Chapter 992: Deception

“Miss, why are you blaming the government?” the laborer grumbled. “The government can’t seek justice for us because Feng Bancheng has troops, and he seized the state lands directly for the Emperor. Even the county magistrate and prefect can’t touch him—what the government did by compensating us with state lands is already its utmost effort.”

Xue Shao asked gently, “Do the villagers greatly appreciate the government?”

“Of course they do,” the laborer straightened his chest. “That’s why our village pays full land taxes every year, and we voluntarily add an extra sheng per mu.”

Xue Shao and Pan Yun fell silent; beside them, Xi Jin opened his mouth wide, wanting to speak but holding back.

The landlord pulled out a bamboo tube of liquor from somewhere, poured a bowl each for Xue Shao and Pan Yun, and chuckled, “Don’t mind them—they’re fools blessed with fortune. Their hearts hold no resentment, no hatred, no anxiety; their hearts are light, so life isn’t as bitter.”

Pan Yun didn’t correct him, only asked the laborer, “How long have you been paying?”

“Seventeen or eighteen years, I reckon. I was still in my mother’s womb back then. Every year our village head led all the men and elders to the county to pay grain—the county magistrate always praised our village,” the laborer said. “Compared to us, Da Chun and his lot have it far worse—they have to farm so much land, and if there’s war, they’re sent to the battlefield.”

Xue Shao told them: “Military households… shouldn’t be something everyone flees from. The founding Emperor decreed that each military household is entitled to fifty mu of land; the court provides seeds, oxen, and farming tools. Soldiers on guard duty at the guard battalion receive housing, are exempt from land taxes, and the main soldier need not perform corvée labor. Soldiers also receive monthly grain subsidies, and there are schools within the military for children of military households to attend free of charge…”

The laborers stared, dumbfounded, forgetting to eat their fish: “If military households are this good, why do they still run away?”

“Yeah, I never heard Da Chun say they had land. If they had land, why would they farm so much for Feng Bancheng?”

Formulating policy is one problem; sustaining it is an even greater one.

Xue Shao and Pan Yun exchanged a glance.

The policy Zhu Yuanzhang established was sound—the problem lay in how to implement it properly and ensure its continuity.

The landlord glanced at Xue Shao and Pan Yun, who offered no reply, and sneered: “Enough, enough, don’t ask anymore. When the founding emperor was seizing the realm, he told his brothers they’d share it equally—but once he won, he cut them all down. Promises you can’t keep are like taking off your pants to fart. What’s the point of asking them? They’re not the Emperor, they’re not officials.”

Xue Shao quickly said, “That’s a false rumor. The founding Emperor targeted only the most vicious, corrupt officials. The vast majority of other meritorious subjects died peacefully.”

The landlord set down the bamboo tube. “The storytellers don’t say that.”

Xue Shao: “Storytellers spread rumors by repetition…”

“If storytellers spread rumors, then what you say must be true?” the landlord firmly believed the gossip he’d heard. “Yet they say the county magistrate who compensated our village with state lands was a good man.”

The laborer startled, immediately retorting: “How could he not be a good man?”

“Good man? Pfft. He gave you state lands to appease you, but secretly colluded with Feng Bancheng to steal your best farmland. You were lucky—the later county magistrates never confiscated those state lands, and the censors were blind and deaf. Otherwise, not only would your compensation be revoked, but your entire village would be arrested and convicted. And that extra sheng you pay each year—where do you think it ends up?”

The laborer’s entire worldview shattered. He dropped his chopsticks with a clatter, stood up, and shouted: “You’re lying! County Magistrate Wu was a good man—he’s been gone over ten years, my father still speaks his name every year and prays for him. How could he be evil?”

The landlord: “So the magistrate you mean is surnamed Wu? Is his name Wu Fusheng? Funny—I was forced to go to sea by him!”

The landlord also slammed down his chopsticks and stood, glaring at the laborer.

Seeing them roll up their sleeves to fight, Pan Yun interjected: “For a county magistrate you’ve never met, are you willing to fight the landlord? Win, you pay compensation and move out. Lose, you get hurt and move out?”

The laborer’s sleeve-rolling halted. He said nothing.

Xue Shao pulled the landlord aside: “You just said they’re fools blessed with fortune. Now you’re quarreling with fools—aren’t you just putting yourself in the same category?”

The landlord immediately brushed off his hand: “I’m not arguing with fools.”

The laborer had just sat down, but upon hearing this, rolled up his sleeves again: “Who are you calling a fool?”

“Enough, enough, stop arguing,” Pan Yun glared at Xue Shao, thinking he had no skill at calming disputes. She grabbed the laborer’s arm and slammed him back onto the bench. “Do you know the court is conducting a military audit? State lands are the top priority. Has the Guangdong Regional Military Commissioner sent anyone to investigate him?”

“What’s the Guangdong Regional Military Commissioner?”

“How would common folk like us know such things?”

“True enough,” Pan Yun nodded slightly. “Then what do you know?”

One laborer: “Why are we the only ones answering?”

The landlord chimed in: “Yeah, why?”

Pan Yun: “You may ask us anything. Whatever you want to know, we’ll tell you fully.”

“You’re asking so many questions—are you really planning to challenge Feng’s family in combat and become their son-in-law?”

Pan Yun glanced at Xue Shao and smiled. “I’m considering it.”

The laborers immediately crowded around, eager: “Master Xue, if you become Feng’s son-in-law, don’t forget us—we’ve shared a room, after all, we have the bond of shared lodging.”

“Master Xue, if you become a son-in-law, let me handle your monthly deliveries and hauling—I carry things steady, won’t drop or bump anything, and I’ll charge you two wen less.”

“Get lost! Master Xue’s a Feng now—he cares about two wen? Master Xue, let me handle your chamber pot!”

“What chamber pot? It’s night soil! You can’t even get the name right. Master Xue, don’t give it to him—give it to me!”

Xue Shao, overwhelmed, simply agreed to all: “If I can become part of the Feng family.”

The next morning, Xue Shao went to the county school gate, found Huang Quan, and was led with him to the Feng family’s villa.

Pan Yun changed into a Daoist robe, took out her traveling physician and fortune-teller banner, and set out with Pan Xiao.

As soon as she stepped out, she shouldered her banner and headed straight for the Battalion Commander’s office.

The local Battalion Commander’s main duties were guarding the city gates, training troops, and suppressing bandits to protect the people.

But as she passed the gate, she saw only a few old soldiers lounging lazily; from their uniforms, they were at most platoon leaders, with no official rank.

Turning back, Pan Yun simply shouldered her banner and began chatting with them: “Say, gentlemen, your rheumatism looks serious—aren’t you going to treat it?” (End of chapter)