Chapter 176

Chapter 176

The affairs of Jintang Valley were numerous and complicated. Until now, Xie Chengyan and his son Xie Yanhong had shouldered all of them.

Ordinarily, handing so many responsibilities over to several newcomers would have taken days.

However, Xie Yanhong was still in the valley to assist them, and Zhou Mingyuan and the others had already studied the management of such practical affairs. Xie Chengyan also explained everything clearly. In most cases, the men understood him immediately after hearing an instruction only once.

As a result, it took Xie Chengyan just half a day to put all the valley’s affairs in order and hand them over to Zhou Mingyuan, with Xie Yanhong assisting him.

Early the next morning, Xie Chengyan set out for Pingyuan County with Jin Bao.

After two days on the road, their convoy finally arrived at Pingyuan County on the morning of the third day.

Due to its location, Pingyuan County was an impoverished backwater, remote even by the standards of the Northern Frontier.

They had taken the place solely because every route to Ding’an County passed through it.

Upon entering Pingyuan County for the first time, Jin Bao found everything in the county seat fascinating.

It was also the first county seat she had ever visited.

Unfortunately, Pingyuan County was desperately poor.

The entire town had only four streets. Bluestone slabs paved the section of the main street leading to the county office, while every other road was bare yellow earth. Whenever cloudy skies brought rain, the streets turned into a sea of mud.

The buildings lining the roads were haphazardly arranged and mostly only one story tall. The occasional two-story building usually housed a jewelry shop.

As Xie Chengyan’s convoy entered the streets of Pingyuan County, he spotted patrols in the town.

Each patrol consisted of fifty men, and there were seven or eight groups in total. In other words, Xiao Che had left around four hundred soldiers behind in the county seat.

He had also left two Shadow Guards to command them.

Jin Bao had already pressed herself to the carriage window to peer outside.

She spotted Ye Qi on horseback at once, patrolling the streets.

“Uncle Ye Qi!”

Jin Bao waved her little hand excitedly in greeting.

Ye Qi immediately swung down from his horse and came to the carriage to salute.

“This subordinate greets Miss and Chancellor Xie. The Valley Master ordered this subordinate to wait here and escort you to Ding’an County.”

Xie Chengyan nodded.

“We will go to the county office first. What is the situation there now? I see no sign of unrest in the city.”

Ye Qi bowed as he answered, “On the day the Valley Master attacked Pingyuan County, its defenders numbered fewer than five hundred. The Valley Master killed their commander with a single arrow, and the common people opened the city gates from within.

“Before launching the attack, the Valley Master sent this subordinate into the city to spread word that the Star Maiden was coming. Anyone who helped us from the inside would receive her protection.”

Xie Chengyan was rather surprised. He had not expected Xiao Che to use his head and capture an entire city without losing a single soldier.

“On the day of the attack, the defenders on the walls saw the twenty thousand troops the Valley Master had brought and fled immediately.

“The common people seized the chance to open the gates. The Valley Master led only a thousand men into the city and stationed the rest of the army outside. Any soldier who dared harass the people was executed in public on the spot.

“That was why the common people lined the streets and cheered when the Valley Master entered the city.

“Some even filed complaints in the street, asking the Valley Master to arrest the county magistrate at his office.

“Pingyuan County was poor to begin with, yet its magistrate not only failed to govern but squeezed every last coin from the people. Because Pingyuan is so remote, he raised the taxes without authorization and pocketed twenty percent of the county’s income himself.

“The day he entered the city, the Valley Master led men to arrest the magistrate and seized a considerable amount of gold, silver, and valuables from his residence.

“The Valley Master also forced him to reveal the location of a private granary he had built. He opened it that very day and distributed the grain. Now the common people come to the county office every day to kowtow and thank the Valley Master for his kindness.

“However, the Valley Master left Pingyuan several days ago. Judging by the time, he should have taken Ding’an County already. The situation here still needs Chancellor Xie to put it in order.”

Ye Qi had phrased that quite politely. What Xiao Che had actually said that day was that he was only responsible for conquering places, while Xie Chengyan could clean up the mess afterward.

Naturally, Ye Qi did not dare repeat those exact words.

But even without hearing them, Xie Chengyan knew Xiao Che well enough to realize he would never have put it so tactfully.

Ye Qi moved ahead to lead the way, and the convoy slowly entered the county office compound.

Whatever else one might say, the county office in Pingyuan County was remarkably imposing. One glance revealed that it had been renovated every year.

It was far grander than the shops throughout Pingyuan County. As expected of the county’s public face, though it seemed the entire county had spent every bit of its dignity on this one compound.

As soon as she climbed down from the carriage, Jin Bao ran into the main hall.

She made a curious circuit of the room.

Punishment staves carried by the yamen runners during court sessions stood along both walls. A long desk occupied the front of the hall, with a broad official’s chair behind it.

A plaque hung high overhead, bearing four gilded characters that proclaimed, “Justice Shines Bright.”

There was nothing else remarkable about the hall. She could take it all in with a single glance, so it was not very interesting.

Jin Bao went through a side door beside the hall and entered the rear chamber.

A tea table and chairs stood there, and the main doors opened onto a central courtyard.

Farther back lay the rear residence of the county office.

No one lived there now.

The former magistrate had been obsessed with luxury. He had seized the civilian homes on both sides of the county office, knocked through their walls, and absorbed them into his private residence. As a result, the rear compound was enormous, containing not only the main courtyard but eastern and western side courtyards and a garden as well.

Jin Bao soon finished exploring the rear residence and returned to the central courtyard, where she saw Uncle meeting with the county office’s former advisers.

She obediently climbed into a broad chair off to one side. Her little feet dangled in the air, swinging idly back and forth. Her big eyes moved from person to person, and her ears practically perked up as she tried to hear what everyone was saying and whether there was anything she could help with.

First, the various advisers turned over the county office’s account books from the past several years.

Everyone expected Xie Chengyan to inspect them one by one and then assign blame. The magistrate had already been beheaded, leaving the advisers who had done his dirty work to serve as scapegoats.
The advisers inwardly groaned at their misfortune.

Instead, Xie Chengyan ordered someone to bring in a brazier.

He picked up the thick stack of account books beside him and tossed it straight into the flames.

As the fire gradually devoured the books, the sweat on the advisers’ foreheads began to dry.

At the same time, they stared at Xie Chengyan in confusion. What did this mean? Did he not intend to settle old scores?

Only the Qingya Academy students Xie Chengyan had brought with him understood his purpose.

First, these accounts had been prepared solely to deceive inspectors from above. They were certainly false, so reading them would only waste time.

Second, it no longer mattered whether the accounts existed. The old regime was ending and a new one was rising. Everything would be handled under new rules.

“My lord, what does this mean?”

The assistant magistrate was an honest man with a good reputation.

He was a member of the local gentry who had purchased this petty post and remained in it ever since. Over the years, the magistrate had tried to pin every filthy deed on him. Fortunately, the man was shrewd enough to avoid joining the magistrate in his corruption.

That allowed him to escape punishment during the recent purge.

“Starting today, everything will be done according to my instructions. I do not care how many rotten accounts you accumulated in the past. General Xiao has already confiscated the magistrate’s property and beheaded him. With that, the crimes of the past are closed.

“From now on, this man will be your new county magistrate.”

Xie Chengyan singled out a man from the group.

The man stepped forward and cupped his hands to everyone.

“My surname is Zheng, and my given name is Xuan. I hope that, through our combined efforts, the common people of Pingyuan County will one day have enough food to fill their stomachs and enough clothing to keep them warm.”

After speaking, Zheng Xuan stepped to one side.

The advisers, assistant magistrate, constables, and other officials of the county office came forward one by one to pay their respects.

What concerned Xie Chengyan most at present was the autumn harvest two months away.

The taxes collected after the harvest were the key.

Therefore, his very first measure struck straight at the hearts of the landlords, wealthy families, and powerful local gentry.

“All other affairs of the county office will continue as usual, with one exception. Before the autumn harvest, you must measure every parcel of land in Pingyuan County. Any land concealed or falsely reported, including land registered under the names of degree-holding scholars to evade taxes, will incur a heavy penalty once discovered.

“In addition, abolish the poll tax. All taxes will instead be levied at forty percent of the harvest based on acreage.”

His words shocked the entire hall.

Abolishing the poll tax alone was an enormous blessing for the common people. Now the tax on their harvest would be only forty percent, twenty percent less than the previous sixty percent.

Taxes had always been heavy in the Northern Frontier, and they were even heavier in Pingyuan County than elsewhere.

This was especially true of the poll tax. Apart from the portion remitted to the imperial court, all of it had gone into the former magistrate’s pocket.

However, the deadline Xie Chengyan had set was far too short. Pingyuan County might be poor, but it covered a considerable area.

Even if they sent out everyone in the county office, they could not complete the task in two months.

Zheng Xuan had clearly recognized the difficulty as well.

He stepped forward and bowed slightly. “Chancellor Xie, the workload truly is immense. What if we proceed in two stages?”

Xie Chengyan nodded. “Let’s hear your proposal.”

Zheng Xuan considered for a moment before answering, “For the first stage, we will send people to post notices at the entrance of every village and inform the residents. A tax reduction is good news. It will not only make the common people happy, but also encourage them to tend their fields more carefully. At the same time, we can begin measuring the land near the county seat.

“For the second stage, we will have each village head report the total acreage in his village, then conduct random inspections. If we discover any major discrepancy in a village’s reported acreage, we will impose a heavy penalty and exclude that village from the present tax reduction. Any land we cannot measure before the autumn harvest can be measured during next year’s spring plowing. Furthermore, when spring planting begins next year, we will distribute seed based on the acreage reported this year. Anyone who underreports will not receive enough seed, which will be a loss to them as well.

“This will greatly reduce our workload and make people far less likely to conceal their land.”

After hearing him out, Xie Chengyan agreed that it was a sound plan.

“Very well. Proceed as you have proposed. You must obtain an accurate accounting of all the land in Pingyuan County before the autumn harvest.”

Xie Chengyan turned to the other men.

“Did all of you understand? This is especially important for Ding’an County, where we are headed next. It has twice as much farmland as Pingyuan, so the workload there will be even greater.”

The others nodded. “We understand.”

Xie Chengyan was in no hurry to leave Pingyuan County.

This was the first county seat they had conquered. If they failed to settle it properly, word would spread and damage their reputation. Once they lost the people’s support, everything that followed would become far more difficult.

That very day, Zheng Xuan officially assumed office and issued his first proclamation as county magistrate.

Several advisers copied the proclamation throughout the night.

Once the copies bore the official seal, constables carried them on horseback to every village and town.

Within a single day, almost every resident of Pingyuan County had heard the wonderful news.

The abolition of the poll tax meant their chances of surviving the coming winter had just increased.

At the same time, Zheng Xuan personally led a team to measure the land on the outskirts of the county seat and enter every parcel into the records.

When they returned and compared the results against the old records in the county office archives, they would be able to see whether acreage had been omitted or inflated.

Measuring the land did not harm the common people in the slightest.

Instead, it cut into the interests of the wealthy families and powerful gentry.

That same day, they gathered outside the county office in a coordinated protest.

At their head was Wang Fugui, a local tyrant and influential landowner.

The land survey had been underway for only one day when it met such resistance.

This was a direct slap in the county office’s face.

Naturally, Zheng Xuan had no intention of indulging Wang Fugui.

Xie Chengyan did not intervene. He wanted to see what Zheng Xuan was capable of, and he had long anticipated such a situation. The abuses surrounding land ownership had accumulated for years. Resolving them in a day or two was a fantasy, but how could cutting rot from the bone possibly be painless?