Chapter 454 - Autumn Levy (Part 9)
"It's already afternoon—are you inviting Young Master Huang for dinner?"
"No," Liu Dalin considered. If it were for dinner, the discussion would extend into the evening. He prided himself on being open and aboveboard; conducting business after dark might invite criticism of furtive behavior. "Tell him to come tomorrow morning."
The following day, before dawn had fully broken, Huang Binkun arrived at the gate to pay his call—this young man's head had already been turned by visions of accomplishing great deeds.
Last time, the two had discussed nothing concrete. This sudden summons from Liu Dalin probably meant the "land survey" storm had finally blown his way as well.
If Liu Dalin was willing to take the lead in drafting a petition, the matter would be more than half accomplished! In truth, even with Huang Binkun's understanding, he knew that even should the province dispatch troops, driving out the Australians wouldn't prove easy. But his hostility toward the Baldies prevented him from facing reality squarely.
"...I too find myself at my wits' end." Liu Dalin smiled bitterly. "My own family's land—even if they demanded I pay full taxes on every mu, I would accept. After all, it amounts to only a few mu. But the land my relatives and friends have registered under my name is another matter entirely. Since they've come to me seeking assistance, I cannot fail to provide them an answer."
"Uncle, as this humble nephew perceives it, this land survey business is a case of the sword dance at Hongmen—pretending one thing while intending another. Clearing hidden fields and false registrations is the pretense; targeting the county's gentry and major households is the true intent," Huang Binkun declared.
Liu Dalin listened attentively and inquired, "I've heard similar assessments from my household. However, clearing land registers constitutes proper government business. Whether the Australians are involved or not, schemes like concealing land and false registration have always damaged the court's revenues. The Australians are using this as justification and borrowing the county yamen's authority—it's difficult to argue against them. What solution does young sir propose?"
"In this humble nephew's view, the root of all this lies with the Baldy-bandits," Huang Binkun said quietly. "Chen Minggang and his ilk are merely prancing clowns using this opportunity to enrich themselves. But the Baldies' actions conceal sinister intent. If we continue to maneuver with them, we may harm ourselves first."
"What do you mean?" Liu Dalin was startled. He couldn't discern what this young man was planning. Observing Huang Binkun's decisive expression, this was clearly a major matter. He grew cautious.
"Rally all the county's gentry, grain households, and scholars. Draft a joint petition and dispatch someone to deliver it to the provincial capital," Huang Binkun proposed. "This endeavor requires Uncle's strong support to succeed."
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, officials placed great importance on examination cohort connections and regional ties. Whenever local gentry wished to accomplish something, they required support from officials both at court and locally. Lingao had produced only one jinshi in its entire history—Liu Dalin himself—so regional connections at court were out of the question. But Liu Dalin had forged examination cohort connections when he passed the provincial and metropolitan examinations, and quite a few of his fellow graduates now held official positions. This presented one avenue. In Huang Binkun's thinking, if Liu Dalin was willing to compose several letters of introduction and the gentry and major households pooled together five or six thousand taels to send someone to the provincial capital for lobbying, hope still existed.
"Draft a petition?" Hearing the proposal, Liu Dalin was somewhat taken aback. He quickly glanced toward the doorway. The servant attending the study was a house-born domestic of many years, quite trustworthy.
"Precisely, Uncle!" Huang Binkun pressed. "A petition from gentry and commoners is no trivial matter..."
But Liu Dalin didn't see it that way. If the Baldies wished to plunder from the major households, they could simply unleash their soldiers to pillage—never mind gentry and major households, they could devour even the common people down to the bones. Why trouble themselves with a land survey? Though he bore no affection for the Australians, he remained a well-read man who understood reason. In Lingao, the Australians not only merited the phrase "not a strand of silk taken," but could even be termed a "righteous army." Moreover, this grain levy—the greater portion was being collected for the Great Ming, was it not?
He shook his head. "It isn't that I'm making excuses. Lingao possesses few distinguished names. Never mind at court—even within the province, you'd be hard-pressed to locate more than a handful of Lingao-born officials. The highest-ranking are merely education inspectors or county magistrates at best. What effect would a petition actually produce..."
"As for my examination cohort connections," Liu Dalin sighed, "after passing the examinations, I fell ill and returned home. I never held an actual post for a single day. The bonds from those years remain quite limited, alas!"
"I only request that Uncle compose several letters of introduction. We will naturally dispatch capable people to the provincial capital to lobby. It's merely a matter of expending some silver."
"And what transpires after the province receives the petition?" Liu Dalin asked. "Will they dispatch troops for a punitive campaign?"
"Naturally. Are we to simply permit them to run amok?"
"Mm." Liu Dalin fell silent. His heart was deeply conflicted. Emotionally, he hoped Lingao would return to its former state before the Australians arrived, allowing him to resume his peaceful scholarly life: reading and composing poetry daily, guiding young students in their studies. In summer, he might retreat to the countryside to escape the heat. When the mood struck, he and his friends could visit the county's scenic spots for an excursion and a few cups of wine. Should the county require attention to matters, he could offer what modest counsel he could.
But since these Australians arrived, they had accomplished many good things for the locality. Having resided here his entire life, Liu Dalin was most acutely aware of Lingao's transformations: over the past year, all sectors of the county—scholars, farmers, artisans, merchants—had benefited from the Australians. The previously moribund, desolate little county on the southern frontier now exhibited signs of prosperity. Especially recently, they had rebuilt the county school and supported the Jasmine Pavilion Academy, even subsidizing impoverished scholars of the county. All of this was precisely what Liu Dalin had wished to accomplish but never could. His favorable impression of the transmigrators had risen considerably. Though he personally maintained his distance, in his heart he had already removed the "rebel bandit" label from them.
Now Huang Binkun wanted him to take the lead in organizing a petition. Liu Dalin truly couldn't bring himself to make that decision. He wasn't afraid of consequences should the matter be exposed. But if the province actually did dispatch troops for a campaign, this rare and unprecedented prosperity would immediately crumble to ashes.
Before passing the jinshi examination, Liu Dalin had traveled extensively on the mainland for his studies. He understood perfectly well what government troops were like. Never mind whether they could actually defeat the Australians—regardless of victory or defeat, Lingao being ravaged by them was unavoidable.
"Young sir!" Liu Dalin spoke solemnly. "This matter requires great caution! You and your father have spent years suppressing bandits and pacifying Li uprisings in this county. You must know that inviting government troops is far easier than sending them away. Should they actually arrive, and this county has always been impoverished in both public and private coffers, what would we use to accommodate these soldiers? Military mutinies have been heard of with alarming frequency these past few years!"
Huang Binkun was struck speechless. Liu Dalin was right. Never mind whether a mere petition could actually summon government troops—even if they did arrive, before the Baldies could be driven away, the county would probably be stripped bare by those soldiers first. Back when the Tinan Village and horse-dung Li uprisings occurred, his father Huang Shoutong had personally witnessed the government troops' outrages and had recounted them many times. Had Huang Family Village not already been well-fortified at the time, they probably would have been plundered clean as well. For this reason, Huang Shoutong had repeatedly warned his sons: when fighting alongside government troops, always remain wary of them—not merely for their tendency to suddenly flee, but also for their habit of robbing their own allies of heads, property, and provisions.
Reflecting on this, more than half his enthusiasm for "heavenly reinforcements" evaporated. If government troops truly did arrive for a campaign, never mind anything else, the requisitions and supplies alone would pain the major households for years. By then, they would probably all blame him for being meddlesome.
Huang Binkun's spirits deflated, yet he refused to accept such defeat. He continued, "The Baldies have temporarily retracted their claws here in Lingao. But once their wings are fully grown, who knows what treasonous acts they might commit? By then, our Lingao would be dragged down into eternal damnation! Better to make preparations early."
"That is certainly a concern," Liu Dalin acknowledged. "As the saying goes, 'Those who repeatedly commit injustice will bring about their own destruction.' If the Australians truly dare to commit great treason, the gentry and scholars of this county will never tolerate them!"
These words amounted to saying nothing at all. Huang Binkun fell silent.
"The only solution lies in sending someone to negotiate with them," Liu Dalin proposed. "We must identify a suitable person to serve as intermediary and convey the grain households' collective sentiment. The Australians are not an unreasonable lot..."
Huang Binkun's eyes brightened. "If that's the case, why not rally the county's grain households to submit a petition to the Baldies?"
"Submit a petition to the Australians." Liu Dalin mused over the idea.
"Precisely—concerning this year's grain levy matter." Huang Binkun suggested asking Secretary Wang or Zhang Youfu to serve as intermediary, with both sides negotiating an appropriate resolution. The critical point: Chen Minggang must not be involved.
"That seems feasible," Liu Dalin conceded. "However, this matter..."
He didn't complete his thought. Naturally, this couldn't be entrusted to just any Zhang Three or Li Four. For the Australians to take it seriously, the person stepping forward had to carry weight.
The person the Australians would regard as most significant in the county was obviously not Wu Mingjin—it was Liu Dalin himself.
Liu Dalin struggled inwardly for a long while. He didn't wish to step forward for this sort of matter, especially when the other party was the Australians of unknown provenance.
In the end, he nodded. "Very well. This matter would be best handled with me taking the lead."
"Uncle, your health—" Huang Binkun said with genuine concern. "Let my father assume leadership instead."
"That won't do." Liu Dalin had made up his mind. If he didn't step forward personally, probably no one else in Lingao could. Examining the Australians, they did seem inclined toward "civilization." If he reasoned with them, perhaps some effect could be achieved. At minimum, it would provide the county's gentry and grain households with an explanation and spare them from being extorted by Chen Minggang's gang.
Huang Binkun was secretly overjoyed. With Liu Dalin willing to step forward, the grain households who had been wavering and taking a wait-and-see attitude would now be willing to join this petition. It would also force the Baldies to squirm, whatever their plans might be.
Whether the Australians would yield, Huang Binkun wasn't entirely certain. But that this would cause the transmigrators a headache—of that he was confident. If they were ordinary pirates or bandits, they naturally wouldn't humor your jinshi Liu or juren Huang. But the Australians constantly performed their "love for the people" act—they couldn't possibly alienate him openly. To deal with Liu Dalin, they would probably have to make some gestures of accommodation.
You constantly preach "peace and security for the realm"—well, now all the grain households are in an uproar. Let's see how you "secure the realm"!
Huang Binkun was secretly pleased. Though he couldn't travel to the provincial capital to file complaints, using this opportunity to unite all the major households already constituted a significant achievement.
(End of Chapter)