Chapter 1725: The Surrendered Persons
This time, before entering the city, he had estimated that if officials refused to surrender and committed suicide, their family members would probably follow in death. In this era, there was no such thing as preferential treatment for prisoners or kindness toward women and children. Once defeated and captured, men were beheaded and women sent to brothels as a matter of course—unless the victor chose to show mercy, which was rare indeed.
That some of Prefect Dong's female relatives were still alive was quite remarkable. He couldn't help but ask: "What happened?"
"They were originally going to die honorably, but for some reason they hesitated. By the time they prepared to hang themselves, the Heavenly Army had already arrived—so they were saved." Wei Bifu paused. "This humble official believes their resolve to die was not firm."
"That is understandable. Even ants cling to life."
"Yes." Wei Bifu lowered his head. "Does Your Excellency wish to call them for questioning?"
"No need." Liu Xiang shook his head. "Just lead the way."
Beside the Flower Hall was a side courtyard—the residence of the personal secretaries. Wei Bifu reported that the secretaries' whereabouts were currently unknown; they had probably gone into hiding.
Behind the Flower Hall lay the Prefect's daily living quarters, resembling an ordinary wealthy household. The rear courtyard had a small garden, modestly adorned with springs and ornamental stones for rest and relaxation.
Liu Xiang observed that furniture in the hall was in disarray, with various clothes and valuables strewn across the floor. A red sandalwood tea tray lay upturned on the ground, several cups smashed to pieces... He could imagine the fear, chaos, and despair this family had experienced before Prefect Dong's death by poison. He felt quite moved.
Wei Bifu carefully accompanied "Lord Liu" on the inspection. He noticed the Fubo Army soldiers who had rushed in early that morning standing guard at various doorways and steps, each ramrod straight with eyes fixed forward. Even with all manner of valuables and gold pearls scattered on the ground before them, they remained unmoved. He marveled inwardly—if this had been anyone else's army, the rear quarters would have become a battlefield of looting, and not even a teacup would remain!
However, those collecting the valuables were a different group of Fake Hair-shorn. They worked in teams of three: one carried a small wooden box and bag for transporting valuables; one held a ledger and a dip pen, with an ink bottle hanging from his neck, solely responsible for registration and recording; and another picked up items, holding each one aloft and announcing it.
"One gilt silver step-shake inlaid with kingfisher feathers!"
"One half-worn blue patterned satin vest!"
"One piece of broken Chao silver, weight unknown!"
"One string of copper coins, over a hundred! Not counted!"
...
These announcements rose one after another throughout the halls, with special personnel overseeing everything. Wei Bifu thought to himself: the old saying was that the Hair-shorn bandits were meticulous as hair, treating every coin as if their lives depended on it. Seeing it firsthand, it was indeed true!
But he didn't dare show this thought. He simply kept his head bowed and back stooped, awaiting instructions. At that moment, a naturalized citizen worker jogged over, stood before Liu Xiang, and bowed: "Chief!"
Liu Xiang recognized them as members of the Planning Institute's Special Search Team. Just the Prefect's private property in the yamen was probably considerable—they would make a good profit again. He smiled: "No need for formalities. How long have you been here? Have you finished inventorying the treasury?"
"Three hours," the cadre replied crisply. "Most of the front areas have been searched. The treasury will be inventoried tomorrow. The rear quarters are today's focus and require careful examination."
"Good haul?"
The cadre looked slightly embarrassed: "Honestly, the haul is meager. Whether in the secretaries' residence or here, we haven't found large sums of silver. There are quite a few valuables, though. We're preparing to dig for hidden caches next."
"Do you have any leads?"
"Yes. Though many of Prefect Dong's family members have fled, we've captured his steward and personal attendant. Once we've interrogated them all, we'll find it—and if not, we have our own methods. We definitely won't let silver grow mold underground."
"Good, hurry up. Clean up the house so guests can come. I'm waiting to use this place."
"Yes, Chief. We'll be as quick as possible."
Liu Xiang gave a general survey of the prefectural yamen. Seeing the numerous buildings and spacious architecture—far superior to the conditions at Wuyang Post Station—he decided to temporarily establish the Guangzhou Municipal Government here. According to the plan, the Senate intended to build a "Guangzhou New City" on Henan Island, with the administrative center located in the new city area. But their main work for now still had to be conducted in the old city.
Rather than traveling in and out of the city every time he dealt with affairs, it would be more convenient to base his office here.
He had considered the Guangdong Provincial Administration Commission yamen, but on second thought, he should leave that for Commissioner Wen's Guangdong Greater Region headquarters. Besides, as Guangzhou Mayor, he still had the Nanhai and Panyu county yamens available. And Guangzhou being a provincial capital, yamens and government offices lined both sides of Chengxuan Street like trees. The city also had many large temples. There were plenty of transitional options; no need to rush for buildings.
He immediately decided to establish the Guangzhou Military Control Commission in the Guangzhou Prefectural Yamen. He then instructed that the surviving surrendered officials and their families in the yamen should relocate as soon as possible to vacate the buildings.
According to the takeover plan, the surrendered persons in the city—along with their families and property—would all be resettled at the Guangdong Imperial Examination Hall on Dashi Street at the foot of Yuexiu Mountain. The Examination Hall was vast, with numerous buildings, enough to accommodate surrendered and captured Ming officials. More important officials and their families would be sent to Guangxiao Temple for screening. Surrendered generals and soldiers would all be sent to Hong Kong Island for reorganization.
Liu Xiang surveyed the scene and saw that the Flower Hall was mostly tidied up. He then ordered that the surrendered persons of the one prefecture and two counties of Guangzhou be received there.
Led by Guangzhou Vice Prefect Wei Bifu, below him stood county assistants, registrars, constables, educational directors, fishery commissioners, patrolmen... various ranked and unranked officials, along with the clerks and foremen of the three classes and six departments at the prefectural and county levels... They stood densely packed in the courtyard, yet not a single cough was heard.
Liu Xiang instructed Wei Bifu to call the roll. The surrendered persons came up one by one to pay their respects. Liu Xiang asked a few questions and dismissed each in turn. This was not merely a display of authority—he was actually gauging the surrendered persons' situations to assess their potential usefulness. What disappointed him somewhat was that not only had the Prefect committed suicide, but even the magistrates of Nanhai and Panyu counties had taken their own lives. Almost all who surrendered were assistant officials.
Assistant officials carried far less influence. The Great Ming might not enjoy "popular support," but "official support for the Ming" was undeniably real. If the External Intelligence Bureau could have secured a few senior local officials' surrender this time, it would have been invaluable for future pacification by proclamation. After all, senior officials served as weathervanes.
However, the disposition of officials in other yamens fell outside Liu Xiang's jurisdiction. His calculations could only concern the territory of Guangzhou Prefecture—if only some proper chief officials from the other prefectures and counties under Guangzhou Prefecture could "turn toward the light."
Looking at the present situation, Wei Bifu was quite a character. Though his actual ability was unknown, his enthusiasm for "leading the way" was undeniable. He could temporarily be called upon to assist with affairs.
After receiving the surrendered persons, Wei Bifu came forward again: "To welcome the Imperial Envoy, we humble officials have prepared gifts to express our humble intentions. We humbly beseech the Senate and Lord Liu to accept them."
The surrendered persons presented ten thousand taels of silver, along with many precious items—aloe incense, jade belts, pure gold jewelry, jade pots, and other treasures. A rough estimate suggested they were worth several tens of thousands of taels more.
The gifts were divided into two portions: the larger one presented to the Senate; the smaller, naturally, intended for Liu Xiang personally.
Liu Xiang said: "The items presented by Wei Bifu and the others demonstrate your loyal hearts. The portion for the Senate, I will accept. As for the personal gifts to me, I will take none of them. Take them all back."
Wei Bifu and the other surrendered persons hurried to kneel, repeatedly begging: "If Your Excellency accepts nothing, we humble officials are truly uneasy. We humbly beseech you to kindly accept a portion!"
Liu Xiang, seeing their words were sincere and earnest, instructed his secretary to accept one jade pot. All the rest was returned.
He then delivered a few words of "admonition"—nothing more than telling them to "not carry burdens," "study diligently, accept reform, and strive to serve the Senate and the people as soon as possible"...
After the lecture, he dismissed the surrendered persons, keeping only Wei Bifu and several veteran clerks from the original Guangzhou Prefecture and the Nanhai and Panyu county yamens. He inquired about local conditions in Guangzhou.
Liu Xiang had the Planning Institute personnel inventory and record all valuables in detail; even the jade pot he had accepted was turned over to public funds. Observing this, several surrendered persons marveled privately: they said the Australians were greedy, counting every penny—yet their Senators were each as pure as water. What a strange way of thinking!
He then chatted casually with the surrendered persons about Guangzhou's basic situation.
What he cared about most was population. Population represented not only labor but also a consumer market. Guangzhou was nothing like Qiongshan—even now, Qiongshan's urban population hadn't exceeded forty thousand. Guangzhou was one of the great cities of the seventeenth century. Simply feeding the non-agricultural population was a major undertaking. Especially since Guangdong was not yet fully occupied, the grain supply from Guangxi would also be cut off for a considerable period. Understanding exactly how many non-agricultural residents there were, and what the self-sufficiency rate was for grain, firewood, cloth, and other daily necessities, would enable the organization of effective trade supply channels and prevent crises caused by insufficient supply.
However, the feedback he received was unsatisfactory. The population statistics available were still the Yellow Register figures stored in the prefectural and county yamens—Liu Xiang had already experienced the "accuracy" of Yellow Register figures back in Qiongshan.
According to the Yellow Register and estimates from the Household Department clerks, Nanhai County had 38,000 households; Panyu County slightly fewer. Guangzhou City had a total of approximately 60,000 households—a population of around 200,000. The true figures were probably somewhat higher. The population of the entire Guangzhou Prefecture was probably between 500,000 and 600,000.
Liu Xiang's mind began to wander. Though the Yellow Register listed detailed household categories—military households, craftsman households, service households, and so on—in reality, these classifications had become meaningless by the late Ming. Military households didn't necessarily serve as soldiers; craftsman households weren't necessarily craftsmen. Deriving non-agricultural population figures from these would require considerable imagination.
"We still need to conduct a population census," Liu Xiang murmured, making a note in his notebook.
After talking for a while, when conversation lulled, his naturalized citizen secretary, Guo, walked in and said softly: "Chief, the young lady of the Dong family wants to see you."