"Now that we have created this imaginary regiment", Sergeant Hoong asked, "how do we get rid of it again?"

"If I am not greatly mistaken in my estimation of the course a rumour will take", Judge Dee said calmly, "this regiment will first wax in popular imagination till it has become a full-fledged army, and then evaporate again without any effort on our part.

Now about business. First I must organize this tribunal. Then Chien Mow's affairs must be disentangled.

Tao Gan will go out now and summon the wardens of all the quarters of this city to appear before me immediately. He will also invite the masters of the most important guilds to pay me a visit at noon.

Sergeant Hoong, you will go to Chien's mansion with Headman Fang and ten constables. The womenfolk and the servants will remain confined to their quarters until further orders. You will check with the steward all valuables, place them in the strong room and seal the door. Headman Fang will make a search for his son and his eldest daughter, White Orchid.

Ma Joong and Chiao Tai will make the rounds of the four city gates and verify whether Corporal Ling has duly posted his men and whether the forty henchmen of Chien who did not belong to the army have been put under lock and key in the gate towers. If everything is found in order you will inform Ling that he is re-enlisted without loss of rank.

Take your time and find out the antecedents of the ex-soldiers. Those who did not desert in battle or flee because of some major offense can be re-enlisted. This afternoon I shall draw up a report to the Board of Military Affairs to have their position regularized. At the same time I shall apply for hundred soldiers to be sent out here." Having thus spoken the judge ordered Sergeant Hoong to bring him a large pot of hot tea.

It did not take Tao Gan long to round up the wardens. They did not look very happy when they were shown into Judge Dee's private office.

It was they who, being recruited locally to act as link between the tribunal and the population, were responsible for the reporting of births, deaths and marriages and many other affairs which had been completely neglected under Chien Mow's rule. As members of the district administration, the wardens should have been present in the tribunal to bid welcome to the new magistrate. They expected a severe scolding.

That was exactly what they got, and with a vengeance. They emerged from Judge Dee's office trembling and pale and scurried away as fast as they could.

Judge Dee then walked over to the large reception hall of the tribunal and there received the masters of the guilds of the goldsmiths, the carpenters, the rice dealers and the silk merchants. The judge politely inquired their names, and the steward served refreshments.

The guildmasters congratulated the judge on the speedy arrest of Chien Mow and expressed their joy that now the district would return to normal. They were somewhat disturbed, however, over such a large number of soldiers occupying the city.

Judge Dee raised his eyebrows.

"The only soldiers here", he remarked, "are a few dozen deserters which I have re-enlisted for guard duty."

The master of the goldsmiths' guild gave his colleagues a knowing look. He said with a smile:

"We fully understand, Your Honour, that your lips are sealed. But the guards of the northern gate told that when Your Honour entered the city they were nearly trampled down by an escadron of cavalry. Last night a goldsmith saw a column of two hundred soldiers march through the main street with straw wrapped round their boots."

The master of the guild of silk merchants added:

"My own cousin saw a row of ten horsecarts pass by, loaded with army supplies. However, Your Honour can fully trust us. We realize that a military inspection tour of the border districts must be kept secret lest the barbarian hordes over the river hear about it. The news shall not spread outside the city. Would it not be better, however, if the Commander did pot display his flag over the tribunal? If the spies of the barbarian tribes see this flag, they will know that the army is here."

"That flag", Judge Dee answered, "I put up myself. It only means that I, the magistrate, have temporarily placed this district under martial law, as I am entitled to do in a state of emergency."

The guildmasters smiled and bowed deeply.

"We perfectly understand Your Honour's discretion!", the eldest said gravely.

Judge Dee did not comment further on this but broached quite a different subject. He requested the masters to send him that very afternoon three elderly men qualified and willing to serve in the tribunal respectively as senior scribe, head of the archives, and warden of the jail; and a dozen dependable youngsters to serve as clerks. The judge further requested them to lend the tribunal two thousand silver pieces to pay for elementary repairs of the court hall and for the salaries of the personnel; this sum would be paid back as soon as the case against Chien Mow had been concluded and his property confiscated.

The guildmasters readily agreed.

Finally Judge Dee informed them that the next morning he would open the case against Chien Mow, and asked them to make this fact known throughout the district.

When the guildmasters had taken their leave the judge went back to his private office. There he found Headman Fang waiting for him together with a good-looking young man.

Both knelt before the judge. The young man knocked his head on the floor three times in succession.

"Your Honour", Fang said, "allow me to present my son. He was kidnapped by Chien's henchmen and compelled to work as a servant in his mansion."

"He shall serve under you as a constable", Judge Dee said. "Did you find your eldest daughter?"

"Alas", Fang replied with a sigh, "my son has never seen her and the most diligent search did not produce any trace of her. I closely questioned the steward of Chien's mansion. He remembers that at one time Chien Mow expressed the desire to acquire White Orchid for his harem but maintains that his master dropped the matter when I refused to sell my daughter. I do not know what to think."

Judge Dee said pensively:

"It is your assumption that Chien Mow kidnapped her, and you may yet be proved right. It is not unusual for a man like Chien to keep a secret love nest outside his mansion. On the other hand we must also reckon with the possibility that he had really nothing to do with her disappearance. I shall question Chien on this subject and institute a thorough investigation. Do not give up hope too soon!"

As the judge was speaking, Ma Joong and Chiao Tai came in.

They reported that Corporal Ling had executed his orders to the letter. Ten soldiers were stationed at each of the four city gates and a dozen of Chien's men were locked in each gate tower. The number of prisoners had been increased by five ex-soldiers who had deserted to escape punishment for real crimes. Corporal Ling had demoted to water carriers the loafers who had been guarding the gates before.

Ma Joong added that Ling had all the qualities of a good military man; he had deserted because of a quarrel with a dishonest captain and was overjoyed at being once more in the regular army.

Judge Dee nodded and said:

"I shall propose that Ling is made a sergeant. For the time being we shall leave the forty men stationed at the gates. If their morale remains good I propose to quarter them all together in Chien's mansion. In course of time I shall designate that as garrison headquarters. You, Chiao Tai, will remain commanding officer of those forty men and the twenty we trained here in the tribunal, till the soldiers I shall send for have arrived."

Having thus spoken the judge dismissed his lieutenants. He took up his brush and drafted an urgent letter to the far-away prefect describing the events of the past two days. The judge added a list of the men he wanted re-enlisted and a proposal that Corporal Ling be promoted to sergeant. Finally he requested that one hundred soldiers be send to Lan-fang as permanent garrison.