Chapter 2617 - 2590: Mutual Benefit

Tang He glanced at Bai Shan before speaking, "The notice has been posted, and the county sheriffs have seen it. We’ve temporarily appeased the tenant farmers who were causing trouble, but in reality, we’ve only engaged with half of the land and tenants..."

Tang He briefly summarized the work done during the period and said, "We have already redeemed eighteen qing of land —excluding the ten qing from the Zheng Family. The rest, due to unstable tenant emotions, has yet to proceed."

Governor Yu frowned, "Lord Tang, is there no way?"

Lord Tang smiled and replied, "There is indeed a way. Their excuse was merely to maintain stability. Therefore, as long as we pacify the tenants, and they stop causing disturbances, these individuals will lack excuses to delay. Should they persist in delaying, the court would then have grounds to directly seize their holdings."

He continued, "We’ve now appeased numerous tenant farmers, and have confidence regarding the twenty-three qing of land involved. We simply haven’t signed the redemption agreement yet, as we’ve been awaiting Governor Yu’s arrival."

Governor Yu: "Waiting for me?"

He glanced at Lord Tang in confusion, "Wasn’t the redemption funded directly by the Ministry of Revenue? As an inspecting official, shouldn’t Lord Tang be able to make decisions on this matter?"

"Yes, that’s possible, but firstly, this is Qizhou, and Governor Yu will be the one implementing policies in this region; secondly..."

Tang He turned his head towards Bai Shan, seated nearby, and said helplessly, "It was all due to my junior. He’s young and lacks experience, overly kind-hearted. I didn’t keep watch over him, and promises that shouldn’t have been made were made."

Governor Yu raised an eyebrow slightly and looked at Bai Shan, noticing his fair complexion and handsome appearance, sitting upright like a bamboo, yet his manner was gentle, clearly the demeanor of a noble son. Hence, Governor Yu raised his eyebrows and said with a hint of a smile, "Lord Tang should know I’ve already executed three people, right? Those three were local aristocrats of Qizhou. If I’m going to govern here, I can’t let them take advantage of me. If you’re bending to them, Lord Tang, then there’s no need to speak further."

"Governor Yu misunderstood," Tang He hurriedly interjected, "He did not make a promise to those aristocrats."

He glanced at Bai Shan again, who, full of shame, lowered his head. Only then did Tang He sigh heavily, "He made promises to the tenant farmers seeing them in ragged clothes, and filled with fear and anxiety, couldn’t hold back."

Tang He turned his head and said, "Quickly apologize to Governor Yu."

Bai Shan promptly stood up and bowed to Governor Yu, his face full of embarrassment, "I have caused trouble for the lords."

Upon hearing it wasn’t those aristocrats and local gentry, but tenant farmers, Governor Yu relaxed and asked, "Oh? What promise was made?"

Lord Tang replied, "My junior promised those tenant farmers that after the lands are redeemed, they would remain leased to them, and the lease agreement for next year can be signed immediately. Moreover, the rent collected would not exceed forty percent."

Governor Yu twitched the corners of his mouth and asked, "You didn’t make this promise to every tenant in each village, did you?"

"No, no, no," Lord Tang hurriedly said, "It was only made to one village, specifically Da’an Village, and he only returned today, making the promise today."

He explained, "Governor Yu might not know, but Da’an Village is the largest among the villages we’ve visited these days, with 167 households and 978 people."

Governor Yu was surprised, "Such a large number, nearly two li, almost forming a township."

Yet Tang He shook his head, "Unfortunately, there’s no nearby village around it. This village wasn’t formed naturally, but was assembled and relocated a few years ago for convenience in farming these lands. Therefore, it cannot form a township."

Ten li constitute a township, normally villages are small like Qili Village; it’s less than a li, joined with parts of Dali Village to form one li, with the Chief coming from Dali Village.

A village exceeding one li is quite substantial.

For instance, Dali Village has not only a large market but also a Taoist temple, doctors, butcher stalls, and families specializing in grain trade.

Local villagers never go to White Horse Pass Town for buying and selling, preferring convenience at Dali Village or richness and variety at the county.

Since going to the county and White Horse Pass Town are similarly distant, perhaps even slightly closer than the town.

When Bai Shan saw Da’an Village’s location, he realized it was chosen by someone deliberately to keep them isolated and minimize contact with others.

Such large villages generally are wealthier than others; however, Da’an Village was impoverished to the point where the scent of oil wasn’t even detectable. From the elderly down to children, their clothes were patched upon patches. Some young and middle-aged men directly wore short jackets, because beyond farming they could do nothing else.

Tang He, having served as a local official, naturally discerned the details at once, hence he subtly hinted and advised Governor Yu, smilingly saying, "My junior is young and somewhat muddled by studying. Seeing them hungry and barely clothed, though we reassured them they would continue farming these lands in the future, they remained fearful and anxious. Couldn’t hold back, he made such promises publicly and even naively handed out his name card."

Governor Yu seriously assessed Bai Shan, then laughed after a moment, saying, "Lord Bai is benevolent at heart, and it’s understandable."

Tang He sighed deeply, "But these lands are ultimately the public lands of Qizhou. We are only responsible for redeeming them, not overstepping our boundaries to decide tenant leases. So, we must seek help from Governor Yu."

Governor Yu laughed, "That’s fine, that’s fine. How about this, tomorrow I’ll go to the countryside together with Lord Tang, what do you say?"

He smiled, "As long as Lord Tang doesn’t mind me being in the way, we can go to the countryside together and handle this matter. In doing so, we can quickly and conveniently reassure the people, okay?"

Lord Tang beamed, "I would welcome that."

"Well, it’s decided then, we’ll head to the countryside together tomorrow."

"Great, tomorrow I will wait at the Governor’s residence to go to the countryside together," Tang He looked at the deputy behind Governor Yu, stood up, and smiled, "Since it is settled, I won’t hold up Governor Yu any longer from his refreshment."

Governor Yu also stood up to see him out, escorting them to the door, saying, "Lord Tang may unwind in the backyard, just a moment, once I’ve changed we can dine together."

Tang He nodded with a smile and left with Bai Shan.

Once they exited the main courtyard, Tang He’s smile faded slightly, yet Bai Shan’s eyes were filled with amusement, "Senior Brother Tang, this new governor is indeed fascinating, beneath his rough exterior lies subtlety. It seems his bold hand in executing people is quite effective in maintaining control over the situation."