Chapter 29

Because Sun Zibai joined the villagers in cursing himself, that “shared hatred of a common enemy” attitude quickly earned the approval of the simple villagers. During their conversation, the villagers also learned that this master-and-servants group had come from a commandery outside the Pingnan Marquis’s fief. Because of that, they expressed understanding toward their foolish decision to come to Changyi County to do business.

Earlier, the villagers had looked at Sun Zibai somewhat like they were looking at a lunatic or a fool. Now, their gazes had turned sympathetic instead.

“You came to the wrong place.”

The village chief let out a long sigh and explained that in the five commanderies of the Pingnan Marquis’s fief, because the land rent had grown heavier and heavier over the years, the common people could barely survive, let alone have extra things to sell.

The imperial court’s normal land tax was one part in fifteen. Only some harsh and difficult regions had one part in thirty. The southwest had always followed one part in fifteen, and the five commanderies granted to the Pingnan Marquis, including Shanyang Commandery, had also always followed one part in fifteen. However, around five or six years ago, the marquis residence had suddenly begun increasing the land rent. From one part in fifteen, it became one part in fourteen, then thirteen… It increased every year. By these past two years, they could no longer survive.

One had to know, at that time, that damned little heir had only been twelve or thirteen years old.

“Damn him. Born evil!”

Sun Zibai indignantly echoed them. That look of his, as though he could not wait to spit along with them, made the corners of Hu An’s and Sun Hong’s mouths twitch. They only felt that their heir might have been possessed by a ghost.

The village chief nodded in agreement. “Exactly.”

The increasingly heavy taxes year after year had made the people suffer unspeakably. They were hungry and cold all year round, so naturally, the crops in the fields could not be grown well. Yet the land rent from the marquis residence only became heavier. The imperial court even made them continue opening up wasteland. The amount of farmland increased every year, but they still could not eat their fill every year. This was simply the greatest joke under heaven.

By this year, the land rent was already fully twice as heavy as the imperial court’s. But farmers were already overwhelmed. Grain production had fallen sharply. Most importantly, the newly opened wasteland had almost no harvest at all, yet the land rent was still calculated according to the original yield per mu. If this was not forcing the common people to die, then what was?

Some villagers had little land, so they could not even keep enough seed grain for the next year. For others, their grain was forcibly taken away by the government while it was still in the fields. The common people were suffering.

The common people’s lives were already difficult. In other commanderies and counties, if the people suffered injustice, they could still go to the authorities and ask court officials to uphold justice for them. But the people of the Pingnan Marquis’s fief could not even report to the officials, because the ones oppressing them and forcing them to die were the officials themselves. Was this not telling them to die?

“Damn them! Those dog officials truly deserve to be sliced by a thousand cuts!”

“Officials like that deserve death!”

Hu An had been on the battlefield. Guarding Great Yao and protecting the common people were carved into his bones. He had never expected that in the old marquis’s own fief, there would actually be dog officials who preyed on the people like this. He truly wished he could go cut off their heads right now.

Unexpectedly, the village chief blurted out, “Our county magistrate is a good man.”

“Mm?”

Sun Zibai keenly sensed something. But after the village chief finished speaking, he immediately coughed a few times to cover it up, then quickly changed the subject.

A good man?

That county magistrate who had disregarded all dignity and cried and made a scene outside the commandery governor’s residence?

Sun Zibai was now even more interested in him. He had a feeling that this county magistrate would definitely bring him an unexpected gain.

“Village chief, I have a question.” Sun Zibai suddenly said, “My father has a business friend from Sucheng. According to him, the marquis residence stopped accepting grain and only accepted silver more than ten years ago. Since Changyi County belongs to Shanyang Commandery, and is also part of the marquis’s fief, naturally, it should also only collect silver and not grain. Then why do you…”

“Pah!”

Before Sun Zibai could finish speaking, the village chief spat resentfully. Then he looked at Sun Zibai with sympathy again.

“No wonder you traveled so far to come do business in our Changyi County.”

So they had received wrong information.

It was true that accepting only silver and not grain had been carried out for a few years, but after only four or five years, it had changed back again. After that, the burden grew heavier year after year. Now, it had already pressed the common people so hard they could not breathe.

Sun Zibai exchanged a glance with Hu An. In truth, the matter was already very obvious. The problem lay within the three layers in the middle.

Either it was rotten from top to bottom, or the ones above were outrageously bold, using power for personal gain while deceiving both superiors and inferiors. It was absolutely impossible for this to be only at the county level. One had to know, five commanderies had a total of twenty counties, and Shanyang Commandery alone had five counties. It was impossible for every county to carry out such a reckless matter without the people above noticing. So the commandery and county levels were definitely colluding.

What Sun Zibai wanted to know now was whether the mastermind behind the scenes was the Suzhou provincial governor. If the provincial governor did not know about this matter, then it could only be said that this person was incompetent to a terrifying degree. If he knew about it, then there were two possibilities. First, he was involved, and he was the mastermind. Second, he knew about it but did not participate, in which case he must have received enormous benefits from it, enough to make him turn a blind eye, or perhaps even help cover it up.

But no matter which situation it was, this Suzhou provincial governor deserved death.

Sun Zibai thought carefully. What method should he use to wipe out this nest of snakes, rats, stinking fish, and rotten shrimp, and replace the blood of the fief?

After all, he was a wastrel who only knew how to eat, drink, and play. In many people’s eyes, he was undoubtedly a useless good-for-nothing. So what should a good-for-nothing do to overturn this group of stinking fish and rotten shrimp?

“You should rest early. Leave first thing tomorrow morning. Do not waste your efforts in the fief.”

In the end, the village chief shook his head and sighed. But thinking of the ten taels of silver ​unauthorized copy​he had just received, the village chief was still quite happy. If it were divided among the villagers, every family could receive quite a bit.

At this moment, however, Sun Zibai suddenly brought up how wary the villagers were. After all, it was rather embarrassing for a young master like him to be rejected one door after another. Unexpectedly, the village chief’s gaze immediately dodged for a moment. Then he stammered vaguely and brushed it off before quickly leaving the ancestral hall.

Master and servants looked at one another. After the village chief and the others left, Hu An quickly sensed that there were villagers keeping watch outside the ancestral hall.

Sun Zibai thought inwardly. Their various behaviors only showed that they were guarding against something. But they were already this poor. What else did they have to guard against?

Bandits? Wild beasts?

One had to say, both possibilities were terrible. After all, he had not brought many people. Sun Zibai did not want to do anything that endangered his life. He could only have the guards strengthen their precautions and pay attention to movements in the village at all times.

Night gradually deepened. Fortunately, this ancestral hall at least blocked the wind. It was much better than that cave from before. Sun Zibai organized in his mind all the information he had obtained these past two days, as well as his future plans. Before he knew it, he actually fell into a deep sleep.

Never mind that Sun Zibai had never suffered hardship before; these two days had truly been exhausting. Once one was exhausted to the extreme, the conditions no longer mattered much. And among them, the one with the strongest adaptability was actually Cold Beauty. No harsh environment could affect him from doing two things: eating and sleeping.

Sun Zibai could only hug himself as he lay on the hard wooden bed and sigh enviously. Although Sun Hong had already padded two layers of soft cushions beneath him, it was still hard.

Late at night, while he was half asleep, a burst of noise suddenly reached him faintly. There were shouts, curses, and the sounds of people banging gongs and drums while yelling.

Sun Zibai sat up with a start. Immediately, the stiffness and soreness throughout his bones made him freeze there. In the next second, he met Cold Beauty’s innocent and curious wide eyes. Sun Hong also sat up while rubbing his eyes.

Sun Zibai looked toward the door and saw Hu An already standing there, observing the situation outside through the crack in the door.

“Hu An?”

“Heir.” Hu An hurried over, his face grave. “It seems something has happened in the village.”

Sun Zibai’s expression tightened. He hurriedly jumped down from that hard wooden bed. Sun Hong was still drowsy, but he quickly got up and draped Sun Zibai’s thick robe over him.

“What happened?”

Sun Zibai also moved close to the crack in the door to look, but outside was pitch-dark and impossible to see clearly. However, those noisy shouts had become louder. The ancestral hall itself was deep within the village, far from the villagers’ houses. At this moment, they could only hear sounds and could not see the situation.

“It seems someone broke in.”

Hu An’s expression was serious. The two men who had been guarding outside the ancestral hall had both left. It could be seen that the matter was very serious. Sun Zibai, however, thought of his earlier guesses. He had not expected it to be such a coincidence that they would run into it tonight.

Fortunately, one guard had already been sent by Hu An to investigate. Just then, that guard hurried back.

“Heir, someone came to Zhang Family Village to steal grain. Quite a few people came. The two sides started fighting. But the villagers have surrounded that group now.”

“Steal grain?”

Sun Zibai’s expression sharpened. In truth, he let out a breath of relief in his heart. Since they were stealing grain rather than robbing, and since they were not mountain bandits or thieves burning, killing, and looting, then the matter was not that serious. After all, Sun Zibai had only brought a few people. Also, judging from the fact that the villagers dared defend themselves, it at least showed that the villagers’ lives were not in too much danger.

After thinking briefly, Sun Zibai made a prompt decision.

“We will go take a look.”

“Heir.” The guard Wang San said anxiously, “You cannot go. It is too chaotic. Everyone has hoes and sickles, and they are fighting in a mess. Moreover, the sky is dark, the ground is slippery, and it is hard to see the road clearly. I fear the heir may be accidentally injured.”

In truth, even they would find it difficult to intervene in this situation. If there were bandits burning, killing, and looting, they could directly cut them down. However, these were all ordinary commoners who did not know martial arts, and now they were all fighting together in a mess. For a time, no matter how high Wang San’s martial arts were, he had no place to use them. He was truly afraid of accidentally injuring someone.

“Heir, let this subordinate go check the situation first.”

Hu An also said anxiously. Sun Hong was even less willing to let his heir go. But Sun Zibai insisted on going. He had Hu An and the four guards each take a torch.

They had no choice but to obey.

When they arrived, the chaotic fight had already ended. The villagers held torches and various farm tools, such as hoes and sickles, surrounding more than ten men in the middle. Under the bright firelight, those people could be seen clearly. They were actually also rural men wearing thin, coarse clothing. They were carrying two half-sacks of grain in their hands. However, now that so many people had surrounded them, they looked flustered, all squeezing together in helpless confusion.

Clearly, these people had not expected Zhang Family Village to be prepared, nor had they expected the villagers to discover them and gather so many people in such a short time.

Everywhere were angry villagers—old and young, men and women. They held hoes and farm tools and cursed at the grain thieves in the middle, spitting as they cursed.

At this moment, the village chief squeezed through the crowd and made a calming gesture toward the angry villagers. Only then did the chaotic scene quiet down.

“Which village are you from?”

“Zou Family Village.”

A middle-aged man with a somewhat calmer expression ​Read on BaiLianTales​replied. But as soon as he spoke, he drew another wave of angry curses.

“Zou Family Village? That is in neighboring Hushan County! You actually came so far to steal our grain?”

“Beat them to death! Too hateful!”

“Yes, beat them to death directly! Beasts!”

“We cannot beat them to death. Killing people means losing our heads. Report them to the authorities! Let the county magistrate uphold justice for us!”

Hearing “report them to the authorities,” many villagers immediately echoed, “Yes, report them! Send them to the government office!”

Unexpectedly, the village chief shouted again, “We cannot report to the authorities! We cannot!”

His expression was quite anxious. Sun Zibai was once again surprised because he did not understand. Earlier, the village chief had slipped and said the county magistrate was a good man. Yet now, he chose not to report to the authorities. Did that not make things even more unreasonable?

The villagers seemed to realize something as well and immediately stopped mentioning reporting to the authorities. But when they thought of how the grain they had worked so hard to keep had nearly been stolen, their faces turned red with anger again. That was the life-saving grain they would rely on for the coming year. Thus, the villagers began cursing again.

Some insisted on beating the thieves to death. Some said they should be tied up and starved to death. Some wanted to burn them alive as a warning to others. In short, under fury, the kind and simple commoners were speaking the most vicious and cruel words, as if only this could vent the anger in their hearts.

The faces of the grain thieves from Zou Family Village turned white. More than ten men huddled together, looking at everyone in terror and helplessness. It could be seen that they seemed to be doing this kind of thing for the first time.

The village chief was so overwhelmed by this noisy scene that his head buzzed. But killing was definitely not acceptable, and reporting to the authorities would not do either. He was only a tiny village chief; how could he have seen this kind of scene before? For a moment, the village chief became completely flustered.

At this moment, there suddenly came a burst of loud gonging from behind the crowd. unauthorized copyThe sound was so loud that the agitated villagers were all startled. Those close by nearly had their ears shaken deaf.

Which damned person was banging a gong?

Everyone turned around and moved aside one after another. Then they saw a noble young master with a handsome face and extraordinary bearing standing there, holding a gong and striking it.

This young master’s face was fair and handsome. Under the light of the torches, his appearance stood out even more, and his bearing was extraordinary. He formed a sharp contrast with the dark, sallow villagers around him.

The incident was sudden. The scene was abrupt and strange. For a moment, the area fell into deathly silence. Everyone’s dull gazes turned toward Sun Zibai.

Sun Zibai put away the gong he had just picked up halfway here, then coughed a few times to clear his throat.

“Everyone, quiet down. Listen to me.”

Everyone: ???

Who are you?