Chapter 119 - 118: National Policy

Chapter 119: Chapter 118: National Policy

An April morning.

In front of the screen wall at the entrance to the Jingshan County Magistrate’s Office.

Crowds of commoners were packed several layers deep.

A brand-new notice, stamped with a bright red seal, had just been posted, the ink still wet.

"...Hereby, in Jingshan and other counties, the state policy of converting rice paddies to mulberry fields shall be implemented on a trial basis... for a period of two years... This year, half of all fields must be converted to mulberry fields... Mulberry seedlings can be collected from the County Magistrate’s Office, and their cost will be deducted from silk payments at market price..."

Those who could read recited it aloud, while the illiterate craned their necks, waiting anxiously for the news.

The notice’s contents were like a cold knife, each word carving into the people’s hearts.

After a moment of dead silence, the crowd erupted.

"What? They’re not letting us plant rice, forcing us to plant mulberry trees instead?"

A white-haired old farmer, his face a web of deep-set wrinkles, shoved his way through the people in front of him and pushed to the notice.

He roared hoarsely, "What kind of fucking bullshit is this! Can you eat mulberry leaves? Can they fill your stomach? Last year, the Water Bandits raided and the Government Office levied taxes until every family’s rice jar was empty. We were counting on this year’s harvest just to stay alive! They’re trying to drive us to our deaths!"

"Damn it all! Which one of these plague-ridden Officials came up with this family-destroying scheme?"

"My family has seven or eight mouths to feed, all depending on those few acres of paddies! If we can’t plant rice, are they expecting my whole family to drink the northwest wind?"

"It’s over... It’s all over... My child’s father is gone, and this bit of land was all we had... How are a mother and child supposed to live..."

"Deduction? Sounds nice! But when the time comes, won’t they be the ones setting the price of silk? This is obviously a trap they’ve dug for us to fall into!"

"Bah! What bullshit! They just see that we common folk suffered disaster last year and have no more fat to scrape off, so they’re finding new ways to suck our blood!"

"The Government Office and those crooked merchants from the Silk Shops must be in cahoots! They’re forcing us to plant mulberries! They don’t give a damn if we live or die!"

Anger, like a wildfire, instantly consumed everyone.

Curses, cries, wails, and the sounds of people beating their chests and stamping their feet mingled together. The area in front of the County Magistrate’s Office became a chaotic mess.

The once-quiet space before the County Magistrate’s Office was now a cacophony of outrage. Panic filled the air, and despair spread like a plague.

Panic and anger swept through every corner of Jingshan County like a wildfire.

From the country paths to the city streets, grievances and curses filled the air. A deep-seated panic left people in a constant state of fear.

All of Jingshan, like a wok of exploding oil, descended into utter chaos.

Farmers still clinging to a sliver of hope flooded the County Magistrate’s Office, intending to collect the Mulberry Seedlings and plant them quickly to avoid delays.

If they missed the planting season and the Government Office still demanded raw silk at year’s end, it would be another disaster.

However, that hope quickly turned to deeper despair.

The number of Mulberry Seedlings provided by the County Magistrate’s Office was minuscule, and the distribution process was as slow as a snail’s crawl. The long queues were filled with anxious arguments and helpless sobs.

"I’ve been in line for three days! And these few twigs are all I get? This isn’t enough for a single acre! Who do you think you’re fooling?!"

One man, his face red with anger, waved the sparse Mulberry Seedlings in his hand.

The scene was utter chaos.

Just as the people were at their wits’ end.

Several Silk Shops in the county town suddenly opened their storehouses, selling large quantities of Mulberry Seedlings.

But the price was jaw-droppingly high, and they only accepted payment in grain or silver coins at rates far above market value.

"You black-hearted, crooked merchants! Three mulberry seedlings for a bucket of rice? Why don’t you just go rob someone!"

A farmer cursed at a Silk Shop clerk, only to be met with a contemptuous eye-roll.

Where would an ordinary farming household find surplus grain or silver coins?

They could only watch helplessly as the deadline for conversion drew nearer, the clouds of despair gathering ever thicker.

"It’s over. We’re all going to starve this year..."

Sighs echoed across the fields.

...

The Lingxi Chen Family, however, was unusually calm.

Not long after the decree was issued, the Zhou Family’s promise arrived on schedule.

Several large carts, fully loaded with high-quality Mulberry Seedlings, arrived at the Chen Family estate, accompanied by a few veteran Sang Fu.

Chen Li paid the agreed-upon sum in silver coins without any fuss.

Under the careful guidance of the Sang Fu, Chen Li quickly organized his family’s long-term laborers and began planting mulberry trees on their own land, as well as the land he managed for Chen Yongxiao—a total of nearly one thousand acres.

The remaining four hundred and fifty acres were reserved for planting grain.

Not only that, but Chen Li also began looking for artisans to build a silkworm house near the mulberry fields, planning for the subsequent steps of raising silkworms and reeling silk.

After the mulberry trees were planted, it was once again time for the regular planting season.

Time flew by in a flurry of activity, and soon it was the end of the sixth month.

The tragic state of Jingshan County had become unbearable to witness.

Vast tracts of fertile land had been forcibly converted to mulberry groves, and the expected autumn grain harvest plummeted, triggering extreme panic in the market.

Grain prices, like a runaway horse, skyrocketed.

"The price went up! It went up again! This morning it was four point eight taels per stone, and now it’s five point two!"

The crowd in front of the grain store grew restless as panic spread.

In a short time, the price of one stone of rice had soared to the astronomical price of five taels of silver.

The price of grain was now even higher than it had been during the droughts of previous years.

Last year’s grain had been plundered by Water Bandits and then forcefully requisitioned by the Government Office. During the lean season before the new harvest, many families were already struggling to get by.

This surge in grain prices was, for many commoners, an absolute catastrophe.

Sallow-faced and emaciated refugees, with their families in tow, began to appear in large numbers.

Begging, theft, and even open robbery began to occur in many places.

Jingshan County, a land untouched by natural disaster, was now ravaged by man-made calamity, presenting the bleak and tragic scene of a dynasty in its final years.

...

Amidst the chaos.

Jingshan Pier.

Several deeply laden boats were moored quietly beside the wooden pier.

The boats were covered with thick, oiled canvas.

Dozens of sturdy Guards with arrogant eyes and short blades at their waists patrolled back and forth.

Suddenly, a sharp whistle pierced the air.

A black shadow shot toward the largest boat like a phantom.

"Who’s there?"

The Guards were startled.

The black shadow was so fast it left only a faint afterimage.

With a flicker of his body, he cut into their ranks. His hands flew, his fingers and palms slicing through the air with a vicious whistle.

"CRACK!"

"Argh!"

The sound of shattering bone and a pained scream rang out almost simultaneously.

His movements were without flourish. Every strike aimed for a vital point with terrifying efficiency, as if he were a machine built for slaughter.

"The Government Office is cruel, allowing crooked merchants to hoard goods and drive up prices. The Noble Families are unjust, trying to seize our lands. This boat is one of their grain boats. My friends, if we want to live, we have to take this grain! Charge with me!"

The masked man’s voice was hoarse yet incredibly piercing, each word hammering into the hearts of the starving refugees around him.

His words were like a spark landing in boiling oil.

"Loot it! For our lives!"

"Let’s fight them to the death!"

On the pier, the refugees—long driven past the point of reason by hunger and despair—surged forward like a burst dam, letting out a heaven-shaking roar as they charged the grain boat.

"They’re rebelling! Rebelling! Stop them!"

The Guards, their faces pale, screamed themselves hoarse as they drew their weapons and tried to form a defensive line.

But the masked Martial Artist quickly broke an opening in their defense.

Immediately, the starving refugees swarmed onto the grain boat like a tidal wave.

They clawed with their nails, bit with their teeth, and smashed with rocks, desperately tearing at the oiled canvas covering the grain sacks.

"Grain! It’s grain!"

"The heavens have opened their eyes! There’s food!"

"Grab it! Let’s go!"

The sight of the fine white rice, now exposed, ignited a final frenzy in them all.

The handful of Guards stood no chance of stopping them.

The scene spiraled completely out of control, descending into absolute chaos.

But the masked expert who had started all this chaos did not join the looting after defeating the guards and inciting the riot.

His figure slid backward silently, like a drop of ink melting into shadow. Within a few leaps, he had vanished from the pier, as if he had never been there at all.

The grain boat was plundered clean, leaving nothing but a wreck on the pier.