bayedsolid Chapter 983 The female top scholar encountered difficulties and asked Bai Qi for help.
Chapter 983 The female top scholar encountered difficulties and asked Bai Qi for help.
She began to explain each point one by one:
[New Tariff Regulations]: The previous chaotic and exorbitant taxes and levies will be abolished and unified into an eleventh tax (i.e., a 10% tariff).
However, caravans from reputable tribes with a long history of cooperation (such as the Blackwater tribe) are eligible for a 21% tax rate (5%).
[Official Legal System]: A border market supervisory authority will be established, with Su Mingyue personally overseeing the proceedings and responsible for adjudicating all commercial disputes. The sale of inferior goods as superior ones and forced buying and selling are strictly prohibited; any violations will result in fines or, in severe cases, permanent disqualification from trading.
[Intelligence Sharing]: The Grand General regularly provides information on price fluctuations and commodity demand in the mainland market, helping Jurchen caravans adjust their trade strategies and avoid losses caused by blind trading...
These terms immediately sparked a flurry of discussion among the Jurchen representatives in the audience.
Wanyan Zonghan stood up and asked excitedly:
"Lord Su, what you wrote... is it all true?"
Su Mingyue nodded with a smile:
"A gentleman's word is as good as his bond. This is a joint decision by the Great Wu Emperor and the Marquis of Anguo, and the Trade Commissioner will guarantee it with the court's credibility. What we hope to see is a prosperous Pingzhou trade route."
"Because only when you become wealthy can you purchase more of our dynasty's silk, porcelain, and tea, which would be a great benefit to our dynasty as well."
"This is what is meant by mutual benefit."
These words were spoken frankly and openly, completely dispelling everyone's doubts.
"it is good!"
Wanyan Zonghan shouted and bowed deeply to Bailu and Su Mingyue, "The magnanimity of Marquis Anguo and Lord Su has won our admiration!"
"I am the first to support the Pingzhou Trade Regulations! I wish to be sworn brothers with Da Wu forever!"
"We're willing too!"
"I will obey the orders of Marquis Anguo and Lord Su!"
Immediately, the crowd was in high spirits, and all the Jurchen representatives stood up, expressing their willingness to abide by the new rules.
A relieved smile appeared on Bai Lu's face. She knew this was only the first step.
Unlike the sweeping and dramatic changes in Pingzhou, Qingyang County, under the jurisdiction of Qingzhou Prefecture in Jiangnan, remained shrouded in mist and rain.
The newly appointed top scholar and magistrate of Qingyang County, Lin Wanzhi, was traveling on an official boat that docked on such a drizzly afternoon.
As the first female scholar to take the imperial examination in the Great Wu Dynasty, her appointment should have been a major event that attracted widespread attention. However, when she stepped onto the dock of Qingyang County wearing the green official robes of a seventh-rank county magistrate and holding the official document from the Ministry of Personnel, she was greeted only by three subordinates: the county magistrate's assistant, the registrar, and the clerk, as well as a few yamen runners.
There was no fanfare, no crowds lining the streets, and not even a welcome banquet that should have been organized by local gentry. An awkward atmosphere filled the air.
"Your humble servant Zhang Jing, the county magistrate, respectfully welcomes Lord Lin."
The county magistrate in charge was an old official in his fifties, with a smile on his face but his eyes were as still as a deep well.
"Your humble servant is Qian Qian, the Registrar."
"Your humble servant is Sun Mao, the clerk."
The three bowed, but it sounded perfunctory.
Lin Wanzhi's heart sank slightly, but her expression remained unchanged. Born into a prominent family, she had been well-versed in history since childhood and deeply understood the complexities of local governance, far exceeding court debates. She smiled and returned the greeting:
"Greetings, gentlemen. In the future, we will need your continued support for the administration of Qingyang County."
After a brief, almost deserted welcoming ceremony, Lin Wanzhi was respectfully invited into the back courtyard of the county government office. Magistrate Zhang, on the grounds that "Your Excellency has traveled a long way and should rest first; it is not too late to discuss official business tomorrow," took his leave with two other people, leaving her with an empty county government office and a pile of incoherent files.
Lin Wanzhi knew that this was the first show of force that the Qingyang County officials were giving her.
Qingyang County, renowned as a land of fish and rice, is actually a place of deeply entrenched intrigue. Powerful clans, led by the Wang, Xie, and Li families, practically control all the county's farmland, water transport, and shops. Successive county magistrates who failed to cultivate good relations with them found it difficult to advance their careers.
Clearly, these local bullies looked down on an unprecedented female county magistrate.
On the surface, they were extremely respectful, giving you no reason to lash out, but secretly they used subtle pressure to ensure you disobeyed orders and ignored prohibitions. The three assistant officials—the county magistrate, the registrar, and the clerk—were all locals with intricate connections to the three major families. Without their cooperation, Magistrate Lin Wanzhi was rendered deaf and blind.
In the following days, Lin Wanzhi's situation became increasingly difficult.
She wanted to go to the countryside to inspect farmland irrigation, but County Magistrate Zhang Jing dissuaded her, saying that the rural roads were slippery and might soil the official's boots.
She wanted to audit the county treasury accounts, but the registrar, Qian Qian, brought over a pile of old accounts and earnestly said...
"The accounts are quite complicated, and I am currently organizing them with my men. I dare not trouble you, sir!"
She wanted to restore order, and the registrar Sun Mao immediately responded:
"The people in the county are simple and honest; they don't even lock their doors at night!"
This made it very clear that she was making a mountain out of a molehill.
No matter what decrees she proposed, they would always brush them off with various mild but irrefutable reasons. She was like a puppet wrapped in an exquisite gift box, possessing nothing but the title of county magistrate.
In the stillness of the night, Lin Wanzhi sat alone in her study, gazing at the misty rain outside the window, and for the first time felt a profound sense of powerlessness. She was a woman of great learning and ambition, yet she couldn't even step out of the county government office. She understood that if she couldn't break this deadlock, her career would be drowned in the comforts of Qingyang County.
After much thought, she thought of her close friend from the same department—the third-ranked scholar, Su Mingyue.
After the imperial examination, these female scholars had several gatherings. Lin Wanzhi was calm and composed, while Su Mingyue was intelligent and perceptive; the two got along quite well. She knew that Su Mingyue had been sent to Pingzhou to assist the legendary Marquis Bailu, handling important military and national affairs. Although that environment was dangerous, it was also direct, unlike Qingyang, where there were invisible spiderwebs everywhere.
Perhaps the Marquis of Anguo, who fought his way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, might have some way to deal with this endemic disease?
Lin Wanzhi spread out the letter paper, picked up her pen, and wrote:
"My dear sister Mingyue, it is as if we are meeting in person upon reading this letter."
More than a month has passed since we were assigned to different departments. I wonder if my sister is doing well in Pingzhou, amidst the harsh weather? I am in Jiangnan, fortunate to be enjoying the spring rains, but government orders are difficult to implement beyond the county government; it's like being stuck in quagmire, powerless to act. Powerful clans in Qingyang hold sway, and officials hinder us, using respect as a pretext to undermine us, their gentle words piercing our hearts. Though I have ambitions to govern the world, I am trapped within my own limited space, deeply worried.
I have heard that my sister is currently assisting the Marquis of Anguo in implementing swift and decisive policies. The Marquis of Anguo rose from the ranks of the military to become a regional governor, and he must possess unique insights into local governance. I humbly request that you, Mingyue, perhaps at a convenient time, offer me some advice? If I could receive even a few words of guidance from the Marquis to help my sister overcome this predicament, I would be eternally grateful.
Looking forward to a reply.
Sister, Lin Wan's courtesy name
After writing the letter, she dried the paper, sealed it in an envelope, summoned her trusted maid, and ordered her to send it to Pingzhou as quickly as possible via the official post station.
The rain outside the window seemed to be getting heavier.
"..."
Since the success of the Pingzhou trade, Su Mingyue has been busy every day at the trade market, handling documents and disputes of the coming and going caravans. Although it is hard work, she is filled with a sense of accomplishment as she sees the increasing trade volume on the accounts and the satisfied smiles of all parties.
That day, an urgent letter from Jiangnan arrived on her desk. Seeing the familiar, beautiful, and naturally elegant handwriting on the envelope, Su Mingyue felt a warmth in her heart and quickly opened it.
However, as the letter unfolded, her brow furrowed more and more.
"Like being trapped in quagmire, one's strength is rendered useless..."
"Gentle words, yet every word is a knife..."
Su Mingyue deeply sympathized with the predicament Lin Wanzhi described in her letter. She could imagine how the brilliant female scholar, who had so eloquently quoted classical texts during the imperial examination, was now being tormented by the seemingly gentle yet resilient undercurrents of Jiangnan. Compared to the environment in Pingzhou, the officialdom in Qingyang County was clearly a quagmire!
She was able to operate smoothly here entirely because she had Bai Lu, a legendary figure with unparalleled military and political power and prestige, as her backing. Lin Wanzhi, on the other hand, was all alone and isolated.
"No, I have to help her!"
Su Mingyue thought to herself. But this wasn't her area of expertise. After much thought, the only one who could offer effective advice was Bai Lu...
That evening, Su Mingyue, carrying Lin Wanzhi's letter, requested an audience with Bai Lu.
"Lady White Snake, I have a favor to ask of you."
Su Mingyue respectfully handed over the letter.
Bai Lu took the letter and quickly read it. Her expression remained unchanged, as if the predicament described in the letter had been expected. She put down the letter, looked calmly at Su Mingyue, and asked:
What were you thinking after reading this letter?
Su Mingyue pondered for a moment, then replied:
“I was thinking that if you hadn’t been there to oversee things in Pingzhou, I might have become the next Lin Wanzhi.”
“The combination of local clans and the bureaucratic system creates an exclusionary force that is far beyond what we newly promoted officials can resist.”
"you're right."
Bai Lu nodded and gave her an approving look. "So, dealing with this kind of disease by reasoning and quoting classical texts is useless."
"When you talk to them about the law, they talk to you about personal relationships! When you talk to them about personal relationships, they talk to you about rules."
"The only way is to use a force they absolutely cannot resist to smash them directly."
Su Mingyue was somewhat puzzled.
"But... Sister Lin has no military power, how can she smash it?"
Bai Lu's lips curled into a mysterious smile. She didn't answer directly, but instead stood up, walked outside, and calmly addressed a figure standing like a statue in the shadows of the courtyard:
"Bai Qi, come in."
"Yes."
A male voice, devoid of any emotion, rang out.
A tall man walked in. He was dressed in ordinary cloth clothes, and his aura was extremely restrained. If Bai Lu hadn't spoken, Su Mingyue wouldn't have even noticed that there was a third person in the courtyard.
Su Mingyue was startled. She had never seen this person before and did not know when he had appeared at the Marquis of Anguo's residence.
"Su Mingyue, let me introduce you."
Bai Lu said casually, "This is General Bai Qi."
"The Grand General appointed by the imperial court is only a special privilege granted by the emperor. He has never served in the capital and has been following me around for many years."
The Great General?!
Su Mingyue was dumbfounded. A great general who could stand on equal footing with the Duke was actually following Bai Lu like a servant?
This...this is impossible!
Bai Qi nodded slightly to Su Mingyue as a greeting, then turned his gaze to Bai Lu, awaiting instructions. His eyes were empty and pure, as if nothing in the world could arouse his interest.
"Bai Qi,"
Bai Lu said calmly, "Go to Qingyang County in Qingzhou Prefecture, Jiangnan. From today onwards, your task is to assist the new magistrate, Lin Wanzhi."
"Yes."
Bai Qi was extremely sparing with his words.
Bai Lu continued, explaining:
"Your identity should be publicly stated as that of a guest advisor dispatched by me to protect the female scholar and assist in maintaining local order."
“Once we get there, we will follow Magistrate Lin’s orders. But,”
Her tone shifted abruptly, her eyes suddenly sharpening, "If we encounter officials who are uncooperative, outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant, or local clans who dare to obstruct government orders..."
She paused, then uttered a few words in an icy tone:
"Just beat them up. Beat them until they cooperate."
"I'll take responsibility for anything that happens."
Su Mingyue gasped. This...this is too direct, too...domineering!
Bai Lu seemed to see through her thoughts and explained:
“To deal with thugs, you have to use even more unreasonable methods than they do. Those people in Qingyang County are just taking advantage of the fact that the law doesn't punish everyone and that officials protect each other.”
"Bai Qi is a Grand General appointed by the imperial court, representing the face of the military and the court. Who would dare to bring up the matter and reason with a few lower-ranking officers or a few wealthy and unscrupulous gentry?"
She turned to Bai Qi and said:
"You need to know your limits, just don't kill him."
"Go, set off immediately."
"Yes."
Bai Qi responded again, without asking any further questions, and then turned and disappeared into the night like a ghost.
Inside the council chamber, only the dumbfounded Su Mingyue and the nonchalant Bai Lu remained.
Bai Lu sat down again, picked up her teacup, gently blew on it, and said to Su Mingyue:
"Reply to Wanzhi."
"Tell her that I have sent the best troubleshooter in the world to help her. Let her go and do it."
She paused, her gaze becoming incredibly deep, as if speaking not only to Su Mingyue but also to herself:
"His Majesty initiated the imperial examinations for women, not so that you would conform to the world and lose your will."
"This first step must be taken steadily and decisively."
"If Lin Wanzhi can govern a small county like Qingyang well, then all women in the world will see hope for this path."
"It is worthwhile to use some unconventional methods for this hope."
Su Mingyue was overwhelmed with emotion; she finally understood Bai Lu's determination.
This is no longer a simple act of mutual assistance within officialdom; it is a path to pave the way for the future of women everywhere.
She nodded emphatically, immediately returned to her desk, and excitedly picked up her pen to write a reply to Lin Wanzhi.
The rain in Jiangnan is lingering and weak, and has been falling for half a month. Inside the study in the back courtyard of the Qingyang County government office, the atmosphere is as oppressive as the weather, so stifling that it's hard to breathe.
Lin Wanzhi sat at the desk, with a volume of "Qingyang County Annals" spread out in front of her.