In a side room of the Lin family's manor in Zhangchen Village, the landlord, Old Master Lin, sat in the main seat, his eyes narrowed as he leisurely puffed on his pipe, letting the men before him argue.
These men were members of the Zhangchen Village Peasants' Association, currently debating whether to become clerks as the government intended.
One man exclaimed indignantly, "Who says becoming a government clerk means oppressing the people? Young Master, aren't you wrongly accusing us?"
The man referred to as Young Master Lin sneered, "And officials all say that serving the people is their duty, otherwise they should go home and sell sweet potatoes. But what's the reality? Aren't they all acting like masters over the common folk?"
"When those yamen runners came, why were they so polite and well-behaved? Do you really think they suddenly became scholarly and courteous?"
"And you, you want to speak for the people in the Peasants' Association while also being a government clerk. How can you think so beautifully? Have you forgotten that your brother has already joined the chief leader of Menglianggu? If the government asks you to report on Menglianggu's movements, will you report it or not?"
The man reprimanded by Young Master Lin felt even more wronged. "I was just thinking of outwardly agreeing to the government, and then doing as we please. If we really anger the government, what if they send a large army to suppress us?"
Another man chimed in, "Young Master says the yamen runners became polite because of the heroes of Menglianggu and our Peasants' Association, and I agree. But whether Menglianggu can withstand the government's suppression is another matter. If we bet everything on them now, what if..."
Young Master Lin snorted, "If they can send a large army, our Zhangchen Village also has several hundred men, plus we have mutual defense with the nearby villages. We don't necessarily fear the government."
Saying this, Young Master Lin glared at the men with disappointment and reprimanded them, "No, my Lin family is considered to have a large estate, yet if my family doesn't flinch, why are you few so cowardly?"
"The old saying goes that porcelain doesn't clash with earthenware. Why does my family's porcelain dare to clash, while you broken earthenware are afraid first?"
At this point, Young Master Lin turned his gaze to Old Master Lin and asked, "Father? Don't you think this is the right way?"
Old Master Lin took a few puffs of his pipe and looked at those arguing with his son. "Do you think I've taken too little rent from you, charging only thirty percent? Originally, I was thinking of reducing the rent to ten percent, but now it seems I've been too lenient with you."
He tapped the ash from his pipe and asked, "If I hadn't charged you thirty percent rent, wouldn't my estate be much larger than it is now? Do you believe it or not?"
The men nodded in unison, exclaiming, "Yes, Lord Lin is right, you are benevolent."
Old Master Lin, however, snorted, "This Peasants' Association, I took the initiative to establish it. This Peasants' Association's guard, I also took the initiative to establish it in response to the call of the chief leader of Menglianggu. It's not for anything else, but because I can't bear to see how hard you poor wretches live."
"Let me tell you, I've lived my life, what kind of days haven't I seen? What kind of feasts haven't I eaten?"
"I'll say the ugly words first. If any of you wants to be a dog for the Tartar government, return my land to me first, or raise the rent to fifty percent."
"You bunch of fools, you can't even see things clearly as my prodigal son here! Get out, get out, you annoy me seeing you."
The men were chagrined by Old Master Lin's scolding and were about to take their leave when Old Master Lin snorted again, "Oh right, go back and tell those poor wretches to check if they have any money at home. If they can find some, they should raise it, and I'll sell my land to them at a low price."
"If you really have no money, come find my good-for-nothing son to borrow money, sign and seal as required. I don't care about the little interest you owe; just pay it back within three years."
The men couldn't believe their ears.
Although Old Master Lin often did good deeds like building bridges and repairing roads, and his rent was usually two to three percent lower than elsewhere, he was notoriously stingy, unwilling to spend even a penny unnecessarily. His land was his lifeblood, and he would often wander through the fields. Now, he was willing to sell it at a low price, and even feared that people wouldn't have enough money, offering to lend it to them? And without interest?
Was the sun rising from the west?
Seeing the men staring at each other, Old Master Lin took another couple of puffs from his pipe and cursed, "What, can't you understand human speech anymore? Before I change my mind, hurry back and raise money."
After the Peasants' Association members left, thanking him profusely, Young Master Lin's face immediately fell. He looked at Old Master Lin and said, "Father? Aren't we losing too much by doing this?"
Old Master Lin took a couple of puffs and asked, "I ask you, among the dozen or so villages around Zhangchen, besides our family and your maternal uncle's family, how many other gentry families are left?"
Young Master Lin shook his head and replied, "As you ask, who doesn't know that only our family and uncle's family remain? The others have all been wiped out?"
Old Master Lin grunted and took two more puffs. "Then tell me, why are our family and your uncle's family safe, while the rest have been wiped out?"
Young Master Lin replied with a wry smile, "I understand what you're saying. Isn't it because our family and uncle's family charge lower rent and often do good deeds like repairing bridges and roads, so the common people are grateful to us?"
"But it's fine if we charge lower rent, but why are you selling the land to the people? Even if you sell the land, you're lending them money, and even if you lend money, you're not charging interest. What is this all about?"
Old Master Lin scoffed and cursed, "You know nothing! I always told you to study more, but you would complain of a headache or a sore backside. Now you can't even understand this simple matter."
"Our family usually charges lower rent, and the common people are grateful to us. We took the initiative to establish the Peasants' Association, and the common people will still be grateful to us. But on other estates, the gentry families were all wiped out and their land divided. We continue to collect rent. In the long run, will those common people still be grateful to us?"
"So, we proactively sell our land back to them. This not only preserves our family fortune but also allows us to gain wealth. It cannot be considered a loss."
"The most important thing is that our family will gain a good reputation."
"Even if in the future, there's a prodigal son like you who squanders the family fortune, with our family's reputation, we can beg for food more successfully than others."
With that, Old Master Lin narrowed his eyes, took two deep puffs of his pipe, then tapped the bowl clean, and said, "You prepare yourself. Take half of the family's money and grain, and go join the chief leader of Menglianggu."
Young Master Lin was startled and asked, "Father? Are we really going to join that Zhu Xiaosong?"
Old Master Lin nodded and said, "Look at the history books, those who succeeded in rebellion, didn't they all start with the common people who were starving?"
"The chief leader of Menglianggu immediately wiped out the corrupt gentry and organized the Peasants' Association. In less than a month, he shook several prefectures and counties in Shandong. It's not an exaggeration to say he has the potential of a hidden dragon."
"Our Lin family will take this gamble. If we win, it's the merit of following the dragon. If we lose, at worst, we'll change our identities and live in obscurity. We can still make a comeback sooner or later."
Young Master Lin nodded, his mind made up. "Then I'll prepare myself and set off for Menglianggu tomorrow morning to see if there are any opportunities. What about the government side..."
Old Master Lin grunted, "The government side is not to be feared."
"Some people think that by having the identity of clerks, they will gain more benefits than the Peasants' Association. Little do they know, their identity as Peasants' Association members was recommended by the common people. If they defect to the government, will the common people still recognize their Peasants' Association identity? If the common people don't recognize them, will the government still take them seriously?"
"To forgo being a good person and instead be a dog for others. What a bunch of fools!"
There have always been fools in this world.
The few individuals from Xiao Zhang Village who were elected to the Peasants' Association used the existence of the association to secure positions as clerks, thinking they would now receive imperial favor and no longer be like those commoners.
These few men, bowing and scraping, led the yamen runners through the streets and alleys, beating their broken gongs loudly and shouting, "All the old and young masters in the village, listen up! The spring tax for the forty-ninth year of Qianlong is due! This year's tax payment will be at our Peasants' Association!"
Fortunately, such fools were ultimately a minority, because most Peasants' Associations were formed by the common people themselves through mutual recommendations. These people, having experienced the feeling of standing up for themselves, were naturally unwilling to be dogs for others.
The clever plan that Governor Yan Xiangqing had racked his brain for did not achieve the intended results.
Therefore, Governor Yan could only stand tremblingly before Shandong Governor Ming Xing, dutifully accepting Ming Taotai's verbal lashing: "Is this what you call using the Peasants' Association for my own use! Huh! Is this what you call Zhu Ni having nowhere to hide! Huh!"
Ming Xing, breathing heavily, circled a few times before finally sitting back in his chair and waving his hand, "This matter can't be kept secret. The Emperor is about to set off south. Now you'd better pray that this Zhu Ni doesn't cause any more trouble for the time being."
Governor Yan was very troubled and wished he could cut Zhu Xiaosong into a thousand pieces.
Ten years of studying, ten years of studying plus thirty thousand taels of silver were exchanged for the position of magistrate of Fuxian County. Then, another ten years, and tens of thousands of taels of silver, only then did he gradually reach the position of Prefect of Yizhou.
Now, it was a great misfortune. Just as this honest prefect had made up for the previous deficits, and before he could enjoy the feeling of ten thousand taels of silver in his hands, he, the prefect, was now at risk of losing his head!
All because of Zhu Xiaosong!
...
Zhu Xiaosong couldn't have imagined that Governor Yan would be so foolish as to pull a stunt like turning the Peasants' Association into clerks.
This approach was not just about his own foolishness, but rather that he treated all the common people in the land as idiots—How did the Peasants' Association come about? The Peasants' Association was formed by those who couldn't survive, who united to strike down the corrupt gentry and then elected representatives!
Even if there was no such saying as "the poorer, the more glorious" at this time, would those who were so poor they couldn't survive recommend the not-so-poor rich farmers to be members of the Peasants' Association?
Of course, it was not impossible for some people to be lured by the government, but such people were a minority. Moreover, the Peasants' Association itself was formed by the common people. Once someone defected to the government, wouldn't the common people elect them again?
Therefore, Governor Yan's brilliant plan to pacify the world failed to pacify the world, but instead helped Zhu Xiaosong determine the loyalty of the members of the Peasants' Association, and even spent a lot of money on it.
Zhu Xiaosong sat in his chair with a smile and said to Liu Huaiwen, who was sitting beside him, "The government is like a cornered dog, so you must also speed up your progress on your end."
Liu Huaiwen replied, "We are already trying to find ways to speed things up, but our mountain can only produce simple bird guns at present, at most comparable to those used by the regular soldiers, and their quality is probably worse than those used by the regular soldiers. As for the flintlock guns you mentioned, they probably can't be produced anytime soon."