cups and the concubine who was paralyzed with fear, he wanted to use his age to scold her, but Lu Wenzhao directly pressed him to the ground and locked the chains tightly with a "clatter".

“Wang Longde, the evidence is conclusive that you condoned Xu Hongru’s preaching and used the Wenxiang Sect’s rebellion to make a fortune. What else do you have to say?”

After speaking, he immediately captured Wang Longde.

Qi Shijiao appeared behind Lu Wenzhao and said coldly, "Wang Longde, you have disappointed this governor. Don't struggle anymore. If you continue to struggle, you will die a more miserable death."

When Wang Longde realized it was Qi Shijiao, he felt utterly hopeless.

They had lost even the will to resist.

After arresting Wang Longde, Qi Shijiao and his men rushed to the residence of the Circuit Intendant of Qining Road.

"Where is the Circuit Inspector of Qi Ning?"

The censor was forging documents in his study, attempting to destroy evidence of collusion with the Fragrance Sect. When soldiers broke down the door, he tried to escape by climbing over the wall, but was kicked over by the prepared Imperial Guards. The gold and silver they found under his bed filled three large boxes.

Meanwhile, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Yanzhou Guard, and the Shandong Governor's Battalion also acted swiftly.

They arrived at Xu Congzhi's home.

"Xu Congzhi, the Deputy Envoy of Yandong, has colluded with rebels and released a wanted criminal. Arrest him!"

Xu Congzhi's mansion was even more outrageous. Behind the rockery in the backyard was a secret room containing not only countless treasures but also several men dressed as servants, who were actually remnants of the Wenxiang Sect.

When the imperial guards moved forward to capture them, the men tried to resist, but an arrow shot through their wrists by a soldier from Yanzhou Guard, and they screamed and surrendered.

As night deepened, torches blazed like dragons throughout Yanzhou City, illuminating half the city.

One by one, the usually dignified officials were escorted out, some with ashen faces, others crying and begging for mercy, but they were all gagged and thrown into the already emptied Yanzhou prison.

As the search of Xu Congzhi's house deepened, Qi Shijiao stood in front of the storeroom and watched as soldiers carried out boxes of gold, silver, ancient paintings, and jewelry. They even dug up several jars of silver coins under the floor tiles in the corner. His face gradually darkened.

These people usually pretend to be honest and upright in front of their fellow villagers, and will even write a few lines of poetry to encourage him to be honest and upright during festivals. But behind the scenes, they are actually so corrupt!

The wealth confiscated from Wang Longde's family alone was enough to cover six months' worth of disaster relief funds for Yanzhou Prefecture.

After three years of clearing the magistrate's office, he received one hundred thousand snowflakes and silver.

This is no joke!
"Keep searching."

Qi Shijiao's voice was as cold as ice. "Don't let even a needle escape."

As dawn broke, the manhunt in Yanzhou City was nearing its end.

The list of officials in prison filled two pages, all of whom were related to the Qi faction.

As dawn broke, a small mountain of stolen goods had already piled up on the open ground in front of the government office.

Boxes of gold and silver ingots gleamed coldly, ancient paintings in scroll form were carefully stacked to the side, and there were also pearls, agates, jade and other antiques, dazzling the eyes.

Yuan Keli stood on the steps, watching the Embroidered Uniform Guards take inventory and register, a rare smile appearing on his face. He turned to Qi Shijiao and said, "Governor Qi, His Majesty was right about you."

The smile held a hint of relief; last night's arrest operation was swift and efficient, without the slightest mistake, clearly indicating that Qi Shijiao was serious.

Qi Shijiao looked at the stolen goods, his brows not completely relaxed, and said in a deep voice:
“I will not tolerate such corrupt and lawless scoundrels who collude with rebels. These people, who appear honest on the surface, have even deceived me.”

However, he quickly changed his tone and softened his words.

"However, the Shandong officialdom is deeply entrenched, and if we are too strict, it may damage the foundation. In my opinion, we should give those officials with less serious offenses a chance to reform."

He paused, then stated his plan:
"For example, if the amount of corruption is not large, as long as they can hand over all the embezzled funds within three years, their sentence can be reduced accordingly, and they can be allowed to atone for their crimes through meritorious service; if they failed to supervise the Wenxiang Sect rebellion but did not collude with the enemy, they can be demoted to serve in remote prefectures and counties, and their future will be determined after observing their performance."

This statement is not without merit.

Qi Shijiao knew very well that although the saying "no official is not corrupt" was an extreme statement, it reflected the deep-seated problems in officialdom.

If we were to scrutinize each article of the Ming Dynasty law in detail, the Shandong officialdom would likely be largely emptied out.

Overnight, more than a hundred officials were arrested in Yanzhou and Dongchang prefectures. If the investigation continues like this, the newly appointed officials may not even be able to sort out the official documents left by their predecessors, and local government affairs will inevitably be paralyzed.

The people he arrested last night were already heinous criminals; the purpose of making an example of them had been achieved. The rest should be appeased with gentle methods.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Keli paused in stroking his beard.

"But His Majesty's decree is to purge the Shandong officialdom."

The implication is that the cleanup must be thorough, not just superficial.

"The eradication will not be accomplished overnight."

Qi Shijiao shook his head, his tone carrying a hint of insistence.

“If all the officials are arrested and killed, the county and prefectural governments will be left without anyone to manage things, and the people will have no way to appeal. Wouldn’t the localities descend into chaos? At that point, it would be even more terrifying than corruption. The purge should be carried out step by step, first eliminating the ringleaders, and then correcting the rest. Only in this way can we make steady progress.”

Yuan Keli narrowed his eyes slightly; he understood this principle all too well.

However, His Majesty has long been disgusted by the corruption in Shandong's officialdom, and if the punishment is too lenient, it may be difficult to explain.

He paused for a moment before slowly saying, "Purge the officialdom is a crucial task His Majesty has entrusted to the Governor. My responsibility is only to ensure that Shandong remains peaceful. The Governor will make the specific decisions on how to proceed; why ask me?"

Even so, he still reminded Qi Shijiao, saying, "However... if you don't do the job well, needless to say, your political enemies in the court who are watching you will definitely take the opportunity to make trouble; even His Majesty will probably not let you off easily."

Qi Shijiao's heart sank. Yuan Keli's words were like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing his last bit of hope.

He naturally understood the pros and cons involved.

This trip to Shandong is both an opportunity and a risk; success will solidify our position, while failure will lead to utter ruin.

But he quickly composed himself, met Yuan Keli's gaze, and spoke firmly:

“I will certainly do my job well. But I know in my heart that if I cause turmoil in Shandong and displace the people in order to achieve the name of ‘suppression,’ then I will have truly failed in my job and betrayed His Majesty’s trust. You and I are both in Shandong, so stability should be our priority, shouldn’t we?”

Seeing the certainty in his eyes, Yuan Keli said nothing more and simply nodded.

He turned to look at the list of officials in the Yanzhou prison and asked:
"What should the governor do with these convicted officials?"

Qi Shijiao's eyes flashed, and he said, "Behead him as soon as possible!"

According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, the execution of officials required an imperial decree. However, Zhu Youxiao had already decreed that during this purge in Shandong, Qi Shijiao was permitted to act expediently and execute any corrupt officials below the fourth rank whose crimes were proven.

After all, if the usual procedure were followed, the joint trial by the three judicial departments and the review by the Ministry of Justice would take at least several months, by which time public morale would have already waned, and the momentum for reforming officialdom would inevitably be worn down.

"That's right, that's exactly what we need to do!"

Qi Shijiao acted decisively, and within five days he had sorted out the files of over a hundred convicted officials.

In the main hall, even those who resisted, upon seeing the account books and witnesses presented by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and hearing Lu Wenzhao coldly point out several pieces of evidence of "harboring rebels" and "embezzling military pay," could only collapse and sign the papers with their faces ashen.

By noon on the fifth day, the execution ground outside Yanzhou City was already packed with people.

The crowd watching the execution was packed in layers, many of them dressed in rags, and were the refugees who had been coerced into rebellion by the Fragrance Scent Sect a few days earlier.

Some of them had their families destroyed because of corrupt officials, while others had become homeless due to tax evasion by the government. At this moment, looking at the row of prison carts in the center of the execution ground, their eyes held both fear and long-suppressed resentment.

Qi Shijiao sat upright on the execution platform, his gaze sweeping over the dark mass of people below, his mind clear.

Today's execution is not only to punish corrupt officials, but also to give the people of Shandong a clear explanation:

The imperial court could see their suffering and would not tolerate the corruption of corrupt officials.

"Execution!"

With a command given, a flash of light appeared, and hundreds of heads fell to the ground one after another.

At first, there was a deathly silence. After a moment, someone shouted "Good!" and then a deafening roar of cheers swept across the entire execution ground.

"Governor Qi is an upright and just official!"

"Good riddance! These corrupt officials should have been killed long ago!"

"Your Majesty is wise! Long live the Emperor!"

Amid cheers, many people knelt and bowed towards the execution platform with utmost devotion.

Qi Shijiao stood up, signaled to the soldiers to maintain order, and then loudly proclaimed the pre-prepared plan to pacify the people:

"Firstly, starting immediately, a curfew will be imposed in Yanzhou and Dongchang prefectures, prohibiting all nighttime travel after 5 PM; ten households will form a jia, with a jia head appointed to supervise each other, and anyone found harboring rebels or possessing weapons will be punished along with the rest of the jia!"

After a great battle comes great chaos; this is to stabilize order and prevent the remnants of rebellious parties from rising again.

"Secondly, all temple fairs and market gatherings should be suspended until the situation stabilizes!"

Preventing large-scale gatherings will prevent collusion and the outbreak of a new wave of civil unrest.

Thirdly, open the granaries and distribute grain!

As soon as he finished speaking, the soldiers who had been waiting nearby removed the seals from the granary.

"The sweet potatoes and brown rice transported by the imperial court will be distributed to each household, with priority given to the elderly, widowed, and infirm!"

"Fourth, exempt the counties and prefectures affected by the chaos from taxes for the summer and autumn seasons next year!"

Fifth, post the "Edict to Pacify the People"!

As he spoke, dozens of yamen runners carried notices stamped with the emperor's seal and posted them one by one at the city gates and markets.

"His Majesty promised to eliminate corruption and show benevolence, ensuring that the people of Shandong have food to eat and clothes to wear!"

"Sixth, within ten days, all civilians who have committed banditry must come down from the mountain, and their past transgressions will be forgiven. After ten days, the government troops will immediately annihilate all bandits within the territory, killing them without exception!"

After the chaos, some remnants of the Fragrance Cult managed to escape, and these people naturally became bandits.

For Shandong to maintain long-term stability, these bandits naturally need to be dealt with.

Finally, he ordered people to summon the village elders and gentry from each village and have them return to their villages to preach the principles of "loyalty, filial piety, and law-abidingness," so that the people could rest assured and focus on production.

The government decrees, delivered with resounding force, reached the ears of the people, and the initial excitement caused by the execution of corrupt officials gradually settled into a real sense of stability.

Holding the sweet potatoes distributed by the yamen runners, still smelling of the earth, many elderly people had tears in their eyes on the spot.

This was the first time they had received relief grain from the imperial court since the chaos began; the heavy weight of the grain overcame all their anxieties.

"Governor Qi is truly a champion for the people!"

"If people have food to eat, who would want to cause trouble?"

"Long live your Majesty!"

The praise grew louder and louder, and even the air seemed to have lost some of its hostility.

On the city tower not far away, Yuan Keli stood by the railing, watching all of this unfold, and couldn't help but nod to himself.

He originally thought that Qi Shijiao, as the leader of the Qi Party, would only be perfunctory in dealing with his fellow townsmen, but he did not expect that this person had both ruthless methods and the ability to appease the people. He first established his authority by killing, and then won the people over with kindness, taking steady steps.

"It seems this guy really does have some skills."

Yuan Keli stroked his beard, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes.

Perhaps the murky waters of Shandong can truly be cleared up by Qi Shijiao's teachings.

PS:

A long chapter of 5,000 words, with an extra chapter tonight.

(End of this chapter)