Chapter 244: The Autumn Levy (Part 9)

“It’s afternoon now. Should we invite Young Master Huang the second for dinner?”

“No,” Liu Dalin thought for a moment. If they had dinner, the discussion would extend into the night. He considered himself to be open and aboveboard in his dealings; talking at night might lead to suspicions of clandestine activities. “Have him come tomorrow morning.”

The next morning, at the crack of dawn, Huang Bingkun came to visit. This young man had long been carried away by the idea of accomplishing something great.

The last time, the two hadn’t discussed anything specific. This time, Liu Dalin had suddenly sought him out. It was likely that the storm of the “land survey” had finally reached him.

If Liu Dalin was willing to take the lead in writing a petition, the matter would be more than half done! In fact, with Huang Bingkun’s insight, he knew that even if the provincial government sent troops, it would not be an easy task to drive out the Australians. But his hostility towards the ‘Kunzei’ made him unwilling to face reality.

“…I am also at my wit’s end,” Liu Dalin said with a bitter smile. “As for my own land, even if they want me to pay taxes on all of it, I’ll accept—I don’t have many mu anyway. But for the land entrusted to my name by relatives and friends, since they have come to me for help, I must give them an answer.”

“Uncle, this matter of the land survey, in your nephew’s opinion, is a feint. Clearing up concealed and fraudulently entrusted land is false; dealing with the county’s gentry and large households is the true purpose,” Huang Bingkun said.

Liu Dalin listened very attentively and asked, “I have heard this from my family as well. But clearing up the land ownership is originally the government’s proper business. The Australians are using this as a pretext, and they have the county yamen’s banner. We can’t refute them. Do you have any ideas, my worthy nephew?”

“In your nephew’s opinion, the root of all this lies with the ‘Kunzei’,” Huang Bingkun said in a low voice. “Clowns like Chen Minggang are just using this to extort money, but the ‘Kunzei’s’ actions conceal great malicious intent. If we continue to deal with them, I’m afraid we will be the first to be harmed.”

“What do you mean, my worthy nephew?” Liu Dalin was startled. He didn’t know what this young man was planning. Seeing his determined face, it was clearly a major matter. He couldn’t help but become cautious.

“Unite all the gentry, landowners, and scholars of the county to write a joint petition and send people to the provincial capital,” Huang Bingkun said. “This matter requires your full support, Uncle.”

Ming and Qing officials placed great importance on scholarly honors and regional ties. If the local gentry wanted to get something done, they needed the support of officials, whether at the court or in the local area. And since ancient times, Lingao had only produced one Jinshi, Liu Dalin. So, there was no hope of relying on regional ties. But Liu Dalin had many classmates from when he passed the provincial and metropolitan examinations who were now officials, which was one line of connection. In Huang Bingkun’s mind, if Liu Dalin was willing to write a few “eight-line” letters, and the gentry and large households could raise five or six thousand taels of silver to lobby in the provincial capital, there was still hope.

“Write a petition?” Liu Dalin was somewhat surprised by his suggestion. He quickly glanced at the doorway. The servant on duty in the study was a family-born servant and very reliable.

“Precisely, Uncle!” Huang Bingkun said. “A petition from the gentry and commoners is no small matter…”

Liu Dalin, however, did not think so. If the ‘Kunzei’ wanted to extort money from the large households, they could just send their troops to plunder. Not just the gentry and large households, but even the common people would be devoured, bones and all. Why would they go through the trouble of a land survey? Although he disliked the Australians, he had read many books and understood reason: in Lingao, the Australians had not only been “harmless to the populace” but could even be called a “benevolent and righteous army.” Besides, this tax collection was still mostly for the Great Ming.

He shook his head. “It’s not that I’m trying to shirk responsibility. Lingao has few scholars with high honors. Not to mention in the capital, even in this province, you can’t find many officials from Lingao. The ones there are just instructors or, at most, county officials. How much use would a petition be…”

“As for my classmates,” Liu Dalin sighed, “after passing the examination, I fell ill and returned to my hometown. I have not held a real official post for a single day. The bonds of classmates are limited, alas!”

“I only ask that Uncle write a few eight-line letters. We will naturally send capable people to lobby in the province. It will just cost a bit more money.”

Liu Dalin said, “And what if the province receives the petition—send government troops to suppress them?”

“Naturally. Should we just let them act so recklessly?”

“Hmm.” Liu Dalin fell silent. His heart was in great conflict. Emotionally, he hoped Lingao would return to the way it was before the Australians arrived. He could continue his peaceful life in his study: reading and writing poetry every day, and teaching his children. In the summer, he would go to his country estate to escape the heat. When the mood struck, he would visit the county’s scenic spots with his friends and drink a few cups of light wine. If there were any matters in the county, he would come out to help discuss them and do his small part.

But since this group of Australians arrived, they had done many good things for the local area. Liu Dalin was a native of this place and was most aware of the changes in Lingao: in the past year, whether it was the scholars, farmers, artisans, or merchants of the county, everyone had benefited from the Australians. The once lifeless and desolate southern county now showed signs of prosperity. Especially recently, they had repaired the county school, funded the Moli Xuan Academy, and even subsidized the county’s poor scholars. These were all things Liu Dalin had wanted to do in the past but had not been able to. This had greatly increased his favorable impression of the transmigrator group. Although he kept a respectful distance from them, in his heart, he had already removed the “rebel” label from them.

Now that Huang Bingkun wanted him to take the lead in uniting people to write a petition, Liu Dalin was really unwilling to make this decision. He was not afraid of the consequences if the matter was exposed. But if the province really did send government troops to suppress them, this rare and burgeoning prosperity would immediately turn to dust.

Before passing the Jinshi examination, Liu Dalin had traveled extensively on the mainland. Of course, he knew what kind of people the government troops were. Not to mention whether they could defeat the Australians, regardless of the outcome, Lingao would inevitably suffer at their hands.

“My worthy nephew!” Liu Dalin said in a low voice. “This matter must be handled with caution! You and your father have suppressed bandits and the Li people in this county for many years. You must know that government troops are easy to invite but hard to send away. If they really come, this county has always been poor in public and private resources. What will we use to serve these soldiers? We’ve heard of military mutinies frequently in recent years!”

Huang Bingkun was speechless. Liu Dalin was right. Not to mention whether a petition could even bring the government troops, even if they did come, the county would probably be looted by them before the ‘Kunzei’ were driven out. When the Tinan village and Ma Shi Li people revolted, his father, Huang Shoutong, had personally witnessed the misdeeds of the suppressing government troops and had told him about it many times. If the Huang Family Village hadn’t been well-fortified back then, they would probably have been looted clean. For this reason, Huang Shoutong had repeatedly warned his sons that when fighting alongside government troops, they must always be on guard against them, not only for them suddenly fleeing but also for them robbing their allies: from heads and property to grain.

At this thought, his enthusiasm for the “heavenly troops” faded by more than half. If the government troops really did come to suppress them, just the matter of supplies would be enough to make the large households ache for years. By then, they would probably resent him for being a busybody.

Huang Bingkun was suddenly dejected, but he was unwilling to accept such a defeat. He added, “The ‘Kunzei’ are in Lingao, but for now, they are just temporarily retracting their claws. When their wings are fully grown, it’s hard to say what kind of treasonous things they will do. By then, our Lingao will be plunged into eternal damnation! It’s better to make plans early.”

“This is naturally a concern,” Liu Dalin said. “As the saying goes, he who commits many injustices is doomed to self-destruction. If the Australians really dare to commit the great crime of rebellion, the gentry and scholars of this county will not tolerate them!”

These words were as good as saying nothing. Huang Bingkun was speechless.

“We still need to find someone to negotiate with them,” Liu Dalin said. “We must find a suitable person to convey the message, to communicate the wishes of all the landowners in the county. The Australians are not unreasonable people…”

Huang Bingkun’s eyes lit up. “If that’s the case, why don’t we unite the county’s landowners and write a petition to the ‘Kunzei’?”

“Send a petition to the Australians,” Liu Dalin said thoughtfully.

“That’s right, just about this year’s tax collection,” Huang Bingkun said. “We can ask Master Wang or Zhang Youfu to act as intermediaries, and both sides can negotiate a suitable solution—the key point is: keep Chen Minggang out of it.”

“That is feasible,” Liu Dalin said. “But this matter…”

He didn’t finish his sentence. This matter naturally couldn’t be handled by some random person. To make the Australians take it seriously, the person who came forward had to have some weight.

The person with the most weight in the eyes of the Australians in this county was clearly not Wu Mingjin, but Liu Dalin himself.

Liu Dalin struggled with himself for a long time. He was unwilling to come forward and do such a thing, especially when the other party was the mysterious Australians.

Finally, he nodded. “Very well. It’s better that I handle this matter.”

“Uncle, your health—” Huang Bingkun said sincerely. “It would be better to let my father come forward.”

“No,” Liu Dalin had made up his mind. If he didn’t come forward for this matter, there was probably no one else in Lingao who could. From what he had seen of the Australians, they still had some intention of “assimilating.” If he reasoned with them, he might achieve some results. At the very least, he could give an account to the gentry and landowners of the county and spare them the suffering of being extorted by Chen Minggang and his gang.

Huang Bingkun was overjoyed. With Liu Dalin willing to come forward, the landowners who had been hesitant and indecisive, holding the attitude of “less trouble is better,” would now be willing to participate in this petition. No matter what the ‘Kunzei’ were planning, this would surely give them a hard time.

Huang Bingkun was not entirely sure if the Australians would yield, but he was certain this matter would cause the transmigrator group a headache. If they were ordinary pirates or bandits, they would naturally not care about a Jinshi or a Huang Jinshi. But the Australians were always trying to show their “love for the people” and would definitely not lose face. To deal with Liu Dalin, they would probably have to make some kind of gesture.

You’re always talking about ‘protecting the territory and pacifying the people.’ Now that the landowners are all in an uproar, let’s see how you ‘pacify the people’!

Huang Bingkun was secretly pleased. Although he couldn’t go to the provincial capital to file a complaint, uniting all the large households through this opportunity was a great achievement in itself.