Prime Minister

Chapter 119, Section 118: The Truth

Li Chunjiu was slightly taken aback, then respectfully said, "This humble official is dull-witted and hopes that you will enlighten me, sir."

"It's not really about giving pointers."

Xue Huai said calmly, "The key to this case lies in the quality of the sixty mu of paddy fields. If they are indeed inferior fields, then the price Wang Dong offered is reasonable. However, if these sixty mu of paddy fields are all superior fields, then there must be many flaws in the process of this case."

Seeing Li Chunjiu looking at the album on the table, Xue Huai added, "This fish scale album was made in the seventh year of the Taihe era, which is twelve years ago. Although this period is not particularly long, not to the point of drastic changes, there may still be significant changes."

"I understand."

Li Chunjiu felt a little nervous and quickly explained, "After I took over this case, I sent someone to Yushu Town outside the city to conduct an on-site investigation of the condition of those sixty mu of paddy fields. The report came back that they were indeed inferior fields."

Xue Huai then asked, "Who is in charge of this matter?"

Li Chunjiu looked to the side and said, "Clerk Chen, please repeat the results of your investigation in Yushu Town that day."

"Yes, Your Excellency."

A middle-aged man with a pale face and short beard stepped forward and said to Xue Huai, "Your Excellency, I am Chen Guan, the registrar of Jiangdu County. In early November of last year, I was ordered by Magistrate Li to go to Yushu Town, southeast of the city, to investigate the situation. After careful investigation by myself and the clerks of the Household Department, we finally determined that the sixty mu of paddy fields belonged to the lower grade, and Wang Dong's offer was perfectly reasonable. This case was purely a case of Huang Da and others causing trouble on their own."

Upon hearing this, a smug glint flashed in Wang Dong's eyes as he knelt below the hall, while the three people beside him were filled with grief, indignation, and fear.

Xue Huai nodded slightly, signaling Chen Guan to step down, and then addressed the crowd below: "Huang Da, have you all heard clearly? Whether it's the evidence from the fish-scale map recorded in the county government or the testimony of Registrar Chen of this county, both show that the paddy fields you sold were indeed of inferior quality. Magistrate Li of this county has been extremely lenient with you, patiently explaining to you even in the face of such irrefutable evidence, but you still can't distinguish right from wrong, and have even caused trouble again, even suing Magistrate Li in the county government. How dare you!"

Under the gavel, the courtroom was filled with solemn silence.

Huang Da and the other two were dumbfounded, their bodies trembling uncontrollably. Huang Da, suppressing his fear, cried out, "Sir, I'm innocent...innocent!"

Xue Huai said coldly, "Where is the injustice? Confess the truth!"

Huang Da hurriedly kowtowed and said, "Sir, I don't know how that map is made, but these few acres of land have been passed down from my ancestors to my family. Everyone else is in the same situation. If it weren't for the flood last year, which made it impossible for my family to survive, who would be willing to sell their land? Sir, my family's land has always been top-quality land. Besides, there's no such thing as inferior land by the river. Please, sir, do me justice!"

"You bullshit!"

Chen Guan immediately rebuked, "The fish-scale map records the detailed land area of ​​the entire county. How could it be false? You bunch of greedy people dare to spout nonsense in front of the esteemed magistrate!"

He then turned to Xue Huai and said, "Your Excellency, these unruly people should be dealt with by torture. We're not afraid they won't confess!"

"Chen, the registrar, has quite the airs of an official."

Xue Huai looked meaningfully at the registrar, who resembled a county magistrate even more than Li Chunjiu, and said indifferently, "Did I give you permission to speak?"

Chen Guan was speechless.

Although the Chen family could not compare to the powerful clans of Yangzhou, they had a strong presence in Baoying County in the north. Therefore, Chen Guan always looked down on Li Chunjiu, an outsider. If the latter hadn't been so engrossed in pleasure and lingering in the city, he would have probably shown him what it meant to have a magistrate who comes and goes but a clerk who remains the same.

He was used to speaking frankly and even overstepping his bounds in front of Li Chunjiu, and obviously did not realize who the young magistrate sitting in the hall was.

Chen Guan quickly regained his senses, bowed and apologized, saying, "Please forgive me, sir; I have overstepped my bounds."

"Go back."

Xue Huai waved his hand, having made a general assessment of this so-called difficult case.

In fact, when he was studying the case files, he found several inexplicable points. However, from the county magistrate Li Chunjiu to the prefectural judge Zheng Xuan, this group of people seemed to have no idea. Today, after seeing the situation of the Jiangdu County government with his own eyes, he knew exactly where the problem lay.

Unlike Tan Mingguang, Li Chunjiu was not willing to compromise his principles, but was forced to back down due to the complex situation in Yangzhou's officialdom. Li Chunjiu, on the other hand, clearly enjoyed the wealth and prosperity of the area and had little control over the county government, which led to a case that was not particularly complicated becoming a so-called unsolved case.

Thinking of this, Xue Huai looked at Wang Dong below the hall and said, "Wang Dong, tell me why you want to buy these sixty acres of inferior land."

Seeing Chen Guan's predicament, Wang Dong dared not be careless and cautiously said, "Your Honor, I am neighbors with Huang Da and the others. Seeing that their fields were flooded and their families were struggling to feed themselves, I thought of buying their land so they could have food. My offer was fair; nowadays, a mu of low-grade paddy field is only worth two or three taels of silver, but I offered them four taels per mu. Who knew... Your Honor, I am truly wronged. If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have bought the land."

"You do have a kind heart."

Xue Huai asked calmly, "I have reviewed the case files, which mention that you bought these fields to convert them into mulberry fields. What is the progress so far?"

Wang Dong replied, "Your Excellency, after the flood receded, I had people clear the silt and filth from the fields, then drain the water and fill the soil. On average, it cost five or six taels of silver per mu. Including the initial purchase of the fields, the total cost so far is more than six hundred taels of silver. It will probably take two or three years to see results."

"It's not easy for you either."

Xue Huai's short sentence put Wang Dong at ease, and even the solemn-faced Chen Guan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

The next moment, Xue Huai looked to his left and said, "Clerk Kong." Kong Li, the clerk of the prefectural yamen's household office, stepped forward and replied, "Your Excellency."

Xue Huai said, "You are a senior official in the Household Department and know the land auditing like the back of your hand. Now, please tell me how the land grades are distinguished within this prefecture?"

Kong Li calmly replied, “Your Excellency, the classification of land grades is mainly based on soil fertility and irrigation conditions. Yushu Town in Jiangdu County is close to the river, and its irrigation conditions are extremely superior, so this criterion does not apply. According to the regulations issued by the Ministry of Revenue of the Imperial Court, land with a yield of five shi or more per mu is considered superior land, and land with a yield of less than three shi per mu is considered inferior land.”

Xue Huai said, "So, the taxes paid on superior land and inferior land are different?"

Kong Li replied, "Yes, Your Excellency. According to the land tax regulations of this prefecture, one to two dou of land tax are payable per mu for superior land, while inferior land is exempt from land tax."

Before Wang Dong, who was kneeling below the hall, could react, Li Chunjiu's expression changed slightly, and Chen Guan's mind was in turmoil.

At that moment, Huang Da seemed to have a sudden inspiration and immediately said, "Your Excellency, I have been paying land tax for the past few years! One and a half bushels of grain are due for each mu of land!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Dong's hands, hidden in his sleeves, trembled involuntarily.

Xue Huai ignored him and turned to Chen Guan, saying, "Chen, where is the county's blank register?"

The so-called "white register" refers to the government's records of tax collection.

Chen Guan swallowed hard, forcing himself to remain calm, and said, "Your Excellency, the blank records are all in the archives. I will go and retrieve them immediately. However, the blank records from previous years are piled up like a mountain. I hope Your Excellency can grant me some time."

Xue Huai could tell what this man was planning just by seeing his eyes darting around.

At this moment, he couldn't help but recall his experience in the capital when he went to the Ministry of Works to check the accounts. These people only had a few tricks up their sleeves: either they would modify the files or they would simply destroy the evidence.

"Not urgent."

Xue Huai said leisurely, "As you said, these account books may not be found for a while, and I don't have much time to wait."

Chen Guan was completely baffled. He wondered what this young magistrate was up to. He had clearly found a breakthrough in the case, so why would he give up so easily?
On the other side of the hall, Wang Gui and the others exchanged a quiet glance, a sense of shock rising within them.

Judging from Xue Huai's nonchalant demeanor, he seemed quite familiar with these administrative affairs, which was truly puzzling. Wasn't this his first time being sent to a post outside the capital, and had he previously stayed in the Hanlin Academy?

After a brief silence, Xue Huai stared at Wang Dong below the hall and said in a deep voice, "Wang Dong, I'm giving you one last chance. What is the truth of this case? If you confess the truth now, I will consider it a meritorious service to atone for your crime. If you continue to cover it up and deceive, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

The situation changed abruptly, and Wang Dong did not understand the reason for Xue Huai's change in attitude. He smiled ingratiatingly and said, "My lord, I have always been telling the truth and would never dare to deceive you."

"That's a very true statement."

Xue Huai said coldly, "You said you couldn't bear to see Huang Da and the others starving, so you generously bought their low-grade land that had been flooded. I'll believe you meant well. But after you bought these sixty acres of paddy fields, you went to great lengths to convert them into mulberry fields. Do you think I'm clueless about farming? Clerk Kong!"

"The humble position is here!"

"Now you tell everyone whether or not the so-called inferior land can be converted into mulberry fields!"

Kong Li's eyes lit up, and he said without hesitation, "Your Excellency, mulberry trees are drought-resistant but susceptible to waterlogging, and they do require a high degree of soil fertility. In this case, these sixty mu were originally paddy fields, and have been flooded. Converting them into mulberry fields would require digging ditches for drainage, otherwise the mulberry roots would easily rot. If it were top-quality land, it would be fine, but if it were bottom-quality land, the expected yield of mulberry leaves would be less than 40% of that of top-quality land. This is clearly a losing proposition."

Upon hearing this, Wang Dong turned pale, and he could no longer suppress his panic.

Xue Huai said coldly, "You heard everything? The so-called inferior land, the so-called kindness, are nothing but a colossal lie you fabricated to bully the people! Now tell me, are these sixty mu of paddy fields truly inferior land?"

"My lord, this humble subject...this humble subject..."

Wang Dong's body began to tremble; he knew that Xue Huai had exposed his lie.

On the other side, Li Chunjiu and Chen Guan were also in a state of confusion, especially the latter, who had indeed received benefits from Wang Dong. Their cooperation was not limited to this one time; in the past, he had used similar methods to help Wang Dong seize a large amount of land.

Li Chunjiu had already stood up and said in a flustered manner, "Your Excellency, please calm down. I was truly unaware of this!"

Xue Huai glanced at him indifferently, then reached out and grasped the gavel, saying each word clearly: "What a fine Jiangdu County! Today has truly opened my eyes. A mere registrar can collude with wealthy households to deceive the people and oppress them. I want to see just how much more filth is hidden in this county government!"

"boom!"

The gavel fell, striking Chen Guan and Wang Dong like a thunderbolt.

The hall was deathly silent, except for Huang Da and two others, whose eyes were red as they kowtowed to Xue Huai in gratitude.

(End of this chapter)