It was common practice that every time a new garrison unit was added to a locality, a new layer of taxes and fees would be imposed.

Store owners from several nearby shops came to the teahouse to discuss the matter. Everyone argued endlessly. It seemed that this new "Governor He" [^1] had quite a background. In the past, newly appointed officials would put on a show of observing the people's condition, or at least go through the motions of visiting various local snakes to show their stance. But this time, the man had just arrived, and the prominent figures in the city were eagerly leaning forward to curry favor.

Shopkeeper Han was originally from Beijing and knew a bit more about officialdom than the others. He concluded on the spot, "Everyone, look at this posture. This one is very different from the previous ones; his foundation is hard." He gave a thumbs up. "As the saying goes, a strong dragon does not suppress a local snake, but this one is likely a fierce dragon crossing the river!"

Leaving aside the matter of pooling money for now, the big bosses of the major merchant guilds above hadn't given any instructions yet. Once the Chamber of Commerce President set a number, they would naturally send someone to collect the money. It was only Boss Zhu from yesterday who wanted to pay less and thought of uniting several shops privately to vent their feelings and see if they could pay a little less.

Pondering left and right, everyone was somewhat depressed. This person had a big background, so it looked like another massive bleeding. According to the rules, after the money was handed over and tossed around, it was likely that the big bosses would pay less while the small merchants would shoulder the bulk. Perhaps, they would even take the opportunity to fleece a few people.

The Chamber of Commerce President had a big family and a big business, and he wasn't without roots; if targeted, he could still struggle to support himself. Although a bit of tossing about was inevitable, that was a battle between immortals and had nothing to do with these small fries.

As the saying goes, it's good to enjoy the shade under a big tree. Although it was also unfair, at least there was a tall one to hold up the sky for everyone.

Just as the other shopkeepers were preparing to get up and leave to return to their shops, Boss Zhu rushed in again. Seeing the crowd about to disperse, he shouted, "Incredible! Another unit has arrived, transporting a lot of things to the front of Commander He's camp."

Everyone's interest was piqued. They asked Boss Zhu to lead the way, wanting to see with their own eyes what kind of scene the new Commander He was setting up.

When they arrived at the place and looked from afar, they saw more than two hundred idlers gathered at the camp gate, filling half the open space.

Over a dozen large carts were parked at the camp gate, and dozens of porters were moving wooden crates from the carts into the camp. In these troubled times, the common people were not naive; they could tell at a glance that it was guns and munitions, though they didn't know the quantity.

Just then, a group of people hurried over. Someone recognized that Siping Mayor Peng Minsheng was actually among them. Unexpectedly, even the Mayor had come. Shopkeeper Han was greatly surprised and overestimated He Rui's background by a few more notches.

Someone on the side laughed. "Governor He is no ordinary person. Look, gentlemen, he hasn't even officially taken office yet, and the higher-ups have allocated another batch of hardware."

Before Shopkeeper Han could ask in detail, someone was already proudly showing off his news: "Do you know why Marshal Zhang values Governor He so much?"

The people around him all expressed ignorance. The man huffed, "I have heard a little."

Shopkeeper Han had seen many guys like this, so he smiled. "This brother, I opened a teahouse. Why don't you come to my teahouse for a cup of tea?"

The man paused, knowing Shopkeeper Han was buying information. He gave Shopkeeper Han a look. The two left the crowd, followed by a burst of disdainful mockery.

The man said, "What is this boss's surname?"

"My surname is Han. How should I address you, brother?"

"How much does Boss Han want to know?"

"I want to know as much as there is."

Hearing Shopkeeper Han be so straightforward, the man made a gesture. Boss Han extended his sleeve, and the two hooked fingers inside to indicate the amount. Shopkeeper Han took money from his pocket and clenched it in his palm; the two completed the transaction inside the sleeve. The man leaned into Shopkeeper Han's ear and whispered for a while. Shopkeeper Han's face was full of surprise, but he said, "Thanks, brother."

The man said, "I'll inevitably have to disturb Boss Han at your shop in the future."

"I await your arrival, brother."

After speaking, the two went their separate ways.

Shopkeeper Han no longer had the mind to continue inquiring; the news he bought was enough. The new troops were not Governor He's men but a unit sent by Marshal Zhang from Fengtian to deliver guns and ammunition to Commander He.

Commander He was from the capital and had the support of Marshal Zhang in Fengtian. It seemed the local gentry probably couldn't suppress him. Boss Han didn't care about He Rui's winning or losing; he just sorrowfully discovered that the "contribution money" this time would probably be a significant amount.

***

Several days passed in a flash.

It was time for Governor He to take up his new post. A grand banquet was held at Huaqing Tower. Officers of the local Garrison Regiment, the Mayor, the Police Chief, the Tax Bureau Chief, the President of the Chamber of Commerce, and famous gentry dared not neglect it and arrived early to wait.

The group of officials, accustomed to living like princes, carried themselves with grace. Upon arrival, they just exchanged pleasantries and drank tea. Only the Presidents of the Merchant Guilds looked slightly bitter. They had privately sent people to visit Governor He's subordinates to ask how to pay the "contribution." Unexpectedly, they were rudely rebuked by Governor He's Chief of Staff, Xu Chengfeng.

"What kind of person do you gentlemen think Governor He is? Let me tell you, Governor He never accepts money from others. On the contrary, you gentlemen must absolutely not use Governor He's name to amass wealth. If there are any illegal acts, don't blame us for standing up to seek justice for the common people."

The Merchant Guild Presidents had a huge headache. Since ancient times, the word "official" (官) has two mouths [^2]. Not only do they eat a big mouthful by grabbing money directly, but if they also want to "uphold justice," they naturally intend to eat from both the common people and the merchants. However, this also violated taboos; it depended on how the local gentry maneuvered. Siping wasn't an ordinary small place, and the local five-hundred-strong Garrison Regiment wasn't just for show.

Before long, He Rui arrived with his men. Everyone went up to exchange pleasantries. At this moment, regardless of whether they were Mayors or Regimental Commanders, they had long lost their dignity. High hats and fawning were of one color; flattery and boot-licking flew together, revealing their ugly states completely. Xu Chengfeng stood by impatiently, watching coldly.

Seeing that almost everyone had arrived, He Rui stood up and said, "Today, this brother has arrived in the treasure land of Siping. In the future, I will have to rely on everyone's support. Please do not treat this brother as an outsider. If there is anything this brother does not do well, I ask everyone to give more guidance."

The day before yesterday, everyone saw with their own eyes that Marshal Zhang Xiluan had made his attitude clear. Moreover, this person came from the central government. How could they dare to put on the airs of local snakes? As the saying goes, *those who understand the times are heroes*. In troubled times, who dares to oppose a military leader? Seeing He Rui being so polite, the big guys all expressed their full support.

After exchanging pleasantries repeatedly, the crowd had already gone through three or four rounds of flattering words, and the tea had been changed twice. Seeing that it was almost noon, they were really running out of things to say, yet Governor He still hadn't started the banquet. This puzzled everyone, and they had to rack their brains to make up more nice words to offer. He Rui was calm at this time, chatting cordially with everyone and shaking hands with the local prominent figures one by one with tireless patience. Among the gentry and officials, the new-style figures had business cards, while the old-style figures didn't have such new gadgets yet. He Rui was quite meticulous and ordered someone to record these people's names.

Everyone had intimidated Siping City for a long time and considered themselves to have some status. Seeing the situation like this, they kept looking at Siping Mayor Peng Minsheng. Peng Minsheng also felt something was wrong, so he stood up and asked, "May I ask, is Governor He waiting for someone else? The local gentry are all here; why don't we eat while we wait?"

He Rui smiled. "I really am waiting for someone. Please be patient, everyone."

Before his voice fell, a burst of exclamations came from outside. People near the window turned to look and immediately stood up in fright.

The others didn't know who had arrived downstairs and rose to look out the window. A moment later, they were all shocked, their faces changing color; some even cried out in alarm.

They saw two squads of Japanese soldiers in neat formation marching quickly to the street outside Huaqing Tower. Some began to set up a guard, while others dispersed pedestrians on the street. The street below Huaqing Tower became empty in moments. Some timid prominent figures of Siping already had a thought popping up: *Could it be that the Japanese army wants to suddenly raid this place and catch all of Siping's prominent figures in one net?*

He Rui laughed heartily. "The guest has arrived. Gentlemen, please wait a moment; I will go down to welcome him."

***

[^1]: "Governor He" (何督军 - He Dujun) is a misnomer used by the locals. He Rui is a Regimental Commander (Tuanzhang), but locals exaggerate titles of powerful military men.

[^2]: A play on the Chinese character for official (官), which visually looks like two mouths (口) under a roof (宀). It implies officials have insatiable appetites for bribes/power.