Wang Fugui

Biodata

Background / History

Land Dispute and Gu Pei’s Murder

In March of the first year of Hongwu, Wang Fugui claimed that the Gu Family’s ten mu of farmland had belonged to his ancestors and demanded its return. Gu Pei refused. After Gu Pei was conscripted to transport military provisions and funds, the Wangs repeatedly pressured Gu Shi for the land, but she also refused. Li Yi later noted that ancestral ownership did not entitle Wang Fugui to seize land reclaimed under the new dynasty’s regulations 27.

When Gu Pei subsequently returned to Teng County, Wang Fugui intercepted him and dragged him home. Deng Quan witnessed Wang Fugui bludgeon Gu Pei to death with a rock beside a pond, then order his body sunk in its deepest part and weighted with stones. Wang Fugui took the three hundred copper coins Gu Pei carried and later paid three household employees twenty taels each to remain silent 30 31.

Huang Lin discovered the cover-up while Wang Fugui was cleaning blood from the family boat. At trial, Huang confessed that he accepted half of Wang Fugui’s assets and arranged for Gu Pei’s name to be added to the Register of the Dead, disguising the murder as a death during corvée service. This replaced his earlier claim that Wang Fugui had merely paid him two hundred strings of cash to alter the register 29 30.

Debt Trap Against the Gu Family

After Gu Zhengchen passed the provincial examination in the fifth year of Hongwu, the Wang Family apologized for the old dispute and lent him forty strings of cash for his journey to the capital. When the examinations were canceled, they seized the Gu Family’s ox and forced the sale of all ten mu of farmland. Six strings remained unpaid 1 27.

Wang Fugui intervened after Gu Zhengchen stopped Wang Youcheng from forcing Gu Qingqing into servitude. He slapped his son for mishandling the confrontation, then gave Gu Zhengchen seven days to repay the debt or become a Wang Family tenant laborer. Privately, he intended to manipulate the debt so that Gu Zhengchen could remain trapped for decades 2.

At the repayment confrontation, Wang Youcheng assaulted Gu Zhengchen and suffered a broken ankle in retaliation. Wang Fugui declined to pursue the matter immediately, recognizing that a brawl charge would expose both men to punishment. When Gu Zhengchen produced the required six strings, Wang Fugui declared that they covered only the principal and demanded another three strings and seven hundred and eighty coins in interest 12 13 14.

Liang Fengyang supplied money that enabled Gu Zhengchen to settle the debt. Wang Fugui then summoned County Deputy Jin Dache to punish him for repudiating his marriage agreement. Gu Zhengchen redeemed the fifty-lash penalty with money, frustrating Wang Fugui’s attempt to have him beaten 15.

Gu Zhengchen next demanded the return of the ox and farmland. Wang Fugui initially refused, but yielded when Sun Bing offered to pay the price and declared that Gu Zhengchen’s affairs were the Sun Family’s affairs. The land deed was a conditional sale deed permitting redemption; Wang Fugui signed it and returned it with the ox 16 17.

Exposure, Trial, and Sentence

The discovery of Gu Pei’s remains reopened the murder case. The boat used to sink the body belonged to the Wang Family, and Gu Zhengchen identified the earlier land dispute as a motive. Summoned to court, Wang Fugui admitted the dispute but portrayed his family’s apology and loan as proof of friendly relations 26 27 30.

Deng Quan’s eyewitness account and Huang Lin’s confession implicated him directly. Wang Fugui nevertheless denied the charges and demanded physical evidence. Gu Zhengchen identified bloodstains on the boat’s mooring rope; the coroner confirmed that they were blood but could not determine whether they were human or animal. Li Yi treated the rope as corroboration rather than sufficient proof by itself 30 31.

Li Yi separated Wang Fugui from his steward Wang Zhi and servants Wang Er and Wang Liu, then questioned them about their roles. All three confessed and signed statements identifying Wang Fugui as the killer. They also disclosed that the murder stone remained in the pond and that Wang Fugui bore a palm scar from injuring himself during the killing 31.

Wang Fugui collapsed upon seeing their statements. Li Yi sentenced him to beheading and submitted the case for review. The Gu Family subsequently received ten strings of burial compensation. By Chapter 38, the court had approved his execution for after autumn; Wang Youcheng had also died under unexplained circumstances, leaving the family in ruin 31 33 38.

Appearance

Wang Fugui is somewhat portly, with a smiling expression that initially conceals his hostility 2.

• Short beard that quivers as he speaks 2.
• Narrow eyes described as revealing his shrewdness 2.
• Scarred palm, injured while striking Gu Pei with the murder stone 31.

Personality

Wang Fugui combines outward courtesy with calculated cruelty. Gu Zhengchen regards him as someone who flatters the powerful and hides a knife behind his smile. His plan to turn a small remaining debt into decades of compulsory tenancy shows that he seeks lasting control, not merely repayment 2.

He is more cautious than Wang Youcheng, repeatedly rebuking his son’s reckless threats and recognizing when legal action could backfire. That caution does not restrain his vindictiveness: he remains determined to prevent the Gu Family from recovering and signals a runner to strike Gu Zhengchen hard during the attempted flogging 2 13 15.

At trial, he maintains an innocent facade, dismisses witnesses as liars, and accuses officials of targeting wealthy households for money. His composure breaks only when his own employees’ confessions make further denial untenable 30 31.

Abilities & Skills

Financial Coercion

• Uses loans, collateral, interest calculations, and threatened tenancy to pressure the Gu Family 1 2 14.
• Invokes the legal ceiling of three percent monthly interest after Gu Zhengchen produces the remaining principal 14.
• Plans to manipulate repayment obligations to keep Gu Zhengchen dependent on his household 2.

Legal and Official Leverage

• Recognizes that Wang Youcheng’s confrontation with Gu Zhengchen constitutes a brawl rather than attempted murder, and that both could be punished 13.
• Sends Jin Dache a letter and gifts before calling on him to enforce punishment against Gu Zhengchen 11 15.
• Challenges testimony and the conclusiveness of physical evidence during his own trial, but cannot overcome the household employees’ corroborating statements 30 31.

Relationships

• Wang Youcheng — Son and collaborator against the Gu Family. Wang Fugui disciplines him for public blunders but supports the effort to subjugate Gu Zhengchen 2 13.
• Gu Pei — Land-dispute opponent whom Wang Fugui murdered and robbed 27 30 31.
• Gu Zhengchen — Creditor and enemy; attempts to force him into tenancy before Gu Zhengchen helps expose his father’s murder 2 14 31.
• Huang Lin — Corrupt official who concealed the murder in exchange for half of Wang Fugui’s assets; later confesses in court 30.
• Jin Dache — County deputy whom Wang Fugui cultivates with gifts and summons to punish Gu Zhengchen 11 15.
• Sun Bing — Wealthy landowner whose intervention forces Wang Fugui to return the Gu Family’s property 16 17.
• Wang Zhi, Wang Er, and Wang Liu — Household employees paid to conceal the murder. Their confessions become decisive evidence against him 31.
• Deng Quan — Eyewitness to Gu Pei’s murder who testifies against Wang Fugui 30.
• Li Yi — County magistrate who investigates the murder, secures the employees’ confessions, and sentences Wang Fugui 26 31.

Notable Quotes

“If you don’t pull this grass out by the roots, it’ll keep growing back year after year. Sooner or later, it’ll become trouble.” 2

“Your Honor, the Wang Family are law-abiding citizens. How could we kill a man over ten mu of land?” 30