Chapter Ninety: My grievance is the unequal division of wealth and poverty!

By the time they had gone to Shitai, the year was already drawing to its close. It had been fortunate that they had been delayed there, for now it was already the second day of the New Year, and the county yamen was on holiday rest. Li Yun could not linger too long. After saying a few words, he rose to take his leave, smiling as he said, “It’s the New Year. I won’t trouble Your Honor any longer. Farewell.”

Magistrate Xue looked up at him, considered it for a moment, then stood as well. He drew a gold nugget from his sleeve and held it out before Li Yun. “Since you were sent out on official duty over the New Year, take this as compensation.”

In this age, neither gold nor silver served as everyday currency; in truth, they were not commonly used at all. Copper cash remained the most common medium of exchange, and silk bolts were used even more often than that.

Gold, on the other hand, was mostly for rewarding others, since it was easy to carry on one’s person.

Li Yun did not stand on ceremony. He reached out and accepted it, smiling. “Then I’ll take it as a New Year gift from Your Honor.”

Magistrate Xue laughed helplessly and patted Li Yun on the shoulder. Then, with a sudden change of subject, he said, “Gu Wenchuan has moved ruthlessly and had Governor Tian and the others seized. If he has even a little thought for the people, he ought to go to Xuanzhou and serve there as acting prefect.”

“If he is bent entirely on earning merit, then he will escort Governor Tian and the others back to the capital. By then Xuanzhou will be without a chief official, and I fear some unrest will follow.”

At that, Magistrate Xue let out a long sigh. “This world grows worse by the day. Once this New Year passes, who knows what next year will look like?”

By then, Li Yun had reached the doorway of the study. He turned back to look at Magistrate Xue and said with a smile, “Has Your Honor ever heard a saying?”

Magistrate Xue laughed. “Go on, then.”

“When the bitter winter is here, spring blossoms are not far off.”

With that, Captain Li clasped his hands in farewell and turned to leave.

Magistrate Xue watched his departing figure in silence for a long while. Only when a cold wind struck him full in the face did he come back to himself, whereupon he smiled ruefully, shook his head, and went back into the study.

“That lad…”

When Li Yun returned to his courtyard, Liu Bo had already left Qingyang and gone back to Lingyang Mountain. After all, the new Ten Kings Stronghold was still in its infancy, and there were many matters that required a steady hand to manage.

When Li Yun had previously been away from Cangshan Great Stronghold, Liu Bo had handled most of the affairs there. Now, in charge of Ten Kings Stronghold, he was just as adept.

Those who remained in Qingyang were still Zhang Hu and Li Zheng. They were both members of the anti-bandit squad, and following Li Yun by his side was perfectly proper.

Since this New Year had been far from festive, and snow had fallen for several days in a row, Li Yun spent the following days doing little beyond reading in the house and warming wine with his two sworn brothers. The days passed pleasantly enough.

In the blink of an eye, more than ten days had gone by.

By then the snow in the city had melted away for the most part, and Li Yun and the others, who had been cooped up indoors through the cold, finally left the courtyard and went out onto the streets for some fresh air.

Li Yun had only been on the street for less than an hour when someone familiar from the county office called out to him.

“Captain Li!”

He turned and saw that it was one of Magistrate Xue’s old servants, so he stepped forward with a smile. “What is it, Uncle Xue?”

“The county office has a guest. He says he wants to see Captain Li. My master asked me to come fetch you.”

Li Yun had already guessed who had come. Glancing at the two men behind him, he smiled and said, “The holiday break ends tomorrow or the day after. We ought to go to the county office and pay a visit ourselves.”

The three brothers walked along the main street, one in front and two behind. Just as they reached the gate of the county office and before they had even met Magistrate Xue, a woman suddenly rushed up and seized Li Yun’s arm.

“Are you Captain Li? Are you Captain Li?”

Li Yun stared in bewilderment. “I am Li Zhao. And you are?”

The woman clung to him and began to wail that her husband had scarcely been home at all during the New Year. Only two days earlier had he returned. When she went to ask his fellow workers, she learned that the anti-bandit squad had issued a bonus before the New Year, as much as five or six strings of cash, and that her husband had lost every last coin gambling over the holiday.

Li Yun was utterly baffled.

So Magistrate Xue had summoned him here for this?

Just as he was standing there in confusion, Magistrate Xue came out from the rear office. Seeing Li Yun, he frowned and said, “What are you standing around the front office for? Wenchuan has been waiting an hour!”

Only then did Li Yun react. He hurriedly shook the woman off and said, “Go find Chen Da. Go find Chen Da!”

“Have Chen Da speak with your husband. If your husband cannot kick the gambling habit, then from now on Chen Da can simply bring the anti-bandit squad’s pay directly to your home!”

With that, he followed behind Magistrate Xue and trotted all the way into the rear office. Once inside, he smiled and asked, “Your Honor, is Mister Wenchuan going back to the capital?”

Magistrate Xue nodded silently.

“Heh. So I really did guess right.”

Magistrate Xue said nothing. Taking Li Yun with him, he led the way to his study. Inside, Gu Yuan, Gu Wenchuan, dressed in a scholar’s robe, was leisurely drinking tea. Li Yun stepped forward and saluted with clasped hands. “Greetings, Mister Wenchuan.”

Hearing Li Yun’s voice, Mister Gu set down his teacup, raised a hand, and smiled. “Sit, sit. Let’s talk after you sit.”

Li Yun took a seat as instructed. Gu Wenchuan studied him for a moment, then smiled and said, “Brother Li is brave and resourceful. You truly did much in Shitai this time. Are you really not planning to go with this old man to the capital and make your mark?”

Li Yun smiled and shook his head. “I am grateful for your high regard, sir, but I truly have no such ambition.”

“What a pity.”

Mister Gu shook his head, looking genuinely regretful.

After lowering his gaze to sip some tea, he said, “Once I return to the capital, I should still have a chance to meet the commissioner sent to Xuanzhou. When I do, I will certainly put in a few good words for you and see that he makes use of you.”

“To make your mark in Xuanzhou as well would still be your service to the realm, Brother Li.”

Li Yun answered neither humbly nor arrogantly, only offering thanks.

Only then did Mister Gu turn to look at Magistrate Xue. With a sigh, he said, “Brother Yueji, given the state of Xuanzhou, I ought originally to remain here and temporarily oversee affairs. But matters in the court are even more urgent. For the sake of the overall situation, and so that the truth of Xuanzhou’s affairs may be brought to light as soon as possible, I have no choice but to depart for the capital today.”

“In Xuanzhou City, I have left a deputy prefect behind, commanding him to redeem his crimes through merit and temporarily manage Xuanzhou’s affairs.”

“However, since we have arrested so many people this time, there may well be further trouble in Xuanzhou. Brother Yueji, keep a close eye on things there. If anything happens, report it to the court at once. Do not let matters spiral out of control.”

After a pause, Mister Gu continued, “The new governor has been dispatched in haste and should arrive within a month or two. During this interval, Brother Yueji, I ask you to bear a little extra burden.”

When Li Yun heard this, he glanced at Magistrate Xue. The two exchanged a look, and only then did Magistrate Xue speak.

“Brother Wenchuan, I am only the magistrate of Qingyang. I can barely keep one county in order. The rest is beyond my reach.”

“You need not concern yourself with the rest, Brother Yueji. You need only assist the court in keeping watch over that deputy prefect awaiting punishment, and make sure he does not act recklessly during this time.”

After thinking it over, Magistrate Xue finally nodded.

“This humble official will not shirk the duty.”

Thus the three of them ate lunch together in the rear office of Qingyang County.

In the afternoon, Gu Wenchuan set out in his carriage and left Qingyang. Li Yun and Magistrate Xue escorted him for several li beyond the county town, to where they watched his carriage gradually disappear into the distance.

“Your Honor sees through affairs like a divine oracle. Mister Gu truly did not have the slightest thought for the people.”

With his hands behind his back, Magistrate Xue walked toward Qingyang and gave another long sigh.

“Matters must always be divided by urgency and importance,” Captain Li said with a chuckle.

“Yes. Overthrowing one’s political enemies is naturally both the most important and the most urgent.”

Magistrate Xue was at a loss for words. A little annoyed, he waved his hand.

“Enough. We’re going back to Qingyang!”

Meanwhile, while Captain Li of Qingyang County was seeing off the imperial envoy, in Shanyan County of Yuezhou, some five hundred li away, a middle-aged man named Qiu Dian, whose clothes were somewhat worn, was leading the farmers from his own village and neighboring villages in repairing the county walls.

This was called corvée labor, and it could be set against taxes.

Every household had to send someone, and at times they even had to bring their own dry rations.

This assignment from the authorities was urgent, for the whole Eastern Circuit of Jiangnan was now rife with bandits, and the name of the Hexi bandits had spread throughout all of Jiangnan.

The local officials also wanted to strengthen the city walls to prevent thieves like the Hexi bandits from breaking into the city and slaughtering them.

By afternoon, as the wall work was underway, a light rain began to fall from the sky. One after another, two villagers slipped from the battlements and fell, both left bloody and badly hurt.

As the leader, Qiu Dian could only go and negotiate with the yamen runners, asking that the injured men be sent home to recuperate first, but the request was flatly refused.

Qiu Dian, with his fiery temper, flew into a rage at once. He snatched the saber from the runner’s waist, and with his enormous natural strength, he drove a single blow straight through the man.

That very day, Qiu Dian led more than a hundred people from his village into Shanyan County, killed everyone in the county office, and successfully seized the county seat.

To become a rebel was a highly technical matter, because you had to make it perfectly clear to everyone that you were rebelling.

And usually, you had to come up with a few slogans too; at the very least, something catchy and memorable.

That afternoon, after taking the county town, Qiu Dian climbed the city tower and faced the people of Shanyan County, lifting his arm high as he shouted his rebellion slogan.

“I hate that rich and poor are not equal; today I shall make them equal for you!”

Once those words were spoken, responses rose like a tide.

With Qiu Dian’s cry of “I shall make them equal for you!” the great uprising of eastern Zhejiang officially began with thunderous force.