Chapter 674: The New County Magistrate

Apart from the population within the prefecture and county, the refugees Zhao Jin had gathered and recruited at various estates numbered just over ninety thousand. In a few short years, relying solely on the strength of the Zhao Character Battalion, they had managed to gather and multiply to this extent. What's more, every person could support themselves and still provide strength for the Zhao Character Battalion. This number, this comparison, filled everyone in the Zhao Character Battalion with immense pride, making them feel bursting with energy.

"Our path is different from others'. We've only just started, and there's still a long way to go," Zhao Jin said, seemingly out of nowhere.

Geographically, Yongcheng County should have belonged to the Southern Metropolitan Region. It was surrounded on three sides by it: Xuzhou to the northeast, Suzhou to the southeast, and Bozhou to the southwest. Only its northwestern side bordered Guide Prefecture in Henan Province.

However, since the Yuan dynasty, provincial boundaries had been deliberately drawn to interlock like a dog's teeth, ensuring no single region possessed a complete defensible terrain. The Great Ming inherited this practice from the Mongol Yuan, and Yongcheng County was perhaps a remnant of that era. Yongcheng was not considered a major county. Relying on a few rivers passing through and its flat, arable land, its produce was fairly decent. In recent years, however, life had improved compared to the past. The reason was simple: overland travel from Xuzhou to southern and western Henan all had to pass through here. By sharing in the profits of the salt route and trade routes, the entire county had grown more prosperous.

This was a small place. The few prominent families in the county would only rank as second- or third-rate local magnates in Xuzhou, possessing little real power. Moreover, they depended on the Zhao Character Battalion's salt market and trade fairs for their income. As a result, everyone in Yongcheng County, from top to bottom, was most obedient to Xuzhou and held the Zhao Character Battalion in the highest awe, not daring to show the slightest disobedience.

When Zhao Jin's order arrived, the clerks and runners of the Yongcheng county yamen all breathed a sigh of relief. Although this increase of a few percent brought far fewer benefits than the Liao Impost, it was still more than in previous years. And everyone knew that if the Liao Impost were truly levied, they would have to work themselves to the bone to collect it, likely suffering casualties in the process. They would have to bleed the local populace dry, offending them beyond all reconciliation. But now, they could take their benefits and have an easier time of it — why not?

In truth, when word of the Liao Impost first came down, the clerks and runners, amid their excitement, had also felt a faint, hidden dread. Now, they could finally relax.

Once this procedure was set, everyone threw themselves into preparing for the arrival of the new county magistrate. No one expected this newly minted Presented Scholar to actually do anything. Affairs within the yamen had always been handled by the civil clerks and runners; the presiding official never had a chance to interfere, especially an inexperienced newcomer like this. The reason they had settled things in advance was simply to prevent this greenhorn from not understanding the situation and issuing random orders that might delay the serious business of making money from the autumn taxes.

But as soon as this new lord arrived, he frightened everyone. This new Presented Scholar was not very old, just in his early twenties, yet he did not look like a scholar at all — robust and tall, powerfully built. Some had even seen this lord practicing martial arts in the inner residence. Beyond that, the lord had brought with him four private secretaries and over a dozen household servants. A brief conversation with the secretaries and advisors revealed them to be old hands who had served in various places before. Those dozen or so servants were all trained in martial arts; once, during a sparring match at the constables' station, one of them had floored three of their own men. It was truly astonishing.

"... Don't you know? His Excellency our magistrate comes from a great family in Dai County, Shanxi. They've produced Provincial Graduates for four generations straight. Tsk tsk, just imagine how much wealth and connections they must have accumulated..."

"... But that means tough days for us. With generations as officials, they know all the ins and outs of the trade. He started checking the accounts the moment he arrived — that's a ruthless, root-cutting move..."

"... Say, what if our Great Lord Sun decides he wants to levy the Liao Impost after all? I heard someone in Kaifeng Prefecture made a proper fortune from it..."

"... What a joke. Who would dare disobey when Lord Jin has spoken? We're lucky to be making anything at all. Think about it — this Sun Chuanting will only be here for three to five years before he moves on, but Zhao Jin over there is staying for a lifetime..."

The two constables by the gate were chatting merrily when a man dressed as a household servant walked toward the main hall, casually glancing their way. The two men immediately fell silent in fear. It had been less than a month since this County Lord Sun had taken office in Yongcheng, yet everyone, from top to bottom, had been brought to heel, utterly submissive. Everyone was extremely cautious.

In the inner hall, Sun Chuanting sat while a private secretary beside him leafed through account books. To the right stood three civil clerks from the Revenue Office, each with a bitter expression. The reason was simple: this Lord Sun was far too difficult to fool. He was a Presented Scholar who had only just passed the exams this year, a complete greenhorn, yet he was extraordinarily familiar with all the inner workings of the yamen. Nothing could be hidden from him. In just half a month, the previous head clerk of the Revenue Office had been caught tampering with the accounts. After being found out, he was beaten with the plank right there in the hall, stripped of his position, and was now still lying in the county jail recovering from his injuries. A truly miserable sight.

"Had Sun not received the teachings and guidance of my father and grandfather, I would have suffered a major loss a few days ago. The accounts were all written in dan, but different measures were used for incoming and outgoing — the actual amounts differed by half! Someone unfamiliar with practical affairs would truly have been deceived by them," Sun Chuanting said coolly.

At these words, the three clerks below all offered awkward, ingratiating smiles, though those smiles looked more like weeping. Sun Chuanting swept his gaze over them and continued in the same indifferent tone, "Don't be afraid. You still have some conscience left. Out there, there are those who skim six or seven-tenths off every ten."

Truly, nothing could be hidden from him. The clerks trembled with fear, at a loss for words. But Sun Chuanting had already changed the subject, speaking to the secretary, "Mr. Tian, I truly wonder what use book-learning is. In half a month at Yongcheng, I haven't used a single thing from the Four Books and Five Classics. What has been useful are the miscellaneous practical studies passed down orally from my family. It's fortunate that I am the one who came. Had it been some impoverished scholar who studied bitterly, he himself would have been deceived, the common people would have been harmed, and only these parasites would have profited!"

Toward the end, his voice rose. That rise in volume made the three petty clerks over there tremble in unison. This young magistrate's methods were truly formidable. In these days, he had kneaded and rolled them flat, leaving them utterly powerless to resist. Some had thought of going to the prefectural yamen to make trouble for this Sun Chuanting, only to find that even the prefect dared not touch him. Word was that someone powerful was backing him.

Sun Chuanting's display, however, did not much move Mr. Tian. The man merely said calmly, "How can you say book-learning is useless? No matter how vast your abilities, if you cannot pass the civil examinations, they are all for naught. Without that stepping-stone, there is no talk of entering the hall and gaining a seat."

After Mr. Tian finished, he turned toward the three petty clerks and said mildly, "I won't hide it from you — Lord Sun originally intended to take a few heads to establish his authority. Nothing else would have cowed people like you."

The three clerks' knees went weak, and they dropped straight to the floor. They knew this Mr. Tian was County Magistrate Sun's elder, sent by the family specifically to help. This Mr. Tian was thoroughly versed in the inner workings of the yamen; nothing could be hidden from him. From the occasional stories Mr. Tian told of his past, they could tell he had likely been a private secretary for thirty years and had served in all sorts of places — his experience was naturally vast. Within this yamen, Mr. Tian could also make decisions on Lord Sun's behalf.

"But once we arrived and looked around, we found that you had exercised some restraint. The local resentment isn't particularly great, which was unexpected. In a remote corner like this, there are bound to be some deeds that provoke the wrath of both heaven and men, yet you haven't gone too far. This has stayed our lord's blade!"

As they listened to Mr. Tian speak, the expressions of the three below shifted from terror to bitter smiles. It wasn't that they didn't want to fleece the people — it was clearly that they couldn't and didn't dare. Not to mention that the six major families here had already divided up all the benefits, but even with the common folk outside those six families, they dared not go too far. The reason was simple: the Zhao Character Battalion was here. If they went too far and these people went to the Zhao Character Battalion seeking justice, there were only two paths left — death, or the whole family sent to the desolate reed marshes of Pizhou to do hard labor for life.

Now, there were only two sources of perks for those serving in Yongcheng County. The first was the fixed quota from the grain tax: after the Zhao Character Battalion took it over, they would distribute a portion for everyone to share. The second was the customary dividends from the salt route and trade routes. There was no way to get a hand on anything else. There had once been a bold one who tried to undermine things, but as soon as this shrewd Sun Chuanting arrived, no one dared make a move. The example was currently lying in the county jail.

These matters were impossible for County Magistrate Sun and his staff to know. No matter how familiar they were with the rules and workings of the yamen, they were not locals. And in the current situation, no one was going to explain things to them in too much detail.

Moreover, when Sun Chuanting and his staff arrived, they had begun with thunderous measures and had been constantly keeping everyone on their toes. Even if someone had wanted to cozy up and get close, there had simply been no opportunity.

"Gentlemen, you think only of the rolling wealth the Liao Impost could bring, but you never consider its harms. These years have seen disaster after disaster; even just recuperating and rebuilding is a struggle for the localities, let alone adding a bone-scraping Liao Impost on top. The court sets a fixed figure, and each level below tacks on more. By the time it reaches the common people, it's an enormous sum. Once they've paid it in full, they have nothing left for food and clothing the next year. They might even lose their houses and fields. This is no emergency measure — it is clearly a source of chaos and disaster," Sun Chuanting said, growing somewhat agitated as he spoke.

Mr. Tian merely shook his head slightly, thinking to himself that his young master was still too young. What he said aloud, however, was about another matter: "We had already greeted those few gentlemen, arranging for Lord Sun to block the county's Liao Impost. He would be reprimanded by his superiors, but word would spread of the lord's integrity and pure reputation as one who loved the people and dared to resist. But now, Yongcheng itself isn't even planning to collect it..."

"The key is that it's not being collected. To be able to protect the people of one county is already a great fortune. There's no need to bother with the rest," Sun Chuanting said with a smile.

This time, Mr. Tian shook his head even more emphatically and said in a grave voice, "The Elder Lord and the Second Master have already called in favors for this. How can it not be done? And young master, you must understand: the higher your position, the greater the things you can accomplish. Just as the Classics are useless in themselves, yet an official must study them thoroughly to enter the path of officialdom. If you wish to govern the world and aid the people, then you must do everything that needs to be done. Only when you reach that high position can you then unfold your heart's ambitions!"

This was no longer the speech of a secretary to his employer, but an elder instructing a junior, and the form of address had switched to "young master." Sun Chuanting stood up with a solemn expression to acknowledge the point and said, "That was Boya being rash. Uncle Tian, please do not take it to heart."

Note: Sun Chuanting's first official post was indeed County Magistrate of Yongcheng. This is real history.

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