Magistrate Liang Shixian grasped the Li Family's meaning in an instant.
Work relief!
Handing out grain directly was no good. Selling books to give away food wasn't much better either.
Human nature had a dark side. Any scheme involving "handouts" was destined to end poorly.
But work relief was an excellent method.
In the blink of an eye, Liang Shixian mentally listed ten thousand benefits of the work relief system.
Of course, such an operation had one massive drawback: it required immense financial resources. This once again filled the magistrate with awe. The Li Family's wealth must rival the state's, he thought, to even conceive of such a profligate method of distributing aid. I wonder if even the legendary merchant Shen Wansan of the founding era could compare.
Mr. Wang (the chief administrator) smiled. "A year ago, when Your Honor first saw the concrete road, you wished to build one yourself, did you not? You were only dissuaded by Third Steward at the time."
Liang Shixian thought: They even remember that? I'd need to rummage through my mental attic to recall it myself.
Mr. Wang continued, "The conditions weren't ripe then, but they are now. Your Honor can seize this opportunity to accomplish the good deed of mending bridges and repairing roads, while also solving the common people's livelihood. Killing two birds with one stone—why wouldn't you?"
"Correct! It is exactly as you say," Liang Shixian agreed. "This official will immediately prepare for this matter and ensure it is handled flawlessly."
He no longer had the mood to continue bantering with Mr. Wang. Turning, he grabbed his Shaoxing advisor and hurried off. "Why are you standing there dazed? Draft a detailed road construction plan immediately!"
The advisor's spirits lifted. "Rest assured, master. Leave this to me."
The two men mounted their horses and sped away.
Only then did Gao Yiye, the Saintess, wander out from the back to stand beside Mr. Wang, watching the magistrate's retreating figure.
"That man seems like a good official," she observed.
Mr. Wang sighed. "Yes. If he had been the magistrate of Chengcheng County instead of that scoundrel Zhang Yaocai, perhaps Wang Er wouldn't have rebelled. How many lives in our county could have been spared."
Li Daoxuan, watching from above, shook his head and sighed softly. It's not that simple. Even if Wang Er didn't rebel, there would be a Zhang San, a Li Si, or a Flat Rabbit-type character who would... Even if Chengcheng didn't rebel, Qingjian, Mizhi, Fugu, Luochuan, Yichuan... they all would rise up.
The peasant uprisings of the late Ming were ultimately unavoidable.
The Great Ming's destiny was exhausted.
Not even a god would come to save it—only to knock it over and start anew.
...
The massive road construction project began.
In this era, building a road over thirty li long (about 15 kilometers) was no easy feat.
The workers hadn't attended "Blue Sky Technical School" ("Lanxiang" is a famous modern Chinese vocational school for excavator operation, used here as Li Daoxuan's internal anachronistic joke). They had no modern machinery—no cement mixers, no dump trucks for stone and sand.
Splitting rock relied on hammers and chisels. Moving earth relied on shoulder poles. Crossing mountains and ridges relied on their own two legs.
Under these conditions, building a thirty-li road was a monumental task.
Fortunately, there was already a packed-earth official road. They weren't starting from scratch in the wilderness, but rather carving a new, level path beside the existing road, then covering it with concrete.
A "Recruitment Notice" was posted at the entrance to the county government office.
A large crowd of refugees gathered around it. "What does it say?" they asked.
The scholar hired by Magistrate Liang stood by the notice and read it aloud to the people. But even after hearing it, the refugees' faces remained blank.
(A Magistrate's public notices were formal documents written in highly refined Classical Chinese, virtually incomprehensible to the illiterate peasantry.)
Alright. The notice Magistrate Liang had written was too literary. Even read aloud, the common folk couldn't understand. The scholar had no choice but to translate it into plain speech, bellowing: "The Magistrate says he needs to hire workers to build a road! This is not corvée labor! Not corvée labor! Not corvée labor! Important things must be said three times! This is hiring short-term laborers! Meals provided! Plus an extra three jin of grain per day!" (About 1.8 kilograms)
The moment these words were shouted, the people's first instinct was to cheer.
But...
The cheer got stuck in their throats, unable to emerge.
Government hiring? Paying wages?
Who the hell would believe that! Even though the current magistrate had a reputation for being "upright," people still didn't dare trust it. Hadn't they been cheated by the government enough in this lifetime? The Ming court simply had no credibility left.
With a loud "whoosh," the crowd began to disperse.
Magistrate Liang was hiding in a nearby house, secretly watching the people's reaction. Seeing this, he grew frantic. Grabbing his advisor's sleeve, he hissed, "Why don't they believe me? I've been distributing gruel for a year! Every time bandits came, I led from the front, holding the line with the militia! I've never mistreated the common people!"
The Shaoxing advisor wore a pained expression. "Master, you may be a good official, but you can't make up for the others... ahem... Remember that official Li Ying last time? And the previous magistrate, Zhang Yaocai..."
Liang Shixian: "..."
What should he do?
He needed to think carefully.
The erudite Liang Shixian immediately activated emergency protocol in his mind. The government's prestige, his own reputation, the people's trust, methods to gain their confidence—all spun through his thoughts like a revolving lantern. Then, with a mental ding!, it stopped on a signboard.
On that signboard were four large characters: Chengcheng Book Bureau.
Got it!
Liang Shixian burst out from his hiding place. "Everyone, don't be afraid!" he announced loudly. "The one recruiting for the road work is not the court! That's why it's not corvée labor! The one hiring is Mr. Wang of the Chengcheng Book Bureau! He wants to build a good road to make it easier for his book transport wagons... All the grain will be distributed by the Book Bureau! The government is only here to supervise! If the Book Bureau owes you wages, you can come to the government to lodge a complaint! This official will definitely handle it!"
Hearing this, the dispersing crowd immediately swarmed back.
"Oh, it's the Book Bureau!"
"You should've said so earlier!If the Book Bureau's giving grain, then I believe it!"
"As long as it's not the government,I'd dare try working for anyone. It's only the government's jobs I wouldn't dare touch."
"The Book Bureau's been giving away grain all along.Only buying one book for two liang wasn't quite enough to eat. I thought they didn't have much grain themselves, so they couldn't give more. Turns out they were saving up for a big project!"
"That's right,that's right."
"Mr.Wang from the Book Bureau is a great philanthropist."
"The court is different.Before the work, they promise you the world. After the work's done, they flip their face and won't give you a single copper coin."
"But Magistrate Liang seems like an upright official?"
"What good is an upright official?An upright official just 'acknowledges the debt but doesn't pay up.'"
"What's that mean?"
"It means'I admit I owe you money, but I have no money to pay you.' It's always someone else's fault—the higher-ups didn't send funds, what can a lowly seventh-rank official like me do?' That's how they stall you. And what can you do about it?"
"I see..."
"Better to stick with the Book Bureau.Mr. Wang is a good man."
The common folk grew excited. "We'll take this job! We'll do it!"
Hearing their discussion, Liang Shixian's face was a mask of awkwardness. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly: How did the government's reputation become like this? When did it start? Ah! The people's hearts... have already drifted so far?
This is a terribly ominous sign!
A state cannot stand without the people's trust. (A reference to Confucius: 民無信不立 - "Without the trust of the people, the state cannot stand.")
With the people's hearts in such a state, our majestic Great Ming... is in peril.
Liang Shixian snatched up his writing brush with a sharp motion: I must submit a memorial to the Emperor, to tell him the situation is critically dangerous. But... how should he write it? What should he say?
He held the brush, stiff and unmoving, for a long, long time.
Not a single word would come.
---
(Ming Context:) The "Shaoxing advisor" was a stereotype of the period. Shaoxing prefecture in Zhejiang was famous for producing a class of literate, savvy private secretaries who served local magistrates across the empire, handling paperwork, legal matters, and often acting as the official's practical right hand. They were both indispensable and, in popular imagination, sometimes cunning.
(Ming Context:) "Corvée labor" (yaoyi) was a legal tax paid in labor, requiring peasants to work without pay on state projects like roads, walls, or canals for a set number of days per year. It was deeply hated and often abused by local officials who could extend the service or demand bribes for exemption, making any "government work" a source of terror for commoners.