Chapter 277: Young Hawks Test Their Wings, Suckling Tigers Roar in the Valley

Lu Zhenfei sat upright beneath the plaque reading "Justice Shines Bright as a Mirror," watching the cheering crowd, yet his heart remained unmoved.

Purging the subofficial clerks had always been the most unimpeachable "political correctness" in Ming officialdom.

These men held the real power in the county, deceiving their superiors above and brutalizing the common people below, yet their status was base and despised.

Making an example of them was a venture that cost little and profited enormously.

As for why previous county magistrates had not done this, the explanations varied.

On one hand, there was the problem of merit assessments.

The dynasty's merit assessments looked only at tax grain and money revenues; if you moved against the subofficial clerks, you would inevitably be left in the lurch for a time, and your assessment would inevitably suffer.

Whether one could get the tax levies collected in full before the summer tax and autumn grain deadlines was truly a difficult matter.

In particular, if one could not mobilize the government students, there would be no one else to employ.

But persuading government students to do the lowly work of subofficial clerks — how could that ever be a simple thing?

Never mind other places, just take Laoting alone: if it had not happened to be the dead of winter, falling between the annual exam and the departmental exam, which government student would have been willing to pay any attention to Lu Zhenfei? On the other hand, if one truly went all out purging the subofficial clerks... where would the customary silver come from?

For reviewing the corvée levies, one tael of silver per li; for compiling the yellow registers, two taels of silver per li; for expediting tax collection, one tael of silver per li; and for all the various tax grain and money collected, five taels taken from every hundred. Which of these customary perquisites of the county magistrate was ever collected in black and white on paper? All of it was passed up layer by layer from the subofficial clerks.

The county magistrate took this money and then used it to grease the palms of the prefect, the investigating censors, the capital officials...

Just as the "Dark Ming" volume had said, this was a chain that fed on men.

On this chain, corruption was no longer a crime, but a way of survival.

Only those whose feeding was too hideous, who stirred the people's grievances to a boiling rage, would be cursed with a phrase like "his official reputation is rotten."

Just like the former Minister of War Cui Chengxiu — had he not been so insatiably greedy, how could he have been convicted and sentenced to frontier exile, and in the end have no choice but to throw himself on the eunuch faction just to stay alive? Lu Zhenfei gathered his thoughts and struck the desk with the gavel.

"Gentlemen, rise." Lu Zhenfei said, "As the proverb goes, a new official lights three fires. This official's first fire has only just burned halfway."

The crowd looked at one another in bewilderment.

Such a grand spectacle, even the six office head clerks swept away in one stroke — and this was only called "burned halfway"?

Ignoring their astonishment, Lu Zhenfei continued:

"Since the six office head clerks have been seized, the copyists and reckoning clerks in each office naturally cannot be kept on either."

"This official will not hold court sessions to interrogate them here, lest I delay the hour of your return."

"After all, the weather is freezing cold, and night roads are hard to travel."

Someone boldly laughed and said, "No trouble, no trouble, we humble folk will just light our lanterns..."

Lu Zhenfei did not laugh.

His gaze turned sharp, and the voice of the man who had offered that ingratiating smile stopped abruptly.

"Not only the copyists and reckoning clerks — those constables and runners who have long been utterly disreputable, this official will purge them all as well, and recover their illicit gains." "Within this month, the posts of office supervisors and reckoning clerks in the county yamen shall be temporarily taken over by government students of the county school; the vacancies of constables and runners shall be temporarily filled by able-bodied commoners." At these words, a buzzing murmur immediately rose from below the dais.

Use government students to replace subofficial clerks? Use able-bodied commoners to replace constables? This was far too absurd...

Watching the crowd's reaction, Lu Zhenfei suddenly shifted his tone:

"However—"

"All the matters above are merely stopgap measures. Government students must study, and able-bodied commoners must farm and drill — how can they be trapped for long among the trifling affairs of the yamen?" "These posts in the three sections and six offices must, in the end, be filled anew!"

Now that was more like it!

By the established regulations of the Great Ming, if a government student fell into the sixth grade on the annual exam, he was to be punished by being made a clerk.

Thus for government students, being a subofficial clerk could never be a long-term occupation.

But conversely, for the common people, it was a different matter.

Even if it was only a copyist's post, one would still have the status of being "in public service." Setting aside everything else, just the exemption from one adult male and one shi of grain for one's own household was a tangible, solid benefit.

Who would not want a "public servant" to emerge from their own family?

In the crowd, Lu Yunqian, the rotating jia head, could no longer hold back.

Unluckily chosen to rotate this year, the corvée labor of his li was originally going to fall on his shoulders; if he could obtain a status, things would be far easier.

Summoning his courage, he shouted a question from within the crowd:

"May I ask, Venerable Father-Mother, what are the regulations for selecting these subofficial clerks?"

Lu Zhenfei swept his gaze across but could not immediately pick out who had asked; yet the question had come at the perfect moment.

He spoke:

"This brings us to this official's second fire."

"From tomorrow until the end of the year, the entire Laoting County shall implement a policy of cadastral survey and corvée equalization."

"This survey shall look neither at the white registers nor at the population counts, but only at the fish-scale registers! Taxes shall be collected by mu, and grain levied by land."

"All actual corvée labor services shall be abolished entirely! All services shall be commuted to silver and men hired, thoroughly equalized across the board!"

So it really was going to be cadastral survey and corvée equalization.

Laoting County had, in the past, indeed encountered a few county magistrates like this.

Regardless of how things turned out later, in the years when the survey and equalization were carried out, life was always much easier.

Lu Zhenfei gave them no time to digest this, and continued throwing out bait:

"From tomorrow, two government students shall be dispatched to each li to take overall charge of the survey."

"Within each li, apart from the li head, jia heads, and elders, there shall be further elected one Survey Arbiter, one Deputy Arbiter, two reckoning clerks, two mapping clerks, two bowmen, and two writing clerks."

(Note: Arbiter and Deputy Arbiter are akin to community leaders within the village; bowmen are those who use the "pace-bow" to measure, the "pace-bow" looks roughly as follows) "Once the personnel are set, all categories of farmland shall be reported by jia, collected first at the li, and then collected at the county."

At this point, Lu Zhenfei paused briefly:

"And one month from now, the newly appointed subofficial clerks of Laoting County shall be selected and hired on merit from those who perform outstandingly in this survey!" "The county yamen shall open special silver funds to hire them; for every post of service, there shall assuredly be a wage in grain and silver — absolutely no deception."

The great hall instantly erupted in an uproar.

"Great Lord, can li heads also be candidates?" someone urgently called out.

"So long as one is under fifty years of age, can write and reckon, and is of unblemished background, all may fill the posts!" Lu Zhenfei replied, "But li head and subofficial clerk — one may only choose one." At these words, the many li heads immediately lost interest; the elders, most of them advanced in years, were also out of the running; only the many rotating jia heads were eager and itching to try. "Silence!"

Lu Zhenfei slammed the gavel down again. Only when the crowd had quieted did he slowly continue:

"That concludes the second fire. Next, the third fire."

"Namely, the matter of water conservancy."

The moment those words fell, the previously heated atmosphere cooled a little.

"With the cadastral survey complete, and before the spring planting arrives, this county will undertake water conservancy works — dredging and clearing the river channels."

"I have tentatively set a levy of five thousand able-bodied men from across the county to carry out this task."

Hearing that corvée labor would be conscripted, everyone lowered their heads, unwilling to respond.

Building waterworks in the twelfth month?

The river water is frozen solid, and the earth is hard as iron. Digging a river at a time like this is truly a case of getting half the result with twice the effort.

It is not that it cannot be done — it is simply that it is extremely difficult to do.

But this Magistrate Lu had, the moment he took office, swept the petty officials clean out the door.

On the count of grace, none of those assembled could utter the word "no"; and on the count of authority, even less did anyone dare.

Such is the reality of local governance.

Grace is grace, authority is authority, and profit is profit.

The common people's lives are hard. If a corvée stint injures a man's body and ruins his health, he will have no way to get through the coming year.

At times like this, relying solely on authority and oppression will not work.

"Attend!"

"Bring the chest up!"

From the rear hall emerged several sturdy commoners, carrying a heavy red-lacquered wooden chest. They walked forward with ponderous steps.

"Thud!"

The wooden chest slammed heavily onto the great hall's grey brick floor, producing a deep, muffled boom.

"Open it!"

Lu Zhenfei swept his sleeve.

One of the sturdy men stepped forward and flung open the lid.

In that instant, it was as if a light had kindled within the great hall.

It was the gleam of silver.

An entire chest of gleaming white silver ingots, emitting a captivating and coldly brilliant luster, nearly blinded every eye in the room.

The crowd, deathly still just moments before, suddenly began breathing heavily. Pair after pair of eyes fixed dead upon that chest, unable to shift away by even a fraction. Lu Zhenfei declared in a ringing voice:

"I stated just now that all corvée labor is abolished. I shall never go back on my word!"

"This water conservancy project shall be conducted under a system of hired labor!"

"Every man who answers the call shall receive a three-jin padded cotton jacket to ward off the wind and cold! And a monthly wage of three mace of silver for provisions!"

A three-jin padded jacket! Three mace of silver a month!

Was this a lot of money?

Three jin of cotton cost roughly two mace, and three mace a month was barely enough to feed one man.

But in the bitter cold of the twelfth month, where else could one earn money? Finding a place that provided even a bit of food was already good enough.

One must understand, in past years when serving corvée, a man had to bring his own dry rations and his own tools.

Comparing the two, this winter river-digging transformed at once from bitter toil into an ordinary job!

After a brief silence, the crowd erupted completely.

"Venerable Father-Mother! Our li has many people! We can supply a thousand men!"

"Nonsense! Your li is full of the old, the weak, the sick, and the crippled! Venerable Father-Mother, choose our li! Our li has many able-bodied laborers — we can supply fifteen hundred men!" "Choose me! Choose me!"

The bitter assignment everyone had been desperately avoiding just moments ago had, in the blink of an eye, become a coveted prize.

Watching this scene, Lu Zhenfei slammed the gavel down with a crack.

"Only five thousand men! Not one more!"

The clamor ceased abruptly.

"These five thousand slots — who gets them and who does not — shall be determined entirely by the quality and speed of each li's cadastral survey!"

"Whichever li completes the survey faster and more accurately, that li shall receive a greater share of the slots!"

"If a survey is substandard, or if during inspection we discover resistance, concealment, or fraudulent registration of land..."

Lu Zhenfei laid down his words coldly:

"Then do not blame this county magistrate for turning ruthless and showing no mercy!"

"I have dealt with you in good faith, giving money, giving grain, giving prospects. If there truly are clans and gentry who fail to appreciate the gesture and seek to obstruct this..."

Lu Zhenfei gave a cold laugh, his gaze sweeping deliberately over several li heads whose clans held the greatest local power:

"Hmph! Think of the six office clerks in this great hall today! Their fate — you have all seen it with your own eyes!"

"Is that clearly understood?!" This final shouted question carried a chill of killing intent, reverberating through the great hall.

Everyone felt a cold shiver run down their backs. The fanatical fervor from moments before was instantly dampened by several degrees.

Only then did they recall that the county magistrate before them was a ruthless character who dared to purge the entire county yamen.

"Understood! We shall obey the Venerable Father-Mother's commands!"

None dared be remiss. They hurriedly bowed down in unison.

Lu Zhenfei swept his gaze over these true "local bosses" of Laoting, and only then did his taut expression ease slightly.

"Enough. You are all dismissed."

"After leaving the yamen, first go and meet the government students assigned to each li, and collect the registers before you leave. Tomorrow morning, they will head down to the villages. Do not delay the proper business — it is past the hour of you, and the sky is fully dark."

The Laoting county yamen, which had been in uproar all day, finally fell quiet. Only in the rear courtyard's "Hall of Frugal Love" did the lamps still burn bright.

This was the rule Lu Zhenfei had established after consolidating Laoting's government students — a daily assembly.

At this moment, Li Liye was delivering the final report.

"…Today, all the students went into action together, separately interrogating the yamen clerks and runners. We have provisionally confirmed illicit gains amounting to 6,517 taels of silver." "Tomorrow, after the cadastral survey team heads down to the villages, our manpower will drop sharply. The remaining interrogations will likely have to continue for another ten-odd days."

Li Liye turned a page in the account book and continued:

"According to regulations, of this sum of fine and confiscation silver, forty percent is remitted to the Ministry of Revenue, forty percent to the Ministry of Works, and the remaining twenty percent is retained for the county's own disaster relief and famine preparedness. Which means what Laoting ultimately keeps is…"

"One thousand three hundred and three taels!"

The men in the hall listened in silence. That six thousand taels would shrink to barely a thousand in the blink of an eye stirred not the slightest ripple in them.

That fine and confiscation silver had to be forwarded to the central government was, after all, basic common knowledge.

This item alone brought the Great Ming an annual revenue of over five hundred thousand taels — truly no small sum.

It was just that in the past, such fine and confiscation silver had rarely been squeezed out of the clerks and runners in one lump sum, as Lu Zhenfei was doing now.

Rather, it had been extracted slowly, layer by layer, in the course of everyday criminal proceedings.

And this revenue, by official regulation, was meant for disaster relief and famine preparedness, so it was generally used to buy rice and stockpile grain locally.

And since local ever-normal granaries were usually factored into the merit evaluations, local officials ordinarily worked hard to levy fines, so as to increase their grain-stockpiling revenue.

As for how much, beyond the officially recorded fines, the entire Great Ming actually exacted from the common people — that, no one could ever truly calculate.

Over on his side, Li Liye wrote and calculated, swiftly arriving at the grand total:

"Thus, adding the water-conservancy silver voluntarily donated by the gentry, the customary silver donated by the various officials, Your Honour's arrival-in-office red envelopes, and the proceeds from abolishing and consolidating the corvée levies…" "As of today, the disposable silver for Laoting's new policies totals sixteen thousand three hundred and seventy-eight taels and eight mace."

Hearing this figure, Lu Zhenfei pondered for a moment, then suddenly spoke:

"Cut the customary silver that was previously sent up to the various officials of Yongping Prefecture as well!"

Everyone's heart lurched, and they raised their heads one after another to look at Lu Zhenfei.

That was tribute money for their superiors! If this was cut, how were they supposed to get by in Yongping Prefecture from now on?

But looking at Lu Zhenfei's stern face, even the most seasoned of them, Adviser Wang, opened his mouth, yet in the end did not dare to remonstrate.

The example of Hai Rui was right before their eyes.

At this critical juncture of the new policies, Lu Zhenfei's almost ruthless approach instead carried an air of overbearing authority that seemed perfectly natural.

Li Liye was also taken aback, then nodded emphatically. His fingers flew in rapid calculation:

"That portion amounts to seven hundred and eighty-four taels. This student will add it to the project ledger at once."

So saying, he picked up his brush and filled in a new figure on the chart, then rose, took an iron pin, and solemnly pinned the chart onto the screen. (Attached: Laoting New Policies Funding Sources Chart. The bulk, two-thirds, is still the water-conservancy silver donated by the gentry.)

On the screen set to one side, besides this chart, a dozen or so gaudy little slips of paper were pasted — tracking and follow-up for every individual task. It was easy to imagine that, as the new policies truly rolled out, the number of paper slips on this screen was bound to explode.

— The pernicious culture of the new policies had, after all, blown its way to Laoting!

The hard-pressed capital officials felt a degree of aversion to this, but these county magistrates of Northern Zhili had almost no reason to reject this pernicious culture.

This kind of culture was simply far too gratifying for a local emperor wielding absolute power over a single county.

Lu Zhenfei pondered a moment, then added:

"Adjust the personnel assignments as well. First, transfer half the men from the agriculture team to the oversight team. We must conclude the interrogations of the clerks and runners as quickly as possible." "Among them, if there are any who were relatively honest and kind-hearted in the past, and whose corruption was minor, draw up a list and post it publicly. If, by the end of this year, no one has come forward to lodge a complaint against them, they may be retained at discretion."

"Yes!" Chen Yumen and Lu Guangyu rose together to accept the order.

With the administrative matters concluded, the atmosphere in the hall did not relax; instead, it grew even more solemn.

All the government students sat up straight and took out the little notebooks they carried with them.

This daily assembly usually had two parts.

The first half was to run through the day's business.

The second half was County Magistrate Lu Zhenfei's lecture.

This portion generally lasted only a quarter of an hour, and the content was quite random — sometimes the standard classics and examination essays, sometimes new-policy concepts, sometimes the way of practical achievement. Lu Zhenfei swept his gaze around the room, took in the expressions on everyone's faces, and opened by tossing out the first question.

"Why did this official decide today that the river works should take only five thousand laborers? Who will answer?"

The words had barely left his mouth when several dozen hands shot up in unison.

Lu Zhenfei pointed at random to an unfamiliar-looking student.

The student stood and said clearly:

"In reply to the Old Father-Mother, this student believes that in the bitter winter cold, the common people are already unwilling to work."

"By luring them with work-relief silver and setting a quota, we use the water-conservancy project to force the cadastral survey! Link by link, driving the common people to have no choice but to cooperate with the survey!"

Lu Zhenfei nodded: "Partially correct. Anything else?"

Another student rushed to stand: "This is about establishing trust! Using the padded-clothing silver to build the government's credibility, paving the way for the subsequent rollout of agricultural measures!"

Lu Zhenfei smiled and waved a hand to indicate he should sit. "What you two have said is both correct, and yet neither is entirely correct."

"When examining a problem, do not fix your gaze only on the matter right under your nose. You must learn to observe the affairs of the realm."

"Why, when His Majesty implements the new policies, does he divide them into so-called 'White Crows' and 'Black Crows'? Why can there not be a Great Unity, with the new policies everywhere at once?" "And why must the quota for the first phase of the new policies be so rigidly capped?"

"Consider these together, and you will understand that the principle within them, from the central government to the provinces, from the provinces to the villages, is in fact a single, continuous thread."

The students looked thoughtful, their brushes flying as they took notes.

Lu Zhenfei paused, then threw out a second question:

"In Clerk Chen's home, a mere preliminary search turned up a thousand taels of ready silver and a thousand mu of farmland."

"If his fields and household property were sold off, you could probably squeeze out four thousand taels in illicit gains."

"Why, then, did this official today set his illicit gains at a mere 2,400 taels and close the case? And why no deeper investigation into his other abuses?"

This question was harder than the last.

For a moment, silence fell over the hall.

This was asking, in essence, about the proper measure in enforcing the law.

Finally, Liu Boyuan rose to his feet.

"Honored Magistrate, this student believes… this is a matter of distinguishing the urgent from the important."

"If we seek a thorough reckoning, we must consult years of account books and verify every testimony — a task requiring months of labor."

"Now, with the new policies imminent, time is pressing. Rather than expend vast manpower and resources to recover a few thousand extra taels of silver, it is better to cut the knot decisively, settle on a figure acceptable to all sides, quell the matter swiftly, and return to the proper course."

A glint of approval showed in Lu Zhenfei's eyes as he nodded emphatically.

"Precisely. That is the principle."

"Raise the main rope of the net, and its thousand meshes all open!"

"In all endeavors, one must first grasp the guiding principle. Grasp the principle, and the details fall into place."

"If one grasps the wrong principle, then one is merely using tactical diligence to conceal strategic laziness."

He paused, then added:

"That last sentence was spoken by His Majesty himself."

Spoken by His Majesty himself! The moment those six words fell, the assembled government students snatched up their brushes to record them at speed.

Once they had laid down their brushes, Lu Zhenfei continued his questioning:

"Why did today's three fires stop at water conservancy and go no further into agricultural affairs?"

"Why did we not discuss the concept of the Thirty Policies today?"

"The new subofficial clerks are to be selected from the cadastral survey — what sort of person is suited to serve as a subofficial clerk?"

"In the cadastral survey, if a random inspection uncovers concealed land, why is the fine set at ten taels of silver per mu, regardless of location?"

One item after another, every question revolved around the Laoting New Policies.

Each question Lu Zhenfei posed, he would call on someone to answer; if no one could, he simply announced the answer outright.

Under this high-intensity rapid-fire questioning, today's session still lasted twice as long as any before.

At last, Lu Zhenfei gazed upon these young men, their brains utterly wrung dry, weary yet exhilarated, and released a long, turbid breath.

"Today's regular meeting shall end here."

"Starting tomorrow, lectures are suspended. When the cadastral survey teams return bearing your actual results, we shall continue."

"Dismissed."

The students rose as one, their movements crisp and uniform, and bowed deeply toward the dais:

"Students take their leave!"

Once out of the Jie'ai Hall and past the Ceremonial Gate, the atmosphere that had been pent up all evening erupted like a volcano.

The biting winter wind, far from quenching the fire in the students' hearts, only made the flames in their eyes burn hotter. "'Raise the main rope of the net, and its thousand meshes all open' — those eight characters truly awaken the deaf!"

"For Laoting, the cadastral survey is the rope! And for the New Policies, the corruption of Northern Zhili is also the rope!"

"Self-cultivation, family regulation, state governance, world peace — from top to bottom. Here in Laoting, is it not also self-cultivation, family regulation, state governance, world peace? It is the very same!"

"Enough philosophizing! Tomorrow we head to the villages. Brother Zhao, you are assigned to Zhang Family Village — that is a tough nut to crack. Zhang Youcai, with his many able-bodied kinsmen, has always been notorious for his bullying. Are you afraid?"

"Afraid? Ridiculous!"

The student addressed as Brother Zhao gave a cold laugh, tightened his cotton robe, and fixed his gaze sharp as a blade:

"With a treasured sword in hand, the New Policies at my back, and five thousand water-conservancy quotas as leverage — who dares obstruct me? Who can obstruct me?"

"Hahaha, Brother Zhao… by all means, do not rush…"

The surrounding students, hearing this, all halted in their tracks and shouted in unison:

"—but you absolutely must be swift!"

That night, it happened to be the full moon.

The cold, clear moonlight poured like quicksilver across the ground, silently flooding the vast, silent wilderness of Northern Zhili.

Looking out, a hundred li of flat fields stretched away, with only scattered lamplight from a few homes. The great majority of departments and counties still slumbered in darkness, lifeless and inert.

Yet within this deathly stillness, two undercurrents surged with mad intensity.

Fifteen days ago, within the Forbidden City, the Yongchang Emperor had concluded a month of hasty examinations and selections, unleashing his 131 County Magistrates upon Northern Zhili — like a flock of hawks striking the sky, they swooped toward every quarter.

And tonight, here in the Laoting county yamen, County Magistrate Lu Zhenfei had been even more audacious. A mere ten days into his posting, on this night of the full moon, he had unleashed his 45 cadastral-survey government students — like young tigers roaring into the valley, they plunged into the countryside.

One above, one below; one sovereign, one subject.

The same precipitous haste, the same urgent desperation!