The sound of the gong echoed all the way to Berth Seven at the East Bay. The boatmen on both sides of the river shrank back halfway into their cabins, but left the window slits slightly open and their lights unextinguished.
Inspector Tao Boyong walked at the very front, the lower hem of his green robe stained with mud, his waist token glinting in the light of the torches.
Shopkeeper Lu followed closely beside him, pointing at the Qinghe Twenty-Seven.
"Inspector Tao, this is the boat!"
"The bow flies the Xu family flag, and the cabin hides saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal. With all three gathered, how is this not smuggling firearms?"
"Xu Wuyou obstructed reporting to the authorities and detained the boatmen. The Water Course Hall has now become the private prison of the Sincerely Count's Estate!"
The patrolmen scattered with a clatter, hands on the hilts of their swords, blocking off the gangplank and the shore.
Tao Boyong stopped three steps away, looking first at Xu Wuyou, then at the sealed wooden box next to the cabin.
"Hall Master Xu, what a grand display."
Xu Wuyou stood by the gangplank, sleeves rolled up to his forearms, sealing wax still on his hands.
"Inspector Tao runs fast at night, even beating the gong. I wonder if it's to investigate a case, or to back up Shopkeeper Lu."
Shopkeeper Lu pointed at him right then and there.
"Insolent! Inspector Tao is an inspector of the Water Transport Department, in charge of the capital's waterways. How dare a mere Hall Master of the Water Course Hall contradict a court official?"
Tao Boyong raised a hand to stop Shopkeeper Lu, then took off the inspection token from his waist and held it up to the torchlight.
"Inspector Tao Boyong of the Water Transport Office, entrusted with the duty of river patrol to investigate smuggled dangerous materials. Xu Wuyou, this official is taking you back to the office for questioning."
Several patrolmen pressed forward.
Pang Yu was just about to curse, but Xu Wuyou raised a hand to stop him first.
"You can take me, but first bring out the official warrant."
Tao Boyong stopped in his tracks.
Xu Wuyou stared at the token in his hand.
"An inspection token can check the river, question boats, and inspect goods."
"But to arrest the Hall Master of the Water Course Hall and seal the Water Course Hall's account books, you must have an official warrant from the Water Transport Department, signed by the main hall, and it must clearly state the nature of the case, the names, the boat number, and the berth."
"Did Inspector Tao bring it?"
Tao Boyong's finger pressed against the edge of the inspection token, and for a long while, he didn't produce a second item.
Shopkeeper Lu grew anxious.
"The gunpowder boat is right before our eyes, what are you talking about official warrants for? Xu Wuyou is clearly stalling!"
Xu Wuyou turned to him.
"Shopkeeper Lu was ordered to pay river protection money during the day, and at night he brings officials to arrest me. What diligent action."
"Don't change the subject!"
Shopkeeper Lu took a half step forward, pointing at the fake flag on the bow of the boat.
"The Xu family flag is here, the Ministry of Revenue seals are here, the saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal are on the same boat here. If this case is submitted to the Capital Governor's Office, it's enough for a house confiscation!"
The boatmen by the dock lowered their heads even further.
As soon as the words "house confiscation" came out, everyone was afraid of being implicated.
Xu Wuyou, however, threw the flag forward, and the flag cloth landed on the wet wooden boards.
"Flags can be hung, goods can be stuffed, and mouths can spout nonsense."
"If you're going to talk about house confiscation today, then you should follow the rules even more."
Tao Boyong spoke coldly.
"Xu Wuyou, this official will not seal your Water Course Hall account books, but will search the boat first."
Xu Wuyou nodded.
"I will allow the boat search."
Tao Boyong raised his hand.
"Board the boat, move all the saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal down, and inventory them together!"
As soon as the patrolmen moved, Pang Yu blocked the gangplank sideways.
"Hold it!"
Tao Boyong shouted.
"You dare to block officials?"
Pang Yu stiffened his neck.
"No one is blocking officials from searching the boat, but whoever dares to pile military supply sealed goods with bottom cabin miscellaneous goods, Master Pang will first call everyone on the dock to come and see!"
Tao Boyong furrowed his brows.
"Xu Wuyou, you are abetting resistance to the law?"
Xu Wuyou took a temporary inspection log from the accountant Lao Zhou and flipped to the first line.
"If Inspector Tao wants to investigate, I will make it crystal clear for you."
"Middle cabin: twenty-four bags of saltpeter, sealing wax unbroken, Ministry of Revenue military supply small seal intact."
"Middle cabin: sixteen bags of sulfur, seals unbroken, clearly marked as Northern Border military supply trial materials."
"Bottom cabin: twelve bags of charcoal, no Ministry of Revenue seals, bags bear the Guangyi Firm warehouse mark."
He handed the log to Tao Boyong.
"If you want to move them, fine, move them according to cabin position, arrange them by seals. Military supply goods on the east, unsealed charcoal on the west, leave a three-zhang line in between."
"Witnesses must also be written down."
Tao Boyong took the log, not finishing flipping through it.
"Does this official need you to teach him how to investigate a case?"
Xu Wuyou pointed at the dock.
"This isn't teaching you, it's protecting you."
"If you mix the three types of goods together tonight, tomorrow I will send this log to the Water Transport Office and ask you, are you investigating goods, or fabricating a case?"
Tao Boyong's sleeve swayed slightly, and he didn't press forward any further.
Lao Zhou quickly spread out the paper.
"Witnesses: two Water Transport Office patrolmen, one Water Course Hall accountant, one dock master oarsman, three boatmen representatives, and the boat boss Qing Sanshan are present. Sign before moving the goods."
Shopkeeper Lu couldn't help but sneer.
"Xu Wuyou, you really know how to set up a stage."
Xu Wuyou replied.
"What is Shopkeeper Lu anxious about? The play hasn't reached you yet."
Pang Yu raised his voice and shouted to both sides.
"Listen clearly, everyone!"
"Unbroken seals are called military supplies!"
"Stuffed into the bottom cabin are called planted goods!"
"Whoever mixes the two sides together is helping to frame people!"
At first, no one on the dock answered.
Pang Yu roared again.
"Everyone saw what happened with Old Man Qian during the day, right? They dared to demand five hundred taels for an eighteen-tael tea brick. Today they stuff charcoal into a military supply boat, tomorrow they could stuff smuggled salt into your cabin bottom!"
These words hit the mark perfectly.
A few old boatmen first stepped out from behind the boat boards.
"I'll testify."
"I'll come too."
"My boat is moored at Berth Eight, I'll watch when they move the goods."
With the first, there came a second.
The boatmen didn't dare to clash head-on with the officials, but standing next to the quarantine line to watch the goods, they could do that.
The patrolmen boarded the boat to move the goods.
The master oarsman checked each bag with bamboo tallies, Lao Zhou followed behind to keep count, and Pang Yu led two helpers to pull a hemp rope, separating the east and west sides.
As soon as a bag of saltpeter landed, the master oarsman shouted.
"Middle cabin military supply, sealing wax present!"
As soon as a bag of sulfur landed, the boatmen representatives shouted along.
"Seal present!"
When the charcoal was dragged out from the bottom cabin, the hemp rope at the mouth of the bag was loose, and the character "Guang" on the bag body was clearly illuminated by the torchlight.
Pang Yu deliberately bent over and patted the character.
"Everyone look, what does this character say?"
Someone answered in a low voice.
"Guang."
Pang Yu shouted again.
"Guang what?"
Seven or eight voices came from the edge of the dock.
"Guangyi!"
Shopkeeper Lu gritted his teeth and took a half step back.
Tao Boyong turned to look at him.
"Shopkeeper Lu, what's going on with this charcoal?"
Shopkeeper Lu immediately waved his hands.
"My Guangyi Firm has many goods, and it's common for warehouse marks to leak out. To try and convict me based on a single warehouse mark is too childish!"
Xu Wuyou took out the confession from the wooden box.
"The boat boss Qing Sanshan has already confessed. When changing cabins at the south dock, Guangyi's assistant Agui forcibly stuffed in twelve bags of charcoal, taking two taels for pilotage fees. The time, berth, and names are all written here."
The boat boss Qing Sanshan knelt beside the gangplank, adding in a trembling voice.
"This lowly one dares to swear to the River God, it was Agui who stuffed the goods, the Agui that Shopkeeper Lu often brings with him!"
Shopkeeper Lu turned and kicked out.
"Cheap bones, who gave you the nerve to implicate me?"
Pang Yu rushed up to block him.
"Oh, Shopkeeper Lu is anxious? You were just shouting about house confiscation, and now you hear Agui and you kick people. Your anger is quite directed."
Someone on the dock couldn't help but laugh, then quickly held it in.
Tao Boyong didn't want the situation to turn toward the Guangyi Firm, so he forcibly brought the topic back.
"Xu Wuyou, even if the charcoal came from elsewhere, the saltpeter and sulfur are still on the ship."
"On what grounds does the Xu family transport such materials into the capital's waterways?"
"So what if it has the Ministry of Revenue's seal? Who approved it? What is its purpose? Where is the escort number?"
This was exactly what Xu Wuyou had been waiting for.
He turned around and took an oil-paper packet from Lao Zhou's hands. Unwrapping its three layers, he revealed a neatly pressed copy of an official document inside.
The paper bore the Ministry of Revenue's escort number, an annotation from the Imperial Envoy's field headquarters, and the four characters for Northern Border Military Supplies.
Xu Wuyou held the document up to the light of the torches.
"Take a good look."
Lao Zhou took it from him, stood on a wooden crate, and read it aloud in a ringing voice.
"Ministry of Revenue Escort Number: Qian-North Military Supply, Number Seventy-Two."
"Approved for the requisition of an unspecified amount of saltpeter, sulfur, raw lacquer, and rosin, to be transported north via the capital's waterways for the trial production of moisture-proof ignition devices at the northern border."
"This batch of materials must not be privately opened, resealed, or mixed with charcoal. It must not be transferred to civilian ships or private warehouses. The Waterway Halls along the route are only to verify the seals; they are not to break the seals or detain the goods."
"Annotation: Imperial Envoy's Field Headquarters, Commandery Princess Ci'an, Xu Qinghuan."
A brief silence fell over the docks.
Then, a wave of hushed discussions rippled through the boatmen.
"So it's military supplies for the northern border."
"The document explicitly forbids mixing it with charcoal, so there really is a problem with the charcoal in the lower cabin."
"No wonder Hall Master Xu insisted on separating them. Someone almost turned this into a complete mess."
"Hey! Hall Master Xu is also surnamed Xu, could they be from the same family?"
"You idiot, do you think someone from the Xu family would need to come out here and work for the Water Transport Gang?"
"True, true..."
Tao Boyong had originally planned to use the presence of the three types of goods on the same ship to drag Xu Wuyou into the Water Transport Commission's yamen first.
As long as the man was locked up, the Waterway Hall's account books could be audited, the Xu family's banner could be used to make a fuss, and the path ahead would widen considerably.
But now that the document had been revealed, the military supplies had proper names and numbers, making the charcoal look like illicit, smuggled goods.
Xu Wuyou took back the document and spread his hands toward Tao Boyong.
"Patrol Officer Tao, are you done inspecting?"
"If you still want to inspect, do it according to the document, the seals, and the boat boss's testimony."
"If you want to arrest someone, Agui from the Guangyi Merchant Firm should be the first to be taken. Shopkeeper Lu should also be taken back for questioning to find out who at the South Dock gave him the nerve to stuff goods into the lower cabin of a military supply ship."
Shopkeeper Lu jerked his head up.
"Xu Wuyou, stop spitting venom and making false accusations!"
Pang Yu sneered.
"Shopkeeper Lu, you better keep your voice down. The wind is strong on the docks, don't go biting your own tongue."
Mocked into a fit of heaving breaths, Shopkeeper Lu pointed a trembling finger at the document in Xu Wuyou's hand.
"This document appeared far too conveniently."
"The Imperial Envoy is at the northern border, and the Xu family is in the capital. Who can prove that this copy is authentic?"
He took a step forward.
"The Ministry of Revenue's escort number can be copied, the field headquarters' annotation can be forged, and even the official seal can be carved."
"Patrol Officer Tao, even documents can be faked!"
