Chapter 34: Welcoming
Yongqiu County was in an uproar all night.
Early the next morning, Li Dayin, with dark circles under his eyes, excitedly came to the posthouse to see Lu Yun.
As soon as they met, he couldn’t wait to exclaim, “Young Master truly has divine strategy and foresight; you predicted it exactly! Those magnates, seeing that this official has burned his bridges, have all obediently handed over their grain!” He said, rubbing his belly and laughing heartily, “It’s so satisfying! Normally, they put on airs, acting as if they wouldn’t serve or pay taxes, daring me to do something! But when it came down to it, they were all cowards!”
“…” Lu Yun looked at him strangely. Li Dayin’s old face flushed red and he said, “Yes, this official was even more of a coward before…”
“Don’t worry,” Lu Yun smiled understandingly and said softly to Li Dayin, “Those days are about to become a thing of the past…”
“R-really?” Li Dayin stammered. He still remembered Lu Yun’s words about him soaring to high officialdom. Although he didn’t understand how that would happen, in his eyes now, Lu Yun was only missing a feather fan to be like Zhuge Liang, and Lord Li naturally gained a bit of fantasy.
“Serve diligently and don’t make mistakes,” Lu Yun said with certainty. “If you don’t get promoted by the end of the year, come find me in the Capital City to settle the score.”
“I thank Young Master for his kind words!” Li Dayin nodded emphatically, full of excitement. “If it truly happens as Young Master says, this official will definitely prepare generous gifts and call on you to express my gratitude!”
“I await your visit anytime,” Lu Yun nodded with a smile.
.
Lu Yun stayed in Yongqiu County for two more days. Firstly, the journey had been tiring, and he wanted the womenfolk to rest. Secondly, he was concerned about subsequent matters and worried that Li Dayin might not handle them well.
However, he worried unnecessarily. Li Dayin was unexpectedly capable, arranging the collection of grain and fodder, settling disaster victims, organizing laborers, and preventing and treating illnesses. All these affairs were handled in an orderly fashion, without any trouble.
Even with such a packed schedule, Li Dayin still found time before Lu Yun’s departure to interrogate those thugs. The result was as Lu Yun expected: they were bandits who had fled from the Yellow River flood plain. As the saying goes, a leopard cannot change its spots; these thugs, upon arriving in Bianzhou, started robbing passing merchants. Not only did they rob, but they also burned and killed. If they encountered small merchant groups, they would directly attack. But Lu Yun’s entourage had many guards, and the thugs feared they couldn’t handle them, so they dispersed and incited the disaster victims to surround the caravan, intending to create chaos and loot in the ensuing confusion!
Under Li Dayin’s interrogation, the thugs also confessed to over a dozen cases they had committed in the past month, all of which had been registered with the prefectural and county yamen, some even alarming the Ministry of Justice. Now, Li Dayin had solved over a dozen major cases at once; this achievement alone was enough for him to be promoted!
In Li Dayin’s eyes, this was naturally thanks to Lu Yun. He now regarded Lu Yun’s words as gospel, and whenever he had free time, he would attend to Lu Yun, hoping to hear more words of instruction… Li Dayin had completely overlooked the fact that Lu Yun was only sixteen years old and still very young.
Lu Yun, too, was impressed with Li Dayin and lamented his lack of recognition… Such a rare competent official had languished in the bureaucracy for over twenty years before managing to become a mere County Magistrate.
“Alas, this official is already considered lucky,” Li Dayin said. Over the past two days, he had become familiar with Lu Yun, and while chatting during their dinner break, he said, “Many colleagues in officialdom never get to hold office in their lifetime, let alone dare to dream of becoming the chief seal holder of a county!”
“It is indeed too unfair,” Lu Yun thought of his own father, who had also languished in the bureaucracy for many years, but compared to Li Dayin, it was like comparing heaven and earth.
“Fairness? Heh heh…” Li Dayin took a sip of wine, his dark face glowing purplish-red, his large mole trembling as he said, “Where is there any fairness in this world? Take this official and you, Young Master, for example. I am from a commoner family, while you are from an aristocratic lineage. If judged by the Nine Rank Official System, you would undoubtedly be of High Rank and a pure official, receiving a prestigious and important post. I, however, would be considered of Low Rank and a turbid official, not even having the qualification to be an official, and could only struggle within the yamen.”
“High Rank admits no poor scholars, Low Rank admits no noble families…” Lu Yun sighed. Such are the ways of the world; who can change them?
The atmosphere became a bit heavy. Lu Yun changed the subject, saying, “With Lord Li’s ability, why was it so difficult to recruit laborers? Is your county’s population too small?” Although he was learned, book knowledge ultimately felt superficial; he still needed to seek advice from experienced grassroots officials.
“Doesn’t Young Master understand?” Li Dayin was somewhat surprised. Before, Lu Yun had appeared to be in control of everything, making him think he was a genius who knew everything.
“I don’t understand,” Lu Yun replied frankly. He knew when to pretend and when to be truthful.
“Alright,” Li Dayin took a sip of wine and explained to Lu Yun, “This Yongqiu is a county near the capital, with a population of 130,000, which is considered among the top nationwide.” He paused and gave a self-deprecating laugh, “Unfortunately, more than half of them are not under this County Magistrate’s jurisdiction.”
“Then who do they belong to?” Lu Yun asked softly.
“Of course, they belong to the great aristocratic families,” Li Dayin said with a bitter smile. “The aristocrats not only don’t serve or pay taxes themselves, but their retainers and servants, under their protection, also do not serve or pay taxes. ” He pointed around with his slightly tipsy finger, saying, “Therefore, those commoner landlords have flocked to join the aristocrats, and tenant farmers have mostly sold themselves to become servants of noble families. This large portion of land and population has thus fallen into the hands of the aristocrats. Relying on their noble clan backing, they don’t take me, a small County Magistrate, seriously at all…”
Lu Yun nodded; he was not unfamiliar with this situation. The Lu Family Manor in Wu Commandery was the same. The Lu Clan originated from Within the Passes and had no connection to Jiangnan. After pacifying the Southern Dynasties, local landlords and peasants in Jiangnan voluntarily joined the Lu Clan, turning their land into Lu family manors to gain protection and evade imperial taxes.
However, Jiangnan had only been pacified for a short time, and the Imperial Court had consistently adopted a high-handed policy. The authority of Commandery Governors and County Magistrates far surpassed their northern counterparts, so the ills of Yongqiu County had not yet fully manifested…
“But I see through them this time. Those fellows might not even be valued by the noble clans,” Li Dayin said with a smile. “Otherwise, they wouldn’t have softened up as soon as I got tough.” He then raised his wine cup and thanked Lu Yun sincerely, “This official has been in public service for half a lifetime, but these past few days have been the most like a real official! All of this is thanks to Young Master. I toast you, Young Master!”
Lu Yun had always abstained from alcohol, believing that alcohol would dull his will and slow his reactions. Therefore, he raised his tea cup to substitute for wine. He clinked his tea cup against Li Dayin’s and said, “My Lord is a good official, and I will lend you a hand!”
“Cheers!” Li Dayin drained his cup.
.
The next day, Lu Yun and his party continued on their journey.
As they exited the city gates, they saw a dense crowd of disaster victims already waiting there.
Lu Yun and the others were stunned for a moment, unsure what had happened now.
In the next moment, they saw the disaster victims fall to their knees like rice stalks in the wind, kowtowing to Lu Yun. “Young Master, your great kindness and virtue, we will never forget…” They could only express their gratitude and guilt to Lu Yun in this most humble way.
Lu Yun sat in the cargo carriage, watching the scene before him, a surge of emotion rising in his heart. He had never experienced such an inexplicable feeling in the more than ten years before. It felt good, warm, and exciting…
After a while, he suddenly came back to his senses, jumped off the carriage, and bowed deeply to the disaster victims.
Long after the convoy had left the county town and the disaster victims were no longer visible, Lu Yun was still immersed in that feeling, unable to extricate himself. He knew he would never forget this scene.
Huang Ling and the others saw Lu Yun off repeatedly, only turning back reluctantly when they reached the county border.
The way Huang Ling and the others looked at Lu Yun had completely changed. No one dared to underestimate this young master anymore; when they spoke of Lu Yun, their words were filled with respect, even admiration.
It was no wonder. In their eyes, a dire crisis that seemed insurmountable was perfectly resolved by Lu Yun without spending a single coin, just through words. He had also solved the food problem for fifty thousand disaster victims and extricated the Yongqiu County Magistrate from a pressing situation, earning his deep gratitude!
This made Huang Ling unable to understand how Lu Yun, having seemingly given nothing, had resolved problems that were both his responsibility and not his, and yet everyone treated him as a benefactor.
When he finally couldn’t hold back and asked Lu Yun, Lu Yun pointed to his head and said softly, “I paid this.”
“So that’s how it is!” Huang Ling suddenly understood, then turned and muttered softly, “Do the temples have that much of an effect?”
