nucmednet Chapter 47 The Tide of Donations
Chapter 47 The Tide of Donations
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Su Tui was lucky; he ran into Li Ergou and a few men walking into the village just as he reached the entrance. He recognized them as people sent by his new employer, and it was Li Ergou who had released them if they didn't have to pay taxes. He hurriedly stepped forward to stop Li Ergou: "Sir, I am a tenant farmer on your land. The employer said that as long as I pay two shi of rent per mu, I don't have to worry about anything else, but now those people are still in the village demanding grain and taxes!"
Li Ergou was entrusted with managing over a thousand mu of land and felt a great sense of responsibility. With the early rice harvest season approaching, he dared not slack off and took the initiative to inspect the various villages. This was the first time his master had collected grain since acquiring these lands, and after the tenants collected the grain, he could collect rent from them. This first salvo had to be a resounding success.
To prevent some fools from defaulting on their rent payments, Li Ergou specifically asked Liu Ye for permission to bring several guards to bolster his presence. Hefeng Village was the third village he inspected, and he hadn't expected to encounter tenants seeking help before even entering the village. Before starting his salt-making business, he himself had been a farmer and knew what kind of people "those people" were; he had suffered at their hands in the past.
Unexpectedly, even the government officials dared not offend their master, yet a few sycophantic scoundrels dared to provoke him. Li Ergou was furious and said to Su Tui Da, "Lead the way!"
A group of men stormed into the village, and Zhang Mazi was still whipping people with great relish. Seeing this, Li Ergou shouted, "Stop!"
Zhang Mazi stopped whipping, glanced sideways at Li Ergou and the others, assuming they were like him, and asked, "Have you all crossed the line? This Hefeng Village has always been under my jurisdiction. I'm under Master Zhang of the county yamen's household registration office; he's from my clan. Who are you all under?"
Li Ergou never imagined he would one day encounter these hangers-on in such a setting. In the past, he would have avoided these people like the plague. These scoundrels were often more ruthless than the likes of Master Tang. Although Master Tang and his ilk exploited them, they always left some room for maneuver, focusing on long-term interests. But these scoundrels would grab whatever they could get their hands on, not caring about tomorrow, and would go straight for the kill.
But today is different. He straightened his chest and waved his hand, "You lot haven't even grasped the current situation. You don't even know who crossed the line. The world in Lingao has changed! Men, drive them out of the village!"
The guards were all seasoned veterans, and dealing with a few thugs was a piece of cake for them. They swarmed forward and gave Zhang Mazi and his gang a sound beating. Zhang Mazi, dazed and confused, didn't understand what was happening and yelled, "Don't you know any rules? I'll report you to the county government!"
Before Li Ergou could speak, Su Tui Da interrupted, "You bastard, this land has changed owners. Do you think it's still like it was back when Gou Dafu was in power?"
Zhang Mazi didn't understand what those words meant. He was hit hard on the head again, his eye socket was broken, and blood flowed freely. A wise man doesn't fight a losing battle, so he turned and ran, and the others followed him.
Su Tui Tui felt extremely pleased to see them being beaten. He picked up a sickle and said to the villagers, "Folks, those lackeys have finally met their match! Everyone, let's go for it and beat them so badly that they'll avoid Hefeng Village from now on!"
Several young men, full of vigor and vitality, picked up their farm tools and jumped onto the ridges to chase after him, even though their parents couldn't stop them.
Zhang Mazi ran to the other end of the village, wiped the blood from his face, and was about to turn back to say a few polite words when he saw a group of villagers chasing after him with sickles. He shuddered in fright. Good heavens, a beating would be fine, at least his life wouldn't be in danger, but these peasants were reckless with their weapons; he could easily lose his life here. Forget about polite words, he took off running, even faster than before.
The several despicable fellows were driven away, and all the villagers cheered. Su Tui returned and said to the villagers, "Fellow villagers, our new employer is truly a kind man. Not only did he exempt us from taxes, but he also stood up for us. We should repay his kindness!" The villagers agreed wholeheartedly and thanked Li Ergou profusely.
Li Ergou smiled happily; it felt good to be thanked. He didn't forget his mission and said to the villagers, "My master is kind and benevolent. All you villagers need to do is pay the rent in full, and that will be enough to repay my master."
Su, the eldest son, took the lead in declaring, "Of course. Once this season's rice is harvested, my Su family will be the first to pay rent. Even if we have to tighten our belts and go hungry for a few meals, we will pay the rent for the entire harvest first!"
All the early rice has been handed over to rent, and there's not much left. There's still a while until the harvest, so we really have to tighten our belts and eat sparingly. Old Su saw that he was being too confident, but he was too embarrassed to stop him directly, so he paced anxiously in circles.
Lin the Cripple, who was the first to be whipped by Zhang Mazi, mustered up his courage and stepped forward to Li Ergou, saying, "Sir, I don't rent this land. These few acres belong to my family. I wonder if your lord could be so kind as to accept my land. My land is not very good, but I can pay the same rent."
He used to farm his own land, and although life was tough, it was still better than the tenants who suffered double exploitation. Now, the situation has changed, and the tenants only have to pay rent, which is much lighter than his burden. He thought all crows were black, and that this so-called landlord paying taxes on his behalf was just a trick, but what happened today proved it to be true.
Although Zhang Mazi has escaped, he only benefited from the tenant farmers' help. If they return, they won't stand up for him. After much thought, pleading for mercy and surrendering is still the best course of action.
With someone taking the lead, the others followed suit and pleaded for leniency. With someone acting as a protector, the government officials and clerks wouldn't come to force them to pay taxes; compared to that, the rent of two shi per mu of land was quite light.
Li Ergou dared not make a decision. "I must report this to the master before I can give a reply."
Inside Liu Family Village.
After hearing Li Ergou's report, Liu Ye asked Yan Guang, "Mr. Yan, is this feasible?"
Yan Guang answered confidently, “It’s feasible. Moreover, it will be entirely beneficial to our lord. In Jiangnan, there are countless cases of land offerings like this, and both sides benefit. The offeror doesn’t have to pay taxes, and the recipient receives more rent. The government is the one who suffers. The difference between our lord and the wealthy families of Jiangnan is that they are tax evading, while you are resisting taxes, haha!”
"Not entirely. I did pay the commutation silver voluntarily, which is a model of law-abiding behavior, haha!" Liu Ye joked upon hearing this.
Thus, Lin the Cripple's land smoothly became Liu Ye's land, except the land deed remained in the same name as the tenants. Liu Ye realized the opportunity and consciously had Li Ergou lead the guards to increase patrols. After the news of Hefeng Village spread, other villages followed suit, accepting all comers, from self-cultivating farmers with a few acres to middle-class families with dozens of acres.
The Lingao County government was practically paralyzed. The clerks in charge of household registration refused to show up, and the lackeys below had no backing. Like a tree without roots, they jumped around a few times but then dared not urge the grain tax again. The summer tax season passed just like that.
This time, Liu Ye collected more than 5,000 shi of grain, which was too much for the granary in Liu Family Village. They had to build another granary. In Liang Xiaoming's words, he became a rich landlord overnight.
To Liu Ye's surprise, this wave of donations did not end with the conclusion of the summer tax; instead, it spread to a wider area, setting the stage for the entire Qiongzhou Prefecture.