"How come they didn't dare enter before? Many villagers from nearby villages were robbed or kidnapped by bandits. When people went to report it to the authorities, they were ignored, with the officials handling the matters perfunctorily. Now, however, they are brave enough to enter the area to search, and even dare to set up camp."
When Ji Taoyu heard the patrol team's report to Huo Shu, he also could not help but voice his anger.
Huo Shu saw that Ji Taoyu was fuming with anger and instructed the patrol team to continue their vigilance and proceed with caution.
"The authorities have always been bullies who prey on the weak and fear the strong. Their tax grain was stolen by mountain bandits, and now this new village just right for filling the vacancy, so naturally they are willing to exert more effort."
Furthermore, it was likely that they had received news stating that the bandits in the southeast had been wiped out, and that the wasteland forest area in the southeast was now pacified, allowing them to easily find the bandits' former hideout. That was why they now dared to march in so boldly.
When the time came, they would register the village here under their jurisdiction, and might even claim to the outside world that it was the authorities who had completely cleared out the bandits in the southeast.
In this way, would they not achieve both reputation and merit?
However, they had counted their chickens before they were hatched. How could Huo Shu let them have everything their own way?
[数鸡在孵出之前 (Shǔ jī zài fū chū zhī qián): lit. To count chickens before they are hatched; fig. To be overly optimistic by making plans based on good outcomes that are not yet guaranteed.]
Those bandits were cunning. They had a hard time, and now they wanted to make sure Huo Shu and the others did not have it easy either.
"If the authorities want to come, then let them know this place is no paradise. A bandit den is a bandit den. Who says the bandits are completely gone, allowing the long-intimidated authorities to enter so boldly?"
Ji Taoyu, hearing Huo Shu's words, raised his eyebrows inquisitively: "What exactly are you planning to do?"
Huo Shu, however, did not reveal his specific plans.
Two days later, without further explanation, he led a small team and departed from the village.
"The paths in these mountains are overgrown taller than a man. These southerners really know how to pick a place. It's a wonder they managed to settle here without being eaten by wild beasts."
"We've asked everyone in the nearby villages, their mouths are tight, all saying they don't know. Damn unruly people! Everyone, stay alert, watch out for miasma and poisonous insects."
Huo Shu and his team lay in ambush in a hidden spot, watching the yamen runners on the hillside cursing and slashing at the grass to clear a path.
The sun was already high in the sky before this group of men finally began their work. It was clear the authorities excelled at raising people, having raised a bunch of quick-tempered rice buckets.
[饭桶 (fàn tǒng): lit. rice bucket; fig. a good-for-nothing, an idle eater]
"Let's just set a fire and burn it clear, save us the effort of searching. The southeast is vast with few people, the round trip is exhausting, how are we supposed to find it?"
"The county magistrate is really stubborn, ordering us to set up camp and work here. Who knows when we can report success."
"When we really catch those damned villagers, if we don't teach them a lesson it won't make up for all this trouble!"
Huo Shu saw this and signaled to the men beside him. Everyone disguised themselves as mountain bandits, covered half their faces, grabbed sacks, and rushed out.
"There's movement!"
The men on the hillside heard the rustling sounds and immediately became alert.
"Hehe, your grandpa is here!"
Eleven put on a rough voice, stood on high ground, and flung the sack in his hand hard at the yamen runners. The runners instinctively slashed at it with their swords.
"Damn it, they're poisonous bees!"
A buzzing sound immediately enveloped them. The group of yamen runners started running and jumping, unable to run uphill quickly, they could only charge downhill.
Scratching their heads and ears, they let out screams from time to time, crying and wailing, extremely ridiculous, just like a troop of monkeys coming down the mountain.
Ji Taoyu couldn't help but laugh.
After that, every time these yamen runners went to search for the village, Huo Shu sent people to harass them, specifically assigning those who had formerly been bandits to the task.
These men had clashed with the authorities many times in the past and now had plenty of ways to mess with them.
Ji Taoyu also made some herbal powder and had people sprinkle it around the yamen runners' camp, specifically to attract snakes, rats, and poisonous insects.
These yamen runners endured hardships by day and returned to a miserable camp at night. After only a few days of this, their morale broke. They retreated to the authorities with their heads hung low, where they reported and lamented that the bandits in the region were far from eradicated and remained dangerously rampant. They pleaded with the county magistrate to dispatch additional troops to crush the bandits and, while they were at it, to locate the elusive village.
These yamen runners understood the county magistrate's nature well. Regardless of whether the trouble in the southeast was truly from remaining bandits or from villagers disguising themselves to obstruct, they had genuinely suffered setbacks and humiliation.
If they didn't report that the bandits in the southeast were still a problem, the county magistrate would not only blame them for incompetence but would also certainly be so angered that he would order them to continue finding the village for registration to redeem themselves.
But by taking the opposite approach and reporting to the county magistrate that the bandit suppression effort was the primary challenge, he would not hold them accountable for their failure.
After all, the county's military resources were limited, and with the precedent from Tongzhou, how would he dare to openly send more troops to suppress bandits? He was probably afraid that if he moved forces to the southeast, the bandits in the northeast would rise up again.
The county magistrate flew into a rage, loudly cursing the source that had provided him with the initial, overly optimistic report. Faced with this setback, he had no choice but to once again suspend his plans to pressure and forcibly incorporate the village into the tax rolls.
Later, after about a month, the authorities put out news saying that the refugees who had migrated here would be allowed to voluntarily and honestly register and submit, with only fifty percent of the grain collected for the first three years. Afterwards, it would be the same as for ordinary good citizens of Yuchang, paying forty percent of the produced grain. The previous matter of forming a village without reporting would not be pursued
Thank you for the update!
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