Chapter 45 Shaw's Secret
Chapter 45 Shaw's Secret
"Sir Shao, look, the two teams of soldiers next to the county government office—"
"Ah, I'm visiting my relatives in Jingjiang, and they followed me here. They don't have a place to stay yet. If nothing works, I'll let them set up tents on the street to camp."
"How can that be? They are all warriors who protect the people of Jingjiang. I will arrange accommodation for them when I return. I can still handle this little thing - ah -"
Lord You jumped up and ran out of the hall in an instant, as fast as lightning, and his speed instantly surpassed Tian Xing's Wudang Qinggong.
He covered his chest with his left hand and gasped, pointed at the beam with his right index finger, and trembled and couldn't speak.
Shao Quanzhong looked up and saw the big snake on the beam. He said indifferently, "Master You, don't panic. This is a domestic snake, a rat snake. It's non-venomous. It's fine."
Shao Quanzhong has been a local of central Jiangsu for twenty years. Almost every household in the area has snakes, so he has long been used to it.
The scientific name of the rat snake is Elaphe dione. Over the years, it has formed a symbiotic relationship with humans.
The rat snake is a large snake. It is not venomous itself, but its serum can resist snake venom. The venom of the five-step snake cannot hurt it. It is the natural enemy of small venomous snakes.
As the saying goes, if there are king cobras in a place, there will be no poisonous snakes for ten miles.
Having a non-venomous snake at home to protect the house not only keeps mice away, but you also don’t have to worry about accidentally encountering a poisonous snake. There are many benefits to this.
The big snake has the shelter of human houses and does not have to be exposed to the rain in the cave, which is more comfortable than being in the wild.
Lord You is the local magistrate and of course he knows about this situation.
But the rule of our Qing Dynasty is that officials can only serve in other places, and as a foreigner, he really can't get used to keeping a snake in the house.
One of the duties of the yamen runners in his county government was to frequently drive out the rat snakes that came to the county government to stake out territory.
It seemed that Lord You didn't dare to stay in the hall, so Shao Quanzhong simply sent him out and said, "I won't waste any more of Lord You's time.
I have another favor to ask of you. I have recruited the Tongzhou militia in Qiweizi to form the Hengzi Battalion of the Huai Army. I need some boats to transport them back to Hailing for training—"
"I'll leave this matter to you. Temporarily requisitioning a few dozen sampans is no big deal.
I am a clean-handed person and my family is in good condition.
Yu Shi invested jointly with foreigners from Songjiang Prefecture and established the Yunsheng Freight Company. They had a merchant fleet sailing on the Yangtze River, and travel between Songjiang Prefecture and Hankou was unimpeded.
It’s a pity that the Jichuan River cannot carry large ships, otherwise this merchant ship flying the Union Jack could have been dispatched.”
Zeng Guofan was leading the Hunan Army to besiege Anqing. The siege and attack on the reinforcements were in full swing, and the Yangtze River waterway was blocked.
However, the Qing Dynasty did not dare to provoke foreigners, and the Taiping Army called foreigners "foreign brothers" who believed in religion, hoping to join forces with foreigners to destroy the Qing Dynasty.
The Yangtze River waterway is impassable to Chinese citizens, but merchant fleets flying foreign flags can sail unhindered, which is a spectacle to behold.
It is said that we should not underestimate any small character. Lord You is only a seventh-rank county magistrate, and his family has connections with foreigners.
“Lord You is devoted to serving the country and is truly a role model for officials of our generation.
In the future, when our Huai Army is formed, it will definitely be deployed to suppress the Guangdong bandits. When we need troops, we may ask for Lord You, so please don’t refuse.”
"I, Youshi, am loyal and patriotic, and Lord Shao has been so caring towards me. We will have many opportunities to cooperate in the future."
The two of them smiled slyly at each other.
In the future, the Huai Army will requisition cargo ships to transport troops on the Yangtze River. Of course, they cannot use them for nothing like the way County Magistrate You is now mobilizing civilian sampans. At least 100,000 or 200,000 silver coins will be spent, and You's business will also prosper.
Following Shao Quanzhong as he escorted Lord You out of the gate, Zhang Siwen watched Lord You come in with fear and then get into the sedan chair with satisfaction, feeling extremely resentful.
"All the officials of our Qing dynasty are like this. Can we really hold on for another fifty years as you said, second brother?"
Shao Quanzhong tapped his feet and patted Zhang Siwen's back, "Siwen, you haven't seen anyone more corrupt. Lord You took the money but really did his job, that's all good.
In fact, the Taiping Army and the foreigners were not much stronger. The eldest brother didn't laugh at the second brother. They were just weaklings fighting each other.
If they were all dedicated to the public good and had no selfish interests, how could we brothers have a chance to rise in this world?"
"Second brother, if you rule the country in the future, you must not allow this kind of rat to have the opportunity to become an official."
"Of course I have to enforce strict laws, but I can only control the people around me. I'm afraid it's difficult to keep an eye on the people far away."
"Is there really no way to make corrupt officials afraid to take action?"
"Even Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't do anything about it, what can I do?
At most, we will kill every one we catch, so that they don't dare to go too far. Isn't this how the Chinese have lived for thousands of years?
How about you be like my third brother in the future and help me monitor the officials of the country?"
Zhang Siwen shook his head and said, "Brother San can lead the others to look after people. I can't look after so many people by myself.
I think there should be a way to improve the situation from the root..." Shao Quanzhong laughed as he walked. Zhang Ershazi was really obsessed.
But it's okay. He is willing to study how to crack down on corrupt officials instead of targeting the poor. This is much safer. I really don't want to break up with my closest brothers in the end.
"Master You left? You didn't invite him to dinner? That's even better. We can eat in peace as a family.
Come, Quanzhong, have some Jiangyan pastry stuffed with ham, diced chicken and shrimps made by your mother. You have loved it since you were a child.
If you ask me, the food in Jiangyan is still delicious. I just can’t get used to the Maqiao wontons in Jingjiang.
Anyway, Yang Yong is gone, so why not move back to Jiangyan? It’s more comfortable to live in our hometown.”
Well, Bulk Jiangsu is as famous as it is said to be, the neighboring counties all dislike each other...
"Okay, Mom, let's stop making trouble.
I think Jingjiang is a good place, it's a good place with good feng shui, and there won't be war for many years to come.
Lord You and I have become allies again. He will definitely take care of our family. Our Shao family will settle down in Jingjiang in the future."
When Shao Quanzhong returned home, there were two more personal soldiers standing guard at the door.
The other personal soldiers were arranged to stay in the guest rooms, and only Zhang Siwen, the sworn brother, was qualified to have dinner with the Shao family.
Watching Shao Quanzhong wolfing down the stuffed pastry she made herself, Shao's mother said kindly, "It's good for my son to be an official, but he always lives in the barracks and eats with the crowd, so he can't eat good food.
Come back more often when you have time, and I will make delicious food for you."
Shao Shucai took a sip of Jinbo wine, a local specialty of Jingjiang, and felt quite contented as if he had a son and was content with everything.
He glanced at the warm hat on the sixth-rank official hat that had been thrown aside by his son because it was in the way while he was eating, and touched the short beard that he had just grown.
"Our Shao family's ancestors were honest people. Finally, a clever man like Quanzhong appeared. Finally, someone became an official..."
The old lady glanced at Shao's father and said, "Who said Quanzhong is not like your Shao family? If his uncle were still alive, he might have been a higher official than Quanzhong. What a pity——"
Huh? Shao Quanzhong was stunned and looked at his parents in surprise, "Isn't Dad an only child? I have an uncle? Why haven't I heard you tell me that?"
Shao Shucai glared at the talkative old woman. Since his son asked, given his kind character, he couldn't hide it any longer.
“Speaking of your uncle, he is the shame of our Shao family, and the villagers don’t want to mention him.
Your uncle is just like you, not like the rest of the Shao family. He learned how to use a gun and a stick since he was a kid, and was the little bully of our Lu Village.
He went to Master Fan's house in the neighboring Zhenwu Temple Village every day and eavesdropped on Master Fan's lectures to his students for free. He also stole Master Fan's treasured books such as The Art of War and Thirty-Six Stratagems and studied them day and night.
When he was sixteen years old, he went back to Zhenwu Temple Village to hang out with Widow Pan. On his way back, it rained heavily and someone saw him being struck by lightning.
Alas, maybe God couldn't bear it and wanted to take him away.
Your grandfather took me to look for him, but we couldn't find the body. He has been gone ever since.
Quanzhong, you are a high-ranking official now, but you can’t follow your uncle’s example and mess around with widows and married women. You must find a decent girl to marry and give me a grandson soon…”
Eating hometown meals, listening to the old people's chatter, and staying overnight in the Shao family's courtyard are rare enjoyment times for Shao Quanzhong.
The next morning, Shao Quanzhong bid farewell to his parents and boarded a ship at Jingjiang Port.
Taking the thirty sampans urgently requisitioned by County Magistrate You, they met up with the Heng Camp that was waiting there at the ruins of Qiweizi, thus ending the military operation of "collecting next month's pay" and returning with a fruitful harvest.
As soon as the Heng Camp entered Shaojiawei, the houses in the village that were vacant due to the disbandment of the Zuo Camp were suddenly filled up again.
Le Xiucai was in charge of arranging the affairs of the Heng Camp. Shao Quanzhong returned to Shao's house and was just about to take a break when Tian Xing strode in with his men.
The brothers Tian Xing and Hai Qing were the few who could enter Shao's residence without the approval of their personal guards. Even Scholar Le did not have this treatment.
Behind Tian Xing followed the bodyguard Wang Siguizi who was recruited from the port shop.
Wang Siguizi bowed to Shao Quanzhong on one leg and said, "Commander, I have already brought my wife and son to Hailing City, and I will be loyal to you from now on.
I have received great kindness from Commander Shao, but I have no way to repay him. I cannot take his salary for nothing either, so I decided to bring him a token of my loyalty.
I have a little reputation in the underworld, but the news of my surrender to you has not spread yet.
I plan to go to Qinhu Lake to join the gang, infiltrate the bandits, and find out the real situation in Qinhu Lake for you.
Once I am familiar with the complicated waterways in Qinhu Lake and lead the way for you, we can wipe out these pirates in one fell swoop."
(End of this chapter)