Traveling through the late Ming Dynasty to promote Chinese civilization

Chapter 38 Seizing Land (5)

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Seeing that no one could tell him where the land deed was, the man turned to the others in disappointment, "None of you know? Then I'll just have to send you to keep your master company!"

Everyone panicked and begged for mercy. A shrill female voice rang out: "Don't kill us! I know where the land deeds are hidden, and I know the house deeds too!"

Gou Ergui secretly looked up and saw it was his elder brother's new concubine, the youngest and most favored one, a popular girl bought from a brothel. He cursed inwardly, "That slut, she's truly heartless and unfaithful."

Guided by the concubine, the guards opened a box and found the land deed that Gou Dafu treasured in an iron box. They then transported it away along with the silver.

After everything was done, a soldier said to the group of women and servants, "Our king is the Forest King of the mountain stronghold. He acts on behalf of Heaven and only kills the wicked people who prey on the villagers, just like your master. Now that your master is dead, our king has shown great mercy and has spared you. You may leave now."

The reason for saying this is to spread the word through these people and shift all the blame onto Lin San.

Gou Ergui was overjoyed to have escaped with his life. He glanced at Shi Ying and found his figure strangely familiar. After a moment's thought, he remembered that Shi Ying was a minor leader among the local militia recruited by the Lingao County government. He often accompanied Liu Ye to and from the county magistrate's residence—Liu Ye was a regular at the county government, and many people there knew him. But why was he dressed in black, his face covered, and here?

After giving a few instructions, Shi Ying separated the men escorting the carriage and led the rest of the group in the direction Lin San was heading. The remaining members of the Gou family stood there, waiting anxiously for a while. When they realized that everyone around them had left, they let out a shout and scattered in all directions to escape, some heading towards the county town, others back to the village, fearing that the others might change their minds and come back to kill them.

Gou Ergui followed a group of people heading towards the county town, thinking as he walked. As he slowly pieced together the isolated events, he discovered a huge conspiracy, and a chill ran down his spine.

The local militia, who were supposed to protect the county seat, disguised themselves as bandits and robbed people along with them. If this wasn't their own doing, then it meant Liu Ye was behind it. If Liu Ye was behind it, then the militia and the bandits were colluding: using the bandits as cover to rob wealthy households, stealing not only money but also land deeds. They were working together to blackmail the county magistrate and the prefect. It seemed they were planning a rebellion.

Going to the county town under these circumstances would be suicide, wouldn't it? Thinking of this, Gou Ergui quietly left the crowd and headed in another direction.

My elder brother cannot die in vain, and the Gou family cannot be ruined for nothing. We must expose the conspiracy of the so-called local militia! Filled with hatred, Gou Ergui embarked on his journey to the prefectural city.

After setting the ancient version of the land reform plan, Lin San was like a tiger released from its cage. He swept away the wealthy households in a village almost every day. Silver was sent back to Liu Family Village like flowing water, and stacks of land deeds were handed over to Liu Ye.

Liu Ye said to Liang Xiaoming, "Now it seems that keeping Lin San around was really worthwhile. He's more suitable and better at many things. This operation not only successfully completed the task of seizing the land, but also brought back a lot of silver, which relieved my urgent needs. Right now, Wanhualou is supporting all the expenses, and we're struggling to make ends meet."

Liang Xiaoming sighed, "Yes, good people and bad people, kind people and evil people, all have their value." He looked at the thick stack of land deeds, "How do you plan to take over these unclaimed fields?"

Liu Ye waved the land deeds around. What the landlords and gentry valued more than their lives seemed like nothing more than a pile of toilet paper in his hands. He laughed and said, "We can't completely break the old system. Some things still have to be done according to the rules of this time and space. I'll just have to trouble the county magistrate to rewrite the land deeds in the name of the government and put my name on them. Do you want to fill in some names too and experience being a landlord?"

Liang Xiaoming shook his head: "I'm not interested in this. I'd rather study cannons. Now you won't have to worry about food, right?"

"It will take time to digest these lands, but it's only a matter of time. The original owners have vanished, the land deeds are in our hands, and we control the county government, so we're the ones who call the shots. Qiongzhou rice is also harvested three times a year, so even if the yield per mu is low, it's enough to feed the troops."

Lingao County Government Office.

Since Liu Ye threatened the county magistrate and the prefect, he has practically controlled everything. He appointed his former advisor, Qian Youyu, as Liu Ye's representative in the county government.

The county magistrate watched his advisor diligently working for Liu Ye in the yamen's signing room, then stared blankly at the piles of land deeds before him. He looked up fearfully at the smiling Liu Ye across from him, as if looking at a demon. When he first received money from Liu Ye, the man seemed like a friendly merchant; he never imagined he would transform into such a completely different person.

To say he was rebelling was an understatement; he hadn't openly opposed the government, yet he had effectively placed us under house arrest and taken control of the county office. The county magistrate, who considered himself a man of many talents, couldn't fathom Liu Ye's intentions. He had heard rumors about how Liu Ye had acquired these land deeds—more than a dozen groups had recently come to the county office to plead for help, claiming that bandits were causing chaos and harming the villagers. The once-prosperous wealthy families had all suffered, all ending up with their homes destroyed—a truly ruthless act.

The so-called bandits were probably none other than Lin San. Each of these land deeds was stained with the blood of the gentry; looking at them for too long, it seemed as if those dead gentry, their faces covered in blood, would crawl out of the papers, reaching out and crying out, "I died unjustly..."

The county magistrate shook his head, dismissing these thoughts. Now was not the time to sympathize with these people; his own safety was more important. According to Liu Ye, these land deeds were voluntarily transferred to him by the original owners, and now the yamen (government office) wanted to change the name on the deeds to his. This explanation was far-fetched, and it was against the rules. The transfer of land property required both parties to sign and affix their seals; there was no reason for only the transferee to appear. However, Liu Ye probably only needed a superficially acceptable formality; he likely wouldn't care about these details.

"I'll do whatever you say. Anyway, if anything goes wrong, the prefect will take the blame. I'm just a minor county magistrate. If things go wrong and I'm investigated later, my crime will be much lighter than the prefect's," the county magistrate comforted himself. He said weakly to Liu Ye, "Don't worry, Master Xia, I will instruct the household registration office to have the clerk transfer these properties to your name as soon as possible. As for the service fee..." He stopped abruptly, wishing he could slap himself. He had just blurted it out without thinking. Taking money from this gentleman was like asking for trouble.

Liu Ye smiled and said, "The county magistrate, Master Qian, and all the clerks and staff of the Revenue Department have worked hard. How can this allowance be waived? It must be paid, it must be paid..."

Someone handed him a plate with ten silver ingots neatly arranged on it, each ingot weighing ten taels, totaling one hundred taels.

"I won't thank you all individually, but please use this money for your drinks."

He thought to himself that the county magistrate was indeed clear about the situation, while the prefect was not so "clever".