"Master, the heads of the Zhou and Wang families have come to pay a visit."
Late that night, Yuan Jingting came to report.
Wei Yuefu, in the midst of cultivating his Layered Tower Art, furrowed his brow. "Didn't they go to see Li Chongzhao? What time of night is it? Why are they rushing here to see me? Could it be that they were turned away at the door too?"
This struck Wei Yuefu as odd. Based on his earlier deductions, the new magistrate was likely planning to use the prominent local families as a blade against him. Even if Li Chongzhao didn't get along with Wei Yuefu, he would surely align himself with the local families.
Yet the families seemed exceptionally anxious. Under normal etiquette, they would have sent calling cards several days in advance before visiting Wei Yuefu. Instead, they had arrived directly at his doorstep.
"According to our informants, they weren't turned away," Yuan Jingting said. "However, they parted on bad terms."
"They parted on bad terms, did they?" Wei Yuefu chuckled upon hearing this.
To call them prominent families was polite; in truth, they were merely a bunch of rustic country squires. How would they ever dare bare their teeth at Li Chongzhao, the county magistrate? When Wei Yuefu had annexed land, it had directly infringed on their interests, yet they hadn't dared utter a peep. They had only dared pull strings to pass along a word just before Chen Youqing was transferred away.
The great clans of the Great Xuan Dynasty could indeed command substantial influence in the imperial court, but what did that have to do with a few petty families in Wenchi County? If they wanted to play the game of power-sharing, they first had to see if the truly prominent clans were willing to share power with them.
"Then let them in," Wei Yuefu said, waving his hand. "It's a good chance to see what's going on."
Yuan Jingting acknowledged the order and went out, returning shortly with the two men.
"Juniors Zhou Yixuan and Wang Xiuqi pay respects to the Lord Baron." Upon entering, the two bowed low to observe proper etiquette.
Wei Yuefu played dumb, asking, "Please rise, gentlemen. What urgent matter brings you here so late in the evening?"
Although neither of them held an official post, both were juren. If they didn't even possess the status of a juren, what kind of prominent family would they be? Did they really think any stray dog could call themselves a prominent family? Even such families had an entry threshold.
The two exchanged glances before Zhou Yixuan spoke first. "Lord Baron, we have heard that the new county magistrate is insolent and overbearing, showing you great disrespect."
"Disrespect? What talk of disrespect?" Wei Yuefu replied with a smile. "He is merely proud by nature—the uncompromising backbone of a scholar."
Hearing Wei Yuefu's words, the corners of their eyes twitched. What mischief was he plotting now?
"Lord Baron, this new county magistrate intends to survey the landholdings and equalize corvée and tax levies," Wang Xiuqi blurted out, unable to hold back any longer.
Hearing this, Wei Yuefu finally understood why the Zhou and Wang families of Wenchi County couldn't see eye to eye with Li Chongzhao.
"Making such drastic moves right upon arrival, is he?" Even Wei Yuefu hadn't expected this.
These two measures directly threatened Wei Yuefu's own interests. He had annexed plenty of land; if fields were truly measured and surveyed, discrepancies would undoubtedly be found. As for equalizing corvée and taxes, that affected him as well. As the Baron of Qingpu County, he held a fief of three hundred households, and corvée and taxes were tied to that.
Moreover, the Zhou and Wang families had also annexed lands, and they had even concealed unregistered populations. They could never withstand an audit. Worse yet, Wei Yuefu had power and backing; he wasn't afraid of Li Chongzhao. But if these two families were caught, their scholarly degrees might genuinely be stripped, and they would be forced to spit out everything they had swallowed.
"Then... we can only send him away," Wei Yuefu decided swiftly.
"This..." Zhou Yixuan was startled and hurriedly said, "That will not do! If a new county magistrate suddenly dies right upon taking office, the imperial court will surely be enraged!"
Wei Yuefu sighed internally. These local tyrants truly were accustomed to acting like lords of their own fiefs. From this alone, one could see just how ruthless and shady their behind-the-scenes methods usually were.
"I meant pooling some political achievements to have him promoted and transferred away," Wei Yuefu explained helplessly.
Hearing Wei Yuefu's clarification, the two looked somewhat embarrassed.
"But Lord Baron, where will these political achievements come from?" Wang Xiuqi could not help asking.
Wei Yuefu spread his hands. "You find a way to provide him with the achievements, and I will pull strings in the imperial court."
It was simple: the local families put up the money, and he used his influence to work the connections.
However, looks of pained reluctance surfaced on both men's faces. Producing political achievements worthy of a promotion was not impossible for them, but doing so would essentially drain them to the bone. Yet they had no choice. When it came to connections in the imperial court, theirs were nowhere near as strong as Wei Yuefu's.
"Lord Baron, we will return and discuss this among ourselves, and give you an answer in a few days. What do you think?" Zhou Yixuan couldn't resist suggesting.
"Of course, no problem at all," Wei Yuefu agreed with a smile. "After all, we have plenty of time."
With Wei Yuefu's assurance, the two breathed sighs of relief and took their leave.
"Master, are we really going to cooperate with those two?" Yuan Jingting could not help asking.
"Old Yuan, you've been with me for several years now," Wei Yuefu said exasperatedly. "Can't you tell that those two are good for nothing except ruining things? Li Chongzhao is clearly out for their necks, yet they aren't even willing to part with their wealth to avert disaster. Just as well. We can present the Zhou and Wang families as political achievements to Li Chongzhao. That should be just about enough for his promotion."
Wei Yuefu's plan was straightforward: kill two birds with one stone. Once the Zhou and Wang families were dealt with, wouldn't all their family businesses and properties fall into his hands? And after Li Chongzhao was transferred away, Wei Yuefu could operate in time to ensure that whoever parachuted in as the new county magistrate would be someone of like mind.
This time, it had been the Crown Prince's initiative, catching Wei Yuefu off guard before he had time to pull strings. Otherwise, throughout his long tenure as the Baron of Qingpu County in Wenchi County, every county magistrate had traded benefits with him to satisfy their mutual needs.
"Should we throw a few wrenches in the new county magistrate's efforts to survey the landholdings and equalize corvée and tax levies?" Yuan Jingting asked for instructions.
"No need," Wei Yuefu said leisurely. "Tomorrow, have someone pass word to the staff at the yamen: whatever the new magistrate tells them to do, they should do. But where full effort is appropriate, tell them to apply tenfold effort, leaving the new magistrate unable to pick out a single fault."
"But Master, a new official always blazes with zeal upon taking office..." Yuan Jingting said worriedly. "Won't they have misgivings?"
"Of course they'll have misgivings," Wei Yuefu chuckled. "That's why we must rid them of those misgivings. We happen to be cleaning up the Zhou and Wang families anyway. Let's make targets out of them and expose all their dealings with the people in the yamen. Between the Zhou and Wang families and the county yamen, which do you think Li Chongzhao will deal with first?"
Wei Yuefu naturally possessed all such evidence. He hadn't used it in ordinary times because there had been no need; pushing too hard could easily invite backlash. Now that he intended to crush these local magnates completely, however, no measure was too extreme. Besides, this was borrowing a knife to kill someone. As long as nothing leaked, none of it would be traced back to him.
Chapter 24