After the snow, the skies cleared. Fine bamboo blinds hung beneath the eaves of the Jizhou Prefectural Office to keep out the wind, and through the gaps, three or four branches of early-blooming winter plum could be faintly seen in the courtyard.

The faint murmur of conversation drifted from the main hall. Beneath the covered corridor, guards stood in neat ranks like the formation of flying geese, clad in armor and armed with weapons, their faces stern and imposing.

The guards are arranged in the shape/order of the character for wild geese (雁).

Yet at that very moment, the clash of weapons rang out beyond the main gate.

“Who goes there? How dare you barge into Jizhou Prefectural Office!”

Hearing the fighting outside, some of the guards in the inner courtyard remained where they were to keep strict watch over the meeting hall, while the rest took up their blades and halberds and hurried outside to reinforce the others.

But those who had come were a squad of iron-clad guards armed with spears and halberds. One of the Prefectural Office soldiers was sent flying by a single kick from the armored general leading, who wore scale-patterned armor.

鳞纹甲 is armor patterned like overlapping scales.

He raised a pair of eyes brimming with ferocity. “He Jingyuan, get your ass out here!”

The Jizhou Prefecture officials who came out of the meeting hall upon hearing the commotion all showed varying degrees of surprise when they saw him.

Only Zheng Wenchang immediately shouted, “Insolent! How dare you address Daren by his given name!”

Wei Xuan sneered, not sparing him so much as a glance. As he advanced toward the meeting hall with his sword in hand, the saber at Zheng Wenchang’s waist was also drawn three inches from its sheath.

Just as the two were about to cross blades, a deep, steady voice came from inside the hall, “Wenchang, stand down.”

Zheng Wenchang glanced over his shoulder. Though he sheathed his saber, his expression remained one of fury as he faced Wei Xuan.

The corner of Wei Xuan’s mouth curled upward. He immediately raised his sword and brought it down at Zheng Wenchang. Zheng Wenchang hurriedly dodged. Seeing this, the surrounding civil officials cried out in alarm and scattered in every direction, fleeing in utter disarray.

“Did Da Gongzi come all the way here simply to make things difficult for the officials under my command?” He Jingyuan spoke at the opportune moment from his seat at the head of the hall, looking at the man below him with a trace of disappointment in his eyes.

There was no denying that Wei Yan had monopolized the affairs of state. Yet during the more than ten years he had held power, it was under his governance that the Great Yin, recovering from years of war, had been able to rest and rebuild. Though suspicious by nature, he was also exceptionally skilled at employing capable people.

How was it that Wei Yan’s son had turned out to be such a man of great ambition yet little foresight, so eager to claim credit for his accomplishments?

When Wei Xuan saw that look in his eyes, his fury only grew. Like a hyena baring its bloodied fangs, he pointed his sword at Zheng Wenchang and said, “One of your lackeys dares yap at Ben Jiangjun? Or is it that you, He Jingyuan, no longer hold any regard for the Wei family?”

He Jingyuan said, “The Prime Minister has shown He Mou the grace of recognizing and advancing One’s abilities. He Mou is merely carrying out the Prime Minister’s orders in guarding Jizhou. How could One possibly disregard the Wei family?”

He slowly raised his eyes, “Or… is what Da Gongzi really means that He Mou simply hasn’t regarded Da Gongzi highly enough?”

If this is confusing, He Jingyuan simply meant something like: “Are you really speaking on behalf of the Wei family? Or are you just personally offended because I didn't treat you with enough deference?”

Wei Xuan’s liver burned with fury at the provocation. His face twisted viciously, “How great the nerve you have! Guards, seize him and throw him in prison!”

The iron-clad guards behind him moved forward, while Zheng Wenchang and the other military officers all drew their blades and stepped in front of He Jingyuan. For a moment, both sides stood poised on the brink of violence.

He Jingyuan’s voice remained calm, “I am a third-rank court official. Even if Da Gongzi wishes to have me imprisoned, one will have to bring an imperial edict first.”

Wei Xuan sneered, “With a great battle imminent, you have obstructed military affairs. That charge alone is enough for Ben Jiangjun to execute you first and report it to the throne afterward!”

先斩后奏 — Literally, “execute first and report afterward.” It refers to authority granted to an official to punish or execute someone without first obtaining imperial approval, on the understanding that the action will be reported afterward.

He Jingyuan asked, “What military affairs has He Mou obstructed?”

Wei Xuan angrily raised a hand and pointed outside. “The soldiers of Huizhou are fighting and bleeding on the front lines, and provisions are running short. The army has ordered Taizhou and Jizhou Prefectures to requisition grain. Not only did you refuse to obey the military order, you even had the soldiers I sent to requisition grain bound and detained. He Jingyuan, are you really hoping that the rebels will take Huizhou as well?”

He Jingyuan merely said, “The defeat Da Gongzi suffered should not be borne by the common people. If Huizhou simply holds its defenses for now, it can easily hold out until the court’s grain arrives. Da Gongzi is in such a hurry to requisition grain for no other reason than to launch another attack on Chongzhou as soon as possible. Are the lives of the people in these two prefectures of no concern to Da Gongzi?”

Wei Xuan said sharply, “How could we possibly fail to requisition enough grain? It was nothing more than that rabble of commoners refusing to hand theirs over. Taizhou Prefecture said the same thing before—that it couldn’t requisition enough grain. And yet in the end, didn’t they still manage to gather a hundred thousand shi?”

At the mention of Taizhou, a look of grief crossed He Jingyuan’s face. He rebuked him, “Killing people and seizing the grain they had set aside as seed for next year to use as military provisions—is that what Da Gongzi calls ‘requisitioning grain’?”

Wei Xuan said coldly, “So long as we wipe out the rebels, the entire Northwest can rest and recover. What is wrong with enduring a little suffering now in exchange for lasting prosperity?”

He Jingyuan asked him, “Does Da Gongzi know how many lives were lost in Taizhou and Jizhou because of the so called ‘temporary suffering’? Once word reaches the capital, how many scholars and candidates will condemn the Prime Minister in speech and in writing?”

Wei Xuan’s face twisted viciously. “Once the rebels are wiped out, what do any of those things matter? Right now, the rebels know that since Huizhou’s supply route has been cut off, there won’t possibly be any another attack on Chongzhou anytime soon. Their guard will be down. All Ben Jiangjun needs to do is dispatch troops as soon as possible and catch them off guard! With the military victories under my name, all those voices will be drowned out!”

He Jingyuan let out a long sigh, “Da Gongzi, please heed one word of advice from Xia Guan. This realm belongs to the people of Great Yin. We have not yet reached the point of utter desperation. Do not drive the people to such extremes and leave the people of the realm disheartened.”

Wei Xuan merely gave a cold snort, “Womanly compassion!”

妇人之仁 — Literally, “the benevolence of a woman.” It is a dismissive expression for excessive softness or compassion that prevents someone from making the harsh decisions deemed necessary in warfare or politics.

He said harshly, “If you continue defying, Ben Jiangjun will exercise the authority as the Military Commisioner and strip you of your official seal!”

He Jingyuan stared at him for a long moment. Then he raised a hand and removed the official hat from his head. “Then, Da Gongzi, take back Xia Guan’s official seal.”

Zheng Wenchang and the other officials hurriedly cried out in unison, “Daren, you must not!”

Wei Xuan had always been stubborn and willful, unable to stand the slightest provocation. He immediately let out a cold laugh, “The court officials are always saying that Xie Zheng is the pillar holding up the Northwest. Yet without him, isn’t the entire Northwest doing perfectly well now? He Jingyuan, did you really think Ben Jiangjun wouldn’t dare strip you of your seal? You give yourself far too much credit!”

He stepped forward and took the large official seal of the Jizhou Prefecture Governor directly from the desk. Raising it high in his hand, he looked toward the officials of the Jizhou Prefectural Office and ordered provocatively, “Go requisition grain for Ben Jiangjun at once. If I don’t see a hundred thousand shi of grain by noon tomorrow, bring me your heads!”

The officials below exchanged uneasy glances, all looking troubled.

He Jingyuan, seated at the head of the hall, simply closed his eyes heavily.

·•—–٠✤٠—–•·

When word of another grain requisition reached Lin’an Town, the townspeople were all groaning in distress, though Fan Changyu had no idea what had happened.

It was only when she went to the county seat to deliver meat to Fat Shopkeeper and Yixiang Restaurant that she heard the Jizhou Prefecture government had undergone a complete upheaval. That upright magistrate surnamed He had been stripped of his post and placed under guard, while groups of people from the main city of Jizhou Prefecture had gone to the gates of the Jizhou Prefectural Office to protest. More than a hundred of them had been arrested and thrown into prison.

Under the military authorities’ harsh suppression, the people no longer dared to protest. But the amount of grain the government was demanding from each household was truly staggering.

Farmers had brought out even the grain they had saved as seed, and it still was not enough to meet their households’ quotas of military provisions.

The soldiers had a simple solution: if they did not have enough grain, they could pay money instead.

And if they had no money? Whether they borrowed it or stole it was none of the government’s concern. All the authorities had to do was keep up the pressure.

Many farmers, driven to the end of their tether, simply took to the hills and became bandits.

The soldiers were also the sort to bully the weak and fear the strong. They could swagger and throw their weight around when dealing with unarmed commoners, but when faced with bandits and outlaws in the hills, they would avoid provoking them whenever possible.

Unable to collect enough grain from the farmers, and unable to squeeze much money out of them either, the soldiers began going door to door among the town’s merchants and shopkeepers, extorting whatever money they could.

Each household was charged according to the number of people in it, one tael of silver per person. That meant Fan Changyu’s household had to pay three taels.

The entire town erupted in an uproar. In the past, when people could pay to avoid military conscription, it had only cost two tael of silver to buy out one person. Now the levy for grain was even more expensive than the conscription fee. For households that were already poor and had a whole brood of children, this was practically driving them onto a dead end.

One household in town simply went out and bought wine, diluted it with water in front of the soldiers, and gave each person in the family a bowl. They bluntly declared that they had neither money nor grain. If the soldiers continued to force them, they would have no choice but to die and be done with it.

Fan Changyu now had a way to make money, so paying the three taels of silver was not a problem for her. But there were plenty of households in town, just like hers had once been, that could not scrape together that much silver even by emptying their entire savings.

The people spontaneously organized themselves and went to kneel outside the county office, refusing to leave. Yet the magistrate did not even show his face.

After hearing more and more news like this, Fan Changyu could not shake the heavy feeling in her heart.

That evening, she held the Analects in her hands, but no matter how hard she tried, she could not bring herself to read. She turned to look at Xie Zheng, only to find him holding a brush and making annotations on the pages, his expression calm and composed, as though he remained entirely untouched by the turmoil outside.

She pressed her lips together and said, “The government’s latest grain requisition is practically treating the people like they aren’t even human.”

Xie Zheng’s brush never stopped moving. He merely said, “The government wouldn’t be charging one tael of silver per person as a grain levy.”

There was a faint chill in his voice, almost imperceptible.

Fan Changyu was puzzled. “Why wouldn’t they? Wasn’t it the government officials who went door to door demanding it?”

After finishing his annotations on the page, Xie Zheng finally set down his brush, “There are 200,000 households in Jizhou, totaling 800,000 people. At one tael of silver per person, the entire prefecture could collect eight hundred thousand taels of silver. Last autumn, grain sold for only seven or eight hundred wen per shi. Even with the war now underway, its market price has not exceeded one tael per shi. 800,000 taels of silver could buy at least 800,000 shi of grain. This grain requisition is only meant to meet an emergency at the front. They have no need for that much grain.”

By the end, a chilling coldness had seeped into his dark eyes.

Even if Wei Xuan were as stupid as a pig, he could not possibly be ordering the forcible requisition of 800,000 shi of grain from Jizhou Prefecture.

His eagerness to requisition grain this time could only mean that, before Wei Yan stripped him of his military authority, he intended to take advantage of Chongzhou’s postwar lull and catch them off guard, turning the tide in his favor.

They only needed 200,000 shi of grain to hold out until the court’s provisions arrived.

Taizhou Prefecture had already supplied 100,000 shi, so Jizhou only needed to requisition another hundred thousand.

Forcibly taking 800,000 shi—how was that any different from openly looting the people?

Push the people to the brink, and they might well rise up with whatever weapons they could find, or even defect to the rebel prince in neighboring Chongzhou.

After hearing him run through the numbers, Fan Changyu also felt that the government’s method of requisitioning grain was far too outrageous. Yet she remained puzzled. “But it really was the soldiers themselves who came to demand the money. Surely those soldiers couldn’t be so brazen as to deliberately collect more than they were supposed to?”

Xie Zheng said, “The soldiers wouldn’t dare. The people above them might.”

Embezzlement had long been commonplace in the imperial court. When the Ministry of Works received funds from the treasury to repair roads and build canals, or when relief funds were allocated for disaster victims, officials large and small would take their cuts layer by layer, until only a pitiful fraction of the original sum remained to actually be put to use.

Tax collection worked the same way. The tax rates set by the court were inviolable, and the officials below would not dare alter them. If they wanted to line their own pockets, they could only impose various commercial and grain taxes on the people at inflated rates.

Fan Changyu was no fool either. Hearing this, she immediately clenched her palm, “You mean it’s very possible that the county magistrate—or perhaps an even higher-ranking official—is using this opportunity to squeeze the people for their hard-earned wealth?”

Xie Zheng said, “Wouldn’t we know by looking at how much military grain the other counties are collecting?”

Fan Changyu said, “When I go to the county seat to deliver the goods tomorrow, I’ll see if I can run into people from the other counties. If I do, I’ll ask them.”

If the other counties were not collecting nearly as much, then the magistrate of Qingping County was using this opportunity to line his own pockets!

Xie Zheng merely nodded without a word.

Fan Changyu had already begun yawning, but he picked up his brush again, seemingly intending to continue annotating the book.

Fan Changyu watched his cool, aloof profile in the candlelight and could not help saying, “Don’t write too late. You’ll strain your eyes. You can finish it tomorrow.”

Xie Zheng gave a quiet “en”, but did not stop writing.

He had originally thought He Jingyuan would be able to keep Wei Xuan in check. He had not expected He Jingyuan to be brought under Wei Xuan’s control instead.

After thinking through the reasons, a trace of mockery surfaced in his cold, dark eyes.

The 200,000 shi of grain Zhao Xun had purchased had already been taken over by his men. He Jingyuan’s people had been unable to trace it, and, suspecting that Xie Zheng was behind it, had deliberately allowed Wei Xuan to act as he pleased, hoping to force Xie Zheng to reveal himself, perhaps?

So much for the “great Confucian general” renowned for loving the people as his own children.

His supposed death had been reported for so long, and the entire Northwest had already descended into chaos. At a time like this, they absolutely could not afford to let the Beijue people take advantage of the situation. He had to go back.

As his brush continued to lay down neat, upright characters, the corner of his eye caught her shadow falling across the desk.

In his cool, clear voice, he asked, “Your birthday is this month. What would you like?”

Fan Changyu let out a soft “Ah?” and only realizing what he meant a moment later. “I appreciate the kind thought, but my parents only passed away before the New Year. I won’t be celebrating my birthday this year.”

The tip of Xie Zheng’s brush paused briefly. “Make one wish anyway. Consider it a birthday gift for the future year.”

Fan Changyu said, “Why does that sound so strange? If it’s a birthday gift for the future year, you can just give it then. Why ask me now…?”

She stopped midsentence.

Looking again at the dense annotations covering the pages, the smile slowly faded from her face.

“You’re leaving, aren’t you?”