After hearing Magistrate Meng’s arrangements, Constable Shi’s eyes widened, and he looked extremely excited. He immediately took out the register he had compiled yesterday from inside his robe. “My lord, so you had already made plans. What I wanted to tell you happens to coincide exactly with your own thoughts. This is the list of refugees I copied down yesterday. Counting by household, there are a total of 323 households. Counting by population, there are 1,089 people in total.”
Magistrate Meng was greatly surprised. He reached out and took the register, flipping it open to find that everything had been recorded clearly, the ink still fresh. “Why did Constable Shi suddenly think of registering the refugees?”
Constable Shi gritted his teeth but still did not tell him that this had been Li Xiaoxiao’s idea.
“My lord, I just felt that we can’t let them eat the grain from our granary for nothing. Either they return it with interest, or they settle here and repay it through their taxes over the next three to five years. Otherwise, with such a huge shortfall, how could we expect you to pay for it out of your own pocket?”
Magistrate Meng was even more surprised. He had been in office for nearly half a year, and Constable Shi was the least cooperative with his work. He often overstepped his authority and was an extremely difficult subordinate to negotiate with. He had never expected that, on this matter, Constable Shi and Meng Guanqi would actually arrive at the same conclusion, both proposing that the refugees be registered as residents of Miyang County.
It was rare for him to agree with Constable Shi, so he coughed twice. “Since that’s the case, I’ll leave this matter to you. Is there a procedure for where the refugees are to be settled?”
Constable Shi’s spirits lifted. “My lord, I only finished registering the refugees yesterday. Without your permission, I didn’t dare make decisions on my own. Please give me some time. I’ll go figure out a way with the brothers right away and decide where these refugees should be settled.”
Magistrate Meng coughed several more times. Trembling, he picked up his teacup and took a sip before barely suppressing the cough. “You aren’t skilled in administrative affairs. I’m afraid you may have difficulty coming up with a comprehensive plan. How about this? Bring the village heads from each township here. Settling the refugees will require the help of the local people.”
Constable Shi cupped his hands in acknowledgment and immediately set about carrying it out.
He worked swiftly and decisively. In less than two days, all the village heads from the five towns under Miyang County had rushed to the county office, filling the entire main hall.
Magistrate Meng’s cheeks were flushed, yet despite his illness, he met with the more than thirty village heads. He explained the county office’s decision. “In that case, our Miyang County will have to settle these 323 households among the five towns. I would like to ask all of you village heads whether you have any suggestions. Where would be the most suitable places to settle these people?”
What? More than three hundred households were going to be settled in their towns?
Under the Great Wu Dynasty, one hundred households made up one li. These more than three hundred households could directly make up three additional li. Once they settled in their towns, how much farmland would have to be divided among them? And these people were all outsiders. Who knew how many petty criminals and thieves might be among them? How could they possibly accept these people coming to take a share of their already meager land and property?
The village heads firmly kept the best land in their respective towns in their own hands. Even if they could not finish cultivating it and had to leave it lying fallow for weeds to grow, they absolutely refused to give it away. Therefore, the moment Magistrate Meng finished speaking, the entire main hall fell so silent that one could hear a pin drop. The village heads all lowered their eyes slightly and did not say a word.
Seeing this, Magistrate Meng could not help but feel troubled again. These one thousand people had no houses, no land, and no grain. If they were to settle locally, they needed the help of the various village heads. Yet now, every one of them refused to accept the proposal. What was he supposed to do?
Constable Shi glared with his tiger-like eyes and shouted, “What are you all doing? Our Miyang County has a sparse population. As far as I know, there is plenty of wasteland over in the western outskirts of Baima Town, overgrown with weeds simply because there aren’t enough hands to cultivate it. Now that people are coming to settle here, we can put those abandoned fields back into cultivation and grow grain. How can you be so selfish, willing to let the land lie fallow rather than accept these homeless refugees? They have families to support too, with parents and children to feed. Their ancestors have made a living by farming for generations. They’re not some kind of flood or ferocious beast!”
The village heads were so thoroughly scolded by him that they did not even dare breathe loudly, and not a single one came forward to argue.
Magistrate Meng sighed inwardly. “Since you have no ideas, then this county magistrate will make the decision. Select ten village heads from the villages with the most wasteland. Each of you will be assigned thirty-two or thirty-three households, and you will arrange for them to settle in the villages under your jurisdiction. Each li must mobilize the villagers to help them settle down. When they build houses and clear the wasteland, have the villagers help them as well. The labor they provide will count toward this year’s corvée labor, so I will not impose any additional labor levies.”
At this, the main hall finally broke its silence. One gray-haired village head spoke up. “My lord, if each li receives another thirty-two or thirty-three households, that would mean another hundred or so people. What if they refuse to submit to our authority? What are we to do then?”
Magistrate Meng looked at him. “Once they are registered as residents, they will be under your jurisdiction. If they commit an offense or cause trouble, deal with it as you see fit. If there is something you cannot resolve, you can come to the county office and find me. I will make the decision for you.”
The village head’s expression relaxed.
“But you must also be fair and impartial,” Magistrate Meng continued. “You must not join forces with the local villagers to ostracize or bully them simply because they come from elsewhere. Since they have registered their households in Miyang County, they are now people of Miyang County. Their future taxes and corvée obligations will be no different from anyone else’s.”
The gray-haired village head spoke again. “My lord, according to the usual rules, no taxes are collected for the first three years after wasteland is cultivated. We can have the villagers help them clear the land and build houses, but how are we to solve the matter of seeds and farming tools, as well as the grain they need to eat before they obtain their first harvest?”
All the village heads in the main hall raised their heads and looked intently at Magistrate Meng. This was also the issue they were most concerned about. As long as these three problems could be solved, all they would have to do was mobilize the villagers to help clear the land and build houses. And they would not be working for free either, since they could save this year’s corvée labor. It did not seem entirely impossible.
This was yet another unavoidable expense. Even Constable Shi could not help looking at Magistrate Meng with a troubled expression. Seeds and farming tools were manageable, but enough grain to feed more than three hundred households for at least half a year was no small amount.
Miyang County was simply too poor. Every village head gathered in the main hall wore clothes patched over and over, and they were already among the better-off households in their respective li. From this alone, one could imagine how impoverished the villagers were. If they could barely scrape together enough grain to feed themselves, how could they possibly have any surplus to lend to these hundreds of outsiders?
But if the grain problem was not solved, none of the village heads would dare take these people back to their villages. What if they grew hungry and simply robbed the villagers? Once people were starving to death, they would not be able to worry about much else.
Magistrate Meng thought for a moment. “The rice this year is about to be harvested, isn’t it?”
Constable Shi was shocked. He immediately understood what Magistrate Meng meant and could not help stepping forward. “My lord!”
Was Magistrate Meng planning to lend this year’s tax grain to the refugees first?
But tax grain was different from the grain stored in the county granary. This grain had to be delivered to Prefect Song, who would then submit it to the Ministry of Revenue. If the full amount could not be delivered when the grain was due, Prefect Song could directly give Magistrate Meng a poor evaluation in his official assessment. And if the Ministry of Revenue’s grain were diverted without authorization, that would be a serious crime!
Magistrate Meng raised a hand to stop him from continuing and said gently, “I will write a letter to explain the circumstances to the Ministry of Revenue and His Majesty. If anything happens, I will bear the responsibility myself. Constable Shi, the coming days will be hard on you. According to the household register and the amount of land available, select ten village heads and divide the refugees at the city gate among them. Have these ten village heads take the people back with them. You must also supervise the progress of their household registration at all times. If there are any difficulties, come and tell me.”
Constable Shi’s face was filled with conflicting emotions, but he could not think of a better solution either, so he could only cup his hands in acknowledgment.
Several village heads stepped forward of their own accord. “My lord, several households have been removed from the household register in my village over the past six months. I am willing to accept these refugees and make up the missing households.”
Magistrate Meng was pleased. “Excellent. Constable Shi, make a note of them first and assign the people to these village heads.”
Having received Magistrate Meng’s word, what reason did the village heads have to refuse? The rice would be harvested soon anyway. Once the tax grain was collected, they could first lend it to the newly registered refugees to eat. After they cleared the wasteland and harvested grain from it, they could repay what they had borrowed. It would take a little time, but surely they would not simply refuse to repay the debt.
Thus, the village heads readily accepted Magistrate Meng’s arrangement and all followed behind Constable Shi toward the city gate.
They had not gone very far when they saw Magistrate Meng’s attendant, Zhao Jian, rushing out of the county office at full speed and running ahead with long strides.
“Young man, stop!” Constable Shi called out, frowning. “Why are you running so fast?”
Zhao Jian’s face was full of anxiety. Seeing the village heads behind Constable Shi all looking at him curiously, he leaned close to Constable Shi’s ear and said, “Magistrate Meng fainted! My father told me to hurry and fetch Doctor Xie.”
Constable Shi’s expression turned solemn. “Go!”
Zhao Jian did not dare stop at all and immediately ran toward Huichun Hall as fast as he could.
Constable Shi glanced back toward the county office and sighed inwardly. With a magistrate like this, he could not even bring himself to get angry.
Such a good-natured man, with such a soft heart, how could he possibly serve as a magistrate?
But was he really doing anything wrong?
Constable Shi’s thoughts warred within him. He had been in office for twelve years and had served under four county magistrates. There had been those who ignored everything, those who racked their brains to invent all kinds of fees and squeeze the people dry, and those who fawned upon the powerful and trampled on the weak. Yet he had never encountered anyone like Magistrate Meng, who was willing to put himself in a desperate situation just to save refugees who had nothing whatsoever to do with him, spending money and grain while even making himself sick in the process.
In the end, Constable Shi could only sigh. Forget it. For all his faults, a soft-hearted magistrate was still better than those previous magistrates who cared about nothing but advancing their careers and currying favor with their superiors. At least Magistrate Meng genuinely cared about the people under his jurisdiction.
Magistrate Meng was ill, and Miyang County did not even have a deputy magistrate. So the matters that followed would have to be handled by him, the chief constable!
Constable Shi brought the ten village heads to the city gate and loudly announced Magistrate Meng’s decision. The refugees who had been registered would officially become residents of Miyang County starting today. Families who knew one another could stay together. Each village head would be assigned thirty-two households, while the three extra households would each choose a different village head. They would immediately follow their respective village head back to the towns and settle there.
The refugees at the city gate were overjoyed. They had all been driven into a dead end, and now they could actually register their households directly in Miyang County. With a village head to oversee them, they no longer had to worry about having nowhere to stay or fear starving to death.
Thus, the city gate became a cacophony of voices. The constables went back and forth assigning people to the village heads. Some of the refugees who had arrived in Miyang County more than a month ago had already become acquainted with one another. They immediately gathered together, chose a village head, packed up their belongings, and followed closely behind him, afraid that he might leave without them.
Constable Shi shouted himself hoarse for quite some time before finally finishing the assignments. He then registered every household assigned to each village head before allowing them to leave.
Li Xiaoxiao sat in a tree, watching the lively scene on the official road. The refugees carried the few belongings they had left on their backs and happily followed behind the village heads toward the villages where they would settle down.
Refugees kept passing by. They saw her sitting in the tree, as well as the old ox leisurely grazing beneath it, but their hearts and minds were filled entirely with anticipation for their new lives, and they had no time even to greet her.
Li Xiaoxiao jumped down from the tree and glanced toward the road they had come from. Almost everyone had already left. It seemed that Constable Shi had managed to convince Magistrate Meng to register all the refugees as residents of Miyang County.
It was getting late, and the ox had finished eating. Only then did Li Xiaoxiao put the cart back onto the ox’s back and flick the whip lightly. “Old Ox, let’s go home~”
The old ox set off at a steady pace, chewing its cud as it headed toward the city gate.
…
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