Wanli Emperor Chapter 71 Part 2 (Patreon)

Chapter 71 Part 2: Riding Abreast, Taking in the New and Expelling the Old

Take Sun Wu, for example. He had voluntarily offered land worth over 1,500 taels of silver to the Xu family.

And the Xu family had not let him suffer for it. He was immediately renamed Xu Wu and taken in as a house servant. Was this not a mutually beneficial arrangement?

This way, he no longer had to pay taxes—Xu Jie, as a former Senior Grand Secretary, naturally possessed a considerable tax exemption.

He had even been lent over twenty thousand taels of silver to open a pawnshop as a means of livelihood.

As long as he made monthly repayments for about thirty years, the debt would be cleared. Was there a better arrangement in the world?

Though when the person who had "donated" the land died, both the shop and the land became the Xu family's property.

But had not the common people received the Xu family's protection and half a lifetime of peace?

If it were truly as Hai Rui claimed, that he was competing with the common people for profit, why would the people of Songjiang Prefecture flock to him?

Why not consider whether it was you, the Zhu family (emperor family), who were building grand palaces and levying excessively high taxes?

His Xu family had benefited both the nation and its people, yet he had become a thorn in the Emperor's side. Must the central government resort to plundering the people simply because it was short of funds?

How utterly preposterous!

Xu Kun still could not believe it. "Father, could you be overthinking it? After all, he is only an eleven-year-old child..."

Before he could finish, Xu Jie slammed his cane into him, roaring, "Kneel!"

Xu Kun immediately fell silent and knelt, a look of grievance on his face.

Xu Jie's aged voice was exceptionally fierce. "How many times have I taught you! When cooperating, assume the worst of others; when in opposition, assume the best of your enemy! You are forty now! Still with this foppish attitude! Will you ever learn?"

"Pick up that gazette! Read carefully the young emperor's discourse on good and evil! Read carefully the performance of harmonious relations between sovereign and minister, they are peddling!"

"And open your eyes to see the final verdict on Jia Daiwen!"

"It is all telling you plainly that this New Gazette is the Emperor's mouthpiece, yet you still ask how there can be such an eleven-year-old?"

"Do you all think that an eleven-year-old should be as foolish as you?"

"Do you not know that Shen Shixing of neighboring Suzhou Prefecture passed the county examinations at fourteen and the highest imperial examinations at twenty-six, and now, at thirty-seven, is effectively the Minister of Personnel and on the verge of entering the Grand Secretariat?"

"The Emperor wants me dead! I am about to die! When will you ever amount to anything!"

Xu Kun was so berated that he could not lift his head.

His elder brother quickly interjected, "Father, the most urgent matter now is to devise a countermeasure. Please, calm your anger."

He gestured behind his back for Xu Kun to kneel further away, out of the line of fire.

Just then, the youngest son, Xu Ying, burst in frantically.

He ignored his second brother, who was in his customary state of kneeling, and said, "Father, the Prefect Song Zhihan has come again!"

By now, Xu Jie's face betrayed no emotion. He asked coldly, "What new trick is it this time?"

Xu Ying replied quickly, "He bears a document stamped by His Majesty, the Grand Secretariat, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Ministry of Revenue, demanding to purchase ten thousand mu of fertile land for the Earl of Ding'an (Gao Gong)!"

A flicker of hope rose in Xu Fan's heart.

Ten thousand mu of fertile land was a small matter. They had previously set aside twenty thousand mu for Gao Gong, but the brute had refused it.

Now, the Grand Secretariat was not demanding they return everything. Could it be they had chosen to settle the matter and let bygones be bygones?

And not only did they want only ten thousand mu, but they were also going to purchase it with silver, which seemed to be a gesture of goodwill...

At this thought, Xu Fan could not help but ask, "Purchase? For how many taels of silver?"

Xu Ying's face turned crimson, as if constipated. "Six hundred and ninety-eight taels, two mace... and four copper coins."

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw his elder brother and father, their faces flushing in unison, their knuckles turning white.

Xu Ying continued, "Also, using this as a pretext to prevent any confusion over the landholdings, Song Zhihan demands to first survey all our lands."

Xu Fan, as the eldest son, could not stand idly by. He turned abruptly. "I will go and deal with him!"

The prefectural office was an empty shell with only a few dozen men. But the Xu family's house servants were a different matter. In all of Huating County, more than half were house servants of the Xu family.

The spit from each of them could drown a man.

He, Xu Fan, was not being rash. He had thought it through clearly... if the Emperor truly intended to move against them, they had to display their strength to have a chance of survival, even if it meant sacrificing a piece of flesh.

A helpless pig for the slaughter was truly doomed.

This so-called "establishing one's value to be courted"—he had grasped the concept the last time Emperor Muzong had intended to move against them.

Just as he was about to step forward, Xu Jie suddenly spoke. "Halt!"

The two brothers immediately came to a halt.

They heard Xu Jie say, "You two are not to show your faces."

Xu Fan pressed, "Father, what should we do?"

By now, Xu Jie had finally regained his composure. When soldiers came, he would meet them with his generals. Even if the Emperor wanted him dead, he would not simply offer his neck.

His expression was grave. "Gao Gong has requested a decree, yet he does not come to make trouble himself. This is not his style."

"It is better to be cautious. Do not engage in a direct confrontation. Let them conduct the survey first."

"We have our people inside the prefectural office. At that time..."

He paused, his tone turning icy. "Song Zhihan, in his pursuit of achievements, seized land, and did not hesitate to command his runners to kill the innocent!"

Having spoken, he slowly rose.

He signaled his second son to stand.

He instructed, "Xu Fan, see to this matter and stall Gao Gong. I am going out!"

……

Inside the Songjiang Prefectural Office.

Gao Gong sat in the main seat, with Zhu Xixiao in a guest's seat beside him. Chen Mingyan stood behind Zhu Xixiao.

Zhu Xixiao asked with curiosity, "Are we certain we need not show our faces?"

He had intended to confront Xu Jie directly, but to his surprise, Gao Gong had only sent the Prefect, Song Zhihan.

Without Zhu Xixiao or Gao Gong present, a mere prefect could not suppress Xu Jie.

Gao Gong glanced at the noble before him. Perhaps because he was in a good mood, he offered an explanation. "If Xu Jie defies the imperial edict, would that not be perfect?"

Chen Mingyan, standing behind them, could not help but scratch his neck upon hearing this.

Though the Emperor often used him for difficult tasks to test the Chen family's loyalty, he had to admit that it was a truly eye-opening experience.

The Earl of Ding'an was malicious through and through.

Zhu Xixiao asked with curiosity, "What does the Earl of Ding'an plan to do?"

Gao Gong replied with confidence, "If Xu Jie defies the imperial edict, then the Embroidered Uniform Guard will arrest him directly. It will save us considerable effort!"

"If Xu Jie submits meekly, then we will survey the land. After the survey, we will clarify the landholdings."

"Donated land will be returned to its original owners! Returned land will have its taxes reduced!"

The number of people who had "donated" their land to the Xu family was difficult to say, but it was at least in the thousands.

It was once said that ‘the house servants of Huating number in the thousands, and there is a register for them, half of which are false.’

"False" referred to the common people who had been granted the name of house servants after donating their land.

When Hai Rui had come previously, he had returned them all to their original household registrations, ‘requesting that their names be struck from the register, leaving only a few hundred to serve.’

But, though the people had been returned to their original registrations, the land had not. After Hai Rui was driven away, these people naturally became house servants of the Xu family once more.

Especially in the past two years, their numbers had swelled again, to nearly ten thousand house servants.

Since several hundred had been left at that time, it meant the Xu family's true house servants numbered only a few hundred. Nearly ten thousand were all from donated land.

Now that Gao Gong was reopening the land donation case, he would naturally return the people to their original registrations and names, and after returning the land, would reduce the taxes for the common people to cultivate.

Zhu Xixiao clasped his hands. "The Northern Imperial Prison will follow the Earl of Ding'an's arrangements."

The Embroidered Uniform Guard could set up private prisons at any time, without going through the Three Judicial Offices.

As long as the Northern Imperial Prison was determined, there was no case it could not close.

Gao Gong waved his hand. "It is good that you have come. Starting tomorrow, the prefectural office will begin accepting denunciations from the common people. Junior Guardian Zhu, please help keep an eye on things!"

Previously, they could only harass from the sidelines, partly because it took time to control the officials of the prefectural office, and partly because they feared Xu Jie would act like a cornered beast.

The prefectural office had only a few dozen runners. The Xu residence, on the other hand, had over ten thousand house servants, not to mention that half of Songjiang Prefecture were "peripheral house servants."

The matter was too entangled. To prevent a mass incident, they had to be cautious.

Now that the Embroidered Uniform Guard had arrived, Gao Gong could finally let loose.

This was the consequence of a weak central government. No matter the case, without bringing troops, nothing could be accomplished.

If the central government were strong, after issuing a dozen or so edicts and dragging things out for three to five years, a result could still be ground out.

Chen Mingyan could not help but chime in, "In that case, the matter should be settled swiftly."

As soon as his voice fell, an Embroidered Uniform Guard dressed as a runner entered.

"Commander, Earl of Ding'an, the Xu residence says that their master, Xu Jie, has gone out. They must wait for his return to sign the land transfer deeds."

Hmm? The men were all stunned.

Xu Jie had gone out at this critical moment?

Chen Mingyan asked, "Did they say where he has gone?"

The guard shook his head.

Gao Gong was also frowning.

At this moment, Zhu Xixiao could not help but say, "Earl of Ding'an, shall I send men to pursue him?"

He had come in secret, and his presence was not yet public. If he dispatched a large number of men to search, his identity would naturally be revealed.

Whether it was worth it depended on Gao Gong's decision.

Gao Gong thought for a moment, then shook his head. "We cannot be led by the nose. We will proceed with our survey!"

"Release the news now! The prefectural office is accepting denunciations of donated land! Land will be returned, and taxes will be halved!"

……

The twelfth lunar month, the twenty-third day.

It was approaching the end of the year, yet the capital was not as lively as in previous years.

The reason was that the Emperor, following the counsel of the Grand Secretariat, had canceled extravagant festivities such as the lantern festival, fireworks, and pleasure boat excursions.

Some praised the Emperor for his simplicity and frugality, calling him a sage-king, and lauded the Grand Secretariat for its effective guidance, calling them virtuous ministers.

Others, common people unaccustomed to such a quiet new year, privately called the Emperor an iron-fisted miser, and the auxiliary ministers of the Grand Secretariat mere fame-seekers.

But regardless, the Emperor had not forbidden celebrations outside the palace while indulging in extravagance himself. On the contrary, he had treated everyone equally. Even within the Imperial City, extravagance was not permitted.

At this moment, the fame-seeking auxiliary ministers were fishing by the side of Taiye Lake with the iron-fisted Emperor, appearing leisurely and at ease.

Chen Jingbang and Shen Li, two Scholars of the Hanlin Academy, stood behind them, fanning the flames, skewering fish, and grilling them.

Not far away, eunuchs were herding the fish in Taiye Lake toward where they were fishing.

Zhang Juzheng said with helplessness, "Your Majesty, if you have something to say, why not speak plainly?"

The Senior Grand Secretary had been fishing all afternoon. Even with the eunuchs herding the fish toward him, he had not caught a single one and had lost his patience.

It sounded pleasant to be on harmonious terms with the sovereign, but one had to find a more interesting pastime.

It was Zhu Yijun's first time fishing in this life, and it seemed he had triggered the novice's grace period, catching fish one after another.

Just as Zhang Juzheng spoke, he caught another one.

He pulled the fish up and tossed it to Shen Li to grill.

He turned to look at Zhang Juzheng and smiled. "There are a few matters I wish to discuss with the Grand Secretariat."

……

【TN: The Chinese characters used for "house servant", which also means "house slave". I am using "house servant" as the novel has not specifically discussed the slavery system yet, and Ming China's slavery system differed significantly from Western chattel slavery. 】

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