Chapter 134: Welcoming The New
The temple was small and exquisite, with a plaque inscribed “Baoxing Temple” hanging above the door. The incense was not strong, but the architecture was very elaborate.
Xiao Yi saw the young monk leading the way run into the temple gate, and heard voices.
“Where did he run off to? He’s not even doing his midday lesson.”
“Reporting to Martial Uncle, a benefactor asked me to deliver a message, requesting someone on her behalf.”
“Nonsense.”
“But that benefactor donated thirty strings of copper coins for blessings.”
“Amitabha, such deep blessings. Which benefactor did you invite?”
Xiao Yi dismounted and walked into the temple gate, just as he saw a middle-aged monk approaching. The monk’s facial skin twitched, showing fear at first, then composure.
“Is it a general? Amitabha, this humble monk will dispel your karma for you.”
“Martial Uncle, I’m not here to dispel karma,” the young monk said. “That benefactor asked me to escort the general to the small Buddhist hall.”
“The small Buddhist hall is not for ordinary people to enter.”
“Yes, but she has a talisman from the Li Residence.”
“Hush, why do you tell everything? You have no restraint.”
“Why should a person of faith have restraint?”
“Be quiet.”
The middle-aged monk turned his head, cupped his hands, and said, “Amitabha, benefactor, please follow me.”
Xiao Yi followed the middle-aged monk inside and asked, “What is the relationship between this temple and the Li Residence?”
“There is no relationship. It’s just that in the past, the Li Residence donated a sum of blessings and built a small Buddhist hall in our temple.”
Passing by the main hall, behind it was an exquisite hall with the words “Deliverance of All Beings” hanging on it.
Stepping inside, the first thing that met his eyes was a huge statue of Shakyamuni, seated on a three-foot-high platform, with downcast eyes revealing compassion. Manjushri and Samantabhadra statues stood on either side, with ritual implements like clouds on the offering tables.
“Search!”
As soon as Xiao Yi gave the order, the middle-aged monk’s expression changed. He said, “Benefactor, what are you doing?”
“The Imperial Guard is investigating a case. Arrest him.”
“Yes!”
His subordinates searched around, not knowing what they were looking for.
Xiao Yi thought about how this place was only separated by a wall from Li Ye’s residence, and ordered again, “See if there is anything unusual about the ground.”
“General, we found it!”
Lu Chou overturned a blue brick, revealing stone steps below. He was very excited and immediately went down to investigate.
After a while, he came up and reported, “General, there is an underground tunnel leading to Li Ye’s mansion, but it has been sealed. Below there is another iron door, too heavy to push open.”
“Give me the torch.”
Xiao Yi went down himself, holding the torch to illuminate the iron door. After a while, he saw a small hole on the door.
His mind stirred, he took out the key he had found on Li Ye, inserted it, and turned.
“Click.”
Pushing the door again, it opened quite easily.
Inside was a stone chamber with a stale smell. The torchlight swept over it; it was about the size of an ordinary warehouse.
Beside the iron door were several large pottery jars. Lifting the lids, they contained grain and water. It turned out that this was a hiding place Li Ye had prepared in case his coup failed.
In the center of the stone chamber, a row of wooden racks held dozens of iron armors and ring-pommel swords, along with twenty hand crossbows and over a hundred arrowheads.
The torchlight swept again, revealing a large chest in the corner. Lifting the lid, it was full of copper coins.
Walking to the very back, on a bed lay a small wooden box. Opening it, he saw some gold ingots, but not many.
Next to it were a desk and chairs. He went over, lit the candlestick, and on the desk lay a dust-covered list of Imperial Guard generals, likely written before Li Ye killed Shi Hongzhao, now useless.
Sitting here, he could feel the eve of Li Ye’s planned palace coup, sitting in this prepared hiding place for failure, his heart filled with conflict.
Pulling open a drawer, he found many booklets. He casually picked one up and opened it, his eyes narrowing.
He had probably found the most useful item in this place.
“Wang Zhang, in the sixth month of the second year of Qianyuan, an additional tax was levied, intercepting sixty thousand strings of copper coins through military expenses. In the first month of the seventh month, a suburban estate was established west of the city with thirty tenant families. In mid-July, through his clan brother, salt was monopolized…”
His gaze quickly scanned, passing over the assets and properties of Su Fengji later, which had already been completely depleted.
Not long after, he saw familiar names.
“Hou Yi, in the early part of the second year of Qianyuan, two thousand mu of military land were converted for tenant farmers to cultivate, without paying the main tax. In July, two piers and warehouses were established on the Bian River. In October, merchants and travelers were permitted to trade horses under the name of the military, avoiding market taxes of five hundred strings of copper coins…”
“Yan Jinqing, his family’s assets included the Jinzhou iron mine, white porcelain kilns, the East Market silver shop, and canal transport ships. There were seven shops in the capital, involved in restaurants, silk, grain, and pawnshops…”
The entire booklet was filled with the family assets and approximate income of the nobles and high officials, and their methods of tax evasion.
Li Ye’s own secretly hidden assets were recorded in a separate booklet. Due to the rush, he only glanced at it. Leveraging his official position in the Xuanhuiyuan, he had opened quite a few posthouses under the guise of tribute, but they didn’t earn much money.
He took out another booklet, which recorded Li Ye’s bribes from these people and his payments to buy over the Imperial Guard generals under Shi Hongzhao.
No wonder Li Ye was able to silently execute Shi Hongzhao. It looked easy on the surface, but he had put in a lot of effort behind the scenes.
Xiao Yi looked around; his soldiers were all standing outside guarding and had not come in.
He thought for a moment, put these booklets into his robes, and kept them as a contingency.
Thus, the armor and treasures in the stone chamber were not worth keeping. He would present them to Guo Wei as a way to atone for his sins.
He walked out of the stone chamber; it was nearing dusk.
The monks in the temple were in a panic. He went out of the temple and looked around, but still saw no one else.
Leaving some soldiers to guard, Xiao Yi found an opportunity and handed the account books in his robes to Old Pan, instructing him, “You don’t need to go with me to Gaomen Village. Keep this safe.”
“Rest assured, General.”
Xiao Yi did not dare to delay further, mounted his horse, and headed straight for Gaomen Village.
As he distantly saw Guo Wei’s large banner, he could already feel an atmosphere vastly different from that in the city.
Before even reaching the village entrance, the horses and carriages had already blocked the road to a standstill.
Two soldiers stepped forward and said, “Please dismount, General. The village is crowded.”
“Alright.”
Seeing this scene, Xiao Yi was somewhat puzzled as to why Guo Wei insisted on staying in such a small village.
He tied his horse to an old scholar tree. He saw that the bark of the old scholar tree had been completely eaten by the refugees, yet five fine horses were tied to the trunk.
Walking forward, a luxurious carriage was deeply stuck in the mud. Servants were shouting for stones to use as padding, and they dug a skull out of the accumulated snow.
“This road is terrible, how do you say it in the Xingzhou dialect?”
“Gě chéng pò lù, kě běi ér lèi.”
People spoke in the Xingzhou dialect, which was not standard.
Entering the village, two villagers were repairing their dilapidated thatched huts. From one hut, a plump man wearing an official robe embroidered with brocade emerged, muttering.
“It’s so cold. Wasn’t it cold in previous years?”
“We’re used to it.”
“It’s getting dark. You shouldn’t fix it anymore. Add some more firewood, okay? Are you going to charge for it?”
The plump man said, turning his head, it was Hou Renbao.
Xiao Yi, knowing his background, looked at him differently now, thinking that this rich young master had quite strong adaptability.
“Eh, General Xiao?”
Hou Renbao quickly stepped forward, bowed, and said, “Thank you, General Xiao, for helping me abandon the darkness and turn to the light.”
“Brother Hou, no need for pleasantries.”
“General, there’s something I’d like to say, though I don’t know if I should.”
Hou Renbao put his hands in his sleeves, took a few steps forward, appearing quite mysterious.
Xiao Yi said, “Speak freely.”
“If I say something wrong, please don’t blame me, General. I heard this unintentionally… a high official said that the General has caused great trouble, to be precise, ‘disgraced the Imperial Palace’. Please be careful.”
“Disgraced the Imperial Palace?”
Xiao Yi pondered to himself, his actual mistake was causing the Empress Dowager to commit suicide, yet it became “disgraced the Imperial Palace”? How did Wang Jun find out?
He was indeed somewhat surprised and did not hide his expression.
Hou Renbao, observing keenly, asked, “The General seems unaware?”
“I truly was unaware.”
“Then, let me remind the General of one thing, the Empress.”
“The Empress?”
“Moo—”
An old cow made a sound.
Hou Renbao’s expression was simple, but his eyes were full of meaning. He smiled politely, put his hands back in his sleeves, and retreated into the thatched hut.
“Oh, by the way, His Majesty is staying at the Village Chief’s house. It’s just ahead.”
Xiao Yi walked forward until he saw a strictly guarded three-courtyard compound with earthen walls. A skinny dog, reduced to bones, lifted its leg and urinated at the guards’ feet.
He showed his talisman and entered. He saw Tang Jin sitting on a millstone, eating provisions, occasionally kicking a passing chicken.
“Cluck cluck cluck!”
“General Xiao is here. Tell me, why doesn’t this chicken lay eggs?”
“It’s probably a rooster.”
“I’m not stupid, of course I know that.” Tang Jin said, “I mean, if you put a rooster with hens, it’s definitely to make the hens lay eggs. If you don’t want them to lay eggs, then don’t put it there. Since you’ve put it there, let it lay eggs if it wants to.”
Xiao Yi chuckled.
Tang Jin squinted into the main room and said, “This Village Chief raises chickens, wanting the roosters to crow but not letting the hens lay eggs. What a joke.”
“Yes, Brother Tang is not only skilled in martial arts but also intelligent.”
“Heh heh, you understand me.”
“And My Lord?”
“Inside.”
Xiao Yi walked further in, to a small front courtyard. Wei Renpu, Wang Pu, and others were busy with their staff. A few snot-nosed children were huddled by a charcoal basin for warmth, presumably the Village Chief’s children.
Wei Renpu looked up, nodded in acknowledgment, and continued his work, his demeanor normal, as always.
Wang Pu, however, stood up and came over, whispering, “Wang Jun is handling state affairs in the inner hall. If you run into him, it won’t end well. I’ll take you to see My Lord.”
“Thank you, Brother Wenbo.”
“This way.”
They went through a side door and out of the Village Chief’s residence.
It was already dark. They skirted the earthen houses and reached the fields. In the distance, they saw a bonfire. As they approached, several old farmers were sitting around talking.
Xiao Yi didn’t see Guo Wei at first. When he saw Guo Shouwen standing to the side in a worn jacket, he then noticed the sturdy figure sitting by the bonfire, dressed like an old farmer.
“I harvested fifteen shi of millet this year. I paid four shi in main tax, two shi in surplus, and then there’s the grain surplus, spoilage, and weight loss. I don’t understand it either. The official tax-collecting unit of measurement is bigger than mine, so one unit of measurement is collected as two. Is this trying to kill us?!”
Guo Wei, with his hands tucked in his sleeves, asked, “You can still keep half?”
“How could we?!”
The old farmers clearly didn’t know his identity. As soon as they heard him, they got angry, their voices becoming agitated.
“Elder brother, you also have to pay cloth and silk, right? That also needs to be weighed. After weighing, they say it’s five liang short one moment, three liang short the next, and you have to make it up.”
“The cattle rent hasn’t been calculated yet, and that’s a big chunk. The cattle given are so thin they look like sticks, they can’t plow the land, and you have to pay two shi every year.”
“After the cattle rent comes the cattle hide tax. I asked, ‘We don’t raise cattle either?’ The subordinate said, ‘You still have to pay a cattle hide. Don’t they need leather to fight the Khitans?’ They forced me to sell another shi of grain, and the Donkey Ball was involved…”
As they spoke, Xiao Yi walked over silently.
Seeing this scene tonight, he felt inexplicably more at ease. He could also roughly understand why Guo Wei, after the yellow banner was raised, chose to station himself in this small village.
The old farmers, seeing his attire, became nervous. They stood up and said diffidently, “A military officer has arrived.”
“Don’t be afraid of this kid, he’s still wet behind the ears.” Guo Wei waved, calling them all to sit down, and said, “He’s my unworthy junior, knows a few basic skills, and works as a guard next to a general. Don’t take him seriously.”
Xiao Yi took off his armor, played along, and smiled humbly and shyly, “Greetings, elders.”
Only then did Guo Wei turn to him, pointing to an empty spot next to him, and said, “Sit there. Your immediate problems can wait. I’ll talk to the elders about important matters first.”
