1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 57 The God Society is an organization that encourages people to do good.

Amidst the envious gazes of the local landlords and gentry of Guiping County, Peng Gang strode confidently into the Guiping County government office.

The experience for paying users is a cut above that of paying users.

At this time, Yang Xun, the magistrate of Guiping County, was in the west courtyard, namely the West Flower Hall, on the west side of the government office complex.

As the saying goes, "Eastern guests and Western guests" refers to the fact that local officials usually met with gentry, wealthy merchants, and trusted advisors in the West Flower Hall to handle matters that were not suitable for public display in the court, such as mediating local conflicts and discussing tax apportionment.

Because Xihua Hall is far from the courthouse and prison, and the access routes are hidden, it often has side doors leading to the outside street.

Bribery and corruption, as well as power-for-money transactions, were generally conducted in Xihua Hall. Due to funding shortages, some government offices also used Xihua Hall as the secretary's study or accounting office.

When Peng Gang arrived at the West Flower Hall of Guiping County, where the plaque "Mingde Weixin" was prominently displayed, he heard the furious roar of County Magistrate Yang Xun.

Through the old hole that even the newly patched mulberry paper couldn't cover, Peng Gang glimpsed inside the West Flower Hall, where a civil official was pointing his finger at a military officer and cursing him fiercely and harshly.

The military officer being scolded simply lowered his head and obediently accepted the scolding like a grandson, not daring to argue back at all.

According to Huang Zhenyue, the military officer being reprimanded was Wang Ji, the patrol inspector of the Dahuangjiang Patrol Office.

The Qing dynasty inherited the Ming dynasty's system, and the tradition of valuing literature and suppressing military affairs was also preserved.

Let alone Wang Ji, a mere ninth-rank patrol inspector under the control of the county magistrate, even Huang Zhenyue, a fourth-rank Green Standard Army commander not under the control of the county magistrate, could only swallow his anger and accept the insults when Yang Xun, a seventh-rank county magistrate, pointed his finger at him and cursed him.

Of course, the Mandarin is an exception.

If Yang Xun dared to curse a Manchu military officer like that, Peng Gang would respect him as a true man.

Listening to the conversation between Yang Xun and Wang Ji, Yang Xun was furious because Wang Ji had taken it upon himself to release Hong Xiuquan, the leader of the God Society bandits.

Whether Yang Xun's outburst was due to his failure to gain any benefit from Wang Ji's release of Hong Xiuquan, or whether he genuinely cared about the social atmosphere in Guiping County, remains unknown.

Peng Gang hoped it was the former; if Yang Xun's anger stemmed from the latter, then it wouldn't be a matter that could be resolved simply with gold and silver.

By giving Yang Xun's family a few taels of silver, Peng Gang was finally able to enter Xihua Hall and obtain the precious opportunity to meet the county magistrate.

Peng Gang did not have the academic degree of Xiucai or above, so naturally he did not have the privilege of not bowing to officials.

When you ask someone for a favor, you need to have the right attitude. Given his current status, he can't just stand around and get things done.

After a slight hesitation, Peng Gang gritted his teeth and gave Yang Xun a deep bow.

"This humble citizen, Peng Gang, a student from your esteemed county, greets Your Excellency."

Yang Xun glanced at Peng Gang lazily out of the corner of his eye, without saying a word.

Through his interactions with the gentry of Guiping County over the past few days, Yang Xun developed a negative impression of the gentry and commoners of Guiping County, and even neighboring counties.

Even in such impoverished and desolate places, the local gentry are so ignorant that they have the nerve to give away silver worth a hundred or even tens of taels.

Although Guiping County in Guangxi is a minor post, it can't compare to a lucrative post.

But the donations for official positions (the main item), the additional donations (for priority eligibility), the departmental fees (for bribing officials in the Ministry of Personnel to expedite the approval process), the seal fee (for guaranteeing officials from the same hometown), and the fee for purchasing actual positions, all added up to more than nine thousand taels of silver, emptying the Yang family's coffers.

Even now, Yang Xun still has to borrow money from loan sharks to support his advisors and family.

If all the gentry in Guiping County were so stingy and unreasonable, how would Yang Xun support his advisors, and when would he ever be able to recoup the more than nine thousand taels of silver he spent to buy the official position?
After leaving Peng Gang waiting for a while, Yang Xun casually told Peng Gang to get up: "Get up. What are you doing in my Guiping County government office, a mere student from your county?"

Peng Gang got up and rubbed his sore knees, secretly adding Yang Xun's name to his blacklist, thinking to himself, "You better not leave the year after next!"
"This humble citizen wishes to sue Wang Zuoxin, the director of the Mengchong troupe in Zijingshan, for making a mountain out of a molehill, fabricating a major issue, and extorting and falsely accusing Feng Yunshan, a tutor in Gaokengchong. I hope that Your Honor will uphold justice."

As they spoke, Peng Gang presented the lawsuit he had written the night before, along with five taels of gold.

Yang Xun weighed the five-tael lump of gold in his hand, his brow furrowing. But upon seeing that it was golden, his expression softened. For the sake of the five taels of gold, he gave Peng Gang a chance to continue speaking. Currently, gold was a harder currency than silver. In the vicinity of open ports, one tael of gold could be exchanged for eighteen taels of silver. In areas near Xiamen and Fuzhou, where smuggling was even more rampant than in Guangzhou, the gold-silver ratio could even reach one to twenty.

The gold-silver ratio is slightly lower in inland areas; in Guangxi, the ratio is 1 to 17.

The five taels of gold that Peng Gang bribed Yang Xun with were equivalent to eighty-five taels of silver.

"Regarding the case of Feng Yunshan, this county has investigated the details. Although Wang Zuoxin may have fabricated accusations and exaggerated the matter, it is also true that Feng Yunshan, Hong Xiuquan, Lu Liu, and others misled the villagers, formed alliances, and trampled on the gods and the state, thus incurring the gods' wrath and destroying the Ganwang Temple. The evidence is conclusive."

The case of Feng Hong and others smashing the Mengchong Ganwang Temple was the largest case that Yang Xun had handled since taking office, and Yang Xun had learned about the case.

Yang Xun had just reprimanded Wang Ji, the patrol inspector of the Huangjiang River, partly to establish his authority, and partly because he was annoyed that Wang Ji had accepted bribes and released Hong Xiuquan before the case had been investigated and determined.

"Your Excellency, may I ask a question: Is it true that the practice of shamanism is rampant in Xunzhou Prefecture, and that the people have a deep faith in many gods?"

"It is indeed the truth, so what?"

"If that's the case, and the Ganwang Temple is ineffective, wouldn't it be reasonable for the people of Zijing Mountain to be unwilling to believe in Ganwang and instead believe in the more effective God?"

"If that's the case, then it makes sense."

"As far as I know, the Mengchong Wang family, under the guise of annual sacrifices, temple repairs, and the reshaping of the golden statue of the Gan King, has been exploiting the people of Zijing Mountain to the bone. The people of Zijing Mountain have long been resentful and suffering greatly, and this has almost led to a major disaster."

The God Society, however, has always encouraged people to be upright and do good deeds, and does not solicit money from its followers. Therefore, the people of Zijing Mountain all abandoned King Gan and converted to God, accepting their poverty and fate without seeking personal gain.

"That may be true, but these are all your side of the story. Wang Zuoxin also accused Feng Yunshan of not only destroying the Ganwang Temple, but also conspiring to rebel. This is a serious matter. How can this county make a hasty judgment based on your one-sided story?"

"Those who ruthlessly kill the people are bandits; how can they escape disaster in the end? Bai Qi and Xiang Yu ultimately committed suicide; where are Huang Chao and Li Zicheng now? Your Excellency, do you intend to tell me if this poem contains any rebellious intent?"

Yang Xun stroked his sparse goatee, carefully savoring these few crude lines of poetry.

Although these few lines of poetry are not particularly literary, they are derogatory towards rebels like Huang Chao and Li Zicheng, so they cannot be considered anti-poetry or anti-literature.

"It can't be considered a seditious poem, but what do these few lines have to do with this case?" Yang Xun said unhurriedly.

Seeing that the heat was just right, Peng Gang presented the Yuandao Trilogy, the Baizheng Song, and forty taels of gold that he was carrying with him.

"This is a scripture used by the Catholic Church for missionary purposes. I hope Your Excellency will investigate this matter carefully."

Yang Xun's face lit up with joy. He accepted the gold and began to peruse the scriptures of the God Society.

The early experiences of Feng and Hong can be roughly divided into three stages: being enthusiastic about scientific research, converting to "God", and being determined to oppose the Qing Dynasty.

At this stage, Feng and Hong only have the idea of ​​opposing the Qing Dynasty, but they have not yet put it into practice.

At this time, God will still outwardly adhere to the principle of persuading people to be righteous and do good deeds.

Not only did it not challenge the Qing Dynasty's ruling order, but it was also an organization that encouraged people to do good and accept their fate and poverty. On the contrary, it was beneficial to the Qing Dynasty's rule and was a good and virtuous religion that was not associated with rebellion.

The only thing God could do to offend the government was to secretly visit them, a major taboo.

During the Qianlong era, violating a major taboo in visiting officials was an almost inescapable dead end.

But now it is the Daoguang era, and all sorts of messy churches have spread all over the country, especially in the south, and the government is powerless to stop them.

Although it violates a major taboo regarding visits, this matter can be either serious or minor.

Whether to settle the matter peacefully or to use it as an opportunity to make a big deal out of it is entirely up to the officials handling the case.

(End of this chapter)