Chapter 65: This Year is a Crucial Turning Point!

The front hall of the Long County government office remained as it used to be, but the inner hall had been specially rearranged. Long tables were set up throughout the entire space, and on the front tables, sets of paper and brushes were neatly placed according to the number of seats. Above the front wall hung a banner with the words "The First Annual Summary Meeting of Long County and Chengji County," creating a quite fitting atmosphere.

"Hey, what on earth am I supposed to say at this so-called meeting?" Zhang Yu muttered in his light armor, whispering to Deng Qiang beside him.

Those militia soldiers had originally been ordinary folks. Although they could now be considered an elite force, they lacked generals capable of commanding troops. Besides, Li Fu was currently not qualified to bestow any official military titles, so the highest rank among the militia was merely a squad leader.

However, whenever this unit went out on a mission, someone had to take the lead. Eventually, picking the best among the mediocre, Brother Yun assigned Zhang Yu to the task.

Compared to figures like Uncle Jiang, Zhang Yu had a grassroots background and had spent time mingling in martial circles. Moreover, being a native of Liangzhou himself, he spoke fluent Liangzhou dialect and knew various barbarian languages, making him well-suited to lead a troop. This time, when the militia returned from the outside, two representatives were chosen to attend the meeting: Zhang Yu and Deng Qiang.

After more than a year of campaigns—mostly suppressing bandits and minor skirmishes—the once somewhat youthful face of Deng Qiang was rapidly losing its immaturity, replaced by a weathered look.

"What should you say? Just speak the truth. Say whatever you saw outside, and answer whatever you're asked," Deng Qiang replied.

Zhang Yu clicked his tongue a few times. "I say, kid, you were quite arrogant when Old Uncle Li first saved you, and you used to be quite lively. Why are you like this now, with such a serious expression, looking like you're thirty or forty years old?"

Deng Qiang gave Zhang Yu a helpless look and ignored him.

Yamen runners led the way at the front, and all the way to the inner hall, Deng Qiang noticed that quite a few people were already present. The attendees ranged from the elderly to the young, and after overhearing some conversations, he learned they were representatives dispatched from various villages in Long County and Chengji County. Generally, each village sent three elders accompanied by an ordinary villager, or a village official accompanied by a villager—this was also Brother Yun's requirement.

Those villagers still appeared quite restrained, not even daring to sit down. They honestly found corners to stay in, and only then dared to look around with curiosity.

After waiting for about the time it takes to brew two cups of tea, Deng Qiang noticed that most of the attendees had arrived.

Then he saw Qian Gui arrive. Qian Gui was very methodical in his work, immediately arranging for the people to find their seats. Once everything was nearly ready, Brother Yun and a few other 'heavyweights' made their final entrance.

Brother Yun spoke first, stepping up to the stage without any long-winded preamble: "As you all know, great changes have taken place in both Long County and Chengji County this year. However, some of you are not good with words; you feel it in your hearts, but you just cannot express it. Therefore, we are holding this meeting so that those who can articulate things clearly can explain them thoroughly, and then you will all feel at ease."

After finishing, Brother Yun motioned for Qian Gui to take over.

The voice of this handsome, middle-aged man was truly pleasant, and he had substance in his mind; just standing there made people willing to trust him.

Qian Gui did not refuse. Although standing on a 'podium' to speak for the first time felt a bit strange to him, Brother Yun always had such peculiar ideas.

"Everyone, tomorrow is the Winter Solstice and the New Year. First of all, I wish you all a happy New Year. Next, let us keep it brief so the meeting can end early and you can all return home sooner for a family reunion," Qian Gui smiled and said. "First, I would like to tell you about the tax collection in our Long County and Chengji County last year. The spring and autumn taxes we paid last year for established farmland have all been paid in full according to the rate of one tax out of thirty. In addition, the poll tax and property tax were covered by the funds obtained from the county government's bandit suppression."

"The prefect of Hanyang Commandery has also sent people over, and these taxes have been tallied on the spot and taken away. Let's talk about it first: were there any families in the various villages facing difficulties in paying taxes this year?"

Throughout the past year, the overall situation in Liangzhou was neither particularly good nor bad, so both Qian Gui and Brother Yun wanted to hear the actual thoughts of these villagers.

The villagers and the three elders below whispered among themselves, but none dared to stand up.

Qian Gui smiled and asked, "What is your name, Elder?" He simply pointed at one of them.

The selected elder was dressed in a black scholar's robe. It was evident that this must be his best garment, kept at the bottom of the chest and very well cared for. Even while sitting just now, he had been continuously smoothing his clothes.

As he stood up, everyone realized that this elder was exceptionally tall. Such a tall man was truly a rare sight, and although his hair was white, he gave an upright impression, looking full of spirit.

"I don't deserve such respect, I don't deserve it. This official can just call me Zhong Xi. I am a person from Wenshui Village in Long County, and my ancestors have lived there for generations. Since Your Honor has asked, I will speak the truth. This year we were assigned farmland, but we didn't catch up to good times like those in Lengdidia Village; by the time it was our turn, both the spring planting and summer planting seasons had been missed."

"We suffered a bit this year, and after paying taxes, we were worried about how to survive this winter. But later, Your Honor the county magistrate came personally and refunded the poll tax and property tax, so we managed to get through this winter."

"To be honest, we have never encountered such great fortune. The established farmland was given to us without any conditions, and even the young girls received shares."

"Moreover, the established farmland is taxed at only one out of thirty. We were told that if any tax collector from the county dares to exceed this amount in the future, we can come to the county office to report it, and every report will be successful. That gives us hope."

"Let me put it this way: things are still a bit bitter this year, but we can all pull through without worrying Magistrate Li and the others. Anyone in our village who dares to speak ill of Magistrate Li, we won't let him off ourselves!"

"Next year, Your Honor, feel free to come and collect taxes. If any household hides grain and refuses to pay even the one-in-thirty tax, I'll beat the bastard to death!"

The grain tax stipulated by the Liang State was indeed one in thirty, but too much was extorted through additional levies. Now that taxes were collected normally and the poll tax was waived, the villagers had nothing more to complain about in their hearts.

Zhong Xi finished speaking in one breath. Seeing everyone staring at him, his face turned embarrassedly red, and finally he blurted out, "I'm done talking!"

Qian Gui smiled and asked someone else.

With Zhong Xi breaking the ice, the others also opened up.

Many people were vigorously reclaiming wasteland this year, and the newly reclaimed virgin land could not produce much harvest in its first year.

However, they were told not to worry too much about themselves, because those registered for wasteland reclamation and distribution were receiving relief grain during this period. Although the amount was not large, drinking two bowls of thin porridge a day was not a problem. In addition, engineering teams were currently in great shortage of labor; as long as people were diligent and willing to exert physical effort, they could also earn a considerable amount of copper coins.

Furthermore, not only the engineering teams, but all the full sets of clothing and shoes needed by the militia had to be sewn by seamstresses. These were not drafted women performing corvée labor, but genuine paid employment with wages.

Moreover, the county government office had added many positions, such as cleaners.

Brother Yun said that now there were more small vendors, the ground could not be dirty, and cleaners were needed to sweep every day.

In summary, the grain from virgin land was still scarce, but no taxes were levied on it yet. Established farmland was taxed, but mainly because they missed the spring and summer planting seasons. Life was still a bit bitter this year, but starvation was out of the question, and it was even much better than before. The most crucial thing was that they could now see hope, and everyone was looking forward to a good life next year and the year after.

Of course, there were still shortcomings.

For instance, draft oxen and farm tools were still lacking, especially since more land had been distributed, and relying entirely on human labor was definitely overwhelming.

Regarding this, Qian Gui stated that draft oxen were too difficult to buy, but next year they would find a way to purchase a batch of pack horses, and then let people from each village rent them to plow the land.

After finishing the summary, Brother Yun went up again to elaborate on the tasks to be done next year.

First was still farming. The established farmland after the coming spring must be fully planted, and several villages should hold internal selections to find who farmed best within their own village. Let them compete, and then the county would select three people and award them the title of 'Agricultural Doctor'.

With the title of Agricultural Doctor, the county government would pay them a monthly salary. Although not large, it was a fixed income, and the key was that it carried immense prestige.

Once the candidates were selected, these Agricultural Doctors would be sent to various villages to impart experience, striving to grow better and more grain, and maximizing crop yields!

In addition, the security teams must not slacken in training. Liangzhou was too close to the border tribes; in case of raids, the security teams could offer slight resistance until troops from Long County could be dispatched to reinforce them.

Finally, Brother Yun emphasized that each village was strictly forbidden from practicing infanticide against baby girls. Furthermore, regarding the marriage of girls, they must be at least sixteen years old, and forced marriages were prohibited. If any village experienced such incidents, the three elders and other responsible figures would be severely punished.

Regarding this point, Qian Gui, Li Fu, and the others still could not fully understand it in their hearts. Every dynasty had encouraged early marriage for women; even the founding emperor of the Liang Dynasty had stipulated that women who did not marry by fourteen would have their poll tax doubled.

However, Brother Yun always strongly emphasized this point, claiming that marrying too early easily led to women dying in childbirth, and insisted on highlighting it during this meeting.

Well, in any case, Qian Gui failed to persuade Brother Yun on this matter either, but considering it was not a major issue—he had already distributed the land to them—this point was not too difficult to accept.

Overall, this annual summary meeting was very satisfactory, except that near the end, a village suddenly asked when recruitment would take place next year and whether the number of recruits could be increased.

Then, those villages started arguing.

It was mainly because that 'Honorable Village' title was too attractive; it was delivered amid gongs and drums personally by Magistrate Li, and then that monument of glory was placed right at the village entrance.

Whichever family had someone serving as a soldier—not to mention the large monthly wages brought home, but also the holiday benefits of meat and grain—who wouldn't envy that upon hearing it?

In the past, everyone dreaded military service, but now things were different.

Serving in Magistrate Li's militia was a glorious thing. Nowadays, if a young man in a family was selected, the threshold of that family's home would be trampled by matchmakers.

A saying had already spread: not joining the militia unit meant you were not a real man.

This matter not only brought benefits to one's own family, but the crucial thing was that the entire village felt glorious as well. Look at the Tang Family Village, which won the title of Honorable Village this year—that wealthy landowner who had his land distributed still happily hosted a three-day banquet at the village entrance.

Of course, the villagers did not let him down and constantly spoke well of him. Therefore, although his land was taken away, it was said that Magistrate Li gave him a large sum of money, and immediately redistributed land to him based on his family size. All things considered, he didn't lose much.

So now, since Magistrate Li had invited them to ask if there were any other questions, they wanted to know when the recruitment would happen, as the young and strong men in their villages were all prepared!

If there was another recruitment wave, they would definitely be selected this time!

Brother Yun truly did not expect that they would almost come to blows over this matter in the end, especially the smug elders of Tang Family Village, who almost got punched.

In the end, Brother Yun stopped them with a bitter-sweet smile, telling them to stop fighting and announce that every county office attendee would receive a New Year gift package upon coming forward to collect it.

Seeing that there were good things to be had, everyone instantly beamed with joy and rushed forward to claim their items.