Qingzhou.

Mister Wu was attending to government affairs. An official had been waiting outside his door for quite some time now. Mister Wu had no fondness for this person — he was far too calculating and self-serving.

The man’s name was Yao Chunyu. He was a holdover official from the old court. Though the Prince of Ning’s attitude toward such holdovers had always been to avoid using them wherever possible, Qingzhou was in such a state of utter disorder that capable people were genuinely scarce.

After numerous major battles — especially in the wake of the great bandit Gan Daode’s death — Qingzhou had been in a constant state of warfare. Gan Daode’s former lieutenants, fighting to carve up his territory among themselves, had started as members of the same faction and ended up cutting each other’s throats in murderous fury. Throughout all of Qingzhou, there was not a single village where weeping could not be heard.

Later, Commander Shen Shanzhu led the Yanzhou Army and took all of Qingzhou in a sweep of remarkable speed — yet precisely because of that speed, there had been no time whatsoever to arrange civil administration. She had been in a hurry to lead her forces south to join up with the others, and so she had left behind a contingent and departed — and the people left behind were all from the Yanzhou Army, none of whom had any experience in officialdom.

Not knowing how to manage government affairs, not knowing how to attend to the people’s welfare — these rough men of the countryside and wilderness had one great passion: hearing cases.

Even the most trivial of disputes, the moment someone brought it before the court, they were delighted to handle it.

Perhaps because they had suffered too many injustices in their own pasts. Perhaps also because once they had suddenly become county magistrates, the dignity of their position had gone to their heads.

Qingzhou was in a state of such extraordinary disorder that this was precisely why Li Chi had arranged for Mister Wu to come.

To govern a place this complicated, one needed a person of great ability — someone of sufficient rank, and someone sufficiently exacting.

When Mister Wu had first arrived in Qingzhou, the local people there genuinely assumed he was nothing but a man of letters.

But after several thunderous displays of decisive action, no one dared look down on him any longer.

Yao Chunyu was a man of very small courage. While other officials in Qingzhou had lined their pockets with silver beyond counting, he looked on with a mixture of envy and revulsion.

Because he didn’t dare. He was always afraid that if he took any of that silver and someone found a handle on it, his official’s robes would be stripped from him for good.

Yet he was also most fond of flattery and fawning — so long as it didn’t cost him money, there was nothing he couldn’t say with a straight face and an untroubled conscience.

But did that mean his superiors would like such a person?

Not a single coin of tribute offered up, just incessant groveling — after enough of that, even the most indulgent superior would find it repulsive.

Yet this person was familiar with civil affairs and had remained reasonably clean as a local official — and so Mister Wu had kept him on. Were there not an acute shortage of people, and were there not a need for such officials during this transitional period, Mister Wu would not have employed someone like this at all.

Yao Chunyu had been hovering outside the study for quite some time, unwilling to leave — because he had sniffed out yet another opportunity for flattery.

Mister Wu finished attending to the matters in hand, looked up, and saw the man was still pacing back and forth outside the door. Having no choice, he called him in.

“Master Yao — do you have some business to attend to?”

Mister Wu asked.

Yao Chunyu immediately stepped forward, and was on the verge of pressing his lips to Mister Wu’s ear to whisper, when Mister Wu’s brow furrowed — and Yao Chunyu hastily stepped back a pace.

“It is… it is like this.”

Yao Chunyu said: “This subordinate — this subordinate, these past two days, has heard certain rumors, and they feel truly significant, and so I must report them to the Honorable Official.”

Mister Wu, his brow still creased, said: “Just say what you have to say.”

Yao Chunyu glanced at the several personal guards inside the room, then looked back toward Mister Wu — his meaning was plain: *Honorable Official, you should dismiss those around you.*

Mister Wu’s expression had already begun to turn unpleasant. He said, his voice carrying a faint chill: “If you have something to say, say it quickly. I have other matters to attend to. If you don’t wish to say it, come back when you’ve made up your mind.”

“Yes, yes, yes… This subordinate will speak right away.”

Yao Chunyu answered while pressing forward again, still intent on speaking directly into Mister Wu’s ear.

Mister Wu’s anger flared: “Stand where you are and speak!”

Yao Chunyu gave a startled flinch, quickly retreated two paces, stood upright, and said: “It is like this… that is, the thing is… this subordinate has heard certain rumors — they concern Commander Tang Pidi.”

Mister Wu’s brow furrowed even deeper.

Rumors about the great general — of course he had heard something of them, though he had not paid them much heed.

This sort of contemptible method was clearly the enemy’s doing. Anyone with even a modest degree of intelligence could see through it plainly.

But the moment Yao Chunyu brought it up now, something stirred in Mister Wu’s mind.

If even someone like Yao Chunyu dared come before him to raise this matter, it was sufficient proof that among Qingzhou’s officialdom, there were far from few people discussing this behind closed doors.

With that thought settled in his mind, Mister Wu adjusted his composure.

“Go ahead and speak.”

“Yes, yes, yes… The rumor is that the Commander may… may harbor disloyal intentions toward the Prince of Ning. Many people are now discussing this, and so this subordinate thought — perhaps the Honorable Official should submit a memorial to the Prince of Ning?”

When Yao Chunyu finished speaking, he looked toward Mister Wu with an expression full of eager anticipation.

Mister Wu sat up straight and asked: “And in your view, how should I write this memorial?”

Yao Chunyu, seeing Mister Wu’s manner had softened, instinctively stepped forward.

Mister Wu’s expression, which had just eased slightly, immediately turned unpleasant again — though at least the man wasn’t entirely without sense, and immediately halted.

“This subordinate believes… the Honorable Official cannot afford to fall behind others. These rumors, given how widely they’ve already spread, could it not be…”

He said this much, then raised his hand and pointed upward.

“Could it not be — that these are the intentions from above?”

Mister Wu was nearly overcome with fury at this imbecile, a surge of anger rising up his chest.

Yao Chunyu continued: “If it truly is the intention from above — that these rumors have been released to build momentum — then the Commander’s military authority may well be in jeopardy. And so, thinking of the Honorable Official’s interests, this subordinate feels the Official should promptly submit a memorial requesting the Commander’s removal from military command.”

He put on an ingratiating expression as he said: “In this way, the Official would not be left behind — and in the eyes of the Prince of Ning, the Official would surely be commended.”

Mister Wu said: “Then if I were to receive commendation from our lord, would I not have you, Master Yao, to thank for it?”

Yao Chunyu immediately bowed low: “I wouldn’t presume, I wouldn’t presume — this subordinate’s loyalty to the Honorable Official is absolute, and all of this is for the Official’s benefit.”

When Mister Wu heard this, he had been on the verge of simply throwing the man out, stripping off his official robes and driving him out of Qingzhou entirely.

But on reflection, he thought: for someone like this, for a matter like this — if permitted even once, the future troubles would be endless.

And so Mister Wu suddenly smiled slightly: “Your suggestion is very good. You mentioned just now that many people are discussing this — so it’s clearly not just you who thinks this way?”

Yao Chunyu immediately said: “They only dare to discuss it in private — none of them would dare raise it before the Honorable Official.”

Mister Wu smiled: “You urge me to write a memorial for fear of falling behind — and coming to me, you’re also afraid of falling behind?”

Yao Chunyu gave an awkward smile, momentarily at a loss for words.

Mister Wu said: “If I submit it alone, it carries less weight. Here is what we shall do — go and ask around, find out who else would be willing to sign it jointly. Request that our lord remove the Commander from his position.”

Mister Wu rose, walked to stand before Yao Chunyu, and said with a smile: “You came first, so naturally your contribution is greatest. But for a matter like this, the more people, the more it carries — you understand what I mean?”

Yao Chunyu immediately nodded: “This subordinate understands!”

Mister Wu waved his hand: “Go and handle it. Don’t hold back out of any reservations — go ask everyone, whether they’re close to you or distant. The more people the better. The more people you contact, the greater your contribution — naturally.”

Yao Chunyu’s heart was singing with delight. He thought to himself: *half a lifetime of flattery and fawning, and at last one of them has landed in exactly the right place.*

He went off in a state of perfect happiness, thinking happy thoughts the entire way.

Mister Wu told him not to hurry — not to be assigned to the task today and come back tomorrow with results. More people was better. Take one’s time.

Yao Chunyu would naturally treat this as his highest priority. Over the following days, he was out and about from morning to night.

Today seeking an audience with this official, tomorrow seeking an audience with that one — like a flower coming quietly into bloom, he deployed his charms at full strength.

More than ten days later, Mister Wu summoned him and asked how many people he had approached.

Yao Chunyu, recognizing that his moment to shine had arrived, immediately produced two lists, saying that all the names on one list were those willing to sign the joint memorial with the Honorable Official, while all the names on the other were a group of utterly obstinate individuals who had turned their backs on the Official and could not be relied upon.

Mister Wu took both lists and read through them carefully. Then he set down the list of those who had refused to sign.

He tapped his hand on that list: “These people — we’ll set them aside for later. First, let’s talk about your group.”

Mister Wu said to Yao Chunyu: “Go now and find them — invite all of them to my residence for a meeting.”

Yao Chunyu acknowledged the order, turned, and ran out — even more jubilant than he had been when he ran out more than ten days ago, ten thousand times more so.

Such a great achievement laid before him — could a dazzling future be far behind?

Because the officials he had contacted over those six or seven days were not only from the prefectural capital — there were also officials from the prefectures and counties further afield — and so his errand now took two more days.

Two days later, a full several hundred officials arrived — great and small alike, each one looking rather excited.

They gathered in the Regional Commissioner’s residence, standing about the courtyard in clusters of threes and twos, chattering away. Their topic of conversation naturally revolved entirely around Commander Tang Pidi.

At that very moment, Mister Wu returned. The courtyard gate swung open, and Mister Wu stepped inside — and at once, all the voices stopped.

Everyone bowed in greeting, and in the instant they lowered their heads, each and every one of them felt their heart clench.

Behind Mister Wu, a large contingent of armored soldiers followed.

Mister Wu entered the gate, stopped, swept the courtyard with his gaze, then asked: “Among you, are there any officials of the fourth rank or above — including fourth rank — come before me.”

The assembled men looked at one another. One by one, they all began to feel that something was not quite right.

Several officials of the fourth rank stepped forward to bow in greeting — before they had even fully bent their waists, Mister Wu said coldly: “Strip them of their official robes, bind them, load them into prisoner carts, and send them to Jizhou for our lord to deal with.”

Once he had said this, Mister Wu’s gaze swept over those who remained: “You all know that our lord sent me here to serve as Regional Commissioner of Qingzhou. Within Qingzhou, beneath me, all official appointments are within my sole discretion to decide — that our lord granted me. But that power applies to official positions — not human lives. Officials of the fourth rank and above, I cannot execute — but all of you… I can.”

Mister Wu gave the order: “Take them all.”

The armored soldiers surged forward.

Several hundred officials of every rank were all bound and tied.

Mister Wu turned and exited the courtyard. Not long after, he brought his people to an open space in the city, where a considerable number of common people had already gathered in wait.

Before returning to the Regional Commissioner’s residence, Mister Wu had already sent people throughout the city beating gongs and drums, summoning citizens to come and watch.

After roughly one hour, the space was packed with an enormous crowd.

“These people have spread slander claiming that Commander Tang Pidi harbors treasonous intentions — a crime beyond forgiveness. The Commander and our lord are of one heart and purpose, as close as brothers.”

Mister Wu pointed toward those bound officials: “They accepted money from our enemies and did their enemies’ work — seeking to instigate our lord into killing the Commander. Traitors of this kind are crimes beyond forgiveness — no interrogation required. Execute them on the spot!”

He looked out at the people: “Such individuals — every one found will be killed. I am not afraid of killing many. What all of you witness here today, I hope you will share with your family and friends. Some faults can be forgiven — but this sort of thing will never be tolerated.”

His hand swept downward, and several hundred heads fell. Blood flowed like a river.

Mister Wu had the killing done, then ordered the heads displayed in public — not to be taken down for three days.

—