Qing Yao

Chapter 385 Debt Disputes, Not a Good Place to Show Up

Paying back debts is a matter of course!

This principle applies everywhere. Just because the debtor is an official doesn't mean this rule should be abolished.

If even officials can default on their debts, which money shops or banks in the financial market will dare to extend them even half a copper coin on credit?
If officials can't borrow money, how can they smooth things over? How can they entertain their superiors? How can they show their loyalty to the emperor during festivals? And how can they maintain their own dignity, let alone govern their region well?

One problem leads to another; if local governance is poor, how can the foundation of our Great Qing Dynasty remain stable?

Therefore, although the debt owed by the Provincial Education Commissioner may seem like a small matter, it is actually related to the very foundation of the Qing Dynasty.

For the sake of the nation's foundation, the debt must be repaid!
Moreover, when Xianfeng Bank lent this money, they offered the best terms: only 400 taels of interest and no handling fees, and the loan disbursement was lightning fast. Their service was even better than that of one's own grandfather.

In terms of reputation, he is truly number one in the industry!
Without the slightest exaggeration.

However, when the repayment date arrived, the student's card still did not have the funds that Xianfeng Bank could successfully deduct from it. What does this mean?
Li Qingshan, the manager of the Anqing branch, initially thought that the student had forgotten the repayment date, so he sent a respectfully worded reminder notice as per regulations.

In other words, the debtor is a provincial grandmaster. If it were an ordinary person, they would have sent several burly men to offer help long ago.

The notice was printed with exquisite detail and was stamped with the bright red seal of the Xianfeng government. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought it was an official document from some government office.

When Xue Zhengda received the payment reminder, he was talking to the housekeeper, Lao Chen. Upon seeing the reminder, Xue Zhengda's expression immediately became very awkward.

The butler was stunned by the format of the payment reminder and couldn't help but mutter, "Master, this Xianfeng Bank is quite the show-off, acting like they're issuing an official document to you."

The provincial education commissioner gave a slight hum and casually placed the payment reminder on his desk, not taking the matter to heart, because he had already sent Li, the clerk of the yamen, to Fengyang to collect the debt from Governor Zhao.

With 50,000 taels of principal allocated from the provincial treasury, a mere 400 taels of interest is nothing.

Out of contempt for merchants, the provincial education commissioner did not reply with "received" to the payment reminder. As a result, Manager Li waited and waited but did not receive the payment or the provincial education commissioner's reply, and he began to feel uneasy.

After all, he was the one who lent out the money; if he couldn't get it back, it wouldn't just be a matter of losing his job.

Fifty thousand taels of silver is enough to buy a hundred of his lives!
Fearing something might go wrong, Manager Li quickly sent a second payment reminder, this time with a slightly harsher tone, reminding the student that the debt was overdue and that not only would the interest increase, but penalty interest would also be incurred.

The result was the same: nothing came of it.

Manager Li finally couldn't sit still any longer, and had no choice but to bite the bullet and personally go to the Education Bureau to see the old master.

They met the man, but were met with a dismissive, official remark from the old master: "Am I the kind of person who defaults on debts? Do you think a mere few tens of thousands of taels of silver is worth me arguing with you about? Go back and wait a few days, and I will send someone to settle this debt with you."

He spoke with great confidence.

Manager Li believed it, but after waiting for three more days and still receiving no response from the education department, he panicked and quickly reported the situation to Liu Xiaolou, the head of the head office.

After listening to Manager Li's report, Liu Xiaolou, the person in charge, was neither shocked nor angry. He simply asked, "Old Li, have we followed all the rules and procedures of our business?"

Manager Li hurriedly said, "Master, I've put in a good word for you, sent the documents, and met with you in person. I've followed all the rules exactly."

Liu Xiaolou nodded: "Since the other party is not giving us face after we've gone through the procedures, let's escalate this matter to the head office. Lao Li, you can focus on managing the branch's business. The head office will handle this Xue Zheng's payment."

How did the head office resolve this?

The next day, a dozen burly men arrived outside the Education Bureau early in the morning. They didn't cause any trouble; they just squatted down against the wall opposite the bureau and sunbathed.

As the yamen (government office) opened and officials of all ranks began to arrive for work, the group of men who had been sunbathing suddenly stood up and shouted loudly in the direction of the yamen: "Xu Ligang, pay back the money! Xu Ligang, pay back the money!"

The shout was so loud that every word was clearly audible, leaving the assembled officials from the educational administration department who had come to work completely dumbfounded.

Who is Xu Ligang?
Isn't that our old master, the Academic Commissioner?

When did Lord Xu start owing money and refusing to pay it back, causing creditors to come knocking on his door to collect?
Good heavens, this is an unheard-of spectacle!
"Xu Ligang! You, a dignified master of a province, owe money and refuse to pay it back. What face do you have left? What right do you have to educate scholars!"

"Xu Ligang, you have the guts to borrow money but not the guts to pay it back!"

"Pay back the money, pay back the money!"

The men shouted with increasing enthusiasm, attracting not only staff from the education office but also many passersby who were watching.

In the back hall of the yamen, the provincial education commissioner was so angry that his body trembled. He never expected that Emperor Xianfeng would act in such a way, which was simply disrespectful to him, a senior scholar of the province.

His anger naturally aroused his official authority, and soon yamen runners came out to drive the people away.

When the constables arrived, the group of debt collectors wisely kept quiet and stopped shouting. But as soon as the constables returned to the yamen, they started shouting again. The constables had no choice but to rush out once more.

An eighth-rank magistrate from the yamen pointed angrily at the group of burly men: "Do you know where you are? How dare you cause trouble here!"

"Sir, this is the main street, not your yamen. Besides, we're not here to cause trouble; we're here to collect a debt. Who told Master Xu to owe our bank money and not pay it back!"

"That's right! What law in the Qing Dynasty doesn't allow us to collect debts on the street!"

"."

The rough men, as if they had been instructed beforehand, retorted to the officials from the education bureau one after another.

The Education Bureau was responsible for education, and the clerks there were basically just like gatekeepers and security guards. They had no law enforcement power whatsoever. Besides, the rough men weren't causing trouble in the bureau, nor did they offend the Education Bureau official.

Therefore, no matter how angry the yamen runners were, they couldn't do anything about these burly men.

The provincial education commissioner could not tolerate a group of rough men tarnishing his reputation outside the yamen, and in a fit of rage, he sent his steward to Anqing Prefecture to "report the case".

Upon receiving the report, Anqing Prefect Song Jiawen immediately dispatched three squads of constables to the scene, where they arrested the group of burly men without any resistance.

And that was the end of it.

However, what gave the education commissioner a headache was that the next day, the white wall of the education commissioner's office, which symbolized the dignity of education, was covered with slogans painted in red overnight, all of which said that he, a dignified old master of the province, was in debt and had not paid back his debts.

Officials arriving for work in the early morning and ordinary people passing by surrounded the wall in layers, pointing and gossiping.

The academic official was utterly humiliated and ordered the debt collection messages on the wall to be immediately washed away with lime. However, they reappeared the next morning, and the insults became increasingly vile.

Steward Chen believed that someone should be sent to reason with Xianfeng Bank, explaining that the Education Commissioner was not refusing to pay the money, but was waiting for the provincial treasury to allocate funds, and hoping that Xianfeng Bank could delay for a few days to avoid such an embarrassing situation.

The people from Xianfeng's guild verbally agreed, but on the third day, the walls were still covered with debt collection messages, and even the small gate in the backyard of the yamen, which was used by the family of the education commissioner, was splashed with paint.

I can't stand it, I can't stand it even a little bit!
Enraged, the provincial education commissioner ordered his steward to "report the case" to the Anqing prefecture, demanding that the prefect immediately mobilize capable personnel to arrest the madman suspected of provoking trouble and damaging the reputation of the provincial education commissioner.

Unexpectedly, after hearing Steward Chen's request, the Prefect of Anqing rubbed his hands and looked troubled: "As far as I know, Lord Xu does indeed owe money to Xianfeng Bank and has not paid it back. So this is a debt dispute between Lord Xu and the bank. According to the laws of the Qing Dynasty, the government has no reason to intervene in this matter, let alone arrest anyone."

(End of this chapter)