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12 A Military Expeditio n on Floating Brothel s Dai Dal i los t hi s officia l appointmen t becaus e o f Zho u Yin' s intervention . Though he hated Zhou Yin to the very bone marrow, he did not show a hint of it either in words or demeanour. Throughout the night, his fury prevented hi m from sleeping, instead he spent the whole time hatching a plot for revenge. On th e pretex t tha t h e wa s sick, he too k fiv e day s off fro m work . One da y when Zho u Yin reported for duty, Governor Li u asked him about Dai's sickness. Zhou Yin replied, 'He is not really sick. He heard that you were about to appoin t him acting District Magistrate, but when you chose another person, he was unhappy about it . That' s wh y h e i s o n sic k leave . I n m y view , yo u di d no t mak e thi s appointment solel y because of your high regard for him. You wanted to keep him here because he i s an old hand an d ther e i s a heavy workload a t the en d o f th e year. I have served many high officials in the past, there are none like your lordship. You are considerate and you understand your subordinate's hardships. If a person is able and serves you well, advancement i s sure to come his way. However, Da i does not understand your good intentions. In the end, he is the one to suffer. ' Governor Li u was displeased whe n he heard this . He said, 'I have not eve n spoken with him about his appointment. Since he has always served me well, why should he have any doubt that I would reward him? Can I not even expect him to work here for a few months more?' After five days, Dai called on Governor Liu on the expiry of his leave. Though the Governor refused t o see him, he did not dismiss Dai either. Though Governor Liu did not like him, he was after all an experienced officia l A Military Expedition on Floating Brothels 91 and therefor e indispensable . So the Governor continue d t o seek his opinion o n official matters. Dai, on the other hand, noticed that he was less in the Governor's favour than before. He came to the conclusion that someone must have spoken ill of him , bu t h e continue d t o perfor m hi s dutie s carefully . H e di d no t spea k unnecessarily, nor did he take any unwarranted action. When he saw his colleagues, particularly Zho u Yin , h e wa s alway s exceptionall y courteous . H e invariabl y addressed them as brothers in the warmest way possible. He called Zhou Yin 'teacher'. He said, 'He was the Governor's tutor. Even the Governor has a special regard for him, so how can the likes of us not hold him in respect?' he often said . In this way, people were friendly toward s him because they found him easy to get on with. Zhou Yin did not have any family and lived at the Governor's office , so he ofte n calle d o n Zho u Yi n there t o talk . Sometime s h e woul d eve n brin g along som e choic e dishes , sayin g thes e wer e mad e b y his concubine . Thu s h e carried on for over two months, and everyone thought of his virtues and no on e mentioned his shortcomings. Sometimes, when the Governor mentioned him, all present san g his praise. In thi s way, he graduall y regaine d th e Governor' s goo d will. It happened that at the time, the bandits at the Yan Prefecture in east Zhejiang were creating a havoc. They resisted the officials and committed robbery, so much so that ther e wa s no peace . There wer e i n th e provinc e severa l militar y posts , traditionally commande d b y a Circuit Intendant . Th e present Commande r wa s Hu Huaruo. Coming from the same village as Dai Dali and being of the same age as Dai, the two men were the best of friends. The bandit s...

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