Deceiving Those Above and Below

"Heh. Su Xin, you're wasted in the underworld. You should've joined the government." Tie Wuqing watched Su Xin with interest. He hadn't expected to run into someone so intriguing while out hunting a flower thief.

Ordinary gang members, when faced with him, the chief constable of the East Twelve Wards, were either afraid or deferential. Not one had ever gone out of their way to deliver an achievement to him. This was truly interesting.

The two iron balls in Tie Wuqing's hand spun faster and faster, yet made not the slightest sound.

"It's a pity the Imperial Court would never look favorably on someone of my background," Su Xin said with a self-deprecating smile.

"Not necessarily. Our Great Zhou Dynasty judges people by ability, not by their origins."

Tie Wuqing waved a hand and pointed at the flower thief. "Tie this fellow up and take him back to the yamen. Hand him over to the registrar."

Then he turned to Su Xin. "I'll remember this favor. If anything comes up, you can come find me at the yamen."

"Perfect. There's something else I was planning to give you, sir," Su Xin said.

"What is it?"

Su Xin gestured. Li Qing tactfully led several gang members away. Boss Liu saw them and immediately turned to leave as well. Some things were best met with feigned ignorance.

Tie Wuqing smiled knowingly, and the other constables promptly escorted the flower thief away.

"Since you're an official, Lord Tie, you're already swamped with major cases. If you also have to deal with petty thefts and cases of pilfering women's virtue, they'll only waste your time and energy.

"If you need it, just let me know. I guarantee that within three days, I'll deliver the culprit right to your door."

Tie Wuqing narrowed his eyes. "Changning Prefecture is enormous. How can your two hundred or so men catch every wanted criminal and bring them to me?"

"Of course we can't catch them all. But if you need us to, someone will show up at the yamen within three days to turn themselves in. I'm sure not only you but even the Prefect would be pleased," Su Xin said quietly.

Tie Wuqing was taken aback, then burst into laughter.

"I take back what I said. You're not just wasted outside the government—you'd make one hell of a corrupt official!"

How could Tie Wuqing not understand? If they couldn't catch the real culprit, they'd find someone else to confess and take the blame. So long as it wasn't a capital crime and they paid enough, plenty of people in Joyful District would be willing to do it.

There was only one purpose behind this: to pad Tie Wuqing's record and the Prefect's, too.

No official liked having a mountain of unsolved cases piled on their desk. As long as those cases were closed, who cared if the real culprits remained at large?

"Fine. I'll accept this generous gift. Tell me, what do you want?"

"I only hope that, when it's within your power, you'll give me a hand, sir." Su Xin stressed the words "within your power."

"Even if you hadn't asked, I'd have done the same. After all, among the Three Gangs and Four Associations in Changning Prefecture, there's no one as interesting as you." That faint smile returned to Tie Wuqing's lips.

This young man really was interesting. The other members of the Three Gangs and Four Associations had always kept their distance from the Imperial Court. They had just one attitude: respectful, but aloof.

The Three Gangs and Four Associations were powerful in Changning Prefecture, but not powerful enough to challenge the Imperial Court. So they showed the authorities respect and, at times, paid them off.

Yet not one of them was like Su Xin, who had taken the initiative to cultivate connections and was even adept at deceiving those above and below to help him pad Tie Wuqing's record.

Tie Wuqing waved his hand, and several constables hurried after him. One young constable couldn't help asking, "Boss, what did that kid say to you?"

"Smack!"

Tie Wuqing flicked him on the forehead, leaving a large red mark.

"Don't ask what you shouldn't. And don't call him 'kid.' If you traded places with him, he'd probably already be a constable. You're still just a junior constable."

The young constable pouted in frustration, clearly unconvinced, but under Tie Wuqing's heavy-handed authority, he didn't dare talk back.

The iron balls spun rapidly in Tie Wuqing's hand. In a voice only he could hear, he murmured, "Heh. Who'd have thought that the old guard dog Sha Feiying kept at home would have such an interesting young man under him? The Flying Eagle Gang is about to get lively. I wonder how far he'll go."

Watching Tie Wuqing leave, Su Xin waved for Li Qing to continue patrolling Happy Forest, then returned home.

Making connections with Tie Wuqing was an unexpected bonus. Su Xin had always wanted to get on good terms with the authorities, but he'd never found a suitable person.

Sha Feiying and the others kept their distance from the Imperial Court because they considered themselves and the Court to belong to two different worlds.

But Su Xin didn't think the same way. Building a good relationship with the authorities could prove extremely useful at critical moments.

In his previous life, Su Xin's boss had been an inconspicuous man who was secretly a tycoon with dozens of major manufacturing companies. He had done the same thing.

One of his classmates had gone into government service. Whenever that classmate took a post somewhere, the boss opened a factory there—not to bribe him, but to give him achievements to put on his record.

And it turned out that Su Xin's former boss hadn't done all that for nothing.

When he offended someone he couldn't afford to provoke and was nearly ruined, his classmate, by then a powerful provincial official, said a word on his behalf. That was what saved him from disaster.

Su Xin didn't need any promises from Tie Wuqing. It was enough if he stood by him at a crucial moment.

Early the next morning, Su Xin arrived at the hall. Huang Bingcheng was already waiting for him at the entrance.

"What did my adoptive father say?" Su Xin asked, pulling Huang Bingcheng into a private room in the hall.

Huang Bingcheng poured Su Xin some tea. "We went there to give him money. What else could he say? I didn't even see him. I handed the money straight to Master Li."

Su Xin shook his head. His adoptive father was still too narrow-minded. Was he already trying to distance himself from Su Xin?

"By the way, how did it go asking around about the Green Bamboo Gang and our Flying Eagle Gang?"

Huang Bingcheng chuckled. "I've found out pretty much everything. Ever since we assassinated Dai Chong and the Green Bamboo Gang backed down, their men have been getting dissatisfied."

Su Xin blew on his teacup. "That's only natural. A nobody like me killed one of their big shots, and they didn't even dare retaliate. Anyone would feel stifled."

Huang Bingcheng nodded. "Exactly. And things are even worse inside the Green Bamboo Gang. They're locked in constant infighting. The old gang leader died just last month, and now the gang is split into two factions.

"One faction supports the gang leader's son, Wei Feng. He's technically the gang leader now, but only three of the Green Bamboo Gang's eleven big shots support him.

"Actually, now there are only two. The one you killed, Dai Chong, used to support him.

"The others are the two deputy gang leaders, Chen Hong and Ma Qingyuan. They're both much stronger than Wei Feng.

"But those two have their own agendas, and each wants to be gang leader. So for now, they can only let Wei Feng keep the position."

"What do the two factions think about the Flying Eagle Gang?"

Huang Bingcheng said, "Wei Feng wants to go to war. He's weak, and he's young enough that it's hard for him to command respect. He badly needs a battle to solidify his position.

"Even if he loses, at least he'll establish himself within the Green Bamboo Gang. Otherwise, some of the rank-and-file members don't even know their gang leader's name.

"The two deputy gang leaders, on the other hand, are doing everything they can to avoid a war.

"They want to remove Wei Feng from the position of gang leader in a way no one can dispute. If war breaks out, their men will suffer losses, which would do them no good."

"Are the two factions fighting fiercely?" Su Xin asked, taking a sip of tea.

Huang Bingcheng nodded. "Fiercely. They're just short of tearing into each other openly.

"Every man posted near our Flying Eagle Gang's territory has been replaced with one of the deputy gang leaders' men. They're afraid Wei Feng will provoke us and start a war between the two gangs.

"Even with all that caution, something still happened a couple of days ago.

"Two of our brothers went to visit relatives in Chengde District. That's where the Green Bamboo Gang's main hall is. The two unlucky fellows were recognized, and Wei Feng's men nearly beat them to death on the spot.

"Luckily, Chen Hong found out in time, rescued them, and sent them back to the Flying Eagle Gang. He also paid a large sum of silver. He saved face for both sides, and since we didn't want a fight either, the matter was settled."

Su Xin pondered for a moment. Neither side wanted a fight, and that wasn't what he wanted to see.

"Old Huang, you know why I asked you to gather all this information, right?"

Huang Bingcheng hesitated, then nodded. "You want to fight the Green Bamboo Gang?"

Su Xin didn't hide it. He nodded. "Happy Forest has reached the limit of its growth. If I keep recruiting men, there won't be enough room, and my adoptive father won't tolerate it. The head of the Punishment Hall probably won't let me get away with it either.

"The only proper way for Happy Forest to grow is through military merit. The territory our brothers win with their blood and sweat is theirs by right. Even the gang leader has no grounds to object. So we have to fight the Green Bamboo Gang."

Huang Bingcheng scratched his head, looking troubled. "But both sides are being very cautious. We don't want to fight, and the Green Bamboo Gang wants it even less. Even if our men have a few clashes, we can probably smooth things over with a little silver and a bit of face. A real war seems unlikely."

A cold glint flashed in Su Xin's eyes. "If they don't want to fight, I'll give them a chance to. I'll make sure they have no choice but to go to war!"