Chapter 649: Rest and Recuperation

On the third day of the ninth month in the eighth year of the Chongzhen reign.

Liu Chengzong was so busy his feet barely touched the ground, happily planning out the grain depots for every county in Xi'an Prefecture.

Though wave after wave of locusts kept coming, the organizational framework in the counties of Xi'an Prefecture was still intact, so the locust plague had very little impact there.

This organizational framework was not the government, but rather that the counties of Guanzhong had suffered only a low degree of military turmoil, had a large population base, and with just a little organization could defend against the locust plague.

Correspondingly, outside of Guanzhong, locust plague prevention was no good.

For example, the two prefectures of Guyuan and Jingning had many soldiers in the past but few people now; the locals were already powerless to clear the insect eggs last year, and this year they directly became the locust swarms' old nest west of Liupan Mountain, sending vast numbers of flying locusts to plague Jinglu, Zhuanglang, and even Liangzhou.

And Jinglu Garrison and Zhuanglang County were themselves places of vast land and sparse population, with poor resistance to the locust plague; the locals were helpless and could only report the disaster.

Still, in the big picture, the impact could hardly be called too terrible.

For one, it wouldn't reach the point of being eaten down to not a single grain harvested.

For another, because of Zhang Xianzhong, Zhuanglang County was still in its tax-exemption period, and Jinglu Garrison was a back-and-forth battleground between Cao Yao's Gansu Army and the Ming court's Ningxia Army — whoever could flee had already fled.

As for Liangzhou, Gansu Commander-in-Chief Cao Yao sent a report to Liu Chengzong that was very optimistic.

Because in Gansu's three oases, after clearing out powerful families and military fields and redistributing the land, all of them had, under Song Xian's direction, promoted Liu Chengzong's Personal Field Method.

The Personal Field Method itself would not bring a bumper harvest; it merely had the common people divide their own farmland into five sections, planting four sections broadly for thin harvests and one section with double the fertilizer and care, in hopes of improving Gansu's depleted soil fertility.

Now, before the Personal Field Method's results had appeared, after Liangzhou suffered the locust plague, every family of commoners simply ignored those broadly planted, thinly harvested fields and only needed to concentrate their strength on driving the locusts away from the one section given double care, making the locust defense pressure very light.

The harvest was also satisfactory.

After all, locusts are a natural disaster, and amid a natural disaster, being able to preserve one share of the harvest was already a tremendous stroke of luck within misfortune.

With this share of harvest in hand, not to mention Gansu delivering grain to the Marshal's Mansion, at the very least Liu Chengzong did not need to worry about provisions for the Gansu Army.

And in the counties of Xi'an Prefecture, all had by now collected the summer tax into the county treasuries; as for those intending to ship the grain and fodder to the Central Army, they were merely the few places of Yaozhou, Qianzhou, Binzhou, Wugong, Xingping, and Xianyang.

More county seats, such as Magistrate Zhang Jinyan, were merely fence-sitters watching from the sidelines, only reporting the actual levy amounts to the Marshal's Mansion Central Army.

Of course, the most brazen fence-sitter in Shaanxi had to be Zuo Maodi of Hancheng.

That magistrate had clearly already merged into one with Hancheng.

Liu Chengzong had declared Hancheng tax-exempt for one year, but Zuo Maodi was still collecting taxes; however, the grain and silver collected — not a single grain of wheat was shipped to Shanxi.

He took the tax revenue and busied himself in Hancheng with robbing the rich to aid the poor, building canals, planting trees, clearing silt, and resting and recuperating with inexhaustible delight.

When Liu Chengzong heard this news, he threw his head back in great laughter on Shaoling Plateau, picked up his brush, and wrote Zuo Maodi a letter: "Elder Brother, you are more of a feudal lord than I am."

Zuo Maodi's policies in Hancheng were a good thing for him.

On one hand, as long as it harmed the Great Ming, even if it did not benefit the Marshal's Mansion, it was still a good thing for him.

It was no great problem that Zuo Maodi did not obey him, as long as the grain collected was not shipped to the imperial court, that was enough.

On the other hand, he was now continuously collecting grain, so when Hancheng fell into the Marshal's Mansion's hands in the future, continuing to collect would not stir up any public anger — that was the second good thing.

The magistrate of Heyang, Fan Zhimao, however, lacked Zuo Maodi's backbone; he sent men under the banner of paying taxes and escorting grain for transfer to the imperial court, and a mighty fleet of carts escorted it all the way to the north bank of the Wei River.

The moment they saw the Marshal Army's relay cavalry, they dumped the grain, abandoned the carts, and ran.

As they ran, someone even shot over an arrow with a tax levy receipt attached: the assessed summer tax wheat was 11,130 shi, the actual levy was 8,791 shi, local misappropriation was 320 shi, and the actual amount delivered was 8,471 shi.

The levy ratios in the counties of Xi'an Prefecture were basically all like this: the summer tax quota levy was 339,886 shi, the actual levy was around eighty to ninety percent, every county had a shortfall, and every county had a small percentage of misappropriation.

Besides this, there were also various payments in kind commuted to silver, but those were all levied together when the autumn grain was collected.

For example, over 500,000 bundles of fodder — one bundle was fifteen jin, a day's ration for one horse; over 400 jin of silk tabby, 160 jin of silk floss, over 110,000 bolts of cloth, and over 15,000 jin of cotton.

Right now, the autumn grain was also about to begin being levied, with a deadline of the eleventh month for full payment; the quota was set at 459,966 shi.

All these quota levies were calculated by Zhao Jifang, the younger brother of Xianyang Magistrate Zhao Jichang.

He now served as a Court Gentleman in Liu Chengzong's staff, in charge of Xi'an Prefecture's taxation, and he thoroughly shook Liu the Lion.

This was the true value of the Guanzhong Plain!

But not every place was as well-behaved as Guanzhong, of course.

Take, for instance, Liu Chengzong's hometown, Yan'an Prefecture.

A batch of grain and fodder sent from Yan'an Prefecture had just reached Yaozhou and was being escorted in batches to outside Xi'an city; the man in charge of escorting the grain was Battalion Commander Feng Dakui under Ding Guodong's command.

Feng Dakui was a subordinate Liu Chengzong could not possibly be more familiar with, also a man from Yan'an Prefecture, a groom by origin.

He was first with the Heaven-Soaring Monkey's peasant army, later sent to Zuantianmao, considered one of Liu Laoye's prized pupils; he entered Hehuang as a Company Commander in the Training Cavalry Camp, earned merit in the Hehuang Great Battle, and was later transferred to serve as Battalion Commander under Ding Guodong.

When Liu Chengzong received the report, he was quite happy at first, thinking to himself that even Yan'an Prefecture could deliver grain now, and in batches at that.

But half a day later, when he met Feng Dakui, behind him were thirty-eight carts of various sizes and sixty donkeys, mules, and horses, transporting over two hundred shi of roasted flour.

Feng Dakui said, "Marshal, it's 1,300 shi in total, all left in Yaozhou; it'll take six trips to finish transporting it."

At this moment, Liu Chengzong was not disappointed; he clapped and said, "Bee-Tail Needle, well done! Levying grain from Yan'an Prefecture, and not only can you sustain the army, you can even ship grain to Xi'an!"

"Marshal, Marshal, it's not like that."

Feng Dakui waved his hands hurriedly upon hearing this, utterly despairing, and explained, "Yan'an Prefecture truly cannot collect any grain. Prefect Zhang Yungong can't collect it, General Ren can't collect it, General Zhang can't collect it either."

Liu Chengzong leaned back slightly, frowned in thought for an instant, then asked, "Then this grain?"

Feng Dakui lowered his head and said, "Bought."

Hearing this news, Liu Chengzong could not help but smile wryly.

He had been hearing about the situation in Yan'an Prefecture all along; Ren Quan'er had once written to complain to him, saying that the Yan'an Guard had taught the common people along the Yan River basin to evade tax collectors, taught them extremely well, and everyone had studied very diligently.

In the end, Ren Quan'er, the teacher who taught everyone to evade taxes, was also struck by the boomerang.

He recruited tenants to farm the military fields of the Yan'an Guard, but the common people rushed to harvest before the military fields' bumper crop, took the grain, and fled without leaving a single trace.

This situation left Liu the Lion not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

He discovered that that little fellow Ren Quan'er truly had a unique gift in education, and was adept at transformation.

Whether educating others, or being educated by others.

Back in the day, Li Bei had taught Ren Quan'er the reward regulations and trained him in assassination martial arts, wanting Ren Quan'er to take the head of a famous bandit like himself to claim the reward.

In the end, the knowledge and skills Ren Quan'er learned were nearly all used on Yang Yanchang.

Later, when Ren Quan'er taught the Yan'an Prefecture commoners how to dodge taxes, everyone learned to adapt — they equally resisted tax collectors from any power, and no one could pluck a single hair from them.

"It's just as well they can't collect taxes."

Liu Chengzong rose and mused, rather moved: "Back then I only wanted my fellow townsmen to eat their fill and survive. Looking at it now, they've done quite well for themselves… Oh, does Yan'an still have a prefect?"

Feng Dakui answered, "Yes, a man called Zhang Yungong, a native of Ye County in Shandong. He's been prefect of Yan'an for several years now and has never set foot outside the prefectural seat."

"What about the other officials?"

"There used to be an acting magistrate surnamed Meng, but he died of illness last year. The commoners then put forward a Magistrate Zhang, a local man from Fushi County — his name is Zhang… Zhang Pan."

"Oh, I know those two. So that acting magistrate died of illness. Clerk Zhang has actually become the magistrate now."

Liu Chengzong shook his head, thinking to himself: that acting magistrate was the very first official I appointed after I rose up. I tossed off the title casually, and he really did end up serving as acting magistrate.

From the sound of it, he even held the post for quite a few years.

Then the question arises.

Liu Shizi spread his hands and asked, "If Yan'an Prefecture can't collect any taxes, how do those officials feed themselves?"

On this matter Feng Dakui knew every detail like the back of his hand. Smiling broadly, he explained, "Commander, our fellow townsmen are a capable lot. In truth, apart from the absence of the summer tax and autumn grain levies, Yan'an Prefecture is no different from anywhere else. Corvée labor still exists just as it did under the Hongwu Emperor's system."

"The runners and yamen clerks of the prefectural and county seats all rely on the village heads of each li bringing their jia heads, each providing their own dry rations to serve at the prefectural seat. When there's business, they hold court, and the village heads gather to deliberate together."

"The prefect and magistrate receive no official salary, but the back residences of the yamen have spacious grounds — the gardens have all been turned into vegetable plots. When the runners have nothing to do, they help plant a few vegetables; when there is business, they let the prefect plant them himself. In any case, everyone eats."

"Oh, and Prefect Zhang also gives lectures at the prefectural and county schools. Anyone may attend; whether they understand or not, they're expected to give a few eggs. And then there's praying for rain — the prefect leads the commoners in setting up an altar to pray for rain, and every li has to contribute a little millet."

Liu Shizi listened and couldn't help a wry laugh. "It sounds like this Zhang Yungong is living rather… well in Yan'an Prefecture?"

"Well or not, he can forget about running off." Feng Dakui laughed with schadenfreude. "Commander, our Yan'an Prefecture isn't some Lion-Camel Ridge. The commoners truly aren't willing to pay taxes because they feel they're better off without an official government."

"Still, they hold you in great respect, Commander. Those village heads all followed you into battle in the past. If you insisted on collecting, General Zhang, General Ding, and I have discussed it and estimate we could probably bring it in."

As soon as Liu Chengzong heard this, he waved his hand and said decisively, "No need."

"Yan'an Prefecture's land and water were never good to begin with, and after military disasters and drought its population is sparse. Taxes will not be levied for now. I'll write a proclamation shortly; take it back to Fengweizhen and have him disseminate it to every li and jia throughout Yan'an, announcing a full exemption for five years starting this year."

It wasn't that Liu Chengzong didn't want to levy taxes — he knew better than anyone that even if Yan'an Prefecture were forced to pay, it would not reach even half, or even a third, of what Xi'an Prefecture could yield.

As things stood now, being able to sustain itself through border-wall trade with the Ordos tribe while also feeding the two battalions under Zhang Zhen and Ding Guodong was already the best they could manage.

To put it bluntly, if the commandery headquarters tried to collect taxes in Yan'an Prefecture, it would absolutely not gather enough grain to feed Zhang's and Ding's two battalions.

"That aside, this Zhang Yungong and Zhang Pan are rather interesting. Take two commissions back with you — one for prefect, one for magistrate. If the two of them are willing to work for me, they can accept the commissions and carry on; if not, they can go home."

Feng Dakui was delighted at once. Cupping his hands with a grin, he said, "Commander, Zhang Yungong will certainly be willing. As things stand, even if you let him return to Shandong via Shanxi, he wouldn't dare!"

"Shanxi's plagued with pestilence — that makes sense."

Liu Chengzong laughed himself as he said it, then added, "If the two of them accept the commissions, send an escort and have them come to Xi'an to see me."

Liu Shizi paced in a side hall of Huayan Temple, thinking as he walked. "The summer tax and autumn grain in Yan'an Prefecture can go uncollected, but the government must still serve its purpose: planting trees, waterworks, promoting education, opening up farmland — and of course, the population and land registers must be properly kept. I need to know how many people remain in each county of Yan'an Prefecture."

This, in truth, was what Liu Shizi yearned for most about Yan'an Prefecture.

Yan'an Prefecture truly could not pay much in taxes, especially under current conditions. Whether land tax or head tax, even if forced, it would not amount to much.

On this point, Liu Chengzong had been considerably influenced by Zuo Mao'di's thinking.

Rather than forcibly collect taxes and wear away the people's goodwill — especially the goodwill of Yan'an Prefecture, which was both his hometown and the old rebel stronghold — it was far better to find ways to let them rest and recover.

Although Yan'an Prefecture had once been a major prefecture with a registered population of six hundred thousand, its land and water were now in poor shape, and it had been shattered by war. Never mind one or two years — even in three to five years, if the population could recover by a mere third, that would count as great governance.

Feng Dakui acknowledged each of Liu Chengzong's instructions for Yan'an Prefecture. Then, suddenly recalling something, he casually called for the Feathered Forest riders outside the hall and ordered them to go to the Tiger Guard Camp and fetch an idle officer.

Not long after, the former Ming deputy regional commander of Gansu, Li Hongsi, arrived.

Though Li Hongsi's rank was high, he had surrendered as a bare-staff general with neither troops nor funds, so he had been giving lectures to officers in the Tiger Guard Camp all along. Summoned so abruptly, he looked rather uneasy.

He asked, "Commander, what matter calls for me?"

Liu Chengzong said, "General, how much do you know about Chen Qiyu?"

Li Hongsi's suspended heart dropped straight back into his belly, and even his complexion improved a shade. "Commander, your subordinate has never had any dealings with Viceroy Chen."

He was a frontier general from Gansu, formerly under the command of Tri-Border Supreme Commander Hong Chengchou. He had no connection whatsoever with Five-Province Supreme Commander Chen Qiyu.

To his surprise, Liu Shizi was rather dissatisfied with this answer and frowned. "You know nothing at all? You must at least know where he's from. I recall he's a Shanxi man."

"That I do know. Viceroy Chen is a native of Baode Department in Shanxi, just across the Yellow River from Fugu County."

Liu Chengzong nodded and said to Li Hongsi, "Very well, I understand. You may return to your duties, General."

Li Hongsi, utterly baffled, withdrew in a daze.

Even Feng Dakui had no idea what Liu Chengzong was up to.

But they saw Liu Shizi study the map for a long while before turning his head. "Those two Hengshan leaders, Zhou Qing and Hui Dengxiang — have you met them?"

"I have. They hit it off with General Zhang at once and are inclined to pledge allegiance to you, Commander."

"They followed Wang Jiayin for quite some time, so they should know Baode Department well. When you return, tell Fengweizhen to borrow some guides familiar with the routes from Zhou Qing and Hui Dengxiang, and send some capable men to Baode Department."

Liu Chengzong pondered a moment, then gave the order: "Avoid the plague on the road. Bring Chen Qiyu's entire family, young and old, to Xi'an. After crossing the Yellow River, have them stay in Suide for a spell first, and only come south once it's safe."