Volume One: River City Song Chapter 41: The Great Scandal

"This is nothing but a baseless, slanderous pack of lies!" Zhuang Hong, who had been feeling increasingly anxious under the weight of the accusations Li Ling had been systematically leveling against him, felt he had finally caught a flaw in the young man's argument. He shouted loudly, "You should have gathered your wits before trying to frame me! I wasn't even serving in the county office a dozen years ago, so where could these crimes possibly have come from?"

This remark immediately found support among the others. Feng Ping, the County Magistrate's assistant, stroked his beard and chimed in, "Magistrate, this unruly commoner is just spouting nonsense and making up things out of thin air. In my opinion, he is trying to incite unrest among the people of Jiangcheng County. He should be taken down and punished severely until he reveals who is behind this scheme!"

Magistrate's Clerk Wang He hesitated for a moment before adding, "Magistrate, given the reputation of our county office, it would be best to proceed with caution!"

Magistrate Wei glanced at Li Ling, also feeling that his claims were becoming far too ridiculous to be easily reconciled. Of course, he hadn't yet reached the later pages of the thick stack of evidence in his hands, so he had no concept of the gravity of the accusation Li Ling was making. "Li Ling, stop your rambling, or beware the ruthlessness of the law!"

"Your Honor, please hear me out. I am not making false accusations. I truly discovered a major systemic corruption in the archives of the county office, and this matter is indeed inseparable from the Head of Records, Zhuang!"

"You..." Just as Zhuang Hong was about to retort, the Magistrate preempted him. Wei Liang stared at Li Ling and said, "Speak. If you cannot make this convincing, I will have no choice but to make you suffer."

Li Ling bowed and, after casting another glance at Zhuang Hong, said, "Head of Records Zhuang, I stated earlier that this corrupt practice related to your position as the office's Head of Records, so naturally, you were not yet in the office at the time. However, your father, Zhuang Heng, was serving in the county office back then as the Clerk of the Household Department. You surely cannot deny that?"

Zhuang Hong felt a tightening in his chest. This brat actually knew about his father's background; it seemed he had indeed put great effort into his investigation. But given the circumstances and the crowd present, he could not lie. He could only grunt and nod, effectively conceding the point.

Ignoring him, Li Ling turned back to Magistrate Wei. "Magistrate, please look at the subsequent testimonies. I have written the events of that day down clearly. Eighteen years ago, our Hengzhou Prefecture received an imperial decree ordering our five counties to contribute three thousand bolts of locally produced hemp silk as a tribute for the palace's use. This was non-negotiable. I believe some of the older people present should still have some memory of this?"

Magistrate Wei had already flipped to the latter part of the testimonies as instructed. As he read carefully, his brow began to furrow. Outside the hall, the commoners began to whisper. "Now that he mentions it, I do remember something like that. Back then, the office wanted to level our fertile fields to grow hemp and raise silkworms."

"Yes, yes, that did happen. But later, the matter seemed to settle down, and then some kind of miscellaneous tax appeared. Otherwise, our county’s grain production would have been in trouble..."

"It was called the Silk Tribute Tax. We still pay it this year; it seems every household has to cough up two taels of silver..."

The ensuing chatter brought back unpleasant memories for everyone. These days, the people of the Great Yue Dynasty were burdened with such a complex array of taxes and levies that they had stopped paying close attention to the details.

Li Ling spoke again, "As subjects, when the palace requires something, we dare not refuse, no matter how difficult it is to fulfill. But strangely, a change occurred, and for the last ten years or more, our county has never actually sent any hemp silk as tribute. Does Your Honor know why?"

Without waiting for an answer, Li Ling provided it himself. "It was because a new tax was introduced: the Hemp Levy. Just as ordinary people can pay money to avoid corvée labor, our county paid a large sum to be exempted from this tribute. The amount was set at fifteen thousand taels of silver. At the market price of hemp silk back then, valuing it at five taels per bolt was not considered high."

"Head of Records Zhuang, these policies are registered in the archives, and they bear the official seal of your father, who was the Clerk of the Household Department at the time. You surely cannot deny this?"

Zhuang Hong pondered for a moment. Seeing no issue with this, he nodded. "I recall this matter. It can be considered a small contribution my late father made to Jiangcheng County; it's hardly worth mentioning. What, are you trying to say my late father was wrong? Are you suggesting we should have destroyed our fertile fields to grow hemp just to save on that tax?" Though he said this, he felt a faint sense of unease, though he could not yet pinpoint where the problem lay.

The people around them were also confused, unable to fathom what Li Ling was driving at, or why he called this a corrupt practice—even one more severe than simple embezzlement.

Magistrate Wei's expression, however, had changed. He looked up from the testimonies, glancing strangely between Li Ling and Zhuang Hong, causing the latter to break out in a cold sweat. "Magistrate..."

Li Ling smiled. "The problem here is massive. Did none of you realize that this was highly irrational? The imperial court’s decree required our five counties in Hengzhou to share the burden of three thousand bolts of hemp silk. Each county made various excuses, and in the end, the Prefecture office shifted the entire tribute burden to the neighboring Jiangbei County, while the other four counties provided subsidies. Just as I said, the so-called 'Hemp Levy' was simply paying Jiangbei to grow hemp and weave silk for the rest of us!"

Li Ling took a deep breath and looked around. "In the end, there was no imperial tribute at all—it was just a pretext the officials invented. What is even more shocking is that while the fifteen thousand taels of tax should have been shared by all four counties, it all fell upon Jiangcheng County alone. Fellow countrymen, for eighteen years—a full eighteen years—we have been kept in the dark, paying the taxes for the other four counties! And if I am not mistaken, this tax money never actually went to Jiangbei County to compensate the farmers who lost their land; it was embezzled by certain individuals!"

"In this affair, everyone was deceived. Only the other three counties benefited, while the people of Jiangcheng and Jiangbei suffered greatly, allowing corrupt officials to reap massive profits. Eighteen years, hundreds of thousands of taels of silver—all of it fell into their pockets!"

"The mastermind behind this was the Clerk of the Household Department at the time, Zhuang Heng, who orchestrated it all. It was precisely because of this 'merit' that he was promoted to Head of Records, which eventually led to you, Zhuang, inheriting your father’s position!"

As he finished, the slower members of the crowd were still bewildered, but those as sharp as Gu Yuezi had already turned pale with indignation. The boldest among them began to curse, "Shameless! To think that for eighteen years we have been paying taxes for others, and hundreds of thousands of taels went into their own pockets! They deserve death!"

The anger spread like wildfire. Soon, people were kneeling outside the hall, kowtowing to Magistrate Wei and begging for justice. The scene threatened to spiral out of control.

Zhuang Hong, Feng Ping, and the other officials were stunned, completely at a loss for how to react. They knew about the Hemp Levy and had benefited from it, but they had never questioned its legitimacy. Since their predecessors had done it, they followed suit.

But now, as Li Ling exposed the truth, everyone realized the hidden corruption. With hundreds of people now aware, the news would spread across the city, and the Zhuang family would be in grave trouble.

Li Ling had made it clear: the Zhuang family had risen from minor clerks to the "Fourth Lords" of the county by exploiting their own neighbors—a crime far worse than simple bribery. Other corrupt acts had only affected a few, but this had swindled the entire city. The grudge was too deep to reconcile.

After his initial shock, Zhuang Hong panicked. "You... you are spouting nonsense! This is not as you say! Men, seize him and drag him out for one hundred strokes of the rod!" In his desperation, he forgot the Magistrate was presiding and ordered the punishment himself.

But this time, the bailiffs stood as if paralyzed. Instead of rushing to seize Li Ling, they hesitated, looking between him and the scowling new Magistrate. Aside from their own concerns, they, too, had paid the Hemp Levy and were furious to realize they had been swindled. They were in no mood to follow orders.

Magistrate Wei then spoke, "Head of Records Zhuang, pray, be careful with your words. Although Li Ling’s account is one-sided, it is backed by evidence. If his accusations are true, I shall certainly see justice served for him and for the people of Jiangcheng!" His tone was chilling, like a bucket of ice water over Zhuang Hong, leaving him frozen in place.

"Magistrate, you are wise! The next thing I wish to report is that Head of Records Zhuang and his brother, Zhuang Qiang, in an attempt to destroy evidence, tried to set fire to the archives and burn me to death inside!" With that, Li Ling delivered his final blow—the dagger was out of the sleeve.