Through the wards (3)

By the time Zhang Xing followed Xiao Zhao around to Water Street, the sky had already dimmed. Along both banks of the Luo River, over a hundred wards and markets were striking their Street-Clearing Copper Alms Bowls. The clanging rose and fell, carrying from near to far in an unbroken chorus that had quite a rhythm to it.

Of course, whatever the Street-Clearing Copper Alms Bowls might keep out, they could not stop uniformed Street-Cleaning Tigers. Zhang Xing followed Junior Officer Zhao unhurriedly against the flow of people to the tavern. Its wine banner had already been taken down and its wooden ladder pulled up. Only after Xiao Zhao called out did someone lower the ladder.

And as soon as they entered, Xiao Zhao and a servant took the opportunity to pull the ladder back up behind them.

Zhang Xing glanced around. The tavern's lower floor was deserted, with only a few maids and servants sitting about. Something stirred in his mind, and he instinctively grew cautious.

"Why all this caution?" His own caution did not stop Zhang Xing from resting a hand on his saber and questioning Xiao Zhao behind him. "Unless I'm mistaken, the real big deals are discussed after the streets are cleared. Why shut the door?"

"Isn't it because of the news you brought?" Xiao Zhao, who had just pulled up the ladder, looked utterly unconcerned. "Once he learned of the great defeat against Dongyi at the front, and with His Majesty still saying nothing about the rebel Yang's case while unrest gradually grows at court, the chief started talking things over privately with his wife at noon. They kept at it all afternoon. As soon as he came out, he gave orders: not only would we stop doing big business at night, we wouldn't even open the Water Street entrance during the day anymore. He said it was a precaution. Who knows what he's guarding against?"

Zhang Xing slowly nodded. That was understandable.

This was the capital. Never mind a major political upheaval or military crisis; once the atmosphere grew tense, any powerful figure who happened along could finish this Chief Banner Officer off. Even if no such figure noticed him, Commander Feng, nicknamed the Sugar-Wrapped Iron Hand, oversaw four wards and ran this brokerage business, raking in a dipper of gold a day. He must have offended countless people from every walk of life.

It would hardly be surprising if several colleagues had long since grown bitterly jealous out of selfishness, or quietly indignant out of respect for the law.

Pulling back in time was the wise thing to do.

While he was thinking this over, Xiao Zhao actually went off to flirt with the maid called Xiao Yu again, leaving Zhang Xing standing alone. But he did not have to wait long before Commander Feng appeared upstairs and called directly to them:

"Xiao Zhao, Xiao Zhang, come up, both of you. I have something to tell you."

Neither dared delay, and they went upstairs again. This time, however, they did not enter the large room, but turned into a small room in a corner. Once they were inside and the door had closed, there was, of course, no cup thrown down as a signal and no swordsmen and axemen leaping out. Instead, a few simple dishes and some wine had been laid out, with two small silver ingots and a large string of copper coins openly spread on the table. An embroidered saddlebag lay beside them.

Once the two had seated themselves with Commander Feng, he pointed straight at the money and got directly to the point. "It isn't much. Two months of the customary allowance. I heard you like reading, so I'm personally giving you another string of cash to buy books. I specifically had my wife exchange some for silver, so you'd have both small change and larger amounts. Easier to use."

Zhang Xing had the generous gift from that female inspector on him and was long past the days of eating coarse buns on the road. Still, he had absolutely no reason to refuse this. Not only did he have to accept it, he had to accept it readily.

In fact, he merely stood, cupped his hands, and offered a word of thanks before putting the money straight into the saddlebag, tying it shut, and tossing it onto the empty spot beside him where he had laid his saber.

Commander Feng narrowed his eyes slightly and nodded, then pointed at the table again. "Have a couple of cups."

Though he had only just drunk at noon, Zhang Xing did not refuse. He immediately raised his cup in salute and drained it, prompting Xiao Zhao to hastily follow suit.

And so the three sat around the table, drank three or five cups, and ate half a plate of food. Then Commander Feng suddenly set down his cup and sighed.

Already prepared, Zhang Xing knew the main act had arrived. He stopped drinking and said nothing.

Xiao Zhao, however, hurried to ask, whether out of stupidity or because he was playing along: "Everything's fine, Brother. Why the sigh?"

"I'm still worried about the situation." Commander Feng shook his head repeatedly.

"What's there to worry about?" Xiao Zhao remained unconcerned. "You and your wife have been getting by in the Divine Capital for over a decade, doing better by the day. Now you're an official of the Principal Seventh Rank. What storms haven't you weathered? What's there to fear?"

"It isn't like that." Seemingly a little tipsy, Commander Feng leaned back in his chair, pinched his beard, and kept shaking his head. "My name is Feng Yong-Yong as in mediocre-and in truth, I'm a mediocre man...

"I started as a street hoodlum. Only with the capital your sister-in-law gave me did I get into the sugar trade, and I'll be grateful to her all my life for it. Later, I built up a little influence on the streets, then seized the great opportunity offered by the relocation of the capital to buy myself an official post. After that, I became a Chief Banner Officer. If I really have any merit at all, it's a little self-awareness..."

"Xiao Zhao, you're still young. You have no idea what it means for a million corpses to fall when the emperor flies into a rage, nor do you understand how great this storm is. One failed rebellion by the rebel Yang threw more than half the Central Plains into chaos; one great defeat in the Second Dongyi Campaign sent hundreds of thousands of soldiers fleeing. Both were the sort of thing that brought heaven crashing down and split the earth... I can't make sense of the particulars, but I lived through the last great defeat against Dongyi, and through another Supreme Pillar of the State being executed for rebellion... This time, the two have come together. How could it be any less? It might double and double again, for all we know!"

"How bad do you think it will get, Commander?" Zhang Xing suddenly interrupted him.

"Bad enough that you could be sitting perfectly innocently at home, eating a feast and singing, and suddenly be dragged off to the market square to have your head cut off." Commander Feng-Feng Yong-seemed considerably relieved to hear Zhang Xing speak. "As senseless as slaughtering white geese in our Eastern Pacification Office's imperial prison. And the crucial thing this time is that even prime ministers and Supreme Pillars of the State may not escape such a disaster. Those of us down below will be even more at the mercy of fate."

Xiao Zhao was momentarily tongue-tied.

Zhang Xing said nothing more either. He merely poured himself a cup of wine and drank it alone... For no other reason than that he believed Feng Yong's words more than anyone did. In that instant, he had thought of the fleeing soldiers Lord Mountain-Opener had accidentally injured while intercepting the Dongyi pursuers, and of those red-earth hills in Du Meng's homeland.

Zhang Xing rarely lost himself in a daze, and Xiao Zhao was staring blankly too. Commander Feng showed no displeasure, merely waiting quietly for them to come back to themselves before continuing:

"You're both my brothers, so I won't hide anything from you. That's how things stand. But even pulling back isn't so simple. There are still plenty of loose ends to clean up."

Zhang Xing had already expected this, but remained silent.

Xiao Zhao immediately thumped his chest. "Just say the word, Brother. Give us your orders."

Since Xiao Zhao had said as much, Zhang Xing could only speak up too. "If you have something that needs doing, Chief, naturally we should handle it for you. But why the two youngest of us? Is there a particular reason?"

"Yes. There is indeed a reason I specifically called you two here." Feng Yong looked Zhang Xing over again, then swept his gaze across Xiao Zhao's face, his tone frank. "I need unfamiliar faces to do something that will offend people... Do you know the Green Fish Gang in Shangshan Ward?"

How could I possibly know? Zhang Xing was speechless.

"I do." His face already flushed from drinking, Xiao Zhao blurted out his answer. "Boss Sun's gang... They have connections with a certain eunuch in the palace's Northern Office. Supposedly, most of their profits come from copper and timber, feeding off the surplus materials written off as palace wastage."

"Correct." Feng Yong nodded. "But that's the Green Fish Gang's foundation, and it's beyond our jurisdiction. A gang that also has an entire ward that size to itself can't possibly limit itself to those big businesses. Small-scale river smuggling, illicit brothels, taverns, martial arts schools, gambling dens, regular cuts from shopkeepers, loan-sharking... How could there be any shortage of that rotten business? And it all happens under my jurisdiction."

"You mean..." Zhang Xing began to understand. "You want them to stop for the time being?"

"Exactly." Feng Yong pointed his chopsticks at him across the table. "Xiao Zhang really is a reader. You've hit the nail on the head... Ultimately, what do those big river businesses have to do with me? What matters to me is my official standing, and these four wards are directly under my jurisdiction. Once the higher-ups tighten their grip, they're bound to become a weakness... So it isn't just the Green Fish Gang. They're the biggest and most critical of the lot, because Shangshan Ward borders Heaven Street and faces the palace gates in the distance, making it the most troublesome. But the other three wards all have their assorted bits and pieces too... I just want them to rein things in for a while and not bring trouble down on me."

That was perfectly reasonable.

But...

"There are a few things I don't quite understand," Zhang Xing answered seriously. "Soldiers catching thieves is only right and proper... If you want them to stop, Chief, you can simply array your forces and issue your orders openly. Naturally, we'll carry them out. Why tell us in private? And why say you need unfamiliar faces to get it done?"

"Because the familiar faces have long since become tangled up with these gangs and hoodlums. There's a bit of me in you and a bit of you in me." Feng Yong set down his chopsticks and stroked his beard with a bitter smile. "Believe it or not, if I told the other brothers about these worries, they'd only think I was making a racket and interfering with their money-making. Until disaster is upon them, they won't have the sense to see it..."

At this, Junior Officer Zhao visibly rubbed his nose.

"Even if I finally managed to explain it, once they went to talk to those people, they'd probably start drinking halfway through, then take some money and go home to bed. Nobody would take it seriously," Feng Yong continued. "In short, I want to bypass them and clean things up directly."

"I understand." Only now did "Commandant" Xiao Zhao finally catch on. "Brother, you want to use our unfamiliar faces to go out and play the villains, establish some authority... And since our own brothers have a hand in all these businesses, that's why you called it a job that would offend people?"

"Exactly. My original thinking was that Xiao Zhang crawled out of a heap of corpses and wouldn't be afraid to act. Xiao Zhao may be an unfamiliar face, but anyone who asks around will learn he's one of my closest men. You two can lead men to sweep up the scattered businesses in the other three wards. Arrest whoever needs arresting, beat whoever needs beating, overturn whatever stalls need overturning. Once you've swept through all three wards and established your authority, Sun Wogua of the Green Fish Gang will know I'm serious. Then I can approach him and have a proper, solemn talk." Feng Yong finally stated his request. "But rest assured, I won't make you play the villains for nothing... If you agree, I'll give each of you twenty strings of cash for your trouble when you leave today. And if you handle it properly, I'll give each of you another twenty once it's done."

Having survived several brushes with death, Zhang Xing really did not care whether he offended people... Or rather, Feng Yong had sought him out precisely because he thought someone who had crawled out of a heap of corpses would not care about such things... But by the same token, Zhang Xing did not particularly care about the money either.

If someone wanted to hook him, Inspector Bai's offer of "You may borrow my family's books to read from now on" would genuinely be more effective.

So, while this matter was perfectly reasonable from Commander Feng's perspective, to Zhang Xing it was something he could take or leave.

But how should he put it?

Precisely because it was reasonable and something he could take or leave, with his superior going to such lengths, it would probably be hard to refuse.

While Zhang Xing's thoughts wandered, Xiao Zhao indeed lost patience and spoke first. His words, however, were startling. "Brother... I don't want those forty strings. I can even give you another ten from my savings. Just let Xiao Yu be mine... How about it?"

Feng Yong paused. "I thought you were only flirting with her out of boredom... Have you really taken a fancy to her?"

"I really have. I'd also like to ask your wife to release her from slave registration when the time comes." Xiao Zhao's face was bright red, and he lowered his voice.

"Xiao Zhao." Rather than nodding, Commander Feng shook his head slightly. "Let me ask you again. Do you know how much money forty strings of cash is? Though money is worth less and less here in the Eastern Capital, it's still half the capital you'd need to establish yourself. Even if you couldn't scrape together enough to buy a house or shop right away, you could leave it with me and find a shop or business to invest in. That would be a sound arrangement. Yet you want to exchange it for a maid? Have you thought this through?"

"My mind is made up." Xiao Zhao glanced back at the closed door, his voice sinking lower and his face growing redder. "As long as you give Xiao Yu to me, Brother, I'll cross mountains of blades and seas of fire for you..."

"Nobody's asking you to cross mountains of blades and seas of fire. You'll have all the men you need. You'll only be offending some colleagues and local figures." Feng Yong glanced at Zhang Xing, who had remained silent, and chided Xiao Zhao. "Besides, with you laying everything out like that, where does it leave Xiao Zhang?"

Xiao Zhao hurriedly looked at Zhang Xing.

Speechless inwardly, Zhang Xing could only seek a definite answer from Commander Feng on this "Commandant" Zhao's behalf. "Then, Chief, does that mean you've agreed to Commandant Zhao's request?"

"Naturally." Feng Yong stroked his beard and smiled.

Xiao Zhao was instantly delighted. Zhang Xing could think of no reason to play the villain either, and after a moment's consideration, he nodded.

And so the matter was settled and the meal ended. Leaving aside Xiao Zhao going off to linger with Xiao Yu again, Commander Feng's wife did indeed come over and personally hand Zhang Xing a packet of silver... Not much, thirteen taels... There was no helping it. These days, silver fetched far more copper cash at market rates than at the official rate, and apparently it had risen even faster recently. At the beginning of the year, twenty strings could still buy fifteen or sixteen taels. In the blink of an eye, it was worth only thirteen.

Zhang Xing hung the saddlebag at his waist, tucked the packet of silver securely into his robe, said his goodbyes, and asked someone to lower the ladder for him. Then he headed back toward Xiūyè Ward by way of Water Street.

By now, a vast dusk had settled outside. Even Water Street was much quieter. Apart from a few designated night markets, everywhere else had presumably long since cleared the streets. But it made no difference. Dressed as a Street-Cleaning Tiger, Zhang Xing feared no one. Carrying his lantern, he strolled back to the gate of Xiūyè Ward and called for the ward official, Brother Liu.

Ward Chief Liu did not dare open the ward gate either. Instead, he too lowered a ladder and had Zhang Xing climb over.

Holding his lantern, Zhang Xing climbed the ladder one-handed. When he reached the top of the wall, he hung up the lantern, took Ward Chief Liu's offered hand, and swung himself up. He waited until the other man had pulled up the ladder and put it in place before lighting the way to his small courtyard. Brother Liu was clearly considerate. Probably having noticed that Zhang Xing had been drinking, he accompanied him a little farther, only stopping at the courtyard gate.

But it was at that very moment, upon reaching his gate, that Zhang Xing did not open it. Instead, he abruptly turned and fixed his eyes on Ward Chief Liu just behind him.

His stare made Ward Chief Liu's skin crawl, leaving him rooted to the spot. After a long while, he finally gave a dry laugh. "Had so much to drink you're dazed, Commandant Zhang? Need your old brother to unlock the door for you?"

"No."

Only after the other man spoke did Zhang Xing answer, with the hint of a smile. "I suddenly sobered up and remembered a few things... Do you know our Commander Feng, Ward Chief?"

"What a question. Commander Feng oversees these very four wards. One of us may belong to the Jing'an Directorate and the other to Henan County, but our jurisdictions overlap, after all. How could I not know him?" Ward Chief Liu was momentarily speechless.

"No wonder." Zhang Xing laughed. "I was just thinking: those two companions of mine have never entered my courtyard, and I never mentioned it myself, yet Commander Feng knew right away that I liked reading..."

Brother Liu immediately looked embarrassed, though the darkness helped him bear it. "Commandant Zhang, why insist on spelling out something everyone understands perfectly well? Your Chief Banner Officer has held his position in these four wards for over a decade. He's a capable man, and to lowly officials like us who deal with him directly, he's the foremost authority right over our heads. He assigned you to my ward, then had Commandant Wang and the others casually ask about you now and then. Could I refuse to answer? Besides, what does it matter if I say you like reading? Your own conduct is upright! And after that drinking party today, no one will be coming to ask me what you do at home anymore. Why not leave it at that?"

"I wasn't blaming you, Brother." Zhang Xing shook his head and smiled again. "I drank too much. My head works in fits and starts. Don't mind me."

Ward Chief Liu hurriedly cupped his hands, then picked up his lantern and turned to leave.

Zhang Xing immediately took out his key and unsteadily unlocked the door.

Just as one had walked several paces away and the other had pushed open his door, Zhang Xing suddenly turned back on the threshold and asked, "Speaking of which, Brother, how many years have you been ward chief?"

"Twelve years." Holding his lantern, Ward Chief Liu turned to look back.

Zhang Xing nodded and staggered inside. Without taking in the lantern outside, he simply shut the gate, leaned against it, and took a deep breath. But he quickly came to his senses, hurriedly staggered a few more steps, and dropped into the courtyard chair. Only then did he narrow his eyes, hold his head, and gaze thoughtfully at the star-filled sky.

It turned out that when Zhang Xing had stopped outside his gate, he had originally intended to ask about the distribution of shady businesses in Xiūyè Ward, both to gather information and to give the ward chief a warning as a favor... But the moment he turned, a sudden jolt ran through him. He remembered that when they had clasped hands atop the wall, the distribution of calluses on the other man's hand had been remarkably similar to his own. Fear had seized him, and in his drunkenness he had lost his composure and given himself away on the spot. In the end, he had forced himself to wait quite some time before using something that was already implicit-or rather, something both men understood perfectly well-as a cover to bluff his way through.

Of course, after sitting in the courtyard chair and groaning for a while, half in earnest and half in pretense, he heard the footsteps outside the wall recede and began to feel he had made a mountain out of a molehill.

After all, quite apart from the possibility that Ward Chief Liu had merely served as a soldier or practiced martial arts in his youth, even if he really did have a story behind him, or even some designs, what did that have to do with Zhang Xing?

What the hell am I afraid of?

At that thought, drunkenness surged over Zhang Xing. Without even performing his customary seated meditation to open his meridians, he began snoring softly in the courtyard and fell asleep.

Only upon hearing his smooth, steady snores did Ward Chief Liu, who should long since have left, finally slip silently away from outside the wall.

PS: Thanks to our new alliance leader, "Ten More Yuan of Beef"! Eat well and drink well!

Exorcising the Dragon: Zhang Xing and Bai Yousi, by Water-Fearing Grenade.