Moma Liangshan

Chapter 179 Political Maneuvering, Reciprocity

Wang Hao was pleased to see that the laborers in Jiaozhou were being treated fairly and headed back towards the carriage. Seeing that Wang Hao seemed to be in a good mood, the overseer was relieved. Wang Hao looked at the respectfully waiting overseer and asked, "How many laborers are there on the construction site?" The overseer immediately replied, "More than two thousand nine hundred!" Wang Hao looked into the distance and, noticing there weren't that many people, frowned slightly and said, "I don't think there are more than two thousand here!" The overseer hurriedly explained, "Sir, you don't understand. Quarrying stones in the back mountain and transporting them along the way both require manpower, and the number is no less than that of those responsible for building houses and laying floors!" Wang Hao suddenly understood, his brow relaxing again, and asked, "Of these two thousand nine hundred, how many are locals and how many are from other places?" The overseer replied, "Less than a thousand are locals, and about two thousand are from other places!" Wang Hao was puzzled and said, "Laoshan County has a population of one hundred thousand. Why not use the surrounding people and instead recruit laborers from other counties?" The foreman sighed slightly and said, "Sir, you may not know this, but although this county has a population of 100,000, if you remove half of them—women and children—the remaining population is less than 50,000. Of those 50,000, half are elderly and weak, so if you calculate carefully, there are only about 20,000 able-bodied men. Of these 20,000, at least half will have to stay in their hometowns to manage the fields, so only about 10,000 can actually become laborers." Seeing that Wang Hao was listening very attentively, the foreman added, "The port, shipyard, roads, and water pipelines—each of these projects requires far more people than this. Moreover, the workshops are constantly expanding; last month, there was even a scramble for workers!" That happened when Wang Hao went north to Liaodong, and he immediately asked, "Was there bloodshed?" The foreman shook his head repeatedly and said, "No, not really, but the wages have increased a lot!"

Hearing this, Wang Hao was pleasantly surprised. Social prosperity is inseparable from a vibrant economy. If the wages workers receive are barely enough to feed themselves, how can other industries be stimulated? Before leaving, Wang Hao praised, "You did a great job!"

The following day, Wang Hao convened a municipal meeting, attended by Di Chunqiu, Li Rongshang, Feng Gu, Han Shu, Chen Song, Zhu Gui, and Di Qizhong. Wang Hao gestured for everyone to sit, then spoke first, saying, "I've heard that County Magistrate Zhu assaulted the son of Grand Commandant Gao in Dongjing. Is this true?" He exchanged a knowing glance with Li Rongshang, then looked directly at Feng Gu. Beads of sweat involuntarily appeared on Feng Gu's forehead as he hurriedly replied, "Zhu Heng deserved his punishment and has been escorted to the Qingzhou Judicial Commissioner's Office!" Jiaozhou was located in the Eastern Circuit of Jingdong, and Qingzhou was the capital of the Eastern Circuit of Jingdong, while Cui Zhigong was the Pacification Commissioner of the Eastern Circuit of Jingdong. Wang Hao nodded slightly and said, "The county magistrate is in charge of the county's security, and there are over ten thousand laborers from other places within Jiaozhou. Strict management is essential!" He then asked, "Has the court made any arrangements for the position of county magistrate?" Feng Gu carefully replied, "According to court regulations, officials of the fourth rank and above must be appointed by the Emperor, while officials below the fourth rank but above the seventh rank are decided by the Ministry of Personnel. As for the county magistrate of the seventh rank, he is appointed by the Circuit Pacification Commissioner." Wang Hao suddenly understood, thinking, "In that case, arranging for Cui Shaogong to take up his post in Jiaozhou would be a simple matter of Cui Zhigong's word." He said, "When I visited Lord Cui in Qingzhou, I learned that he has a son who holds the title of Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial examinations) but has yet to enter officialdom. I intend to invite this young Master Cui to serve as the county magistrate of Laoshan. What do you all think?"

Feng Gu, being self-aware, knew that such matters were not for an outsider like himself to comment on, so he quickly sat quietly to the side. Di Chunqiu, as the chief advisor, was the first to speak, saying, "If we could establish a closer relationship with Lord Cui, that would be ideal!" Chen Song followed suit, saying, "If we could invite this young master Cui to join our staff, it would be much easier for various merchants to open branches in other prefectures and counties, or to recruit laborers from other prefectures and counties!" Later, Wang Hao learned that the labor shortage a month earlier had given Chen Song a business opportunity. He had specifically established a temporary department responsible for introducing laborers to various employers and earning remuneration in the process. Later, as Jiaozhou's economy expanded, this temporary labor recruitment department was separated by Wang Hao and became the renowned "Labor Recruitment Guild." Wang Hao looked at everyone and said, "So, it seems everyone welcomes young master Cui to serve as the county magistrate of Jiaozhou?" Everyone unanimously agreed. Wang Hao pondered for a moment, then asked Feng Gu, "What does Registrar Feng think?" Feng Gu quickly assessed the situation in his mind and said, "Although it is said that one should not avoid relatives when recommending worthy people, Young Master Cui is, after all, Lord Cui's son. Directly assigning an official position to one's own son would probably make Lord Cui lose face!" Wang Hao waved his hand, signaling Feng Gu to continue. Having received instructions, Feng Gu continued, "In my opinion, why doesn't the young master write a letter to the Qingzhou Pacification Commissioner, explaining the dangers of the vacant position of County Magistrate of Laoshan? Then, send a subordinate with a small reward to visit the Deputy Envoy and ask him to recommend Young Master Cui to Lord Cui. If Lord Cui intends to appoint Young Master Cui to the position of County Magistrate of Laoshan, then the matter will naturally fall into place. If Lord Cui is unwilling to allow Young Master Cui to accept the position, he surely won't blame him!" Wang Hao increasingly realized that the minds of scholars were truly polarized—either as slippery as an eel or as stubborn as a stone. And Feng Gu, naturally, was the eel!

Wang Hao pondered for a moment and said, "I'll trouble Registrar Feng to draft the memorial to the Qingzhou Pacification Commission!" Feng Gu humbly replied, "I am of limited talent and learning; it would be better if you, Master Chunqiu, drafted it!" Wang Hao shook his head and said, "You came up with the idea, so naturally you must carry it out." Feng Gu sighed inwardly, "Master, please don't blame me. It's not that I'm disloyal, but I'm in Jiaozhou and have no choice!" Then, gritting his teeth, he said, "If you trust me, could I also handle the matter of sending the message to Qingzhou?" Wang Hao understood that this was Feng Gu's way of offering his loyalty, but if he refused Feng Gu's trip to Qingzhou, it would show that he had doubts about him. He then ordered, "Withdraw ten thousand from the accounts." "Seven thousand strings of cash will be used for bribing officials in Qingzhou, and the remaining three thousand strings will be for Registrar Feng's travel expenses!" Feng Gu found it hard to believe that Wang Hao would give him a bribe in front of everyone, and quickly said, "This official is going to Qingzhou on official business, and I don't need travel expenses!" Wang Hao smiled slightly and said nonchalantly, "If you don't like the term 'travel expenses,' you can change the name to 'writing fee' or 'tea fee,' but from now on, those three thousand strings are yours!" Wang Hao insisted on giving Feng Gu money in front of everyone to send a signal to the outside world that Feng Gu had sided with him, and at the same time, to remind Feng Gu not to be fickle!

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