1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 58 What commoner?! You're a group leader now!

Peng Gang used his persuasive arguments to transform an organization that was gathering strength and preparing to rebel into a benevolent religion that persuades people to do good.

He glanced at Wang Ji, who was standing to the side with his head down, pretending to be subservient, with a slap mark on his face.

Thinking that Wang Ji controlled the coal dealership in Jiangkou Market, if he could take this opportunity to help Wang Ji out of his predicament, improve his relationship with Yang Xun, do him a favor, and befriend him, he would have someone to protect him when he sold charcoal in Jiangkou Market in the future.

“Your Excellency, if it weren’t for Inspector Wang’s understanding of the bigger picture, allowing Hong Xiuquan to return and persuading the villagers of Zijing Mountain to stay, the villagers would have almost stormed down the mountain and stormed the government office, causing a major disaster,” Peng Gang said to Yang Xun.

Yang Xun was muddle-headed and obsessed with accumulating wealth.

Peng Gang's words had already softened his stance somewhat, and when he saw the Christian scriptures Peng Gang presented, which were full of phrases like loyalty, filial piety, integrity, shame, contentment with poverty, acceptance of fate, the fleeting nature of wealth and status, and the four prohibitions against impropriety, most of his doubts disappeared.

Upon hearing this, Yang Xun offered a few words of comfort to Wang Ji, who looked aggrieved.

Seeing that the county magistrate's attitude towards him had changed drastically, Wang Ji looked at Peng Gang with a hint of gratitude in his eyes.

Now that the God Society and Feng Yunshan have been cleared of suspicion of treason, and both sides have their own version of events and their own reasons,

The case should be handled in accordance with proper etiquette.

Yang Xun closed the book and quietly asked the clerk beside him how much the Wang family from Mengchong in Zijing Mountain had sent as a gift this time.

Upon learning that Wang Zuoxin's family had only sent a paltry three hundred taels as a gift, Yang Xun was furious and had already decided how to handle the case.

“Feng Yunshan and his accomplices have no criminal activities, nor any intention to rebel. It is all the fault of Wang Zuoxin, a local tyrant from Zijing Mountain, who has distorted the truth and turned right into wrong. Was the previous magistrate blind? How could he allow such a scoundrel to serve as the head of the Zijing Mountain gang and cause harm to the local area!” Yang Xun spoke with righteous indignation and made a fair judgment even though Feng Yunshan and Wang Zuoxin were not present.

"As an official in this county, I should naturally benefit the people here. This case should be handled truthfully. A scoundrel like Wang Zuoxin should no longer serve as the head of the Zijingshan militia."

As for Feng Yunshan, although he did not commit treason, his ancestral home is Huaxian County, Guangdong Province. How can he be allowed to wander around Guiping without proper registration? He is to be sent back to Huaxian County, Guangdong Province on a selected date. All other involved parties shall be treated the same way and sent back to their places of origin.”

To be fair, Wang Zuoxin's three hundred taels of silver as a gift was not a small amount among the local gentry of Guiping County; it was a fairly standard gift.

Compared to Peng Gang's forty-five taels of gold, it paled in comparison and was hardly worthy of mention.

Furthermore, a county magistrate can become a local militia leader in a single term.

Yang Xun also intended to use this opportunity to give the local militia in Guiping County a warning, in order to extort money from them and leave Guangxi, this treacherous and dangerous place, as soon as possible.

After all, the current leaders of the Guiping County militia, including the head of the militia, the director of the militia, and the head of the militia, were all appointed by the previous county magistrate. Yang Xun has not yet benefited from this.

Yang Xun did not release Feng Yunshan directly, but instead sent Feng Yunshan back to his place of origin.

Yang Xun was from Chenzhou, Hunan, where the Heaven and Earth Society was also very active.

He was well aware that no matter how much Peng Gang tried to whitewash the God Society, it was still a secret society.

If a secret society leader like Feng Yunshan is allowed to operate under his rule for a long time, trouble will inevitably arise sooner or later.

Therefore, a compromise was made, and Feng Yunshan was sent back to his hometown in order to weaken the God Worshippers Society.

After the verdict was made, Yang Xun learned from Huang Zhenyue that Peng Gang was currently living in Pingzaishan and had made great contributions in the battle to eliminate the boat bandit Zhang Zhao. Moreover, he was the runner-up in the county examination last year. Yang Xun was overjoyed.

“Peng Gang, this county considers you to be a talented person, and you live in Pingzai Mountain. Zijing Mountain and Pingzai Mountain are closely related. This county has long heard that there are many bandits in Pingzai Mountain and Zijing Mountain. We intend to select another virtuous person to serve as the head of the militia to prevent bandits and thieves and benefit the people.”

Yang Xun believed that Peng Gang, a mere mountain stronghold owner, must have acquired a considerable fortune after defeating Zhang Zhao if he could produce forty-five taels of gold. He immediately offered to sell his position as the head of the Zijing Mountain gang to Peng Gang to recoup some of the money and pay off his usurious loans.

Peng Gang underestimated the moral bottom line of Qing Dynasty officials.

And there's an unexpected bonus? Becoming a director of the group directly?

Of course he has this intention!
If I could become the head of the Zijingshan militia, I wouldn't have to secretly train soldiers and play with firearms; I could openly and legitimately purchase firearms and train soldiers.

It's just unknown how big Yang Xun's appetite is, and how much he'll have to pay to secure the position of Director of the Zijingshan Group.

Do you have a thousand taels?

Before Peng Gang could agree, Yang Xun, fearing that Peng Gang would find an excuse to refuse, directly offered a fair and honest price.

The Zijingshan gang leader only needs one thousand taels. You won't lose out or be cheated. "One thousand taels. I only have fifty taels of gold and twelve taels of silver on me right now."

Peng Gang feigned a troubled expression and honestly took out all the money he had on him, which was still 138 taels short of Yang Xun's quote.

The shameless Yang Xun snatched the gold and silver from Peng Gang's hand and corrected him, "What commoner! You are now the head of the Zijing Mountain in Guiping County, and the county will issue you a letter of appointment right away!"

Yang Xun kept his word and immediately prepared a document for Peng Gang. He then used this document to extort all of Peng Gang's gold and silver, appointing Peng Gang as the head of the Zijingshan gang. His efficiency was astonishing.

"Congratulations, Director Peng."

Wang Ji, the patrol inspector of the Huangjiang River, who had been on friendly terms with the former Zijingshan Youth League Chairman Wang Zuoxin just a few days ago, turned against Peng Gang in a flash, immediately acknowledging Peng Gang as the new Youth League Chairman and congratulating him.

Yang Xiuqing, Shi Dakai, and Xie Bin, who had been waiting in front of the county government office for a long time, were greatly surprised to see Peng Gang, Huang Zhenyue, the Left Battalion Commander, and Wang Ji, the Dahuangjiang Patrol Inspector, walking out of the county government office with their arms around each other's shoulders, addressing each other as brothers, and chatting and laughing. Their behavior was extremely friendly, which greatly surprised the three of them.

"Commander Peng, don't forget to treat us later." Wang Ji put his arm around Peng Gang's shoulder and reminded him with a smile not to forget to treat them.

"Definitely! Definitely! In the future, when I open a charcoal shop in Jiangkou Market, Brother Wang, please remember to give me your help," Peng Gang said with a smile.

"We're all brothers, of course," Wang Ji said cheerfully as he bid farewell to Peng Gang.

"What did Wang Ji just call you? Director Peng? When did you become a director?" Yang Xiuqing asked incredulously.

How did Peng Gang suddenly become a gang leader after just one visit to the county government office? It's utterly unbelievable.

Peng Gang presented the letter of appointment issued by Yang Xun and said, "I have replaced Wang Zuoxin and am now a director of the Zijingshan Group."

Yang Xiuqing was illiterate and did not recognize the characters on the document. She turned to Shi Dakai and said, "I can't read, Dakai, read it to me."

"It's true, Brother Peng Gang is now the head of the Zijingshan gang." Shi Dakai was stunned after seeing the official document, wondering how Peng Gang could become the head of the Zijingshan gang after just one visit to the county government.

"Wang Zuoxin is colluding with and harboring pirates, plotting a rebellion. Xiuqing, go back and contact Chaogui. Let's take Wang Zuoxin and his family to claim a reward!" Peng Gang had already made up his mind to take down Wang Zuoxin, this bigwig in Zijing Mountain, to remove this stumbling block on the God Society's path to development, and at the same time recover some losses.

But he only has a written order, and the militia training hasn't even started yet.

The Wang family has been managing Zijing Mountain for generations, and there are as many as seven or eight hundred clansmen, militiamen, and guards who depend on the Wang family for their livelihood.

Peng Gang's twenty young men alone certainly couldn't take down the Wang family of Mengchong in Zijing Mountain; he would need the help of the God Society or even other external forces to do so.

“But Wang Zuoxin has no real connection with the boat army.” Yang Xiuqing pondered for a moment and said, “Wang Zuoxin has meritorious service. If we suddenly attack him, will the government sit idly by?”

"Whether Wang Zuoxin had connections with the submarine force or not is not important. We know Luo Dagang. We can have him spread some rumors about Wang Zuoxin's secret dealings with the submarine force and write a few letters as evidence. That's not difficult," Shi Dakai said, pointing to the county government office.

"The most crucial factor is the attitude of the magistrate of Guiping County."

“Yang Xun just said that Wang Zuoxin is a corrupt gentry,” Peng Gang said. “Yang Xun is a money-grubbing man who loves money more than life itself. At worst, we can take over the Wang family and give him some of the money. Everyone will be happy.”

Just now in Xihua Hall, Peng Gang noticed that Yang Xun was very dissatisfied with the stinginess of the local gentry in Guiping County and was intentionally trying to give them a warning.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have dismissed Wang Zuoxin from his position as a group leader on the spot and directly labeled him as a local tyrant.

For someone like Yang Xun, blinded by greed, giving enough money made him a respected local gentry, while not giving him enough made him a corrupt local bully.

Using Yang Xun as a tool to attack the Mengchong Wang family, as long as they join forces with Luo Dagang and others to gather sufficient evidence, they can have a legitimate reason to deal with the government.

Doing so would inevitably offend the local gentry of Guiping County to the point of no return.

After all, the landlords and gentry of Guiping County certainly knew better than the government whether Wang Zuoxin had connections with the naval forces.

But this is not important.

Anyway, Peng Gang didn't intend to use Guiping as his base after starting the uprising, so he wasn't afraid of offending the local gentry in Guiping County.

Guangxi is a barren and impoverished land, with sharp and irreconcilable conflicts between the local people and the Hakka people. It is unrealistic to think that occupying only a corner of Guangxi can help resist the Manchu Qing Dynasty. To achieve great things, one must leave the millions of mountains in Guangxi.

(End of this chapter)