1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 55 Guiping City

"You want to get in touch with Huang Shoudurong and meet with Magistrate Wang?"

Feeling triumphant, Xie Bin, who had just returned from Xunzhou Prefecture, shook his head regretfully upon hearing Peng Gang's request.

"You won't see him anymore. Magistrate Wang left office eight or nine days ago. The current magistrate of Guiping County is Yang Xun, Lord Yang."

Xie Bin wasn't one to engage in forced demolition, but he was willing to help Peng Gang with this favor.

Unfortunately, the original magistrate of Guiping County was Wang Lie, a scholar from Kunming, Yunnan, who had already left office, and the successor magistrate was Yang Xun, a scholar from Hunan.

Guangxi is a barren and malaria-ridden land, where ethnic and class conflicts are extremely acute. It is a typical place that is poor, has many and difficult problems, and local officials are frequently changed and transferred.

Being an official in Guangxi was already difficult, and with Governor Zheng Zuchen leading the way in inaction, the atmosphere in Guangxi's officialdom was extremely bad and rotten to the core. No local official, who was doing a thankless job, would be so foolish as to try to make a difference in Guangxi.

It's more direct and practical to make some money and curry favor with Zheng Zuchen than to work hard to achieve political success.

Local officials who were forced to take up positions in Guangxi generally had the idea of ​​making a quick buck and leaving immediately.

Take the magistrates of Guiping County as an example. In just three short years, from the 25th to the 28th year of the Daoguang Emperor's reign, three magistrates came and went in quick succession, each leaving after accumulating enough wealth.

Currently, among the four counties of Xunzhou Prefecture—Guiping, Pingnan, Guixian, and Wuxuan—only Liu Zuosu, the magistrate of Wuxuan County, is a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), while the magistrates of the other three counties are Juren (successful candidates in the provincial imperial examinations).

"Could you perhaps have Huang Durong introduce us?"

Peng Gang never expected Zhang Zhao to be so brilliant, not only promoting Hou Jiyong to the position of external commissioner of Shangdongtang, but also elevating Xie Bin to the position of garrison commander of Bitan.

Even Chen Xingwang, the former garrison commander of Bitan, and Huang Zhenyue, the garrison commander of the Left Battalion, who had done nothing, were promoted to the positions of commander and captain of the Left Battalion of Xunzhou, respectively.

"Huang Durong people are in high spirits when they have good news. They're in a great mood right now, so this is no problem. Leave it to me." Xie Bin, with the straightforwardness of a martial artist, readily agreed to the task, patting his chest with confidence.

Peng Gang and Shi Dakai were both worried that things might change if the matter dragged on for too long.

If Feng Yunshan's case is taken over by Gu Yuankai, the prefect of Xunzhou Prefecture, regardless of whether Feng Yunshan can be released...

Even if they were rescued, the cost of bribing the prefect and bribing the county magistrate would be vastly different.

Although I've made a windfall and have some gold and silver, there's still a lot to do. I need to save money wherever possible and spend it wisely.

Peng Gang, Shi Dakai, and Xie Bin boarded a boat at Bitanxun that day and sailed downstream to Xunjiang.

While boating on the Qianjiang River, Peng Gang, having nothing better to do, took out his pen and paper and began to refine his map of Guangxi.

Downstream from Qianjiang, there are many strange rocks and rapids, and the river flows quite fast. The group soon arrived at Guiping City, where the Qianjiang and Yujiang rivers meet.

Guiping County was an attached county, governed by the same government as the prefecture. The prefectural government office of Xunzhou and the county government office of Guiping were both located in Guiping City.

Guiping City was not as prosperous as I had imagined.

Everywhere Peng Gang looked, there was a scene of decay.

Compared to Guixian County, which Peng Gang had visited before, the biggest difference is that Guiping City is much larger and has higher city walls.

The base of the wall near the North Gate of Guiping City is covered with blackish-yellow mud, which is the silt that flooded in when the Xunjiang River breached its banks last summer, and no one has cleaned it up to this day.

The long-neglected city wall has many old cracks, from which wild grasses and weeds, half a person tall, sprout and sway in the wind.

The bluestone path underfoot had long been worn down by wheelbarrow ruts, becoming uneven and full of potholes.

The potholes were filled with foul-smelling rainwater, reflecting the gray sky and the crooked eaves of the shops along the road.

The warehouses at the docks near Shangbeimen were mostly empty, with only a few dilapidated boats carrying homespun cloth, imported cloth, and opium, and merchants were rarely seen coming or going.

Inside the warehouse, the gurgling of pipes mingled with coughs. The accountant, dressed in a patched long gown, had nothing to do, so he curled up on a straw mat, his wrist bones, as bony as withered bamboo branches, peeking out from his sleeves. Yet, he wore an expression of utter enjoyment, lost in another illusory world of his mind.

The porters and boatmen waiting for work near the dock sat listlessly by the river, staring at the empty water with worried expressions, sighing and worrying about their meals for the day. Jiangkou Market, the largest distribution center for goods in Xunzhou Prefecture, had just been ravaged by war, and trade with Guiping had not yet recovered to pre-war levels.

These laborers, who earn their living by working hard, might not be able to snag a single job even if they waited all day by the river.

Below the north gate, only two Green Standard Army soldiers were slumped on a bench, looking like wilted pickled cucumbers.

The older gatekeeper wore a faded gray-brown uniform, the "soldier" badge on his chest was long since unstitched, and a corner drooped down, revealing the lining inside, which had been gnawed by lice.

He stood with his legs apart, a musket resting across his knees. The barrel was so rusted that two ounces of rust could be scraped off, but that didn't stop him from using the musket to poke at passersby entering the city and extort money from them.

"Was there smuggled salt hidden in the basket?"

"Sir, it's all just scraps of coal. You can search it if you don't believe me."

"Another damn poor charcoal burner! This is weird, these days it seems like only charcoal burners are coming to town, what bad luck! Get out of here!"

The younger gatekeepers huddled in the shadows, smoking their pipes. The pipes were long gone, but they still puffed away noisily. The tobacco had long been replaced with dried mugwort, just for that slight numbness.

One of the gatekeepers was complaining about his bad luck, while the other was silently puffing on a stick of mugwort.

Seeing Peng Gang and Shi Dakai, who were dressed quite respectably, walking towards them, the younger Green Standard Army guards suddenly perked up. He spat out a mouthful of black phlegm, pointed at Peng Gang and Shi Dakai, and said to the older Green Standard Army guards.

"Boss Wang, these two are dressed smartly. If we swindle them out of a bit of money, it'll definitely be enough for our share of the fat tonight!"

The two gatekeepers immediately sprang up from the bench as if maggots had seen blood.

Xie Bin, who had come with Peng Gang, had already witnessed this scene. He glared fiercely at the two gatekeepers and said, "How dare you! Are these drug dealers trying to take over my friend's business?"

Xie Bin's reputation soared after defeating Zhang Zhao, and he had been moving around the camp these days, making him a highly sought-after figure in the Xunzhou Green Standard Army. Both Li Dianyuan and Huang Zhenyue showed great respect for Xie Bin.

The two Green Standard Army guards naturally recognized Xie Bin and dared not offend him.

The two Green Standard Army gatekeepers, having failed to persuade them by knocking on the bamboo pole, had no choice but to give up and let them into the city.

"Brother Xiuqing!"

Shi Dakai never expected to meet Yang Xiuqing again in Guiping City.

Yang Xiuqing and Peng Gang had the same idea: to use money to get Feng Yunshan out of trouble.

Unexpectedly, a new official took office, and people eager to curry favor with the new county magistrate of Guiping County had already lined up in a long queue at the county government office.

As a mere coal miner from Zijing Mountain, he had no chance to even catch a glimpse of Yang Xun's face.

And even if we met, it probably wouldn't make a difference.

I heard that Yang Xun was furious because Wang Ji, the patrol inspector of the Huangjiang River, released Hong Xiuquan.

Getting Feng Yunshan out at this critical juncture is going to be difficult!

If only I could gather the charcoal and silver earlier and come to Guiping City sooner.

Former magistrate Wang Lie is about to step down; he only cares about money and nothing else.

If they had given Wang Lie some silver, they would have gotten Feng Yunshan out by now, right?

Yang Xiuqing became increasingly angry the more she thought about it.

"Dakai, what are you doing here?" Yang Xiuqing naturally recognized Shi Dakai, but he found Peng Gang, who was next to Shi Dakai, unfamiliar and had never seen him before. He pointed at Peng Gang and asked.

"And who is this gentleman?"

(End of this chapter)