Scripture of Days Past

Chapter 69: Discussion

Hao Xiangtong’s eyes were filled with curiosity and intrigue as she extended her invitation to Chu Qiguang.

How did he find out about the imperial court’s plans even before Father did? Have I been underestimating him this entire time?

At first, Hao Xiangtong had seen Chu Qiguang as nothing more than a poor boy with a talent for storytelling. Now, however, he seemed far more mysterious.

Chu Qiguang knew that the Hao Clan had taken the bait. He smiled and said, ”I would be honored to meet Clan Leader Hao.”

When he arrived at the Hao Manor, he was led into the guest hall for the first time.

Hao Wen ordered tea to be served, then dismissed all the servants, except the steward, Hao Fulai.

From there, he began speaking with Chu Qiguang, asking a series of probing questions in an attempt to figure out who his backers were.

Clearly, in Hao Wen’s eyes, Chu Qiguang must have some backers in the capital who had informed him of the imperial court’s policy decisions in advance.

According to Qiao Zhi, both Hao Wen and Wu Wei were greedy and lascivious individuals whose ambitions far exceeded their abilities. That was why they had been left behind in the county to look after their respective clans, though even then, they often caused trouble for Secretary Wu in the capital.

At the moment, they were still somewhat restrained, only leveraging Wu Siqi’s backing to do things like buy land and evade taxes, which was nothing out of the ordinary for local wealthy clans.

However, once Wu Siqi became the grand secretary, they abandoned all restraint, exploiting the people as they pleased. They claimed over eighty percent of the farmland in Azure Sun County, turning the county into a miniature kingdom.

However, just a year after Wu Siqi became the grand secretary, he personally initiated a series of major reforms on land, taxation, forced labor, and the officialdom hierarchy, among other areas.

As grand secretary, Wu Siqi’s authority was second only to the emperor’s, making him one of the most powerful backers anyone could hope for.

Chu Qiguang’s intention was to curry favor with Wu Siqi by helping the Hao Clan and the Wu Clan deal with the county magistrate. That way, he could make use of Wu Siqi’s power and influence to achieve his own future goals.

In response to Hao Wen’s probing questions, Chu Qiguang gave vague replies that didn’t reveal anything important.

Hao Wen continued pressing him, but Chu Qiguang had no intention of playing along any further, so he went straight to the point and said, ”I hear that many tenant farmers are staging an uprising in response to the county magistrate’s recent announcement. How are you planning to deal with the situation, Clan Leader Hao?”

At the moment, He Wenyan was pushing for a remeasurement of land to clarify the size, quality, and ownership rights of all the land in the county. Based on that, taxation and forced labor quotas would be recalculated for each household according to the updated land data.

The more land a household owned, the heavier its tax and forced labor burden would be. This ensured fairness and significantly reduced the pressure on the poor and the underprivileged.

However, Chu Qiguang knew that this was only a temporary fix to the deeper problem, which was the feudal system itself. Even if equality were achieved in taxation and forced labor, that still did nothing to address the disparities in wealth and power between the classes.

If the problem is to be solved at its root, then it has to be done by me.

From Qiao Zhi, Chu Qiguang knew this would turn into a farce. Over the next one or two months, the Wu Clan and the Hao Clan would do everything in their power to stall for time. In the end, even the governor of the Spirit Province would have to get involved.

Hao Wen and Wu Wei, however, were still unaware of how this would unfold. They simply believed that as long as they refused to comply, there was really nothing that He Wenyan could do.

Hao Wen didn’t answer Chu Qiguang’s question.

Just the day before, there had been a conflict on the land of the Wu Clan and the Hao Clan. He Wenyan had arrived with some of the reporting tenant farmers to measure their land, and even though Hao Wen and the others were able to keep them at bay, this was not going to be sustainable. The two clans owned a lot of land between them, and guarding all of it was unfeasible.

Unbothered by Hao Wen’s silence, Chu Qiguang said, ”I have a way to thwart the county magistrate’s plans.”

Hao Wen’s expression shifted slightly, but he still said nothing.

Hao Fulai harrumphed disdainfully. ”Don’t make promises that you can’t keep, Young Master Chu. These land, taxation, and forced labor reforms are part of national policy. This is not something to take lightly.”

Chu Qiguang ignored the steward and kept his gaze on Hao Wen as he smiled and said, ”Let’s not waste any more time on pointless small talk, Clan Leader Hao. These reforms are indeed part of national policy, but there’s no way that the imperial court can implement them across the entire empire at once.

“The Great Han Empire is vast, and the policies have to be implemented county by county, province by province. The gap between the first counties to implement the policies and the last could easily be ten or even twenty years!”

Hao Wen’s eyes lit up slightly at those words. Indeed, even if these were national policies, stalling was always going to be an effective strategy. What could He Wenyan really do if they simply refused to return the land? Perhaps if they stalled long enough for a new county magistrate to take his place, all the reforms would be permanently put on hold!

”You’re just a kid and a first-state martial artist. How could you possibly thwart the plans of the county magistrate?” Hao Fulai scoffed, still unconvinced.

Chu Qiguang glanced at Hao Fulai and sensed a trace of hostility from him.

Could it be that Hao Wen doesn’t want to play the bad guy, so he’s making his steward do it instead?

”Clan Leader Hao, I can come up with a way to make County Magistrate He back down. In return, all I ask is that you let me read the Azure Sun County Chronicles and statute records,” Chu Qiguang said.

County chronicles contained content relating to the county’s history, geography, customs, and traditions, while the statute records contained all the policy changes that had been implemented in Azure Sun County since the founding of the Great Han Empire.

Even with Accountant Li’s help, Chu Qiguang hadn’t been able to access these two documents.

Chu Qiguang wanted to go through the documents to see if there was anything unusual about the Chu Clan’s history, and also to look for leads on the Purple Mansion Sacred Scripture.

”You haven’t even come up with a plan yet, and you’re asking to read the county chronicles and statute records? What a joke!” Hao Fulai sneered. ”Don’t fall for his tricks, Master. Even all our clans combined haven’t managed to come up with a solution. There’s no way this big-mouthed brat can follow through on his empty promises!”

Chu Qiguang turned to Hao Fulai, his brows slightly furrowed. Once again, Hao Fulai was showing open hostility toward him.

Why is he targeting me? I’m certain I’ve never met him before!

”You’re saying you can come up with a plan after reading the county chronicles and statute records?” Hao Wen asked with a thoughtful expression. ”How confident are you that you can pull this off? Don’t tell me your answer. Face the direction of the Daoist temple and say it to the Profound Origin Dao Lord!”

Chu Qiguang turned toward the direction of the Daoist temple, then revealed, ”Over the past few days, I’ve studied Azure Sun County’s taxation records, and I’ve identified many problems in the county office. Once I expose those problems, County Magistrate He will surely have his hands full.”

Hao Wen was fully aware of the problems in the county’s taxation system. After all, the Hao Clan had adopted many shady tax evasion strategies over the years, and the same was true for all the county’s other wealthy clans. With so many issues piled up, there was no way any new county magistrate could resolve everything in a short time.

The problem was that each county magistrate only served a three-year term, so they simply didn’t have time to solve the taxation problems at their core. More often than not, they would leave behind new problems of their own before their successor took their place.

”If I can cross-reference the county chronicles and statute records, I’m willing to swear to the Profound Origin Dao Lord that I’m ninety percent confident in my ability to make County Magistrate He back down,” Chu Qiguang declared.

Hao Wen stared intently at Chu Qiguang, as if he were trying to see through him, but all he saw was a pair of resolute and earnest eyes.

In this day and age, a vow sworn on the name of the Profound Origin Dao Lord gave one a great deal of credibility, so Hao Wen nodded and said, ”Alright, I’ll make the arrangements.”

Following Chu Qiguang’s departure, Hao Fulai said, ”Master, Chu Qiguang is just a new student at Wise Hero Academy, and I’ve heard that his clansmen have been ordinary farmers in the Wang Clan Village for generations. Isn’t it rather risky to entrust him with such an important task?”

”There’s no risk,” Hao Wen countered. ”He’ll come up with the idea, but whether we use it or not is up to us. He’s nothing more than a pawn, and it’s the people behind him who are the key. Once he proposes his idea, we’ll know who’s giving him instructions and what their objectives are. Setting that aside, there’s a brilliant opportunity right in front of us.

“I’m going to write a shopping list, and your job is to go and buy as much of the items on that list as you can. We have to convert all our silver into things like tea leaves, pills, and salt before the trade relations with the wolf fiends are finalized. Once news gets out, the prices of these everyday necessities will surely go up by at least severalfold!”