This poem was written by the famed and talented Wang Shu'neng. Now, in Pure Penny Prefecture of Shaoxing District there stands the Shrine of the Honest Prefect. It is dedicated to the memory of Liu Chung, who had been appointed prefect and treasurer during the reign of Emperor Huandi of the Western Han. He was clean as the purest water, without a corrupt hair on his head. During his inaugural inspection tour he encountered a number of elders who tearfully remonstrated with him, each offering a string of one hundred coins. Liu Chung got the idea of what was happening and took only one large copper, known then as "big money", from them. Later men have thought of his honest virtue and erected that shrine for the worship of his spirit, naming it the Shrine of the Honest Prefect, and the area as well has come to be called Pure Penny Prefecture.

Our poet Wang Shu'neng had passed through the place and chanced to worship the idol of that late, great prefect. He later penned those four lines when he realized how the officials of his time snatched up all the petty cash they could get their hands on. Well written as they are, however, they do not convey the entire picture. For today an official who takes all the money he can get his hands on is then known as a decisive man. His accounting methods are based on precise calculations and not a cent is lost. Even when making a statue the regulation amount of dirt, three shovelfuls, is taken from the earth. What does he care if your money is in "big" or "small" or whatever denomination, or if it is swept up from the ground; into his coffers it goes. Taking the "big money" therefore has this other meaning to it. As another poem says:

Now, today's greedy officials have indeed got their reasons and priorities. Some of the money they take is earmarked for contributions to superiors, to ensure a fine rise in official rank. And should an official chance to sit as judge during his watch he can confiscate the convicted criminals' homes and become a really big landlord. Then he can pass rich fields and fine houses down to his offspring, along with fine cloths, proud horses and all the other trappings of the good life. Even if his subjects curse him bitterly, none of it reaches his ears.

Now on the other hand let us consider the case of the clean official. He has nobody toadying to him and makes nobody happy and receives only a curt official dismissal for his trouble. He is exhiled in tears, unable to return home where his wife cannot help but starve in the cold due to her association with him. His relations young and old hate him and the Emperor sitting in his palace knows nothing of such a distant and trivial matter. Now, all things considered isn't it easier to be a greedy official? There is clearly only one choice! Isn't it hard to find fault with ten million people shouting one's praises? And if one's offspring have no inheritance how can the family line flourish? Of course Heaven knows all and will not fail to dispense justice in the end, but who can wait that long? The people of your time will never know the reward!

There is an element of risk in all of this, however. For it's a matter of sheer luck whether or not the imperial court pleases Heaven and one's district remains at peace. If destiny turns dark and ugly and the district is rocked by disorder it will certainly all be blamed on the greedy official. The entire castastrophe will be regarded to be of his making.

In the previous chapter we read of how the Beizhou Governor Zhang De lost the allegiance of the army and brought on a tragedy through all of his predatory acts. It is indeed a typical case of what can happen to a greedy official.

And so that day the governor was furious to find his granary and vault short of rice and cash, and he sent Wang Ze to prison to be interrogated according to law. The interrogator was named Wang Jiang.

"I'd say your family is neither rich nor powerful enough to come up with the sort of rice and cash needed to pay the two regiments," he began. "Today the district vault is missing a lot of cash and a great amount of rice is gone from the granary as well. Why don't you just tell us how you managed to get it all out of there?"

Wang Ze refused to admit his guilt even as he bore the resulting blows of torture. "Yesterday was my day off!" he insisted. "I was sitting idly at home when I saw these men shouting all their demands as they passed by my door. They were saying that after three months in service they couldn't get even a month's ration of rice and cash. Then these four men came out of nowhere and without my agreement took over my room to pay six thousand troops. The four of them disappeared, and I really don't know who they are."

"And so," thundered the interrogator, "without knowing their names or asking their intentions you permitted them to give out rations right in your home?" He then ordered the jailers to stretch out Wang Ze, roll him over and cane the truth out of him. This time he couldn't bear the pain.

"One is named Zhang Ying!" he blurted out, "And another is Pu Ji...and then there is Master Que or Zuo Chu...and one called Bonze Dan, sometimes written Egg Dan and sometimes Pellet Dan..."

The interrogator brought some paper and a wet brush and ordered Wang Ze to write the names down, and the sight of that resulting list filled him with fright.

"Why, Pu Ji and Zhang Ying are the two who murdered the governor of Zhengzhou and made a clean getaway!" he recalled, trembling. "And Pellet Bonze Dan cheated Perfect Commander Wang out of three thousand strings of cash, and then gave Grand Dragon Bao so much repeated aggravation. Both places have notices out for their arrest, but I can't imagine who this Master Que or Zuo Chu might be. He's no refined gentleman-scholar, that's for sure! For whatever reason, these characters have all come together, and in Beizhou of all places...this is no trivial matter!"

He then made Wang Ze sign a confession before returning him to confinement in prison and went at once to inform the governor in minute detail of what trouble was brewing. When he heard the news Governor Zhang's face went earthen yellow with dread. How he wanted to arrest them, but to be honest with himself he knew that it would not be easy to catch such a gang of sorcerers at large before they could cause many more calamities. He was therefore of a mind to cover up all the past mischief and to deal leniently with Wang Ze, and to simply write off his losses in rice and cash from the storehouses. But alas Wang Ze had already so clearly fingered those four men and all the people would soon know; it was only a matter of how best to go about arresting them. This great affair had come on suddenly like a tiger and was now as hard to get a hand on as a snake. Still he had to do his duty as chief of a district, and bring the army and people into line. After thinking it over for awhile he wrote a public proclamation as follows:

WANTED BY GOVERNOR ZHANG OF BEIZHOU

Dispatcher Wang Ze has confessed the names of his sorcerer partners in robbing the district granary and treasury. A REWARD OF ONE THOUSAND STRINGS OF CASH awaits any and everyone for the arrest of each of the criminals below upon confirmation. Individuals who fail to report their knowledge shall be considered COLLECTIVELY GUILTY along with their families and associates.

• ZHANG YING, an itinerant Daoist wearing an iron ruyi crown and a wizard's black gown.


• PU JI, dressed as a street merchant.
• MASTER QUE, also known as ZUO CHU, a cripple wearing a shabby head wrapping and a coarse gown
• MASTER or BONZE DAN, alias PELLET BONZE DAN, wearing gold earrings and a flame pattern gown.

Posted in the Fourth Year of the Qing Li reign, (1044 AD) ( ) month ( ) day.

The governor then ordered the yamen calligraphers to paint tens of the signboards to be hung up before each of the city gates and in front of the yamen itself, as well as in other prominent locations round town. At the same time the arrestors were ordered into action to seize them at once.

Now the six thousand troops of the two regiments and their dependants had all been paid rice and cash by Wang Ze before the governor pronounced him an outlaw and cast him into prison to suffer so. In their taverns and tearooms the men were all speaking up and cursing the governor, to the last man calling him a totally depraved thieving dog. They then spotted Master Que hobbling up to camp, hands clasped prayerfully in front of his chest.

"Men of destiny," he pleaded, "listen to me! Dispatcher Wang defiantly paid all of you, as you saw for yourselves back in his room when he distributed your rice and cash. The governor has now taken rice and money from the district vaults and stashed it all away, and has falsely accused Wang Ze of theft! And now he's about to send his men over to your two regimental camps for the rice and cash to replentish his stores. I reckon you've already spent or gambled away all the money as young men like yourselves will do, and now that the rice is all eaten up where will you come up with anything to give them back?"

The men were enraged upon hearing this. "It's ours to spend and eat, not official property!" shouted the men. "First he refuses to pay us our due and now he's coming to take by force what is rightfully ours! This is cause enough for revolt!"

"Dispatcher Wang paid you out of the goodness of his heart," replied Zuo Chu, "and now he's been beaten to a bloody pulp and confined in prison by the governor, his life by no means assured. Can you now return his kindness by forcibly rescuing him from prison?"

"We're of the same mind!" shouted one of the crowd. "But how can we spring him out of there when we're lacking both strength and a leader?"

"You're right, men!" shouted Zuo Chu, "You need a chief! If I take the lead will you all get behind me?"

The men silently looked at Zuo Chu, thinking of his diminutive size and crippled leg which made him useless at close quarters and unable to kill anyone. Following him would lead only to defeat it seemed.

Zuo Chu nodded at their reluctance. "I take it from your silence that you're all fooled by my small size and limited strength, and that you can't take me seriously. Would you like to see something that might give you all a bit of confidence in me?" He then mumbled a charm beneath his breath and shouted out "Live!" and in the twinkling of an eye our little Master Que was gone, changed into an eight-foot tall immortal with enormous shoulders and head as big as a chariot wheel. His eyes were like lanterns and the men felt a breeze as his big hands wielded swords the size of wooden doors. Fearfully they all fell to their knees begging for mercy.

"We couldn't see Mt Taishan before our very eyes!" they pleaded. "Why, all along you were an immortal from Heaven! We can now understand how a poor man like Dispatcher Wang could pay six thousand of us all that rice and cash."

They had barely finished praying when that immortal changed right back into Master Que. "All right!" he shouted, "Enough squabbling! Let's get our hearts and minds together on this. Heaven has sent me to lead you people of Beizhou in your time of difficulty. You've got only today to decide whether you follow me or not!"

As the sound of his voice subsided two martial arts instructors came forth with spears and cudgels in hand. Now, one was named Zhang Cheng and the other Dou Wenyu. "Dispatcher Wang is a fine man and we should save him!" they shouted. "If anyone is not willing to join us we'll take him apart like an artichoke!"

We're with you!" shouted the men. "All of us!"

"It's hard to find two braver men!" said Master Que. "Let me put you in charge of weapons and training! Now I myself will go and free Dispatcher Wang and destroy the Beizhou Governor while I'm at it. All of you just come along for support. Then you can all help in making Wang Ze the chief of Beizhou, to freed and clothe you in abundance so you can all happily live out the remainder of your lives!"

"We'll be right there with you!" shouted the men upon hearing those words, and this poem bears witness:

Zuo Chu then took leave of the town garrison and whirled right over to the district yamen. The governor had just entered his office and was seated on a tigerskin-covered wicker chair raving away wildly. The intruder used a body-concealment charm to render himself invisible and stood unseen right behind his excellency, conjuring up a hole in the floor. He then pulled the chair back a step and into the hole when one leg, depositing the governor on the floor. All of those present rushed up to assist him.

"I guess the legs of the chair were too old and just gave way!" said the governor.

"This thieving dog doesn't even know me and he dares utter my name disrespectfully!" thought Zuo Chu, snickering to himself darkly. "I'll just play with him some more!"

They had just repositioned the chair and replaced the tigerskin cover and the governor had just seated himself upon it when Zuo Chu gave his official silk hat a solid blow from behind, sending it tumbling to the floor. From there it flew like an arrow right out of the hall and landed on the ground. It had all happened so fast that those present could have sworn that his excellency had just summoned a pidgeon from up his sleeve!

"Quick!" they heard the governor shout. "Bring me back my hat!" Only then did they realize that it had been the chief's official silk hat. But before anyone could go and retrieve it in came Zuo Chu, eyes ablaze and the hat in one hand as he strode defiantly right up to the governor.

"Chief," he announced, "today is the day you lose both your hat and your head!" he then returned the silk ceremonial hat adding "Here is your head, Governor, courtesy of yours truly, Zuo Chu!"

All were surprised to hear that name. "The signs ordering his arrest have just gone up," someone said, "and here he is putting himself right into the cangue!"

The governor gazed down in disbelief at the little body before him. "Are you really that Master Que?" he asked.

Zuo Chu lifted his left foot for all to see. "Do you think this bum leg is fake?" he shot back.

The governor glared. "How dare you just walk in here like this when I've called for your arrest?"

"I happen to know that your excellency stands accused of wrongdoing and I'm here to watch you confess!" replied Master Que.

The governor was livid. "I've never seen the likes of a thieving sorcerer like you!" he thundered. He then ordered his subordinates to fetch a full body cangue and place Zuo Chu in it before taking him to the interrogation center for more evidence about Wang Ze and the missing rice and cash. The jailers dragged him into the place just in time to see Wang Ze being taken from his cell. Dispatcher Wang was surprised to see Zuo Chu of all people.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"The problem isn't me," said Master Que, "but how to somehow get you out of here!"

In strode the interrogator Wang Jiang. "You've got a big mouth, monk!" he began. "So tell me, how did you get that money and rice out of the vaults?"

"Inspector!" replied Zuo Chu. The governor is so stupid. He didn't pay the troops their monthly ration of rice and cash and made the two regiments just grit their teeth in anger and hate until I came up with four thousand strings of cash and paid it for the governor. And now instead of gratitude I've been indicted for a crime! Now where's the sense in that?"

Wang Jiang was furious. He called to a jailer to strenuously torture the suspect. The guard took his rod, rolled Zuo Chu over and began caning him when the strangest thing happened. Whenever he lashed out the monk felt nothing but the torturer received the force and pain of each blow just as if he were beating his own body! A few different jailers were called forth to try their hand with the same result. They would each lash out once and then scream in pain themselves, casting aside the rod and jumping well clear. The chief interrogator himself then stepped forth and picked up the rod for a go at it, but it seemed just as if he were flogging himself instead of Zuo; he threw away the rod and ran off clutching his buttocks and screaming continuously in agony and horror.

That left only Zuo Chu to be seen laughing aloud, shouting "Live!" to remove the chains from Wang Ze's body and his own and to extricate themselves from the cangues.

"That fellow is a sorcerer all right!" shouted the terrified interrogator Wang Jiang. He and the jailers rushed forth to seize the pair but Zuo Chu froze their feet in place just by pointing a finger! They all seemd to be rooted in the earth, immovable as trees while Zuo Chu and Wang Ze fled right out of the place.

Now, the governor was sitting in his office wearing his high silk hat as before and sitting in his tigerskin-covered wicker chair counting his money when suddenly he spotted Zuo Chu.

"Grand Governor Zhang!" proclaimed the monk, "Today you shall be punished for having harmed the people of Beizhou! It would be unforgivable if I didn't remove the cause of their suffering while I could!"

The governor recognized their murderous intent and ran behind a decorative screen. He was hiding there in vain when two more men entered the hall, none other than our very own Zhang Ying and Pu Ji, each wielding a sword. Pu ji rushed forth to hold the governor while Zhang Ying with his dazzling footwork and swordsmanship quickly decapitated the man.

The horrified onlookers both within and outside the hall were as helplessly frozen and immovable as trees.

"Listen to me, all of you!" proclaimed Wang Ze. "The great majority of you have been victimized by him. Today we have cut out the root of future woes and brought happiness to all the people of Beizhou. All of you who have suffered so, join me in looting this yamen and taking the gold and silver in there to make yourselves wealthy and happy!"

Hearing this, the entire crowd came to the aid of Wang Ze. Just then the two regiments under the instructors Zhang Cheng and Dou Wenyu arrived at the yamen, just in time to hear that Wang Ze had killed the governor. All of them rushed in just in time to meet up with Chief Inspector Wang Jiang, attempting to flee with his family. Zhang Cheng raised his cudgel and struck the official down and the others quickly made mincemeat out of him. His entire family, young and old, lost their lives as well. Hu Yong'r herself entered the yamen and along with Zuo Chu and the others rounded up and slaughtered the governor's entire staff. They then tracked down and butchered all of his friends and associates to prevent any acts of revenge. Next they smashed in the gate of the prison and liberated all of the convicts before moving on to the governor's residence and stripping it of silver, gold, cash, tapestries and finery of all sorts. They piled everything up like a mountain on the ground outside, including those thirteen bolts of silk. It was over five feet high and bundled up nicely; even the nurse's room was cleaned out.

"This wealth," declared Wang Ze, "is the flesh and blood, the very marrow of the people of Beizhou! We shall divide it into three. One part shall go to the conscripts of the town garrison. Another will be given to the merchants who have been robbed of merchandise and the families cheated out of their wealth and ruined by the governor. And the third part will go to the poor folk selling their wares in the street, so that they may have some peace of mind."

Wang Ze then made his home in the yamen, putting up signs to calm the people and ordering the troops of the two town regiments to thoroughly prepare their weapons and armor. He posted them at the four gates, each holding at the city mote. The two instructors busied themselves drilling and preparing the men and horses of the garrison.

You have heard the authorities had all been slaughtered. Only two of them, the judge Dong Yuanchun and clerk Tian Jing managed to escape. The two had gathered their documents and fled to Kaifeng leaving their familes behind. They then petitioned the imperial court to send an army to avenge the governor. And from this will come yet more....The general who tries to pacify the brigands will waist his efforts, and those wizards who seek to found a dynasty will make effective use of their sorcery. It's like this:

As to who the court will send to crush the rebel force, read the coming chapter and you'll know the future course.