White-robed Minister

Chapter 145 0143 [The Way of the Clerk]

The wealthy households received advance notice of Xu Laohu's impending arrival in Yucheng County, as did the county magistrate.

Wang Chunzhong summoned seven active-duty village scribes to the second hall of the county government for a reprimand.

"Greetings, Your Excellency!"

The village scribes were very polite and respectful, showing no signs of being involved in any trouble-making schemes.

Magistrate Wang Chunzhong was also amiable and smiled as he invited them to sit down: "In a little over half a month, this year's summer tax will be collected. I'm sure everyone is very clear about last year's summer tax conversion case. This year, the prefectural government reiterates that Yucheng County's cloth production is not high, so it cannot be converted like in the south. Summer tax must be paid either in grain or in cash; it must not be converted arbitrarily."

"Yes, sir!"

The village scribes readily agreed.

Wang Chunzhong's smile grew even brighter: "You all have worked so hard assisting the county government in compiling the tax registers. You will be richly rewarded after the taxes are paid."

The village scribes repeatedly said they didn't deserve the honor, but they all smiled, thinking that the county magistrate was starting to back down.

"However!"

Wang Chunzhong became serious, his smile fading as he said, "Land tax is the foundation of the nation; it must not be erroneous, and there must be no favoritism or corruption. It must be strictly carried out in accordance with the law."

"Your Excellency is right, we will certainly abide by the law," the village scribes echoed.

Wang Chunzhong said, "I'm afraid some people have forgotten, so today I'll talk about the laws and regulations concerning village clerks. First, if a village clerk, when assisting in the collection of taxes and rents for the sale of land and houses, fails to write the amount and name in his own hand on the contract, household registration certificate, and tax register as required, or fails to have it signed by the county magistrate or registrar, he will be punished with one hundred strokes of the cane!"

The smiles on the faces of the village scribes vanished instantly.

Wang Chunzhong continued, "Secondly, if a village clerk falsely reports disaster injuries on behalf of households without actual disasters to reduce or eliminate taxes, he/she shall be punished with one hundred strokes of the cane. If he/she accepts bribes, he/she shall be treated as having committed embezzlement, and the punishment shall be increased by one degree!"

The village scribes began to sit up straight, their previous relaxed demeanor gone.

Wang Chunzhong continued, "Third, if a village clerk helps someone reduce or circumvent land taxes, he will be punished with one hundred strokes of the cane, tattooed on the face, and exiled to the army!"

The village scribes were on pins and needles.

"Bang!"

Wang Chunzhong slammed his gavel: "I didn't care about the taxes from previous years, but if this year's summer tax isn't collected on time, don't blame me for bringing up old scores. Most of you come from third-class households, some even from fourth-class households. Don't risk your lives for the sake of first- or second-class households!"

The village scribes became anxious and uneasy.

Village scribes did indeed serve in rotation, but there was no uniform national regulation on how often they would rotate. Most rotated every two or three years, but some rotated every five or six years.

Most of them came from third-class families, and although they were literate, they couldn't pass the imperial examinations to become scholars. As village scribes, they received no salary and had to rely on illicit income to make money, easily gaining the favor of first- and second-class families.

So much so that some people made their fortunes as village scribes and were regarded as wealthy by the villagers.

Wang Chunzhong added, "Even if you have hidden land, it's not much. If you honestly help me collect taxes, I will definitely speak on your behalf when Judge Xu investigates the land holdings. If you don't collect the summer taxes well, not only will Judge Xu punish you severely, but I will also make sure you don't get away with it!"

After saying this, Wang Chunzhong waved his sleeves, telling the village scribes to get lost.

The village scribes hurriedly left the inner office and went to an empty clerk's quarters in the outer office to discuss the matter.

"What should we do? The first and second-class households are fighting with the county magistrate, and we're stuck in the middle, unable to afford to offend either side."

"Not just the county magistrate, but also Tiger Xu is coming!"

"No matter how capable Judge Xu and the county magistrate are, they are still just officials in transit. If we offend the local gentry by helping them, we will probably have a hard time making a living in the future."

"But if we don't help the judge and the magistrate, we'll have no future. Once the hidden land is discovered, we'll all be considered accomplices, branded, exiled, or sent to the army!"

"Do these officials really dare to investigate all the farmland in the county?"

"Others may not dare, but what is there that Tiger Xu wouldn't dare to do?"

"Ugh, I can't live like this anymore!"

'

"The village scribes also have it tough. They've been literate for so many years, but they've completely forgotten how to farm. They come from third- or fourth-class families, and they can't rely entirely on tenant farming for their land. They have to farm themselves to have enough to eat."

There is no salary for being a village scribe, and they have to be off work all year round. If they don't earn extra money, how will they survive?

The first and second-class households were local gentry; how could they dare to oppose them? They could only go along with them.

Now caught between the government and the local gentry, they can't afford to offend either side, and they can't even be neutral. They must quickly choose a side, or both sides will turn against them.

The discussion became increasingly heated.

"It seems we have no choice but to grit our teeth and bear it. The officials are afraid that tax collection will cause trouble, so they might back down."

"Do you think Xu Laohu will back down? Last year, he got rid of seven Beijing officials, fourteen candidates, and hundreds of clerks!"

I heard that the emperor and several prime ministers are protecting him.

"I've heard about it too. Xu Laohu is apparently the son-in-law of some prime minister. After finishing his judgment, he's being transferred back to the capital to get married. It's true that the Wang family produced a prime minister, but that prime minister is long dead. How can he compare to the current prime minister?"

"So what if he's the prime minister's son-in-law? He'll be transferred in a year or two at most. I'd rather be exiled than suffer retaliation from the local tyrants."

"Do you think that exile and military service will protect your family and property? Take Li Jian for example—"

"Why are you talking about me?"

"Let me give you an example. Li Jian's family has four brothers, and their land holdings are only about a hundred mu, and even including hidden land, it's only a little over two hundred mu. If his elderly mother were to pass away—"

"Your mother just passed away!"

"I already said this was just an example. If his mother were to pass away, wouldn't his brothers fight over dividing the inheritance? If it were divided equally, each family would only get fifty or sixty mu of land. He himself has been exiled to the army; when it comes time to divide the inheritance, who will care about his wife and children? Even without the wealthy families seizing the land, his own brothers will bully his wife and children!"

"Bullshit, my brothers are all on my side."

"They're on your side now because you're a village clerk, which brings them benefits. If you become a convict or exile, what will they think? If the family property is divided again, won't they want to take your share? Will your wife and children be able to protect the land?"

"I—I—then what do you suggest we do?"

"have no idea."

"Why don't we go ask Clerk Li first? He's on duty today."

Li Yashi's real name was Li Shoucheng. Although he was a veteran official, he was just a lazy bum.

Because he had previously been a clerk in the county government, responsible for copying various documents and for a time managing various miscellaneous tasks. Above him were a bunch of clerks and clerks, so no matter how hard he tried, it was difficult for him to be promoted.

Unexpectedly, a case involving a change of administration last year resulted in the dismissal of most of his subordinates. They were either exiled, imprisoned, or dismissed or demoted.

Because Li Shoucheng had no faults, wrote well, and was familiar with county government affairs, he was promoted to clerk in a daze.

On his second day as a clerk, someone came to deliver money.

He dared not accept it, yet dared not refuse it.

So they accepted it but didn't use it.

Write down every single donation from whom the money came, then place the money under the bed and instruct your wife not to touch it. If the matter comes to light, immediately hand it over to the authorities and seek leniency.

This person has been traumatized by Xu Laohu.

"How am I supposed to know what to do?"

Faced with the requests for advice from the village scribes, Li Shoucheng stared blankly at them.

After thinking for a moment, Li Shoucheng said, "You all go back first. I'll discuss it with the other clerks first."

A county may have 2 to 8 bailiffs, depending on the specific circumstances of the county.

For example, Qingyuan County only had two yashi (security officers). However, the counties under the jurisdiction of Kaifeng Prefecture certainly had eight yashi.

In the novel *Water Margin*, Song Jiang was a clerk who took turns managing daily affairs. In some large counties, there were clerks in charge of specific matters, such as the "grain and fodder clerk" who was in charge of grain and fodder.

There were only four clerks in Yucheng County. When they got together, they couldn't come to any conclusions for a while.

They didn't have any old grievances that the county magistrate could use against them, because they were all "newcomers" who had only been promoted last year. Similarly, they didn't have deep ties with the local wealthy families.

"In my opinion, we should not help each other and just do our jobs well."

A clerk named Liu Zhuo said, "We do whatever our superiors tell us to do, and we absolutely cannot go against them. If a local tycoon comes to ask for favors, we should refuse if we can, and if we can't refuse, we should pretend to be stupid."

Some nodded, while others hesitated.

Liu Zhuo, who usually kept a low profile, suddenly added after saying these words: "Only by outlasting Judge Xu and Magistrate Wang will we truly be the ruler of Yucheng County!"

The clerks were all stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening and their blood boiled with excitement.

Yes, those officials will be transferred sooner or later. What does their suppression of powerful clans have to do with us clerks? We were just low-ranking officials before, and we never received many benefits from the powerful clans.

As long as they don't spill blood on us, the more they suppress those powerful clans, the better!

In that case, whatever the powerful families want to do, they'll have to rely on us clerks. Once the powerful officials are transferred, won't the county government become the domain of the clerks? Won't the entire Yucheng County be ruled by the clerks?

The clerk named Liu Zhuo continued, "Our strength is still very weak right now; we were all promoted last year. We only need to remember two things."

"Tell me quickly, which two things?"

"First, we must unite. Whether facing superiors or powerful clans, we must remain united. We must not be swayed or divided by outsiders! What we need to do is make the county government an impenetrable wall! No matter if it's a visiting official or a powerful clan, no one should be allowed to interfere!"

"And the second one?"

"Secondly, we must quickly cultivate our own power base. Let's mark out our territories today and each of us recruit our subordinates. If conflicts arise in the future, we can sit down together and discuss solutions. We, the clerks, must never fight amongst ourselves."

"That's a good idea. In the future, if anything happens, we can all discuss it together."

"Yes, Brother Liu is the best at making decisions. From now on, we'll all listen to you!"

"Don't worry, I guarantee I'll handle things fairly and won't let you suffer any injustice. Once we outlast Judge Xu and Magistrate Wang, the county government will be ours. Those powerful clans are nothing but a nobody. I've had my eye on them for a long time!"

'

Snakes have their ways, rats have their ways, and even petty officials have their own ways.

One can only say that the next magistrate of Yucheng is in luck.

Let us observe three minutes of silence for him.

The next day, the clerks secretly summoned the village clerks and asked them to cooperate with the county government in creating tax collection books.

The clerks also warned the village scribes: never anger the county magistrate, because if a powerful family wanted to retaliate, the clerks would help them.

The village clerks finally breathed a sigh of relief and obediently cooperated with Wang Chunzhong in collecting taxes.

Not only that, the clerks even proactively approached the county magistrate, offering to send their trusted confidants to help with the land survey, in order to expedite the process!

When Xu arrived in Yucheng County, the local officials who assisted him in checking the fields were all hardworking and willing to do their jobs diligently.

It hits exactly where you point it, and it works very well.

This left Xu Lai completely baffled: Am I that charismatic? Or is it because of my fearsome reputation that even officials from other counties are willing to obey my commands?

Who cares, as long as it works!

(There will be an extra chapter today, updated around 10 AM. Also, please vote with your monthly tickets.)