Chapter 243: The Autumn Levy (Part 8)

In total, the three hundred mu of paddy fields managed with the help of the Heaven and Earth Society were projected to yield fifty percent more per mu than before. This achievement was astonishing enough—no wonder everyone said the Australians had secret farming methods.

“If it weren’t for this land survey business, this year’s harvest would have been much greater,” Liu Guangbiao said with regret. “Third Uncle! Next spring, let’s contract all the land to the Heaven and Earth Society…” He suddenly stopped, perhaps realizing the impropriety of his suggestion.

Liu Youren didn’t say a word. If all the land was contracted to the Heaven and Earth Society, wouldn’t the Australians know exactly how much land his family owned? He sighed. It was truly a dilemma.

“Guangbiao, I actually think it would be better if the Australians conducted the land survey themselves.”

“Third Uncle?” Liu Guangbiao was puzzled. Given the Australians’ meticulous attitude and their terrifying efficiency, it was likely that not only would they have to report more than half their land, but even the fraudulently entrusted land under their family’s name would not escape.

“The Australians are strict in their affairs, but their governance is more benevolent than the government’s,” Liu Youren said in a low voice. “They are strict where they need to be and lenient where they can be—what’s called ‘a balance of severity and leniency.’ In comparison, the government is somewhat chaotic…”

“Third Uncle!” Liu Guangbiao was startled. His uncle’s words were almost treasonous. Although Lingao was a place where the emperor was far away, the government still had its authority. “You mustn’t speak so recklessly!”

“Hmph, these are, of course, just words between you and me,” Liu Youren said. For now, they would deal with the situation as it was. He would wait for Chief Xun to arrive and hear his opinion before making any further plans.

For more than half a month, such consultations and haggling took place in every large household throughout the county. An atmosphere of tension and anxiety hung over every family. People with connections were running around, gathering information. The large households that had dealings with the Heaven and Earth Society suddenly became the focus of the entire county, their doorsteps worn down by visitors. Even the newly rich, looked down upon by the large households, like Lin Quan’an of the “Quanfu Company,” who had made his fortune by procuring goods for the Australians, suddenly became a hot commodity. People visited him every other day. Some would drop off a gift and leave, while others would sit and chat aimlessly about everything under the sun, leaving him at a loss for words.

Besides Lin Quan’an, there was also “Runshitang.” The business of this pharmacy suddenly became extremely good. It seemed someone in every large household had suddenly fallen ill, and they all specifically requested the owner of “Runshitang,” Yang Shixiang, to see them. Since medicine and healing were related, he did usually practice medicine, but he had never expected so many people to fall ill at once.

Of course, no specific information could be gleaned from these people. Not to mention people like Lin Quan’an and Yang Shixiang, who had nothing to do with land, even Zhang Youfu, who was known to be closest to the Australians and the best-informed, could not reveal anything.

On the contrary, the small landowners with no wealth or power were not disturbed this time. They had no extra land to report, and some were even bearing the tax burden for land that wasn’t theirs. Squeezing them further wouldn’t yield much. Of course, this wasn’t because Chen Minggang had a change of heart and decided to spare them—yamen clerks were the type to eat people without spitting out the bones, squeezing oil from stones—but because Chen Minggang felt the Australians were mainly targeting the large households. It was pointless to go to great lengths to squeeze the small households; it wouldn’t produce significant results and could easily cause a backlash. Chen Minggang felt that the Australians’ attitude towards the common people was completely different from that of the Ming government. If he caused real trouble, he would surely be the one to get a scolding.

The frequent communication and collusion among the large households gave the Political Security Directorate an excellent opportunity. The action department’s surveillance division used this to draw up a “Relationship Map of Large Households in the County.” When Chinese people encounter difficulties, the first people they seek out are naturally their own relatives and friends. This time, they could get a general understanding of the closeness of their relationships.

Liu Dalin’s house also became the focal point of the storm. When Huang Bingkun first visited his house, Liu Dalin was noncommittal about the questions he raised. The matter of clearing up the land ownership, in his view, was justified—whether the Australians were here or not, practices like concealed land and fraudulent entrustment were detrimental to the court’s revenue.

Of course, on a personal level, one’s own interests always had to be considered. When personal interests clash with the government’s, most people choose to protect their own. Liu Dalin’s family had been of moderate means in the past. Since his father’s generation had achieved scholarly honors, the official tax exemption was enough to cover all his family’s taxes. But people always have relatives and friends to take care of. They were all close relatives and good friends—he was not a saint, after all, so he had agreed. Over time, without him realizing it, the land under the Liu family’s name had grown to over a thousand mu.

This time, with the land survey, Liu Dalin himself was not much disturbed. Chen Minggang knew the Australians respected this Jinshi and had plans to use him, so, as in previous years, he didn’t even send a tax demand note. He even skipped the customary visit at this time of year to pay respects and get a few strings of cash.

But Chen Minggang still intended to knock this Liu Jinshi, whom no one had dared to touch in the past, down a peg. He didn’t send a tax demand note to Liu Dalin, but the landowners who had fraudulently entrusted their land to his name were not so lucky this time. Chen Minggang had a very clear list and knew how much land each family had entrusted to Liu Dalin’s name. He sent the tax demand notes directly to these landowners, ordering them to report their land quantity by the deadline for tax assessment.

At this, Liu’s relatives and close friends were in an uproar. Everyone knew Chen Minggang was a vicious and difficult person. They all hurried to the city to see Liu Dalin, asking him for advice. The area in front of Liu’s house inside the west gate of the county town was suddenly crowded with sedan chairs and servants.

Like all scholars, Liu Dalin preferred peace and quiet. Since his leg injury, he rarely went out. Now, with the sudden arrival of so many relatives and friends, all wanting to see him, asking for his advice, his help, his intervention, he was at his wit’s end. He could only instruct his steward to deal with them while he hid in his study.

Listening to the noisy chatter from the front, Liu Dalin felt helpless. He felt both guilty towards his relatives and friends and annoyed by them. It seemed they took his help for granted.

His family had been scholars for generations. His grandfather had no official title but was well-regarded for his literary talent. His father had been a prefect. He himself was a Jinshi. They were arguably the most prominent gentry family in the county. In the past, for any matter, he only needed to send a note to the county yamen, and it would be taken care of. Now, sending any number of notes to the yamen would probably be useless—he had to negotiate with the Australians.

But dealing with the Australians was the last thing he wanted to do.

Given the preferential treatment and respect the Australians showed him, if he were willing to intervene, they would surely give him some face, and there would be room for maneuver. But he was really unwilling to take the lead.

Although the Australians hadn’t done anything bad, they were still people from beyond civilization, rebels who did not submit to the king’s authority, who had built their own city and established their own government in Lingao, acting like a secessionist power. He had been trying to avoid them. How could he easily get involved with them now! If the ‘Kunzei’ intended to use him, and he went to them for help, he would inevitably give them leverage. His lifelong reputation would be ruined.

But he couldn’t just ignore his own relatives and friends, or he would earn a reputation for being “heartless,” which he couldn’t bear.

As he was worrying, a maid who served his wife came. Seeing his troubled face, she didn’t dare to speak, just peeking in from the doorway.

“What is it?” Liu Dalin finally noticed her. “If you have something to say, come in and say it.”

“Yes, Master!” the maid hurried in. “Several of the masters and mistresses, your wife’s relatives, have come to see the mistress. They are talking in the back hall now, and they all want to come and see you. The mistress is afraid you are not well and is holding them back for now…”

“I know,” Liu Dalin waved his hand. “You may leave.”

The maid hesitated for a moment, then added, “The mistress asks if you could please take care of a few of her closest relatives…”

“Go back and serve your mistress. I have my own ideas about this matter.”

The maid withdrew. He said he had “his own ideas,” but in reality, he had no idea where those ideas were. Liu Dalin suddenly felt that he had no one around him to consult.

He had friends, of course, but these friends either discussed moral principles and teachings or poetry, music, chess, and calligraphy. They were eloquent on these topics, but when it came to practical matters, they couldn’t offer any useful advice. Everyone praised him for his “lofty virtue and pure conduct, his bright aspirations and actions.” He deserved these words, but the current problem could not be solved by “lofty virtue and pure conduct, bright aspirations and actions.”

After much thought, he could only think of Huang Bingkun, the second son of Old Master Huang from Huang Family Village. He had visited several days ago, asking how he would deal with this land survey. Because the Liu family had enjoyed tax exemptions for two generations since his father became an official, and apart from dealing with the yamen runners who came for seasonal gifts during festivals, he had not concerned himself with tax matters for a long time. He couldn’t give a clear answer at the time.

Now that he thought about it, the Huang father and son were people he could discuss things with. Although the Huang family were local squires, they had fought hard to protect their homeland for many years. Liu Dalin was very concerned with the county’s affairs, so he had great respect for the Huang father and son, and they exchanged greetings on festive occasions. When Huang Bingkun passed the scholar examination in the past, he had personally visited to congratulate him, giving the Huang family great face.

At this thought, he felt a glimmer of hope. He quickly turned the wheels of his wheelchair to the door and called a servant:

“Go and tell the masters that I know about their matters. Ask them to go back first, and I will have an answer for them in due time.”

“Yes!” The servant was about to leave.

“Wait!” Liu Dalin knew that this group had probably all brought gifts. “Return all the gifts they brought.”

“Yes—”

“The guests from my wife’s family, do not accept their gifts either. Tell them the same thing!”

After giving his instructions, he called for a personal page boy and ordered:

“Go to the county school and ask Young Master Huang the second to come for a chat.”