Prime Minister

Chapter 141, Section 140: [Storms from All Directions]

There are three salt fields in the northeastern part of Xinghua County: Dingxi Salt Field, Xiaohai Salt Field, and Caoyan Salt Field. Among them, Dingxi Salt Field is the largest in scale and has the most salt-making households.

Dingxi Saltworks was one of the ten saltworks under the jurisdiction of the Lianghuai Salt Transport Office. It produced an average of about 3.5 million catties of salt per year and had more than 600 salt-making households.

The salt producers lived in extreme poverty. The capital allocated by the Salt Transport Office was often embezzled by clerks, and the salt producers had no other income. Many times, they could not even afford to eat.

They boiled salt for more than five hours every day. Of the salt they obtained, 70% had to be handed over to the Salt Transport Office free of charge, while the remaining 30% was bought back by the Salt Transport Office at a low price. This was their income. In addition, they also had to bear a certain amount of miscellaneous labor levies.

Of all the jobs in the Great Yan territory, the salt-making workers suffer the most. As a result, in recent years, the number of salt-making workers fleeing has been repeatedly prohibited but not stopped. Many people would rather be punished by the government than continue to endure this dark and hopeless life.

The salt producers in Dingxi Saltworks faced even greater hardships. In addition to the struggles common to salt producers in other saltworks, they also had to deal with two major difficulties. First, the low-lying terrain of Xinghua County meant that freshwater would frequently flood the salt flats, diluting the brine. Second, pirates and salt smugglers along the coast would plunder and steal their salt.

For these reasons, the salt producers in Dingxichang were forced to develop an extremely fierce temperament, which ironically made their situation a little easier, at least the local salt tax commissioner dared not arbitrarily deduct their capital.

As the sun sets, the cooks, exhausted from a long day, drag their weary bodies back to their dwellings. The men greet each other and proceed in an orderly fashion to the open space in front of a thatched hut in the middle.

Because of the extremely harsh living conditions, these farmers were extremely united, and only in this way could they support each other to overcome their hardships.

The group sat on the ground in the open space, drinking water from their water bags. The woman of the thatched hut offered them some vegetable dumplings.

As dusk approached, a tall, rugged-looking man in his thirties walked over, and the crowd exclaimed, "Brother Chang, you're back!"

The man in his thirties was named Chang Sheng. Although he had a good name, he was a salt farmer for generations, just like everyone else in the market. Unless he was willing to become a vagrant or a bandit, he could never get rid of this identity.

He walked to the middle of the group and sat down, taking the food from his wife's hands.

A man next to him couldn't help but ask, "Brother Chang, what did that damn ambassador want you to do?"

The salt commissioner of Dingxi Saltworks was named Fang Yu. In his early years, he had thought about lording it over the saltworkers, but he was met with strong resistance from Chang Sheng and the saltworkers. After that, he lost interest in such things and just lived a quiet life.

Chang Sheng said expressionlessly, "Ambassador Fang said that the county plans to reinforce the dikes, dredge the silt, and dig two more irrigation canals."

"This is a good thing!"

The man who had spoken earlier was overjoyed, and so were the others.

Thanks to Chang Sheng's strength and methods, the living conditions of the farmers in Dingxichang have improved in the past two years. If the county really has the perseverance to solve the problem of waterlogging, perhaps they will be able to live a life with enough to eat and wear.

Some people are now questioning: "Does that skinflint Luo really have such good intentions?"

While swallowing a vegetable dumpling, Chang Sheng said, "Ambassador Fang said that it has rained for a long time in the north this year, and the flooding in August and September will be more serious than in previous years. The county can only try to find a solution in advance. Moreover, he said that this was the decision of that Assistant Magistrate Xue."

"Xue Tongzhi?"

Someone frowned and said, "Didn't they say that this young official from the capital only cares about his reputation and doesn't care about the lives of ordinary people at all?"

Recently, this rumor has spread throughout Xinghua County. The source is no longer traceable. The salt producers already live in a relatively closed environment, and the heavy daily task of boiling salt leaves them with little energy to distinguish the truth from falsehood of outside information.

Chang Sheng said in a deep voice, "I don't know if Xue Tongzhi is a good official, but Ambassador Fang showed me the official documents from the county government. It clearly states that in addition to the local people having to bear corvée labor, we salt producers and canal workers also have to pay corvée labor fees."

"what?"

Someone immediately shouted angrily.

The other salt producers also looked grim. According to the regulations set by the imperial court, they were indeed not required to bear the corvée labor. However, there was another rule: the salt producers could be exempted from corvée labor, but they had to pay in silver instead. The same applied to the canal workers.

Chang Sheng glanced at him and said slowly, "If we are exempt from corvée labor, each adult male will have to pay twelve taels of silver this time."

"How much? Twelve taels!"

The man sitting to Chang Sheng's left widened his eyes, his anger suddenly rising.

Twelve taels of silver is enough to feed his family of four for a year. Besides, it's only early July. Where is he going to find so much silver?

Chang Sheng continued in a deathly tone, "Ambassador Fang said that this is Magistrate Xue's order, and anyone who dares to disobey will be punished by Magistrate Xue."

The room was deathly silent.

For these salt producers, even a ninth-rank salt commissioner was a very troublesome figure. If it weren't for Chang Sheng's ability to unite people and make them work together, they wouldn't even be able to do anything to Fang Yu. Now, a high-ranking official like Xue Huai is an even more powerful figure. Wouldn't it be easy for him to deal with them?

In the dim light, despair gradually crept onto the weathered faces of the kitchen workers.

Twelve taels of silver might not even be enough for a wealthy man's banquet, but it was enough to crush the backbone of all of them.

"Damn it, those corrupt officials!"

Someone squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth.

Some people were willing to risk everything and said, "Brother Chang, we can't take this any longer. Tell us a way, and we'll all follow you!"

"That's right!"

"Brother Chang, if you just say the word, I won't even flinch, even if it means going through fire and water!"

"Brother Chang, what do you suggest we do?" Amidst the fervor of the crowd, Chang Sheng finally spoke up: "I have a plan, but I don't know if you dare to try it."

"Since we're almost starving anyway, what's there to be afraid of?"

The man on the left's statement was echoed by all the cooks.

Chang Sheng clenched his broad hands and said in a deep voice, "We're going to the county town to find that Magistrate Xue and demand justice!"

After a brief silence, the group gritted their teeth and said, "That's it! If he won't let us live, we'll fight him to the death!"

Night fell as expected, concealing all the surging emotions, but this was only a temporary calm.

The situation in Dingxichang tonight is happening in many places in Xinghua County. The people who have been struggling with poverty for many years have been harboring too much anger, and now it has finally come to an end.

……

July 12th, a day of continuous rain.

The back hall of Xinghua County Government Office.

"Your Excellency! Your Excellency!"

Dian Shi Yan Lin practically stumbled in.

Luo Tong looked at him with a puzzled expression and asked, "What's the matter that you're so panicked?"

Yan Lin, panting heavily, said, "Lord Xue is here!"

Luo Tong practically sprang from his armchair, asking urgently, "Where is he?"

Yan Lin replied, "About a quarter of an hour ago, Lord Xue entered the city through the south gate and then led a dozen guards straight to the courtyard next door."

"South Gate? A dozen or so attendants?"

A shadow fell over Luo Tong's heart. Xue Huai's inspection tour of the counties this time involved a fixed number of people: twenty guards including Jiang Sheng, twelve government officials including Wang Gui, and several attendants and clerks responsible for daily supplies, totaling nearly forty people.

Most people are currently in Xinghua County. Where did Xue Huai conjure up more than a dozen guards?

He suppressed his doubts for the time being, straightened his clothes, and said, "Quickly inform Magistrate Yang and Registrar Mo to come with me to pay their respects to Lord Xue!"

"Yes, Your Excellency!"

Yan Lin quickly agreed and turned to leave.

After Luo Tong gathered all the county officials and respectfully entered the west courtyard, he finally met Xue Huai, who was rumored to be ruthless and merciless.

Contrary to his fears, Xue Huai's attitude towards him was not harsh; on the contrary, he seemed quite kind.

"Your humble servant Luo Tong greets Your Excellency!"

Luo Tong stepped forward and greeted him with utmost respect, not daring to overstep his bounds in the slightest.

"Magistrate Luo, there's no need for such formalities."

Xue Huai smiled and said slowly, "Just now I heard from Wang Jingli and others that Xinghua County's tax revenue and various government affairs have been relatively clear over the past five years, which shows that you are a very dedicated official."

Luo Tong dared not be careless and bowed his head, saying, "Your Excellency is too kind. I am ashamed to accept such praise. Xinghua County is in a poor location and has been plagued by floods for many years, causing great suffering to the people. I am truly ashamed that I have been unable to eradicate this problem."

“I am aware of all this. Natural disasters are merciless, and as the county magistrate, you also have many constraints. The responsibility cannot be placed entirely on you.”

Xue Huai gestured for Luo Tong to sit down at the lower end of the table, and then said, "Regarding the potential flooding in Xinghua County this year, I have already heard the report from Wang Jingli. Your response was timely and effective. In the short term, Xinghua County is indeed unable to manually dig an estuary to the sea, so we can only reinforce the dikes, remove the silt, and dig irrigation canals. It is now almost mid-July, and this matter cannot be delayed."

"I understand."

Luo Tong felt reassured and said with a smile, "Please rest assured, Your Excellency, I will do my best."

Xue Huai nodded slightly, took the flood control plan from Kong Li, and said solemnly, "Magistrate Luo, conscripting laborers is a last resort. We must ensure that the laborers have food, clothing, shelter and transportation. In addition, we must pay wages in accordance with the regulations of the court. As for apportioning silver, we should try our best to get the wealthy households in the county to bear most of the burden, and not pass it on to the common people."

Luo Tong readily agreed.

Half an hour later, after the two finished discussing the details of flood control, Luo Tong said, "Your Excellency, I will arrange things according to the established procedures. In addition, the officials, gentry, and elders of this county have long admired Your Excellency and had previously discussed hosting a welcome banquet for you. I wonder if Your Excellency would be willing to do me the honor? Please rest assured, Your Excellency, this is a token of our goodwill, and it is all money that we have pooled together. We have absolutely not used any of the people's hard-earned money."

Xue Huai waved his hand and said, "There's no need for a banquet. If the risk of flooding can be resolved this year, I will host a banquet to celebrate our success."

Luo Tong naturally felt it was a bit of a pity, but he also knew Xue Huai's temperament. The fact that Xue Huai did not reject his proposal at the moment was already the best outcome.

He bowed and took his leave, satisfied.

Xue Huai watched him and several officials from Xinghua County leave, then pinched the bridge of his nose and whispered to Jiang Sheng beside him, "Pass down the order, we can start now."

Jiang Sheng solemnly replied, "Yes!"

(End of this chapter)