Chapter 317: The Busy Farming Season

()PS: Just got back, asking for monthly tickets.

The small square was in complete chaos, everyone in a disorderly mess. The tun head and drill instructor were making over ten tun households stand properly at the street corner, then began beating them with military rods one by one, miserable cries rising and falling. Just moments ago twenty or thirty people had rushed onto the stage to chase and beat several Tatars; the curtain on the small stage was torn down, tables, chairs, and other props were knocked over, and the backstage was also a complete shambles.

Tang Wei, face bruised and swollen, was crying loudly on the ground, nosebleed smeared all over his face. Two other people in Tatar costumes were also sitting on the ground, their faces somewhat bruised and swollen, but no one paid them any attention. The three brothers in misfortune were helping each other out. Xie Fei, who had two bumps on his head, helped Tang Wei remove the white cloth from his head to check for any wounds, while whispering to Tang Wei, "Fatty hit him well. I've long found Xu Pingjie an eyesore. If only you'd had a real blade. Next time hit him again, don't be afraid, I'll protect you."

Xie Fei counted as handsome among ordinary people, but ranked near the bottom among the male actors in the cultural troupe. Xu Pingjie was usually arrogant, so naturally Xie Fei also found him an eyesore. Tang Wei's crying stopped at once. He opened his swollen eyelids and glanced over, cursing under his breath, "Then why didn't you go up yourself? Just now when those tun households got on stage, you slipped away in a flash. When have you ever protected me? And you still call yourself a brother."

Xie Fei gave a sly chuckle. He had indeed fled quickly just now, so he took far fewer hits.

After cursing, Tang Wei stole a glance at the victim and saw a group of female soldiers chattering noisily around Xu Pingjie, busily bandaging the wound on his head. Xu Pingjie in the middle still seemed dazed and groggy.

This Xu Pingjie was tall, handsome, and usually glib, naturally attracting the goodwill of the female soldiers. The other support staff and actors in the troupe also knew he was Xu Yuanhua's nephew. Most of them tried to curry favor with him. Everyone glared angrily at Tang Wei, especially those female soldiers.

Guan Xiaomei strode over, kicked Tang Wei twice on his fat legs, pointed at him, and cursed, "Tang Fatty, when we joined the troupe the captain said we're all brothers and sisters. Xu Pingjie was just speaking his lines on stage, and you, you dog, dared to hit him so hard."

Tang Wei half-opened his swollen eyes, saw Guan Xiaomei standing before him with her hands on her hips, fury written all over her face, looking ready to launch a punitive expedition, and the anger in his heart flared up again. It was bad enough that he was cursed by the audience for playing a Tatar, but Xu Pingjie had clearly cursed him on stage as a stage-Tatar. Guan Xiaomei had been so close, she must have heard it.

Tang Wei immediately stopped crying, twisted his head, and said loudly, "He touched your hair. I was venting your anger for you."

Guan Xiaomei's face reddened, and she immediately cursed back, "My business is none of your concern."

Tang Wei grew even angrier, stood up, and roared, "Me hitting him is my own business, none of your concern either."

Hearing this, a group of female soldiers all came over, surrounded Tang Wei, and started hitting him wildly. Tang Wei had his back against the wall. With nowhere to escape, he could only squat down again, shielding his head with his hands. These women had all done manual labor at home and had considerable strength in their hands. Tang Wei was beaten until he wailed and cried. The two Tatar brothers beside him quickly dodged far away to avoid being accidentally injured again.

"Stop it. Hey..." The captain came over to mediate, but the women paid him no heed at all. He nearly got kicked himself and could only wring his hands anxiously from outside the circle.

"Lord Liu is here." "Lord Mo is here too." The tun households parted in disorder to clear a path. The tun head and drill instructor, hearing the commotion, hurried over and just happened to see Liu Minyou and Mo Huaiwen arriving hastily with several guards.

That cultural troupe captain recognized Liu Minyou. Seeing the leadership arrive while chaos still reigned here, he realized how this would reflect on him. In a sudden burst of courage, he yanked two women aside with both hands and rushed in to rescue Tang Wei.

Liu Minyou had just been inspecting the tun fort's fire prevention facilities — some large water vats, two of which had been commandeered by tun households. He was feeling satisfied when a guard reported that trouble had broken out at the small square, so he hurried over here.

The captain briefly explained the situation to Liu Minyou, but omitted the fact that Tang Wei had deliberately hit Xu Pingjie. After hearing it, Liu Minyou found it somewhat laughable and frustrating, and could only have the captain lead him to comfort the injured.

He came before Tang Wei. The captain quickly said, "My lord, this is the team member who was beaten, called Tang Wei, from Aoshan Guard."

Liu Minyou lowered his head to look at Tang Wei squatting on the ground. The fatty had gained several more bumps on his head, his two small eyes were so swollen they were barely visible, and his whole face was a gaudy mess of blood and tears, looking utterly pitiful.

"Team member Tang, well." Liu Minyou felt some sympathy in his heart. This chubby fellow had merely been acting and got beaten like this. "This was an unexpected situation. Those tun households did not deliberately set out to beat you. They simply hate the Tatars. The fact that they got so angry they came to beat you shows that you acted very well."

Tang Wei grabbed Liu Minyou's trouser leg and burst into loud wails, "My lord, save me! I won't play a Tatar anymore. I want to go home. I'm the only one in my family, and I'm not even married yet. If I get beaten to death, my mother will cry herself to death. I beg you, my lord, grant this lowly one a way out."

The captain, seeing Tang Wei was truly out of line, quickly slapped him on the head, landing right on one of the bumps. Tang Wei cried out "Aiya," let go of Liu Minyou, and kowtowed repeatedly on the ground, though he didn't actually let his forehead touch the ground.

"Only one?" Liu Minyou hesitated. Conscription among tun households prioritized families with two or more able-bodied males. Tang Wei's job seemed to be a high-risk profession; it wasn't impossible that he might be beaten to death one day.

He turned to the captain and said, "In the future, before performances, could you first explain to the tun households that it's merely a performance?"

The captain, looking utterly harassed, said, "Chief Training Officer Huang has already said we cannot explain beforehand that it's just a performance. The point is precisely to make everyone angry. He says only with anger can there be hatred. This subordinate dares not disobey Lord Huang."

Liu Minyou looked at the kneeling Tang Wei. This matter was indeed beyond his control; the cultural troupe fell under the Propaganda and Education Bureau. He could only advise, "Team member Tang, then just be more careful when you go on stage in the future. Look, your injuries this time are mostly on your head. Wear a helmet yourself; it should at least offer some protection."

Tang Wei was set on leaving and still wept, "I beg you, my lord, save me. This lowly one dares not even go on stage now. I tremble at the mere sight of the stage. I can't act well. If people from my hometown ever learn that I played a Tatar, how could my family ever show our faces again?"

The captain, unwilling to let Tang Wei slip away, leaned in and said, "Lord Liu, among our tun households, there truly aren't many fat ones. If this one leaves, I'm afraid we won't find a suitable replacement."

Liu Minyou shook his head, thought for a moment, and finally said, "If that's the case, then I will go speak with General Chen and see if you can be discharged back. But the military has its own rules. This matter may not necessarily succeed."

"Really?" Tang Wei hadn't expected he could actually persuade Liu Minyou and was momentarily stunned.

Mo Huaiwen said from the side, "Could Mr. Liu's words be false? But if you are discharged back, you will no longer be eligible for land allocation or doing business within the tun fort in the future."

Tang Wei heard this, lowered his head, and stole a glance at Guan Xiaomei. He saw her drawing water off to the side with two other female soldiers, preparing to wash Xu Pingjie's face. Tang Wei's swollen eyes fixed on Guan Xiaomei's slender figure from behind for a moment. He raised his head and said to Liu Minyou, "My lord, my family is poor and still waiting for land allocation. I've thought it over. I want to stay. Let everyone hate the Tatars."

Liu Minyou smiled and nodded, saying, "Very good. The captain says there's a shortage of fat people right now. In a couple of years, when everyone's lives improve, fat people will naturally become more numerous. Then you can switch to doing other things. You can come find me again then."

Tang Wei quickly seized on this, saying, "My lord's words are as good as gold and jade. This lowly one will remember."

Liu Minyou paused for a moment, felt there was no problem with it, and nodded...

Having dealt with the matters here, Liu Minyou continued inspecting tun fort affairs, including preparations for the busy farming season in August and September. This tun fort had been established late, but the land was all previously cultivated. They had planted spring wheat, mung beans, and the like, along with a small amount of cotton.

Liu Minyou went to inspect the tun fort's cattle shed and warehouse. All supplies were properly prepared. He praised the tun head a few times. The position of tun head involved managing many matters and answering to many superiors. Any issue ultimately resulted in documents sent down to this level. The tun head then delegated to the zongjia below them; they were the nerve endings of Dengzhou Garrison.

Each tun basically had ten zongjia. Besides managing the fifty households in their own area, these zongjia also had to take on additional public duties within the tun fort, such as the school, warehouse management, public commercial shops, road repair labor service, and so on. They received a monthly wage of five qian of silver. Although not very high, their families all had land, so combined it was still decent.

Liu Minyou spoke with all the zongjia, asking about everyday matters. The zongjia were a bit nervous but still answered everything clearly. Overall, Liu Minyou was satisfied, except he was not too pleased with the shacks inside the fort. These clustered temporary structures made of grass and wood had terrible fire resistance. No matter how much preparation was made, it wouldn't help much. A single large fire could devour the entire tun fort. The great fire at Ningyuan Front Tun had burned down over six thousand three hundred civilian dwellings and killed more than two hundred people. In June, a tun fort in Dengzhou had also experienced one; the tun households reacted quickly, and only over ten people were burned to death.

After the inspection, Liu Minyou and Mo Huaiwen walked out of the north gate together. Before them lay Mount Daze, a vista of lush green.

Liu Minyou recalled a military bulletin from last month and asked Mo Huaiwen, "Huaiwen, how many bandits are still in Mount Daze?"

Mo Huaiwen's eyes shifted, and he replied in a low voice, "Zheng Sanhu reported not long ago, saying there are still several large bands, combined possibly around two thousand. They lack food, and bandits keep coming out of the mountains to surrender or flee toward Qingzhou Prefecture."

"Hmm, still quite a number. Have they ever come to attack our tun forts?"

Mo Huaiwen paused and said, "That is actually rare. Perhaps they fear the military might of our Dengzhou Garrison. The largest band in Daze right now is called Tangdihu. He generally raids civilian households to the west, sometimes even going as far as Yexian. The other bands of bandits are the same. In May, a small band of bandits came out and looted once, but they were immediately wiped out by the combat troops. Since then, no one has dared to come plunder our tun forts. The surrounding civilian households have consequently scattered and fled almost entirely, or joined our Dengzhou tun forts. This month we've taken over another twenty thousand-plus mu of land. By September, it will be requisitioned as wasteland."

Liu Minyou sighed inwardly, then changed the subject, "For the land we've occupied everywhere, we won't pay the land tax. Instead, we convert it into silver, jewels, and treasures as private benefits for the officials. How will those officials complete their performance evaluations this year?"

Mo Huaiwen bowed and said, "Those lords will apportion all the land tax that needs to be fulfilled onto the remaining civilian households. Therefore, the burden on the remaining civilian households grows heavier and heavier, and more flee and scatter."

Liu Minyou understood this vicious cycle very well. Land was not wealth but rather a burden. In the later stages, it would become extremely cheap yet no one would be interested. The original owners would have no choice but to flee. This was how the refugees in the north grew more and more numerous.

After the tun fort system appeared in Denglai, those tenant farmers had an alternative place to go. The process of fleeing was accelerating, which would eventually turn the vast majority of civilian households into tun households. The people were still the same people, but the organizational structure would be completely changed. And once a certain point was reached, Dengzhou Garrison would help the civil officials complete their performance evaluations.

This was precisely the method Chen Xin had prepared to hollow out the imperial court's civil institutions. Although on the surface it still appeared that grain was being paid as usual and the population had not decreased, the actual structure had already become a different system.

This process was not bloody, and Liu Minyou had also approved it. However, he harbored doubts about the bandits in Mount Daze. Given the combat strength of Dengzhou Garrison, with Zheng Sanhu's one battalion stationed here — even if not at full strength — dealing with those bandits should have been easy, yet there had been little progress.

"Keep an eye on the bandits in the mountains. Ask Zheng Sanhu to exterminate them as soon as possible. Otherwise, the various tun forts will never be at peace..."

Before Liu Minyou could finish, Wu Youdao hurried over. He said to Liu Minyou in a low voice, "Lord Chen has sent an urgent letter from Denglai. He requests that Lord Liu return to Dengzhou as quickly as possible to hold the fort, preferably arriving within two days."

Liu Minyou asked in surprise, "What matter is so urgent?"

Wu Youdao glanced at Mo Huaiwen and said mysteriously, "The Jianzhou Chieftain has personally led troops westward. I hear they are going to attack the Chahar Mongols. Gaizhou, Haizhou, and other places have also seen the appearance of some Jianzhou bandit banner troops. Lord Chen has decided to take advantage of the Jianzhou bandits' busy farming season to reinforce Lushun and give the Jianzhou bandits in the Southern Four Garrisons a good rapping." (To be continued.)