The Ming Dynasty took an unconventional approach

“Girl, why are you blaming the government?” The laborer said unhappily, “Although the government can’t get justice for us, it’s because Feng Bancheng has soldiers and the land was seized by the emperor. Not to mention the county magistrate, even the prefect can’t do anything to him. The government has already done its best by giving us government land as compensation.”

Xue Shao asked gently, "Aren't the villagers very grateful to the government?"

“Of course,” the laborer said, straightening his chest. “That’s why our village pays the full amount of land tax every year, and we even voluntarily pay an extra liter of tax per mu of land.”

Xue Shao and Pan Yun remained silent, while Xi Jin, standing to the side, opened his mouth wide, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.

The landlord pulled out a bamboo tube of wine from somewhere, opened it, poured a bowl for Xue Shao and Pan Jun, and said cheerfully, "Don't mind them, they're just lucky fools. They have no resentment, hatred, or anxiety, so their lives aren't so hard."

Pan Yun didn't expose the truth, but only asked the day laborers, "How long have you been waiting for payment?"

"It's been seventeen or eighteen years, back when I was still in my mother's womb. Every year, our village chief led all the men and women of our village to the county to pay our taxes, and the county magistrate praised our village," the laborer said. "In comparison, Da Chun and his men have a much worse life than us. They have to cultivate so much land every year, and if there's a war, they have to go to the battlefield."

Xue Shao then told them, “Military households… shouldn’t be something everyone avoids like the plague. Emperor Taizu Gaozu decreed that each military household would be allocated fifty mu of land. The court would provide military households with seeds, oxen, and farming tools. Soldiers who go to guard posts would also be allocated houses and would not have to pay land taxes. Regular soldiers would not have to perform corvée labor, and soldiers would also receive a monthly ration subsidy. There are also schools in the army where children of military households could attend school for free…”

The laborers were stunned, forgetting even to eat their fish: "If the military households are so good, why did they still run away?"

"Yes, I've never heard Da Chun mention that they have land. If they had land, why would they give Feng Bancheng so much land to cultivate?"

The formulation and implementation of policies is one issue, but their continuity is an even bigger one.

Xue Shao and Pan Yun exchanged a glance.

The policy formulated by Lao Zhu is not problematic; the problem lies in how to implement it effectively and ensure its continuation.

The landlord glanced at Xue Shao and Pan Jun, who remained silent, and sneered, "Alright, alright, stop asking. When the founding emperor was conquering the country, he told his brothers that they would share the country together. But after the country was conquered, all his brothers were killed. Saying something you can't do is pointless. What's the use of asking them? They weren't emperors or officials."

Xue Shao quickly said, "This is a misconception. Emperor Taizu Gao dealt with only the most vicious and corrupt officials. The vast majority of other meritorious officials died peacefully."

The landlord put down the bamboo tube: "That's not what the storyteller said."

Xue Shao: "Storytellers mostly spread rumors and misinformation..."

"The storyteller spread rumors, so what you said is true?" The landlord firmly believed in the gossip he had heard and said, "Then those guys even said that the magistrate who compensated their village with government land was a good official."

The laborer, startled, immediately exclaimed, "How is he not a good official?"

"Good official my foot! He gave you the official land as compensation, but he and Feng Bancheng embezzled your best farmland. You were lucky that the later county magistrate didn't confiscate the official land, and the censor was blind and deaf. Otherwise, not only would the official land that was given to you be taken back, but your whole village would be questioned and convicted. Who knows where that extra liter of land tax you paid every year ended up?"

Her long-held beliefs crumbled. She stopped eating the fish, slammed down her chopsticks, and stood up, shouting, "You're talking nonsense! Magistrate Wu was a good man. He's been gone for over ten years, and my father still talks about him every year and prays for him. How could he be a bad person?"

Landlord: "So the magistrate you were talking about is surnamed Wu? Is his name Wu Fusheng? What a coincidence, he's the one who forced me to go into business back then!"

The landlord also slammed down his chopsticks, stood up, and glared angrily at the day laborer.

Seeing that they were about to get to work, Pan Yun interrupted and asked the day laborer, "For an old county magistrate you've never even met, are you willing to fight with the landlord, win and pay compensation to move out, lose and get injured and move out?"

The laborer paused in his rolling up of sleeves, remaining silent. Xue Shao then pulled the landlord aside and said, "You just said they were fools with good fortune, and now you're arguing with fools? Doesn't that make you a fool too?"

The landlord immediately brushed his hand away: "I'm not going to argue with a fool."

The day laborer was about to sit down when he heard this, so he rolled up his sleeves again: "Who are you two calling a fool?"

"Alright, alright, stop arguing," Pan Yun glared at Xue Shao, feeling that he had no skill at mediating a fight. She grabbed the laborer's arm and slammed him onto the stool. "Do you know that the imperial court is going to investigate military affairs? The military farms are one of the most important aspects. Hasn't the Guangdong Military Command sent anyone to investigate him?"

What is the Guangdong Military Command?

"How would ordinary people like us know about such things?"

“That’s true,” Pan Jun nodded slightly and asked, “What else do you know?”

A day laborer: "Why are we always the ones saying what we know?"

The landlord chimed in at the opportune moment: "Yes, why?"

Pan Yun: "You can also ask us anything you want to know, and we will answer everything we know without reservation."

"Are you really asking so many questions because you want to go to the Feng family to compete in martial arts and become their son-in-law?"

Pan Yun glanced at Xue Shao and smiled, "I'm willing to give it a try."

Upon hearing this, the laborers immediately swarmed around him, saying enthusiastically, "Young Master Xue, if you become a son-in-law of the Feng family, don't forget us! We've shared the night, so we should have some affection for each other."

“Young Master Xue, if you become a son-in-law, you can leave the monthly shopping and moving work to me. I’m good at moving things and I’ll make sure you don’t get hurt. I’ll even ask for two coins less in wages.”

"Go away, Young Master Xue is now a member of the Feng family, why would he care about two coins of wages? Young Master Xue, how about I take care of your family's excrement from now on?"

"What excrement and urine? That's called night soil! You didn't even get the name right. Young Master Xue, you can't give it to him, give it to me."

Xue Shao was pestered relentlessly, so he simply agreed: "If I can become a member of the Feng family."

The next morning, Xue Shao went to the entrance of the county school, found Huang Quan, and was led by him to the Feng family's villa.

Pan Yun changed into a Taoist robe, took out his fortune-telling banner, and went out with Pan Xiaohei.

As soon as she stepped out, she carried the banner and headed towards the garrison.

The main responsibilities of the local thousand-household garrison were to guard the city gates, train soldiers, suppress bandits, and protect the people.

But as she walked past the door, she only saw a few veterans sitting loosely. Judging from their clothes, they were at most small flags and had no official rank.

When Pan Jun turned back, he simply carried the banner and started chatting with them: "Gentlemen, your rheumatism seems to be quite severe. Would you like some treatment?" (End of Chapter)