Chapter 133: The Young Lord Is Angry
A Wu responded with a crisp “Yes,” and before his voice even faded, he had already darted out.
By the time He Ruiming rushed to the scene, A Wu was already shouting “Everyone stop!” and had grabbed a stick to charge in.
“Stop! Everyone stop!” He Ruiming could only shout along.
With a stick in hand, A Wu was indeed formidable. In a flash, he had knocked down half of them. The remaining half formed three or four huddles, their sticks pointed outwards, all aimed at A Wu.
A Wu stood in the center, elegantly twirling the stick a few times before gripping it and cupping his hands in a salute to Gu Yan, “Reporting to Young Lord, we’re not fighting anymore.”
Gu Yan, his face grim, gestured with his folding fan towards A Wu, signaling him to return.
A Wu twirled the stick a few more times, then shoved it back into the hand of the person from whom it had been taken. Head held high, he strode back and stood with his hands behind his back.
Li Xiaonan beckoned to A Wu with her finger. A Wu’s eyes darted left, then right, before his upper body remained still while his feet moved rapidly, one after the other, to stand beside Li Xiaonan and Wan Jing.
“Young Lord asked you to take a look, did he let you fight?” Li Xiaonan asked in a low voice.
A Wu looked upwards, not answering.
“Did he let you fight?” Li Xiaonan asked again.
“Cough,” A Wu coughed dryly, lowering his voice, “That was my brother. If I didn’t step in to block for him, his head would have been split open.”
Li Xiaonan glanced at him sideways and said no more.
“Under the broad daylight, in front of everyone! You dare to wield weapons and engage in a group brawl? Is there no law here?”
Gu Yan pointed his folding fan at everyone lying, sitting, or standing on the ground, and sternly questioned them.
“They started it! We were just working peacefully, and they rushed over to attack!” a man with a bloody head and face shouted, pointing at another group.
“Nonsense! You started it! Yesterday! Who injured our brothers? Not only did you injure our brothers, but you also ambushed us! Spit!” the other side retorted fiercely.
“You’re the one talking nonsense! Your brothers injured our brothers the day before yesterday, we’re getting revenge!” another person jumped up.
“Nonsense, nonsense! You attacked first, half a month ago…”
“All of you, shut up!” Gu Yan raised his hand and pressed his forehead, looking extremely pained and speechless. He repeatedly pointed his folding fan at both groups, then suddenly turned and asked He Ruiming, “Isn’t there a steward for this wharf?”
“Yes, yes, yes!” He Ruiming, sweating profusely, replied, “I’ve already sent for him.”
“Sent for him? Well, ‘sent for him’! You expect me to wait for him?”
Gu Yan gritted his teeth, then his gaze fell upon Huang Xianzhou, who was craning his neck to watch the commotion. He pointed his folding fan at Huang Xianzhou, “You’re good at judging cases, aren’t you? Go and judge! Figure out clearly for me who started it and how many fights there have been!”
“Yes, yes, yes!” Huang Xianzhou quickly pushed through the crowd and squeezed into the inner circle.
Mr. Yao, following closely behind Huang Xianzhou, was half a step behind and blocked by the denser crowd. After struggling for a while, he couldn’t get through and was hopping with anxiety, shouting, “Make way, make way! I’m Adviser Huang’s scribe, I need to take notes! Let me in!”
“Make way! Don’t delay the case!” a man in front forcefully pushed the person next to him.
Mr. Yao quickly squeezed through from under the man’s arm.
“Judge it properly, and make sure it’s clear!” Gu Yan looked furious.
By the time the commander in charge of this section of the wharf, along with a squad of soldiers, arrived at a run, Huang Xianzhou had already found a small stool from somewhere and sat down to begin the interrogation.
The commander quickly ordered his soldiers and guards to surround Gu Yan and then pushed the onlookers a couple of steps back.
Gu Yan’s expression softened slightly, but he still looked angry and ready to pick a fight.
Huang Xianzhou’s case was actually quite easy to judge. A large group of men were arguing and accusing each other, shifting from the current fight to past ones, from the main combatants to their helpers, and then to the helpers’ helpers.
Mr. Yao squatted beside them, writing furiously. The ink was being used too quickly, so Huang Xianzhou, while questioning, would also grind ink for him.
The two groups of men went back and forth, accusing each other, for a full half hour. Mr. Yao’s hand was sore and trembling from writing such a thick stack of notes.
Huang Xianzhou, holding the stack of confessions, presented it to Gu Yan.
Gu Yan looked dazed, and his folding fan repeatedly slapped the stack of confessions. “I don’t have time for this nonsense. How many times have they fought, how many people were injured, how many died?”
“Reporting to Young Lord.” Huang Xianzhou slumped his shoulders and lowered his head, bowing respectfully. “In the past month, there have been a total of forty-seven fights, big and small. Over one hundred and sixty people were injured, twelve seriously. Some had broken legs, some broken arms. No one has died yet.”
“Forty-seven fights!” Gu Yan repeated each word and looked at the young commander.
The young commander’s legs went weak under Gu Yan’s fierce gaze, and he immediately knelt on the ground. “I, I…”
“Young Lord, Vice Minister Luo has arrived.” He Ruiming, with sharp eyes, quietly reminded Gu Yan.
Gu Yan slightly turned his body and glanced back.
Behind him, Vice Minister Luo, holding the front of his long gown with one hand, was running and panting.
Still seven or eight paces away from Gu Yan, Vice Minister Luo hurriedly cupped his hands, “Young Lord, I didn’t know you were coming, your subordinate…”
“Tell him!”
Gu Yan took the stack of confessions from Huang Xianzhou and slapped it into He Ruiming’s arms, gesturing for He Ruiming to hand it to Vice Minister Luo.
Huang Xianzhou turned and repeated what he had just said to Vice Minister Luo.
“So, the porters under the jurisdiction of your Maritime Tax Bureau’s wharf are not here to unload cargo, but are specifically for brawling and fighting?”
Gu Yan was completely exasperated. Without waiting for Vice Minister Luo to reply, he waved his folding fan in a circle and asked loudly, “Are there any shippers or boatmen here? Tell me, does this fighting delay your unloading?”
“Of course it delays!”
“The other day they started fighting on my ship and even broke a small mast!”
“And my cargo, a large basket of fine porcelain, was smashed to pieces by them.”
“You gentlemen need to manage this properly, it’s chaos!”
“My ship’s cargo still hasn’t been unloaded, it’s been seven days!”
…
Around them, a cacophony of complaints arose.
For some reason lately, these porters have been fighting every day, several fights a day. Often, while unloading cargo, someone would suddenly start a fight, and they were all suffering greatly from it, it was terrible!
Gu Yan unfurled his folding fan and slowly swayed it, looking down at Vice Minister Luo from above.
Vice Minister Luo’s face turned green. He glared at the young commander and roared, “What is going on? Did you know or not? Why didn’t you report it?”
“Just in this past month, suddenly many outsiders appeared at the wharf, snatching work everywhere, and then…” the young commander quickly explained.
“Outsiders!” Gu Yan scoffed, then snapped his fan shut with a whoosh, pointing at the group of people sitting or kneeling. “Tell me, where are you all from? Speak one by one! You first.”
“My hometown is in Leling, Hebei.”
“My hometown is in Pingyuan County, Hebei.”
“My hometown is Longmen, Shaanxi.”
…
Gu Yan tilted his head and glanced at Vice Minister Luo, occasionally letting out a cold laugh.
The young commander’s face turned green.
This Young Lord was asking about their hometowns! In Linhai Town, regarding hometowns, which of them was local?
After everyone had spoken, Gu Yan clapped his folding fan and said with feigned distress:
“I’ve long heard that Linhai Town is chaotic, and the Maritime Tax Bureau is chaotic. I never expected it to be this chaotic!
“Since I’ve encountered this today, I cannot ignore it!
“Regarding today’s matter, I have no official position or authority, so I dare not overstep. I will leave it to you to handle for now. I will write a memorial when I return, and once I receive an imperial decree, I will investigate and rectify things properly! You just wait!”
Gu Yan turned and left.
The servants and guards followed him in a rush. He Ruiming, stunned for a moment, also hurried to follow.
Vice Minister Luo stood frozen, watching Gu Yan stride away. He turned to look at the pale-faced young commander, and after a moment, then turned to Huang Xianzhou, who was frowning with a look of distress, and cupped his hands to him, “I’ll trouble you.”
“You are too kind, too kind.” Huang Xianzhou dared not speak much, retreating as he said so.
“Take them away first,” Vice Minister Luo ordered, then hurried back towards the Maritime Tax Bureau.
The Young Lord’s mention of an imperial decree might not be an empty threat. If an imperial decree were truly issued…
Alas, this matter needs to be discussed quickly!
