It turns out these two villages do have scholars, specifically, the grandsons of two Land Officers.
Those who study pay utmost attention to their reputations, and if the word got out, their grandsons wouldnāt be able to stand their ground in the academy. In particular, their entire villages refusing to pay taxes could prevent their grandsons from ever achieving scholarly honors. Upon realizing this, both Land Officers deeply regretted their actions.
How did they end up doing such a thing?
"I heard that your grandsons are studying at the academy in Yanghe Town?" Ye Ziāan approached from the side.
"Didnāt I tell you to wait over there?" Yang Chuxia scolded him with a glance.
"With you here now, nobody dares bump into me, so naturally, I should come over." Indeed, since his arrival, although there were those who eyed him with envy like dogs after a bone, no one dared to come forward.
The two Land Officers certainly knew who was in front of them, the young Lord County Magistrate.
For many years, he was the only one in Mianyang County who truly considered the welfare of the common people; hence they believed he had a kind heart, which made them dare to do such a thingāalthough they had other motives behind their actions.
Seeing that the two Land Officers kept silent, Yang Chuxia snorted, "Not talking, huh?" She motioned to someone behind her, "Go on, keep beating them! Beat them until the cost of their medical treatment is enough to offset the taxes they owe for this year."
"Alright, Wife, weāll handle this." The burly man behind her chuckled, "Iām a butcher, and Iām best at dismantling peopleās arms and legsāitās no different from carving up pigs."
As the big man was about to step forward with his group,
the two Land Officers cried out in desperation, "No, no, no, have mercy, please have mercy."
"Mercy? Werenāt you all quite arrogant? You dared to drive away the County Principal Clerk, and you would dare the same with the County Magistrate." Yang Chuxia glared fiercely, her words dripping with sarcasm.
The faces of the two Land Officers turned bright red, "Weāll pay the taxes, weāll pay."
"Want to pay now? Too late! We donāt want your taxes anymore. Does the county office look like it needs your meager contributions?"
The county office wasnāt exactly poor at the moment, since after the Jiang Family had donated their property, other wealthy households from several other towns also heard the news and donated a considerable amount. Coupled with the confiscated assets and taxes collected this year, there really was quite a sum of silver.
"Please, Wife, we were wrong, Lord County Magistrate, we were wrong, truly we were." The two Land Officers could tell from their interaction that the relationship between Yang Chuxia and Ye Ziāan was not a simple one.
They thought to themselves, if they really had all their villagers beaten up, appealing to the officials would definitely be futile. In the end, it would still be their own pain and expense, so what would be the point of making a fuss?
"Yes, yes, we wonāt dare anymore, weāll pay the taxes, right away. From now on, our two villages will lead by example in paying taxes every year, we just ask for your mercy, Wife."
The Land Officers thought to themselves that indeed, this womanās heart was ruthless, and she played her cards in an entirely unconventional manner.
Seeing that Yang Chuxia and Ye Ziāan remained silent, the two Land Officers added, "Actually, actually, itās true we didnāt want to pay taxes."
"Hm?" Yang Chuxia glared over upon hearing this.
"No, we didnāt mean it like that." The Land Officer slapped himself on the mouth, and continued, "Actually, we just wanted more silver for the land requisition, and, moreover, to get a chance to earn some wages by working on dikes and embankments."
Hearing this, Ye Ziāanās expression grew even colder, "All this because of that? Truly, your ambitions were too great. For the land requisitioned to widen the river channel, you were offered double the market price for good farmland, and yet you still felt it wasnāt enough? What is land requisition? When the state appropriates land, have you ever seen any county offer double compensation? Some counties donāt even pay the full price."