Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 868 Failure to Assess the Situation Leads to Both Leniency and Severity (Part 1)

Wang Hui stormed back to his residence, and before he even entered, he shouted, "Bring Aben here for me! Quickly!"

Wang Ben was a servant born into the Wang family of Chengdu. He was one of their own, given a new surname and name. He was the third steward of the Wang family manor and was in charge of the family's estate. Hiring him was a perfect fit for their profession.

"Ben, tell me the truth, have you touched the military settlements?"

Wang Hui sat in the main seat, trying to control his agitated thoughts by drinking tea: "You must tell me the truth."

Upon seeing Wang Hui's cold and stern face, Wang Ben fell silent. After pondering for a moment, he finally said, "Yes, there is. It is a fair transaction. Apart from the contract, everything else is included."

Wang Hui flew into a rage, slamming his teacup to the ground and shouting, "How dare you?! How dare you! Don't you know there's a great war going on in Guanzhong right now? How dare you seize the farmland of the military households?!"

Wang Ben had already knelt down when the teacup shattered. Hearing Wang Hui's reprimand, he felt like crying: "My lord, no one has ever forced them to sell their land!"
Those soldiers couldn't make ends meet; some had sick mothers and couldn't afford medicine, while others were so poor they had just sold their land.

Wang Hui said sternly, "Didn't you coerce anyone in this?!"

Wang Ben hurriedly waved his hands: "No...no..."

However, seeing Wang Hui's ashen face, Wang Ben still dared not hide the truth and said in a low voice, "Of course... there are some. For example, we bought a whole paddy field, but there's only one that's not connected. Without some tricks... how could we have succeeded?"

"you you……"

Wang Hui was so angry he could hardly breathe. After a moment, he said, "Do you know that the new governor wants to kill me because of this?"

Wang Ben looked up in astonishment: "How could this be? Does the governor-general have the right to act recklessly and disregard the laws of the country?"

Wang Hui sighed and said, "When I came back, I asked my colleagues about the past of this Minister Lu."

Guess what I found out?

"Before the Jin invaders invaded the south, this Lord Lu dared to follow that group of righteous troops from Shandong to cut off the Jin invaders' retreat."

Later, he participated in the Battle of Huaixi intact, and was present when Wanyan Liang was finally captured!

The deceased Zhang Jun and Ye Yiwen, as well as the living Yu Yunwen, all praised him as a man of both literary and military talent, a prime minister with the ability to govern.

Later, in the north, from Shandong and the Central Plains to Hebei, he fought in every major battle, killing countless people, which led him to become the Hebei Military Commissioner at a young age.

They've been transferred back precisely to be used as a weapon against powerful Sichuan families like ours!

Although Wang Hui knew that Lu You was extraordinary, he was unable to piece together a complete conclusion due to the slow information transmission speed of this era.

After everyone summarized their points one by one, Wang Hui immediately felt a sense of panic.

Just as all the Go masters in the world fear Emperor Jing of Han, Liu Heng, those who stir up trouble within the rules are most afraid of reckless fools who are willing to go all out.

The Wang family was indeed deeply rooted, but how did it compare to the true aristocratic families of the Tang Dynasty?

Did Huang Chao give you face?
While it is true that Lu You was a scholar-official with roots in the Song Dynasty, judging from his past actions, he was by no means a person who followed the rules.

Would a respectable scholar-official give up a prestigious position in the court to work hard and risk his life with a bunch of peasants in Shandong?

Wang Hui was worried: what if Lu You really disregarded his future and official position and just wanted to kill him to vent his anger?
Sending a few assassins to fire a few arrows from afar, turning Wang Hui into a pincushion, and then escaping—could it be that Wang really had solid evidence to kill Lu You?
Wang Hui became increasingly frightened as he thought about it, and then said to Wang Ben in a serious tone, "Return all those fields and properties. Tell Registrar Xu to destroy all the ones that are registered. As for those that are not registered, just discard them and get rid of them all."

Wang Ben felt a pang of heartache: "This is over 200,000 mu of fertile land, and it's all paddy fields..."

Wang Hui said sternly, "Life is the most important thing!"

Wang Ben was so frightened that he kowtowed again.

After catching his breath, Wang Hui said fiercely, "These officials will only stay in Sichuan for four years at most. Let's be humble and endure this for now. Once we find a way to get them out of here, not only will we have thousands of acres of fertile land, but Chengdu Prefecture will still be under our control!"

Wang Ben nodded repeatedly in agreement.

What happens within the Prince's residence is not something outsiders can know.

However, after yesterday's banquet, many people still turned their attention to Lu You and Wang Hui, wanting to see how the struggle between the out-of-town dragon and the local snake would end.

Surprisingly, Wang raised the white flag in the first round, secretly returning the occupied land without even asking for the money to buy it.

This disappointed the powerful clans who had been expecting a bloodbath, but they soon became panicked.

Now that the Wang family has backed down and ceded the land, what should they do?
The saying goes that it is hard to part with wealth, especially when so many powerful clans and noble families unite together. They feel that they can not only stand up to a mere military commissioner, but also resist the decrees of the imperial court.

However, as Wang Hui said privately, who knows what kind of things Lu You, this barbarian, might do?

All those involved in official business are corrupt; it just depends on whether anyone dares to investigate thoroughly. If Lu You says that even the Wang family has restrained themselves, yet you bastards still dare to lie through your teeth, are you deceiving me? Should I kill someone? What should I do then?
Therefore, after Wang secretly returned most of the land, feeling that she had already given Lu You a lot of face, all the gentry in Chengdu Prefecture focused their attention on the governor's office, waiting for Lu You's next move.

And Lu You certainly lived up to expectations.

On the sixth day of the tenth month, five days after that banquet, Lu You finished his official duties in the prefectural hall and then asked Wang Hui in front of everyone, "Prefect Wang, why haven't you finished returning the gifts yet? Do you really want to take advantage of my new arrival?"

Wang Hui was stunned after hearing this, and then felt a chill run down his spine.

It has only been five days. Some of the military settlements are not even in Chengdu Prefecture, but even as far away as Hanzhong. In such a short time, the steward can only take the account books over there. Even if things have already started to work, how can they be effective so quickly?
Is Lu You really going to take action against Lady Wang because he is so persistent?

Wang Hui trembled for a moment before calming down and said with some composure, "Since you've said that, I also have a question: does you really intend to exterminate my Wang family?"

Lu You chuckled and said, "Prefect Wang, please don't joke. I just have a word of advice for you. As the saying goes, a family that accumulates good deeds will surely have abundant blessings. Back then, Lord Wang Wengong inherited the past and opened up the future, promoted the virtuous and capable, and that's why the Wang family has such a great foundation. That's why you descendants of the Wang family can continue to be wealthy and prosperous."

Doesn't Magistrate Wang think about his descendants now?

After listening in a daze, Wang Hui finally confirmed a fact that he had long suspected.

This Lord Lu has truly gone mad.

Thinking of this, Wang Hui, under the watchful eyes of everyone, openly asked, "And then what? Now that you've fulfilled Lord Lu's wishes, what else does Lord Lu intend to do?"

Lu You spoke lightly, as if he were talking about a trivial matter: "The next step is naturally to take stock of the hidden households and hidden lands, and then register them. Apart from the tax-exempt lands granted by the state, the rest should be on the household register."

"What..." Wang Hui seemed to be asking a question, or perhaps he was muttering to himself.

Lu You looked surprised: "What, don't you know what the 'field survey' is all about? Your Wang clan's private school no longer teaches the 'Book of the Later Han'? That's what Emperor Guangwu did in Hebei."

Of course I know what "field crossing" is, and I even know how much trouble Emperor Guangwu caused by crossing fields.

This is essentially a question of 'I really have a cow at home'.

Back then, many powerful clans rebelled in Hebei. Aren't you, Lu You, afraid that Chengdu will also rebel?
The officials in the hall were also solemn.

In those days, even scholars from humble backgrounds were small landowners with their own property; it was impossible for anyone to be truly destitute.

Of course, even if there are truly impoverished people with extraordinary talents who rise to high positions without any formal education, they will eventually be assimilated by the times.

In other words, most of those present also had some degree of hidden land or household registration issues.

Whenever Lu You started to delve into these issues, officials from Sichuan would inevitably experience some degree of disruption.

A knife won't cut the hand holding it; expecting to rely on these officials to clear out one's own hidden land is truly a pipe dream.

Wang Hui did not believe that Lu You was unaware of this principle.

With a single sentence, Lu You effectively put Chengdu Prefecture and even the entire Sichuan region in opposition.

Wang Hui pondered for a moment, and seeing that everyone around him was looking at him with expectant eyes, he couldn't help but muster his courage: "What's the difference between Lord Lu's actions and the levy of the Flower and Stone Tribute that led to the ruin of all the middle-class families in Jiangnan? Could it be that the country has no money and is going to plunder it from the people?"
Or perhaps you, Lord Lu, believe that by presiding over Sichuan's affairs, you have become the ruler of Sichuan, and wish to plunder the people, thus placing the government in an unjust and immoral position?

Wang Hui's words were reasonable, well-founded, and measured, befitting the descendant of a prime minister, earning him silent applause.

Lu You's smile faded. He rose, supporting himself with his sword, and slowly approached Wang Hui: "So, Prefect Wang, you don't want to serve me?"

Wang Hui sneered, "I serve the country, I serve His Majesty, why should I serve you... uh..."

The hilt slammed into Wang Hui's chest and abdomen. The pampered scholar's eyes seemed to bulge out as he clutched his stomach, prostrate on the ground, and vomited bile.

The officials present were all stunned, but did not immediately stop it.

After all, it was a once-in-a-millennium event for the Sichuan Military Commissioner and the Prefect of Chengdu to beat the Chengdu Vice Prefect in court.

After defeating Wang Hui, Lu You said with a smile, "Wang Tongpan is ill, so go back and rest!"

"You villain!"

Wang Hui's sixth son was an official under the Chengdu Prefecture. He happened to be there and immediately lunged at him with his fists raised.

Cao Dache, who was standing by, immediately stepped forward and easily pinned the young man to the ground.

Lu You said calmly, "Wang Guangxing, didn't you hear me? Your father is ill. If you don't take him back to rest and recuperate quickly, where is your filial piety?"

(End of this chapter)