013 The Relationship Between Officialdom and the Martial World
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“Brother Qingyun, when we surround and suppress South City, how should we deal with the Axe Gang?”
Zhou Cang, his arm wrapped in gauze, quietly sidled over.
Jiang Qingyun calmly drew him aside to a secluded spot.
“How much have you learned?”
“The Axe Gang’s headquarters are around the Medicine King Temple. Most of its members are laborers and canal workers—somewhere between three and five hundred men.”
“That many?”
“According to the intelligence, the Axe Gang differs from the other gangs. Normally, they guard their own patch of ground and do not cause trouble. Their rules are strict. But if anyone dares interfere with dock labor, they’ll go straight to that person’s lair and wipe everyone out. That’s why all the gangs in the underworld fear them. Most of their men are at the Tongzhou docks, with only a small number in South City. Their leader is Yan Mou, and he’s especially formidable in a fight.”
Jiang Qingyun was not a rigid man. He knew that politics without human feeling could never go far.
“Go there alone and quietly. Consider it repayment of a debt.”
“Yes, sir.”
…
He crossed the front hall and entered the kitchen.
There, Song Er was bustling about by himself, thoroughly enjoying his work. Three enormous pots stood in a row, all simmering at once.
“My lord, this pot is lamb, this one is plain rice, and the other is pork with cabbage. Have a sniff. Doesn’t it smell wonderful?”
Song Er took the initiative and ladled out a bowl of lamb.
Jiang Qingyun accepted it and ate several mouthfuls before praising him. “Excellent cooking. You could open a restaurant.”
“Not nearly good enough, not nearly. This is about all I’m capable of.”
Looking at the thin, simple-minded Song Er before him, Jiang Qingyun finally understood the man’s secret to survival. He looked harmless to both people and animals. And since his father had died in battle, few were willing to quarrel with him.
That was not all. Song Er also went everywhere proclaiming, “His lordship borrowed money from the money house to pay everyone’s wages. Does the Great Qing have another superior this good?”
In short, the little group at the South City Military and Police Office had begun to take shape.
…
After eating and drinking their fill, everyone fell into a deep sleep.
Jiang Qingyun had rented a separate courtyard beside the rear compound of the office to house two women and a cat.
The Imperial Astronomical Bureau had been wiped out in one sweep, and the calico cat had naturally become a criminal cat as well. Jiang Qingyun sentenced it to “exile five miles away and enslavement under the South City Military and Police Office.”
And that was that.
Cats possessed a certain spiritual nature. Whenever Jiang Qingyun sat down, it would automatically leap onto his lap, make an adorable show of itself, and work hard to atone for its crimes.
The two women were Green Pearl and Late Spring. One favored green in her daily dress, the other red, and each possessed her own charms.
After being sold into the Jiang household, Green Pearl had eaten well three times a day. She had grown tall and full-figured, and having been trained by Madam Wen since childhood, she was fiercely protective of her master.
Late Spring had once been an actress. Petite and delicate, she was shrewd in every gesture and especially skilled at flattering her master.
…
“Young master, you’ve been working all day, and tomorrow you have important business to attend to. Why not rest alone in your room tonight?”
“Sister Green Pearl is right. This servant would like to give the master a proper massage so he can relax before resting.”
Jiang Qingyun carefully folded down the cat’s ears so it would not hear the women’s seductive words, determined to remain a pure and virtuous cat.
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In the end, Green Pearl won.
Jiang Qingyun knew perfectly well what sort of women they were.
Green Pearl was utterly devoted to him. In the depth of her affection, she was no less caring toward him than his own mother.
He spent the night alone.
For a while, he calmly turned things over in his mind.
If the empire were compared to a coin, the obverse would be the official world, while the reverse would be the underworld.
The underworld filled certain gaps left by the authorities. But once it developed to a certain point, it was bound to descend into outright criminality.
The danger he had faced the previous night had given him a perfectly legitimate opportunity to sweep South City’s underworld clean.
There were many obstacles to rebuilding order in South City: above stood the Qing court, in the middle his fellow officials, and below the underworld. He would eliminate one of them first.
…
The following morning, Jiang Qingyun rose feeling full of energy. Breakfast consisted of a bowl of lamb, a bowl of rice, a plate of sweet fried pastries, and a dish of vegetables.
After the meal, Green Pearl dressed him in his armor, her movements practiced and meticulous.
“Young master, whatever you do, don’t charge into battle yourself. Let the men beneath you lead the assault. You must leave them more chances to earn reward money.”
Once his helmet was on, Jiang Qingyun leaned close to Green Pearl’s ear.
“When I return victorious to the office, you’ll serve me properly.”
“Oh…”
A rosy flush spread across Green Pearl’s cheeks.
In this world, a young woman’s blush was the most beautiful sight of all.
…
By the time the sun stood high overhead, the alleys near the office were packed with escort guards from every agency.
There were five escort agencies inside South City and three outside it—eight in all. More than nine hundred guards and apprentices arrived carrying weapons to report for duty.
Jiang Qingyun did not waste a moment. He immediately announced:
“By imperial command, I have been ordered to suppress the bandits of South City by force. Listen carefully. Every two mounted constables will lead twenty escort guards as one unit. All escort guards must obey the orders of the constables in command. Each unit will be issued a copper gong. If you encounter resistance, sound the gong at once to raise the alarm.”
“Today, you need not worry about the consequences. Those who fight bravely will receive silver rewards. Those who disobey orders will be dealt with afterward.”
“Every escort guard is to tie a strip of red silk around his neck for identification. Line up and collect one.”
…
The ensuing chaos lasted nearly half an hour.
At Jiang Qingyun’s command, the thirty squads set out along the routes arranged in advance, advancing from south to north and arresting people according to the intelligence.
In the second alley off Dung-Cleaners’ Lane, Shi Erliu—the man who had made his fortune hauling excrement and become the dung king of South City, indeed of the entire capital—was cursing someone.
The reason was that the opera troupe he had hired for four taels of silver kept retching from the stench, causing their singing to break off again and again.
The courtyard reeked horribly.
Under the blazing sunlight, the stench became overwhelming.
“You filthy opera singer, trampled by a thousand feet and slept on by ten thousand men, and you still complain that your master isn’t clean? I’ll beat—”
Before he could finish—
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A servant came rushing into the courtyard.
“Master, this is bad! The soldiers are here!”
…
Shi Erliu was not the least bit flustered.
With more than three hundred brothers under his command, several hundred dung carts, and dozens of dung boats, he was the sole lord of the capital’s filth.
At the courtyard gate—
“Gentlemen, the inside is rather dirty. Whatever business you have, why not discuss it out here? Come, bring the gentlemen some tea. And remember—wash your hands thoroughly before brewing it.”
The squad leader, Zhao Zesheng, wore a cold expression. With a single swing of his saber’s scabbard, he knocked Shi Erliu flat.
“Arrest them!” he roared.
“Search the place!”
Each squad had two constables: one responsible for making arrests, the other for supervising the search. Never underestimate these underworld bosses. Their savings were substantial—at least a hundred taels, and sometimes more than a thousand.
…
Beyond Xuanwu Gate stood the headquarters of the Seven-Gems Gang.
After kicking open the courtyard gate, Zhou Cang was the first to charge in. He hacked at everyone he saw. Even when his wounds burst open, he found the sensation exhilarating.
“Kill them!”
The twenty escort guards followed, beating the gangsters with clubs and hacking at them with blades.
Zhou Cang quickly found the thief known as Half-Ear. After ordering his men to pummel him dozens of times, he planted a foot on the man’s palm and asked, “Do you recognize me now?”
Half-Ear knew he would not live long, but he remained defiant.
“Fine. I admit defeat. Kill me or butcher me as you please.”
Zhou Cang sneered. He broke the man’s palm first, then chopped off his head.
…
Not every squad progressed smoothly. Some lost their way. Some met armed resistance. Some arrested the wrong people. Others arrived only to find their targets gone.
But it did not matter. After this campaign, South City would become a forbidden zone for the underworld.
Jiang Qingyun led a squad of escort guards through a crossroads of alleys, preparing to wait for prey to walk into their trap.
Gongs rang out one after another nearby.
Sure enough, before long, a group of men carrying butcher’s knives came along the rooftops, stepping across the tiles. The alleys could easily be blocked at both ends, whereas the rooftops offered routes in every direction.
Jiang Qingyun raised his riding crop.
“Let the best archer climb onto the roof and pick them off. One tael of silver for every bandit brought down.”
“I’ll do it!”
A handsome young guard from the West Gate Escort Agency volunteered. He appeared to be the same young man who had been practicing archery in the corner that day.
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