MLMD -Chapter 207 These Treacherous Merchants All Deserve to Die

Slowly cradling his teacup, Yue Yang sat back in his chair and sipped his tea. He shot a sideways glance at Jiang Xin seated beside him, sneering inwardly, but did not respond.

Over the past several days, Yue Yang had observed Jiang Xin’s every move. This Jiang Xin was no different from the majority of officials in the Ming court at present—clinging to the principle of “seeking no merit, only avoiding fault.” When the merchants went on strike and the scholars suspended classes, Jiang Xin’s first thought had not been how to quell the unrest, but whether the incident would affect him personally, and whether the court would blame him for it. Never once did such people consider whether the lives of the common folk under their rule would be harmed, or whether the actions of these merchants benefited the court or the nation. And now, after Yue Yang’s household had used thunderous measures to deal with both merchants and scholars, Jiang Xin could no longer restrain himself and hurriedly jumped out to make his presence known.

“So this is the officialdom,” Yue Yang sighed softly.

In truth, while Yue Yang was lost in thought, Jiang Xin’s mind was racing just as quickly. He knew that his behavior these past few days had already displeased the Assistant Commander beside him. A man who could only share prosperity but not hardship would never earn another’s sincere regard.

Thinking of this, Jiang Xin felt a twinge of regret. If, in those earlier days, he had decisively stood on Yue Yang’s side instead of hiding in the prefectural yamen to watch the spectacle, he would surely have already become Yue Yang’s honored guest by now.

That said, Jiang Xin was indeed a veteran of officialdom. His awkwardness lasted only a moment before he cast it aside. Gently setting down his teacup, he smiled and said, “Lord Yue, many major events occurred in Hunyuan Prefecture today—the merchants’ strike, the scholars’ class boycott, soaring prices. As prefect, I was powerless to stop any of it. Truly, I feel deeply ashamed.”

Looking at Jiang Xin’s earnest expression, Yue Yang could not help but recall a saying from later generations: “Every qualified official is an excellent actor.”

Suppressing his inner discomfort, Yue Yang smiled faintly. “Lord Jiang, after this round of rectification, Hunyuan Prefecture is bound to take on a new look. As the father-mother official of this land, you must surely be pleased.”

“Pleased my ass!” Jiang Xin cursed silently. “You’ve killed those you could kill and arrested those you could arrest among the merchants and scholars—how could it not look ‘new’?”

Jiang Xin lifted his teacup to drink, only to find it empty. With an embarrassed chuckle, he continued, “What Lord Yue said is most agreeable. These people have long enjoyed the court’s benevolence, yet instead of repaying it, they committed such acts that harm the nation and the people. Truly, they harbor the hearts of wolves.”

Jiang Xin cursed at length before narrowing his eyes and asking, “Regarding this upheaval, how does Lord Yue intend to dispose of those involved?”

Yue Yang knew that among all the nonsense Jiang Xin had spoken earlier, this single sentence was his true purpose for coming today. He replied calmly, “As Shanxi Assistant Commander and Northern Route Guerrilla General, safeguarding the realm and pacifying the people is my duty. Yet the ancients also said: one does not meddle in affairs outside one’s post. Arresting them was within my responsibility, but how they are to be punished is not for me to decide.

“Fang Jiuming and Fang Yingdi, father and son, colluded with the Tatar enemy along with certain merchants; Jia Zizhen’s concubine, Fan Meier, was an Eastern Slave spy; and Northern Route grain transport officer Zhou Nan, Hengkou garrison officer Niu Mangui, and Shawo Pass garrison officer Xi Huaiying seized the people’s land, slaughtered innocents, and cowered without fighting the enemy. These people are not within my authority to judge. They should naturally be handed over to the prefectural yamen for joint trial by the Three Offices, and then reported to the throne for final judgment.”

“Hah…”

Hearing this, Jiang Xin finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Before coming, he had feared that in a fit of rage Yue Yang might simply behead them all. If that happened, things would become troublesome—even he, the prefect, would not escape blame. Now, however, it seemed that this man still understood the rules.

Since Yue Yang was willing to hand these people over to the prefectural yamen, Jiang Xin would inevitably play an important role in this turmoil. This was crucial for him. Otherwise, if court officials or the emperor later asked about his conduct during those days, others would say that he merely feigned illness in the yamen and waited for the situation to worsen. In that case, his career as prefect would be finished. But now things were different—once this matter was mentioned at court, people would remember that it was he who pronounced judgment on those Eastern Slave spies. The difference was night and day.

Still, although Jiang Xin was secretly delighted, he had not forgotten that how these people were ultimately sentenced would largely depend on the opinion of the General of Manifest Might before him. After all, the severity of the judgment depended on the evidence Yue Yang provided.

With this in mind, Jiang Xin humbly consulted Yue Yang on how these people should be sentenced.

On this point, Yue Yang’s stance was firm. People like Fang Jiuming, Fang Yingdi, and Jia Zizhen could not be allowed to remain alive. Throughout history, there had been far too many cases of failing to kill a tiger and suffering later as a result. Yue Yang had no desire to become another such example.

As for the great merchants, Yue Yang believed their property and land should be confiscated and turned over to the state. Of their gold and silver, five tenths should be handed to the national treasury to alleviate its shortage. Yue Yang estimated that the court could gain at least over a million taels of silver—surely something Chongzhen would be pleased to see.

Of the remaining five tenths, part would be given to Jiang Xin, and the rest used to resettle refugees, easing Hunyuan Prefecture’s economic burden. Moreover, after confiscating their land, at least over a hundred thousand mu of fertile fields could be obtained, enough to resettle tens of thousands of refugees.

As Yue Yang spoke and calculated, he could not help but inhale sharply.

“Damn… just wiping out a few treacherous merchants yields so much land and wealth. And those refugees who receive land will surely be deeply grateful to me. No wonder certain people in later generations were so keen on ‘beating local tyrants and redistributing land’—it really is the ultimate method for getting rich and winning hearts.”

Listening to Yue Yang’s proposed handling of the merchants, Jiang Xin pondered quietly. He realized that using confiscated land and wealth to resettle refugees was indeed an excellent way to quickly stabilize public sentiment. Although the idea was not his, it would be announced in his name, allowing his prestige among the people to rise swiftly—greatly benefiting him.

As for whether the northern merchants would hate him, Jiang Xin could not care less. He clearly remembered that when he first took office in Hunyuan Prefecture, the Fang family father and son and those merchants had shown him no courtesy. He had stagnated in Hunyuan for four years without promotion—wasn’t it precisely because he lacked any noteworthy achievements? And hadn’t those merchants been dragging him down all along? During the last Tatar incursion, if not for Yue Yang leading troops to rescue them, his head would already have rolled. Thinking of this, Jiang Xin’s hatred toward those treacherous merchants deepened further.

Jiang Xin and Yue Yang then discussed matters a while longer in veiled language. In the end, they decided that of the confiscated property, five tenths would go to the court; of the remaining five, Jiang Xin would keep two tenths and Yue Yang three tenths. As for the expenses needed to “smooth things over” with higher authorities, Jiang Xin would bear them.

At first glance, Jiang Xin seemed to lose out—only two tenths, and he even had to cover the smoothing-over costs. Yet he was already quite satisfied. After all, he had done practically nothing in this affair and still gained nearly two hundred thousand taels of silver. After expenses, he would retain over a hundred thousand taels—pure profit.

Moreover, the silver Yue Yang received would not all go into his own pocket; much of it would be used to resettle refugees. Calculated this way, Jiang Xin’s heart immediately felt at ease.

After the two foxes—one large, one small—finished their negotiations, they exchanged smiles, both satisfied with the outcome. Jiang Xin gained reputation and a huge sum of silver; Yue Yang gained land, silver, and several vacant posts for military officers, allowing him to install his own subordinates.

They talked until the sun sank in the west. Only then did Jiang Xin, thoroughly pleased, take his leave and return to his residence. He would be working through the night—tomorrow he would begin exercising his authority as prefect and pronounce judgment on those people.

Half a month later, far away in the capital region, Chongzhen received the judgment request sent by Jiang Xin, Prefect of Hunyuan. Reading this murderous memorial, Chongzhen’s expression shifted repeatedly. At that moment, the Warm Fragrance Pavilion was utterly silent, with only Wang Chengen attending at his side.

Chongzhen sighed and said, “Companion, those merchants and gentry have long enjoyed imperial favor. The state has fostered scholars for over two hundred years—how can they still commit such acts of having neither ruler nor father? Fortunately, Yue Yang uncovered their activities. Otherwise, I would never have known that such a small Hunyuan Prefecture hid so many parasites.”

Seeing the sorrow on Chongzhen’s face, Wang Chengen quickly comforted him. “Your Majesty, please calm your anger. When the Founding Emperor was alive, he established the policy of ranking scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants—there was reason for it. Merchants are greedy by nature; this has always been so. For money, what wouldn’t they do? This servant believes that Yue Yang killed well this time. Slaughtering a batch of treacherous merchants will serve as a warning to those below. Besides, they were not killed for nothing. Look at what this memorial says—they confiscated over a million taels of stolen silver, which will soon be escorted to the capital. That way, our treasury won’t be so desperately strapped for cash.”

“Mmm, that makes sense.”

At the thought of suddenly gaining over a million taels of silver, Chongzhen’s previously gloomy mood brightened considerably. Yet thinking of the sheer amount, he felt both pleased and resentful. The Ming court’s annual tax revenue was only a little over four million taels—yet Yue Yang, by confiscating just a few merchants, had obtained over a million. No wonder the treasury was empty; all the silver had ended up in those treacherous merchants’ vaults.

Thinking this, Chongzhen could not help but curse bitterly: “Those treacherous merchants deserve to die!”