1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 73 Testing Master Chen

“Chen Kerang’s attitude is very firm. He came on behalf of Yang Xun, so his attitude is probably the same as Yang Xun’s. It seems that the three thousand shi of grain is unavoidable,” Peng Gang said.

"With Xiuqing and Mr. Feng speaking up for you, are you even speaking human language?" Xiao Chaogui interrupted Peng Gang before he could finish speaking.

“We’ve only gotten 1,740 shi of grain from Wang Zuoxin in total. According to you, we have to give him an extra 1,260 shi of grain? Where are we, these poor brothers of the God Worshippers, supposed to scrape together more than 1,000 shi of grain for that corrupt official surnamed Yang?”

Poor brother?
In the past, most members of the God Society were indeed living in poverty.

That's not the case now. Among the five of them stands a wealthy man whose fortune is slightly less than Wang Zuoxin's: Wei Zheng from Jintian Village.

With Wei Zheng around, it's not impossible to gather 1,260 shi of grain in a short period of time if we can persuade him.

Peng Gang tilted his head slightly, glanced at Wei Zheng, and asked, "Brother Wei Zheng, are all the workshops, charcoal shops, stores, and ointments of the Wang family worth 1,260 shi of grain?"

"That depends on the price of grain. If it's based on the price of grain in a normal year, it's definitely worth it. But if it's based on the current grain prices in Jiangkouwei and Guiping City, it's definitely not worth it," Wei Zheng replied after a moment's thought.

Wei Zheng was also very cunning. Knowing that Peng Gang had already set his sights on the Wei family's stored grain, he gave an ambiguous answer.

Based on the current grain prices in Jiangkouwei and Guipingcheng?

"Dream on! Right now, millet in Jiangkouwei and Guiping City is selling for six or seven taels per shi!" Peng Gang thought to himself.

Wang Zuoxin's workshops, charcoal shops, and medicated plaster stores were mostly located in prosperous and densely populated areas such as Xinwei, Jiangkouwei, and Guipingcheng.

The shops and workshops in Mengchong and Sanjiang were not so important to Wang Zuoxin. Their annual profits and the value of the shops were incomparable to...
"Don't you dare try anything funny with Brother Wei! The Wei family contributed a lot of money and grain to this siege!" Xiao Chaogui saw through Peng Gang's intentions and stood up to protect Wei Zheng.

"In just over a month, it will be the autumn harvest. The Wang family has four or five thousand mu of land, and I think it won't be a problem to harvest seven or eight thousand shi of grain. Grain merchants from other counties have heard that grain is expensive near Guiping City, so they are also transporting grain to Guiping City. The price of grain on both sides of the Xunjiang River will come down by the end of September at the latest."

"Brother Wei Zheng, if we were to entrust you with the management of the workshops, charcoal shops, and other businesses we've acquired this time as part of the school's assets, could you manage these 'golden goose' well?" Peng Gang didn't dwell on Xiao Chaogui and continued to ask Wei Zheng.

Xiao Chaogui and Yang Xiuqing came from humble backgrounds and had a strong peasant mentality.

Xiao and Yang were too focused on the readily available money and grain, and overlooked the value of the Wang family's shops and workshops.

The Wei family also operated many shops and were involved in many industries. Wei Zheng was in charge of the logistics of the God God Society (Taiping Army) in the early stages of the uprising, managing the food and supplies. He was good at business.

Wei Zheng wasn't blind to the immense value of the Wang family's shops and workshops located in the bustling city center.

The Wang family owns a large amount of farmland and mountain land in Zijing Mountain.

The members of the God Worshippers in Zijing Mountain are mostly local charcoal burners and farmers. With the Wang family's fields and mountains, the members' livelihood problems can be solved. Why should the God Worshippers not prosper?
“That makes sense! If we could exchange three thousand shi of grain for the Wang family’s fields and mountains in Zijing Mountain, as well as the Wang family’s shops and workshops as our educational property, we could harvest a lot of grain, sell a lot of charcoal, and earn a lot of money every year!” Yang Xiuqing quickly realized.

If that's the case, they won't lose out.

The members of the God Society were mostly from poor backgrounds, struggling to make a living, and had little time for specialized military training.

With a stable source of funding, they can select the most capable members of the society for full-time training, thereby enhancing the God's Society's fighting strength.

This would both stabilize Yang Xun and strengthen the God Worshippers Society, achieving two goals at once.

"But how should we divide the silver?" Xiao Chaogui said. "That's over ten thousand taels of silver! Taking only twenty percent is too little!"

“I will do my best to get the money!” Peng Gang said. “There are 40,000 to 50,000 disaster victims on both sides of the Xunjiang River. If the Heaven and Earth Society can recruit disaster victims, our God Society cannot lag behind.”

Food is the heart of the people. Although this 3,000 shi of grain was sent to Yang Xun to relieve his urgent need.

But we can also make a fuss about the food itself. On the sacks and baskets containing the grain, we can write that this batch of grain was raised by our God Society for disaster relief in the county. We can also make a big show of it by beating drums and gongs along the way, letting the disaster victims know that this grain is a gift from our God Society.”

“Good! Tell Chen Kerang that this batch of grain will be delivered by our God Society on behalf of the county!” Feng Yunshan clapped his hands in approval, then looked earnestly at Wei Zheng.

"Brother Wei Zheng, can the Wei family provide the 1,260 shi of grain that is short of funds? Don't worry, the association will not take the Wei family's grain for nothing."

After the autumn harvest, all the grain will be returned to you. The Wang family's workshops, charcoal shops, and stores will also be under your management.

“Mr. Feng, what are you saying? I am also a member of the God Society. The God Society helped me settle the score with the Xie family that I had been holding for years. How could I be an ungrateful person? The God Society’s business is my business! It’s just 1,260 shi of grain. Give me three days, and I will go to Jintian and Xinwei to collect the grain!” Wei Zheng patted his chest and agreed.

Having said all that, Wei Zheng had no choice but to agree.

Furthermore, the Wei family wouldn't suffer a loss either. Chen Kerang was just wondering how to put pressure on these peasants from the God Society to squeeze out three thousand shi of grain to help Yang Xun in his emergency.

Unexpectedly, after Peng Gang and the others came out of the back room, they not only agreed that all of the Wang family's grain would go to Yang Xun, but the God God Society also took the initiative to say that they would immediately go to Jintian and Xinwei to raise grain to make up for the remaining shortfall.

Moreover, the county wouldn't have to do any hard labor to deliver these three thousand shi of grain; God would help the county deliver the grain to Guiping City.

This is an overachievement of the task Yang Xun assigned him!
Chen Kerang was overjoyed, his mood changing faster than turning the pages of a book. His eyes crinkled into crescent moons with delight: "Excellent! Excellent! Director Peng, the county magistrate was right about you! The God Society is also a benevolent religion that encourages people to do good! If everyone in our Great Qing Dynasty were to believe in such a benevolent religion as the God Society, how could we not achieve a revival!"

Taking advantage of Chen Kerang's good mood, Peng Gang gave Yang Xiuqing a wink, and Yang Xiuqing understood and gave Chen Kerang fifty taels of gold.

Chen Kerang was even happier to receive the gold. Peng Gang then brought up the issue of silver with Chen Kerang: "Master Chen, we've helped the county magistrate by solving the problem of three thousand shi of grain, and even delivered it directly to Guiping City. But we brothers also need to eat, don't we? We should all get some money for our hard work, right? Shouldn't we discuss the 20/80 split again?"

“Sure, sure, how about a 30/70 split?” Chen Kerang conceded a step.

“We’ll take seven thousand taels!” Peng Gang shook his head, gestured with the number seven, and said with a combination of soft and hard tactics, “One thousand two hundred and sixty shi of grain, let alone seven thousand taels, right now in Guiping City, it’s easy to sell for eight thousand taels.”

Master Chen, you come from Guiping City, so I think you know the grain prices there better than we do. We're all here to help Magistrate Yang. Let's be frank, apart from the God Society, no one can immediately raise three thousand shi of grain to Guiping City.

Forty to fifty thousand disaster victims along the banks of the Xunjiang River are starving and desperate for food. When people are starving, they're capable of anything. If these forty to fifty thousand victims were to riot, not only would the patrol officers and county officials be unable to suppress them, but even the Green Standard Army of Xunzhou might not be able to control them.

Peng Gang didn't finish his sentence. Chen Kerang was a smart man who acted as a clerk, and he must have known the consequences of failing to suppress 40,000 to 50,000 disaster victims.

It's simply that if Yang Xun loses his official hat or his head, Chen Kerang will also lose his job as a retainer and will have to find another patron.

With such a large stain on his resume, it won't be so easy for Chen Kerang to find another patron in the future.

"Seven thousand taels...that's too much." Chen Kerang was in a dilemma.

"The county magistrate's bottom line for me is a 30/70 split, which is 7,000 taels. It's already more than 60%. I can agree to that, but the county magistrate certainly won't."

The Wang family's fields, mountains, workshops, and shops have all been promised to you, Peng Tuan Dong, Xiao Tan Tou, and Yang Tan Tou. One shouldn't be too greedy.

"How much silver they confiscated from the Wang family, and how much the God Society took, is all just a matter of a word from Master Chen." As he spoke, Peng Gang had Yang Xiuqing deliver another thirty taels of gold to Chen Kerang.

Eighty taels of gold is equivalent to one thousand three hundred and sixty taels of silver. Which clerk could withstand such a test?
Chen Kerang was a legal advisor. Guiping County was a large county, and Yang Xun offered Chen Kerang a stipend of 350 taels of silver per year.

Including holiday gifts, fees (the money for shoes, socks, paper, and pens that criminal lawyers collect during trials, which usually ranges from several dozen to two or three hundred taels a year), and other shady income, Chen Kerang's annual income was at most seven or eight hundred taels.

Eighty taels of gold was more than a year's income for Chen Kerang.

"Hurry up and deliver the grain to Guiping City! Don't keep the magistrate waiting. I'll go back and report the good news to Magistrate Yang right away!" With a heavy load of gold in his pocket, Chen, the clerk, hurriedly returned to Guiping City to report the good news to Magistrate Yang.

　In the Qing Dynasty, secretaries were divided into four categories: criminal secretaries (responsible for judicial cases), finance and grain secretaries (responsible for finance, taxation, and grain), document secretaries (responsible for documents and letters), and registration secretaries (responsible for file management).

　　The four types of advisors differ in their skill level and the complexity of their work.

　　Criminal lawyers need to be proficient in laws and regulations and handle murder cases and disputes. They have the highest technical threshold, and of course, the tuition fees are also high.

　　Wang Huizu, a native of Dayi Village, Guali Town, Xiaoshan, Zhejiang Province, served as a secretary for more than 30 years, starting in the seventeenth year of the Qianlong Emperor's reign.

　　His works, "Zuozhi Yaoyan" and "Bingtai Menghenlu", record his experiences in assisting officials during his time as a secretary in prefectures and counties. "Zuozhi Yaoyan" states that "the fee for criminal investigation is two hundred taels of gold, and double that for large counties."

　　The requirements for a finance advisor are relatively high, and the pay is also relatively good, slightly lower than that for a criminal advisor.

　　According to the "Ba County Archives", during the Jiaqing reign, the annual salary of a criminal clerk in Chongqing Prefecture was 180 taels, that of a finance clerk was 150 taels, and that of a registration clerk was 60 taels.

　　Of the extra income, criminal cases brought in 200 taels a year, and grain and money brought in 300 taels a year.

　　However, in the Jiangnan region and the wealthy counties along the Grand Canal, the income of the finance and grain clerks could exceed that of the criminal clerks, because the profits from grain transport and taxes were substantial, and their illicit income would be much higher than that of the criminal clerks.

　　The duties of a bookkeeper or registration clerk are relatively simple and have low entry barriers. However, their official treatment is far less than that of the previous two types of clerks. They are mostly filled by newcomers or retired clerks.

　　The "Essentials of Military Studies" states that "the annual salary for writing a letter is fifty taels of silver," which is only a quarter of the amount paid for criminal offenses.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)