Tiger meat did not taste good.
It was sour, coarse, and possessed an earthy, gamy stench. But to the Huai River refugees, who lacked seasonings... well, it was practically a rare delicacy!
After all, it was meat!
Even the broth could not be spared; it was slick with glistening beads of fat.
A prime South China tiger weighing over three hundred jin yielded more than two hundred jin even after skinning, deboning, and cleaning the entrails. Although people were constantly drifting away from the camp, there were still eight to nine hundred households—twenty-six or twenty-seven hundred souls in all. Naturally, it was impossible to parcel it out so that every single person got a bite.
In practice, the able-bodied men who went out to hunt the tiger that day each kept half a jin, setting earthen pots over the flue of Liu Ren Gong's large fire pit to stew it directly. The rest was stripped from the bone and divided according to the mess squads established during their earlier march: one jin for every ten people in the squads of able-bodied men, and half a jin for every ten in the women and children's squads. As for the few extra jin of meat, along with the offal and tiger bones, they began with the squads weaving straw sandals and mats—who, despite being mostly elderly and frail, made immense contributions—and called those who routinely gathered the most firewood and worked the hardest over to the great bonfire before Liu Ren Gong's tent. Borrowing the men's earthenware pots, they enjoyed a second boil of meat and broth.
After dividing the meat into large cuts came the distribution of the cooking utensils... The utensils were distributed only after the meal for fear of delaying everyone from eating the meat and drinking the broth. According to one old grandpa whose beard was slick with grease, tiger meat had to be stewed in an earthen pot to be authentic; an iron cauldron just wasn't proper... Meanwhile, the cloth—namely, those canopies—lay piled high in the open clearing of the straw sandal ground, blatantly becoming the camp's most precious asset. With hundreds of eyes glued to it, it had to be handled with the utmost prudence after the meal.
First, they measured it to see how much there was. Due to the width of looms in this era, nearly all cloth came in a standard width of about half a meter, so they could easily gauge the amount simply by measuring its length.
One had to admit that the top aristocratic clans truly monopolized all the resources of this society. The Xie family had always been renowned for their refined elegance, yet merely for the younger generation to ascend Huashan to admire flowers, they had casually cast aside nearly a hundred bolts of cloth.
When one thought about it, that made sense. Erecting canopies to block prying eyes and keep out the bitter wind required three or four layers of cloth stacked atop one another to achieve sufficient height. And to allow dozens of young nobles to comfortably enjoy their leisure—drinking tea, playing chess, reading, and reciting poetry—even if the bondservants and maidservants stood outside, the perimeter still had to span ten or twenty zhang in every direction. Separate enclosures were needed for privies and kitchens, and fabric had to be laid across the ground to keep noble feet from being soiled, among countless other things.
Moreover, the units of measurement in this era were small: one bolt of cloth was forty chi, less than ten meters in modern terms. Added together, with all the miscellaneous pieces, how could it not easily amount to a hundred bolts?
In fact, using the inner bolster that Liu Ren Gong's household used to roll up cloth as a measure, the final count came to an astonishing ninety-three bolts and seven chi! And it was all fine summer ramie cloth!
Of course, whether that was a large figure depended on who one compared it to. Not many years later, Grand General Huan would be bestowed three hundred thousand bolts of cloth... Looking back, prominent families like the Xie family's neighbors, the Wang clan, were routinely granted tens of thousands of bolts at a time, so it was hardly surprising that they cared so little.
Yet another objective fact was that according to the official tax rates of the era, the annual household cloth levy for a household of adult males was a mere half-bolt of cloth... Regardless of whether there were other extortionate levies and miscellaneous taxes, regardless of how the grain tax was calculated, and regardless of the reality on the ground, the statute clearly stated that a household of adult males owed half a bolt of cloth each year... This meant that Liu Cheng had casually extracted from the Xie family enough cloth to cover the annual levy of nearly two hundred adult-male households.
It also meant that Liu Cheng had to distribute this wealth with extreme care, for it was enough to shake the very foundations of the entire group.
Indeed, starting from the tiger meat, Liu Cheng, young as he was, had been overseeing every part of the distribution.
All the men of Liu Ren Gong's immediate household had departed that afternoon with Gao Jian's nephew, Gao Heng, heading for the foot of Mount Beigu to seek an audience with Grand Commander Chu Pou, who had returned to Iron-Urn City (Tiewengcheng). The only one who had not gone along was Liu Huzi. After rushing back, he had hastily skinned the tiger, scraped off the blood and flesh, rubbed on a layer of coarse salt, and then, before he had even eaten two mouthfuls of tiger meat for dinner, boldly mounted his horse to ride after them. He claimed he would put up for the night at Liu A'gan's house so that he could meet his father and brothers first thing the following morning, ensuring he would not miss the audience with the Grand Commander.
Under these circumstances, the natural leader of the refugee camp was supposed to be... the cousin of Liu Zhi, Liu Ren Gong.
Yet Liu Cheng had neither the opportunity nor the slightest intention of consulting him. When Liu Cheng was met that afternoon and brought back the military equipment, Liu Huzi was already busy skinning the tiger, clearly preparing to roll it up and take off. Meanwhile, the men who had hunted the tiger that day instinctively crowded around Liu Cheng and Liu Jili, watching them with eager, expectant eyes.
Then Liu Jili, who had only arrived at the camp a few days earlier, was almost immediately set aside. It was the hunters themselves who took the initiative to ask the youth, Liu Cheng, to handle the distribution.
Given the situation, not only Liu Zhi's cousin, but even Liu Cheng's nominal overseer, Third Grandpa Liu, simply tucked his hands into his sleeves and watched from afar, offering no objections whatsoever. Nor did Liu Cheng make the slightest pretense of refusing. He borrowed a steelyard scale from Liu Huzi's elder sister, along with the fabric bolster that served as a measuring rod, picked up a knife, and personally began weighing and measuring the shares.
Starting from the initial cuts of meat, every individual and every mess squad received their portion directly from his hands.
Next came the utensils. Seeing no gold, he set aside the silver and bronze items, while the ironware was divided among the mess squads. For the few squads that received none, the squads allotted the large iron cauldrons were instructed to hand over their old earthenware vessels to them.
Finally, they began measuring the cloth.
"We follow the old rule," Liu Cheng said after only a brief hesitation, abandoning any unrealistic notions and offering the most practical distribution scheme. "The thirty-seven men who went out to hunt the tiger this time each take one bolt of cloth first!"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than cheers erupted into the dusk.
There was no helping it. While there seemed to be many ways to divide the cloth, for Liu Cheng there was really only one crucial question: should they practice egalitarian sharing from the common pot?
If they shared everything equally, nearly a hundred bolts of cloth could be divided evenly among everyone.
Just under a hundred bolts came to roughly four thousand chi. Divided equally, each household might scrape together four chi... But the problem was twofold. First, the able-bodied hunters would be utterly furious, meaning the plan might prove impossible to enforce. Second, three or four chi of cloth per household was nowhere near enough to survive the winter—even summer clothing for a three-chi-tall child required five chi of fabric.
Of course, they could go to the other extreme and give all the cloth to the women, children, and helpless, which would drastically boost the refugee camp's overall winter survival rate.
Yet that approach, while seemingly more compassionate, was far harder to implement than equal distribution. The resistance would come not just from the able-bodied men, but from the entire refugee cohort. Setting aside whether such a distribution could even be carried out, even if the cloth were handed to them, those vulnerable women and orphans would never be able to hold onto it.
Within a refugee band, clear social strata existed: able-bodied men and women and children; those surnamed Liu and those with other surnames; intact households and solitary vagrants. After Liu Cheng's arrival, a line had also been drawn between those with specialized skills and those who possessed only brute strength.
More importantly, this was the era of aristocratic clans; these people possessed no concept of universal equality. Caring for the helpless was indeed human nature, but when confronted with the crisis of survival in troubled times, an entirely different logic took hold.
In truth, going by Liu Cheng's worldly experience, one had to play the saint in times of chaos. Only then could one reap the greatest return at the lowest cost—securing the hearts of the people, who were the root of all endeavors.
Yet the prerequisite was that you had to possess the requisite authority, the resources, or a uniquely fraught circumstance to carry it off; otherwise, you would only bring humiliation upon yourself.
Thus, though countless thoughts wheeled through Liu Cheng's mind, in reality he came to a swift decision: he would distribute the goods in the most utilitarian, practical manner, one that best aligned with these people's understanding.
As before, he took up the knife used to butcher the meat, sliced through the unwashed bolts of cloth, and handed them out one by one.
The thirty-seven men, including Liu Cheng and Liu Jili, each took one bolt first. Liu Huzi was away, but Liu Cheng even set aside a bolt for him. Over fifty bolts remained. Liu Cheng possessed a sharp memory; calling forward as many of the "outstanding individuals and groups" who had received commendations during their march and after settling here—namely, those who had received extra portions during the meat distribution—he handed out cloth on a per-head basis, allocating ten chi (a quarter of a bolt) to each person, barely enough to make a set of winter clothes for an adult.
As for whom they would get to sew the garments, and whether they would line the winter coats with tree leaves, straw, or smelly, prickly duck down, that was their own affair.
Once that was done, roughly a dozen bolts still remained. He finally waved to an acquaintance standing off to the side: "Third Grandpa, I entrust these dozen-odd bolts to you."
Third Grandpa Liu had been watching for quite a while. To say his eyes had not grown hot with envy would be a lie. But earlier, he had grown angry when not even ten chi of cloth had been given to him; now that more than ten full bolts were suddenly thrust upon him, he dared not accept them! What if someone smashed his mouth with a knife hilt in the middle of the night?
He frantically waved his hands in refusal.
"They aren't all for you. Keep one bolt for yourself, Grandpa, and use your standing to distribute the rest to others." Standing beside the fire pit at the very center of the camp, before the eyes of many who were still flushed with excitement, Liu Cheng spoke candidly. "By rights, the remaining cloth ought to go to the camp's women and children, but there are far too many of them; if we truly hand it out one by one, there won't be enough... Moreover, this camp was established thanks to Ren Gong's prestige, and Brother Hu spearheaded the tiger hunt. The Pengcheng Liu lineage must still be looked after... We are kinsmen from the same village and know one another well. Take them and do your best to divide them among the women, children, and solitary members of our Liu kinsfolk. If one more family can make it through this winter, that's one more saved."
"You think of everything, A Cheng! I knew you wouldn't disregard our own clan! Leave this to me." Overjoyed, Third Grandpa Liu stepped forward to gather up the bolts of cloth.
Just then, he glanced back and noticed the family of Liu Ren Gong's cousin across the fire pit. He could not resist jutting his chin toward them and reminding him in a low voice, "A Cheng, that family aside, surely the young master's household gave you instructions beforehand?"
Instructions, my foot!
Liu Cheng nodded repeatedly. "Brother Hu and I have reached an understanding."
Only then was Third Grandpa Liu satisfied. Just as he turned to leave, he seemed to recall something and turned back again. "A Cheng, I heard all about what happened today. You worked so hard yourself—aren't you going to take a couple more bolts? Not a soul would dare object."
"I already have a set of winter clothes, I just haven't worn them yet," Liu Cheng declined politely. "Besides, Brother Hu and I have an understanding. If I take more, how much more would we have to leave for Ren Gong's household? The women and children wouldn't get any."
Hearing this, Third Grandpa Liu finally departed.
At this point, Liu Cheng gathered up the cooking utensils and censer made of silver and bronze that had been sitting beside the bonfire. In full view of everyone, he walked over to Liu Ren Gong's family tent and called out Liu Huzi's elder sister, who had been hiding inside ever since finishing her broth. Speaking with measured clarity, he said, "Eldest Sister, these are the most valuable items from this haul. The bronze pieces are heavy; you can store them away for emergencies during the winter. As for these silver pieces... Do you wish to keep them, or wrap them up so they can be taken to Mount Beigu tomorrow, to be exchanged for money to grease palms?"
Liu Huzi's elder sister was clearly flustered and could only stammer, "Didn't you discuss this with A Hu, A Cheng?"
"We only got these items this afternoon, how could we have discussed it?" Liu Cheng answered with a shake of his head.
Liu Huzi's elder sister became even more at a loss, and seeing countless pairs of eyes watching from the bonfire outside only heightened her nervousness. After a moment, she could only wave her hand. "In that case, you make the arrangements, A Cheng. Who could doubt you?"
"Then keep them for now, Eldest Sister, and hand the silver pieces over to me first thing tomorrow morning. Jili and I will head to the foot of Mount Beigu to see if we can be of any help to Ren Gong and the others," Liu Cheng concluded.
Liu Huzi's elder sister could only agree. Taking the bundle of silver and bronze vessels, she retreated into the tent.
From that evening well into the night, the camp was filled with clamor.
Naturally so: quite a few members of the tiger-hunting party were bachelors. Having eaten their fill and drunk their share, they now held a bolt of cloth in their hands... Back when they had homes and livelihoods along the Huai River, a single bolt of cloth could serve as a betrothal gift, let alone now!
And so, no one knew who led the way, but one after another, they hastily took brides.
As the saying went, they not only secured a wife, but also someone to make their winter clothes.
Some of them even wanted Liu Cheng to come over and preside over the ceremonies. Yet for reasons unknown, he waved off such a prime opportunity to win hearts and minds, claiming he was too young and lacked the virtue for such a task, recommending seasoned elders like Third Grandpa Liu and Old Wang instead.
Standing nearby, Liu Jili looked as though he wanted to speak, but held his tongue.
By comparison, the murmurs of discontent in the camp—such as women and children of other surnames muttering under their breath, or Liu Huzi's cousin's wife scurrying off to complain to her husband's elder cousin—were entirely to be expected.
Early the next morning, Liu Cheng rose early. As usual, he ate his meal and assigned the tasks for weaving straw sandals and mats.
Yet many people were absentminded, and Third Grandpa Liu even sneaked over to lodge a complaint.
"What did you say, Third Grandpa?" Liu Cheng asked, mildly surprised.
"Last night, Liu Ren Gong's brother's family sent their women over to Ren Gong's tent, telling Huzi's elder sister not to hand those silver pieces to you today. They claimed you'd use the opportunity to abscond with them and run off with that Liu Jili to join someone else," Third Grandpa Liu said indignantly. "My daughter-in-law was inside helping her weigh those vessels, and she heard every word."
"What does it matter? If that's the case, we simply won't go. In any case, I told Eldest Sister yesterday that the decision was hers, and those vessels were meant for Ren Gong's household from the start." Liu Cheng's words were as steady as ever, but for some reason, his spirits seemed uncharacteristically subdued.
This was rather strange.
One had to understand that ordinarily, when everyone else was consumed with worry, Liu Cheng was always cheerful, treating every misfortune and dire circumstance as if it were of no consequence. Yet now, the refugee camp was finally experiencing a moment of thriving prosperity: on one side, the leaders were meeting the Grand Commander to resolve major matters, while on the other, a simple tiger hunt had yielded a hundred bolts of cloth, to the point where men dared to wed. By all rights, everyone ought to be rejoicing.
Yet he was as calm as could be.
To Third Grandpa Liu, however, this made perfect sense. The boy was simply angry—with Liu Ren Gong away, a few female relatives and collateral branches were being petty and failing to distinguish merit from demerit, despite how splendidly A Cheng had handled everything. Besides, under last night's circumstances, had he not distributed the cloth or had he hoarded it all for Liu Ren Gong's household, disaster would have surely ensued.
Still, being only a distant kinsman of Liu Ren Gong, he could only offer a mild word of caution and leave the rest unsaid.
Naturally, Liu Cheng had no idea that Third Grandpa was imagining so much... His thoughts were quite simple: this large-scale distribution of cloth had made him acutely realize just how difficult it was for the Huai River refugees to survive here in Southern Xuzhou.
For an individual, it was manageable; drawing out several dozen or a hundred able-bodied men or artisans would work fine. But on a scale of three thousand people, for a collective that had completely lost all means of production to transition smoothly into normal productive labor was simply too difficult.
It was a case of quantitative change leading to qualitative shift.
Setting aside the fact that a large crowd inevitably produced outliers and that ordinarily rare malicious incidents occurred from time to time, from a macro perspective, the demand for resources was simply beyond the reach of individual manpower... A hundred bolts of cloth—the annual levy of two hundred households—poured in, yet its contribution to helping the collective survive the winter was so terribly limited.
It was entirely foreseeable that even if they scraped through this winter, how many years would it take to clear land and simultaneously accumulate housing, clothing, farm implements, and livestock? If they encountered another disaster or misfortune along the way, how much effort would it take to start all over again?
No wonder Liu Ren Gong was constantly looking for a chance to abandon these people and flee; no wonder the Great Jin court had specifically established the white register; no wonder they collected no taxes and levied no corvée. If they truly imposed corvée and taxes, however many refugees arrived, just as many bandits would surely spring up.
It would genuinely be better to become bandits and turn to pillage!
Of course, when Liu Cheng thought of this, it was not merely out of concern for the state, the people, and the collective; he had also gained a deeper realization regarding his own selfish dream of establishing a fortified manor—founding a fortified manor was going to be immensely difficult! To say nothing of having top-tier competitors like the Celestial Masters, even without any competition at all, purely in terms of construction, a fortified manor could hardly be built in three or five years, let alone achieving a high-end, self-sustaining economic loop like the ones neighboring them!
What was he to do?!
He had started with a dream hand and hadn't made any missteps. Up until today, the divisions he had organized and the specific projects he managed had all succeeded. His adoption of the lineage name hadn't gone wrong either.
If everything had succeeded, how on earth had things come to this pass?
Perhaps he should adjust his goals slightly and lower his expectations?
Amid his wandering thoughts and brooding reflections, whether because she sensed something amiss or for some other reason, Liu Huzi's elder sister unexpectedly came looking for him in person, carrying the silver vessels neatly packed away.
Preoccupied with his thoughts, Liu Cheng said little. He bowed with hands clasped and accepted the package.
Chapter 18