1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 104 is just an appetizer.

"Bring him into the main hall!"

Peng Gang strode to the main seat in the hall, a seat that was previously reserved for Liu Zuosu.

Shortly after, Liu Zuosu was brought into the main hall. Although he was pressed to the ground, he stood tall with his head held high, his eyes blazing, and his attitude arrogant, like an unbroken withered bamboo.

At this moment, Liu Zuosu was no longer the powerful magistrate of the county, but a prisoner under his command.

He glanced at Peng Gang in the hall and roared angrily, "You traitorous members of the Hongmen! Remnants of the bandits! You have the audacity to attack the city and slaughter our people! Get down here! Is that position fit for a vile traitor like you?!"

Liu Zuosu was determined to die, and his shouts and curses were so loud that even people outside the main hall could hear them.

This guy does have some backbone, but unfortunately he's using it on the wrong person.

Peng Gang raised an eyebrow, but before he could speak, Huang Dabiao beside him was about to rebuke him. Peng Gang raised his hand to stop him and asked with a smile, "The Heaven and Earth Society? You're saying I'm from the Heaven and Earth Society?"

Peng Gang found it amusing that, even now, Liu Zuosu had no idea who had captured Wuxuan County and taken him prisoner.

Liu Zuosu was furious and continued to curse, "Isn't that right? You remnants of the 'Overthrow the Qing and Restore the Ming' movement have been causing chaos in the south and poisoning Lingnan since the Qianlong and Jiaqing eras. You are audacious beyond belief! You spout righteousness but are nothing but thieves! You rob and kill officials, and now you're talking about the 'Heavenly Mandate and Heavenly King'. It's just a different name to deceive people!"

Well, this guy not only mistook him for a member of the Heaven and Earth Society, but also mistook Peng Gang for a member of Chen Yagui's faction.

Liu Zuosu kept mentioning the Heaven and Earth Society but never once mentioned the God Society. Lu Liu, who was standing next to Peng Gang, couldn't sit still any longer and kept sneering.

"What a joke! You corrupt official, have you become an idiot from studying too much? You don't even know who stormed the city, yet you bark like a dog. The Heaven and Earth Society you speak of only dares to cause trouble in the mountains and forests. We are here today by order of the true God Emperor to kill you Qing demons and annihilate the Manchu demon court!"

Liu Zuosu was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then burst into laughter and cursed, "Absurd! The Emperor? You barbarian thief dare to imitate foreigners and call yourself a god? Although the Qing Dynasty is declining, it is not your place to worship foreign ghosts and gods, causing chaos in the world and destroying our moral order!"

Lu Liu, a longtime follower of Feng Yunshan and a devout believer in Christianity, was angered by Liu Zuosu's insults and drew his fish-head knife, intending to kill Liu Zuosu in the main hall.

Peng Gang stopped Lu Liu, his face cold and his tone icy as he retorted, "Is your so-called 'moral code' something where corrupt officials devour people like flies, and where you, the incompetent, build temples with your own flesh and blood?!"

You respect Confucius, yet you don't see how he worried about the people? You uphold the rites and teachings, yet you disregard the lives of the people in a county, forcibly imposing a levy that is twice as high as the regular tax during a year of disaster and epidemic.

You Manchu barbarian dog, sycophantic slave, traitor who besieged the city, incompetent false official, you are not worthy to discuss Confucianism with me!

Liu Zuosu hadn't expected such a sharp-tongued person among the bandits. He was so enraged by the insults that he gritted his teeth and retorted, "Though I am incompetent, I still know that there is a ruler, laws, and ancestors in this world. You heretics of foreign religions know nothing of the Three Cardinal Guides and Five Constant Virtues; you only know how to kill with your swords. If you want to learn from the foreigners, go and be their slaves. Don't come to my Great Qing and shout 'God'!"

Peng Gang stood up and grabbed Liu Zuosu's braid like a dog leash, and sneered: "You keep calling him 'ancestor,' were your ancestors Manchus? Did your ancestors wear Manchu braids and clothes?"
If your ancestors knew you were this despicable in the afterlife, they'd be mortified! You knelt before Emperor Daoguang begging for an official position, and now you pretend to be tough in front of me—don't you find that laughable?!

Peng Gang had more important things to do and couldn't be bothered with Liu Zuosu, that kind of pedantic and cynical person.

Given Liu Zuosu's attitude, he certainly wouldn't cooperate and honestly disclose the grain and silver stored in the granary and treasury of Wuxuan County. So, he ordered people to bring the county magistrate, the registrar, and Liu Zuosu's money and grain secretary for questioning.

Seeing that Peng Gang not only ignored him but also showed no intention of killing him, Liu Zuosu became anxious and repeatedly called him a traitor, trying to provoke Peng Gang into killing him in a fit of anger.

Peng Gang was not so easily provoked by Liu Zuosu. The more Liu Zuosu wanted Peng Gang to kill him, the more Peng Gang wanted him to live.

Although Liu Zuosu was only a county magistrate, he was still the first Qing official to be captured alive after the uprising. Sending him to Mengchong could at least boost the morale of the God Worshippers and allow him to continue contributing.

The county magistrate, registrar, and treasurer of Wuxuan were much more spineless than Liu Zuosu. As soon as they heard that Peng Gang wanted to see the account books of the Wuxuan County government granary, the three of them hurriedly found two blue-covered account books and handed them to Peng Gang for inspection.

Peng Gang casually flipped to the last page of two blue ledgers: "This year's grain requisition was 7,400 shi, and the actual stock was 4,600 shi."

"Changping silver (reserve silver for quick and easy use), regular tax silver (fixed tax amount), and miscellaneous silver (fines, likin, etc.), totaling six thousand eight hundred taels?"

Are all the stored grain and silver in whole numbers?

This fake accounting is so damn clumsy and so damn blatant!
Peng Gang took the saber from Huang Dabiao's waist and slammed it on the table with a "bang." With a dark face, he asked sternly, "You three, tell me honestly, how much grain and silver is actually stored in the official granary of Wuxuan County?"

The three men looked at each other, hesitated slightly, and then the clerk honestly confessed: "Last year, the Heaven and Earth Society rebels caused a great disturbance. The Daotai, the prefect, and the provincial administration commissioner all demanded grain. The Wuxuan granary now only has about 1,150 shi of grain and about 960 taels of silver."

The exact amount may vary slightly, but it will be roughly the same.

The reason they confessed so readily was not because the three of them were particularly honest, but because Peng had just read the accounts aloud in front of them.

Peng Gang had a scholarly air about him, not a trace of banditry. They already realized that Peng Gang was no ordinary bandit; at least he could read and understand account books.

Those who can serve as county magistrates, registrars, or finance secretaries are all shrewd people, and they know that Peng Gang is not so easy to fool.

If concealing the truth angers him, you might lose your life; it's better to tell the truth.

Nine hundred and sixty taels?
Even though he was mentally prepared for the officials of the Qing Dynasty, Peng Gang was still greatly shocked. The silver in the treasury of Wuxuan County was actually less than his own.

"What about the granary? How much grain is stored there?" Peng Gang pressed.

Wuxuan County needs to support two hundred Green Standard Army soldiers and two hundred local militia to guard the city; it's impossible to rely solely on the meager grain and silver stored in the official granaries and treasuries. "The public granaries hold approximately three thousand five hundred and sixty-five shi of grain," the registrar replied.

Peng Gang had a clear idea of ​​the amount, memorized it, and planned to go to the warehouse after dawn.

Twenty-six Green Standard Army soldiers died and one hundred and twenty were captured.

The militia killed 102 and captured 33.

The intelligence reports did not match the two hundred Green Standard Army soldiers and two hundred militia members.

Huang Can, the Green Camp garrison commander, has also disappeared without a trace, neither alive nor dead.

This indicates that many Green Standard Army militias are not stationed at their posts and are scattered throughout the county.

Although Peng Gang felt that these remaining members of the pro-independence militia lacked the ability to reorganize and launch a counterattack, he believed that being prepared was the best course of action.

Peng Gang ordered strict guarding of the four gates of the county town, allowing only his own people to enter and forbidding anyone from leaving the town.

Interrogate the prisoners, demanding they reveal the whereabouts of the Green Standard Army militia members not stationed at the garrison, especially the whereabouts of the garrison commander Huang Can, and send men to capture the remaining Green Standard Army militia members overnight.

Meanwhile, Peng Gang ordered Luo Dagang to send out a small number of 26 cavalrymen to guard the area around the county town. If there were any signs of government reinforcements, they were to be reported immediately.

After arranging all this, before dawn, Peng Gang wrote a public notice to reassure the people and had the county magistrate, registrar, and finance clerk make several copies for posting in various places.

Before dawn, Green Standard Army militia members were arrested and brought to the county government office. Huang Can, a garrison commander covered in perfume, was also found by Chen Chengrong in a brothel and dragged to the county government office.

"Second Sister-in-law, is the boat ready?" Peng Gang turned to Qiu Ersao and asked.

Wuxuan County is built along the Qianjiang River. The waterway from Wuxuan County to Lema and Bitanxun is smooth. The money and grain of Wuxuan County can be loaded directly from the three wharves outside the county town: the South Gate Wharf, the West Gate Wharf, and the North Gate Wharf. They are first transported to Lema and then transferred to Bitanxun.

Peng Gang had twenty-six small boats at Bitan Xun, but the Pingzai Mountain section of the Qianjiang River was winding and the current was relatively rapid, so Peng Gang was unable to pull his boats to Lema.

The transport of money and grain still relies on the ships of the naval corps.

"The boats are all ready and can set sail after dawn," said Qiu Ersao. "The boats you took when you came will be enough to transport less than 5,000 shi of grain."

The official granaries and charitable granaries of a county town only managed to obtain less than 4,750 shi of grain, and not even 1,000 taels of silver.

After preparing for three months and taking such a big risk, Qiu Ersao felt somewhat discouraged and disappointed with the meager results.

“This is not enough; we need to send more ships,” Peng Gang said. “This is only the grain stored in the official granaries and public granaries. The grain reserves of the wealthy households in Wuxuan County are no less than those in the official granaries and public granaries.”

This is nothing. Not to mention the wealthy families, the homes of the four most prominent officials in Wuxuan County, and even the clerks of Wuxuan County, haven't been searched yet.

The official granaries and the charitable granaries were just appetizers.

"Alright, I'll send someone to Lema right away and have all the men and women there bring their boats to Wuxuan County." Qiu Ersao nodded and whispered a few words to one of her subordinates outside the hall.

"Uncle, you haven't been busy selling charcoal in Wuxuan County for the past year or so, have you?" Peng Gang said to Xiao Guoying with a smile.

"Let me tell you about the situation of the wealthy families in Wuxuan County."

More than a year ago, Peng Gang spent money to rent a shop in Wuxuan City to open a charcoal shop and let Xiao Guoying run it. Of course, his purpose was not to sell charcoal.

Selling charcoal was just a side job for Xiao Guoying; gathering intelligence on Wuxuan was his main occupation.

　The term "Changping" comes from the "Changping Granary" system in the Han Dynasty's "Discourses on Salt and Iron," which refers to the government storing grain to stabilize prices and provide relief during famine years.
　　During the Ming and Qing dynasties, this system was developed and perfected into a system of Ever-Normal Granaries and Ever-Normal Silver. Its nature is similar to the modern "disaster relief reserve fund".

　　Changpingcang refers to reserve grain.

　　Changping silver refers to reserve silver.

　　The Ever-Normal Silver was generally managed by the County Magistrate or the Registrar, stored in the County Treasury, kept in the books and records, and required to be reported regularly.

　　If the granary is empty and the silver is exhausted, it is necessary to report to the prefectural or provincial level to request the allocation of silver and grain.

　　In principle, they should not be used casually; their use requires the approval of an official at the county level or above, or a "release order".

　　However, by the Jiaqing and Daoguang periods, this system had become a mere formality, and it was very common for the Ever-Normal Granary to be empty of silver and grain, with discrepancies between the accounts and the actual situation.

　　The expenses for disaster relief and bandit suppression at the grassroots level were basically covered by relief payments from so-called private charitable granaries such as "charitable granaries," "community granaries," and "charitable silver" controlled by local gentry.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)