Prime Minister

Chapter 126, Section 125: Blood and Tears

The following morning, at the West Gate Wharf in Yizhen County.

Boats flowed endlessly on the canal, while laborers toiled near the docks, their sweat pouring down their faces.

"Bang bang bang!"

A sharp, piercing gong suddenly rang out, instantly attracting the attention of many people.

Several county yamen runners climbed onto a makeshift platform in the center of the dock. The leader, carrying a gong, called out loudly, "Come here, all of you! The county yamen has an announcement to make!"

Upon hearing this, everyone gathered around him.

The bailiffs shouted at the top of their lungs, "Listen up! Magistrate Xue arrived in the county town yesterday. From now on, Magistrate Xue, together with Magistrate Zhang, will receive all the appeals from the people within our jurisdiction. No matter what injustices you have suffered, no matter who is oppressing you, from now on you can go to the county government office to beat the drum and appeal for justice. No one will drive you away!"

A commotion arose in the crowd, but no one spoke up.

Seeing this, the yamen runner continued, "Lord Xue is the only son of Lord Xue Wensu. Lord Xue served as the prefect of Yangzhou in the fifth year of the Taihe era. In the seventh year of the Taihe era, when Yizhen was flooded, Lord Xue personally went to the river embankment to direct the flood control efforts, which many people should still remember. Lord Xue previously served as an official in the capital and assisted the Grand Minister of Works in thoroughly investigating the corruption case in the Ministry of Works. He was a well-known honest official throughout the court and the country! Some time ago, Lord Xue inspected Jiangdu County and personally dealt with eight corrupt officials. This matter has already spread throughout Yangzhou!"

"Is Lord Xue truly the son of Lord Xue?"

Finally, someone asked with an excited expression.

The constable looked down and saw a laborer in his forties. He nodded and said, "It's the real deal! Lord Xue is here specifically to clean up the atmosphere in this county. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If you have any grievances, don't miss it. Otherwise, once Lord Xue goes to Baoying County in the north, it will be too late to regret it!"

Someone else asked, "Since Lord Xue is judging cases in the county government, if I am innocent, may I go in and take a look?"

The bailiff laughed and said, "Lord Xue said that fifty people are allowed to watch the trial in the county government hall every day. First come, first served, regardless of their status or background!"

Immediately, some people turned and left in a hurry, including ordinary people as well as local gentry and scholars.

Some people looked hesitant.

They didn't doubt Xue Huai's family tradition, but as the saying goes, a county official is not as good as a county manager. While Xue Huai was alive, he could naturally solve the people's problems, but he was not the magistrate of Yizhen County after all. Who knew if he would be retaliated against by those wealthy gentry and powerful families after he left?
Whatever their intentions, the winds of change swept from the docks and quickly engulfed the city and its outskirts.

Wherever people gathered in the city, notices from the county government were posted, with one or two yamen runners responsible for announcing them. Outside the city, county clerks would go to the larger villages and towns to inform the people of this matter.

Since ancient times, it has been a tradition in every dynasty that imperial power did not extend to the countryside. The jurisdiction of county magistrates was mostly concentrated within the county seat, while the surrounding villages and towns followed the principles of clan autonomy and the education of rites and laws.

Therefore, when the local gentry and wealthy families of Yizhen County heard about this, they were only a little nervous at first, but then they laughed it off. Even if they usually acted like tyrants in the countryside, how many people would dare to go to the county government to file a complaint?

As they had predicted, on Xue Huai's first day in charge of Yizhen County, quite a few people entered the county government office, but most of them were just there to watch the spectacle or to discuss trivial neighborhood disputes, lacking any truly substantial legal documents.

"Your Excellency."

In the back room of the county government office, Zhang Shi said with a hint of disappointment, "It seems that the people still don't quite trust the government."

Xue Huai completely understood his current state of mind, which was filled with anxiety and uncertainty.

Zhang Shi was a second-class Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), but after fifteen years in office, he was still only a seventh-rank county magistrate. An ordinary person would have long since become disheartened and resigned, or even joined the corrupt officials for the sake of their future. It was truly remarkable that he could still uphold his principles and bottom line. Now, Xue Huai's arrival has rekindled his passion, and he just wants to see the light at the end of the tunnel as soon as possible. Even the smallest setback could make him doubt himself.

Xue Huai thought for a moment and smiled, “Building trust takes time and effort. You don’t need to be anxious. Someone will definitely try it when they have no other choice.”

Zhang Shi nodded in agreement, feeling somewhat relieved.

The situation improved on the second day. The issues were no longer trivial. Some residents of the county town filed complaints. Although most of the disputes involved only a few taels of silver, Xue Huai still treated them meticulously.

In his previous life, he had rich and solid experience in grassroots work. After coming to this world, he crammed on a large number of cases and the laws of the Great Yan Dynasty. His series of judgments were accurate and fair, which greatly amazed the people who were watching the case.

On the morning of the third day, as soon as the county government gates opened, the people who had been waiting outside and had received their number plates filed in.

It is human nature to watch a spectacle, no matter when or where. The reason Xue Huai specially arranged these viewing spots was that he hoped to spread the word about the matter and attract the attention of the entire county.

Xue Huai sat in the main seat as he had in the previous two days, while Zhang Shi sat beside him.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

A powerful drumbeat came from outside.

Xue Huai and Zhang Shi exchanged a glance. The latter's eyes showed excitement, while he nodded slightly. He then asked Jiang Sheng to invite the people outside who were beating drums and appealing for justice to come in.

A short while later, a disheveled man in his thirties or forties followed Jiang Sheng, carrying a petition in his hands, and strode into the county government hall. "Silence!"

Xue Huai slammed his gavel and looked at the disheveled man, asking, "Who is below me?"

The man knelt down, holding the petition, and kowtowed, saying, "Your Honor, I am Wang Shuan, a native of Qingshan Town, Yizhen County. I am thirty-two years old and have no official rank or title."

Xue Huai's gaze narrowed slightly. This Wang Shuan, from his manners to his speech, did not seem like an illiterate farmer. He asked in a deep voice, "Whom do you want to sue?"

"Return to my lord."

Wang Shuan looked up at Xue Huai and said, word by word, "This humble citizen wishes to file a lawsuit against Hu Qing, a salt merchant from Qingshan Town in this county, and his son Hu Yong!"

What is the matter you wish to report?

"Your Excellency, in October of the thirteenth year of the Taihe reign, Hu Qing lent my father thirty taels of silver at an annual interest rate of three percent. He then induced my father to sign a contract while he was drunk, stipulating that if the silver was not repaid within five years, the land would be used to offset the debt. Last October, Qingshan Town suffered a flood that inundated large tracts of fertile land, and my family's land was also affected, with eighty mu of paddy fields yielding no harvest. Hu Qing sent his son, Hu Yong, to collect the debt, but the annual interest rate of three percent on the contract had been changed to twelve percent, which my father naturally refused to accept."

Xue Huai frowned slightly, already anticipating how things would unfold, and asked, "And then?"

Wang Shuan's eyes reddened, and he said in a trembling voice, "In order to force my father to accept the altered contract and seize the eighty acres of ancestral land belonging to my family, Hu Yong ordered his servants to beat my father to death and forced my mother to hang herself!"

"God..."

Some of the bystanders watching the trial couldn't help but gasp.

Xue Huai turned to look at Kong Li, the clerk of the prefectural yamen who had come with him. Kong Li stepped forward and said softly, "Your Excellency, the laws of the Great Yan state that the annual interest rate for private loans cannot exceed three percent. If we take a three percent annual interest rate, Wang Shuan's father will need to repay a total of eighty-four taels of principal and interest upon maturity. If we take the twelve percent annual interest rate advocated by the Hu family, the total principal and interest upon maturity will be two hundred and forty-six taels. Even if we take the latter approach, the average value of the Wang family's eighty mu of paddy fields is only three taels, which is clearly unreasonable."

Xue Huai had a plan in mind. Looking down at the hall, he said, "Wang Shuan, even according to the contract, 'if the silver is not repaid within five years, the debt will be settled with land,' your eighty mu of paddy fields would be worth more than three hundred taels of silver. How come it's only barely enough to settle the debt?"

Wang Shuan said miserably, "Your Honor, Hu Qing colluded with the local grain chief to tamper with the land register, turning my family's prime paddy fields into wasteland for sale! They are in cahoots, beating my father to death and forcing my mother to commit suicide, and now they are trying to seize my family's land for thirty taels of silver. Please, Your Honor, redress my grievances and do justice for me!"

It's that same old trick again.

Xue Huai frowned slightly. Back in the capital, the Prince of Dai's mansion colluded with officials from the Ministry of Works' Agricultural Reclamation Department to turn thousands of acres of fertile land into wasteland.

Previously in Jiangdu County, the wealthy Wang Dong also colluded with the county clerk to use despicable means to convert rice paddies into mulberry fields.

However, compared to what Hu Qing did, at least the previous two cases did not result in any deaths.

Suppressing his anger, Xue Huai looked at Wang Shuan and asked, "You said this happened last October, so why are you only coming to the county government to file a complaint now? Or did you come before, but Magistrate Zhang didn't help you seek justice?"

These words caused a sudden commotion in the hall.

The people couldn't help but look at Magistrate Zhang Shi, who was sitting to the side.

They genuinely felt that Magistrate Zhang was a good official. Although he was not omnipotent, he was able to make impartial decisions and show compassion for the people most of the time. Last year, when the floods raged, he personally organized people to rescue the trapped people.

Xue Huai did not go to see Zhang Shi. He would not even trust the Shen family completely without reservation, let alone Zhang Shi, with whom he had only spent a short time. He had previously heard Zhang Shi's evaluation from others, which could not be guaranteed to be absolutely accurate, so he trusted his own eyes and ears more.

Wang Shuan was clearly taken aback by Xue Huai's directness. After a brief moment of surprise, he decisively said, "Sir, I used to work on a grain transport boat and was unaware of my family's situation. Two months ago, I went home to visit my parents, but as soon as I arrived, everything collapsed! I went to settle accounts with the Hu family, but Hu Yong ordered his servants to beat me and then lock me in the woodshed. A few days ago, I found a chance to escape, and because I was afraid of being found by the Hu family, I have been hiding in the wilderness. I originally intended to go to the prefectural city to file a complaint, but when I heard that you were hearing a case in the county government, I used my last bit of money to have someone write a petition and came here to beg you to redress my grievances!"

He bowed his head and kowtowed, raising the petition high with both hands.

The clerk stepped forward, took it, and respectfully handed it to Xue Huai.

The complaint was very straightforward, detailing the case from beginning to end.

Xue Huai looked closely, and after a moment said in a deep voice, "Magistrate Zhang."

"The subordinate is here!"

How far is Qingshan Town from the county seat?

"Your Excellency, Qingshan Town is just over two miles northwest of the county seat. A fast horse can take only a quarter of an hour at most."

"Alright, I'll trouble you to send a few fast-moving constables to bring Hu Qing and his son Hu Yong from Qingshan Town to me immediately."

"Your subordinate obeys!"

Zhang Shi quickly got up to make arrangements.

The atmosphere inside the hall was solemn. Wang Shuan looked at Xue Huai, who did not delay, and bowed again, saying, "This humble subject thanks Your Excellency!"

(End of this chapter)