Chapter 460 - Autumn Levy (Part 15)
But Huang Binkun was not an easy man to deal with. He was no naive youth—he had fought battles, killed men, held a xiucai title, and his family were local strongmen of Lingao. He possessed both education and martial prowess, with wealth behind him. Bribes could not move him; threats did not frighten him. In the past, the two sides had maintained an attitude of "well water doesn't mix with river water"—as long as they could coexist, that was sufficient.
This time, Chen Minggang wanted to use the Australians' power to cow the major households and squeeze out more profit, while Huang Binkun wanted to use the opposition to the "land survey" to embarrass the Australians. The two had locked horns, and things were escalating step by step.
Even Wu De, who had personally set this wave in motion, had not anticipated that his plan to let Chen Minggang "fill up his measure of sins" would trigger reactions from all corners of the county, ultimately creating a situation even he had not foreseen.
Chen Minggang immediately sent for his sedan chair and went to the East Gate Market to call on Wu De. But he found no one there. The guards at the gate politely informed him that Chief Wu had "gone on a long trip." If there was anything, he could leave a message. For minor matters, the chief's secretary would handle it. Chen Minggang knew this "chief's secretary" was a bedchamber maidservant who certainly could not make decisions on anything of significance.
Unable to directly leverage Australian power, Chen Minggang's eyes rolled as he had someone compose a letter reporting that Huang Binkun was "rallying grain households with intent to resist the levy." He sent the letter up, then ordered his people home. On the way, he calculated the relationship between the Huang family and the Australians, as well as the consequences of eliminating Huang Binkun.
Eliminating Huang Shoutong's son was no small matter. In Lingao, the only ones who could do this and remain unscathed were the Australians. Once the old man went mad with rage, Chen Minggang's crew would be no match. His ideal scenario was to have the Australians come down hard on this young pup—best of all, to see the Huang family reduced to ashes like the Gou family. But it now appeared the Australians were not inclined to play the villain—at least not at present.
"Since that's how it is, I might as well let this little brat stir things up properly. Then you'll have no choice but to step in!" By the time Chen Minggang returned to his quarters, he had made up his mind. He immediately summoned several trusted subordinates and gave detailed instructions. Zhou Qi was also called in.
The moment Zhou Qi arrived, Chen Minggang's face darkened. He barked, "Kneel!" Then rewarded him with several resounding slaps, leaving Zhou Qi stunned. As far as he knew, he had not done anything wrong lately—he had even stopped taking the surveillance shifts near Qiuhong's residence.
"Hmph, you think you're doing fine!" Chen Minggang said darkly. "Your master isn't seventy or eighty and at death's door yet. Why are you in such a hurry to sell favors?"
Hearing that his master had discovered his secret, Zhou Qi was greatly alarmed. But he dared not admit it, only protesting that he had followed instructions and had not dared disobey his master's orders.
"One or two households might pass unnoticed. But every single household you handled reported the bare minimum figures. Do you think your master is a fool?!" Chen Minggang roared and rewarded him with several more slaps, leaving Zhou Qi seeing stars. "Go back out there and squeeze them harder!"
"Master, the deals have already been made. To renegotiate now—" Zhou Qi said quietly, covering his face.
"The deals were made between you and them, not me." Chen Minggang sneered. "Trying to curry favor and ingratiate yourself? Wait until I'm dead! Go tell the major households: the Australian masters aren't satisfied. Add at least another ten percent. Now get out!"
Zhou Qi fled in disgrace. Chen Minggang called in all the grain runners who had been watching the spectacle outside.
"Right, now we need young Master Huang to stir things up properly." He turned to a butcher-looking man with a face full of horizontal creases. "Old Zhang, take a few men to visit the relatives and friends of Liu Dalin's household—they've all got land registered under false names. Give them a good scare. You understand?"
"Understood!" Old Zhang rubbed his hands together excitedly.
"And those scholars at the county school—give their families some attention too." Chen Minggang added. "Help little Huang get everyone mobilized."
Someone asked uneasily, "If things really blow up, won't the Australians come down on us? Liu Dalin and his people are figures the Australians value..."
"Don't worry." Chen Minggang reassured them. "The Australians treat the major households well so they'll behave and pay their grain. If they cause trouble and refuse to pay, do you think they'll still get a pleasant reception?"
"Mm, mm." Everyone nodded together.
"We're working for the Australians. Without us, could the county's grain be collected?" Chen Minggang rallied his troops.
Naturally, if things blew up, the Australians would have to give the major households an explanation, requiring Chen Minggang's gang to produce a scapegoat for punishment and appease public anger. Finding a scapegoat would not be difficult—promise them generous silver and bail them out from a death sentence. The Australians probably would not want them dead anyway.
Once the situation exploded, the ringleader Huang Binkun would naturally have no easy time either. "Punish the principal offenders and show leniency to the followers"—every dynasty dealt with popular unrest this way. The Huang family would become a thorn in the Australians' side from then on. Even if they were not dealt with immediately, the days of the Huang family in the county would be numbered.
Besides, the Huang family had a blood feud with the Australians. Chen Minggang figured the Australians would hardly take this lying down.
Zhou Qi emerged from the teahouse clutching his swollen face—a disgraceful sight. People along the street stared and pointed, his dignity in tatters. But he dared not show his anger. He could only return to his lodgings, fetch a basin of cold water, and thoroughly wash his face, discovering that his lips had gone numb.
"Such a heavy hand! Damn him!" Zhou Qi cursed bitterly, his heart full of hatred. At this moment, he wanted nothing more than to find Gou Buli immediately and declare his willingness to become this "Household Clerk" and serve the Australians.
But they had been master and apprentice for twenty years. Not that Zhou Qi harbored any affection for Chen Minggang—it was simply that after years of buckling under his master's tyranny, his courage had long been broken. Making up his mind to betray his master was genuinely frightening. He agonized for a long time without reaching a decision.
Outside, the storm was already raging. Following Chen Minggang's orders, the grain runners sallied forth again, claiming "the Australians aren't satisfied" and demanding that grain households report even more land and tribute rice. The households that had already settled terms were thrown into great panic and fury. The number of people flocking to Zhang Youfu's house to pour out their grievances surged suddenly, startling even Zhang Youfu—how had things become so volatile so fast? He quickly tried to calm everyone and rushed off to report to Chuyu.
The Liu Dalin household was in complete chaos. Relatives and friends poured in wailing, recounting the grain runners' outrages—when had they ever been treated like common rabble? Crude, lowborn runners had barged straight into the inner halls, sat with their feet up, and the moment anyone said a wrong word, they slammed tables and unleashed streams of curses.
"This is unbearable! You must think of something for us!" relatives and friends implored.
"Our kind of family—when have we ever suffered such humiliation!" A distant grand-uncle of Liu Dalin's cried—though in truth he was merely a small rural landlord. Since Liu Dalin's father had become an official, he had puffed himself up as a man of some standing in the county. Being thus humiliated by a few grain runners, he had come running to this grand-nephew seeking reinforcements.
Liu Dalin had no choice but to console them with kind words while urgently sending for Huang Binkun, asking him to finalize the petition quickly so Liu Dalin could seek an audience with the Australians.
Huang Binkun's work also became much smoother. Grain households who had previously thought there was no need to stir up trouble were now actively requesting to join the joint petition—this reneging on agreements was simply too outrageous!
From his underlings, Chen Minggang learned that Huang Binkun and his allies were bustling about with great enthusiasm. He laughed to himself: Just wait for the Australians to deal with you.
All of these maneuvers by both sides fell under the watchful eyes of the leadership group. The situation had developed to a point that was somewhat unexpected, but it also gave them insight into Lingao County's intricate web of relationships and the many facets of human nature.
Overall, events were progressing in the direction they had anticipated. Only the reports of Chen Minggang running amok in the villages made some members of the leadership group uneasy.
"We worked so hard to cultivate good relations with the major households and the intellectuals. With Chen Minggang carrying on like this, won't our image suffer badly? Shouldn't we give him a warning to stop while he's ahead?"
"No need." Wu De studied the reports flowing in from all sources. "Great chaos must precede great order. The more havoc Chen Minggang wreaks, the better. The worse it gets, the more justification we have for cleaning up the clerks. Secondly, it also exhausts the major households' energy—so when we conduct our own land survey next, they'll be too worn out to cause more trouble."
"What if someone gets killed?"
"Murderers must pay with their lives!" Wu De said calmly. "Regardless of who kills whom, the dead will only be clerks, major households, or scholars. None of them matter."
"Damn, you're inciting the masses to fight the masses. Brilliant—truly brilliant!"
"If we want to carry out social reform, we have to give these local power-holders a good shaking. Otherwise, how can we push anything through?" Wu De explained. "After a period of turmoil, people naturally yearn for stability. Anything that promotes peace and unity will face minimal resistance."
"I didn't realize our plan had plans within plans. You've been hiding things from us, De."
"Nothing of the sort!" Wu De denied flatly. "The plan is the original plan. Getting to this point involved some happy coincidences and also just human nature." He continued, "We exploited Chen Minggang's little scheme, and Chen Minggang knew it perfectly well. But he was also trying to exploit us. He simply miscalculated two things. First, we possess technology and management capabilities that transcend this era—we don't need his precious old system. Second, he doesn't realize our ambition is systemic social reform, not simple plunder. You can't really blame him—he couldn't possibly have such insight." He exhaled. "This is probably the advantage that comes from the gap between eras."
(End of Chapter)