MLMD – Chapter 13 Shock

Seeing the displeased look on Yue Yang’s face, Shunbao, who was standing to the side, thought that his young master was worried about what was about to happen. He comforted him, saying, “Young Master, don’t worry too much. Although our Yue family hasn’t been as influential these past two years as when the old master was still around, we’re not lambs waiting to be slaughtered either. Besides, they also have to watch their manners—otherwise people will talk.”

Yue Yang shook his head slightly. “Shunbao, you’ve misunderstood. What I’m worried about isn’t that.”

Shunbao was taken aback and couldn’t help asking, “Then what is it?”

“Look,” Yue Yang said, pointing at the pedestrians passing by on the street. “Yingzhou Prefecture is the seat of a prefecture, yet look at this—the lives of the common people aren’t any better than those in Wuli Village. From this alone, you can see the state of our Great Ming’s national strength. If the people are suffering like this, tell me—if the Manchu Qing barbarians come attacking, would we even have the ability to withstand their military might?”

Shunbao froze for a moment. “Young Master, you’re worrying too much. Don’t we have the elite troops of the Nine Border Garrisons stationed at Datong Prefecture to block them? How could the barbarians so easily reach this place?”

Yue Yang sighed softly and glared at Shunbao with a look of disappointment, scolding him, “You fool! Have you forgotten that in the second year of Chongzhen, Qing troops broke through the passes and fought all the way to Beijing? What if this time they enter through the Xuanfu Garrison? Have you thought about what the consequences would be?”

Scratching his head, Shunbao replied honestly, “Young Master, that’s something only the Emperor and the high ministers of the court think about. This humble servant has never considered such things.”

Hu Laosan, standing nearby, also chimed in, “Exactly, Young Master. Matters of the military and the state are not something we common folk can meddle in. If the officials were to hear us, we’d surely be slapped with the charge of ‘recklessly discussing state affairs.’”

“You—!” Hearing their indifferent remarks, Yue Yang shot the two of them an angry look and fell silent.

Even so, Yue Yang didn’t truly blame them. After all, this was simply how the environment of the Great Ming was. Ancient rulers practiced a policy of keeping the people ignorant. In order to ensure that his dynasty would last “for ten thousand generations,” the founding emperor of the Ming, Zhu Yuanzhang, imposed a rigid household registration system on all Ming subjects: farmers could only farm, soldiers could only be soldiers, night watchmen could only keep watch, and those who hauled night soil would haul it for their entire lives. Even visiting relatives required reporting to the authorities. Such a system further shackled the minds of the people. It not only caused local clan powers to expand even more, but also left the common people with a sense of family only—no sense of nation.

Shunbao and Hu Laosan might think this way, but Yue Yang could not. Coming from a later age, Yue Yang knew all too well what kind of violent storm would soon sweep across this land of China. That storm would not only bury the last feudal dynasty ruled by the Han people, but would also directly change the course of Chinese history. After the Yuan dynasty, China’s backbone would once again be broken by nomadic peoples, a painful process that would last for several hundred years.

When he had first arrived, Yue Yang had once excitedly believed that, with his ability to freely travel between two time periods, he could easily change the history of the Ming dynasty. What were the Manchu Qing barbarians, anyway? No matter how skilled they were at horseback archery, could they stand up to modern machine guns and artillery? One burst of bullets, and even the fiercest warrior would be riddled like a honeycomb.

But after calming down, Yue Yang realized that even though he possessed the ability to freely traverse two eras, his power was still extremely limited. As for machine guns and artillery, that was nothing more than a dream. In the modern era, Yue Yang was just a poor nobody. Even if you gave him a mountain of gold and silver, he wouldn’t know where to get large quantities of firearms and ammunition. Did you really think the modern police and neighborhood committee aunties were just there to eat for free? Especially in a country where even buying a kitchen knife requires real-name registration—apart from the state’s violent apparatus and the military, any attempt to purchase weapons on a large scale would be ruthlessly suppressed. Yue Yang certainly didn’t believe a grassroots nobody like himself would be an exception.

Still, even if he couldn’t march into battle carrying an AK-47 against the Qing barbarians, with the highly advanced technology of modern society behind him, Yue Yang was confident that he could carve out a completely different path in this chaotic age.

Time slowly passed as Yue Yang was lost in thought. Two quarters of an hour later, the group arrived at the entrance of the Yingzhou Prefectural Office. Two yamen runners stood guard at the gate with sabers in hand. Shunbao dismounted, handed over the “name card” sent by Prefect Zheng to one of the runners, and said with a smile, “Sorry to trouble you, officer. We are from Yue Family Manor. This here is our young master. We have come today to pay our respects to the Prefect.”

After taking the name card, the runner lazily sized up Yue Yang and the others before saying, “So you’re from Yue Family Manor? The Prefect has already given orders—if the people from Yue Family Manor of Wuli Village arrive, you may enter directly without reporting!”

Shunbao quickly cupped his hands in thanks. “Many thanks, officer!”

The runner waved impatiently. “Hurry up and go in. Don’t block the way here! Also, only the Yue family’s young master may enter. The rest of you idle people don’t need to go in!”

Shunbao was startled and hurriedly asked, “Why is that? Are the other families treated the same way?”

The runner’s face darkened, and he immediately shouted at Shunbao, “Why are you so long-winded? These are orders from above—do you dare disobey?”

Seeing the impatience on the runner’s face, Yue Yang’s heart sank slightly. Judging from this man’s attitude, he didn’t seem very friendly. Were civil servants of this era all this arrogant? If so, that would be one thing. If not, then it meant this runner was deliberately targeting their group.

Yue Yang’s mind raced, but he couldn’t come up with a good solution for the moment. He turned to Shunbao and Hu Laosan, who both looked unwilling, and said calmly, “Shunbao, Master Hu, you wait outside. I’ll go in alone. This is the Prefectural Office, not some dragon’s lair or tiger’s den. Are you really worried about my safety?”

“Yes!” Shunbao and Master Hu thought about it and agreed. If there was any place safest in Yingzhou City—aside from the barracks and the treasury—it would be here.

“Are you done talking? If so, hurry up!” the runner barked impatiently, then took the lead and went inside.

Seeing the runner’s attitude, a flash of displeasure crossed Yue Yang’s eyes. He gave the man a deep look and then followed him in…

At the moment Yue Yang entered the yamen, in the main hall of the rear courtyard, Yingzhou Prefect Zheng Fakui was conversing with three middle-aged men.

Zheng Fakui was forty-three years old, with kind brows and gentle eyes, giving the impression of an amiable old man rather than an official. In fact, he was a bona fide jinshi from the third year of Tianqi. Seated below him were Wang Shoucheng, the head of the Wang family, as well as the heads of the Lin and Li families.

The atmosphere in the hall was somewhat oppressive. Everyone kept their heads down, sipping tea without speaking. Wang Shoucheng put on a flattering smile and said to Zheng Fakui, “Lord Zheng, once the old matriarch of Yue Family Manor arrives later, I suspect she won’t submit easily. At that point, we’ll have to rely on you, my lord.”

Hearing this, Zheng Fakui frowned slightly. To be honest, he didn’t want to get involved in this matter. Although he was the Prefect of Yingzhou, it was inappropriate for him to meddle too much in conflicts among the gentry. After all, this was an internal struggle between landowners, and if word got out, he would surely be criticized.

However, this time the Wang, Lin, and Li families had jointly come to him. Not only had they presented him with a generous gift of ten thousand taels of silver, but Wang Shoucheng had also hinted that if the matter succeeded, he would have his eldest son—who served as a Supervising Secretary in the Six Ministries—help lobby the Ministry of Personnel, so that after Zheng Fakui’s term ended, he could be transferred to a wealthy post in Jiangnan.

Zheng Fakui scoffed inwardly at Wang Shoucheng’s hint, yet he also knew very well that those censorial officials might not be very good at helping you get things done, but they were more than capable of ruining your affairs. Thus, he had no choice but to pinch his nose and agree—though only to offer some side support. Now, seeing that Wang Shoucheng actually wanted him to charge into the front line, Zheng Fakui was displeased. He set down his teacup, frowned, and said, “Brother Wang, this matter is ultimately a private affair among your four families. As the Prefect of Yingzhou, it would be inappropriate for me to openly favor any one side. Therefore, this issue should mainly be resolved through your own discussions. Brother Wang, you must understand my difficulties.”

“That old fox!” Wang Shoucheng cursed inwardly. But there was nothing he could do about the highest local official. He could only turn his gaze to Li Yuan, the head of the Li family, and Lin Yuanteng, the head of the Lin family, signaling them to say something.

Li Yuan and Lin Yuanteng exchanged a glance and were just about to speak when suddenly a yamen runner called out loudly from the doorway, “Reporting to the Prefect—people from Yue Family Manor have arrived!”

Zheng Fakui nodded. “Oh? Has the old matriarch of the Yue family arrived? Quickly invite her in.”

The runner outside hurriedly replied, “My lord, the person who came from Yue Family Manor this time is not the old matriarch, but the young master of the Yue family—Yue Yang!”

“What?!”

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was stunned…