The Sorceress' Revolt
Author: Toriumi Jinzō
Translator: Ainikki the Archivist
Ko Biji's Story
Part Two: Salt Smugglers
Tanshi was taken to the prefectural office. At that time, government officials worked in two shifts: a morning shift and an evening shift. Tanshi's interrogation took place at around the time the prefectural governor finished his work in the afternoon.
Tanshi and the old woman from the teahouse were made to wait in the room outside the prefectural governor's office.
The old woman whispered to Tanshi, gaining the attention of the officer on watch. "Mr. Monk, the prefectural governor is a greedy man who lines his own pockets by arresting young working people in the village and forcing them into his service for free labor. Rumor has it that he's in cahoots with a highly placed official in the capital. He collects large sums as taxes and spends them to gain the favor of the Imperial Court's envoys."
The old woman was well-versed in the affairs of the world.
In China at this time, several provinces and prefectures were clumped together into a unit called a district. There were more than twenty districts across the nation. The general supervisor who handled the finances of a district was called a Minister of Finance. Local government officials of each province and prefecture were termed Civil Ministers, and it was their role to police other officials and keep them in check.
That was how it was supposed to work, but in practice, Civil Ministers and Ministers of Finance frequented the same social and work circles. That made them all complicit in the corruption running rampant through the system.
Tanshi and the old woman spent half an hour waiting before they were summoned by the governor into an interrogation room. He was a fat, middle-aged man with a cunning look. It was as if the old woman had whispered him into existence as the most typical specimen of a corrupt Civil Minister.
The officer escorting Tanshi updated the governor on the situation. The governor nodded his head, peering closely at Tanshi to gauge his reaction to the officer's account. His condescension and arrogance were readily apparent. Although there was nothing completely untrue in the officer's report, there were some exaggerations that put Tanshi at a disadvantage. In any case, Tanshi himself had decided that he'd committed murder and that there was no excuse for it.
Then the old woman gave her testimony. "This monk is not guilty of any crime. The one at fault is the evil monk who beat my daughter to death. Everyone in town was watching, so if you ask around, you will understand what truly happened. Please forgive the monk and let him go.''
The governor said that the old woman's impassioned speech was quite supportive of Tanshi's innocence. He issued some instructions to the officer, who withdrew from the room in a hurry. An escort arrived for the old woman, who arrived home safely later in the evening.
"I think I understand this case," the governor said. "I shall make my decision in due course."
Tanshi was prepared to be condemned to prison, or worse. But that wasn't what happened at all. Tanshi was guided to the governor's private residence and entertained in a luxurious suite. Dinner was a lavish spread of many dishes: salted duck, pig feet pickled in miso and then grilled, deep-fried carp, stewed bamboo shoots with mushrooms, fried tofu, boiled edamame and other greens, all served with delicate-tasting rice wine.
Monks usually followed a strict vegetarian diet. Tanshi considered this, but he was a murderer and couldn't really be considered a monk any longer. He ate and drank a little of everything on the table because he was ravenously hungry.
Throughout the meal, Tanshi glared at the governor, thinking that the man must have some ulterior motive for treating a criminal so well. The governor lived an extravagant lifestyle for a government official: his estate was furnished with antique pieces of the highest quality and decorated in fine taste. A large number of guards roamed the property: enough to be considered a private army.
Tanshi remembered what the old woman had said about the governor and decided that she'd told the truth, at least mostly. There was no way the governor could make enough money to live this well legitimately. He must have raised all this capital by mistreating the people under his care. When Tanshi realized that the feast he'd consumed had been made possible by the suffering of the poor, he felt ashamed of himself.
There were other guests at the feast: a group of salt and iron inspectors from the capital at Bianliang. Salt and iron were state trading monopolies overseen by the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Internal Affairs. Those ministries were responsible for all matters of business, security, weaponry, and trade. Places in those ministries were some of the most important positions in the Imperial Court.
An orchestra came out to entertain the guests in the main hall. Music drifted down the corridor to the private room where Tanshi sat. Laughter and singing echoed from the main chamber.
The scale of this party disturbed Tanshi. The governor had paid for none of this himself; this feast and all the entertainments were the product of extortion, plain and simple. The governor seemed to believe that corruption was part of his job description—a privilege of his position. As Tanshi thought it through, he realized that the guests at this feast were complicit in the corruption, too. They didn't report these excesses, so the Emperor never heard about them and no one was ever punished.
Not that reporting corruption to the Emperor would help much: he was still a child and under the Empress Dowager's thumb. And the Empress Dowager tended to ignore local officials.
After eating, Tanshi retired to bed. Servant girls cleared the dishes from his table and left him alone.
Later, the governor came to visit Tanshi and found him lying in bed. He seemed to be in a good mood. "I'm sorry I kept you waiting," the governor said. "I see you've finished your meal."
Tanshi rose from his bed and greeted the governor politely. "I thank you for your hospitality."
"Ah! You really cleaned your plate, didn't you?."
Tanshi was struck by the absurdity of this situation. Providing a feast, then judging him for eating too much? What had the governor expected?
It was a common tactic for men like the governor—and salesmen—to get their target audience off-balance. This was what the governor was doing to Tanshi: he was trying to shake his equilibrium.
"I was detained by our guests from Bianliang," the governor said. "It seems they're experiencing some difficulties."
"I understand. I wish them a swift resolution to their troubles." This was a perfunctory answer; Tanshi's heart wasn't in it. He'd heard about the inspectors from the servant girls earlier.
"Well, we hold this celebration every year, but it's a lot of work for everyone, especially us government officials..." He droned on with not a single wrinkle of worry on his face.
"Excuse me, sir," Tanshi said after the governor finished speaking. "Have you come to a decision concerning me?" His expression became solemn.
"Hm?" The governor had already completely forgotten about Tanshi's case. He'd invited Tanshi to this feast because dealing with him in any other way would have distracted from his preoccupation with the inspectors that he was trying to impress.
"It's about the teahouse incident," Tanshi prompted.
"Oh, that. I haven't decided yet."
"Is that so?"
The governor hemmed and hawed for awhile, then said, "The itinerant monk was unregistered in our district and killing the girl was a serious crime. But I believe he has been punished for it—he's already fallen into hell. You acted out of instinct, and are innocent."
"Thank you, sir." He was relieved that he was found to have acted in self-defense, quite apart from how he felt about being responsible for killing someone. He was still wary of the governor's motives for treating him generously, however. A man like him thought nothing of twisting the truth to serve his own ends.
"You said you hail from the Lingnan Provinces?" the governor asked.
"Yes, sir."
"Your skill at fighting has been praised."
"I wouldn't say I'm a terribly good fighter, sir."
"Did you train at a Shaolin temple?"
"No, sir, I've never even been to one."
"Then where did you train?"
"At my home temple, where I spent most of my life."
"You must have had a lot of free time, then. Is being a wandering monk to your liking? Don't you find it dull?"
"No, sir," Tanshi said. "Discipline is its own reward."
"Stop with that prattling nonsense."
"Um... yes, sir." He clutched instinctively at his stomach. Like it or not, he owed the governor for clearing his name, feeding and sheltering him.
"Why don't you remain here for a time?" the governor asked.
So that was his intention. "What do you mean, sir?"
"I like strong men. I'm always trying to recruit more. I'd like to be like Li Keyong and set myself up for future success."
In the late Tang Dynasty (618–907 CE), there was a great general named Li Keyong. He was of Shatuo (Turkish) descent and cultivated a mighty army, including an elite cavalry force called the Black Crows. The Tang army feared this army's ferocity, and with good reason: Li Keyong would eventually seize the the independent state of Jin for himself and his heirs, and his son became the founding emperor of the later Tang Dynasty.
The governor was trying to hire Tanshi on as a bodyguard. The idea made Tanshi feel sick to his stomach.
"The number of thieves and bandits in our district has increased of late, and the residences of we civil servants are all at risk," the governor said.
"I appreciate your consideration, but..." He was trying to be polite, but he was also trying to refuse.
"Your pay will depend on your ability."
"Excuse me?"
"No, no, you're right; I'll ask you for your answer to my offer tomorrow. I still have many more important people to greet. Get some rest, young man."
Tanshi intended on taking advantage of the place to sleep: it was too late in the evening to seek another. "Thank you, sir." He bowed his head, grateful that his restraint when faced with the governor's offer hadn't gotten him thrown out.
"Let the servant girls know if you need anything," the governor said. He left.
Tanshi had hated the governor from the first moment they'd met. The governor liked to flaunt his power and corruption as a matter of course and belittle those who took advantage of his hospitality. If what the old woman had said was true, then the governor was every bit as bad as the itinerant monk he'd fought. The governor enriched himself, ignorant or uncaring that his activities harmed everyone else.
And there was worse: Tanshi had learned from the servant girls that the governor was trading in cinnabar. That was one reason why the trade officials were present: they, too, were dealing under the table.
How deep did the corruption run? The governor's corruption was obvious. The trading officials were involved, too—and that meant the Imperial Court would make no move to stop it. Any of it.
Tanshi had encountered many evils of the world since leaving his own temple. The temple was an entirely different world from this one. It would be impossible to return and see it in the same way.
Tossing and turning on his guest bed, Tanshi considered the events of the day. He knew that the itinerant monk was a bad person—an evil person, even—but he still regretted killing him.
Are people supposed to die that easily? Tanshi thought. Even though he was a villain, he would have been praying for eternal youth and longevity, like everyone else. If Tanshi hadn't intervened, the itinerant monk would still be alive... and the poor old woman would be dead instead.
Is what happened today fate, or could it have gone a different way? Tanshi asked himself. But that didn't matter. Either way, he had no choice but to transcend the limits of fate.
Notes
塩鉄司: Salt and Iron Division. In 119 BCE, Emperor Wu of Han cast about for ways to finance his expansionist policies, and at the urging of his advisors, decreed salt and iron to be state monopolies. The inspectors in this chapter are enforcers of these state monopolies.
戸部司: Ministry of Finance/Revenue, an imperial government office responsible for taxation and the monopolization of trade goods.
度支司: Ministry of Internal Affairs, in charge of accounting, military and state financial concerns.
李克用: Li Keyong.
鵶軍崩: The name of Li Keyong's army, the Black Crows. The first kanji is an earlier form of 烏, meaning "crow."
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