Chapter 118: Helplessness

His second purpose in coming here was to inquire about the situation at Fangcao and then consider whether to send his son to school in Lingao. Song Zongmao was not blessed with many children, having only two sons. The elder son was not successful in his studies and, being unable to advance, remained a mere student, so he could only help manage the family business at home. The second son was fourteen years old and had studied in a private school for a few years. However, the prospects of success in the imperial examinations in a place like Chengmai were as low as in Lingao. As for obtaining the status of a scholar, it no longer came with the benefit of tax exemption, and the Australians did not value the scholarly honors of the Great Ming. Thus, the idea of using this son as a “hostage” to curry favor with the Australians and enhance his own status in the county came to his mind—it was said that the county advisory council would soon have a new term, and perhaps the Australians would choose him.

Following the most basic logic of power and dominance, Song Zongmao believed that the Australians were currently in a phase of winning over the people. As long as he sent his child to Fangcao, it would be a clear sign that he was firmly on the Australians’ side, and they would surely look at him differently. After all, even being a common soldier for the Australians meant one’s family enjoyed superior treatment and privileges in the county.

Huang Shoutong knew very little about Fangcao. He only knew that after Huang Ping went to Fangcao, his horizons had broadened, and he had indeed learned a great deal of Australian knowledge, but he was not clear about the school itself. He immediately instructed someone to invite Second Young Master Huang, who had just returned from Fangcao, to come and talk.

Huang Binkun had been eavesdropping on their conversation. Now, hearing that he was being summoned, he quickly slipped out from behind the screen, returned to the courtyard, and pretended to have just arrived.

Regarding the question about Fangcao, Huang Binkun found it difficult to answer. It wouldn’t do to just slander it—his father had also asked Huang Ping questions several times and knew a little about Fangcao. But to speak well of it went against his own feelings. Furthermore, he had his own criticisms of the Australian learning and the school’s atmosphere taught at Fangcao.

However, judging from the meaning expressed by Master Song just now, it seemed he was prepared to send his child into the fire pit, even if Fangcao were one.

Huang Binkun could only focus on the school’s atmosphere. The usefulness of Australian learning was already a consensus among many, and Master Song’s original intention was to “offer a hostage to show sincerity.” From this perspective, what the school taught was irrelevant to him.

However, this kind of local tycoon valued “family tradition” the most and was most afraid of his children learning bad habits outside. The primitive accumulation of capital in ancient society was very difficult. To accumulate, one had to desperately compress daily expenses. The land and property of many rural tycoons were accumulated bit by bit, generation after generation, one coin at a time, one jin of grain at a time. It was not easy. If a prodigal son appeared, years of hard work would be destroyed in an instant.

Huang Ping was used as a negative example, and the short skirts of the female students and the “corrupting influence” were just embellishments in his narrative.

Sure enough, after this speech, a look of difficulty appeared on Master Song’s face. Old Master Huang could only remain silent. They all adhered to the concept that “virtue is greater than talent” and were most afraid of their disciples going astray. Now, hearing Second Young Master Huang describe Fangcao as such a “place of corrupting morals,” they couldn’t help but hesitate.

Master Song thought it over and over again, then asked many questions about the school’s accommodation, food, and learning conditions. Hearing that thirty people slept in one room and several thousand ate together, the hesitation on his face grew stronger. After that, he no longer mentioned going to Fangcao to study. After a while, he excused himself and went back to his room to rest.

Huang Binkun was secretly pleased. He had managed to save another child from a good family from falling into the clutches of the Australians. It seemed the Australians had some kind of bewitching drug. Once one entered that school, one’s personality would change completely. Seeing that Master Song had left, he finally brought up the “main business” with his father, complaining about why he had disbanded the militia and contracted out so much land and tenants to the Heaven and Earth Society.

“…Father, you are muddled. The reason our Huang family has always been the ‘pillar’ of Lingao is precisely because of our village militia, isn’t it? Now you have contracted out the land and disbanded the militia. Isn’t this cutting off your own claws and teeth? In the future, won’t our family be at the mercy of the short-haired bandits, to be molded and kneaded as they please?”

Huang Shoutong looked at his very agitated son. He understood this son’s sense of loss very well. The eldest young master of the Huang family had focused on his studies since he was a child and was not interested in wielding spears and staffs; he had always helped manage the family business. It was this second son who had always accompanied him in training and leading the militia. Over the years, he had contributed a great deal to the county and could be considered a talented young man, skilled in both literary and martial arts.

Since the county’s conflict with the short-haired bandits ended in failure and their influence gradually seeped into Lingao, the Huang family’s status had plummeted. The village militia, once a source of pride, had been reduced to a contingent of conscripted laborers, except for a few small-scale battles during the suppression of bandits. The Huang family’s influence in the county continued to decline, and now they were no different from the ordinary gentry and prominent households. Although he was a member of the county advisory board, his voice was far from being as influential as the Liu and Zhang families, who had surrendered promptly. He was even a step behind the Li Sunqian family, who had surrendered at the same time but had been more active.

Not to mention, his own third son had died fighting the short-haired bandits. The Huang family had not, and could not, let go of this grief.

“Bingkun!” Huang Shoutong said in a low voice, “Do you think that with these few hundred militiamen, the Australians can’t mold and knead us as they please?!”

Huang Binkun was at a loss for words.

“Tens of thousands of government troops were wiped out in a single day. Do you think the Huang Family Village has survived until now because the short-haired bandits are afraid of these mere few hundred militiamen?! I think you are the one who is muddled!”

“Yes—” Huang Binkun replied dejectedly, but he was not convinced. He added, “The short-haired bandits’ foundation is shallow, after all. Now you have joined that damned Heaven and Earth Society. If one day the court returns, we will be considered traitors.”

“The court?” Huang Shoutong gave a bitter smile. “You still expect the court to return? The court lost two years ago, and it will never come back. Now the court can’t even take care of itself. How can it care about our small, remote county, thousands of miles away? At the very least, the Australians will carve out a territory for themselves on this Hainan Island. Mr. Liu once told someone that the Great Ming is probably terminally ill. I, your father, am not learned enough to see if the Great Ming is truly finished, but the Qiongzhou Prefecture of the Great Ming is definitely finished! Our family does not seek to be nobles in the new dynasty, but we cannot be destroyed along with the Great Ming!”

He knew that his second son had been playing games of resistance against the Australians in private and had been worried about it—fearing that one day the Australians would settle the score, and Huang Family Village would become the second Gou Family Village.

It was no pity that the Gou family was destroyed, but the ruthless “destroy this dynasty before breakfast” attitude of the Australians secretly alarmed him. If it really came to that, not even a speck of the Huang family would be left—just like the Gou Family Village now, of which not a trace remained.

“…I know you can’t let go of your third brother, but your third brother is already dead, and the Huang family must continue…” At this point, Huang Shoutong was already in tears. When the old man cried, it made the second young master cry as well. The two of them wept in each other’s arms for a while.

After crying and wiping away their tears, Huang Shoutong announced another important decision. He decided to send one of his older brother’s children to Fangcao to study. Huang Binkun knew this was his old father’s gesture of “sincerity,” and no matter how unwilling he was, he could not object. After all, compared to the individual, the continuation of the family was the most important thing.

“But we also lose out by contracting out these dozens of tenant households—they will become the Australians’ people in the future. You know, father, that what’s valuable here is not the land, but the people.”

“The village can no longer afford to support so many tenants,” a trace of bitterness appeared on Huang Shoutong’s face. “These dozens of families were already half-starving when they rented our land. If we didn’t waive their rent, they would have starved to death long ago, which is why they were willing to risk their lives for us. Besides, in the past, when we worked for the county, the county officials would turn a blind eye to the imperial grain tax. That’s how we managed to survive until now.”

The current dire economic situation of Huang Family Village no longer allowed them to continue their old ways. In the past, although the Huang family spent a lot of manpower and resources to maintain a militia that was disproportionate to the size of the village, it was supported by the “assistance” of the surrounding villages. When the government needed them, they would always receive some benefits, which was how they managed to sustain it. Now, all these sources of income had been cut off. To continue maintaining the militia would mean dipping into the family’s own savings.

In the past, maintaining the militia not only protected the community but also brought in some surplus at the end of the year. Now, let alone a surplus, they couldn’t even afford the maintenance fees. If they forced themselves to continue, the final fate of the Huang family would be bankruptcy and selling their land—the short-haired bandits were just waiting for that day. That’s why Director Xiong had never strictly required the villages to disband their militias but had directly converted them into a civilian militia. However, in terms of deployment, the village militias were often required to “provide labor” for the county. Although they didn’t have to provide their own rations, taking away a large number of young and able-bodied men was a burden on the villages. As a result, the larger the village militia, the greater the labor burden. Simply due to the changes in the social environment and forced by economic pressure, the villages had one by one disbanded their militias and replaced them with much smaller village militias.

“Can’t we reclaim wasteland like the Australians…”

“Where are the seeds? The oxen?” Huang Shoutong said helplessly. “It’s not that we haven’t tried to reclaim wasteland. But with just the manpower and resources of our village, we can’t build irrigation canals or improve the soil. The land we reclaim is all marginal land. If we can’t get seeds and fertilizer from the Heaven and Earth Society, it will be no different from before. What’s the use?”

Huang Binkun was helpless. He knew his father was right. In their hands, this land was just dirt. In the hands of the Australians, it was gold.

However, Huang Binkun’s mentality of resisting the short-haired bandits had not changed. He was unwilling to see Hainan slowly become a new Australia. Therefore, he decided to lie low for the time being and wait for a new opportunity. There was no longer any force on Hainan Island that could resist the short-haired bandits. He would have to find an opportunity to go to the mainland to look for one.