Chapter 191: Contested Land

They walked on for another stretch, and the County Magistrate of Wendeng hurried over to greet them. This magistrate had a decent relationship with Chen Xin; he had opened a cloth shop in the Wendeng camp early on, and Chen Xin had given him the customary perks. So, ordinary disputes between common households and the Wendeng camp were usually suppressed by him — mostly involving the original owners of abandoned land, some of whom had returned, or relatives of the original owners.

As Provincial Governor, Sun Yuanhua held authority over all military and civil affairs in Dengzhou and Laizhou. A county magistrate might be a big official locally, but to a provincial governor he was beneath notice. Sun Yuanhua merely exchanged a few casual words with him, far less warmly than he treated Chen Xin. The main purpose of Sun Yuanhua's trip was to inspect military affairs, and he also knew that in a place like Dengzhou and Laizhou, the primary task was dealing with the Jianzhou Bandits. Even if he made the civil administration of Dengzhou and Laizhou the best in the empire, it would be useless; one defeat in battle and he would be dismissed just the same. The most important thing was still military affairs. He soon left the magistrate behind and continued chatting with Chen Xin about firearms. The magistrate tactfully fell in behind, accompanying the Army Supervisor alongside Song Wenxian, whom he knew.

"Assistant Regional Commander Chen, besides the *Western Fire Assault Divine Weapon Treatise* and the *Divine Weapon Manual*, have you read any other military texts on firearms?"

"Your subordinate has read some of the *Treatise on Military Preparedness*, only, well..."

Sun Yuanhua stroked his beard and smiled. "Only there is too much to finish. This official is correct, isn't he."

」

Chen Xin wore an expression of admiration. "My lord sees through me. This humble officer is indeed busy with affairs. The *Treatise on Military Preparedness* is truly too vast, seemingly over two hundred volumes. This humble officer can read, but not quickly, so I must take my time studying it later."

Sun Yuanhua hesitated, wanting to speak, then after a moment finally said in a low voice: "Zhisheng's (Mao Yuanyi's) book — this official has read it through, but what I can remember is not much. Zhisheng read widely and gathered the great achievements of military strategists, only he included a bit too much when compiling it. But when others say he collected indiscriminately, with shoddy and useless devices too numerous to list, this old man greatly disagrees. Since General Chen does not read quickly, when you study it, you may simply select the essential points."

Chen Xin found it amusing. Sun Yuanhua clearly thought the *Treatise on Military Preparedness* included too much and too indiscriminately, so that the good material was hard to notice amid the dross, yet he had to circle around to say it, because he and Mao Yuanyi, who wrote the *Treatise on Military Preparedness*, were colleagues and good friends. Sun Yuanhua and Mao Yuanyi had both originally served under Sun Chengzong, and their fates were tied to Sun Chengzong's. After Sun Chengzong was dismissed in the fifth year of Tianqi due to the defeat at Liuhe, Sun Yuanhua and Mao Yuanyi were successively removed from office. They were only gradually reappointed after Chongzhen ascended the throne. During the Jisi Incident, Chongzhen arrested Yuan Chonghuan and appointed Sun Chengzong as Viceroy to command the relief troops. Mao Yuanyi led several dozen cavalrymen escorting Sun Chengzong to Tongzhou, enduring many dangers before arriving. After the Four Cities campaign, he continued to follow Sun Chengzong in defending the Ning-Jin defense line, and now commanded the Juehua naval camp on Juehua Island.

At that moment, two relay riders from the Wendeng camp arrived from ahead and reported in Liu Pojun's ear. Liu Pojun then waved his duty staff officer's triangular yellow-bordered red flag. Chen Xin excused himself to Sun Chengzong and dismounted beside Liu Pojun.

Liu Pojun said in a low voice: "My lord, Mr. Liu sent word. Two Licentiates, scholars from Wendeng, are making trouble at the camp gate."

"What kind of trouble?"

"Mr. Liu says it concerns two matters: abandoned land and household slaves. The specifics, the relay riders don't know."

For these people to come and make trouble just when Sun Yuanhua arrived — it could not be such a coincidence. Sun Yuanhua's inspection had been announced by official dispatch to both Wendeng County and the Wendeng camp. Chen Xin turned his head to look at the Wendeng County Magistrate. The man was chatting animatedly with Song Wenxian. He received quite a few benefits from the Wendeng camp every year and had no reason to tip anyone off. Perhaps it was one of his subordinate clerks who did it.

Chen Xin rubbed his chin and asked: "Which gate are they making trouble at? Who is handling it now?"

"The camp's west gate. Mr. Liu is there. Among the officers, Lu Chuanzong is on the scene. On duty today is the picket soldier from the First Company Headquarters."

"What is Mr. Liu going for? He should send a subordinate. Forget it. Hmm, then we'll take the camp's north gate. Before we arrive, use the training cloth screens to block off the east gate area."

Liu Pojun hesitated a moment and asked: "What if they try to force their way in?"

"What do the military regulations stipulate?"

"In ordinary daylight hours, anyone without a waist badge or written order who enters within five paces of the camp gate and refuses to heed warnings shall be seized and bound by the picket soldiers emerging from the side gate, and handed over to the duty headquarters officer for disposal. Those who resist with weapons shall be executed on the spot."

Chen Xin smiled faintly. "What are military regulations? They are meant to be enforced by the troops. Since there is a rule, you need not ask me, unless a higher-ranking superior is present on the scene."

"My lord, these are all scholars. What if the soldiers are heavy-handed and cause some incident..."

"If an incident occurs, I will handle it. As long as the picket soldiers acted according to military regulations, no one can take my soldiers away. Otherwise, how can a commander be the courage of the three armies, and what morale could the troops possibly have?"

Liu Pojun's face filled with admiration. "Your subordinate understands."

"Household slaves and abandoned land are civil matters. Let Mr. Liu negotiate. The bottom line is simply this: no return of people, and no return of land."

Liu Pojun acknowledged the order and went to tell the relay rider. The rider memorized it and repeated it back. Liu Pojun checked it for errors and sent him back to deliver the message.

Outside the west gate of the Wendeng camp, a dense crowd of onlookers had gathered. Of course, generally speaking, the crowd was ignorant of the truth. In the center of this crowd were two well-dressed Licentiates, along with a dozen or so servants and tenant farmers, mixed with a few idlers.

A combat squad of two sections was drawn up in formation before the camp gate. The squad leader in command issued the order to stand to. The matchlock soldiers' fuses were all lit and clamped onto the serpentines.

Liu Minyou's face was full of indignation. These two had been here for a long time. Both were Licentiates, holding title deeds and indentures, loudly demanding the return of their land and runaway household slaves. Liu Minyou had examined their deeds. Most belonged to the Licentiates,

along with deeds from a few common households. It was true that the Wendeng camp had occupied five hundred mu of their land, located within the abandoned land east of the old camp. These two had clearly waited until the land was cultivated into mature fields before coming to reclaim it. Now those five hundred mu had already been distributed to settler households.

At ten mu per household, that meant fifty families. Liu Minyou had no intention of returning it to them. He thought of giving them some silver to buy the land back, but these two kept evading and digressing, even dragging up figures like Jiang Bin from long ago, determined to pin a big label of military usurpation of power on the Wendeng camp.

A big hat.

The two Licentiates quoted classics and canons, which Liu Minyou could not understand. Losing patience, he shouted to cut them off and said coldly: "If you are here to wrangle unreasonably, then I must beg your pardon for having no time to keep you company." With that, he turned to leave.

Seeing this, the two rushed forward and grabbed Liu Minyou's sleeve. "You want to leave? Not so easy! Have your settler households move away, and hand over our household slaves."

Liu Minyou shook them off with one motion. "If you want to talk, then state your terms. What are you dragging up Jiang Bin and Lan Yu for?"

"Your Wendeng camp, relying on a bit of military merit, forcibly occupies people's land, bullies the common folk, and preys on the countryside. And you think you're in the right? With the land taken by you, what are our tenant farmers to eat? Not to mention the household slaves we bought with our own silver. Today, we are here to seek redress for the people."

By now, the relay rider carrying orders had rushed back and conveyed Chen Xin's command to Lu Chuanzong, who was on duty. Lu Chuanzong had long been seething with anger, and immediately issued clear orders to his subordinates.

Liu Minyou saw they were still at it and quickened his pace to behind the camp gate. The two failed to grab him. Seeing this, one of the idlers shouted: "If you don't hand over the people and the land, we'll charge in."

The two Licentiates echoed the cry and led those tenant farmers in a rush toward the camp gate.

"Firearms squad, prepare!" the firearms squad leader bellowed the order.

"Duty killer squad, prepare!" The twelve soldiers of the killer squad leveled their weapons, pointing them straight at the charging group. The two Licentiates, who had never had guns aimed at them before, hurriedly ducked back. The group of tenant farmers, who were only there for the excitement to begin with, also stopped when no one led them.

Lu Chuanzong shouted loudly: "Those entering within the five-meter white line will be bound and seized! Those charging the camp gate will be executed on the spot!"

One Licentiate saw that those picket soldiers seemed to mean business. These soldiers were truly different from ordinary camp troops and military households; their killing aura was heavy, and they looked at people with a kind of cold indifference. He was indeed a little afraid in his heart, and quickly shouted at Liu Minyou: "That gentleman, and you still say you aren't bullying the common folk?"

Lu Chuanzong went to Liu Minyou's side and said: "Mr. Liu, you need not pay them any mind. The lord has given explicit orders here."

Liu Minyou hesitated a moment, then shook his head. "The Provincial Governor Sun is coming today. Don't let any incident occur."

"There won't be any incident. I'll seize them immediately and lock them up for a few days, then deal with it."

Liu Minyou recalled the stories about the literati he had heard in Jiangnan, and sighed. "We don't even know the background of these two. Don't be so rash." He said to the Licentiate, "Then let's go to my office to talk."

The two Licentiates exchanged a glance, then turned back and said: "We'll talk right here. It's a matter of a few words. What need is there to go to an office?"

Liu Minyou suppressed his anger and continued negotiating with them. He could not return the land; those plots were right in the middle, and it would cause too much trouble later. He intended to settle the matter with silver. But the two made an outrageous demand, asking for fifteen taels per mu, and then continued to haggle with him bit by bit, though their attitude became much better than at the start.

Just as Liu Minyou was about to give up entirely, an idler came from the west and whispered something to the two Licentiates. Their expressions immediately changed. They gave Liu Minyou a cold sneer and said: "Did you think we would fall for your trick? We came today

precisely to bring our complaint before the Provincial Governor. We long anticipated you would change your route. Right now, other righteous citizens have stopped you outside the north gate. Haha, you have seized military fields and civilian fields in Wendeng. Today we will ask the Provincial Governor to uphold justice. Otherwise, we will go

and bring our suit before the imperial court."

Having said this, they did not wait for Liu Minyou to reply, but led their people away. Liu Minyou was so furious that smoke seemed to pour from his seven orifices. Lu Chuanzong rushed up and said: "Those sons of bitches, they even pulled a diversion! Damn it, Mr. Liu, let's just seize and kill them. I'm so angry my belly's about to burst."

Liu Minyou panted heavily and said: "Sun Yuanhua is already here. What's the point of seizing them now? Let's go to the north gate." His eyes shifted, and he said to an assistant beside him: "Go and summon Chen Tingdong."

After giving his instructions, Liu Minyou crossed through the camp and hurried to the north gate. Sure enough, there were nearly ten Licentiates here as well. They had stopped Sun Yuanhua's party. A civil official and a eunuch were examining their title deeds. Chen Xin stood beside Sun Yuanhua with a calm expression, while the Wendeng County Magistrate was full of panic, already somewhat at a loss.

Liu Minyou quickly spotted Huang Gongcheng's figure among those people. Only then did he understand what was going on.

Sun Yuanhua's brow was tightly furrowed. Occupying some land was not a big deal in itself. The main issue was that these were all Licentiates. The scholar-official class in Dengzhou and Laizhou was not large; he knew most of the prominent ones. But once these Licentiates banded together, they were not so easy to deal with.

"General Chen, these title deeds are all genuine, amounting to as much as five thousand mu. Could it be that land with owners was mistakenly occupied?" Sun Yuanhua handed one over to Chen Xin. Chen Xin accepted it respectfully and looked it over. It read: "Under the Third Jia of the Fifth Tu of the Ninth Du, the deed-maker Tang Xisheng, now possesses land inherited from ancestors and subsequently purchased, located in the Third Bao of this Du, place name Fangniu Pond, being surveyed and issued as number three hundred and ninety-six, accumulated land area three hundred and sixty-three bu, assessed tax... all sold to Huang Yingchang of the same Du as his property... Eleventh month of the first year of Chongzhen..." Following this were the witnesses and the official government red seal.

"Contractor Tang Xisheng, now possesses an inherited and subsequently purchased plot of land, located in the Third Bao of this Du, local name Fangniu Pond, designated under the official survey as Character Fa No. 396, measuring 363 bu in area, with tax calculated... sold in its entirety to Huang Yingchang of the same Du as his property... Chong"

"Zhen first year, eleventh month..." Following this are the witnesses and the official red-seal government contract.

Chen Xin handed the paper to Song Wenxian. Song Wenxian sniffed it, then smeared it with a finger, and said loudly to Sun Yuanhua, "My lord Sun, this deed is a forgery, made within the last month." Sun Yuanhua examined it closely — it was indeed so.

One of the Licentiates on the ground said, "My lord, this land was sold to me by Tang Xisheng in the first year of the Chongzhen reign. He took the silver and fled the famine. He only returned recently to make up the deed."

Chen Xin saw that the buyer's signature on the deed was only a cross, treated as a mark, so he held up the deed and asked, "Then call that Tang Xisheng here to speak before Lord Sun."

That Licentiate was Huang Yingchang. He did not answer Chen Xin at all, but said, "I am speaking with the Provincial Governor. What business is it of yours, a mere military brute? I reply to the Provincial Governor: Tang Xisheng, after signing the deed, fled the famine again."

Lu Zhi snorted beside them. "That Wendeng Battalion may occupy abandoned civilian fields in Wendeng — that was settled by His Majesty's sacred will..."

"

Huang Yingchang continued, "Precisely so. His Majesty only allowed them to occupy abandoned land, but this is mature, owned farmland. Usually our tenant farmers cultivate it. Wendeng Battalion runs rampant through the countryside, forcibly seizing it, and openly sells illicit salt within their fortified settlement, preying upon the common people at every turn. We have come today precisely to ask the Provincial Governor to render judgment, to extinguish the martial men's savage arrogance before it blazes out of control."

"

Lu Zhi did not understand the situation. Tongue-lashed by this Licentiate, he was left speechless.

Sun Yuanhua was somewhat troubled. His original intent had been to come and properly build a rapport with Chen Xin — Wendeng Battalion's combat strength was formidable, and there would be many occasions to use it in the future. Who would have thought he would run into this matter. He had spent long years in Guanning; even if the misdeeds this Licentiate spoke of were true,

in Guanning they would not even count as a fart, utterly unworthy of the trouble to deal with. But now, with these scholars present, it was different. The Wendeng County Magistrate came over and whispered to Sun Yuanhua, "My lord, among these people there are Licentiates and Government Students, many have relatives and friends

serving as officials in the Three Provincial Offices, one even has a cousin serving as a Censor in the capital, and — and some have grandfathers who were officials, with old connections at court. They — they have come to my government office to make trouble twice before, and both times I sent them packing. They didn't kick up too much of a fuss. I never imagined they would

actually come and disturb Your Excellency. These red-seal deeds, I fear those clerks..." Sun Yuanhua waved his hand impatiently, dismissing the magistrate. He had Zhou Yanru looking out for him above; although he did not fear the Licentiates, if any of these people had background and managed to get a Censor to submit

an impeachment, and if the Emperor did not hold it in the palace, he would have to submit a memorial explaining himself — and then everyone would know. Once or twice was tolerable, but if it happened too often, it would eventually affect the Emperor's opinion of him.

Kong Youde stood behind Sun Yuanhua. Seeing that Sun Yuanhua was momentarily at a loss, his gaze toward those Licentiates grew somewhat timid, completely devoid of the martial ferocity he had shown moments before.

The camp gate was packed with Wendeng Battalion sentries and officers who had rushed over. Seeing their commander insulted, their eyes blazed with fury, but Wendeng Battalion's military discipline was ironclad. None of them shouted curses; they only awaited Chen Xin's order.

Chen Xin, the accused, was quite unruffled. Not at all bothered by Huang Yingchang's slight and false accusation, he swept his eyes over the number of people on the ground, clasped his hands toward Sun Yuanhua, and said, "My lord Sun, since they have gone to such lengths to frame me, I shall first tally the acreage here, lest they casually produce another deed later and add more to the claim."

As he finished speaking, he nodded to Song Wenxian. Song Wenxian quickly calculated the acreage, totaling over five thousand five hundred mu, half of Wendeng Battalion's civilian farmland. Chen Xin looked at the figure and understood that these people had long had their eyes on Wendeng Battalion, waiting until they had turned the wasteland into

mature fields, then found local baojia heads to act as middlemen. The original landowners, long unable to endure the exploitation, had fled the famine. They casually found someone to draw a cross, bribed the county government office clerks to stamp the red seal, and thus acquired over five thousand mu of land.

Chen Xin held the list and asked those Licentiates, "Gentlemen Licentiates, your total is five thousand five hundred and thirty-two mu of mature farmland. Is that correct?"

Those Licentiates did not even look him in the eye. One glanced sideways and said, "More or less."

"Is it correct or not? If not, gentlemen, please recalculate."

"Fine, fine. We'll be magnanimous and let you keep that trifling remainder."

Chen Xin said respectfully to Sun Yuanhua and Lu Zhi, "Lord Viceroy, Lord Army Supervisor, since it is their mature farmland, and tenant farmers are cultivating it, I request that the County Magistrate produce the tax registers from the past three years, to verify item by item whether taxes have been paid on these mu. If it proves true, I shall return the land to the owners by the mu."

The group of Licentiates' faces changed. Huang Gongcheng squeezed to the front and said loudly, "We all hold examination rank and are exempt from paying..."

Lu Zhi burst out laughing, cutting him off. "Two hundred mu. There are eleven people here, but only seven names on the deeds. No matter how you calculate it, you should owe tax grain on three thousand mu. Li Jiucheng, dispatch fast riders to seal the county government office's entrances and exits. You yourself accompany the County Magistrate to the government office to fetch the tax-paid registers. Do not open them until you bring them here and we check them. If a single item is missing, you will be dealt with by military law." Li Jiucheng loudly acknowledged the order.

The faces of the assembled Licentiates changed color. One Licentiate hurriedly explained, "Provincial Governor, of our five thousand-plus mu, not all is cultivated. Only a little over a thousand mu is planted, all within the tax exemption." The others chimed in one after another.

Sun Yuanhua said, "Then the rest is simply abandoned land, is it not? Since it lies waste, it is naturally a pity. The Emperor has decreed that abandoned land may be occupied by Wendeng Battalion, to nurture a strong army here for the court. What Lord Chen is doing is precisely proper. Furthermore, if no one cultivates it, it should have been sold off long ago. Abandoned land that has an owner still owes land tax. What more do you have to say?"

The Licentiates all fell silent, their bluster collapsing entirely. Sun Yuanhua, not wishing to make enemies of them either, waved his hand and said, "All of you, return to your homes. Henceforth study in peace, and soon serve the court. Such land will naturally come to you — there is no need for these crooked schemes..."

One oversight, and Huang Gongcheng had lost the whole game. His original intent had been to seize some land first, to let Wendeng Battalion know his power, and then pressure them into yielding their other businesses. Now that his scheme had failed, he gnashed his teeth in hatred toward Wendeng Battalion, yet had no choice but to swallow

his rage and endure Sun Yuanhua's lecturing. When Sun Yuanhua finished speaking, Chen Xin led him into the camp compound. Only then did Huang Gongcheng remember those deeds. He hurriedly called after them, "My lord Sun, our deeds — please return them."

Sun Yuanhua paused a moment and was about to turn back, but Lu Zhi came up and tugged him along, continuing into the camp and walking far off, acting as if he had heard nothing. Chen Xin turned back and gave him a faint smile. Huang Gongcheng was hopping mad. One of his household servants tugged at him and said, "There — in the gatehouse brazier."

Huang Gongcheng looked — Song Wenxian was smugly tossing the deeds into the brazier. The surrounding Wendeng Battalion officers roared with laughter, coming up one after another to throw them into the fire. After this incident, that county government office clerk would certainly lose his post. How would they ever manage to get so many deeds again?

Huang Gongcheng cursed under his breath for a while, cast a venomous look at these officers, and finally left with his men. As he walked away, he kept turning his head to glare fiercely at the camp gate.

Zhang Dong, still at the gate and not yet departed, said to Zhou Shifa, "The Commander was far too polite to those Licentiates. Just killing them outright would have saved so much trouble."

Zhou Shifa gave a cold laugh. "You still don't understand the Commander's methods. On the surface, he is always all amiability and harmony. When he strikes, his hand is no softer than yours or mine. Remember these people — their time to pay will come."

(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, welcome to come to (.) and cast recommendation votes, monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.) 【This text provided by @塵世丶戲子】

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