Chapter 268: The Autumn Levy (Part 33)

In the past, Huang Binkun would have surely slapped such an unperceptive minor character a few times to teach him which way the gates of the Huang family village faced. But lately, Huang Binkun had been somewhat frightened out of his wits—the Australians’ strange and ingenious technologies had plunged him into a state of constant anxiety. He and Li Xiaopeng now spoke in whispers, which greatly displeased Wang Ci, the instructor at the county school, who had reprimanded them just yesterday for being “sneaky!”

What worried him most was his meeting with Gou Chengxun. At the county school, he saw Lai Xiao almost every day, working diligently and occasionally getting a rap on the head.

Every time he thought about how Fu He’s private conversation with the three scapegoats in the teahouse in front of the yamen had been recorded and played back by the Australians, Huang Binkun feared that his own conversation with Gou Chengxun had also been discovered.

However, seeing Lai Xiao still alive and kicking, not sent to Nanbao to sift sand, suggested that the matter probably hadn’t been exposed yet. Besides, he hadn’t discussed anything of substance with Gou Chengxun at the time. Of course, he would have to put aside the matter of joining forces with Gou Chengxun for now; the time was not right.

With a mind full of worries, Huang Binkun wandered aimlessly through the county town. He finally managed to find the wife of an acquaintance who was a clerk. The woman, very nervous, told him that most of the yamen’s runners and clerks had recently been arrested by the Australians. Not only that, but their families had also been taken away.

“…It was all done quietly at night, going from house to house, arresting people, men and women, old and young, not a single one was spared…” the woman said, still shaken. “I don’t know what methods they used, but they took away strings of people without a sound.”

“Where were the people taken?”

“Who knows? Could it be the labor reform camp? Fortunately, my husband has always been a decent person…” the woman began to ramble.

Huang Binkun patiently listened to her story for a while and then quickly asked about the changes in the yamen.

From her, he learned about the general personnel changes. The woman made it clear that many outsiders had been newly appointed in the yamen—this was a rare occurrence, as the clerks were usually related to each other.

This further confirmed Huang Binkun’s suspicion: the Kun bandits were directly planting their own people in the yamen! These people were truly audacious! But he could do nothing about it—the officials didn’t care, so what could a mere scholar like him do?

While Huang Binkun was secretly distressed, the general gentry and large households were secretly rejoicing, almost to the point of celebrating. Even without this year’s grain collection and land measurement affair, the fact that these clerks, who had always been a nuisance, extorting money, had been swept away by the Australians was a good thing, regardless of what the Australians were planning to do.

But their joy was short-lived. Soon, Liu Dalin received an “Administrative Appeal Response.” This was a new term that everyone had heard for the first time. Opening it, they found a reply to the landowners’ petition, written in vernacular Chinese.

The response addressed the three demands raised in the petition point by point:

First, the demand to stop the “land measurement.” The response clearly stated that clarifying the amount of land was a reasonable and fair basis for collecting grain tax. In the past, the “household scribes” and “grain collectors” had colluded to privately alter the tax registers, which not only disturbed the people but also harmed them. If the landowners were all law-abiding citizens, they had no need to fear this “act that benefits the country and the people.”

“Doesn’t this mean they’re still going to measure the land?” a few of the relatives staying at the Liu residence exclaimed in alarm.

Liu Dalin motioned for them to be quiet and continued reading.

The second demand in the petition was to abolish the practice of tax farming and to “follow the old rules.” The response stated that tax farming was indeed a corrupt practice, and therefore the county had permanently banned “tax farmers” and “grain collectors,” replacing them with a specialized agency, the “Grain Collection Bureau.”

Finally, the demand to “severely punish the scoundrels.” This needed no further explanation. Chen Minggang had already been dismissed from his post as household scribe, and not only that, but he and his entire family had disappeared. However, the response still admitted to “employing the wrong person” and stated that the matter had been “dealt with seriously.”

The entire document was handwritten, and the calligraphy was quite good, likely the work of a scholar—it was well-known throughout the county that the Australians’ handwriting with a brush was atrocious.

Liu Dalin fell into deep thought. Although the reply was written in vernacular with simplified characters, its flaws did not overshadow its virtues. The entire response contained no empty words or clichés. It addressed every demand raised in the petition one by one, without concealment or evasion. It clearly stated whether it agreed or disagreed, with explanations. This attitude of handling matters was truly commendable!

Although Liu Dalin had never been an official, he had seen much of the ways of officialdom. In the Ming government, such petitions, if they received a reply at all, would either be directly rejected or be full of empty, perfunctory words. Even on urgent matters, officials would always try to shirk responsibility. When they could no longer shirk, they would put on an official air to intimidate people. If the petitioners were gentry, the magistrate’s secretaries and advisors might come out to deal with them, offering some vague, soothing words. If they were common people, they would be met with the whips of the yamen runners and might even end up in a lawsuit.

The Australians’ government was a hundred times better than the Great Ming’s! Liu Dalin said to himself, then was suddenly startled, feeling that this thought was not good. He suppressed his inner turmoil and looked at his relatives.

“They still want to measure the land?! What should we do?” someone asked anxiously.

“There’s nothing to be done,” Liu Dalin was no longer very interested in this matter. “The Australians are determined to do this.” He said slowly, “Logically, what they say is not wrong. The current grain collection is indeed full of abuses and harms the people greatly.”

“My lord! We have lived in the countryside for a long time and naturally know about the abuses. But if they measure all the land, how will we survive?”

Liu Dalin felt a little disgusted with this relative—he at least had a Jinshi relative to whom he could fraudulently entrust his land to evade taxes. What about the common people who had no power or influence? They had also managed to survive, albeit barely. Liu Dalin was, after all, a great Confucian scholar who understood reason. He knew that the corruption of the grain tax was largely related to the gentry’s abuse of their tax exemption privileges.

If the Australians could truly clarify the land ownership in the county and make the taxes more equitable, the common people might be able to catch their breath.

While he was lost in thought, a servant came to announce that Huang Binkun had come to pay a visit.

“Show him in quickly.” Huang Binkun was the one who had initiated the petition with him. Now that there was a reply, he naturally had to be informed—as well as the other co-signers. This was a task that Huang Binkun could handle.

“…Uncle! The matter of clearing up the land and clarifying the land tax is something that even the imperial court would not dare to handle lightly—it is originally a matter that benefits the country and the people, but this imperial grace does not sprinkle down on the common people!” Huang Binkun said quickly after hearing his thoughts.

“This is also what I am worried about,” Liu Dalin knew that what Huang Binkun said was true. When he studied, he had a vague feeling that whenever the imperial courts of the past dynasties wanted to reform some corrupt practice or do something for the people, it always ended up making things worse.

“Even if the Australians really want to do something for the people,” Huang Binkun persuaded, “the matter of measuring the land and clearing up the taxes is a tangled mess. In the past, Chen Minggang used this as a banner to harm the people, and the harm was not shallow. Now that we have finally gotten rid of one Chen Minggang, they still want to measure the land. Without Chen Minggang, there’s no guarantee that there won’t be a Li Minggang or a Wang Minggang!”

Liu Dalin nodded, knowing that Huang Binkun was right. No matter how good the intentions from above, they could be ruined by the people who handle the specifics below, turning a good thing into a bad one. Could the Australians avoid this common pitfall? He had no confidence.

“Alright, I will go talk to the Australians again. It’s better to postpone this matter of land measurement.”

“Uncle, this is a great kindness to all the gentry and people of the county,” Huang Binkun quickly put a high hat on him.

“I originally didn’t want to meddle in these matters,” Liu Dalin sighed. “But since it concerns the livelihood of the people, I have no choice but to act again.”

Since the Australians were going to stay in Lin’gao for a few years, and from their actions, it was clear they intended to govern the people, he wanted to “enlighten” them with some principles of governance for the sake of his hometown, to prevent them from making similar mistakes again.

He immediately ordered someone to send a formal request to the East Gate Market administration office, asking to see Xiong Buyou.

Xiong Buyou, however, was not at the East Gate Market administration office. As the director of the stationed office in the county, he was a permanent resident of the county town and went to the yamen almost every day to handle business—the takeover of the yamen was entering the detailed phase, requiring a comprehensive cleanup and inventory, which was a huge amount of work. When he received a call that the Jinshi wanted to see him, he knew it was most likely to lobby for the “exemption of land measurement”—this was what the landlords feared most. This old man was really stubborn, a true representative of the landlord class.

It was not appropriate to have him come to the stationed office—it was too messy and not suitable for receiving guests. It would be better to pay him a visit.

“…Chief Xiong—” Liu Dalin addressed him as everyone else did.

“I dare not, just call me Xiong Buyou,” Xiong Buyou said, carefully studying the famous Jinshi, who was considered a treasure by both the local natives and the Executive Committee. He found that although Liu Jinshi was somewhat frail, his eyes were extremely sharp.

“I have come today for the matter of land measurement.”

Here it comes, Xiong Buyou thought. Let’s see what you have to say.

“The matter of land measurement is extremely disruptive to the people. I implore you to withdraw the order. The people of Lin’gao will be eternally grateful!”

He started by speaking on behalf of the people of Lin’gao. Xiong Buyou felt a little annoyed. He retorted, “Land measurement is to clarify the taxes and equalize the burden on the people. How has it become disruptive?”

“Since you have come to Lin’gao and repeatedly claim to want to protect the territory and pacify the people, do you not know that in this world, protecting the territory is easy, but pacifying the people is the most difficult?” Liu Dalin put on a lecturing tone. “With your power, your firearms, cannons, and iron ships, you are unmatched in three hundred years. However, the nurturing of the people is not a matter of a single day.”

Xiong Buyou was immediately tired of this, but as an official in charge of foreign relations, a diplomat of sorts, he couldn’t be completely devoid of composure. He simply put on an expression of listening attentively.