Leaving behind the boat to step onto the sh.o.r.e, Fan Xian walked toward the garden with some puzzlement. Haitang was behind him and greeted the old man fishing beside the lake, however Fan Xian did not have the mind to get close to the people. Seeing the fine horse outside the yard, his brows drew together.

The official that came on the horse had already entered the garden and just left the horse outside. He hadn"t even tied the lead rope. It seemed he was truly in a rush. The horse was just standing around below the stone steps, snorting and smelling the green gra.s.s that had just grown out. Unfortunately it was wearing a bridle, so it could only mouth at it anxiously but was not able to eat it.

"Sir." The guard at the door saluted him and a subordinate edged closer to explain something. Fan Xian held up his hands to stop him. He had long recognized who the angry official was. He hadn"t seen the man in a year, but he could tell he still had the same personality, which made Fan Xian a bit angry.

From the depths of the manor came the faint sounds of an intense argument. After rounding the screened wall, the sound became louder. The tone of the voice was full of criticism, anger, and disappointment that seemed to come from the very marrow of their bones.

Fan Xian stopped his steps. He turned to Haitang with a self-deprecatingly smile and said, "It"s just a small matter. Save me some face and don"t come in."

Haitang smiled and nodded. She headed toward a path to the side that led to the garden.

Fan Xian tidied his clothes and listened with patience from the outside before he gently coughed. Acting every inch the teacher, he crossed his hands behind his back, stepped over the tall threshold, and walked in to the main hall.

Inside the main hall, the two red-faced, thick-necked people facing off like fighting roosters were Shi Chanli and Yang Wanli, whom he hadn"t seen in a while.

Last year Yang Wanli was in the third rank of candidates to pa.s.s the imperial examinations. Sice everyone knew he was under the personal command of the Fan family, the managing official at the Ministry of Appointments waved his brush and transferred him to a wealthy county in Jiangnan to be a county magistrate. It was a lucrative post. It was only because the Minister of Appointments meddled, otherwise, given the Fan family prestige, it was not impossible for him to have been a Zhoutong or Yunpan right away.

Yang Wanli had also worked hard for his teacher Fan Xian and did not disappoint. He was hard working in politics, kind to his people, and loved to learn. In just one short year, the area he governed was neat and tidy, honest, and safe. He earned the praises honest, good, and fair in his autumn review. When the Supreme Court reviewed, they came to a similar conclusion. Although his term limit was not up and he could not be promoted, he was a proper sixth-level official.

Of the four disciples under the Fan family, Hou Jichang and Chen Jialin were both officials to the south of Jiaodong Road. It was said that their reputations were excellent as well.

After Fan Xian entered the room, he watched Yang Wanli and Shi Chanli argue with cold eyes. He found that Yang Wanli was being intimidating as Shi Chanli was slowly backing up. With a quick listen he realized what they were arguing about and laughed.

Yang Wanli turned his head to glance at him, paused, furrowed his brows, and then turned around to continue speaking to Shi Chanli. "Brother Shi, it"s fine that you won"t enter into an official position. Following beside teacher, helping him remedy omissions and correct errors, and to do so diligently can also be considered working for the good of the people…but now that teacher has clearly done the wrong thing. Why aren"t you reminding him as you are by his side? Following the etiquette as disciples, we should still speak honestly and admonish. That is the correct way! Do you know what kind of embarra.s.sing rumors are traveling around Jiangnan? Everyone is saying that Commissioner Fan can take the position, but who knows how well he can handle matters? But he certainly collects silver very openly!"

Yan Wanli unleashed sarcasm and laughed. "The Great River? I think that"s a silver river. Before that ship takes all the silver in each province is another day the people on the ship refuse to go on land!"

The more he spoke the angrier he became. His sleeve shook. "To be an official for one day is to work for the happiness of the people for one day. Last year, teacher left word for us to be good officials, to be good people…but…but…is this how an official should act? I…I have almost no face to see people! Old Shi! You have disappointed me so much! Rotting insect! Traitor[JW1] !"

Hearing the last two adjectives, anger poured into Shi Chanli. He thought: You b.a.s.t.a.r.d! You"ve enjoyed being an honest official out here. What do you know of the hard work? I"ve suffered as the boss of a brothel in Jingdou. You call me traitor? Are you criticizing teacher as the tiger that eats people"s bones and marrow? I see Yan Wanli, you haven"t been an official for long, but you"re much more daring now.

With a burst of hot blood, he turned around to curse. "You are a sour scholar who doesn"t know the pains of the common people! If it weren"t for teacher in the capital, do you think you can get such high praise? You ungrateful b.a.s.t.a.r.d!"

Yang Wanli tilted his head up and said proudly, with a hint of pain, "Although I only govern one county, within a year all bandits have disappeared and the people live in peace. I have not let down Sir Fan junior"s initial hope."

In reality, Shi Chanli understood why the other party was so angry he had come directly to their door. The so-called higher the hopes, the greater the disappointment. They both hoped to follow Sir Fan junior to make a career for themselves in the Qing Kingdom and be truly honest and considerate officials. However, Fan Xian was in the Overwatch Council. Holding great power…the things he did…did indeed look the actions of a powerful official, but his distance from being an important official was getting larger and larger.

However, Shi Chanli had spent many years beside Fan Xian and knew that there were many things teacher did unwillingly, furthermore, they had a deeper relationship. He instinctively smiled coldly and continued to counterattack. "All the bandits are gone? If the provincial barracks hadn"t moved 12 li into your Fuchun County…do you think those bandits were scared away by your sagely words? 12 li of land…unremarkable, right? But how capable are you, you little county magistrate?"

Yang Wanli froze and furrowed his forehead. "What do you mean by that?"

"What do I mean?" Shi Chanli turned his head to glance at Fan Xian and furrowed his brows. It seemed like he was wondering why the guards hadn"t stopped this man from coming in. If outsiders heard him arguing with Yang Wanli and it got out, that would be bad.

At this moment, the most innocent one was Fan Xian. The two students were arguing intensely while he, the teacher, stood on the side for a long time without being acknowledged. He had been left out so long he"d almost dried out. He picked up Shi Chanli"s words and smiled. "Doesn"t mean anything. It was just that the old master felt sorry for all of you and just wrote a letter to the Sub-Prefect in command in the province."

It was at this moment that the two arguing recognized Fan Xian"s voice. They jumped in shock at the same time. After a moment of surprise they said, "Teacher?"

Fan Xian stretched out a hand to rub at his temples, removing the glue at the corner of his eyebrows. His eyebrows returned to their original places, and that delicate and handsome face recovered its original appearance. He had forgotten to take of his disguise after he entered the room, and the two arguing excitedly had not even recognized him.

He gave a pained laugh. "If you"re going to fight you have to close the door. This time I heard it, but if an outsider heard it…I"m afraid they"ll think something along the lines of deceiving your master and betraying your ancestors has happened to the Fan family."

The main hall in the manor suddenly became silent. Thinking of how the contents of their argument had completely fallen into Fan Xian"s ears, both Shi Chanli and Yang Wanli felt awkward.

The two invited Fan Xian to sit in the middle and situated themselves on either side. Although Fan Xian was younger in age, the absurd seniority of student and teacher was present and had to be done correctly.

Yang Wanli rubbed his head, feeling a slight headache. Suddenly he remembered Fan Xian"s last words…deceiving the master and betraying the ancestors? He suddenly raised his head and cried loudly, "Sir! I had no such intentions."

Fan Xian looked at him with a kind smile. He knew that Yang Wanli was born of a poor family and was very disdainful of corrupt officials. Furthermore, his personality was straightforward and fiery, otherwise he wouldn"t have come helter-skelter to their door.

"Fuchun County is a full 200 li from Hangzhou. You, a civil servant, rushed here without bringing soldiers and cursed me to my face as an old tiger who eats without even spitting out the bones. If this isn"t deceiving your master, then what is?"

He was joking, but the weight of his joke was not one that Yang Wanli could bear. However, Yang Wanli"s personality was straightforward and honest. He gritted his teeth, approached Fan Xian and bowed low. In a serious voice he said, "Student is wrong. I was wrong to talk such things behind your back."

Fan Xian was a little startled and thought the man had sure changed quickly.

Unexpectedly, Yang Wanli"s topic changed with the wind. "However, now that teacher has returned, I will say it face to face. You know that I have never feared to speak to teachers and seniors in a straightforward manner."

"Speak." Fan Xian said helplessly. "Your personality is just this strange."

"On your trip down to Jiangnan this time to help the court manage its finances, I think there are three things you shouldn"t have done." Yang Wanli completely missed Fan Xian"s evaluation of his personality.

"Three things?" Fan Xian was startled. He had thought it was just the problem of Su Wenmao collecting silver. He hadn"t expected there to be three shouldn"t-have-dones. Do you think you are Chi Zhiqiang singing the 10 shouldn"t-haves in jail?

"First, you shouldn"t have allowed your subordinates to go along the river and strip commoners of their wealth and make use of their labor." Yang Wanli had not slept well last night before he made up his mind to come to Hangzhou to admonish his teacher face to face. In a pained voice he continued. "As the ship from the capital went south, the officials in the provinces and counties along the river purposely came out to welcome and gave mountains of gifts. They also forced commoners to drag the boat. The waters in the Jiangnan region are calm. If that big ship hadn"t been going slow on purpose, why would it need barge haulers? This matter has long spread throughout Jiangnan and become a joke, furthermore, where do the gifts that the provincial and county official give come from? From exorbitant taxes that sc.r.a.p away at the people"s belongings? As the commissioner of the Overwatch Council, you shouldn"t ignore the law, take bribes, disregard the people, and levy labor from hardworking people!"

Fan Xian seemed to not have listened. He waved his hands to have Shi Chanli pour a cup of tea and guzzled it down.

Watching his actions and expressions, Yang Wanli felt a bit apprehensive. He didn"t know whether or not his teacher was truly angry. But, it also made him angrier. "Second, you shouldn"t have mobilized the ships of the Jiangnan sailors for protection. Although you have the ident.i.ty of an imperial envoy, you didn"t travel in broad daylight in the beginning but instead traveled by the stars. This is against regulations and underhanded. You also mobilized soldiers as escorts. Other than being against regulations, it exceeds the bounds of propriety. Disturbing the land and having lax defenses are all serious mistakes."

Fan Xian sprayed the tea out of his mouth and laughed as he scolded, "Will you only be happy if someone chopped me up?"

He waved his hand to stop Yang Wanli"s next words and spoke. "Let"s first talk about these two shouldn"t-haves." He considered them for a moment. "The matter you mentioned about collecting gifts along the river. I have also heard some rumors and the influence is indeed very bad. According to a letter from Jingdou, this matter has become a joke at court in Jingdou. They"re all saying that I"ve been trapped in Jingdou and now that I"m in Jiangnan I want to take a few layers off of the ground…"

Hearing him speak, Yang Wanli felt a little joy. "Exactly. Putting aside the matter of law and order, just speaking of influence, it would impact your official reputation greatly…"

"You mean, it will greatly affect your official reputation, right?" Fan Xian mocked. "Earlier you said you had no face to meet people. If you wanted to be an honest official that is remembered by the history books, but have landed a greedy official like me as a teacher, I suspect you would be rather unhappy. I can understand, however…"

He changed the topic. "It doesn"t matter how the Jiangnan officials see it, how the people see it, or how the Six Ministries sees it. No one will care about them. The question is, you are my student, how could you think I am greedy for money?"

Yang Wanli paused to collect his thoughts. The exploitation by that big ship of yours is the truth, and all the evidence is solid. There are rumors that the reason Commissioner Fan was going to Jiangnan so secretively and splitting into northern, central, and southern routes was so that he could receive gifts from all three. Did people wrong him by saying that?

"I have plenty of silver." Fan Xian stared at Yang Wanli and roared in anger, "Why would I be greedy for silver? What kind of head do you have?"

"You, Jicheng, and Jialin, the three of you are now outer officials. Every month you are sure to receive the silver that the old master sends from the capital, why is that? Because we are worried that you will be pulled under by your colleagues" money. I already have such expectations for you. Why would it be more so for me?"

Ever since they left the capital after the imperial examinations, Yang Wanli and the two others had received monthly banknotes from Jingdou. The amount far exceeded their official salary. This matter actually had nothing to do with Fan Xian. He wasn"t that detailed. It was all Minister Shang attentively taking care of these things for his son.

With silver on hand, Yang Wanli and the two others had more room to move and money to use for practical things. Thinking of Fan Xian"s attentive care, he felt moved. He had also been quite scared by Fan Xian"s rare display of anger. He quickly replied, "Thank you, teacher."

Fan Xian smiled and reprimanded his student. "You are grateful when given money, but do you not think about where the money came from? Of course, it"s not from corruption. You know I have a few businesses under me. I can still afford to feed you all."

Yang Wanli furrowed his brows. "But…the ship on the river?"

"What does that ship have to do with me?" Fan Xian"s face and mouth were shameless, "You want to go fight and curse those corrupt officials? Then go on the ship and curse those people. Running to Hangzhou to curse me…Yang Wanli, ah, Yang Wanli, you are quite daring."

Yang Wanli said dejectedly, "Teacher, those people are your subordinates."

"Yes. Subordinates take silver, and I ask no questions. Does it seem like everything is under my orders? This is all just a show. You are too anxious."

Shi Chanli made his own urging. "Teacher must have his reasons. Rushing in today like this, who knows how many people are going to secretly laugh their faces off?"

Yang Wanli thought about it and found it logical. Even if Sir Fan junior wanted to be greedy, there was no need to do it so openly or in such a lowly manner. Perhaps he had thought wrong?

"There isn"t that deep a reason." Fan Xian sighed. "It is just that I will need to put on a show in Suzhou on March 3rd. The show is too sappy. Even thinking about it right now gives me gooseb.u.mps. You"ll understand when you see it."

At this moment, Yang Wanli believed what Fan Xian said and did not dare speak again. He was feeling regretful for his rashness. If he ruined teacher"s plan to fix the treasury, that would not be good.

"Let"s talk about the second shouldn"t-have." Fan Xian furrowed his brows. "Wanli, you are too naïve, do you really believe it is a golden age?"

Yang Wanli was slightly startled. Considering the country was at peace, the people safe, and weather favorable, where was the lie? Fan Xian laughed coldly and tried to scare him. "If I hadn"t mobilized the sailors as an escort, that ship could have been dragged to the bottom of the river at any moment by divers. Do you believe me?"

Watching Yang Wanli"s expression, Fan Xian knew he wouldn"t believe him. Fan Xian shook his head. "I won"t hide the palace treasury matter from you. I need to defeat not just the parasites in the palace treasury and the wealthy families of Jiangnan, but perhaps also the officials in Jiangnan and n.o.bility in Jingdou. How did that Ming family get their start? And how have they made their business so large?"

Faced with this question, Yang Wanli shook his head. Shi Chanli had also just started to learn about the secret reports between the Overwatch Council and Jiangnan water bandit, Xia Qifei, so he knew a few things.

"Pirates!" A severe look flashed through Fan Xian"s eyes. "The Ming family collects the goods from the palace treasury and ships out to sea via Quanzhou. All the way north to Dongyi, and south to the foreign devils beyond the sky in the west. These years, every time the ships sail out they run into pirates. Out of three ships, they will always lose one ship."

Yang Wanli furrowed his brows. He had some contact with the Ming family, and each of them were warm, literary, and good natured millionaires. Surely they couldn"t be held responsible for running into pirates on the seas, unless teacher"s words had another layer of meaning?

Fan Xian said coldly, "In reality, the pirates were all the Ming family"s own people!"

Yang Wanli paled in shock.

"When the palace treasury products are taken by pirates, the Ming family has to pay back the palace treasury. It looks like they are suffering a loss, but in reality they secretly ship the goods overseas and sell them. They don"t have to pay six-tenths of the profits of the ship to the court. Furthermore, what they paid back to the palace treasury is only the production costs…this one ship earns more than those two ships. Who knows how many departed souls were added to the seas in these years."

Yang Wanli was dumb-founded. "The…the Ming family won"t make that much more. Why would they take such a risk?"

Everything Fan Xian had said was what the Overwatch Council and Xia Qifei had found out. It was a pity they hadn"t caught live evidence. Who knew how much the Ming family had earned these years with their ruthless methods. These people did things ruthlessly. Secrets were closely guarded, and they were protected by n.o.bility. Everyone in court knew that going south on the seas was dangerous with wild winds and rough waters, and ferocious sea bandits, but they didn"t couldn"t imagine that the Ming family would steal their own goods and play a game where merchants and bandits were of the same family.

He stood up and stared into Yang Wanli"s eyes. "Once there is sufficient profit, merchants will become more daring. When there is a 50% profit, they will take desperate risks. For 100% profit, they will dare to trample over all of the Qing laws. With a 300% profit, they will commit any crime. They will even run the risk of losing their heads and not care about the court."

Yang and Shi were both shocked into lowering their heads by the words and savored them for a long time.

"Besides, they"ve always had their supporters in court." Fan Xian smiled coldly. "Profits made from proper exports all have to be registered. What could be smoother and safer to spend than this out of account money?"

This line was acknowledging matters concerning Xinyang. If it weren"t for these ruthless methods, it would have been much more difficult for the Eldest Princess to take money from the palace treasury that had long been monitored by the Overwatch Council.

"Every copper piece is drenched in blood." Fan Xian lectured Yang Wanli. "If we want to accomplish anything, we need to first ensure our own safety. The Ming family can kill and have killed. When it comes to their final struggle, they will not even be afraid to kill me! In a matter of life and death, there is no need to talk about etiquette. You"ve been an official for too long. You"ve become a piece of rotting wood!"

Yang Wanli was dazed and stunned. He had studied strenuously for 10 years. After he became an official, he had Fan Xian, this giant tree, to protect him in his shadow. He never experienced the true dangers of the world. After being scolded, he was finally a bit more awake.

Calming down, Fan Xian waved his hand and said, "Nevermind. We won"t talk about these matters yet. Although you have today to kick at my door, no guests actually came to this yard. We haven"t seen each other in a year, and there will be things we need to discuss. In a while we"ll get some dishes and alcohol and can drink a few cups."

Yang Wanli hung his head dejectedly. Knowing that teacher continued to see him as one of his closest friends, he finally let out a breath. He was only slightly regretful of his rashness. Suddenly he remembered something and hesitantly said, "That third shouldn"t-have…"

Fan Xian laughingly scolded, "Seems like you won"t eat until you"ve accused me completely, so go ahead."

Yang Wanli thought for a bit and felt that in this matter, teacher was indeed in the wrong. With conviction he said, "Recently, various places have sent out auspicious signs. Officials and commoners always say a few words after the banquet, and I have never said this in front of others before, but facing teacher I will have to be presumptuous and speak. To judge others by their appearance will never last, and to garner affections through flattery is also not how a court official should act. What you did, teacher, truly is not virtuous."

Fan Xian froze, he knew that although Yang Wanli was stubbornly honest, he was also clever. He even managed to realize that the four auspicious signs were made by him. But this b.a.s.t.a.r.d thinks…dared to say to his face…accused him of fawning on the Emperor!

"Get out, get out. Out!" Fan Xian was finally truly angry and scolded fiercely, "Don"t bother having dinner. Go back to your Fuchun County and have porridge!"

At this moment, Yang Wanli was like a bare stick, standing straight and allowing his teacher"s spittle to wash his face. With face full of righteousness he said, "I am eating porridge in the Peng garden today."

Fan Xian shook both his arms in anger and stormed out the door. Shi and Chan both quickly pattered after him, not daring to be even half a step behind. It was not until now that this youth of not yet 20 finally seemed like a young man, rather than the usual straight sitting and careful of speech mature teacher pa.s.sing himself off as shrewd and ruthless.

The family carriage group in Danzhou and Jingdou ship following the silver river both arrived at the docks outside of Suzhou. The night before, a group from Hangzhou had quietly boarded the ship. The three groups from Jingdou finally successfully met up in Jiangnan.

On the dock, the drums rolled and firecrackers cried. Jiangnan officials of all ranks stood under the sign in tidy robes. They craned their heads in antic.i.p.ation of the arrival of the Imperial College siye, vice-minister of Taichang Temple, the new Overwatch Council palace treasury commissioner, and imperial envoy inspecting Jiangnan Road…Sir Fan junior.

[JW1]伥货. 伥 - "ghost of sb devoured by a tiger who helps the tiger devour others"