Chapter Forty-Eight: The Tax Resistance in Suzhou (Part Four)

All these events transpired in less than a minute, and yet the once tumultuous crowd had already quieted. Sensing the shift in the atmosphere, some attempted to slip away unnoticed. Cao Huachun shouted authoritatively, “No one is to move! Whoever stirs will be taken as a rebel!” The guards echoed his command in unison, so that those who had harbored thoughts of fleeing dared not make a move.

Cao Huachun stepped forward and addressed Wang Limin, “You shall point out which among them are rebels.” Overjoyed, Wang Limin immediately pointed to Shen Cuili, who had not managed to escape. “My lord, he is the ringleader. He even sought to kill me! I beg you, uphold justice for a humble commoner.”

But Shen Cuili remained unafraid. “My lord, I am but a scholar come to petition. You see, I carry no blade.” With that, he untied his outer garment, holding out its corners for Cao Huachun to see.

Wang Limin cried out, “Please see clearly, my lord! He was the one who incited everyone to trouble the tax bureau, and this man here followed his orders to kill me.” With that, he pointed at the one-eyed brute who had wounded him.

The brute hastened to defend himself, “No, my lord, I did not! I carry no blade either, you see—huh?” The man was slow-witted and, having heard Cao Huachun’s command for none to move, had obeyed it to the letter, failing even to discard or conceal the bloodstained dagger in his hand. Only when he uttered that he carried no blade did he realize his blunder.

Fang Zhenghua delivered a flying kick, sending him sprawling, and laughed, “Indeed, you do not carry a blade—you are holding it.”

The guards promptly seized all those armed with weapons. Wang Limin identified several others who had attended the secret meeting, including that corpulent Lin. Cao Huachun ordered that the names of everyone present be recorded. Merchants were permitted to leave after posting bond; those who were not had to be claimed by their local ward. As for those from the trade guild, all were to be taken to the Eastern Depot’s branch by escort.

Barely had they returned to the branch when Prefect Shen Cuili’s elder brother, Shen Cuizhen, arrived in a fury, leading local constables. Cao Huachun greeted him and invited him inside, but Shen Cuizhen refused. “I do not know what crime my third brother stands accused of, that you, Lord Cao, would seize him for the Eastern Depot. I have come to inquire.”

Cao Huachun explained, “There has been an accusation that your brother rallied a crowd to assault the tax bureau and hired thugs to commit murder. We merely wish to question him and assist in our investigation.”

Shen Cuizhen sneered, “Assist in your investigation? What nonsense you utter! My brother is a scholar and you dare—”

Fang Zhenghua did not wait for him to finish. Stepping forward, he felled Shen Cuizhen with a single punch, then stretched out his hand. A guard handed him a length of rope, and with a few deft twists, Shen Cuizhen was trussed up like a rice dumpling.

Never could Shen Cuizhen have imagined that the Eastern Depot would resort to violence over mere words, let alone lay hands on a prefect and bind him. The shock was so great that he fainted on the spot.

Lin Pinghe, the magistrate who had come with the prefect, stood petrified with fear. It was a long moment before he found his voice, stammering as he pointed at Fang Zhenghua, “The prefect merely uttered the word ‘nonsense’—yet you dare bind him? The Eastern Depot is truly outrageous!”

Since the Wanli era, the Eastern Depot had acted discreetly. Even then, never had a prefect been bound for a mere word. Lin Pinghe looked at Fang Zhenghua as though regarding a dead man. In the Ming dynasty, any eunuch who dared such recklessness would surely come to a swift and terrible end.

Yet Cao Huachun made no move to stop Fang Zhenghua. Only now did he speak unhurriedly: “He called ‘assisting an investigation’ nonsense. For that sentence alone, not just he, but his entire clan could be exterminated. By imperial decree, the Eastern Depot is authorized to detain suspects and request their assistance in investigations. Does the prefect not read the gazette? If not that, does he not consult the court bulletin? The imperial edicts are all published there!”

With that, he ignored the dumbstruck Lin Pinghe and had the guards carry Shen Cuizhen inside. The Grand Supervisor had said it was time to make an example—to kill the chicken before the monkey. Unfortunately for Prefect Shen, he was the chicken. Fat though he was, he was still only a chicken.

The guards’ interrogation methods were formidable. Soon Fang Zhenghua led men to Ritual Hall and seized Li Youyi, who was hastily packing his valuables to flee the storm. Li Youyi quickly revealed Shen Cuili’s entire plan, and in turn, Shen Cuili confessed that Shen Cuizhen had orchestrated everything. As for Shen Cuizhen, when he came to, he finally understood why he had been bound, but he stubbornly refused to implicate any accomplices. He merely insisted he could not bear to see the people suffer under harsh taxes and said nothing more.

Cao Huachun did not bother notifying Southern Zhili of the case, but sent all the accused and witnesses directly to the capital. The day after their arrival, at the morning court session, Zhu Youjiao ordered the ministers to deliberate the case.

After the records were read, Director of Taxation Bi Ziyan stepped forward. “Your Majesty has shown consideration for merchants and commoners, setting the commercial tax at only five percent. Yet some dare to defy the imperial will. I submit that stern punishment is needed to serve as a warning.”

By raising the matter to such heights, he drew the displeasure of some officials. Zuoguang Dou stepped out. “It is but merchants’ greed. If Your Majesty might show leniency, the merchants would be grateful and there would be no further tax resistance.”

Guan Yingzhen objected. “Your Majesty, to defy the imperial will and hire murderers—such conduct cannot be excused as mere greed. I suggest confiscating their property and exterminating their clan, so as to warn others against such treasonous acts.”

The ministers argued heatedly. Most felt severe punishment was appropriate, though few went as far as Guan Yingzhen. The general consensus was that Shen Cuili should be beheaded and his property seized, which would suffice.

Zhu Youjiao spoke, “This villain Shen, in his madness, hired killers and caused the deaths of three Eastern Depot guards and injured ten more. He should be executed and his property confiscated to compensate the Eastern Depot and the people. But according to the Depot’s report, he has no property of his own. Though known as a prominent merchant in Suzhou, all assets are in his father’s name, belonging to the family as a whole. What does the court recommend?”

At this, the hall fell silent. In the Ming dynasty, families were large and property belonged to the patriarch. An individual owned nothing outright. Unless they implicated Shen’s father, they could seize little more than Shen Cuili’s dwelling. To implicate his father, however, would cause a major stir.

Zhu Youjiao himself disliked the notion of exterminating families, wishing only to execute Shen Cuili. Yet he also wanted compensation for the losses suffered by the Eastern Depot, which the family-based property system complicated.

At this point, Chief Justice Zhou Yingqiu stepped forward. “Your Majesty, I have a suggestion: command Shen’s father to provide compensation for the Eastern Depot’s losses. If he complies, let the matter rest. If not, his property may be seized.”

This was, in fact, the typical solution—though it was still a form of collective punishment. But with no better alternative, it would suffice for now.

Then came the question of Shen Cuizhen’s fate. Many ministers felt a demotion would suffice, to observe future conduct—no doubt out of sympathy for a fellow official. But Wu Liangsi argued that his disrespect toward the imperial edict and his indulgence of his younger kinsman’s crimes merited forced resignation, at least preserving a measure of dignity.

When the ministers’ debate ended, all eyes turned to Zhu Youjiao. He spoke slowly, “It is decreed: Prefect Shen Cuizhen of Suzhou is stripped of rank and degrees; the criminal Shen Cuili is to be executed forthwith and his head displayed; Shen’s father is commanded to pay eighty thousand taels of silver to compensate the Eastern Depot’s losses. All others involved are to be punished according to the law.”

Liu Yitang hurried forward, protesting, “Your Majesty, to strip a man of his degrees is too severe. Dismissal from office would suffice!” Losing his degrees meant all prior honors and status were nullified, reducing him to a commoner, lower than a licentiate. Such punishment was exceedingly harsh—were Shen Cuizhen given the choice, he would surely prefer prison.

Seeing the sympathetic faces of some officials, Zhu Youjiao rose and thundered, “Who dares to dispute my decree?”

He had always appeared mild and approachable in court, never having rebuked his ministers. His sudden, harsh reprimand—ostensibly directed at the censors, but in reality at cabinet member Liu Yitang—startled the assembly.

A phrase echoed in their hearts: “The dragon has an inverse scale; to touch it is to court death.” It seemed their emperor had grown deeply dissatisfied with certain individuals.

All the ministers sank to their knees. “Your Majesty is wise. We dare not.”

Zhu Youjiao sneered, “You merely do not dare? It seems you are very willing indeed! Court is dismissed.”

The emperor’s demeanor that day revealed to his ministers a cold, ruthless side they had not seen before. As for the handling of Suzhou’s tax resistance, the verdict left no doubt: should anyone dare stir up trouble over the commercial tax again, they would be courting their own destruction.