The Deer and The Cauldron

[smurf120]

Good to have more insight of the Mountain Clan - I wonder how WXB is going to get them to surrender without being harmed physically or morally. Are they all going to join Tian Di Hui then go undercover as surrender to the Qing government?

[muliono]

Enjoyable update as always!! Thank you Foxs. I had to re-read chapter 22 to refresh my memory of WXB's previous encounter with the Wangwu Pai people.

[9Dragons]

kill her. Crazee, Drak, Owl, he was always at the right place at the right time ..e.

Always at the right place at the right time is an understatement. Wu Sangui had to wait for Wei Xiaobao's return from Luocha before rebelling. Mount Wangwu's raid is also another prime example.

Actually, Xiaobao's actions did indirectly cause some events to set in motion. Ha, I was half expecting him to utilize his disappearing martial arts to evade Ba Langxing's attacks. Luckily, jianghu warriors are always around to defend their boss.

[crazee]

[QUOTE=9Dragons;
Luckily, jianghu warriors are always around to defend their boss.[/QUOTE]

I suppose it's his love to offer brotherhood to those around without regards to rank or status that makes him well protected by those who follows him. Of course his generous rewards and praises that resulted in their promotions helps too....

Thanks Foxs.... lovely action.

BTW it's not surprising if Ali happens to be a Malaysian or Singaporean....Brain drain from Malaysia is increasing and it don't look like it will stop. Even a poorly educated fellow like me sort of migrated to neighbouring country to earn a living.....one of the hundreds of thousands from Malaysia..commuting daily.

Anyway...Malaysia and Singapore shares a lot of similar slangs...

[Ace High]

Always at the right place at the right time is an understatement. Wu Sangui had to wait for Wei Xiaobao's return from Luocha before rebelling. Mount Wangwu's raid is also another prime example.

A rebellion isn't something that you decide on the spot, especially against a strong and powerful goverment.

The Ming was successfully toppled by peasant's upraising because the Ming army itself was very weak, underfed and underequiped. The Qing's army was highly trained, fully equiped and have ample provisions. WSG had to wait until his own preparation was completed before launching the rebellion.

[tweety365]

Thank you, foxs! We are speeding along at such a fast pace! Greatly appreciate your hard work!

[Drak17]

New chapter!

Thank you~

:].

[foxs]

Anh, Muliono, you are welcome. Ycb, Tweety, your support is appreciated. If nobody reads this, perhaps I won't be motivated to continue. Smurf, you can prophecy with supernatural accuracy, Zaixia is indeed full of admiration. 9Dragon, Crazee, good observation, I agree that if he was not nice to those people, they would not have defended him. Ace, true. Wu Sangui rebellion was completely different from the Li Zicheng or the founding of Qing. Drak, new chapter? No, this is the end of the chapter.

---

All four sides of Wangwu Mountain appeared like they were cut, the shape was like the top of a royal carriage; hence it got the name ‘Wang Wu’ [king’s room]. The peak was called ‘Temple of Heaven’; on the east there was ‘vibrant sun peak’, on the west there was ‘lunar corona peak’. The party followed Situ He to the Wang Mu Dong [queen mother cave] on the north side of Temple of Heaven. Along the way the pines were dark blue, the cypress bluish-green, the mountain scenery was beautiful and secluded.

Mount Wangwu was mentioned in literature as ‘Clear and Void Little Paradise[6]’. Among the thirty-six paradises under the heavens, it ranked number one. According to legend, it was the place the Yellow Emperor prepared as the dwelling place of Queen Mother. Wangwu Pai people lived in Wang Mu Cave and other caves nearby, where it was warm in the winter and cool in the summer, better than regular buildings. Situ Bolei’s memorial tablet was located inside the Wang Mu Cave. The disciples stitched the severed head together with the body and put him inside the coffin.

Wei Xiaobao led the Tian Di Hui brothers lighting the incense sticks and offered sacrifice in front of the spirit tablet. He kneeled down and kowtowed, thinking, “If I want to flatter Miss Zeng, I must act grieved, the more sorrowful the better.”

Pretending to cry was actually the trick he was an expert at. He recalled to mind the tragic suffering several times the old wh0re beat him up in the Palace, and then the dangerous situation when the Cult Leader Hong caught him, the repeated bad luck he had to suffer from Fang Yi cheated on him time and again, the helplessness he felt because Ah Ke loved Zheng Keshuang; he was overwhelmed with grieve, and burst into tears.

At first his crying was somewhat strained, yet as soon as he started to cry, it is only logical that the more he cried, the sadder he was. “Old Hero Situ,” he cried loudly, “For a long time Junior has heard that you are a loyal minister, a patriot, a great hero and warrior. In those days I saw your honorable son’s swordsmanship, I was even more convinced that your martial art was superb. I was hoping that I could do obeisance to you and be your disciple or grand-disciple; learning several moves of your martial art would be enough to feel proud and elated in the Jianghu. Who would have thought that you, Senior, was actually harmed by crafty scoundrel. Boo hoo … boo hoo … It really makes people exceedingly broken-hearted.”

Situ He, Zheng Rou and the others were already inconsolably heart-broken; listening to his crying, the cries of grief inside the Wang Mu Cave shook the heavens, the anguished wailing moved the earth. Xu Tianchuan, Qian Laoben, and the others originally did not want to cry, yet they were touched by the people’s mournful cry, and could not help but shedding some tears.

Wei Xiaobao beat his breast and stamped his feet, while continuously crying loudly; it was not until the Wangwu Pai disciples repeatedly consoled him instead that he finally held back his tears. He asked for Ba Langxing to be brought out; fetching a steel saber he handed it over to Situ He and said, “Situ Shaoxia, kill this treacherous bandit, avenge your esteemed father.”

With one chop of the saber Situ He severed Ba Langxing’s head and put it on the sacrificial table. Wangwu Pai disciples bowed down together to Wei Xiaobao to thank his great kindness. Actually, Wei Xiaobao was young, he would not think about the strategy of ‘buying people’s hearts’; he learned it from the opera ‘Wolong [i.e. Zhuge Liang] Condolence Visit’. After Zhou Yu was angered to his death by Zhuge Liang, Zhuge Liang himself came to Chaisangkou[7] to offer sacrifice, and cried with utmost grief on his knees, causing the various generals of Eastern Wu to have deep feeling toward him. Fortunately the Zhuge Liang in the opera recited a rather long memorial, his poetic oration was too elegant, so that Wei Xiaobao did not understand a single sentence; otherwise he would have copied the opera by reciting muddled memorial on Mount Wangwu, and thus would immediately expose the fox’s tail.

As such, naturally Wangwu Pai people were deeply grateful to him, to say nothing of when the other day after Wei Xiaobao captured Situ He and the others, he set them free and presented them silver as a gift, hence he had sold great friendship toward these people. However, he was a noble official of the Qing court, hence all along the people were quite baffled with his actions.

Qian Laoben then pulled Situ He aside, and explained that he and his companions were actually brothers of the Green Wood Hall of Tian Di Hui. Only he did not reveal Wei Xiaobao’s real status as he acted as an official of the imperial court, for fear that as soon as it leaked, their great endeavor might be spoiled. Qian Laoben only gave vague explanation that Wei Xiaobao had strong yi qi, that he ‘lived in Cao camp, but his heart was in Han camp’, that all the brethren regarded him as a good friend.

When Situ He heard this, he was enlightened at once; he repeatedly expressed his gratitude. This time he spoke most sincerely; completely different compared to a while ago, when misgivings in his heart had not yet explained.

They also discussed Wangwu Pai’s future. Situ He said that since their Sect had just suffered great mourning, plus there were officers and men surrounding the mountain, they had not really thought about this matter. Qian Laoben tried to attract their interest a little bit, by saying that in Jianghu, Tian Di Hui’s prestige was extremely resounding, that they were the present day leader of the fighting the Qing restoring the Ming movement, which Wangwu Pai had always respected and admired, plus they had a common goal.

When Situ He heard this, he was greatly delighted; straight away he discussed with the elders and all brothers of the Sect, and they all approved. Immediately he spoke to Qian Laoben, requesting to join the alliance. It was then that Qian Laoben explained clearly that Wei Xiaobao was actually the Xiangzhu of their Green Wood Hall.

In the afternoon of that very same day, Tian Di Hui’s Green Wood Hall held a general assembly in Wang Mu Cave to admit Wangwu Pai brothers into their Society. They all bowed in respect to their Xiangzhu, and became Wei Xiaobao’s subordinates. Wei Xiaobao was very happy; after drinking the ‘forming of an alliance’ wine, he wanted to have a gambling session with the old and new brothers. Li Lishi, Qian Laoben and the others promptly advised him against gambling, saying that if they were gambling in high spirits, unavoidably it would be too disrespectful to Situ Bolei who had just passed away.

Wei Xiaobao was somewhat disappointed; he then asked how would they deal with the aftermath of this Wangwu Pai affair. Li Lishi said, “Wangwu Mountain is located on the common boundary of Shanxi and Henan, two provinces; they are outside our Green Wood Hall’s jurisdiction. According to our Society’s rule, there is no harm in accepting brothers into our Society across the border, but each Hall’s brothers cannot overstep the boundary in handling our matters. It would be best if Situ Xiongdi and the others move away to Zhili province and establish your residence there.”

Qian Laoben said, “Tatar Emperor sends Wei Xiangzhu to attack Wangwu Mountain, Situ Xiongdi and the others cannot be on Wangwu Mountain anymore, Wei Xiangzhu most likely has to report to his superior.”

“Exactly,” Situ He said, “Xiaodi [little brother, referring to self] will respectfully follow all Dage’s instruction.”

Wei Xiaobao said, “Situ Dage, right now we are heading to Yangzhou to build a Martyr Shrine for Shi Gebu. After this memorial hall is completed, everybody will go to fight Wu Sangui.”

Situ He stood up and said loudly, “Wei Xiangzhu is going to attack Wu Sangui, subordinate wishes to be in the vanguard, leading my martial brothers and sisters to fight that wicked thief Wu Sangui to the death, to take revenge and wipe out a grudge for my deceased father.”

Wei Xiaobao delightedly said, “Nothing can be better than that. In that case gentlemen may come with me to Yangzhou. It’s just that you must disguise yourselves as Tatar officers and men; I am afraid you will feel slightly wronged.”

Situ He said, “In order to fight Wu Sangui, we are willing to endure greater grievance. Wei Xiangzhu becomes Tatar officer, we will also become Tatar soldiers. Beisdes, don’t Li Dage, Xu Dage, and the others also disguise yourselves as Tatar soldiers?”

That evening they buried Situ Bolei, and then packed their belongings to go down the mountain. The men with martial art skills would come with Wei Xiaobao to Yangzhou. The old, the weak, women and children would go to Baoding [prefecture, Hebei] and picked a place where they would settle down. In that area there were small branches of Tian Di Hui’s Green Wood Hall, hence they would be well taken care of.

Wei Xiaobao talked to Zhang Yong and the others, he explained that when the Wangwu Mountain bandits saw that they were surrounded by large army, they knew that they could not escape. After a bit of enlightenment, everybody agreed to surrender. He had already offered amnesty and enlisted the rebels as soldiers, incorporating them into their troops.

Zhang Yong and the others immediately congratulated him; they said that without any blood on the men’s blade Dutong [commander] had pacified Wangwu Mountain fierce bandits, hence he had set up great merit. Wei Xiaobao said, “This is the Four Generals’ merit; if you did not encircle the mountain so that the bandits were unable to escape even in they grew wings, they would not have agreed to surrender. Later Xiongdi will report to the Imperial Court, there will be reward and promotion for everybody.”

The four generals were greatly delighted; they knew that Ming Zhu, the Ministry of War’s Shangshu, would do everything he could to fawn on him. As long as it was Commander Wei who reported the merit, the Ministry of War would definitely give it the preferential treatment.

At first Wei Xiaobao was worried that Zeng Rou would follow Wangwu Pai’s women and children to go to Baoding to settle there. He was thinking of assigning her to come with him to Yangzhou, but felt it was rather inappropriate. When he saw her putting on men’s clothing, ready to march with Situ He and her martial brothers, the delight in his heart was unspeakable.

All through the journey, he was always looking for an opportunity to have an intimate time with her, but Zeng Rou was always following her martial brothers closely. Each time she saw him, she only smiled shyly without saying anything. Wei Xiaobao wanted to say something intimate to her, but all along he did not have the opportunity to do so; inevitably his heart was unbearably itching. If as the Qing army’s commander-in-chief he wanted to use his official authority for private interests, he could simply transfer her into his personal guards brigade; however, in the capacity of a Tian Di Hui Xiangzhu, he knew that taking liberties with a woman, especially the woman of their Society, was a strict prohibition. Plus it would be unsightly in the eyes of the numerous brothers. Therefore, all he could do was swallowing his own saliva while waiting for a good opportunity.

---

[6] Paradise here refers to ‘the dwelling place of Buddhist Immortals’.

[7] Not sure if this is a place’s name. Chai – firewood, Sang – mulberry tree, Kou – mouth/entrance.

[smurf120]

I really didn't know this one beforehand since they always gloss over the Wangwu pai section of the story. There is yet another skill that WXB has that no other hero or villain can claim - crying on cue.

[crydee]

Thanks Fox!...I really appreciate your effort!

I like this part
"Wei Xiaobao beat his breast and stamped his feet, while continuously crying loudly; it was not until the Wangwu Pai disciples repeatedly consoled him instead that he finally held back his tears."

WXB is such a great actor...hahaha

[Drak17]

@foxs, Haha. I meant new chapter as in the portion I didn't read :P. It's a habit of mine, whoops. Better change the word to "new updates"! lool.

New updates!

[Anh Nam]

Thanks foxs

[crazee]

Thanks Foxs,

Now we know that XB's also a good actor...expertise in crying. What a man.....what a man

[foxs]

Smurf, Crydee, Crazee, Jin Yong did explain that it was through practice since he was little. Drak, now THIS is a new chapter. Anh, you are welcome.

---

Chapter 39 – Men seeking pleasure selectively, young men leaving floating footprints like duckweed.
(Translated by Foxs)

Along the journey, government officials welcomed them and delivered bribe in abundant. Naturally Wei Xiaobao refused nobody; the farther they travelled south, his luggage became heavier and heavier. To his Tian Di Hui brothers he explained that they were corrupting Tatars’ government; the more bribes they received, the more the common people would grumble, hence the reputation of the government officials everywhere would be damaged. When the time came to rise in rebellion, it would be easier to succeed. Xu Tianchuan and the others believed he was right.

One day they arrived in Yangzhou. The Zongdu [governor-general] of the Two Rivers [I believe the two rivers (‘jiang’) refer to Jiangsu and Zhenjiang, but don’t quote me] Ma Leiji, the Xunfu [inspector-general] of Jiangning Ma You and his subordinates: provincial administrative commissioner, surveillance commissioner, provincial educational officer, Huai River road construction, supply line, river control work managers, Yangzhou prefectural magistrate, Jiangdu County head magistrate, as well as military officers of all levels, had already received the news; they all were waiting several li outside the city.

The imperial envoy field office was setup at the Huai River Taotai [lit. raised circuit, or ancient official title; circuit intendant?] Yamen. Wei Xiaobao thought that the place was too constraining; he only stayed for one night, and the next day he requested to be moved to different place. He felt that the best place for the imperial envoy field office would be his old home, the Lovely Spring Courtyard, since he was bestowed honor by the Emperor himself, it would be fitting to come back to his former residence in silken robes. But he could not find any justification to have the imperial envoy field office in a brothel. Thinking about his past in Yangzhou, his most cherished desire, other than opening several big brothels, was to pull all the Chinese peony flowers in the Chinese Peony Garden in front of the Chanzhi [Dhyana/Zen wisdom] Temple from their roots.

Yangzhou’s Chinese Peonies were claimed to be the most famous in the world, the Chinese Peony Garden in front of the Chanzhi Temple was especially grand; the different variety in the garden numbered in hundreds or thousands, the flowers were as big as rice bowls. When Wei Xiaobao was around ten years old, he, along with a group of street urchins, went out to play there. Seeing the beautiful blooming peonies, he picked two flowers to play. The monk of the Temple saw him, snatched the flower back, and slapped him twice on his ears. Wei Xiaobao kicked and bit; he created quite a ruckus with the monk, and was able to push the big and fat monk to the ground, and kicked him several times. The rest of the urchins roared and swarmed into the garden, randomly pulling the Chinese peonies.

The monk cried out for help, a bunch of monks and kitchen helpers rushed out from the Temple with clubs in their hands, to chase the urchins away. Because Wei Xiaobao was the chief offender, he suffered quite a bit of beating with the clubs, his head grew a big lump. When he returned to the Lovely Spring Courtyard, his mother punished him by not giving him any supper that night. Although eventually he managed to go to the kitchen and stole some food until he was full, but the ‘Chanzhi Temple Picking Flower Disgrace’ was deeply engraved in his heart. The next day he returned to the Temple to rain curses from a distant; he cursed the monks, from ‘Tathagata Buddha’s mama’ all the way to cursing the monks’ daughters. He swore, “There will come a day when laozi will pull out all the Chinese peonies in front of this Temple clean, will tread on your stinky temple to level it to the ground, will dig hole in it as latrine pit.” He cursed until the monks of the Temple chased him away, and then he ran away as fast as he could.

Many years later, he had already forgotten about this matter. It was not until that day he returned to Yangzhou and was looking for a place to setup his field office did he remember Chanzhi Temple; immediately he told the Huai River Taotai about his intention. The Taotai thought, “Chanzhi Temple is a well-known Buddhist place, a thousand-year old ancient temple. If the imperial envoy stays there, I am afraid he would disturb the peace and stir up confusion.” Thereupon he said, “Reporting to Daren: the scenery in the Chanzhi Temple is indeed magnificent, Daren has a superb idea, lowly officer admires it exceedingly. However, I am afraid it won’t be too convenient to have non-vegetarian food and wine in the Temple.”

“What’s not convenient?” Wei Xiaobao asked, “Just move the Bodhisattva inside the Temple out; problem solved.”

Hearing that he wanted the Bodhisattva to be moved, the Taotai was even more scared; he thought that it would invite misfortune. If the common people inside Yangzhou’s city wall were angered, they would be very difficult to handle. Therefore, with a force laugh he bowed with cupped fist and said in a low voice, “Reporting to Daren: Yangzhou’s prostitutes are famous throughout the world. Along the way Daren has toiled to render great merits, now that you have arrived at my humble place, lowly officer ought to serve you with all my heart; I have already selected not a few good-looking girls who are adept at strumming the lute and singing songs, ready to be inspected by Daren. The monks’ temple has hard bed and stiff backless stool, I am afraid it will spoil the fun very much.”

Wei Xiaobao thought what he said actually made a lot of sense; he laughed and said, “In your opinion, where should we set the field office?”

The Taotai said, “Among the salt merchants of Yangzhou, there is one surnamed He, his home is called He Garden, it is considered the most famous garden in Yangzhou. He has a mind to curry favor with Imperial Envoy Minister, and has already prepared proper invitation card, with the hope that Daren would honor him with your presence. It’s just that his scholarly honor (in imperial exams) is too low, he did not dare to speak out. If Daren does not look down on him, there is no harm in you taking the trouble to visit and take a look.”

This salt merchant surnamed He was very rich and powerful; when he was a kid, Wei Xiaobao often walked by the high wall outside his house. He heard the sound of string and wind instruments from the inside, and was very envious; however, he had never had any chance to look inside. Thereupon he said, “Very well, I’ll stay there for several days; if it is not enjoyable, we’ll move again. There are a lot of salt merchants in Yangzhou; we can stay from one house to the next. Even if we eat there, we won’t make them poor.”

The He Garden’s rooms were connected like clouds, there were serene rocky small streams winding around the garden, the pavilions were elegant, the construction was exquisite; with just a glance one could tell that each foot of land had cost not a few gold and silver. Wei Xiaobao was very satisfied; he ordered his personal guards to also stay in the garden. Zhang Yong and the others, four generals, as well as the troops under their command were spread around neighboring government officials’ private residences.

By this time Yangzhou was flourishing, it is considered one of the most bustling cities in the world. During the Tang Dynasty, there was a saying about Yangzhou: ‘ten li of pearl curtain, twenty-four romantic bridges’. At the beginning of Qing Dynasty, it had become the collection and distribution center Huai River salt, thus it became even more prosperous. According to historical records, at the end of the Ming Dynasty, there were a total of more than 375,000 ‘ding’ (men sixteen years old and older). During the Ming-Qing transition, Yangzhou suffered Qing troops’ massacre, by Shunzhi’s third year, there were only 9,320 ‘ding’ remained, but by Kangxi’s sixth year, the number increased again to more than 397,900 ‘ding’. Not only the vitality was completely restored, it even surpassed its former glory.

Early morning the next day, all government officials, big and small, within Yangzhou’s city wall appeared at the Imperial Envoy Field Headquarters to pay their respect. Wei Xiaobao received them, and then he read aloud the Imperial Edict. He did not know any character in Kangxi’s imperial edict, hence earlier he asked the secretary to read it and he memorized it. This time he recited character by character; his memory was quite good, he did not make any mistake. In his haste he only held the imperial edict carelessly, but nobody detected anything.

When the numerous officials heard that the Emperor issued an edict to exempt Yangzhou’s residents in every county three years of land tax, plus compensation to the orphans and widows of the victims of disaster during the founding of the country, and construction of Martyr Shrine for the loyal minister Shi Kefa, none did not shout ‘long live’, and kowtowed to thank the vast and mighty imperial kindness.

Finished announcing the imperial decree, Wei Xiaobao said, “Gentlemen, Daren, when Xiongdi left the Capital, His Majesty instructed me that Jiangsu province’s output is prosperous, but for the past few years, the government is somewhat relaxed, troops preparation is also not in order; Xiongdi was ordered to investigate and reorganize properly. His Majesty cherished Yangzhou’s common people so much, as government officials, we ought to spare no effort to repay the Holy Sage’s grace.”

All the civil and military officials voiced their agreement, but they could not help being secretly anxious. Actually, these words were taught by Songgotu. Wei Xiaobao knew that to receive a lot of bribes, first, have the opposite party asking for a favor; second, have the opposite party somewhat afraid. For this reason, he threatened Jiangsu’s civil and military officials a bit; he must flaunt his authority, but the threat must be neither too light nor too heavy, it must be just right, yet must be discreet and completely delivered in government official lingo. He would not be able to do this if Songgotu did not coach him.

With the bureaucratic protocol completed, he had the local official to select the location for the Martyr Shrine, and also draw up a plan to get the victims’ names registered. He sent people to the four townships to announce the edict about Emperor’s benevolence in exempting the people from land tax. All these businesses were not something that could be done in one morning one evening; while waiting, he lived comfortably in a golden nest in Yangzhou. For the next several days, the governor-general and inspector-general prepared banquet for him, the administrative commissioner and chief of police prepared banquet for him, various departments’ officials prepared banquet for him. In every banquet room, delicacies were spread out, it was extremely extravagant, no expense was spared.

Every day Wei Xiaobao was thinking of going to the Lovely Spring Courtyard to visit his mother, but the exchange of toasts never stopped, from the beginning it was never convenient for him to do so. Imperial Envoy high-ranking official’s mother worked as a prostitute in Yangzhou, this matter must never be exposed. The disgrace and loss of face was a minor matter, but the loss of imperial court’s dignity was a major issue. Much less Wei Xiaobao had been a high-ranking official for quite a long time, all along he did not fetch his mother to live a happy and prosperous life with him in the Capital, instead he allowed her to be reduced to prostitution; it was a greatly unfilial thing. If this matter ever found out by the imperial censor, even the Emperor would find it difficult to protect him.

He was thinking that as soon as things had settled down, he would quietly put on a disguise and go to the Lovely Spring Courtyard to take a look, and then he would have his personal guard escorted his mother to settle down in Beijing. He thought that it would be best if the gods did not know and the ghosts did not detect.

At first he had always had a plan to escape [orig. ‘anoint oil at the bottom of his feet’], as soon as he saw something amiss, he would immediately ‘spur the horse to full speed’, and escape without a trace. Unexpectedly his official position was getting higher and higher, the more he was in office, the happier he was. By the time he actually had a thought to fetch his mother back to the Capital, he had already in office for too long.

Several days later, it was Yangzhou’s prefectural magistrate Wu Zhirong’s turn to invite him to a banquet and wash the dust from the Imperial Envoy. Wu Zhirong had heard from the Taotai that the Imperial Envoy has had a thought to make Chanzhi Temple his field office. He thought that the Chanzhi Temple’s best feature was merely the Chinese peony garden in front of the Temple, the Imperial Envoy set his heart on the Temple, it must be because he appreciate the flowers’ beauty. He was very good at flattery, hence several days ahead of the banquet, he had a flower canopy built at the bank of the Chinese peony garden. He had artisans built it, the pine frame still had its bark intact, the branches and leaves remained on the trunk, inside the canopy the table and chairs were made of natural trees and rocks, the floor inside the canopy was covered with shrubs and grass, they used bamboo pieces to channel water to create streams around the canopy, complete with its gurgling noise, the details were extremely well-thought, it was as if the banquet was held on the mountain and fields, compared to rich people home’s engraved beams and jade-brick hall, it had different feeling and local flavor.

Who would have thought that Wei Xiaobao was an unbearably uncouth person, who did not have even half an elegant bone in his entire body; when he arrived at the flower canopy, the first question he asked was, “How can there be an arbor here? Ah right, it must be the Temple monks built it for their Buddhist ceremony; they are going to set it on fire, and put some food in here to feed the hungry ghosts.”

Wu Zhirong’s meticulous effort was totally in vain; he could not help but looking very awkward. He still thought that the Imperial Envoy was intentionally ridiculing him; with no other choice he let out a forced laugh and said, “Lowly officer’s knowledge and experience is shallow and crude, I failed to make arrangement that satisfies Daren’s taste; indeed I deserve to die.”

Seeing that the other guests had already stood respectfully to wait for his arrival, Wei Xiaobao greeted them and then took a seat. After socializing with Wei Xiaobao for several days, the governor-general of the Two Rivers had already returned to Jiangning to do his duty. The inspector-general of Jiangsu province and administrative commissioner had their administrative offices in Suzhou, but they all stayed in Yangzhou to accompany the Imperial Envoy. As for the rest of the guests, if not famous scholar, then they must be salt merchants with scholarly honor in imperial exam, or have some official position in Yangzhou.

[athlonkmf]

Ah, the highlight of his adventure is starting (IMO). The chapter where he actually gets to enjoy his power and prestige after all the hardships. Thnx fox

[crazee]

Along the journey, government officials welcomed them and delivered bribe in abundant. Naturally Wei Xiaobao refused nobody; the farther they travelled south, his luggage became heavier and heavier. To his Tian Di Hui brothers he explained that they were corrupting Tatars’ government; the more bribes they received, the more the common people would grumble, hence the reputation of the government officials everywhere would be damaged. When the time came to rise in rebellion, it would be easier to succeed. Xu Tianchuan and the others believed he was right.

What a good excuse to solicit bribes.....heh heh heh. Its mighty kungfu, I feel not inferior to modern corrupted dictators......

Thanks foxs. XB is really enjoying the fruits of his labor...wine and dine every night what a life....

[Ace High]

1. The Viceroy of Liangjiang (两江总督), fully referred to as the Governor General of the two Yangtze Provinces and surrounding areas; Overseeing Military Affairs, Food Production; Manager of Waterways; Director of Civil Affairs (總督两江等處地方，提督軍務、糧餉、管理河道兼巡撫事), was one of eight regional viceroys in China proper during the Qing Dynasty of China. The Viceroy of Liangjiang had jurisdiction over the provinces of Jiangsu, Jiangxi and Anhui. Because Jiangsu and Anhui were once the combined province of Jiangnan (South of the Yangtze), the province was known, along with Jiangxi (west of the Yangtze) as the two jiangs, hence the name "Liangjiang". Chinese historians often rank the Viceroy of Zhili as the most honorable and powerful, and the Viceroy of Liangjiang as the richest of the eight.

p/s: what a long title...

2. A xúnfǔ is a provincial-governor. He ranked just below a governor-general (zǒngdū) and above a zhīfǔ (prefectural magistrate).

[Anh Nam]

Thanks foxs

[smurf120]

I like how the high officials coach each other on the methods of taking bribes - how does one get into that conversation?

[crazee]

I like how the high officials coach each other on the methods of taking bribes - how does one get into that conversation?

Is that classic case of "Birds of the same feather flocks together" ?? errr....unlike the way we flock together with Foxs heh heh heh heh