Chapter 239: The Autumn Levy (Part 4)

Zhou Botao picked up a file that had just been placed on his desk. It was made of thick, rough, yellow paper, locally produced by Zhou Dongtian’s paper mill, and felt heavy in his hands. He opened the cover. Inside were pages of personal information with photos attached—these were the materials on the “tax enforcers” who had attended the meeting a few days ago. The investigation into their personal circumstances had just been completed.

Qiuhong’s house had originally been included in the action department’s surveillance scope. Because it was guarded, it was not convenient to install listening devices, and Zhou Botao had not arranged for anyone to approach and monitor it disguised as a peddler—that would be too strange. A group of peddlers gathered next to a rural residence with no market to speak of would be obviously suspicious. He had arranged for long-distance surveillance with a telescope.

Now they had identified all the “tax enforcers” in Lingao county and their backgrounds. Zhou Botao planned to carefully examine their situations to see if there was anything that could be exploited. Of course, it was also possible that they would not be used, but simply “eliminated.” This would depend on the Executive Committee’s decision.

Zhou Botao flipped to the last few pages, to the materials on Zhou Qi. He was very interested in this eldest apprentice of Chen Minggang because the investigation had revealed that the master strongly suspected him of having an不清不楚 (unclear and ambiguous) relationship with his second wife, but there was no evidence.

Zhou Botao was very interested in rumors about romantic relationships. From his experience as a detective, once a romantic relationship reached the stage of rumors, it was most likely true. Just as when a wife suspects her husband of cheating, investigations usually confirm it.

He had someone summon Wu Xiang and handed him the materials. “Go and investigate Zhou Qi.”

“The apprentice of Eighth Master Chen?” Wu Xiang showed a hint of fear.

Zhou Botao glanced at him with dissatisfaction. “What, are you afraid of him?”

Wu Xiang swallowed. “I’m not afraid.”

“That’s right,” Zhou Botao said. “You are one of us now. Why would you be afraid of some Eighth Master or Ninth Master? Get me a clear picture of Zhou Qi’s background, and then keep an eye on him. Report his every move to me, even when he takes a shit and when he sleeps. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I understand.”

The answer was standard enough. Watching Wu Xiang’s departing back, Zhou Botao gave a contemptuous look. This guy was supposed to have a family feud. He had been valued for his blood feud, his hatred for the old society, and he had shown a great deal of hatred in school. But when it came to practical work, he had no courage at all. He still unconsciously showed a submissive attitude towards the people in the yamen and the local tyrants.

“It seems hatred isn’t a panacea,” Zhou Botao said, picking up a written order. He opened it and glanced at it. He rang the bell and summoned his orderly.

“Get the leader of the special propaganda group. Yes, right now!”

After visiting Xiong Buyou and getting his permission, Chen Minggang immediately set to work. In addition to the usual yamen proclamations and the distribution of “tax demand notes,” he gathered his apprentices and underlings and set up a tax collection counter in front of the county’s official granary.

The first stage of tax collection was naturally to wait for the landowners to come and pay voluntarily. Only after this stage was over would they enter the phase of going to the countryside to press for payment. But this year, Chen Minggang ordered all his “tax enforcers” to go to the countryside and create a big fuss about the “land survey.”

For a time, the news that the Australians were going to “survey the land” spread throughout the county, causing great alarm among landowners, big and small.

The gentry were naturally unwilling to have a land survey. No matter how corrupt and inefficient the old system was, they had, after all, formed a harmonious relationship with it. As long as they paid a certain price as a “lubricant,” they could do whatever they wanted under this system. Now, a new force had arrived and wanted to re-measure the land and register property rights. This was like a bolt from the blue. The landowners immediately became nervous. Then, from the mouths of the tax enforcers who went to the countryside, they received a definite answer: the Australians were not only going to collect taxes this time but also survey the land first, and the tax would be levied based on the surveyed area.

The landowners quickly sent people to inquire about the news. Sure enough, the county town and the East Gate Market were abuzz with this matter, and the stories were very detailed. The idlers who worked for Chen Minggang were all arrogant and swaggering. But there were also strange rumors: that this was not true at all, that it was just Chen Minggang and his gang using a big banner to bluff people.

Everyone quickly went to Zhang Youfu and asked him to confirm the matter. But they couldn’t get any definite news from him. Zhang Youfu said that the Chief Wu in charge of tax collection was “away on a long trip,” and no one could answer. Zhang Youfu was a bit surprised by the turn of events, but he remembered what Wu De had once told him and felt there must be something fishy going on. He didn’t dare to speak recklessly and went to Bairen City himself to see Chu Yu and report the situation.

Of course, he couldn’t get any answer from Chu Yu. Zhang Youfu stood in his own courtyard, looking at the “tax demand note” just delivered by the tax enforcer. He frowned for a few minutes and suddenly seemed to understand.

Liu Youren sat on a bamboo couch on the steps of his main courtyard, smoking his long-stemmed pipe, puffs of blue smoke curling into the air. On a bamboo table were a teapot, teacups, and a piece of rough, uncut paper. This was the “tax demand note.”

The tax demand note was a notice for tax collection. The government didn’t originally have such a thing, only the “grain string”—the receipt for grain payment. This was a system created by the yamen itself. A very rough piece of uncut paper, with a format printed with a wooden stamp, leaving blank spaces for the tax enforcer to fill in the name of the household and the amount of standard and wastage rice due. After receiving the note, the households had to pay on time. There were first, second, and third deadlines. Once the third deadline passed, the pursuit phase began. The delinquent households would be taken to the yamen and flogged every three to five days. Some were also put in a cangue for public display.

But this was mostly for show. The ones who were actually caught, taken to the yamen, beaten on the buttocks, and put in the cangue were all ordinary small households with no power or influence—like Zhang Xingjiao in the past. The yamen runners wouldn’t dare to do this to any household with even a little influence in the area. Some households were local ruffians. Although they had no political power, they were tough and willing to fight. If they didn’t want to pay the full amount, they would send a strong man to impersonate the head of the household and take the punishment. With a small bribe to the yamen runners of the soap squad, they would cheat during the flogging and get through it. At the end of the lunar year, they would be released on bail, and that would be the end of it for the year. Households of a higher status could “negotiate terms” with the tax enforcers and clerks, haggling over the amount of wastage rice. Even more powerful ones would pay nothing but the standard amount. As for the gentry and powerful families, most of them concealed large amounts of land and paid nothing at all. Even if the yamen knew, they had to turn a blind eye.

The Liu family had been local tyrants in Jialai. After Liu Youren purchased the title of imperial student, he became a “gentleman.” His family had less than four hundred mu of land on the books, but in reality, they had nearly two thousand. The land “fraudulently entrusted” to his family’s name amounted to more than three thousand mu.

For all this land, the Liu family either hired long-term laborers to farm it or collected rent. But apart from the four hundred mu of paddy fields on the books, they never paid a single grain of tax for the rest.

In the past, Liu Youren’s strategy for dealing with the Australians was the same as how he dealt with bandits: on the one hand, he built strong fortifications and trained a local militia for self-defense; on the other, he was superficially compliant, giving them some benefits when they asked, as long as it was within his means, to buy peace. After all, this place had been like this since his ancestors’ time.

But since attending the political consultative conference and witnessing the ‘Kunzei’s’ power, his thinking had changed. Liu Youren realized that simply dealing with the ‘Kunzei’ as he had dealt with bandits would be a mistake. The power and actions displayed by the Australians showed they had great ambitions. These ambitions were unlikely to be satisfied in Lingao alone.

Such ambitions were certainly not something a country squire like him could hope to stop. For the Liu family to survive in Lingao and not end up like the Gou family’s estate, they had to be more proactive. This way, they could at least protect themselves.

Therefore, although he rarely went to the East Gate Market, he paid close attention to the Australians’ every move. When the Heaven and Earth Society was established, he joined immediately. At the time, his decision had greatly surprised the elders of the Liu family. They had all voiced their opposition—how could they reveal their family’s resources to the Australians? Although they had reported the land based on the taxable amount, the Australian agricultural technicians were not fools. A few more visits to the countryside to provide that so-called “technical guidance,” and they would surely figure it out.

But Liu Youren patiently persuaded them: even if he didn’t join, did they think the Australians wouldn’t know how much land the Liu family had? It was no secret in the county. There would naturally be people eager to report it to the Australians. Rather than waiting for them to come knocking, it was better to engage with them first, to make it easier to maneuver.

After joining the Heaven and Earth Society, an “agricultural technician” came, helped him with composting, delivered seedlings, and instructed his long-term laborers on farming. They were surprisingly diligent. This greatly exceeded Liu Youren’s expectations. He didn’t understand why the Australians were doing this. If it was just to earn a few “service fees,” a single order to the liaison officer would be enough to make any village pay. Why go through all this trouble?

Just when he couldn’t figure it out, the matter of taking over the grain tax made him feel even more lost in a fog. He felt he couldn’t understand the Australians’ thinking at all.

His gaze fell again on the tax demand note. The numbers for the standard amount and wastage rice were left blank. The tax enforcer who delivered it said that according to the Australian masters’ orders, this year’s tax collection would include a “land survey,” and each household had to report their land quantity before the first deadline. The tax would be levied based on the new land amount.

“Eighth Master said that this is the first time the Australian masters are handling the tax collection in the county. It would be best for every family to be a little helpful and report their land amount accurately—to avoid angering them,” the tax enforcer who came said with a smirk. “That way, everyone can get along, and we who are doing the job can also have an explanation.”