Three Kingdoms: A Million Soldiers Grown from the Fields

Chapter 149 Zhao Shi Clerk
Yangqu County Government Office
The inner hall of the county government office.

The newly appointed magistrate of Yangqu, Sun Qian, was a scholarly official in his early forties with a refined appearance but an unconcealed worry on his face. He was pacing back and forth anxiously.

He had just received an official document delivered by fast horse from the prefecture. Zhao Shi, the judicial clerk, was ordered by Xun Yu, the acting magistrate of Jinyang, to come to Yangqu to "rectify the law and discipline and check the land and taxes."
Although it was said to be acting as the magistrate of Jinyang, anyone with discerning eyes could see that with that magistrate in charge, the word "acting" was completely disregarded; he was, in effect, the magistrate of Jinyang.

Moreover, he is a son of the Xun family, so he has considerable prestige.

"Check land and taxes?" Sun Qian smiled bitterly. These six words were like a red-hot branding iron, making him uneasy.

He has learned firsthand how deep the waters of Yangqu are these past few months.

Zhang Bancheng – Zhang Yu, the head of the Zhang family, whose family was based in Yangqu. Their fertile fields stretched out in all directions, their shops occupied most of the street, and they had hundreds of servants and private soldiers.

Most of the county's clerks were surnamed Zhang or had some connection to the Zhang family.

The former magistrate was nothing more than a puppet of the Zhang family in public.

Sun Qian, this parachuted-in county magistrate, has an absolute power that his orders practically never leave the county government! Investigating the Zhang family's land and taxes? Isn't that just courting death?

"My lord! My lord!" A trusted clerk rushed in, his face pale.

"They're here! Zhao Shi is here! He's with his men and has already arrived outside the city gate!"

Sun Qian's heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly asked, "How many people did you bring? What kind of entourage?"

"Just... just three carriages and a dozen or so attendants, who looked like clerks and guards. They didn't... didn't carry any banners, they were very low-key."

Keep a low profile? Sun Qian's heart sank even further. The more low-profile they were, the more it indicated that the visitors had ill intentions.

He forced himself to say, "Quickly! Follow me to greet them!"

At the west gate of Yangqu County, several inconspicuous horse-drawn carriages with green canopies slowly came to a stop.

The curtain of the lead carriage was lifted, and a young official dressed in a dark blue robe and wearing a xiezhi crown stepped out.

He was tall and strong, with a large and fast stride, and a rigid and expressionless face, giving the impression of a military general rather than a civil official.

That's right, Zhao Shi was indeed a military general. He was a soldier from Taoyuan during the Taoyuan period, and followed Zhang Xian from the small mountain village all the way to becoming an officer in the army. However, during the Lüqi period, he served as the head of the county government's patrol for eight or nine months.

Now, after so much training, he has officially entered officialdom under Zhang Xian's arrangement, and his first official position is as a judicial clerk.

As a soldier who had fought and battled, his gaze was incredibly intimidating; once his eyes fixed on someone, it made them tremble involuntarily.

He was followed by more than ten people, including a few clerks carrying boxes of documents and seven or eight guards wearing light armor and carrying ring-pommel swords at their waists.

These guards walked with steady steps, had sharp eyes, and carried an air of fierce battle experience, far surpassing ordinary yamen runners.

Sun Qian, accompanied by the county magistrate, registrar, and other officials, jogged up to greet him, his face beaming with enthusiasm: "I am Sun Qian, the magistrate of Yangqu, and I warmly welcome Clerk Zhao! Clerk, you must be tired from your journey! Please, young master, rest well; I have prepared a small feast..."

Sun Qian adopted a very humble posture because he knew that he was just a newly appointed county magistrate who had been pushed forward, while the other party had the backing of the influential Zhang Zhonglang and the official endorsement of the magistrate of Jinyang.

He can only try his best not to offend either side.

Zhao Shi raised his hand, a small movement, yet it carried an undeniable air of authority.

He imitated Zhang Xian's mannerisms quite well; no wonder he'd been by Zhang Xian's side all along and had been influenced by him so much.

This stopped Sun Qian from speaking.

His voice was not loud, flat and flat, without any inflection, like an icicle hitting the ground: "Magistrate Sun, there is no need for formalities. I am here on official business in Yangqu on behalf of Magistrate Xun and the Judicial Officer."

The magistrate is requested to immediately summon all registered officials of the county government, the elders of each village, and the village headmen for a meeting in the main hall one hour later.

Furthermore, this official needs to review all land registers, tax records, criminal case files, and household registration records of Yangqu County for the past ten years.

Sun Qian's smile froze instantly, and cold sweat poured down his face.

A meeting to convene everyone? And ten years' worth of case files? This isn't being low-key; it's downright drastic!

He glanced at the silent guards behind Zhao Shi and felt that the hilts of their ring-pommel swords were gleaming with a chilling light.

"Yes...yes! I'll take care of it right away! I'll take care of it right away!" Sun Qian didn't dare to be negligent in the slightest and agreed repeatedly. He then turned around and ordered the county magistrate, the registrar, and others to go and do the work separately.

He hurriedly ran back to the yamen to make arrangements.

Zhao Shi stopped looking at him and calmly swept his gaze across the slightly dilapidated streets of Yangqu County and the eaves of several tall mansions in the distance.

No one noticed the slight hint of tension in his eyes, but he quickly regained his composure. He had seen battles involving hundreds of people before; these were nothing compared to this.

Small-scale event.
An hour later, in the main hall of Yangqu County Government.

The atmosphere was oppressive, like the silence before a storm.

Even though it was broad daylight, lights were lit one after another, as if afraid of offending the clerk.

The lobby was packed with people.

All the officials and clerks in the county government, as well as the elders (in charge of education) and tax collectors (in charge of litigation and taxation) in each village, held their breath and dared not utter a sound.

Many people secretly glanced at the official in the dark blue robe who sat in the main seat in the hall.

That expressionless face, those two deep, dark eyes, weighed on everyone's heart like a boulder.

Sun Qian sat at the lower end, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

Zhao Shi didn't waste any words. His gaze, like a cold probe, slowly swept over the crowd below. His voice wasn't loud, but it clearly penetrated everyone's ears.

"I, Zhao Shi, have been appointed by the magistrate of Taiyuan to oversee the judicial affairs of Taiyuan, to rectify the law and clarify land taxes. I have summoned you all today for one matter."

He paused for a moment, and the lobby was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

“In Yangqu County, the land ownership is unclear and the taxes are not accurate. Powerful people are hiding and the common people are suffering. Such problems have been accumulated for a long time!”
Effective immediately, the judicial officer will be stationed in Yangqu County, and together with the county government, will restart the comprehensive land survey! All land, regardless of whether it is official land, private land, or hidden land, must be remeasured!

All household registrations, regardless of whether they are principal households, customers, absconded households, or hidden households, must be re-established! All tax accounts from previous years, including regular taxes, miscellaneous taxes, surcharges, and fire losses, must be re-clarified!

Each word was like a heavy hammer blow, and the faces of everyone in the hall turned deathly pale instantly.

Remeasure? Re-register? Re-clarify? This is tantamount to turning Yangqu upside down! This will affect the lives of countless people!
"Anyone who owns land shall, within three days, go to the county government or the local officials in each village to report the location, boundaries, grade, and name of the head of the household of their land."

Those who fail to report by the deadline, or who report false information, will have all concealed land confiscated upon verification! The head of the household will be punished for concealing property, receiving eighty strokes of the cane and exile to the border!

"Eighty strokes of the cane, exile to the border!" Several village officials standing in the back row nearly collapsed to the ground, their legs giving way.

"Any clerk or village official who dares to engage in favoritism, bribery, collusion with powerful figures to oppress the common people during the process of surveying, registering, and tax verification!" Zhao Shi's voice suddenly rose, icy and piercing, his gaze like a tangible blade, fiercely scraping across the faces of every official below.

"Once verified, regardless of rank or who is involved, they will be executed without mercy! Their family property will be confiscated!"

"Execute him immediately without pardon!"

These four words were like a thunderclap, exploding in the deathly silent hall! A chill instantly shot from the soles of everyone's feet to the top of their heads! Several timid clerks were already trembling uncontrollably.

Sun Qian felt a chill rush from his tailbone straight to the top of his head, and his hands and feet were ice cold.

He knew that good people don't come, but he never expected them to be this wicked! This is no investigation; it's like a guillotine has been set up and is hanging over the heads of the entire Yangqu officialdom and powerful families!

Ignoring the ashen faces of those below, Zhao Shi continued in his emotionless voice...

"I have set up a 'Plaints Drum' in the east courtyard of the county government office. All people of Yangqu, regardless of social status, who have grievances or injustices, and who or what is involved, may strike the drum to appeal their grievances! The clerks of the Judicial Office will take turns to handle the case! Anyone who obstructs the appeal of grievances will be regarded as having contempt for the Judicial Office and for my decree, and will be severely punished without leniency!"

"The Judicial Office hereby issues a formal order to all powerful and wealthy households in Yangqu, requiring them to pay all outstanding land taxes, poll taxes, and miscellaneous taxes, along with late payment fines, within five days! Those who fail to pay by the deadline will have their property seized, people detained, and assets auctioned off to repay the debts in accordance with the law!"

An ultimatum! This is an ultimatum that makes no attempt to conceal its true nature!

After Zhao Shi finished speaking, he didn't look at the crowd below again, got up, and left.

The room was left in deathly silence, and countless hearts pounding violently as they sank into an ice cave.

In the back room, Zhao Shi's heart was pounding. He had only ever seen his lord handle cases this way before; this was the first time he had been in charge of a case himself.

His back was soaked with sweat. He asked the guard beside him, who was also a member of the same Peach Blossom Village army, "How was it? Did you show any weakness?"

The guard laughed and said, "Brother Stone, don't worry. Just do as the lord says, and no one will dare to do anything to you."

"Sigh, I'd love for them to actually use a knife on me. Talking is nowhere near as convenient as using a knife."

Zhao Shi sighed.

The news spread like a plague to every corner of Yangqu County, and also reached the Zhang family mansion, a large, sprawling estate with high walls and vermilion gates located in the east of the city.

The Zhang family's main hall was filled with the fragrance of incense from the brazier, exuding an air of wealth and luxury. Yet, the atmosphere was so heavy it seemed to drip with oppressive tension.

The head of the family, Zhang Yu, was about fifty years old. He was well-maintained and had a fair complexion, but at this moment, he looked so gloomy that you could wring water out of him.

He slammed the white porcelain teacup he was holding onto the ground with a loud "crack," scattering shards and tea everywhere!
"Zhao Shi! How dare you, you brat!" His chest heaved violently, his eyes blazing with anger and malice.

"Investigating land? Clearing taxes? Setting up a direct appeal drum? And demanding that I pay off all outstanding debts within five days? Zhang Xian is trying to uproot my Zhang family! He's trying to drive all the gentry of Yangqu to their deaths!"

Sitting in the hall were seven or eight prominent family heads from Yangqu County, all of whom were vassals or allies of the Zhang family. At this moment, everyone's face was grim, filled with shock and anger.

"Lord Zhang, anyone with eyes can see that Taiyuan has changed hands. That Zhang Xian is a ruthless man who doesn't even recognize his own family! He slaughtered countless people in Jinyang City! Those guards that Zhao Shi brought also look like Zhang Xian's personal guards; they've all seen blood!"

A fat family head wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his voice trembling.

"What are you afraid of!" Another fierce-looking family head slammed his hand on the table and stood up.

"Zhao Shi only brought a dozen or so men! Even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake! If he dares to get serious, then we'll..."

"So what?" Zhang Yu interrupted him coldly, his eyes gleaming with the calculating cunning of an old fox.

"Gathering a crowd to resist the law? Giving Zhao Shi a pretext to kill? Don't forget the heads hanging on the walls of Jinyang! Zhang Xian even dared to exterminate the Wang family, let alone us chickens from a small town!"

Everyone was speechless.

"So...so we're just going to let them slaughter us like this? Report all the land? Pay off all the debts? How are we supposed to survive then?"

Someone growled in frustration.

"Report? Surrender?" Zhang Yu smiled sinisterly, a hint of cruelty in his smile.

"Zhao Shi wants to investigate, doesn't he? He wants to clean up the mess, doesn't he? Fine, let him investigate! Let him clean up the mess!"

He looked around at the crowd and lowered his voice: "Tell every household, who dares to report their land holdings to the county government? Who dares to beat that damned petition drum? Break their legs! Make sure their whole family can't survive in Yangqu!"

Tell those poor bastards that the Zhang family has fallen, and they won't even have a bowl of thin porridge! And those of our people in the county government, those who should pretend to be sick should pretend to be sick, and those who should 'lose' their files should 'lose' their files!
Accounts that cannot be settled should not be settled! The heavens of Yangqu are not something Zhao Shi can overturn at will! As long as Zhang Xian still wants to stabilize Taiyuan, he will never kill powerful clans again after the Wang clan has just been destroyed!

I want to see what kind of trouble Zhao Shi can cause without relying on his soldiers!

"And then what?" one person whispered, revealing an undeniable fear of Zhang Zhonglang's name.

"In the future?" Zhang Yu scoffed.

"All crows are black. Once this storm passes, we can give Zhang Xian the same amount we gave to the Wang family before, or even a few more percent!"

"I really don't believe there are any people in this world who would stand up for those poor peasants!"

In the east courtyard of Yangqu County Government Office, the newly installed "Direct Appeal Drum" was covered with a thin layer of dust, which looked particularly glaring in the biting cold wind.

The drumsticks hung forlornly to the side, and for three days, no one dared to touch them.

Zhao Shi stood under the corridor, looking at the silent drum, his face so gloomy it could drip water.

The officials he sent out to urge the various villages to report on the acreage and to gather manpower for measurement mostly returned dejected, bringing back the same message.

“Clerk, the village head of Li Township has fallen ill and is bedridden. The register of officials is locked in the storeroom, and the key is missing…”

"The steward of Wangjiazhuang said that the villagers are busy with the autumn harvest and simply don't have enough manpower, and... they dare not report the acreage incorrectly, for fear of being sued for making a mistake..."

"The three elders of Zhao Township said that there are many elderly people in the township who can't remember those old accounts from years ago, and the case files... were damaged by rain two years ago when the warehouse leaked..."

In the county government office, half of the officials, who should have been busy, fell ill.

The rest either knew nothing when asked, or scratched their heads in front of the mountain of old files, frantically clicking the abacus beads, but couldn't even come up with a decent number.

The entire Yangqu County seemed to be frozen by an invisible layer of wind and snow. Zhao Shi and the dozen or so men he brought were like trapped beasts stuck in a swamp, with sharp claws but nowhere to put their strength.

"Brother Stone, these bastards are clearly in cahoots! They're trying to kill us with a soft knife!" A guard spat angrily, his hand on the hilt of his sword.

"How about I take a few brothers and go arrest those grain merchants who were having a secret meeting? We'll get them to talk!"

Zhao Shi abruptly raised his hand to stop him, his eyes sharp as knives: "No! What good is capturing a few henchmen? It'll only alert them and make them more wary. That old fox Zhang Yu is just waiting for us to lose our composure and give him leverage!"

He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. His lord had sent him not to show off his recklessness, but to train him in the ways of an official.

He recalled Mr. Xun's seemingly casual yet profound advice before his departure: "Clerk Zhao, Yangqu is the touchstone. Don't be hasty when you encounter obstacles. Muddy waters are good for fishing. Sometimes, you can lure the enemy into your trap by showing weakness."

Feign weakness to lure the enemy deeper into our territory?
Military strategy is also a form of strategy! That's something he excels at.

Looking at the empty drum for appeals and the county government office that was pretending to be deaf and dumb, a thought gradually became clear in Zhao Shi's mind.

He turned abruptly and strode toward Sun Qian's signing room, his face deliberately showing a hint of anxiety and anger.

"Magistrate Sun!" Zhao Shi's voice was filled with suppressed anger as he pushed the door open with a bang.

"Look at this! What kind of nonsense is this? Three whole days! The number of reported fields is negligible! The files are a complete mess! The officials are claiming illness and shirking their duties! How can this investigation possibly proceed? As the county magistrate, are you just going to sit idly by and do nothing?!"

Sun Qian was fretting over a pile of "lost or damaged" account books when Zhao Shi's barrage of questions startled him. His face turned pale, and he quickly stood up to apologize.

"Clerk Zhao, please calm down! Please calm down! This humble official... this humble official is also extremely anxious! But... but the Zhang family is deeply entrenched in Yangqu, and this humble official is new here, and truly... I am willing but unable to help!"

He was so anxious that sweat beaded on his forehead, and he pushed all the responsibility onto Zhang Yu.

"Willing but unable?" Zhao Shi sneered, slamming his hand on the table, causing the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone to jump around.

"I think the people of Yangqu have completely disregarded the magistrate's new policies and the judicial office! Very well! Since the Yangqu county government is unreliable, then I will take matters into my own hands! Tomorrow, I will personally lead a group to visit several villages on the outskirts of the city! I want to see who gave them such audacity!"

After saying that, he stormed off in a huff, leaving Sun Qian standing there, both frightened and confused.

Zhao Shi's reaction... seems a bit too overt? It's unlike his cold and composed demeanor from a few days ago.

The news spread like wildfire to the Zhang residence.

"Oh? That stinky rock is getting angry?" Zhang Yu lay on the warm couch, leisurely sipping fragrant tea. After listening to the steward's report, a smug smile appeared on his face.

"He'll personally lead a group to the estate? Fine! Let him go! Tell the estate managers that the villagers should just go about their business and ignore him. He wants to inspect the fields? Without the estate manager to lead the way and without the tenants to point out the boundaries, he won't even be able to tell the land boundaries!"
Let him wander around the fields by himself and starve! Oh, and let a few of the smarter tenants watch from afar, imitating his exasperated and embarrassed state, so everyone can have a good laugh later!

The butler smiled obsequiously and replied, "Master is brilliant! I'll arrange it right away! I guarantee that Zhao will be humiliated and lose face!"

Jinyang, the prefectural governor's residence.

Xun Yu was not in Yangqu, but every move in Yangqu was reported to him in detail through secret channels.

Gu Yu stood to the side with his hands at his sides and reported in a low voice: "...Zhao Yuanshi is feigning anger and will personally go to Zhang's estate in the suburbs tomorrow. Zhang Yu has already ordered all the estates to ignore him and make things difficult for him."

Xun Yu put down his pen, holding a copy of the list he had just made between his fingers.

He showed no surprise, but rather a calm and confident smile.

“Zhao Shi is quick-witted, no wonder he is a candidate that our lord values ​​and cultivates. This step was just right. Zhang Yu thought that Zhao Shi lost his composure and panicked, but little did he know that this was the first step in luring him into a trap.”

Xun Yu's voice was calm and clear: "He thinks Yangqu is an impenetrable fortress? Little does he know that the strongest walls often begin to crumble from within."

(End of this chapter)