The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 716 - 705: Adding Fuel to the Fire

Chapter 716: Chapter 705: Adding Fuel to the Fire

The newly appointed military governor, the provincial governor, and County Magistrate Tang worked together tirelessly, deploying a mix of soft and hard tactics to coax various families into relinquishing a considerable amount of farmland to settle displaced refugees.

However, in comparison to Luojiang County, the farmland they offered was akin to squeezing an already dry sheep of its milk: one must pause for a long while and then squeeze hard in the hopes of extracting even a single drop.

This time, the legal dispute between the Ji Family and the Ying Family was unexpected — so unexpected that County Magistrate Tang, with just a squeeze, wrung out a large bowl of sheep’s milk, leaving not only him but also the military governor and provincial governor completely astonished.

For the past few days, both parties had been as quiet as chickens, silently bearing the pressure coming from all directions.

Having land is all well and good, but what use is it without people?

With no one to work it, no matter how much land you have in your possession, it won’t transform into food or silver coins.

County Magistrate Tang, who occasionally visited rural areas to encourage farming and sericulture, had seen how the tenant farmers and servants of large families cultivated the land. With an abundance of land but a scarcity of workers, fields were sparsely sown — barring the exceptionally fertile lands which were carefully tilled — and most lay fallow.

The grand masters of these estates were not in a rush; they would buy or hire people to cultivate the land, but in very small numbers.

County Magistrate Tang knew what they were waiting for.

When winter came and the weather turned cold, the work diminished, and the number of kind souls willing to share food and money decreased. Tens of thousands of refugees in and around Yizhou City, without a roof over their heads or food to fill their stomachs, what then?

At that time, just a bowl of rice and a soft whisper would be enough to transform all these people into "hidden households."

"Hidden households" certainly could not be considered as people, for they lacked household registration, even worse off than refugees — they were entirely unregistered.

As such, their employers could set wages on a whim, extract rent as they pleased without having to pay the individual tax on their behalf.

Think being a servant is so easy?

The taxes for serfs are paid by their masters.

As for tenant farmers, there’s a cap on the amount of rent they can be charged. Although the authorities wouldn’t investigate unless a complaint was filed, having a reputation for extracting sixty or seventy percent of the produce as rent, while leaving only thirty or forty percent to the tenant farmers, would certainly tarnish a family’s reputation.

Which noble lineage doesn’t cherish its reputation?

But with "hidden households," it’s altogether different — they are not regarded as people!

Town Magistrate Tang, himself a scion of a great family, might have been ignorant of such matters before. But having served as a county magistrate for over two years, and with the combined experience of adjudicating cases, annually handling the refugee situation, listening to a mixture of true and false information, as well as his father’s reminders, he found it difficult to remain unaware.

He had no jurisdiction over other places, but just as Yang Heshu said, "In their position, they must pursue their duties." As the paternal official of Huayang County, it was his responsibility to manage well his "acre and three-quarters of land."

The thought of thousands, even tens of thousands, becoming hidden households, and the consequent loss of benefits to both the court and the common people, made County Magistrate Tang want to thwack himself on the head with his official seal.

This time, having suddenly acquired so much "uncultivated land" and having generously organized a free clinic initiative, he almost seemed to be winning over everyone’s hearts. It was only then that the other families could no longer sit still.

Their lands could remain uncultivated for two, three years, or even four or five years, but if they truly couldn’t find anyone to work them and they lay fallow for seven or eight years, then they would indeed become barren.

That’s why the families started taking action, either by buying people or luring them to become hidden households, with the priority on getting people in hand first and foremost.

Though County Magistrate Tang had chosen to turn a blind eye, it didn’t mean he would allow them to act so brazenly. He pondered for a moment and then said, "In the coming days, have people patrol all areas more frequently. If any refugees disappear without reason, look into it carefully and warn them not to overreach."

"Yes."

After a pause, the steward added, "Moreover, my lord, today I heard a rumor that some refugees with registration but without allocated land are planning to head to Luojiang County after the clinic, hoping that County Magistrate Yang will give them land."

County Magistrate Tang was taken aback and asked, "Has Yang Heshu started poaching people from my jurisdiction?"

The steward remained silent, fully aware that his lord shared not only a scholarly background with the magistrate of Luojiang County but also a childhood friendship, having deliberately chosen nearby counties for their appointments.

Such conflicts were better left untouched by him.

County Magistrate Tang, after his initial shock, shook his head, saying, "That doesn’t make sense; even if he wanted to poach people, he wouldn’t dare to do so brazenly. Did you find out where this rumor started?"

"I didn’t," replied the steward. "This news was just overheard by the folks beneath us. The lord knows how these refugees tend to avoid detection."

County Magistrate Tang stroked his chin in deep thought, then shook his head again, saying, "Yang Heshu is very shrewd. With the current chaos in Yizhou City, he wouldn’t get involved. Could it be someone is trying to sow discord between us?"

"My lord, should I send someone to dispel these rumors?"

County Magistrate Tang thought for a moment, then shook his head, saying, "Let it be, let them spread the word. If they really do go to Luojiang County, it’s not a bad thing. It’s better than them becoming hidden households for those families. Hmm, actually, spread the word in every corner, emphasizing County Magistrate Yang’s benevolence; such a good county magistrate deserves to be praised, it would be shameful otherwise."

Not just the steward, but even the attendants standing by wiped a tear of sympathy for County Magistrate Yang of Luojiang County.

The more County Magistrate Tang thought about it, the more he liked the idea, and he pushed away his cup and bowl, saying, "I’m full; bring my writing set, I’ll write a letter to Yang Heshu to air things out."

While airing things out amounted to berating him, regardless of whether Yang Heshu was involved or not, Tang intended to make it appear as if he were.

After the incident, no blame could be placed on him, for he too had been played.

Completely unaware that he had become the instigator of trouble for County Magistrate Yang, Manbao had just sent an email with an inquiry to Teacher Mo, then logged out of the system, happily curled up in his blanket, and fell into a contented sleep.

The next day, Manbao arrived at the clinic a little later than usual, coincidentally at the same time as Doctor Ji and his colleagues.

At that moment, there weren’t many queued up for treatment in the field, at most a dozen or twenty in front of each medical tent, and a quick glance revealed that most of them seemed to be returning patients, possibly for follow-up consultations.

Hence, the doctors were particularly spirited and carefree, greeting each other cordially before happily settling into their tents to see patients.

Doctor Ji walked alongside Manbao, and after glancing at the line of patients in front of her tent, which was slightly larger than theirs, he nodded with a smile and praised, "Well done, the prescriptions you’ve written have been examined by several senior doctors during their spare time, and they’re quite good."

Manbao’s eyes crinkled with a smile as she asked, "You showed them the pulse diagnosis records I wrote?"

Doctor Ji nodded slightly, "This time, other pharmacies only sent one or two doctors, but Jishi Hall has sent three, not to mention you, who specializes in female patients and are of young age. They couldn’t help but be skeptical, so your diagnosis records were shown to them to allay their concerns."

Manbao had filled an entire volume with her pulse diagnosis records, so the day before, she had given them to Doctor Ji to check for any omissions or mistakes when he had the time.

Now, receiving praise from him and other doctors, Manbao was incredibly happy — happier than if she had consumed honey.

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