Chapter 313: Leisure

In the blink of an eye, time arrived at the eighth month of the tenth year of Chongzhen. Among the wasteland reclaimed by the disaster victims around the South Four Lakes, a bountiful harvest was in sight—the wheat, nearly ripe, swayed in the hot wind, forming a golden sea of grain. Many victims, unable to set their minds at ease, braved the scorching heat to come to the edges of the fields, where they built all sorts of makeshift shelters from branches and weeds, guarding their crops like precious treasures. Nearly every face was brimming with joy and hope.

Although most of the fields were newly reclaimed land, thanks to ample irrigation and care, and with the heavens cooperating—no floods or waterlogging had occurred since sowing—the crops were growing very well. Under the ripening effect of the hot, dry wind, the wheat would be ready to harvest in about another few days. Judging by the current situation, barring any accidents, this year would bring a good harvest and give the disaster victims an even greater sense of security.

Although farming households north of the Yangtze all planted winter wheat, the mild climate of the South Four Lakes region was suitable for both winter and spring wheat. Last year, because the land reclamation had started too late, the planting season for winter wheat had already passed, so with the help of the local officials, the victims planted spring wheat at the junction of the third and fourth months.

"Mr. Li, come on in and have a taste while it's hot! This is a black fish my son just caught from the lake. This old man slaughtered it, gutted it, scraped off the scales, and stewed it in an iron pot with plain water and salt—the fragrance of this fish can be smelled from ten paces away! Hahaha!"

Following this warm invitation, Li Banghua, who was dressed in a gray cloth robe and resting beneath a sturdy willow tree, smiled and slowly rose to his feet. He brushed the dirt off his clothes and strode toward a farmhouse courtyard a dozen or so paces away, with two guards in plain clothes following closely behind. An old man of about sixty, dressed in a coarse hemp short jacket, stood smiling at the courtyard gate to welcome them.

Since Li Banghua had been ordered by imperial decree to travel to Jining Prefecture for inspection in the eleventh month of last year, he had spent the better part of this year visiting every county and township in Jining Prefecture. On ordinary days, he wore plain robes and walked through the streets and households, going deep among the disaster victims and local farmers to conduct inquiries, hoping to obtain the most truthful conditions and feedback from the common people.

After a long period of investigation, although Li Banghua had discovered quite a few problems along the way, overall speaking, under the dual effect of the whip and silver, this large-scale resettlement of disaster victims had been largely very successful. Though some minor issues could be seen everywhere, on the whole they were but small flaws that did not overshadow the greater merits, and could be overlooked. Incidents like the Xinyang Prefecture tragedy had not recurred.

Seeing this, Li Banghua could not help but admire the Emperor's pragmatic policies. These policies truly could inspire and restrain the hearts of officials, and to the greatest extent possible had put an end to the past evil practice of disaster relief funds and grain being skimmed off layer by layer as they passed down through the bureaucracy, ensuring that relief funds and grain could basically be distributed to the victims in their full amounts.

The dozen or so Censors Li Banghua had brought from the Censorate were also divided into two teams, patrolling back and forth through several prefectures and counties—one in the open, one in secret—not to mention the frequent inquiries from those grim-faced men of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

What the Censors observed was largely the same as what Li Banghua had seen. Because Zhu Youjian had established the regulation that the distribution of funds and grain must be jointly supervised on-site by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Censors, officials of the Ministry of Revenue, and local officials, even if someone wanted to take advantage and embezzle, they had no opportunity at all. Thus, corruption and malfeasance had almost never occurred. This was a sight never seen in the two hundred years since the founding of the Great Ming.

After wandering about, more than half a year had already passed. Most of the Censors who had followed Li Banghua to Shandong had already returned to their posts in the capital, and each would submit their observations and experiences to the palace in the form of routine memorials for the Emperor's perusal.

In view of the previous shortcoming that the routine memorial format was too small and could not describe major issues in detail, Zhu Youjian had last year changed the memorial from a small format of six lines per memorial with twenty characters per line to a large format of twenty lines per memorial with thirty characters per line. He had also made specific regulations regarding the format of memorials, requiring that officials submitting them use few obscure references and allusions, employ more pragmatic descriptions, and not fill the pages with empty words—the content must have substance, reason, and evidence, and must not be mere empty theorizing and idle talk.

In fact, submitting these routine memorials was also an opportunity for the Censors to personally claim merit. As long as, while describing the facts at length, they tactfully expressed their own toil and hardship, they believed they would leave a good impression in the Emperor's mind and lay a solid foundation for future promotion.

As his inspection tour was drawing to a close, Li Banghua, with his mood relaxed, took the opportunity to visit the surrounding cultural and historical sites. One day, upon hearing that there were the Three Worthies' Tombs on Weishan Island, he informed the Embroidered Uniform Guard of his whereabouts, then took a boat with his two guards to Weishan Island.

The so-called Three Worthies' Tombs referred to the burial sites of three ancient worthies—Weizi, Muyi, and Zhang Liang, the Marquis of Liu of the Han dynasty—but whether these were truly the resting places of these three famous men was very difficult to verify.

After briefly paying his respects at the Three Worthies' Tombs, Li Banghua took a stroll along the lakeshore. Because the weather was hot and the water bags carried by his guards were already empty, he happened to see someone in a small courtyard by the roadside. Li Banghua then stepped into the courtyard, intending to ask for a bowl of water while also taking the opportunity to sound out the old man's views.

It was now the slack farming season, and Old Man Zhang was resting under the loofah trellis in the courtyard. The rest of his family, young and old alike, had all gone to the lakeshore. Seeing strangers arrive at his door, the simple-hearted Old Man Zhang hurriedly rose, first picking up the coarse clay teapot on the stone table and a few coarse porcelain bowls to pour plain boiled water for the three men. Then he suddenly slapped his own head, strode quickly to the cooking shed in a corner of the courtyard, and in a moment returned to the loofah trellis carrying a willow basket piled full of melons the size of fists.

"This gentleman, we country folk don't have much good to eat, but these melons were grown in my own vegetable garden—do try one! They're very sweet! This old man just washed them, they're clean!"

Old Man Zhang warmly invited the three to sit on the wooden stools under the loofah trellis, then pushed the willow basket on the stone table toward Li Banghua with a smile.

"Mm, indeed as you say, elder—this melon is crisp, sweet, and refreshing, truly an excellent treat for relieving the summer heat! May I ask your esteemed surname, elder? What is your age this year? How many people are in your household? Is your livelihood satisfactory? And why do you address us as 'gentlemen'?"

Li Banghua did not stand on ceremony. Setting down the coarse porcelain bowl, he casually picked up a melon and gestured for his two guards to help themselves.

After taking a bite and offering a few words of praise, Li Banghua asked casually.

"Heheh! This gentleman underestimates this old man! Since last year, many outside disaster victims have been sent to this island, and the officials have been coming and going without end. In this past year alone, I've seen more officials than all my ancestors put together! You carry an air of nobility about you, sir—one glance and I knew you were no ordinary man!"

Old Man Zhang replied with a laugh. He was deeply proud of his keen eye, and had forgotten to answer Li Banghua's questions.

"Elder, our master asked you a question and you haven't answered! Answer him first!"

One of the older guards spoke up with a note of displeasure.

"Ah? What did this gentleman just ask me? I beg your pardon! This old man has already forgotten! Please, sir, do not hold it against me!"

The guard's rebuke made the smile on Old Man Zhang's face vanish instantly. He hurriedly rose and bowed deeply to Li Banghua with clasped hands.

"Elder, do not be afraid—I was merely chatting with you about ordinary matters! Zhang Yun! The two of you go outside and wait!"

Li Banghua comforted Old Man Zhang with a few words, then gave the order.

The two guards obediently rose and left through the courtyard gate.

"Hehe, elder, please sit—there's no need to mind those two!"

Seeing Li Banghua's gentle smile, Old Man Zhang's tense and fearful mood gradually relaxed. After sitting down, the two chatted casually together.

After learning that Old Man Zhang's family circumstances were somewhat better than in previous years, Li Banghua's mood improved as well.

As noon approached, Old Man Zhang's family members gradually returned, bringing back many specialties of the lake. Seeing that the hour was growing late, Li Banghua prepared to take his leave, but Old Man Zhang absolutely refused to let him go, insisting he stay for a meal. In the end, unable to refuse Old Man Zhang's warm hospitality, Li Banghua had no choice but to agree to eat a meal at his home before leaving. Seeing the family begin to bustle about with preparations, Li Banghua went outside the courtyard to rest and wait under the willow tree.

After a simple meal at Old Man Zhang's home, Zhang Yun quietly placed a silver ingot of about one liang at his feet, and then Li Banghua took his leave of Old Man Zhang's family. Arriving at the lakeshore, he found a small ferry boat, waved farewell to Old Man Zhang who had seen him off to the shore, and returned to dry land by boat.

After the three disembarked, Zhang Yun went to a newly opened carriage and horse shop by the dock and hired two horse-drawn carriages. The master and his two servants each boarded a carriage and set off toward Weishan County town, a dozen or so li away.

A little over an hour later, the carriages arrived at Weishan County town. Not long after returning to the inn where they had been staying for several days, two Embroidered Uniform Guard officers came looking for them.

"Your subordinate, Embroidered Uniform Guard officer Liu Cheng, and Zhu Qin, pay respects to Your Excellency the Censor-in-Chief. The two of us have been sent by our Chiliarch Li Lie to report to Your Excellency: according to intelligence gathered by our bureau's mounted agents, there appears to be something abnormal about the grain tribute stored in Yongji Granary. Yet Censor Feng of the Censorate claims he had already discovered this anomaly long ago, and is now locked in a dispute with our bureau over it. Chiliarch Li respectfully requests that Your Excellency proceed to Jining to preside over this case!"