Chapter 35: The Ruffians Are Thrown Into Prison Mystified — Li Feng Presents His Scheme by Going Over to the Other Side

Now, while Guixing and his companions were celebrating in advance of their expected victory, and the mood was at its highest, a cannon suddenly boomed outside the gate. Torches flooded the yard from every direction, and a crowd of men poured in, bringing Guixing leaping to his feet in alarm. All the assembled ruffians jumped back from the table, and when they looked clearly, the men who had entered were plainly soldiers, every one of them in numbered tunics bearing the words "Shaoguan Commander-in-Chief's Personal Troops." Guixing was both frightened and baffled; he had no idea what calamity this was. The assembled ruffians, taken completely off guard by the sudden and overwhelming force, found themselves bowing their heads and submitting to being bound without a fight. Yugeng Hall was a great room of five bays, yet it was so crowded now that there was hardly room to stand. At length a uniformed official strode in wearing a crystal button of the fourth rank (denoting a civil or military official of the middle grade), with a sword at his side. He called out, "Are they all arrested? Has any one escaped?" The soldiers answered, "All arrested — not one has gotten away!" The official then sent men inside to arrest the female members of the household; shortly after, Mrs. Pan, Mrs. Yang, Yingke, and four maidservants were led out in handcuffs. The official produced a list and stood in the center of the room to call the roll. Ling Guixing was naturally first; the remainder were Ling Zongkong, Ling Mei Xian, Zhou Zanxian, Li Atian, You Amei, Xiong Aqi, Gan Ading, Jian Dang, Ye Sheng, Ling Yue Wen, Ling Yue Wu, Ling Yue Shun, Ling Yue He, Ling Zong Meng, Ling Zong Ji, Ling Zong Xiao, Ling Zong He, Ling Qi Yu, Ling Hai Shun, Ling Liu Yu, Ling Liu Quan, Ling Run Bao, Ling Run Zhi, Li Aer, Jian Lexian, and Cai Shun. The official finished calling the roll, then looked at the list again and asked Guixing, "There is also a Lin Dayou, a Qu Juexing, and a Xilai — where are they?"

Guixing by this time had lost all color from his face. His mind raced: where did this come from? Could it be Liang Tianlai's case? But Li Feng's letter clearly said the commissioner had accepted the bribe — why then had he struck? And if it were that case, shouldn't county constables have come to summon them? What does the Shaoguan Commander-in-Chief have to do with this — why send his own men to arrest us? He was a whirl of frantic thoughts, his heart pounding so violently in his chest that it nearly flew out through his mouth. Absorbed in all this, he had not heard the official's question. The official bellowed again, repeating it, and Guixing came back to himself and answered, "Lin Dayou got himself into trouble — he was arrested by someone else. Qu Juexing has gone to Hunan. Xilai absconded long ago." The official said, "Is that the truth?" Guixing said, "Yes, yes — I dare not lie!" The official then ordered the whole party, men and women, to be marched out, and had the main gate locked behind them with official seals affixed. The prisoners were driven to the riverbank and put aboard fast boats. The oarsmen and polemen plied their implements, and the boats flew to the provincial capital. Before dawn they used official passes to have the city gates opened, and were escorted to the Judicial Commissioner's Yamen. The official presented a dispatch document at the gate; it was carried inside. Shortly afterward, Commissioner Chen took his seat on the main dais. The official presented himself, and Commissioner Chen called the roll of all prisoners, then ordered the male prisoners confined in the inner lockup and the female prisoners placed in the custody of the official matrons (guan mei).

In the inner lockup, Guixing still felt as if he were in a dream, and asked Zongkong, "Uncle, what on earth has happened? Why have we ended up here?" Zongkong said, "That is exactly what I was about to ask you. Are we dreaming?" Mei Xian said, "You may be dreaming by yourself — we are all very much awake." Zongkong said, "I only wish it were a dream — then I might wake up and still be lying in my own bed, and wouldn't that be wonderful!"

Dear readers! To find oneself in such circumstances — like being struck on the head with a muffled club — who could blame them for thinking it was a dream? Even you, reading this, may be completely at a loss and feeling a confused sense of frustration. Allow me to fill in the missing pieces first, so as to clear up the mystery.

As it happened, from the time Liang Tianlai crossed Nanxiong Ridge, he encountered no further obstacles on the road. Arriving in Beijing, he submitted his petition to the Censorate (Duchayuan). The Chief Censor, Chen Shi, received it and read it over, and seeing that the case was extremely serious and involved a great many officials in Guangdong, he hesitated and could not decide what to do. He set the petition aside for three days without issuing a response. On the day of the regular court audience, he was at the waiting room before four in the morning. There he happened to encounter Kong Dapeng, who had just completed the Yellow River works and returned to the capital to report. Chen Shi recalled the line in Tianlai's petition that read "on a certain date the Governor-General of the Two Guangs, Kong, adjudicated the case on record," and mentioned this to Dapeng. Dapeng said in surprise, "Has this case still not been resolved?" Chen Shi said, "Tianlai has now come to the capital to petition the Emperor directly. I have not yet issued a response because the matter is too serious and involves too many people." Dapeng said, "Approve it at once and submit a memorial! This is a case I personally examined and adjudicated — there is no question of any concealment in the records. I do not know how it came to be overturned after I left. A case of this gravity cannot be shelved simply because it involves many people." Chen Shi said, "I'll have to think on it." Dapeng said, "There is nothing to think about — submit the memorial. If your Court does not memorialize, I will overstep boundaries and do so myself tomorrow." Chen Shi had no choice but to give his hurried assent. Not long afterward the inner court called them to audience, and the two men stopped their conversation.

After the court session, Chen Shi returned to the Censorate and at once approved Tianlai's petition, then appointed two censors to summon Tianlai before the bench and take his deposition. This matched the petition in every particular. He then quickly drafted a memorial, had it copied out cleanly by the fourth watch, and submitted it. The Yongzheng Emperor read this document and was filled with fury. On this same day Kong Dapeng also had an audience; the Emperor asked a few questions about the Yellow River project, then brought up the matter of Liang Tianlai's case. Dapeng memorialized: "In this case, when your servant held the post of Governor-General of the Two Guangs, I personally summoned the parties and examined the matter. The facts established are that Ling Guixing, through old enmity, gathered a mob, jointly raided Liang Tianlai's home, attacked the stone chamber but could not force it open, and used smoke from burning material to suffocate seven people, killing eight lives in total. Liang Tianlai sought redress from every official authority, but Ling Guixing bribed officials at every level, and the injustice has remained unaddressed for years." The Emperor asked, "If you had already established the facts, why was the case not closed?" Dapeng memorialized: "Your servant had established the facts, but the criminal parties had not all been apprehended; the case was therefore not yet complete. It happened at that time that I received an imperial command to superintend the river works and departed hastily, handing over the case with instructions that once all parties were in custody, the matter should be promptly adjudicated. It seems that after I left, by means I cannot account for, the case was overturned, and it has remained unsettled to this day." The Emperor said in great fury, "Guangdong officials are so corrupt — why, while you were in office, did you not impeach them by memorial?" Dapeng was so frightened he kept knocking his head on the ground and dared not reply. After a long silence the Emperor's anger subsided somewhat, and he said, "We shall now command you to go to Guangdong to investigate and handle this case. As for the corrupt officials of Guangdong, make a full and thorough report on every one of them — to punish official misconduct and redress the people's grievances!" Dapeng knocked his head in thanks, performed the kneeling formalities, and then withdrew to his private residence.

Shortly afterward, a rescript was circulated from the Grand Secretariat: "By Imperial Command: Kong Dapeng and Li Shicai are directed to proceed to Guangdong to investigate and handle a matter; they shall take along the appropriate officials and travel by post-horse in accordance with precedent. Respectfully received." A moment later the gatekeeper brought in a calling card to announce a visitor. Dapeng looked at the card: it was Li Shicai, and he said, "Show him in!"

Now, this Li Shicai was Li Feng's uncle, and currently served as Deputy Minister of Justice (Xingbu Shilang). He was a man of stern and upright character. In the final years of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, he had served as a censor, impeaching the high and mighty without mercy, and had consequently incurred an imperial reprimand. When the Yongzheng Emperor came to the throne, he restored and re-employed dismissed officials, and Li was reinstated as a principal secretary. Yongzheng recognized him as a man of stern integrity and kept him in mind, so that within a few years he had risen to Deputy Minister. This time, having received the imperial commission to investigate the Guangdong matter, he had come specially to discuss matters with Dapeng. The two men exchanged greetings and a few pleasantries, then settled on a roster of four accompanying officials, which they memorialized the next day; the imperial rescript approved it. The two commissioners then requested their final imperial audience and farewell instructions that same day, and with their officials — and the original petitioner Tianlai among them — set out from Beijing.

They ate when hungry and drank when thirsty, traveled by day and rested at night, and one day reached Jiangxi, where Li Feng had long been waiting. Before the commissioners arrived, Li Feng had already found out that the two commissioners were, on one side, Kong Dapeng — the very man who had originally heard the case — and on the other, his own uncle. This uncle was a man of piercing rectitude before whom even powerful court figures trembled — how could he possibly dare approach him with a bribe? The thought of returning immediately to tell Guixing to flee by sea was forming in his mind when he suddenly reconsidered: "Guixing can flee — but what about me? I handled things for him several times. If this case is probed to its roots, I may not be able to escape punishment. Should I flee along with him? The crimes I have committed are not capital — why should I leave my homeland and wander to some foreign land? If I don't flee, and matters catch up with me, I shall at least face some disciplinary action, and what is more, I will have made an enemy of my uncle — and my prospects for future positions will be gone." He found himself at a standstill. Then another thought came: "Guixing may call himself a scholar, but his behavior is no better than that of a street thug. This serious crime he has committed is something that rightly offends both gods and men. Would it not be better if I were to take the bribe money I hold, go to my uncle and surrender myself, turn over everything I know, and in so doing win a pardon for my earlier involvement? And if the matter of my past actions should come up, the fact that I have already voluntarily surrendered myself will naturally mitigate the offense, and I can win my uncle's favor besides." But then he thought: "This approach is a terrible betrayal of Guixing." And so he went back and forth in his mind, arguing with himself at length. In the end, his own welfare outweighed Guixing, and his mind was made up: he would have to be faithless just this once. With his resolution settled, he remained at his lodgings to wait. When the day came and the commissioners arrived, he went to the headquarters to request an audience. The gatekeeper carried his card inside; Li Shicai was furious: "This man has no sense at all — we are on the road and by custom receive no visitors; how dare he be so presumptuous?" Kong Dapeng said, "It is only your nephew — not a stranger. There is no harm in seeing him." Li Shicai said, "What is he doing up here instead of staying properly in Guangdong?" Dapeng said, "Where has your nephew been stationed?" Li Shicai said, "At Censor Xiao's yamen." Dapeng felt something stir at that — he recalled that in Xilai's original deposition, there was mention of bribe money passed through Censor Xiao's yamen, and the name involved was something like Li. He quickly said, "By all means have him come in and see us — the thread of this case may very well run through him, and we may learn something useful." Li Shicai, hearing this, told the gatekeeper to call the man in.

Before long Li Feng entered. He paid his respects to Li Shicai and bowed to Kong Dapeng. Dapeng invited him to sit. Li Feng knelt again before Li Shicai and said, "Your nephew has come to confess to Uncle's face, and begs Uncle's forgiveness before saying anything." Li Shicai said, "Speak up properly — what is all this kneeling and posturing about?" Li Feng then rose, sat to one side, and said slowly, "In Guangdong, your nephew fell into foolishness and became acquainted with a Ling Guixing..." Li Shicai said, "A fine acquaintance!" Li Feng's face flushed scarlet; he went on slowly: "At the time I should not have handled two matters on his behalf. I have regretted it ever since. Recently, when he heard that Liang Tianlai had gone to the capital to petition the Emperor, and knew for certain that commissioners would be dispatched, he asked your nephew to come on ahead and wait here, in order to approach the commissioners as they passed through and arrange things with them..." Li Shicai's face darkened furiously. "So! You dare bring bribes here to corrupt us!" Dapeng said, "Sir, please calm yourself and let your nephew finish speaking." Li Feng steadied himself and continued, "Your nephew's earlier errors are already a matter of regret — how would I dare repeat them now! My reason for being here is this: I heard Ling Guixing say that if the commissioners could not be bribed, he would flee overseas. I thought: if he escapes, the case will never be resolved, and Liang Tianlai's injustice will never be redressed. So I gave him a false answer and came here to wait — intending, when the commissioners passed through, to come forward and surrender, and report Guixing's movements to make amends for my past offenses. It so happened that I find my uncle here — which is why I have come to offer myself up and confess, and beg both Commissioner Kong and Uncle to forgive me!" Li Shicai said with a cold laugh, "You come and surrender now because you met me. If you had met another commissioner, I suppose you would have been busy passing over the bribes after all!" Dapeng said, "Let us not pursue that just now. Ling Guixing is preparing to escape by sea — we must first send an express circular to Guangdong to have the people arrested before anything else!" Li Feng said, "There is no need for a circular. Your nephew has a plan by which all of Guixing's people can be caught in a single net!"

Dapeng was greatly pleased and asked, "What is the plan?"

Li Feng unhurriedly laid out his scheme — but that must wait for the next chapter.