Chapter 1737: Tuan Tou
Beggar gangs in major cities wielded considerable power in classical Chinese urban society and served as a crucial link in the government's so-called "socialized management." The leaders of beggar gangs during the Ming and Qing dynasties were thus considered semi-official figures, often possessing "tokens" symbolizing government authorization. These leaders held absolute power over the lives and deaths of beggars beneath them. They enjoyed offerings from their subordinates, lived luxuriously—not merely eating and dressing well with servants and maids at their beck and call, but frequently possessing multiple wives and concubines. Their lifestyles were indistinguishable from wealthy merchants.
"Wenlan Academy owns quite a few shops on Chengxuan Street—all prime locations earning a fortune daily. If you tear down those sheds, Mo Rongxin will definitely seek help from the Guan Di Temple people," Bi Defan warned. "The Chief must prepare early."
To understand more about the situation, Lin Baiguang summoned a retained old clerk from the Fast Class named Gao Chongjiu after Bi Defan departed.
The Fast Class's main duty was "arresting"—local public security was entirely their responsibility—so they possessed the clearest grasp of the city's various "city foxes and social rats."
Gao Chongjiu didn't come from a Fast Class family. He had apprenticed under an old runner since childhood and endured half a life as a "white member" before finally becoming a regular. He was intimately familiar with Guangzhou's social conditions and public sentiments, especially the lower strata of society.
Gao Chongjiu was already in his fifties—old age by 17th-century standards. Having difficulty producing offspring, he only fathered a son after forty. Because he believed in karma, he didn't dare commit excessive evil in daily dealings, placing him in the category of those who could be won over.
Lin Baiguang asked him about the detailed inner workings of the "Guan Di Temple people." Gao Chongjiu held nothing back, relating everything he knew.
The leader of the Guan Di Temple people was named Gao Tianshi, he explained. His family had held the hereditary position of General Tuan Tou of the Guan Di Temple people for generations.
"...According to Gao Tianshi, his ancestors followed Emperor Hongwu in campaigns east and west, coming to Guangzhou during the conquests. When Emperor Hongwu ascended the throne, since his ancestors were originally beggars themselves, they received this reward. The tale dates back so far that no one investigates whether it's true. However, Gao Tianshi always boasts that his family possesses the certificate granted by the Imperial Court for the General Tuan Tou of Guangzhou, along with the 'Imperially Sealed Stick' bestowed from above."
Lin Baiguang nodded. This wasn't unusual. Leaders of organized beggar gangs always attributed their sect's origin to some emperor. Not entirely fabricated—the government had indeed granted them certain powers historically. As for whether the Emperor's own words were involved, that was casual embellishment.
Though called the Guan Di Temple people, the general leader was actually not based at the Guan Di Temple. Gao Chongjiu explained that Gao Tianshi's "Dou Kou" (den) was located in Jinhua Temple outside Xiguan. As for the subordinate leaders, they lived in various broken temples and ruined shrines inside and outside the city, each with their own territory and clear boundaries. Beggars from each den couldn't cross boundaries to beg. Foreign beggars had to register at the Guan Di Temple before begging; otherwise they'd be beaten and driven away at best, or tied to a stone and sunk in the Pearl River at worst.
"How many beggars are registered at the Guan Di Temple in Guangzhou City?" Lin Baiguang asked.
Gao Chongjiu shifted nervously and licked his lips. "Approximately close to ten thousand."
"Zijie has operated charity halls in Guangzhou for years. Those willing to make a living could have gone to Lingao. Why are the beggars unwilling to go? Why prefer begging in Guangzhou?"
Gao Chongjiu smiled. "Chief, those registered at the Guan Di Temple are either old, weak, or disabled—afraid that going to the charity hall would require work they couldn't perform, preferring to beg and drag out a feeble existence. Or they're those with 'skills'..."
"What skills?"
"Begging has many varieties. The most common: either begging along the street or sitting on the ground. These have no skills. Those with skills possess techniques passed down from masters. Some create theatrical pairings—old beggars with child beggars, supposedly grandfather and grandson in distress. Some feature female beggars holding dead infants, or corpses obtained who knows where, with a female beggar or child beggar kneeling beside claiming to sell themselves to bury their relative... all rehearsed routines. That's one school. Then there are those who stick rotten meat on themselves pretending disability, or those genuinely disabled—that's another school. Then those smashing bricks on their foreheads, piercing nails through their faces..."
Lin Baiguang understood. The so-called "skilled" ones were essentially professional beggars—and their "begging" was mostly "scamming." He asked: "What else?"
"The last kind: actually strong and healthy people with no skills. But they're lazy and work-averse. Besides normal begging, they serve as attendants for ceremonial procession shops. After a wedding or funeral, not only do they get a full stomach, but they can earn enough money to get by. Another occupation is acting as hired muscle in rural armed fights."
Guangzhou's clan power was extremely strong, and armed conflicts were commonplace—even near the provincial capital. Clan villages with weaker forces, wanting to avoid defeat in these fights, often hired strong, healthy beggars through the Guan Di Temple dens as borrowed muscle. Since beggars mostly had no families, there were no complications if they died in fights, and compensation was meager. So whenever armed conflict arose, business opened for them.
"...Whenever there's a rural armed fight, the Big Bones are happiest. They not only take a cut of the 'hiring fee'—if someone they sent is beaten to death, the employer must pay compensation, and that money goes into their pockets. Furthermore, whenever armed fights result in deaths, by custom someone must be found to surrender and pay with their life. This is another exclusive business of the Guan Di Temple. Either by persuasion or force, they get a few old and weak ones from the beggar ranks to take the fall, collecting yet another life-buying payment."
"What else?"
"As for other 'businesses,' they're innumerable. Guarding charity graveyards and cremation grounds; watching streets and striking the watch; acting as undertakers to collect ownerless corpses; wailing and crying when wealthy households hold funerals... these count as legitimate businesses. Speaking of illegitimate ones—the Ghost Market outside Xiguan selling various stolen goods and even grave-robbed burial objects... without the Guan Di Temple people's backing, the market couldn't exist at all. Foreign pickpockets, thieves, 'child abductors'... anyone wanting to 'do business' inside and outside the city must come to the Guan Di Temple to 'burn incense' and seek protection."
Lin Baiguang had been in Guangzhou a long time and was not without contact with the Guan Di Temple people, but this was the first time he'd learned such detailed information. He realized he had underestimated them. Now it was clear the Guan Di Temple people were a festering sore on Guangzhou—one that required treatment, and quickly.
"So, the Guan Di Temple people are all content to be beggars?"
"Can't say all. Except for those with 'skills,' most people still want regular meals. After all, in this line of work, you never know if there's a next meal after this one, never know when you'll drop dead on the street." Gao Chongjiu sighed. "No matter how majestic the Guan Di Temple people seem, no matter how much money they make—how much can ordinary beggars get? They have to pay tribute to the Big Bones daily. The beggars have a saying: 'Take off shoes to earn for wearing clogs to eat, wear clogs to earn for wearing shoes to eat, wear shoes to earn for wearing boots to eat.' The pittance they beg is given as tribute to the Big Bones; the Big Bones pay tribute to the Tuan Tou; the Tuan Tou pays tribute to the yamen. Big fish eat small fish, small fish eat shrimp."
Lin Baiguang looked at Gao Chongjiu and asked abruptly: "Old Gao, I've heard you and Gao Tianshi are sworn brothers?"
Gao Chongjiu started and hurriedly defended himself: "This lowly one indeed has close dealings with Gao Tianshi, but mostly for official yamen business. To win me over—because this lowly one is also surnamed Gao—he claimed he wanted to join clans and recognize us as brothers of the same surname. He just said it casually, and this lowly one just agreed carelessly—actually, this lowly one's ancestral home is Nanxiong, while his is Huainan..."
"All right, you don't need to defend yourself." Lin Baiguang interrupted him. "You and he are not the same kind of people. I'm very clear on this."
"Yes, thank you for Master's clear judgment!" Sweat dripped from Gao Chongjiu's forehead. He had heard from people in the Soap Class that the hundred-plus clerks and runners arrested these past days were being tortured and interrogated day and night in the prefecture and county prisons—forced to confess their "crimes," especially to reveal the whereabouts of hidden private wealth. The torture experts in the Soap Class were all working in shifts. Word was that the "torture was extremely cruel" inside, and those arrested "only sought a quick death." Recently, because of secret reports or filed complaints at the yamen, more than a dozen clerks and runners who had already been registered for retention were arrested again. He had no blood debts on his hands and didn't dare do things against conscience in ordinary times, so he should be fine. If he were arrested because of this inexplicable "brotherhood"—wouldn't that be unjust?
"You may go for now. Later I'll send someone to take a statement. Explain to me clearly everyone and everything you know about the Guan Di Temple people—every person, every matter, important or unimportant, one by one. The clearer and more comprehensibly you speak, the greater your merit."
"Yes, yes, this lowly one understands." Gao Chongjiu's back was soaked by now. The Chief's meaning was clear: they were going to move against Gao Tianshi.
Lin Baiguang sat alone behind his desk, thinking for a long time. Though Bi Defan had warned that the Guan Di Temple people might cause trouble, and though the information Gao Chongjiu had just provided showed this was a formidable force, he believed they wouldn't jump out proactively at present. Though they claimed to fear nothing in heaven or earth, they still feared strong power. At this moment of "change of dynasty," they wouldn't be so blind as to expose themselves voluntarily.
But their remaining passive didn't mean the shop owners wouldn't use other means to resist. After all, the shop owners were "common people," "law-abiding citizens"—they couldn't simply be handled with shouts of "kill" and "beat." Lin Baiguang had engaged in demolishing illegal structures when he was a county office director in another time-space, and had dealt with mass incidents during demolitions. The lesson he'd learned was: have sufficient preparation before acting. When implementing, move fast; have enough manpower and equipment. Should a sudden incident occur, immediately control the situation with more people against fewer, to prevent the crowd from being incited.
Though he had a team of naturalized citizen cadres—few in number but quite capable—and a Detective Brigade with numerous people eager to prove their loyalty, enough to complete this operation, he decided tomorrow's demolition should still use the National Army as backbone. They would appear with live ammunition to suppress the various evil winds in this city.
(End of this chapter)