My Fulang is a Delicate Flower Chapter 109 Part 1

Chapter 109

To ensure his subordinates were not acting recklessly, Huo Shu went to the county seat. He even specifically sent someone to probe the county magistrate's stance once more, it was confirmed that they had not misjudged him.

It was a classic case of those above setting a bad example, and those below following suit.

Although he had anticipated that officials in these chaotic times might not be much better than bandits, he hadn't expected them to be quite this despicable.

The mood among the group was somewhat low.

Additionally, while in the city, Huo Shu inquired about the situation in the south. The information from the yamen runners that day proved true: the Sixth Prince had won a major victory against the pirates in Hailin, forcing the pirate forces into a steady and repeated retreat.

Jiang Yuhou later received a letter from the capital. The situation in the capital had also changed. The old emperor was immensely pleased, greatly praising the Sixth Prince for this campaign. Although he hadn't made many verbal promises, the fact that the three princes in the capital were making many moves indicated the old emperor's regard for the Sixth Prince.

"If Hailin Prefecture is recaptured, the army will certainly head straight for Tongzhou."

Huo Shu said coldly, "I heard from the information seller that the rebels in Tongzhou have already reached into Lianping Prefecture, intending to expand northward."

Jiang Yuhou responded, "The rebels aren't stupid. They don't dare invade southward, nor do they dare create obstacles. If our dynasty's army cannot suppress the customs, and the pirates break into our territory, after Hailin, the next target would certainly be Tongzhou. After all, everyone knows it's fertile land. When that time comes, they won't fare well either."

"The rebels also don't want our dynasty's territory to fall, but they can't just wait for death. The best course for them is to expand their own territory as quickly as possible while the military strength is focused on Hailin."

Huo Shu offered no comment.

After gathering information and purchasing the things the villagers needed, they hurried back.

As soon as they returned to the village, the villagers saw them, dropped their hoes, and gathered around: "How did it go? Did the authorities permit us to register?"

"Previously, when localities suffered disasters, refugees migrating to new places were often welcomed by the authorities if they had able-bodied men, as it increased population and improved their performance records. With so many able-bodied men among us, we should be able to negotiate good terms, right?"

Ji Yangzong had acted quickly, he had already told the villagers that Huo Shu would go to inquire about household registration.

In the past, they waited for Ji Yangzong to return to the village and announce matters like autumn tax collection. Now, the roles were reversed.

Ji Taoyu looked at the eager faces of the villagers and finally understood why his father always felt particularly heavy-hearted whenever he had to go to town for meetings.

If it was good news, naturally everyone was happy; but if it was bad news like today's, it truly brought disappointment.

Huo Shu only said: "Let's talk at the main courtyard."

Seeing this, the villagers immediately spread the word. Soon, a crowd had gathered in the main courtyard.

Huo Shu didn't hide anything from everyone. He clearly explained the authorities' attitude. If they didn't explain clearly beforehand, and the villagers didn't understand the authorities' stance, they might later be confused and deceived by the yamen runners, potentially leading them here and revealing their location, which would be bad.

"The authorities neither protect our safety nor have they ever provided us relief. Why should we, who have managed to build a life by ourselves, have to give them sixty percent of our grain tax!"

"We don't ask for reductions as refugees, we only seek fairness. If we had to pay the normal forty percent tax, there would be some reasoning. But this is purely intentional oppression and exploitation."

Upon learning that the local county magistrate was like this, the villagers were immediately furious. Although corrupt officials were commonly found, and even in Tongzhou they were constantly oppressed by yearly tax increases, it still chilled their hearts that the authorities intended to exploit them in their current desperate situation.

This undoubtedly stirred up strong indignation among the crowd: "They say it's for the status of being a lawful citizen, so that future descendants won't face obstacles if pursuing official careers. But with the current external worries and internal unrest, it's unknown if this court can even survive. The imperial examinations have been temporarily suspended. It's uncertain whether this dynasty will last long. Since the authorities now treat us like sheep, giving us no grass to eat but still wanting to drink our blood, we might as well forget about this household registration."

"That's right. Things are still chaotic everywhere. We might as well wait and see, stall them for a while. Anyway, we have food and shelter here now, it's not like we can't survive. If we really agreed to their terms, then we truly wouldn't be able to survive."

Everyone in the main courtyard was speaking with red faces and thick necks. Seeing this, Huo Shu's expression, in contrast, became somewhat calm. 

[脸红脖子粗 (liǎn hóng bó zi cū): lit. Face red, neck thick; fig. Flushed and excited with anger or agitation.]

He had laid out the authorities' conditions. Whether to register or not depended mainly on the majority's opinion.

Fortunately, after experiencing these many ups and downs, these people had finally developed some backbone. When faced with injustice, they knew to resist. In chaotic times, if they still followed the old ways of the peaceful past, obeying whatever the authorities said, even if they managed to survive by sheer luck, they would just be objects to be manipulated at will.

He wasn't afraid of their anger—what he feared was that even if they clearly knew the authorities were openly oppressing and exploiting them, they might still reluctantly and timidly agree to the conditions, producing grain for the authorities who had done nothing for them. That would truly be infuriating.

"Since things have come to this, let's leave it like this for now. We'll wait until the situation in the south changes before discussing it further."

Huo Shu instructed: "Lately, government personnel might enter the mountains to search. Everyone, be careful."

Apart from needing some seeds for the spring planting, most of the time was spent busy with farming. The villagers didn't really have time to roam around, but they still needed to be as cautious as before.

Thus, for whatever the village needed, the gathering team tried their best to fulfill it. The frequency of trips out changed from once every ten days to about once every five days.

However, as Huo Shu had anticipated, when the weather warmed up in the third and fourth months, government personnel indeed began to enter the southeastern area in succession to search for the village's location.

Not only that, they also set up camp tents, clearly preparing for a long-term struggle.