The Ming Dynasty took an unconventional approach

Chapter 720

Yu Qian stood in the courtyard without knowing when. Pan Yun helped to straighten the bone. Wang Feiyin said it was connected. She pinched her waist and watched Wang Feiyin bandage the clerk and apply medicine: "Your bone doesn't look like you fell, how did it break?"

The clerk had been numb from the pain, but now he didn't feel any pain at all. He looked up at the sky at a 45-degree angle with a look of despair on his face. When he heard Pan Jun's question, he tilted his head back. He didn't see Pan Jun, but instead saw Yu Qian who was standing behind Pan Jun.

He said with a faint sense of death: "He dragged it."

Pan Jun turned his head away.

Yu Qian quickly stepped forward and bowed to apologize: "It was my fault. I lost control of my strength in a hurry..."

I really didn't expect the document to be so fragile.

The clerk sat up straight and looked at him with a frown: "What did you say?"

Yu Qian looked confused: "Someone..."

His pupils shrank, his back bent, and he smiled in a slightly flattering way: "I didn't say anything..."

Pan Jun clicked his tongue twice, smiled and left. As he passed by him, he heard a secret message: "Your identity is about to be exposed~~"

Yu Qian: …

He bowed and stepped back despite the clerk's suspicion, looking like a civilian who was afraid of taking responsibility.

After the clerk looked him up and down, he dispelled some of his suspicions, but he was still suspicious. After watching him leave the courtyard, he turned around and asked Wang Feiyin: "Master Wang, he just performed the scholar's etiquette for me, right?"

Wang Feiyin fixed the wooden stick on him, and after making sure his hand would not bend, he cut a piece of cloth and tied it around his neck: "What's the problem? All beings are equal in the face of natural disasters, so scholars will not suffer from natural disasters?"

The clerk thought so too.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead and sighed, "I have been frightened by our county magistrate these past two days. He always suspects that the imperial envoy is visiting incognito."

Wang Feiyin: "You can go incognito if you want. You haven't done anything bad and you are doing your duty faithfully. What are you afraid of?"

"But Yushan County has been governed like this..."

Wang Feiyin: "You are not the county magistrate, what are you afraid of?"

The clerk was stunned. Yes, he was not the county magistrate, so what was he afraid of?

But...what if the county magistrate pushes the blame onto those below him, and then the below him pushes the blame onto those below him?
The clerk looked confused. Wang Feiyin had already written the prescription and handed it to him: "You are not a poor person. Take the prescription to the pharmacy and get the medicine yourself. I won't give you the medicine."

The clerk immediately came back to his senses, and grasped Wang Feiyin with his intact hand, saying eagerly: "Master Wang, the oral medicine is fine, but you have to give me a can of this bone-growing ointment. How can the ointment in the drugstore outside compare to yours?"

"Okay, okay, go find Pan Yun and ask her to dig some for you. There's not enough for a whole jar, but I can give you a month's supply. You're still young, so a month should be enough. Then you can switch to the ointment from the pharmacy."

The clerk agreed and hurried to find Pan Yun.

Pan Yun's ability in observation, auscultation, questioning and palpation was average, so she and several other Taoists, monks and nuns were responsible for prescribing medicine.

The clerk brought over the prescription and said, "Master Wang asked you to give me three months' supply of ointment."

Pan Yun glanced at the prescription and said, "There is no empty jar of ointment. Go back and get a clean one."

The clerk agreed and went back to get the medicine jar. When he went out, he saw the man who had injured him sitting among a group of villagers, who were talking to him with spit flying.

The clerk frowned, thought for a moment, and then shook his head to dispel the doubts in his heart. He decided to pretend that he knew nothing and not to inquire, ask, or doubt.

Lu Yuan watched the clerk walk away and whispered in his ear: "Sir, he is suspicious. Do you want to..."

"What do you want to do?" Yu Qian whispered, "He is just a minor official in the county government, and he is loyal to his duties. We are here incognito to find out the truth, not to harm anyone."

Lu Yuan: "...What are you thinking about, sir? I mean, should we go over and warn him and let him rest at home for a day? We will show up tomorrow anyway."

Yu Qian's mind flashed back to the scene of the five of them hurriedly dragging him out of the county government's backyard and hiding the truth from Master Wu. He shook his head and said, "No need. Even if he suspects me, he may not report it. Besides, he's not the only one who suspects me."

Yu Qian sat among the crowd and just threw out a few words, and many people came to pick up the conversation. Then, he knew a lot of things.

People who go incognito always like to learn about people's lives from the mouths of ordinary people, not because they know a lot.

What can ordinary people know?

Nearly half of the civilians sitting here waiting for relief do not know that their county magistrate has been changed this year.

They didn't know the county magistrate's surname or name, let alone who the county lieutenant and the chief clerk were.

Only the remaining half, especially the elderly, know more information.

But even so, they didn't know that the imperial court had levied silver taxes on them this year.

All they know is that this year has been particularly difficult. Since the Chinese New Year, it seems like there is endless work to do.

The government asked them to send one man from each family, and widows and orphans who had been treated preferentially in the past also had to send one man, otherwise they had to pay money and grain;
All they knew was that at the beginning of June this year, the head of the village asked each household to prepare an additional tax of two cents of silver. As for what the tax was, no one knew. They only knew that life would become more difficult.

Only those who were studying or traveling abroad could tell Yu Qian, "I heard that the two extra coins of silver were a tax on silver. The court wanted the silver mines to pay it, but the silver mines couldn't produce it, so the governor asked the prefectures to raise the money, and the prefectures asked the counties to raise the money, and the county magistrates distributed it to each of our households."

Yu Qian was amused: "How much silver does the court want the Jiangxi silver mines to hand over this year?"

Lu Yuan was a member of the Imperial Guards. He was very smart and reported the amount directly: "Two thousand eight hundred and sixty-five taels."

There are zeros and wholes.

Yu Qian: "Even if the silver mines cannot pay so much silver, and all of it is apportioned, the Jiangxi Provincial Government governs 13 prefectures and 78 counties. How did each household in Yushan County get this two cents of tax increase?"

Among the two capitals and thirteen provinces, Jiangxi has the largest population. Although the Ministry of Household Affairs has not conducted a census of Jiangxi's population in recent years, according to data from the Hongwu period, the number of households is over one million.

Even if we only count 100 households, and each household pays two cents of silver, if every household has to pay, the tax increase alone will be 200,000 taels, which is the difference from the 2,865 taels required by the court...

Yu Qian closed his eyes tightly, stood up and said, "Let's go in and meet this chivalrous Taoist priest who is famous in Jiangnan."

Wang Feiyin was still treating a patient. Yu Qian and Lu Yuan squeezed into the yard. He just raised his eyelids and took a quick look, then lowered his eyes and continued to treat the patient.

Yu Qian paused slightly. He really wanted to have a chat with Master Wang, but obviously, he didn't have the time.

Yu Qian looked at Pan Yun not far away and decided to find her first.

From Xue Shao's words, we know that although she is young, she is definitely not a puppet.

Pan Jun had just finished dispensing medicine for someone. When she looked up, she saw Yu Qian and her face immediately broke into a smile.

Lu Yuan approached Yu Qian with an incredulous look on his face: "Sir, you disguised yourself very well. We passed through so many counties and played many tricks along the way, but you were not discovered. How come everyone seems to have figured out who you are when we arrived in Yushan County?"

Yu Qian: "Not everyone, only two, no, it should be three."

Lu Yuan was stunned and asked, "Besides Wenshu and Pan Yun, who else is there?"

Yu Qian glanced at Wang Feiyin who was examining a patient.

Lu Yuan was silent.

Yu Qian walked towards Pan Yun. Pan Yun also turned around and said to a little monk, "Jingchen, I leave this to you."

Jingchen, who was older than her but younger in generation, nodded silently in agreement.

Pan Yun smiled at Yu Qian and said, "Please come in, distinguished guest."

Pan Yun took Yu Qian to the side yard, which was a yard used to store grain, medicinal materials and other supplies.

Miaozhen is in charge of coordinating things here. Occasionally, someone comes to collect food, medicinal herbs and other supplies, but there are so few people that we can find a secluded place to talk.

When Miaozhen saw them, she didn't ask who they were. She turned around and went into the house to bring them three small stools.

Pan Yun handed two to Yu Qian and said to Miao Zhen, "Go and make a pot of tea. Lord Yu has talked a lot and must be thirsty."

Miaozhen agreed and turned to leave.

Pan Yun turned around and asked Yu Qian, "Master Yu, have you eaten yet?"

Yu Qian took out the bowl from his arms and said, "I just got a bowl of porridge outside. I'm not that hungry now."

But how could a bowl of porridge fill an adult man? Pan Yun asked Miaozhen to bring out a plate of rice cakes.

"Just make do with it. This house was once abandoned. Many tables and chairs are gone. My eldest brother was trapped here, and it became a charity house. All places are used, only this place is still a little empty." Pan Yun casually put the plate on the ground.

Yu Qian didn't care. He picked up a piece of rice cake and asked with a smile, "How did Taoist Pan recognize me?"

Pan Yun: "I said it was qigong, do you believe it, Lord Yu?"

Yu Qian: "If it was before, I would not believe it, but now, I believe it."

Pan Yun's eyes lit up, and he said "Oh" and leaned forward: "I know that Confucian scholars have always advocated that one should not talk about strange things, and stay away from mysterious arts such as ghosts, gods, and face reading."

Yu Qian nodded: "Even if I believe in Taoist Master Pan now, I still have this attitude."

Pan Yun said admiringly: "Few people can persist in their previous persistence after getting to know each other again. Just for Lord Yu's persistence, if you have anything to ask, just ask. I will answer everything I can."

Yu Qian pondered for a moment and asked, "I heard that the second in command of the rebels, Wang Xiaojing, came from Fenshui Village at the foot of Sanqing Mountain. This morning, Cai Sheng released Wang Xiaojing's family, and his family is missing. Are they in the hands of Taoist Pan?"

Pan Yun raised an eyebrow: "Master Yu just entered the city today, and he has already found this out?"

Yu Qian: "It is no secret that Cai Sheng detained the families of the rebels. In order to deter the rebels, he can be said to have made it known to the public. I can find out by asking around among the crowd. Then I can send someone to the land temple to investigate and find out everything."

Pan Yun said: "I just learned about the news that Wang Xiaojing's family was released from prison this morning."

Yu Qian insisted, "Are they in your hands?"

Pan Jun raised an eyebrow at him and smiled without saying anything.

Yu Qian breathed a sigh of relief: "They are in your hands. Please protect them, Master Pan."

Pan Yun poured him a bowl of tea and asked, "What does Lord Yu mean?"

"I don't know how you got Cai Sheng to release them, but you went to such lengths to do this, didn't you just want to protect Wang Xiaojing and his gang?"

Pan Yun put away the smile on his face and said solemnly: "Master Yu, can you protect them? I heard that the court sent a large army to the south to quell the rebellion. The fighting in Fujian is very fierce."

"Fujian is Fujian, Jiangxi is Jiangxi," Yu Qian said. "The rebels in Fujian have reached 60,000, and are still expanding. But there are only two small groups in Jiangxi, and Song Dalin's group has only more than 2,000 people."

"Sir, I don't know what the situation is with the other rebel group in Jiangxi, but Song Dalin and Wang Xiaojing were indeed forced into a corner." Pan Yun said in a deep voice: "The court must allow the people to have space to survive, otherwise, they will eat each other's flesh and blood in order to survive, let alone rebel."

Lu Yuan shouted in a low voice: "How dare you! Even if we are cut off from each other, you must not be disloyal to me!"

Yu Qian reached out his hand to stop Lu Yuan, and nodded to Pan Yun, saying, "I will plead for Song Dalin and Wang Xiaojing and recruit this group of rebels, but you must also ensure that they do not cause trouble again."

Pan Yun: "As long as the court gives them a way to survive, they will not cause trouble again."

Yu Qian: "What do you think is the way to survive?"

Pan Yun said: "This year, the two-cent tax increase for each household will be cancelled, and labor service will be reduced..."

Pan Yun paused and said, "Sir Yu, the government has assigned too many labor services such as carrying sedan chairs, cleaning, keeping watch, and working in express delivery shops. The requirements are too harsh and the people are suffering."

Yu Qian pursed his lips and whispered, "Master Pan, you know, this is the rule set by Emperor Taizu Gao. It is almost impossible for you to reduce this part of the labor. You should make a more realistic request."

Pan Yun: "And the miners' wages and working hours..."

Pan Yun improved on the requirements Song Dalin had put forward that night. Yu Qian kept frowning and listened attentively.

In the middle of the conversation, he couldn't help but stand up and turn around.

After listening to the whole thing, he stared at Pan Yun with a sharp gaze and asked, "Did Song Dalin propose this? Or did someone propose it on behalf of Song Dalin?"

Pan Yun said calmly, "These are all Song Dalin's conditions."

Yu Qian could not help but punch his palm and sighed, "He is truly a pillar of the country. Has Song Dalin never been to school?"

Pan Yun: “No.”

Yu Qian turned around twice anxiously and then turned back: "I will do my best to protect them, but I need you to tell Song Dalin that I can't meet all the conditions he proposed at the moment."

Pan Yun: "How much can you do?"

“You can only do three things.”

Pan Yun: ...She raised so many conditions, and he agreed to all of them, but in the end he could only fulfill three of them?

She suppressed her temper and asked, "Which three?"

"First, forgive their crimes; second, exempt the two-cent tax increase; third, increase the miners' wages and reduce their working hours."

Pan Yun breathed a sigh of relief. These were all Song Dalin's conditions. As for the others, well, she was asking for too much.

Pan Yun: "Okay, I'll go talk to him."

Yu Qian asked: "How confident are you, Taoist Pan?"

"Only 50%, but I will try my best," Pan Jun said seriously, "even if it costs me my life, I will complete it."

Yu Qian also exhaled, forced a smile, and bowed to her, saying, "In that case, I'll have to trouble Taoist Pan."

Pan Jun: "You're welcome, you're welcome."

"Then I have another request."