Back to the Beginning of Ming to do Charity

*Edited by LazyCat

After taking Gaoyou, the imperial court once again sent someone to deliver documents.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e ir on tr ee bl oo ms. c o m )

The person who was sent was a Han, probably because the court thought it would be easier for a Han to communicate with them. The Han who was sent was a small official named Jia Fuqing. He was dressed in plain clothes and had a small beard. When Lin Yuan saw him at the time, he felt that he looked like a typical Han official.

Standing in front of Lin Yuan, Jia Fuqing was a little nervous. He didn't know what bad luck had befallen him, to be sent to have talks with rebel thieves. In his opinion, Lin Yuan in front of him appeared to be just a young man who had a bit of a scholarly bearing. But in the end, he was still a rebel thief. The rebel thieves are unreasonable. You never know if they would cut off your head in the next second due to a small disagreement.

"Brother Jia." When Lin Yuan saw Jia Fuqing, he greeted him with enthusiasm, "I have been waiting for you for a long time."

Jia Fuqing was taken aback, but soon quickly reacted, and said with a smile to Lin Yuan: "I heard of Lin Gongzi's name even in Zhengzhou. Sure enough, Lin Gongzi is a heroic young man with much talent, so why become a……"

He sighed, looking very regretful.

Lin Yuan smiled and asked, "What do you think of Lin?"

Jia Fuqing sighed: "The court sent people a few months ago to bring documents. As long as Lin Gongzi is willing to submit to the court, you will be gifted with 10,000 households and made a Wanhu. Wouldn't that be better than living a life of precariousness now? Looking ahead, since Fang Zhizhong had submitted to the imperial court he is now the governor of Huizhou. If Lin Gongzi also submits to the court the title of Wanhu will be in your grasp."

"Lin Gongzi, you also know that the court is now willing to grant you the title of Wanhu because it pities your soldiers and people, and not because the court is powerless. If the court is forced to send troops, then Han Shantong's fate is in front of you."

Jia Fuqing appeared to be neither too humble nor too overbearing, and his words were spoken entirely for Lin Yuan's consideration.

Lin Yuan was not angry either, and smiled at Jia Fuqing: "Brother Jia has just made the long travel, so perhaps a short rest is in order. After that, shall we talk some more?"

"Come in."

The servants waiting outside swarmed in. Their footsteps were very quiet and their movements also very orderly. When they came in, they did not brush up against anyone at all. Jia Fuqing lowered his eyes, but he was secretly astonished.

These servants felt like soldiers.

"Take Lord Jia to his room." Lin Yuan ordered.

The servants responded with an affirmative and a man of medium build walked up to Jia Fuqing and bowed his head saying, "Lord Jia, please."

Jia Fuqing couldn't refuse, and could only leave with the servants.

When Jia Fuqing left, Lin Yuan had someone bring over Song Shizhao. Song Shizhao was more like a scholar than Lin Yuan. If one only looked at his appearance, no one would have thought that Song Shizhao had the courage to rebel. He only needed to wear a robe and a literati hat to appear like any old stuffy scholar walking on the road.

Song Shizhao also knew that the imperial court had sent someone over, and of course he also understood that Lin Yuan called him over to solve the imperial emissary's problem.

"We can't let him go back at this time." Lin Yuan said to Song Shizhao, "We must have him stay at least six months, and the letters he sends to the court should also make the court feel that I am considering, rather than refuse to ever submit to the court."

Song Shizhao touched his chin, and asked: "Boss wants to use the delaying method, but I'm afraid the court won't have so much patience."

Lin Yuan: "Before we capture Changshu and Songjiang, we can't completely display open animosity towards the court."

He had no desire to be the rebel army targeted by the Yuan court after Han Shantong.

After all, the court’s army was not all made up of the useless. In fact, Tuotuo Timur was a famous general during the late Yuan Dynasty.

He did not die on the battlefield, but died from schemes at the court.

His life was eventually taken by the Yuan Dynasty, the very thing he was loyal to.

In Lin Yuan’s memory, Tuotuo Timur was a very famous general and a rare military talent. He not only learned the culture of his own ethnic peoples, but also the Confucian culture of the Hans. He was also very good at calligraphy, the script powerful and similar in style to Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy style. He was also talented at painting bamboo. And because he accepted Confucianism, he also lived according to Confucian standards.

And, like Zhang Shicheng, he had been brawny and physically strong since he was a child.

Probably all generals were born with this talent?

Lin Yuan remembered that Chen Youliang seemed to have excelled at physical strength since childhood.

He thought about it seriously. If he could leave a trace in the history books, it was likely that some people would say that he was also physically superior.

This made Lin Yuan suddenly feel a little bit amused.

Anyway, most generals had the habit of boasting of their strength and wisdom.

It was impossible to pinpoint the truth. What was recorded in the history books was passed down over many years, and who knew how many people have edited and made changes.

Song Shizhao said: "I will take care of this matter for Boss, and will not disappoint Boss."

Lin Yuan smiled at him: "Giving the matters over to Mr. Song, I am always at ease."

Mr. was a respectful form of address, not just for teachers. As for whether Song Shizhao actually taught or not, no one cared. After Lin Yuan called him this a few times, other people also followed along.

This made Song Shizhao feel very happy, but he would not show it, only secretly feel pleased.

After all, it was a person sent by the imperial court, so some respect was called for. The people were very respectful to Jia Fuqing. After being taken to the room arranged for him, Jia Fuqing also saw the Four Treasures of the Study placed out on the table (TN: the essentials of calligraphy and scholarship which includes brush, ink, paper and ink-stone). There were even clothes prepared for him which felt rather strange to Jia Fuqing. He had only been here for one day, and there was no tailor to measure him. But even if he had been measured, clothes couldn't be made in one day.

The middle-aged man who took him into the room lowered his head and said respectfully: "Lord Jia, if you have a need for something just ring this bell here and someone will answer to your needs."

Jia Fuqing nodded: "This is convenient."

The middle-aged man said: "These clothes are all newly made. No one has ever worn it before. If you think it is a bit loose, just ask a tailor to come over and tighten it for you."

Jia Fuqing was taken aback for a moment, having not expected that there would be such a practice. He said: "Even if it is tightened, it is still not as suitable as tailored clothes."

The middle-aged servant smiled: "Lord Jia is joking with us. We are not rich here and can't afford so many tailors."

Jia Fuqing laughed dryly.

When he came over, he didn't have time to look around outside, and he didn't know the current situation in Taizhou and Gaoyou.

However, according to his speculation, Lin Yuan was a young man. And young men lacked years and experience. There may be one or two experts around him, but it was impossible for the hearts of the people of Taizhou and Gaoyou to convert towards Lin Yuan in such a short time.

Perhaps the situation in Gaoyou and Taizhou was not as good as he speculated.

At this time, many people on the street walked out of their homes one after another. The bell was struck, and even the people who were working stopped their work. The supervisor did not scold like they used to when seeing their workers being lazy. They also went to the side of the street and waited for the sound of the bell to get closer.

"They're here! They're here!"

The little boy ran all the way, with a smile on his face. If one didn't know better one would think it was the New Year. He shouted: "They're here!"

The crowd was very noisy, talking to each other with joy on their faces.

The sound got closer, and they finally saw the arrivals.

The first person to enter the field of vision wore brown prison pants. Prisoners had no clothes to wear. The most they had on was only a pair of pants that were cropped. He was unkempt, and had a big belly that everyone knew at a glance was not something other than a rich person could have.

Every time he took a step his stomach wobbled. His hands and feet were also shackled. There were two bailiffs escorting him, one on the left and one on the right. One of them was holding a bell in his hand and the other was preaching loudly the crimes that the prisoner had committed.

The people looked at the originally rich and entitled lords with excitement as they were now imprisoned and being paraded on the streets. They all had a smile on their faces.

If it weren't for not bearing to waste even rotten vegetable leaves and eggs, they would probably throw it at those prisoners.

They don't dare to throw stones either, because they were afraid they might hit the bailiffs next to the prisoners.

"Who is this person?" Most of the poor have never seen the lords and masters above, and naturally they couldn't recognize who this person was.

The person next to him replied: "I heard the officer say that this person is the master of the Zhao family!"

"Hah! Master Zhao! He is ‘this' at our Gaoyou!" Someone made a gesture to show master Zhao's wealth.

The man laughed: "Whatever he used to be, now he is a prisoner! Do you know what a prisoner is? They have to be tattooed on their face, their property has to be confiscated, and they will be beheaded after a month of parade."

"What crime did he commit?"

The man said mysteriously: "I heard someone sued him to the South Bodhisattva. When the South Bodhisattva knew that he harmed and oppressed the commoners, he ordered him to be arrested and atone for his crime, his money to be shared with the people he had oppressed."

"Really? All distributed to the people?"

"How could it be false? The South Bodhisattva has spoken, who would dare not listen? Who doesn't know what kind of person is the South Bodhisattva? He naturally stands on our side!"

"That's natural."

People naturally discussed among themselves.

"I didn't expect that when the South Bodhisattva came over, those soldiers did not steal our things at all."

"Do you know what it means for a military order to be like a mountain? The South Bodhisattva told them not to disturb the people. Of course, they will not disobey the South Bodhisattva's orders. Where can they find a South Bodhisattva who thinks about the people like this!"

While people were whispering, someone suddenly rushed to the middle of the road. He rushed madly over and punched and kicked at master Zhao. The bailiffs on the side pretended not to see it. After a while when they saw that this person didn’t stop, then they pulled the man away.

The person who rushed out shouted, "The South Bodhisattva brings justice for the people! The man surnamed Zhao forcibly occupied the land where I lived and forced my sister to go to his house as a slave. It was but for a year when she was sent back as just bones! This man surnamed Zhao told me that my sister died from a cold, but why didn't he inform us in advance? Sending her back only when already dead, and won't even give us a spot of land for burial!"

"If there is no South Bodhisattva! I don't know when my sister's death could be avenged!"

"I kowtow to the South Bodhisattva!"

Facing the direction of the government offices, the man knelt down, and honestly knocked his head more than a dozen times. The blood dripped down his forehead by the time he stopped. He wiped the tears from his face with his sleeve and then left the intersection.

People were moved. They were oppressed in the past but could only keep silent and tell themselves to bear with the hardship.

They had no other choice except for enduring it.

After enduring it for a long time, they even seemed to feel that the lords and masters above were right.

Their property and children, whatever the masters want they could just take it at will.

Otherwise, they would face a situation worse than the destruction of their family.

The daughters and sons born with beautiful or fine appearances had to hide at home since they were young, lest they be seen by the lords and masters and taken away.

After being taken away, if the daughter was lucky enough she could become a concubine. But most of the sons taken were played with until they were crippled or dead before being sent back.

The people shouted: "South Bodhisattva brings justice to the people!"

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e ir on tr ee bl oo ms. c o m )

"Kill the dog officials! Kill the scum that oppress the people!"

"South Bodhisattva!"