Chapter 2060 - The Dust Settles
Squire He sat behind the desk in his study, face expressionless as he looked at the slip of paper in his hands, though inwardly he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
So this was what the Australians' "important notice" looked like? Nothing more than a thin sheet of white paper with a few lines of small text—honestly, it was shabbier than even a wanted notice. Shabby was shabby, but since the heading prominently displayed "Invitation," couldn't they at least have put it in a folder? It seemed this group of uncouth fellows had utterly discarded all sense of propriety.
"Just this one sheet?" Squire He raised an eyebrow, looking toward his steward He Si standing deferentially to one side, hands at his sides and breath held.
"Reporting to Master, indeed just this one sheet. After receiving it, this servant deliberately lingered in that room for a bit and observed that every household's steward received only this thin paper, nothing else—even Master Gao's Steward Yan got the same."
"If there were no other documents, did the clerk at the Chamber of Commerce office give any verbal instructions?"
"Reporting to Master, there weren't any. Please rest assured, this servant wouldn't be careless about such matters. When we entered the room, someone led us to queue up at a table, and each person signed a register after receiving the paper. That clerk was quite young. Apart from asking for your name, he didn't say a single extra word."
After hearing He Si's report, Squire He responded noncommittally and picked up the paper again to study it. There were only a few lines, nothing particularly significant. It simply said that in five days, Guangzhou's court—not government office—would be hearing the recent "Stamp Tax Case," and observers were welcome.
Calling it an "invitation" wasn't quite right—"notice" would be more accurate! Yes, "notice"! Squire He thought of this "new term." Everything about the Australians was just this cold, without any courtesy whatsoever.
The case itself wasn't surprising—the streets had been buzzing about nothing else lately. Not only had it been in the Yangcheng Express, but it was being wildly discussed in teahouses. Chu Xiaoran's suicide in particular had added a certain legendary quality to the affair.
Of course, as a literate "cultured person," Squire He disdained listening to these embellished versions of after-dinner gossip. The Australians' newspapers were what he'd most enjoyed reading lately.
Though merely a juren, He Wei was a member of the famous Shawan He clan of Guangzhou—indeed, of all Guangdong. Speaking of this family, throughout Guangzhou and even Guangdong, they could be called "thunderously famous." Since the Song dynasty, they had been the wealthiest and most powerful lineage of landlords in the Pearl River Delta region. The profits gained from developing large tracts of alluvial land sustained flourishing success in the imperial examinations, which in turn further consolidated the Shawan He clan's power and cohesion. By the Ming and Qing dynasties, the officials of the Shawan Patrol Office were mostly monopolized by the He surname.
Yet precisely because the clan's influence was too prominent, He Wei felt a sense of unease.
The Australians governed with meticulous strictness, practicing Legalist rule. They would hardly look kindly on lineages that monopolized local power. Playing local tyrant might be pleasant, but being settled up with by a real emperor meant the calamity of family destruction! So he constantly studied Australian movements—not just for himself, but to help the clan avoid disaster.
He Wei had connections with Liu Dalin. So earlier in the year, he had specifically visited Liu Dalin in Lingao. After returning, Squire He gradually learned to read between the lines of newspaper articles, and increasingly felt these Australians were truly fascinating—to think they would "widely publicize" even matters of "strategic calculation." The only thing puzzling Squire He was the last line of the "invitation": "Units and individuals receiving this notice who confirm they will attend the court hearing are requested to register at the Guangzhou Municipal Court within three days."
Squire He could now more or less read the new vernacular, but the Australians' thinking sometimes eluded him. Combined with the earlier "mass trial," did this invitation to observe indicate some established practice for Australian trials? Or were they preparing to slaughter a few "chickens" to show them blood?
Seeing his master nod slightly, He Si stepped half a step closer and said quietly, "Master, shall this servant go register at the court first?"
"No rush." Squire He set down the notice, picked up his tea cup, and took a gentle sip before speaking slowly. "You just mentioned seeing Steward Yan? Didn't you ask how Master Gao plans to handle this?"
"Reporting to Master, this servant naturally made inquiries. The Gao household isn't just handling it—they're practically fawning. Steward Yan didn't even try to hide it. The moment he left the Chamber of Commerce, he was loudly announcing he was heading to the court to register. Master, should we perhaps also..."
"Don't rush, don't rush." Hearing this, Squire He's eyes crinkled with amusement as he opened his folding fan and began waving it gently. "It won't be too late if you go tomorrow."
Squire He's guess was spot on. Though He Si didn't go to register until the next afternoon, he still secured a fairly forward seat. On the day of the hearing, the observer seats contained virtually no one besides those who'd been "invited." This wasn't because Guangzhou citizens had lost interest in Executive Committee trials—rather, even with the hearing scheduled for the weekend, naturalized workers on double shifts and naturalized cadres with no holidays simply had no time to attend. The Guangzhou natives who had just barely risen above the level of "no work today means no food today" had no concept of weekends at all. Besides, this wasn't a mass trial but a court case—most people instinctively felt intimidated and wouldn't dare join in the spectacle.
Given the clear facts and the Lin family's main members' full confession, the trial was basically a formality. Though reading evidence and witness testimony consumed considerable time, the proceedings went smoothly without complications.
The final verdict was both expected and surprising. Expected in that when pronouncing sentence, Chief Liang said the Lin family's tax evasion was of enormous amount and egregious social impact, continuing even after the enforcement regulations were implemented, with deliberate asset concealment and false declarations constituting tax evasion. Therefore, Lin Yigong, Lin Zunxiu, Lin Er, Lin Sui, and four others were sentenced to death, immediate execution, with confiscation of illegal gains and additional fines. Lin Zunjing, Lin Zunde, Cai Kun, Sun Rang, Huo Bingnian, and thirty-one others were sentenced to exile. They could choose one destination from Vietnam's Hong Ky, Taiwan's Kaohsiung, or Jeju Island. Confiscation of illegal gains with additional fines.
The surprise was that many of the Lin family's close relatives were actually released without charges. Not a single woman was confiscated and sold. Even the convicts' family members were allowed to keep some property and a place to live. Those wishing to accompany the exiled convicts were not prevented from doing so.
Due to the many people involved, the trial continued until afternoon. When Liang Xinhu's gavel fell announcing the end of proceedings and the crowd dispersed, He Wei's legs were numb. He could only hobble out of the courtroom on deadened legs—the Australian benches were thoroughly uncomfortable to sit on. He hadn't dared move after sitting down in the morning, and by halfway through the morning session he was suffering, but all he could do was grit his teeth and endure. Fortunately, the other gentlemen didn't seem to be faring much better—look, wasn't Master Gao also shuffling along with small steps beside him?
Seeing their master emerge, the stewards and personal servants of each household waiting outside the main gate surged forward.
"Master, are you alright?" He Si helped Squire He avoid the crowd and seated him on a chair that had been prepared, offering a cup of tea at just the right temperature. A young servant immediately knelt down to massage his legs.
"I'm fine." At this point, Squire He couldn't be bothered about his dignity. He stretched his legs comfortably. "After listening all morning, I can see that this Executive Committee truly is vastly different from the Ming."
Unlike the common folk who relished gossiping about the Luo and Shi families' "treason," Squire He, Master Gao, and their fellow major households were more concerned with how the Lin family had been handled. The Luo and Shi families were already doomed beyond doubt. The Australians' "prosecution" and "defense" were just flash to dazzle the eyes—the fate of those two families' several hundred members had probably been determined long ago by the leaders' pens. But the Lin family was different. Granted, not paying the emperor's grain and national taxes deserved punishment—confiscation and fines were within law. But that was the law for commoners. Scholars had scholars' laws.
Unfortunately, the prosecution of the "Stamp Tax Case" that began in the morning had left him trembling with fear. From what the Australian cadres said that morning, his earlier assumption that old Master Lin could buy his way to safety was apparently wrong.
He couldn't believe that two Australian cadres who looked so young could strip clean an old money family like the Lin's. Every scheme, every detail, every origin and trail—explained crystal clear, as if they'd handled these deals themselves. Their skills matched those of longtime veteran clerks. But which household in Guangzhou hadn't done such things? Even he himself was well familiar with these practices.
Having caught his breath, Squire He surveyed his surroundings and noticed that apart from the likes of Zhang Yu, all his old acquaintances—Master Gao included—wore gloomy expressions. If the post-liberation witchcraft case and the purge of the Guan Di Temple had caught people who didn't know their place and touched "forbidden scales," then what the Lin family was convicted of today seemed to many like "making a mountain out of a molehill." Everyone couldn't help feeling apprehensive, fearing the Australians might expand guilt by association.
Thinking of this, Squire He felt even more grateful for that earlier visit to Jinshi Liu in Lingao. If not for Liu Dalin's wake-up call, his own name might well have been on those documents in those two young men's hands today.
What's more, Jinshi Liu had said more than that—which was why he could sit here today watching others' worried faces with a calm heart and even a hint of secret pleasure. Because he now understood that to the Australians, the only things that gave him any weight were his city businesses and countryside land. Juren status, great family lineage—the Australians recognized none of it. Even businesses and land required being a law-abiding, obedient citizen to keep. Otherwise, one word of "according to law" meant the day of family ruin. As for official connections, Squire He recalled Master Gao's deliberate maneuvering when the Chamber of Commerce was established and couldn't help but sneer. Director Zheng was ultimately just a woman—why did Master Gao insist on acting like a eunuch? Couldn't he see why the Australians kept people like them at arm's length?
Actually, Squire He hadn't seen it either at first. But after returning from Lingao, he understood that no matter how hard he tried to curry favor, he could never become one of the Australians' "insiders." But would such a small matter trouble Squire He?
Next update: Volume 7 - Two Guangs Campaign Section 173
(End of Chapter)