Chapter 2607 - 2580: Enlightenment

Manbao nodded repeatedly and gave her a thumbs-up.

The wontons were quickly served, a big bowl filled with plump wontons. Changyu said, "The noodles here are not as good as the ones outside the Imperial City, but the filling is well-seasoned and plentiful. Each wonton is this big."

Manbao nodded repeatedly. After taking a bite, she said, "When we passed through Xiazhou earlier, we found that they serve wontons separately on a plate, and they call them jiao’er instead, dipping them in vinegar. I think it’s quite good."

"Really?" Changyu said, "I’ll try it when I get the chance."

After they finished eating the wontons, there weren’t many people left at the stall, so they just sat there talking, watching the people coming and going on the street.

Wei Yu sighed, "Peace in the country and harmony among the people."

Bai Shan laughed and said, "For there to be peace in the country, there must first be harmony among the people."

Yet in his heart, he couldn’t help but think of the debates among the lords in the recent morning meetings and the emperor’s various worries in private.

This peace in the country and harmony among the people seemed quite fragile, with too much time and hidden dangers.

Bai Shan couldn’t help rotating his thumb on his forefinger’s knuckle, contemplating with lowered eyes.

On their way back, Manbao kept turning her head to look at him, and just before they reached home, she couldn’t help but reach out to hold his hand.

Bai Shan looked down at her.

Manbao asked, "What’s wrong with you?"

Bai Shan shook his head, "Nothing."

"After eating the wontons, you’ve been unusually silent, and you seem to be in a bad mood."

Bai Shan tightly held her hand, walked a few steps forward, and then stopped slowly. After a pause, he said, "Manbao, it wasn’t until today that I understood why Scholarly Senior Brother Yang refused the solicitations of the Central Secretariat and the Ministry of Revenue and Personnel after leaving the Hanlin Academy, and instead chose to become the county magistrate of a lower county like Luojiang County."

Manbao quietly looked at him.

Bai Shan said, "Though Great Jin is young, it is not without its flaws. His Majesty is wise and magnanimous and is willing to accept advice, which is why there is peace in the country and harmony among the people now, but beneath this prosperity, there are still many, many issues."

"I believe myself to be well-read, including those unofficial histories and tales you brought forth. I’ve envisioned more than once how prosperous and flourishing Great Jin could be in the future." Bai Shan raised his head and looked forward. Ahead was a wide avenue, with the gate to the Zhou Residence not far away, and further on, the high and long walls of the Du family.

"However, as confident as I used to be, now I am equally uncertain," he said. "In just three months, the Great Jin I’ve seen is very different from what I used to believe. As wise and powerful as His Majesty is, as intelligent and just as Lord Wei is, and as mentally strong as Lord Tang is, they all have to act cautiously and concede in many matters."

He said, "I used to take things for granted."

Manbao listened quietly.

Bai Shan squeezed her hand tightly, then loosened it, but finally couldn’t help but grip it tightly again. He said, "I can’t think of a perfect solution to these issues, not at least at present. As strong as His Majesty is, he still has to tread carefully and cautiously calculate, let alone us?"

What can he rely on?

There’s the Bai Family, a small, fourth- or fifth-rate family ready to abandon him at any time, then there’s Manbao, still walking on thin ice as a member of a collateral family; Bai Er reliant on the royal family, and his eldest cousin from the same background...

Perhaps they could add a crown prince to the equation.

But if even the emperor has to cautiously manage the situation, how much weight would adding a crown prince truly add?

Therefore, it is still a matter of approach.

Like the emperor, Bai Shan does not wish to resolve these issues with violence, as violence would ultimately harm the common people the most.

Though in prosperity, the people suffer; in downfall, the people suffer. But in downfall, the people’s suffering would certainly be greater.

Bai Shan said, "I can’t find a solution in the capital, so I want to be sent out on assignment."

Manbao was surprised, "You want to be sent out now?"

Bai Shan smiled and said, "I want to apply for external assignment next year during the official reporting period, starting from the position of a county magistrate."

Isn’t that considered a demotion?

Manbao tilted her head to look at him.

Bai Shan sighed and said, "You guessed it, didn’t you? It is indeed a demotion and transfer, but I still want to start as a county magistrate."

He said, "Now I understand why Scholarly Senior Brother Yang insisted on an external assignment as a local official. Solutions can’t be found in the capital; they have to be sought at the local level."

Manbao roughly understood what he meant and said, "Go, I support you."

Hearing this, Bai Shan exhaled, holding her hand, he said, "If we can’t be assigned to the same place by then..."

Manbao said, "I’ll miss you."

Bai Shan: ...It seems I wasn’t comforted.

He squeezed Manbao’s hand tightly and couldn’t let go.

Manbao looked around and, taking advantage of Daji and Xi Bing’s inattention behind them, tiptoed and kissed him on the cheek, whispering, "I really will miss you."

Bai Shan’s heart felt as sweet as if he’d eaten honey, and then a tinge of sourness arose. He whispered, "I will miss you too."

Daji behind them: ...It sounds like they’re going to be separated tomorrow.

Hand in hand, the two walked home. Bai Shan pondered for a long time and finally picked up a pen to write to Yang Heshu. He felt this matter needed to be shared with Yang Heshu and sought his opinion.

When the letter arrived in Xiazhou, officials from the Censorate and the Ministry of Justice and Punishments in Qizhou had also returned to the capital, bringing back a large number of ledgers and land records, detailing the land transfers that had gone through the hands of Qizhou’s governor over the past eight years.

The emperor only saw the governor of Qizhou once before refusing to see him again, but he met with Patriarch Zheng twice.

Through the emperor and the court’s open and covert strategies, the handling of the matter was quick.

The governor of Qizhou was dismissed for dereliction of duty. The large transactions of public land sold during his term were annulled by the emperor, who reclaimed the land at the original price, regardless of how many times it changed hands or how much the last buyer had paid.

The annulled transactions were determined after careful investigation and calculation by the Censorate, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Justice and Punishments, and the Ministry of Revenue. They could confirm that none of the involved parties were innocent.

This announcement would not only be posted on the city walls of Qizhou and the bulletin board outside the governor’s mansion but also on the bulletin board of the Ministry of Justice and Punishments in the capital and be copied and sent to each household.

Just when the involved parties were extremely angered and planning violent resistance, the Zheng family returned the land without asking for a penny and submitted a plea admitting guilt and error, stating that the land was purchased by a manager in the family claiming it was cheap, but they were unaware of any hidden circumstances, and inadvertently set a bad example for Great Jin, feeling deeply ashamed and so forth.

Anyway, those ten acres of land were returned under the name of the Qizhou governor’s mansion.

Then the emperor showed favoritism, directly allocating this land to the land-scarce Ministry of Revenue.

Wei Zhi and other ministers turned a blind eye, pretending not to know.

Seeing this, other families hesitated, then the Ministry of Justice united with local county-government officials, bringing copper coins to redeem the land...

Some silently handed over the land, but others directly shut their doors, claiming no one was home.

This period was very sensitive, as spring ploughing had ended, crops in the fields were already established, wheat was turning yellow, and it wouldn’t be long before harvest time. Redeeming land at this point was something even the tenant farmers would disagree with.

Even though the court had clearly stated that this year’s harvests still belonged to them, and the court would only formally take over after redemption in the autumn, the tenant farmers were still incited to cause a commotion.