Riding at breakneck speed? Had something unexpected come up?
He Lingchuan didn't dwell on it, but Ding Zuodong, behind him, grew slightly pale. "Young Master, we haven't gathered all the evidence yet!"
"No chance of wrapping it up today?"
"Not a chance."
What then? The original plan was thrown into disarray. He Lingchuan's eyes darted about, and he immediately made up his mind. "Then we force the issue."
He whispered a few words to Lingguang the medicine ape. The creature blinked in obvious surprise, then nodded after a brief hesitation.
With that, He Lingchuan let out a sharp whistle, and Lu Xin the rock wolf darted back out from who knew where.
"Let's move. Destination: Xin Township."
He Chunhua usually indulged his eldest son, but at a critical moment like this, He Lingchuan could not let him down.
A little over fifteen minutes later, the party rode out of Dunyu, galloping straight for Xin Township.
Jiao Tai had only been dragged out of the dark, miserable lockup two days prior. His wounds had festered with pus, so he needed a couple more days of rest. Riding behind He Lingchuan, alongside Shan Youjun, were four or five burly men.
They had originally been private retainers of the Li and Shu clans. Once He Chunhua issued his decree, both houses were forced to disband their private armed forces on the spot. Most of those men would be conscripted into the army, but Shan Youjun had personally recommended these few to He Lingchuan, claiming they had been handpicked from over fifteen hundred men—solid in both strength and character, and free of encumbrances.
Whether a man was truly useful could only be proven through use. He Lingchuan had simply brought them all along for the job.
No snow or rain had fallen over the past few days, leaving the roads in good condition. Galloping at full tilt, the fine steeds reached Xin Township in under two hours.
The bailiff of Xin Township, surnamed Zhou, froze for a moment upon seeing He Lingchuan, thinking to himself that the young master certainly lived up to his reputation. The young man rode a massive teal-and-crimson bo beast, accompanied by a monkey on his left and a wolf on his right, followed by half a dozen menacing retainers. He exuded the full, overbearing swagger of a wealthy young scion tearing through the countryside.
The bo beast had actually been offered as a gift of respect by a petty noble—though nominally "sold" to He Lingchuan.
"Where is that stubborn village?" He Lingchuan ordered one of his men to yield a mount for Bailiff Zhou. "Lead the way."
A bailiff was essentially the township's tax collector. Because township offices were small and understaffed, he had to handle various odd duties beyond taxation, such as mediating disputes between the provincial command and the township, or between the township and its villages.
The ground was still frozen hard, but the remnants of snow had melted away. He Lingchuan even spotted tiny flecks of fresh green peeking out from cracks in the roadside mud.
The woods and thickets remained bare, but looking closely revealed fresh budding tips on some branches. Pheasants pecked for food in the fields, and does grazed continuously from morning till night, bolting at the sight of humans.
Judging by these animals alone, Dunyu and its surroundings were clearly not short on food. While the peasants bore heavy taxes, life here was still better than in other regions.
The bitter winter was drawing to a close, and traces of spring were gently weaving their way in.
Along the way, He Lingchuan asked Bailiff Zhou, "You said this Shuangyu Village refused to hand over the land and even threatened you?"
Bailiff Zhou groaned inwardly. This young master had rushed here without even grasping the full background of the matter. What would happen if things turned sour and reached an impasse? Word had it that Young Master He had a terrible temper, but Shuangyu Village was an exceptionally tough nut to crack.
Still, he had to explain out loud, "Yes. A few days ago, newly appointed clerks from the Area Command purchased ten qing of fertile fields from some villagers, with all deeds and official seals in order. But when they arrived to take possession of the land, Shuangyu Village refused to comply. They claimed any land sale in the village requires the seal of the village elders; otherwise, the transaction is invalid. Furthermore, all ten qing have been leased out, with seven years remaining on the lease. Therefore, what the provincial authorities purchased was only the subsoil rights, not the topsoil rights, and they cannot take physical possession of the land. Last time, I went with the county vice magistrate, and they even pushed him to the ground."
"Oho, quite a brazen village, aren't they?" Common folk avoiding fights with officials was common sense. Why could Shuangyu Village run against the grain? He Lingchuan grasped the crux of the matter. "They have no legal standing, right?"
"Well, one can't entirely say that," Bailiff Zhou replied hesitantly. "Places like Xin Township and Zhangbai Township all have their own village rules. For decades, villagers selling land have needed the approval of the community. It's an unwritten local custom, and all the villagers abide by it. The new clerks from the Area Command probably weren't familiar with our region and didn't know these nuances."
He Lingchuan gave an understanding grunt. As soon as his old man took office, he had stripped many old officials of their posts and replaced them with fresh faces. Such a move carried both pros and cons. While it refreshed the bureaucratic atmosphere and ensured the new officials were far more loyal to He Chunhua, these newcomers were unfamiliar with local customs and walked straight into every pitfall waiting for them.
And wasn't the situation before them precisely one such mess?
"Who says all the villagers abide by it?" He Lingchuan sneered. "The households that sold their land to the provincial authorities clearly didn't intend to abide by it. Where did those people go?"
"They all abandoned their homes and fled south. None have returned."
He Lingchuan understood immediately. "They swindled the provincial officials—would they dare return? It was a one-time cash grab."
During the days when rumors ran rampant, unrest had rippled through Dunyu and its surrounding townships. Many residents planned to flee south for refuge, and once He Chunhua's lockdown order frightened them, they actually put the plan into action.
With people selling off assets, the provincial government stepped in to buy them up at depressed prices under the banner of repurchasing public land.
Converting private land into public property was not an invention unique to He Chunhua; it had been done at least twice in the history of Great Yuan. Both instances arose when vast amounts of public land were lost to powerful nobles, prompting the state to devise measures to buy it back.
However, the new officials appointed by He Chunhua were ignorant of the local customs. The money had been handed over, yet they couldn't seize the land.
As news of the northern victory spread across the countryside, those who had fled south reconsidered their choice and began turning back.
For one, most had fled in a panic without time to sell their homes. On the road, they realized they still had a roof over their heads back home, so why not return?
Second, was living as a refugee truly pleasant? Wandering like stray dogs, subject to scorn, contempt, theft, and robbery was more than ordinary people could endure.
Unless forced to the absolute brink, who would willingly remain a refugee?
Thus, the moment word arrived that Dunyu was safe and the provincial army had won a great battle, fully eighty percent of the more than ten thousand commoners who had departed with the Zhan clan turned around. Over the past few days, they had been trickling back into the villages and the city.
However, the few households from Shuangyu Village who had pulled a fast one on the provincial authorities naturally dared not return. Those ten qing of land had now become the core dispute between Xin Township and Shuangyu Village.
"Let me ask you another thing." Only now did He Lingchuan address the crucial point. "Does Shuangyu Village have any ties to Chuanyun Pavilion, the Daoist order?"
Bailiff Zhou answered immediately, "Of course it does! Everyone for miles around knows that the Second Elder of Chuanyun Pavilion's Southern Court hails from Shuangyu Village!"
"So... that would be Elder Liang?"
"Precisely him."
He Lingchuan gave an understanding nod. No wonder his old man had quietly dispatched someone to rush him here—nine times out of ten, He Chunhua wanted this matter settled before Elder Liang could intervene.
Any other provincial governor might have backed down.
He Chunhua, however, refused to budge.
Bailiff Zhou hesitated before adding, "Shuangyu Village also has ties to Dunyu's Shu clan. Their refusal to recognize the transaction this time might be..."
He Lingchuan sneered. "Other villages are filled with docile subjects; this place is crawling with troublemakers!"
Those prominent clans had suffered far too many losses at He Chunhua's hands lately. They likely wanted to vent their frustration and give the provincial authorities a hard time.
Bailiff Zhou paused again before venturing, "The Officer of the Bureau of Land Administration acquired quite a bit of land elsewhere as well. Everyone is bound to be watching Shuangyu Village."
The government against Shuangyu Village: whether the government bowed its head or Shuangyu Village backed down would set the precedent for handling similar disputes going forward.
He Lingchuan scoffed. "Isn't that obvious?"
Galloping across the expansive fields, they soon arrived at Shuangyu Village.
The village boasted over a hundred and thirty households—quite a large population. Bailiff Zhou had mentioned that it was the largest settlement in Xin Township, occupying the finest land.
Due to the trouble stirred up by the land sale, the able-bodied men of the village were all present. Seeing He Lingchuan and his entourage approaching with an aggressive swagger, they raised their farming tools and stepped forward to confront them.
Seeing the undisguised disgust and contempt in their eyes, He Lingchuan raised an eyebrow.
With tension running high, Bailiff Zhou quickly stepped forward and called out, "The provincial authorities have arrived to mediate the land sale! Call for the village chief at once!"
Before long, the village chief arrived.
Contrary to the white-bearded elder He Lingchuan had envisioned, the chief of Shuangyu Village was only in his early forties. Though lined with some wrinkles, he was still in the prime of his life.
He stepped forward and offered a bow, though without bending low, and invited He Lingchuan and his companions into the village for a discussion.
He Lingchuan looked around as they walked. Shuangyu Village looked no different from any ordinary hamlet, complete with crowing roosters, barking dogs, and curls of hearth smoke. Where many feet had trodden, the thin ice had melted into water, churning the path into mud with every step.
News traveled fastest in a place like this. Within a few minutes, He Lingchuan was seated inside Shuangyu Village's assembly hall. Facing him were six or seven village elders, more than half of them older than the village chief.
The villagers gathered outside, craning their necks to catch whatever was said within.
Village Chief Liang opened the exchange. "May I ask who you are?"
He Lingchuan sat with legs apart, sprawling with easy authority. Two beasts rested beside him, and seven burly men stood behind him with hands clasped behind their backs.
"I am the deputy to the Adjutant of the Bureau of Land Administration."
*Looks more like the Adjutant is your underling,* the village chief thought, though he refrained from speaking the quip aloud and instead offered a polite, practiced smile.
Beside them, Bailiff Zhou promptly chimed in, "And the eldest son of Lord He, the new Governor-General!"
The village elders opposite let out a long, collective "Oh," their expressions shifting into something complicated. Why had the provincial governor sent his own son? Was he planning to use his authority to crush them?
"Lord He instructed me to resolve the dispute regarding the repurchase of public land. The Adjutant of the Bureau of Land Administration purchased ten qing of prime irrigated farmland from seven households in Shuangyu Village on behalf of Xin Township, complete with deeds and proof. These facts are clear, are they not?"
The elders immediately spoke up all at once, their voices overlapping in an indecipherable clamor. He Lingchuan could only tell that their emotions were running high.
Village Chief Liang pressed down with both hands, signaling for silence.
After a while, once the room finally quieted down, Village Chief Liang said, "We have all examined those deeds. What the Adjutant purchased from them was the subsoil rights, not the topsoil rights."
Ding Zuodong had explained subsoil and topsoil rights to He Lingchuan in detail the day before. In short, ownership of the land was known as the subsoil rights, and whoever held them was the landlord. The right of use was called the topsoil rights, held by whoever leased and cultivated the land—the tenant farmer. In the northern territories of the Yuan Kingdom, a dual-ownership system was practiced, allowing the subsoil and topsoil rights to be separated and traded independently.
South of the capital, however, this system had not gained widespread traction. As a result, the talented officials He Chunhua recruited from the capital had walked straight into a trap upon taking office in Xiazhou Prefecture.
He Lingchuan had inspected the land deeds as well. Although there was no specific clause explicitly spelling it out, He Chunhua and the provincial officials had reviewed them and concluded that the transaction had indeed only covered the subsoil rights.
Chapter 240