Chapter 448 - Autumn Levy (Part 3)
Zhou Qi was Chen Minggang's senior apprentice and, by all rights, his most dependable man. Yet Chen Minggang was stingy by nature. Zhou Qi's parents had passed away years ago, and according to the customs of the time, Chen Minggang—as his master—was his closest elder, obligated not only to look after him but also to arrange his marriage.
This obligation Chen Minggang had never fulfilled. In Ming-era Lingao, the ratio of men to women was severely imbalanced—most incoming migrants were single men, and women were desperately scarce. This made the cost of taking a wife considerably higher than on the mainland. Moreover, given Zhou Qi's status as an apprentice, he couldn't simply marry any woman; propriety demanded a daughter from a local minor landowner of respectable means or from a family in the same profession. Such a match required a presentable bride price and the construction of a house for the new couple.
Chen Minggang was unwilling to spend this money and had kept delaying. Before he knew it, Zhou Qi was approaching thirty—a middle-aged bachelor by seventeenth-century standards.
This prolonged unmarried state proved quite embarrassing for Zhou Qi. Moreover, it had bred another consequence: Chen Minggang was exceedingly fond of women, and as his senior apprentice, Zhou Qi handled many of his master's private affairs. Frequent contact with his master's women inevitably aroused suspicion—after all, this apprentice was young and vigorous, far more robust than himself.
Lately, whispers had circulated—some claiming Zhou Qi was conducting an affair with one of Chen Minggang's women, others suggesting he harbored deep resentment behind his back. Though Chen Minggang didn't entirely credit these rumors, his trust in his apprentice had diminished. Combined with the recent incident involving Qiuhong, doubts about his senior apprentice's competence had grown considerably.
"Precisely—Little Hu has struck the nail on its head. We absolutely require a pretext for this, to compel the major households' compliance. We're merely carrying out orders—they cannot blame us." Chen Minggang's lips curved into a thin smile. "Let them serve as the villains."
Everyone nodded in agreement, some adding words of flattery.
"But what pretext would serve?" someone inquired. "Finding one won't be simple."
First, the common folk had to find it believable—and these "common folk" weren't ignorant peasants but landlords and gentry with property and standing, men who wouldn't be frightened by empty words. Second, the Australians had to support it. Chen Minggang understood that the Australians were particular about their image and strongly opposed anyone impersonating them or invoking their authority falsely.
Chen Minggang remained unhurried, taking a leisurely sip of tea. He believed his superiority over this assembly lay not merely in possessing the ancestral treasure of the Fish-Scale Register, but in his ability to see farther and more clearly than everyone else.
"You've all come from the countryside," he said abruptly. "What precisely are the Australians' work teams occupied with?"
The group chimed in with various answers. The work teams were engaged in numerous activities throughout the villages, primarily conducting social surveys: cataloging population, land quantities, and soil quality. They were also generally helping villages establish militias, construct stockades, and even providing medical treatment and medicine.
"None of you have touched upon the essential point." Chen Minggang shook his head. "What the Australians care most about is ascertaining Lingao's true situation."
Everyone exchanged bewildered glances. The county's true situation?
Someone more seasoned among them grasped it: "Population, land quantities..."
"Precisely." Chen Minggang nodded. "The Australians intend to remain here in Lingao permanently. What must they know?" He tapped his folding fan against his palm, counting off the points. "First and foremost, how many people reside in the county, how much land exists, and what that land produces."
"Land surveying!" Umbrella-Shop Little Hu blurted out.
"Exactly." Chen Minggang cast an appreciative glance at Little Hu. "The Australians dispatch work teams to the countryside and contract grain levies in the county seat. At the root of it all, they simply wish to determine how much Lingao is truly worth." He snapped his fan open with a sharp crack and began fanning himself with measured elegance. "So let us assist them—with a land survey."
The room erupted in murmurs. "Land surveying"—the term literally denoted measuring field acreage, but its implications extended far beyond. Concurrent with such a survey, new Fish-Scale Registers would be compiled, and land ownership and tax status re-registered entirely. In ancient society, this was no trivial matter; it typically had to be initiated by the imperial court itself. Throughout the Great Ming's history, apart from the Hongwu reign when the first Fish-Scale Registers were compiled, the only other instance occurred during the early Wanli reign under Grand Secretary Zhang Juzheng. Each time a land survey was conducted, the Ministry of Revenue and the province dispatched special officials to oversee it, and scholars were drafted from across the province to assist. The process required at least half a year or more—certainly not something that could be completed in a month or two.
Though this assembly "ate from the grain levy," their knowledge of conducting an actual land survey was superficial at best. They were by no means professionals, and besides, there simply wasn't sufficient time.
Chen Minggang gestured for silence. "What's all this commotion? This is merely a pretext!" His smile turned cold. "Do you actually believe we're going to survey anyone's land? Even if you wished to, we lack the capability."
Everyone nodded and looked to him as their guiding light.
"The Australians want to know Lingao's true worth, so we'll simply play along. We'll claim to be helping them survey the land—the Australians won't refuse. Once we possess that pretext, won't the major households be entirely at our mercy?"
The room burst into acclaim: this plan was brilliant! Not only did it provide legitimate cover, but the Australians would certainly approve. Best of all, the major households would have nothing to say, and any consequences could be attributed to the Australians.
"Will the major households actually comply?" Zhou Qi asked with hesitation. "They maintain their own connections with the Australians."
"Having connections is irrelevant." Chen Minggang perceived the relationship between the transmigrators and the gentry with perfect clarity. "The Australians hold no affection for the gentry. At present, they're merely making use of them."
"Somewhat unexpected, wouldn't you say?" Xiong Buyou remarked with a laugh as he relayed Chen Minggang's proposal in Wu De's office.
"Indeed, quite unexpected." Wu De nodded, filled with emotion. "Who would have imagined that Chen Minggang would see straight through our intentions? The county's scholars, meanwhile, seem incapable of discerning anything." A note of appreciation, almost kinship, colored his voice.
According to Wu De's original design, he had intended to allow Chen Minggang free rein in imposing additional tribute rice, stirring up sufficient complaints from both gentry and common folk. Once the county's taxes were largely collected, he would then stage a dramatic "petition" scene with the masses seething in righteous indignation. Finally, the transmigrators would step in as benevolent arbiters, prosecute Chen Minggang and his entire gang, and thereby pacify popular anger.
After venting their frustrations, the transmigrators would seize the opportunity to implement "new policies"—using the prevention of future abuses as justification to launch a county-wide land survey, establish a proper tax register, and complete tax reform.
Wu De had also prepared a contingency plan. Should anything unexpected occur during the grain levy that prevented the autumn taxes from being collected on schedule, he had already secured the Executive Committee's approval for an advance-payment method. The transmigrators would front the autumn grain and taxes first, then gradually recover the sum from future tax collections.
Regardless of which approach was employed, the transmigrators were confident they could pay this year's autumn levy punctually. This would allow them to survey the land and register households at a leisurely pace rather than racing against the tax deadline. As the saying went, good work requires time—Wu De planned to simmer this "new tax system" slowly.
This undertaking represented a major initiative for the transmigrators, and the Executive Committee had already issued multiple directives to various departments, bureaus, and companies.
Leizhou Sugar Company received instructions to continue selling sugar to Vietnam while also exporting other locally needed goods, all to purchase large quantities of Vietnamese rice.
The Maritime Force received orders to concentrate shipping capacity and rush Vietnamese rice to Lingao, with the objective of raising brown rice reserves to thirty-five thousand shi before the eleventh lunar month.
The Foreign Trade Commission received instructions to use the Vietnamese rice to purchase silver in Leizhou's three counties, with a quota of ten thousand taels. This silver was earmarked for Lingao's "Liaodong levy." Wu De anticipated that rice prices in Lingao would decline due to the levy collection; they could then sell rice at inflated prices, exchange it for silver, and subsequently buy grain back at depressed prices.
The Education Department was instructed to immediately incorporate surveying, basic plane geometry calculations, and similar subjects into students' practical curriculum, preparing personnel for the comprehensive land survey.
The printing plant also received notice to immediately produce large quantities of blank land deeds and property registration books.
"Chen Minggang truly possesses remarkable talent," Xiong Buyou observed.
"Unfortunately, this particular talent cannot be permitted to remain." Wu De couldn't help viewing this "corrupt clerk" in a new light. The scholarly consensus that Ming and Qing grassroots governance was effectively "rule by clerks" appeared well-founded indeed.
"How should I respond to him?" Xiong Buyou inquired.
"Hint that he may proceed along these lines. You must appear genuinely interested in the land survey." Wu De had decided to let Chen Minggang stir things up on this issue. It resembled the modern practice of floating a harsh proposal first, allowing public opinion to attack it, and then quietly rolling out a slightly improved version that the public would find far easier to accept. Wu De intended to employ the same tactic.
"However, under no circumstances may you explicitly approve it." Wu De provided detailed instructions. "Ensure someone is recording your conversation with him on video. Say plenty of ambiguous things. Coordinate with the Propaganda Department beforehand on how to phrase matters—this will simplify editing later. You need to make it appear as though he was the one eagerly recommending the land survey to us—"
"I understand." Xiong Buyou nodded.
"Chen Minggang simply wants us to play the villains while he grows rich. Originally, we could have played the villain role regardless." Wu De sounded faintly regretful. "If only he were actually willing to invest the effort and help us conduct a proper land survey."
"Ha! Now you're asking a tiger for its skin." Xiong Buyou had dealt with clerks long enough to understand their nature perfectly. "They're nothing but parasites feeding on the system, thinking only of how to line their own pockets. How could they possibly possess such elevated consciousness?"
"One additional matter. Chen Minggang asked me where the grain collection stations should be established and how many of our people should staff each station."
"The stations will remain in the county seat," Wu De had already considered this. "As for our people—not a single one. Let them continue as before." He continued, "Since we're having them bear the blame, they might as well bear it completely."
(End of Chapter)