Chapter 525: Shopkeeper Wu's Daily Life (V)

The man who stepped through the door had a sallow complexion, a kindly face, and a solid, sturdy build. As he entered, he still held a riding crop in one hand, a short knife tucked at his waist, and his legs were wrapped in leather gaiters for mountain travel — the very picture of a man weary from the road. It was none other than He Tong, master of He Family Fortress.

The He clan were Han people who had migrated south to Yue lands as far back as the Five Dynasties. After several centuries of continuity, the He family had long since become locals. And He Tong was precisely this generation's family head — the most traditional sort of landlord laoye in all of China.

"Aiyaya, if it isn't Master He himself, come to visit!"

Seeing the fortress master enter, Shopkeeper Wu also hurriedly rose to greet him.

"Hehe, just got back from the mountains. The moment I stepped in, I heard there was an honored guest, so here I am — I came right over."

He Tong was younger than the other two men in the room, and by seniority a generation below them as well. His voice was loud and resonant. Laughing heartily, he shrugged off his heavy outer coat, then sat down without any ceremony, turning guest into host: "Zhong-shu, send someone to my rooms with a word — have them bring over a few dishes. Today I want to have a proper catch-up with Shopkeeper Wu."

Since Shopkeeper Wu dealt with He Steward year-round, he naturally knew He Tong, and the relationship between the two sides was fairly good. In ancient times, merchant caravans were originally a vital channel for transmitting news. A place like He Family Stockade needed not only the caravans' goods, but also information. A man like He Tong would certainly never let slip any chance to gather news of the outside world.

Unsurprisingly, after He Fortress Master's arrival, the first topic of conversation was still the Bandit Suppression Campaign — the matter that had dealt such an enormous psychological shock to the surrounding populace.

The result of sweeping away every bandit within the region in a single night was that the common folk were actually a bit unaccustomed to it. The fact that He Fortress Master now dared to lead men out to inspect the scattered plots of farmland in the mountains told one just how profoundly the Bandit Suppression Campaign had changed people's lives.

After a round of heartfelt sighs over the current stable and peaceful environment, Master He, who was in fine spirits, drank two cups of wine. His tone then shifted, and he began to probe into the latest situation around Xiancheng.

All kinds of information from the city-gate district were equivalent to the various policy decisions issued by a later generation's capital. The difference was that later generations had electricity and telecommunications, so even people in remote areas could grasp the information simultaneously. In the Ming Dynasty, however, He Family Stockade could only rely on merchants — after all, the He family could not afford to open an off-site affairs office.

Knowing this was part and parcel of the visit, Shopkeeper Wu unhurriedly drank his wine, picked at the dishes, and chatted, casually turning all the recent major events in Xiancheng into stories, one by one.

And so, what had been a meal for two became a gathering of three. With He Tong's arrival, the atmosphere grew warm and enthusiastic once more.

However, as things went on, Shopkeeper Wu gradually began to sense something was off. Master He seemed to be chatting idly, yet he kept steering the conversation, intentionally or not, toward the recent matter of the Corvée Labor.

"Master He, might it be that the fortress has some inconvenience regarding the Corvée Labor?"

They had known each other for many years, so when Shopkeeper Wu sensed something, he asked outright.

Realizing the other man had seen through his thoughts, He Tong merely gave a bitter laugh, then shook his head without speaking and raised his wine cup.

He Steward, at his side, saw He Tong drinking in silence and knew his family master was troubled. So he picked up the thread: "Brother Wu, there is something you do not know. A few days ago, the county sent Official Runners again. They pressed and urged most harshly, stating plainly that the fortress must provide men for the labor service... Ai, right at New Year's, the tenant farmers are all unwilling to stir."

"Oh..."

Hearing this, Shopkeeper Wu — an old hand — understood instantly.

In the early and middle Ming Dynasty, systems like the "Grain Chief" and the "lijia" were still consistently enforced. By the late Ming, however, the government's control had weakened drastically, and these systems gradually collapsed along with it.

In the Current Age, in places a bit more remote, powerful landlords who held men, coin, and grain had already taken over the majority of the local government's authority, especially regarding taxation. Local posts like Grain Chief were usually held concurrently by these very men, who profited handsomely from them.

He Family Stockade was just such a case. Despite his mild-mannered face, He Tong was in truth the local bully of this Territory — his word was absolute. Without his nod of approval, the government could not collect a single grain of rice or a single able-bodied man from the basin where He Family Stockade was located.

This year's situation, however, was a bit different from previous years.

First, the Bandit Suppression Campaign had improved the environment. Before the people of He Family Stockade could be happy about it for more than a few days, genuine Official Runners actually came knocking, arriving at He Family Stockade — a remote place that in the past only unofficial runners would visit.

Once these Official Runners showed up, they demanded taxes according to regulation and, along the way, conveyed a critical new directive issued by the County Magistrate: the next year's Corvée Labor was to be levied in advance, and the service-substitution silver was to be doubled.

Regarding the first matter — the taxes — He Tong paid it no mind. As the Grain Chief of He Family Stockade, he went through this rigmarole twice a year anyway and was long accustomed to it: when tax season came, he would plead hardship with the County Yamen, pour out his woes, make excuses, and haggle back and forth, and in the end, he would pay up some roughly appropriate amount, and that was that.

The county's other policy, however, gave him a headache: the Corvée Labor.

He Tong had learned part of the truth about the corvée from the Official Runners at that time: the County Yamen's purpose in doubling the service-substitution silver this time was to demand bodies. So long as a person was a registered able-bodied adult, they would likely not escape — all would have to go serve the labor.

Not only that, but this time, the Corvée Labor was to be levied according to the records in the true Land Fish-Scale Register held by the Household Office. The vast multitude of centenarian "living immortals" on the Yamen's official ledgers need not come out to embarrass themselves any further.

In previous years, the clan had always paid the service-substitution silver to get through the corvée. The reason was that if they sent men, the labor service not only wasted work and time, but also brought all sorts of unpredictable incidents, such as work-related injuries or death.

This year, however, that would not work. The Official Runners told He Tong plainly that even if he paid double the silver, the men would likely still have to go: "The big Construction Site outside Guangzhou City and the Yizhou Long Wall are both short on men."

Faced with a County Yamen that had seemingly gone mad, He Tong was left with a splitting headache.

Of course, for this sort of matter, the landlords' countermeasures were not few. The simplest and most effective method: the stalling tactic.

Yet, as the saying went, the present was not like the past.

Master He had managed to stall the matter for a period. Then, shortly before the New Year, the Official Runners swaggered up to his door a second time... The Bandit Suppression Campaign, it turned out, had made things convenient not just for the common folk — the Official Runners could now also go to places they previously dared not visit.

On this visit, the Official Runners were not so easy to talk to: "The various laoyes of Xiancheng's city-gate district and the surrounding areas have all already sent their fortress tenants off to serve. Master He, the only ones who have yet to serve now are remote folk like those at He Family Stockade."

"Hng, Master He, ask around a bit more. Trying that old routine now — I'm afraid it won't work. These men — they will be levied! Otherwise, the next ones to come won't be just us fellows. Hng — Farewell!"

Discovering that the County Yamen's attitude had changed overnight and that it was brimming with confidence, He Tong felt he could no longer sit idle regarding this matter. So recently, he had begun probing for information through multiple channels.

Yet the development of events matched exactly what the Official Runners had said: the major households around Xiancheng had all sent their men according to regulation. Moreover, word from the grapevine was that the County Yamen's madness this time had someone Behind the Scenes backing it.

He Tong, in his shock, truly remained indecisive. Ultimately, after the New Year, he had waited for Shopkeeper Wu — this was precisely why he had come so hurriedly to sound Shopkeeper Wu out the moment he arrived.