Chapter 43: Turning Things Upside Down

  Huang Quan said, "The collection of refugees is still relatively smooth. Since the posting of the master's order, the reclaimed land belongs to the refugees, and after three years of tax exemption, the number of refugees has increased. However, the number of aristocratic families who moved from the troubled areas has decreased significantly, almost none, and there are no outsiders coming in."

  "It's as expected." Liu Zhang said: "Those aristocratic families don't think that our Yi Province is dark and terrifying, and the children of humble families, some talented people won't look down on us. Just like Fa Zheng, if you were still in Fufeng, would you come to rely on me at this time? The answer is obvious. It seems we can only develop quietly for now. However, relying on talent is an unchanging truth in chaotic times, and the four arts of holding office must be grasped tightly."

  Wang Fu said, "The governor of Jiangzhou, Dong He, is efficient in his work and has little time to waste. Not only has he sorted out the affairs of Jiangzhou, but the four departments have also made smooth progress under the intimidation of our lord's remaining prestige. There has been hardly any obstruction, except that the examination questions are a bit troublesome. It's easy to deal with scholars and generals - just ask them to write an article or engage in a martial arts match. Doctors can barely cope too."

  "It's just that those craftsmen, who can't even recognize a single character, it's impossible for them to create questions, they can only take an on-site exam. But with an on-site exam, a carpenter can be asked to do some carpentry work, a stonemason can be asked to carve a stone, but what about a pig farmer? Can't possibly ask him to feed pigs on the spot, that won't do either."

  Liu Zhang smiled and said, "You've done a decent job, not cutting off the pig farmers who grow grass. These people are very important. I think those honest peasants won't lie much either. You decide which ones seem reliable and send them to Chengdu. Even if there are some fake ones, they can't cheat us out of too much money. Later, we'll figure out how to select these extraordinary talents, such as investigating their past pig farming achievements."

  "Yes."

  "There's another point I'd like to correct, being a literati is not just about writing an article. I suggest dividing the test into two parts: one part is a political essay, to examine these literati's talent, their grasp of the overall situation and their logical thinking; the other part requires testing their historical knowledge, common sense, understanding of the various states in the Han Dynasty, military strategy and tactics must be included in the selection of generals, but can also appear in the selection of civil officials, who knows if there are any Confucian generals among them. As long as they have any special talent, they can be recruited."

  "Your Excellency, although your words are quite novel, I understand what you mean. It's all correct, but have you considered this: those examiners don't know anything about military strategy or tactics, so how can they select civil and military officials who are well-versed in the art of war?"

  Liu Zhang smiled and said, "This is nothing. As long as they sound plausible in Jiangzhou, I'm not afraid of Zhao Kuo passing the exam. I will personally go to Chengdu for the exam. Besides, one doesn't need to be proficient in military strategy to select someone who is proficient in it. It's like a fortune teller discovering talent - does that mean the fortune teller's ability surpasses that of the person they discover?"

  Fa Zheng nodded slightly, and Liu Zhang asked Wang Fu: "What about those powerful families? Have they agreed to attend the Ghost Festival ceremony five days later?"

  Wang Fu said: "Most of them have agreed, but as far as I know, after our land decree was issued, some wealthy families secretly transferred their property out of Yi Province, and are likely to move away with their entire family. Should we not stop them?"

  Liu Zhang waved his hand and let out a sigh, saying: "If you want to leave, then leave. We've already forced them to flee their homes, so there's no need to drive them to desperation. Forcing these people to stay behind with grievances in their hearts will only lead to more trouble."

  In the suburbs of Chengdu, in the middle of a vast expanse of fields, there was a small wooden house. Originally used to guard the rice during harvest time, it had now gathered over ten people dressed in fine clothes.

  These are all the young masters of the Chengdu aristocracy, who normally live in luxury and comfort. Now they are stuck in this cramped and dilapidated hut, with the scorching sun beating down on them. One of the larger men couldn't help but shout out loud: "I'm suffocating! Old Master Yan, why do we have to discuss important matters in a place like this? It's stuffy and hot, and it smells like sewage. What kind of place is this? No wonder the clan leader called me over. If he were here himself, he would have suffocated to death by now."

  "Brother Yin, don't be impatient." An elderly man with a mature and serious demeanor stood up: "We also have no choice, recently Wang Fu has been strictly monitoring us large clans, and only this place is safe."

  "Could it be that the clan elder wants to rebel against Liu Zhang?" The man with the surname Yin said loudly, and the old man hastily motioned for him to be quiet, repeatedly waving his hand: "How could I dare have such thoughts? The blood on the banks of the Jiangzhou River has not yet dried."

  "What did the old man want from us today?" another young man stood up and said.

  "Alas." The old man sighed and bowed his head: "It can't be helped, the governor of our province has always been kind and generous, but recently... he's become... In the past two months, first it was the four categories of officials, allowing those from humble backgrounds, even artisans and laborers to join us in the same hall, insulting the literati and damaging social norms. Now Wang Fu has issued a land decree and Zhang Song has issued a price control order, forcibly regulating market prices, it's simply absurd. I suppose your tribes are also suffering greatly from this?"

  After listening to the old man's words, everyone fell silent. A middle-aged man fanned himself with a fan and said: "The old man is right, this spring was cold and frosty, the cotton quality is hard, I have hoarded many fabrics, preparing to sell them at a good price in winter, now let Zhang Song make such a fuss, my fabrics are afraid of being wasted."

  "There's more." Another middle-aged man indignantly said: "Originally in early spring, over a dozen households of bankrupt farmers agreed to sell us their land after the autumn harvest. But then Wang Fu's order came and these country bumpkins immediately changed their tune. We went to the government office to reason with them, but those officials actually asked us to produce written evidence. Land buying and selling among civilians has always been done by first reaching a verbal agreement, and only then exchanging written documents. The officials can't be unaware of this, yet they ask me to produce written evidence - it's simply unreasonable."

  A big Han with the surname Yin said: "Can't your Ye family's strength even deal with these beggars?"

  "That middle-aged man scolded: 'Do you know what? These people have lost everything, and you're going to force him? Isn't that asking for trouble? No matter how powerful you are, it's useless. Moreover, Old Master Yan has already said that the blood of Jiangzhou hasn't dried yet, and those Jiangzhou aristocrats who were executed had a crime of oppressing tenant farmers. Our Ye family doesn't dare to take on this responsibility.'"

  A few people spoke in turn, expressing their unending grievances and discontent. Finally, Yin Da Han slapped the table and stood up, saying: "Let's rebel!"

  Old Master Yan hastily said, "Speak softly, speak softly. Liu Zhang is the Governor of Yi Province, with a strong military in his grasp. What can we use to rebel? Alas, I invited everyone here today not to oppose the government, but for us to think of ways to stop the Governor from continuing his evil deeds."

  "From ancient times to the present, I have never heard of the government collecting land and renting it out to poor farmers to become landlords themselves. Nor have I ever heard of the government setting market prices, and artisans and scholars taking exams together is a rare occurrence throughout history. If things continue like this, our Yi state aristocracy will be finished, everyone must think of a solution quickly."

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