Longzang

Chapter 1003 A Villain for All Time

Wei Yuan briefly observed the conditions in the prefecture and county towns along the way before flying into the Southern Military Command camp.

The Southern Army's main camp was originally located on the border between Huangping and Xiangrong counties. After Wei Yuan severely punished the gentry of the five counties and then repelled the Zhao army, the camp was moved to the heart of Xiangrong County, 800 li away from the county seat.

Wei Yuan preferred to set up his camp in a commanding position, flanked by mountains on both sides, aiming to ensure that no one could get through easily. The location of the main camp controlled a major transportation route in multiple directions, meaning that no matter which direction the large armies from the surrounding counties wanted to pass through Xiangrong County, they could not bypass the main camp.

At this time, the Southern Military Camp had only 20,000 troops stationed there, but its supplies were ten times greater. The camp was garrisoned by General Pingdong and four deputy generals. General Pingdong was one of the sixteen young masters and ladies of that time, and the four deputy generals were all trained by the Qingming Military Academy itself.

Upon entering the camp, Wei Yuan requested current military intelligence data and information on the execution of previous arrangements. He read these documents carefully while listening to the general's report.

Wei Yuan is now the Grand Councilor of the Southern Military Council. With the title of Grand Councilor, he effectively holds both military and political power in his hands, and his jurisdiction has expanded from five prefectures to eight. Two of the three newly added prefectures are peripheral forces of the Lü family, and one is a peripheral force of the Xu family.

Wei Yuan's initiatives in the eight prefectures included five aspects: poverty relief, land reclamation, land distribution, education, and clearing up grievances. Specifically, poverty relief involved providing food to the poorest and most homeless people to prevent them from freezing or starving to death, in exchange for working for Wei Yuan in return. The main task was land reclamation; after reclamation, each person would be allocated a small plot to cultivate, paying rent annually.

Opening up fields was the task of cultivating wasteland, undertaken by the "Heaven and Earth Moving Warriors" under the command of the "Hoeing Farmers." Opening up fields was of great significance, as the newly opened land would be distributed to the landless for cultivation. Land redistribution, on the other hand, was combined with the clearing of grievances, returning to the poor lands that had been seized by wealthy families for various reasons.

Enlightenment goes without saying.

These five measures, taken together, were far more powerful than those in Zhao. The amount of money and grain invested in poverty relief alone was almost equal to that of the entire state of Zhao. Land redistribution and the clearing of wronged names were measures that Zhao did not implement at all. These two measures were primarily aimed at the aristocratic families who possessed large amounts of land and were taking advantage of the war to aggressively buy and annex more land.

Wei Yuan's initial plan was to reclaim the lands of the eight commanderies that had been annexed after the start of the Jin-Zhao War and redistribute them to the poorest people. Wei Yuan had calculated that even if the aristocratic families gave up this small amount of their wealth, it would only amount to one-tenth of their total assets, but this would be enough to settle almost all the poor. Then, these poor people would definitely contribute their fortune.

Clearing up wrongful convictions can also gain a lot of popularity, but it's uncertain how much. Therefore, what Wei Yuan values ​​most is the distribution of land.

Wei Yuan predicted that within a month, five measures implemented in parallel could end the phenomenon of all people freezing and starving to death in the eight prefectures. Although it would not be possible to ensure that every farmer had land, it would at least ensure that those who wanted to farm had land to cultivate.

The distribution of land necessitates a thorough inventory of the acreage. Once the acreage is cleared, previously uncollected taxes can be recovered and used for the poverty relief system and the construction of academies, thus completely eliminating hunger and cold and enlightening the people.

The eight prefectures have a total population of 97 million. Wei Yuan originally expected to gain 20 million in fortune after the full month of the reforms, but so far, with only seven days left until the full month, he has only gained 4 million.

Therefore, Wei Yuan remained calm and composed when reviewing the situation and listening to reports.

General Pingdong's name is Li Zheng. He is a member of the outer branch of the Li family of Southern Qi and has been in Qingming for more than ten years. After being blessed by Wei Yuan's luck for many rounds, he finally broke through to the Dharma Aspect stage and is now an important talent.

Li Zheng reported everything, with occasional additions from his deputy.

"The poverty relief went relatively smoothly; money, grain, oil, and rice were all distributed. However, after the distribution, they would be snatched away by local thugs and ruffians. I sent people to arrest them, and we arrested more than 3,000 thugs in several batches. But as soon as they were handed over to the government, they were all released. Some of these thugs have been arrested by me four times."

Because feeding the starving people was the top priority, I had to remove the expensive oil and rice, distributing only coarse grain buns mixed with sand, stones, and bran, which had nowhere to be sold. Only then did the food truly reach the stomachs of the starving people. I have already investigated and found that these local thugs are mostly instigated by the local gentry and officials.”

"The enlightenment process was fraught with difficulties. Only a dozen or so academies were able to open, but they recruited fewer than a hundred students in total, which was less than the number of teachers."

Wei Yuan's expression remained unchanged as he said, "Isn't our academy free? Why is no one coming?"

A deputy general then presented a video.

The footage shows an academy, its gates blocked by a group of scholars and their followers, preventing any students from entering. Inside, several teachers are covered in filth and forced to kneel on the ground, being reprimanded. One scholar says, "My teacher is Qian Shiqian's last disciple! You are all unfit to enter his classroom. Who gave you permission to run an academy here? Prince Wei? What is Prince Wei? He's a villain for all time!"

After the video ended, Wei Yuan remained noncommittal.

Then, the focus shifted to distributing land and clearing up grievances, which Li Zheng personally reported on. Because this involved the interests of the aristocratic families, Wei Yuan naturally knew that it would be fraught with difficulties, so he took drastic measures early on, granting Li Zheng enormous power.

Li Zheng acted swiftly and decisively, and in less than twenty days, he had clashed with the servants, guards, and even private armies of various aristocratic families more than three hundred times. Several Qingming soldiers were killed or wounded, while the aristocratic side suffered nearly a thousand casualties.

Because Wei Yuan had set a strict deadline, Li Zheng used force to clear the way whenever any gentry tried to obstruct him. He finally managed to investigate the land consolidation situation in many places and visited many poor tenant farmers, collecting clues about the extortion and plundering. He basically completed the work of counting the land.

However, changing the land deeds and returning the land became extremely difficult. First, the government dragged its feet, and then the poor people who were supposed to return the land were beaten to death on their own land in the middle of the night. As a result, many poor people no longer dared to accept the land that was returned to them.

"The inventory shows that there should be 9 million mu of land to be returned. How many mu have been returned so far?" Wei Yuan did not see this number.

Li Zheng said, "It is impossible to count, but I estimate it to be about... two thousand mu."

Wei Yuan suddenly smiled.

These aristocratic scholars were truly working against me at every turn, with targeted countermeasures for every measure, leaving no blind spots. My studies were definitely worthwhile.

Having taken money from their pockets, they deserve to die, but will also be infamous for eternity.

Even with these measures implemented so poorly, yielding almost no benefit to the common people and earning him the infamy of being a villain for all time, Wei Yuan still garnered the support of four million people. This demonstrates that justice resides in the hearts of the people, and also reveals the extent of poverty among the Western Jin people, where even a simple meal could win their hearts.

Li Zheng had indeed done everything in his power, taking hundreds of lives, but while the Shi family outwardly retreated, they secretly exerted pressure from the sidelines. Li Zheng had no choice; he couldn't simply slaughter the entire family.

Wei Yuan then asked, "Didn't they carry the corpses to the camp gate?"

Li Zheng said, "They carried him away. Then the leader, a Dharma image, was shot dead by my arrow, and he never came back after that. But there were corpses lying around everywhere in the city gates and bustling markets of the major prefectures. Some people even wrote storytelling about it and spread it everywhere."

"The storyteller must have been insulting me?"

Li Zheng did not reply, tacitly agreeing. The storyteller not only used foul language but also vulgar language, implicating many people around Wei Yuan.

Wei Yuan didn't inquire further about the implementation details. He tapped the table lightly, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Draft a document and send it to all the involved gentry and officials at all levels in the eight prefectures, giving them one day to implement all five measures." Li Zheng hesitated for a moment, but according to Qingming tradition, one could question Wei Yuan's decision before the final decision was made. However, once the final decision was made, it had to be implemented without compromise, regardless of whether one agreed with it or not.

Li Zheng then said, "Forgive my bluntness, but I'm afraid this move will be of little use."

Wei Yuan said calmly, "I know it's useless. I just want to confirm one last time who to kill. This time, let them write the list themselves."

All the generals felt a chill run down their spines, knowing that Wei Yuan was truly enraged. They had only vaguely heard rumors that the Realm Lord attached great importance to this operation, and that he would kill anyone who stood in his way, even immortals. But they did not know the reason behind it.

Wei Yuan asked again, "Which great Confucian scholars criticized me the most harshly?"

Li Zheng had anticipated this: "The main ones are Qian Shiqian, Fang Chengru, and Wang Xian. The rest of the scholars are mostly their students and old friends."

These three were renowned Confucian scholars in the south during the Western Jin Dynasty, with outstanding literary reputations. Two of them were famous academy supervisors, and their students were all over the world.

Wei Yuan asked, "How much land do they actually own?"

"Qian Shiqian owns 370,000 mu of land, of which 200,000 mu were acquired in the past two years. Fang Chengru owns 150,000 mu of land, of which 80,000 mu were acquired in the past two years. Wang Xianzu owns 970,000 mu of land, of which 550,000 mu were recently purchased at only 20% of the normal price, but it seems to actually belong to the Left Prime Minister."

This number greatly surprised Wei Yuan, which explains their vehement opposition to his return of the land acquired during the war. These people, who constantly profess loyalty to the emperor and patriotism, are actually leeching off the Western Jin Dynasty, and doing so so ruthlessly. It's no wonder that despite Wei Yuan's repeated interventions, the Western Jin Dynasty's fortunes have not improved significantly, and have even hindered Wei Yuan's cultivation progress.

Wei Yuan initially thought that the immortals from the Lü and Xu families were secretly causing trouble, but now it seems that the blood-sucking mosquitoes, big and small, are not to be underestimated.

Wei Yuan silently calculated the time; even if he immediately and forcefully pushed all measures to the end, it would be too late.

Wei Yuan had anticipated that the reforms would be difficult, but he never expected the actual situation to be so outrageous. These aristocratic families wouldn't even part with a scrap of food, completely ruining Wei Yuan's grand plan to reap the rewards!
"I still hesitated..." Wei Yuan took out a handkerchief, gently wiped his hands, and threw it into the trash can.

A touch of scarlet gradually appeared on the snow-white handkerchief and quickly spread.

……

In the county town of Huangping County, the buildings are full of spring.

The rooftop was brightly lit, offering a stunning view, and contained only one large room. A banquet was being held inside, headed by an elderly scholar with snow-white hair, none other than Qian Shiqian, hailed as the leader of the literary world in southern Shanxi. Seated at the table were more than ten scholars and over thirty beautiful women, each with a woman on either side of him.

The two generations of courtesans in the county sat to the left and right of Qian Shiqian, with the previous courtesan having accompanied Qian Shiqian for twenty years.

The atmosphere at the banquet was somewhat somber. A scholar, looking worried, said, "King Wei is ruthless. Why don't we back down and give him some land?"

Qian Shiqian said, “Nephew, you are still too young. With things like this, you either give it all or you don’t give it at all. Otherwise, if we give a little today and a little more tomorrow, we’ll have nothing left in no time! Can such wolves be satisfied? As the saying goes, a thousand-mile dike can be breached by an ant hole. So this door must not be opened!”

The scholars all agreed, but in their hearts they despised him. Everyone in the literary world knew that Qian Shiqian was a man who only took and never gave.
Suddenly, a loud bang was heard, and the door was kicked open, instantly sending in a group of masked men dressed in black!

A scholar who had reached the pinnacle of Daoist cultivation attempted to resist, but his head was instantly severed!
Although Qian Shiqian was a Dharma Aspect cultivator, he hadn't fought in years. The moment his energy surged, two men in black shattered his consciousness, rendering him powerless to retaliate. The scholars then realized that nearly half of the men in black who had entered were Dharma Aspect cultivators, and their fighting prowess was formidable!

Moments later, Huangping County was in an uproar. Countless people rushed to the main street. When they arrived, they saw Qian Shiqian and two courtesans being paraded through the streets together, all of them completely naked!
Such a rare sight! Everyone was initially drawn to the courtesan's body, but their attention was quickly drawn to Qian Shiqian, and they began to discuss it animatedly.

"The posture is complicated!"

"Unexpected, so unexpected!"

"That thing was way too small; I almost couldn't find it!"

"These concubines in the house, why don't you put the cuckold's hat on him? I certainly can't stand it!"

"Hmm, her buttocks are quite white, and the skin is smooth..."

Qian Shiqian was filled with shame and indignation, but he didn't know why the officials were so late in coming to his rescue. Little did he know that the prefect was sitting in the courtroom, sweating profusely and at a loss. Facing Li Zheng, who sat quietly beside him, watching coldly, he dared not throw out the token to dispatch the officials.

The courtroom was deathly silent. Although numerous officials stood there, no one dared to breathe loudly. Many ferocious-looking axemen with blue-bladed swords still stood against the walls, some their blades dripping with blood.

Half an hour passed in the blink of an eye, and Qian Shiqian was utterly disheartened, knowing that his reputation was completely ruined.

With the Huangping County archway right in front of him, he suddenly mustered his strength and shouted, "I would rather die than be dishonored!" Then he slammed his head against a stone pillar, immediately bleeding profusely from his head and losing consciousness.

But then his head was lifted up, and the excruciating pain made him groan, unable to pretend to be unconscious any longer.

The man in black said softly, "Old man, if your head itches, then really do it. You'll make a name for yourself in history!"

He grabbed Qian Shiqian's head and slammed it hard against the stone pillar with a thud, instantly shattering the skull and splattering brain matter everywhere.

On the same day, Fang Chengru and his two daughters-in-law committed suicide by jumping into the river, while Wang Xian died under the feet of his adopted son.

Wei Yuan received the report, glanced at it casually, threw it into the trash can, and then continued to scribble on the official roster, crossing out the vast majority of names.

Since these people refuse to sit at the table and won't let Wei Yuan eat properly, Wei Yuan will decide to sit alone at this table in Jin Nan.

(End of this chapter)