HLnovel Chapter 212 Blatant Robbery
Chapter 212 Blatant Robbery
After Meng Fuqing entered Jing'an Prefecture alone on horseback, she was intercepted by soldiers. When she showed them a token with only the character "Qing" on it, the soldiers knelt down.
She couldn't help but raise her eyebrows. She hadn't received such treatment when she left Jing'an Prefecture before. Could something have happened in the prefecture?
Despite her confusion, Meng Fuqing did not linger there and returned to the prefectural city without stopping.
To everyone's surprise, as soon as the token was issued, the people at the city gate knelt down.
After returning to the government office, she met Yan He and learned the whole story.
Someone in the army made a lot of inflammatory remarks about her, which reached the ears of Xie Jin and Lu Zhi. Lu Zhi beat the person on the spot until he was half dead, while Xie Jin directly beheaded him and hung his head at the city gate for three days.
It was publicly declared that Meng Fuqing was to Jing'an Prefecture what the emperor was to Great Yan, and anyone who showed disrespect would be executed on the spot.
This act of making an example of someone to scare others shocked everyone and also made the people in the city understand Meng Fuqing's true status.
Even though some people still felt that Meng Fuqing's rise to power was illegitimate and that he relied entirely on his capable subordinates, they could only keep it to themselves and dared not tell anyone.
"Oh, right, there's one more thing," Yan He said, his voice trembling with excitement. "Did you know that the people sent by the imperial court were killed by Xie Jin's men?"
"I guessed it."
"In the days you were gone, this matter has spread throughout the Great Yan. Qin Su has received the news that the imperial court intends to send troops to suppress us!"
Seeing her excited expression, Meng Fuqing couldn't help but ask, "What good news is this?"
"Heaven is sure to protect you, Meng Fuqing! Do you remember General Wei who fought to the death to defend the capital against the Hu people?"
He was shot by an arrow during battle, but to maintain morale, the imperial forces only announced that his wound had healed, when in reality he was far from recovered! He died just a few days ago!
Yan He slapped his thigh. "After General Wei passed away, there was still one person in the court who could be of great use. His name was Wu Xin. However, he also rebelled. The court was severely weakened and could not spare any troops to come from afar to fight us."
Two pieces of good news in a row, no wonder Yan He was so excited. Meng Fuqing smiled, "It is indeed a good thing."
Back in the backyard of the government office, Meng Fuqing found that there were many more servants sweeping and cleaning the courtyard. There were servants before, just not as many.
"The people General Xie arranged are all quite skilled. You've also gained a few more maids in your room, including Zhao'er. Your mother said that the family doesn't need servants right now, so she trusts Zhao'er. As for the rest, they were also arranged by General Xie."
Her tone was meaningful, and she was about to whisper gossip in Meng Fuqing's ear when she suddenly heard her ask, "Where is Meng Linlang? How has she been lately?"
"she?"
Yan He couldn't understand why Meng Fuqing cared so much about his cousin, who was completely powerless, even though the two weren't close.
"It's much better than the first few days after we arrived in the prefectural city. He even helps with some chores in the courtyard on weekdays."
Meng Fuqing nodded thoughtfully.
On the way back, she thought about it all the way and finally concluded that what the voice was hiding from her might be related to 'the Way of Heaven'.
This thing is invisible and intangible, so we can only look for clues in the 'chosen one'.
By the time the two finished speaking, it was already dark.
After a quick wash, she changed into clean clothes and went to her study to deal with the backlog of official business when she heard a servant announce that Lord Xu and General Xie had come to see her.
The two men came at night specifically to discuss matters concerning the Yang family.
The capital city was far from Jing'an Prefecture, far from the emperor's reach. Moreover, the situation in the capital was certainly chaotic at the moment, so Meng Fuqing thought it would be better to do something else during these peaceful days.
She asked about Zhan Nan's current situation.
Xie Jin was fully aware of the situation in Zhannan.
Zhanan has experienced intermittent rain for several days, and ten days ago it even caused a minor flood. Although the flood has now receded, the internal strife and natural disaster have severely damaged Zhanan's vitality.
"This is the perfect time to raise an army," Xie Jin said.
Meng Fuqing asked, "Is the army's food and provisions still sufficient?"
Hearing her question, Xie Jin understood what she meant. "Although Zhannan is in chaos, it has sufficient troops. However, the roads are difficult to travel, so it may not be enough in case of a prolonged war."
Meng Fuqing looked at Xu Weizhi, "Lord Xu..."
Xu Weizhi raised two vertical lines between his eyebrows. “My lord, the people’s harvest has been poor in the past two years. Last autumn, the people were taxed one-fifth of the harvest. This was only the nominal amount, and it was already too heavy. If we collect more taxes, it will probably cause dissatisfaction among the people.”
“I wasn’t after the common people; I was after the wealthy.”
“In Jing’an Prefecture, some families, led by the Pei family, donated grain. Not only did they donate grain, but they also reserved seats for them at the porridge distribution point at the city gate,” Xu Weizhi said.
Meng Fuqing lowered his eyes and pondered. The price of grain in Jing'an Prefecture was much cheaper than in other prefectures, costing only ten or twenty coins per dou.
Moreover, Xu Weizhi had previously established a charitable granary, and those who were supposed to donate would still do so, but many wealthy households remained unmoved.
"How about I trouble Lord Xu to work with the families who are distributing porridge and grain to stage a play with the government?"
Xu Weizhi asked in confusion, "Is this an act?"
After discussing it, just as the two were about to leave, Meng Fuqing called Xie Jin back.
"I have some questions for the general."
Xie Jin stopped in his tracks. After the study door closed, he walked up to Meng Fuqing and laughed heartily, "I thought Lord Meng was so focused on official business that he had forgotten about me..."
He stopped abruptly mid-sentence, staring blankly at the jade smoke in Meng Fuqing's hand.
"You... were delayed because you were looking for it?"
Meng Fuqing smiled and shook his head, "I was delayed for a day because of the meteorite; I just happened to be looking for it along the way."
Xie Jin pulled her into his arms and said in a low voice, "Meng Fuqing, after I conquer the world for you, shall we get married?"
"We'll get married after I turn eighteen."
"Why?" Xie Jin asked, puzzled.
"There's no reason why, it's just my obsession," Meng Fuqing said firmly.
An obsession of modern people.
The next morning, the government posted a notice stating that it intended to buy grain at a high price. The market price for grain was 20 wen per dou, but the government would buy it at 100 wen per dou, in order to provide relief to the disaster victims and use it as provisions.
Furthermore, the government did not want to compete with ordinary people for grain, and only accepted grain from wealthy households that had surplus grain.
The notice shocked the people, who asked whose idea it was. The clerk only said, "Naturally, it was Lord Meng's idea."
The story spread like wildfire, and Meng Fuqing's actions became the talk of the town.
"How can anyone trust such a dull-witted person!"
Scholars and students can't help but feel regret and sigh.
Some even spread rumors that Meng Fuqing was a mountain spirit in disguise who bewitched General Xie and Lord Xu, causing them to submit to him.
No matter what they said, as soon as the notice was posted, many wealthy households drove cartloads of grain to the gate of the government office.
Since it was the first day, the convoy lined up in front of the government office was not very long. They entered the government office with carts full of grain and left with empty carts through the back gate. The drivers were all smiles.
Some wealthy households observed the situation for a day and inquired with the grain sellers about the truth of the matter. The next day, they instructed their servants to go to the government office to sell grain.
On this day, the caravan of caravans outside the government office stretched as far as the eye could see. However, once inside the government office, they did not simply weigh the goods, collect money, move the grain, and leave as they had imagined.
They and their food supplies were confiscated.
"How can the government engage in such deception?!" a servant angrily rebuked.
Yan He: "Your master's family is rich but heartless. They clearly have surplus grain, yet they refuse to give a single penny! Jing'an Prefecture belongs to my master. The fact that your master's family lives so comfortably without being robbed or killed is all thanks to my master! If you want to continue living here, you must pay your dues!"
The servant had never heard of such a thing before, and he asked angrily, "Why don't you collect grain from the people?"
"How can you compare yourself to ordinary people? Your family lives in luxury, with clothes on and bellies bulging, but you can't see the common people starving!"
She waved her hand, "Take him away and make him reflect on his actions!"
He turned to the clerk beside him and said, "This family's tax this year is the same as those who didn't pay, but it will be increased by 10%. Write that down quickly!"
Subordinate:......
When the harvest was almost complete, Meng Fuqing came and told Yan He to stop.
The detained people and vehicles were released from the government office, and before the news could spread, the government posted another notice.
Everyone who saw the notice was stunned.
"What does the government mean by this? Isn't it supposed to be collecting grain? How did it become a grain donation?"
"What kind of grain donation is this? It's blatant robbery!"
“The wealthy households that donated grain will have their taxes reduced by 10% this year, just like the common people. Those who did not donate grain will have their taxes increased by 10%... Indeed, the Pei family and other families that donated grain and supplies to help the disaster victims are extremely benevolent and deserve to be rewarded.”
Someone exclaimed, "This is clearly robbing the rich to help the poor! Lord Meng is so kind!"
When this statement came out, everyone was lost.
Those families forced to donate grain felt as if they had a fishbone stuck in their throats, unable to swallow or spit it out.