Volume 1, River City Song - Chapter 67: County Yamen Reform (Part 1)

Li Ling could guess some of Wei Liang's concerns.

On one hand, he was bound to worry about whether there might be loopholes or troubles in the approach Li Ling proposed, which could potentially plunge the county yamen into chaos. On the other hand, what he likely cared about even more was: what should he do if this new set of rules failed to take hold? Should that happen, his authority as magistrate would be utterly swept into the dust, and the outcome would probably be even worse than his current predicament. This inevitably made him hesitant and overly cautious, unable to make such a decision lightly.

Of course, Li Ling's ability to guess Wei Liang's thoughts did not mean he had to accept such a hesitant mentality. Alas, Wei Liang was the magistrate and the one who ultimately called the shots; Li Ling could only offer his strategy and then wait for the other party to make the final determination.

Originally, Li Ling expected Wei Liang to hesitate for quite a long time, perhaps even waiting until Cao Jin returned before reaching a conclusion. To his surprise, merely two days later, the magistrate summoned him back into his presence again. With a solemn expression, Wei Liang asked, "Li Ling, can your rules truly constrain everyone in the county yamen and make them obey my commands?"

Li Ling glanced at him in mild surprise. Why had he suddenly grown so urgent? Nonetheless, he replied with careful caution, "This subordinate wouldn't dare to speak with absolute certainty, but as long as I have the county lord's backing, there is a seven or eight-tenths chance of success. After all, the rules we are establishing this time will be closely tied to everyone's official stipends; no one will be able to stand outside of that."

"Then shall we give it a try? You haven't distributed the stipend silver yet, have you?" After pondering for just a brief moment, Magistrate Wei made a resolute decision. This took Li Ling by surprise once more, leaving him momentarily dazed before he hurriedly cupped his hands in assent, though the questions in his heart only grew heavier.

Noticing Li Ling's doubts, Wei Liang did not treat him as an outsider. He picked up a document from his desk and handed it over, wearing a completely serious expression: "Take a look at this. It was sent by the prefectural yamen early this morning."

Li Ling stepped forward to take the document and scanned it rapidly. His brows quickly knitted together. He finally understood why the magistrate had made up his mind so quickly—he had been driven right to the edge. "The prefectural yamen actually ordered us to hand Zhuang Hong over to them for trial? There is no such rule! The crimes he committed took place right here within Jiangcheng County."

Magistrate Wei gave a bitter laugh. "Yet he was an official after all. If the prefectural yamen truly seizes upon this point, feeling that a mere seventh-rank magistrate like myself lacks the qualifications to try this case, they can force the county yamen to hand the prisoner over!" With a frustrated huff, he added, "No wonder our men failed to find Zhuang Strong when we sent them to question him earlier; he had obviously gone to the prefectural city early on. It is simply outrageous!"

Li Ling's expression also turned somewhat gloomy, and he said with undeniable concern, "My lord, now that the prefectural yamen has issued a formal document demanding the prisoner, wouldn't it be too late to try this case now?"

"It is not too late. After all, this is merely a dispatch from the prefectural judge; I can still hold my ground. But I also fear that prolonged delays will lead to complications. Once the prefect issue a formal order for the person, I won't be able to refuse. Therefore, this case must be tried as quickly as possible. Otherwise, if they really manage to take the prisoner away, everything we achieved before will likely be overturned. Do you understand my meaning?"

Pinned by the other's intensely earnest gaze, Li Ling grew increasingly tense, realizing that time and tide waited for no man and the situation admitted not a moment's delay. In truth, compared to Wei Liang, he, Li Ling, should be the more anxious one. After all, once Zhuang Hong was cleared of charges and returned, the magistrate might still be able to save himself, but Li Ling would undoubtedly be dead.

Therefore, for both public and private reasons, Li Ling had to go all out this time to help Wei Liang wrest back control of the county yamen first, and then thoroughly try the case so that the prefectural yamen would find it difficult to interfere further!

Having made up his mind, he took another step forward, cupped his hands solemnly, and said, "This subordinate understands. Tomorrow... no, this afternoon, I will put the new rules into effect and force them to change their previous stance!"

***

Following half a month of busyness, the backlog of official business in the county yamen caused by the New Year had finally been mostly cleared, allowing everyone to take a breather. Especially after noon, almost everyone sat languidly in their respective offices, idling away the time with casual chatter—truly a picture of peaceful and untroubled days.

Yet, a sudden burst of gongs shattered this leisurely atmosphere, jolting many people sharply awake. Some even rushed out the door in irritation to investigate, only to see Li Ling standing steadfastly with two men in the empty courtyard before the second hall. One of them was holding a gong and striking it energetically.

"Zhao Han, stop that at once! How can you cause such a ruckus in the vital precincts of the county yamen?" A few veteran clerks, irritated by the noise, immediately shouted angrily. In the end, even Wang He was drawn out. He barked furiously at Li Ling, "Clerk Li, what are you doing? The county yamen has its own rules; it's no place for your wild antics!"

Seeing that practically everyone had come out, Li Ling signaled Zhao Han to stop, then made a full round of bows to the crowd before him: "I beg everyone to forgive me. I had to resort to this drastic measure in order to let everyone know about a major matter immediately. I apologize for the heavy disturbance."

"Hmph, utter nonsense. If you have something to announce to us, you could easily have had someone pass the word individually. Doing it this way is completely unbefitting a scholar!" Feng Ping walked out with a dark expression, his words filled with dissatisfaction.

Wang He cast a thoughtful glance at Li Ling and asked, "What on earth do you want to say? Out with it directly."

"A few days ago, I had a discussion with the county lord. In the county lord's view, everyone in our county yamen has been far too slack lately. Especially during the period following the New Year—while quite a few colleagues have indeed been working hard, just as many have simply been drifting along, wasting time. This is truly not how the county yamen should look, and it is a disrespect to those who labor diligently."

Unfazed by the two deputy magistrates' remarks, Li Ling spoke fluently and calmly, his gaze sweeping repeatedly across the crowd before him: "Regarding this, I submitted a proposal to the county lord. While it wouldn't be appropriate to dismiss those who have served in the county yamen for years over such minor issues, we can still employ a system of rewards and punishments to achieve the greatest possible fairness!"

"What on earth do you mean by this? What are you trying to say?" Feng Ping asked with a face full of impatience, while a faint sense of unease began to stir in his heart.

"It is very simple. Starting today, the stipends of the clerks and runners in the county yamen will no longer remain fixed. Instead, they will be disbursed based on your performance for the current month. Take last month, for instance: Lin Qing from the Revenue Section, Zhang Ting from the Punishment Section, Zhou Mi from the Works Section..." He reeled off the names of more than ten clerks in succession, all of whom wore uneasy expressions until he delivered the punchline: "You have served diligently and deserve to be rewarded, so your stipend silver for this month will be doubled!" With that, he clapped his hands.

The moment the applause faded, everyone watched as Zhou Lenyuan from the Revenue Section walked up carrying a tray laden with ingots of silver. Li Ling immediately stepped forward, took a portion, and first went to Lin Qing, handing him the silver, followed by Zhang Ting, Zhou Mi, and the rest...

Normally, a regular clerk in the county yamen received a monthly stipend of no more than seven or eight taels. The silver ingots Li Ling was handing out clearly weighed a full catty each—sixteen taels. Naturally, these clerks were not about to push away the silver that had fallen into their hands, and they accepted it with beaming smiles, offering profuse thanks.

"This is what you deserve. I am merely distributing it on the orders of the county lord. If you wish to thank anyone, you should thank the county lord for his impartial judgment." Li Ling explained with a smile as he handed out the silver.

"Many thanks to the county lord for bestowing silver upon us!" Having been coached beforehand, Lin Qing immediately shouted out loudly. With him taking the lead, the others quickly followed suit, and the atmosphere was genuinely stirred up.

Those who failed to receive the reward silver looked on with eyes full of envy. Why had such a prestigious and lucrative benefit not fallen upon their own heads? Meanwhile, Wang He and Feng Ping felt a jolt in their hearts. Exchanging a glance, each saw a trace of unease in the other's eyes. I'm afraid this move by the county lord isn't so simple; there must be more to come!

Sure enough, just as Li Ling finished distributing all the silver, he smiled again: "Those brothers who failed to receive reward silver today need not be overly distressed. I have already discussed it with the county lord: from now on, our county yamen will select ten diligent and hardworking brothers every month to receive a double stipend. Thus, everyone has a chance. As long as you work steadfastly and obey the county lord's commands, you will reap the rewards."

At these words, the eyes of everyone around him were suddenly filled with a mixture of greed, anticipation, and other emotions. Making a living on that meager stipend alone was genuinely bitter—after all, not everyone had a way to scrape together illicit income through their status as yamen runners. Naturally, it would be best of all if they could obtain more silver through legitimate means.

"Hold on! Clerk Li, I must ask you a question. Was this silver not provided by the county lord out of his own pocket, but rather disbursed from the county yamen's treasury?" Feng Ping suddenly interjected.

Li Ling smiled at him and nodded, saying, "The Vice-Magistrate is quite right. Naturally, this reward silver is paid out by the county yamen. The county lord has always been incorruptible—where would he get so much silver of his own?"

"That is entirely wrong! The silver in the yamen's treasury is earmarked for specific purposes. How can you allow people to draw upon it at will? Once an error occurs, I ask you, who dares to take the blame?"

Feng Ping's words instantly took effect. The others began to look doubtful, and even the ten clerks who had received the reward silver started to hesitate. If that were truly the case, this silver would be too hot to handle.

Yet Li Ling merely smiled. "For the Vice-Magistrate to think of this shows he is truly devoted to the public interest. This subordinate admires you. However, you needn't worry too much. The county lord and I have long since thought of a countermeasure. This allows those with outstanding daily performance to receive rewards while ensuring the county yamen's treasury does not suffer an unwarranted shortage of silver."

"Hmph, how can that be? Could it be that the two of you can conjure silver out of thin air?"

"Silver cannot be conjured out of thin air, of course, but it can be squeezed out." At this, Li Ling's expression shifted, and he said in a ringing voice, "In view of the laxity and inefficiency within the county yamen over the past half month, with quite a few individuals failing to perform their duties properly, the county lord has decided to severely punish the relevant parties. Zhang Yuan, Xie Kui, and Zhao Feng from the Punishment Section; Wang Kuang and Liu An from the Works Section..." He reeled off the names of over thirty people in one breath. "Because you have failed in your duties and neglected your responsibilities, you ought to be dismissed from your posts and driven out of the county yamen immediately. However, to avoid the charge of punishing people without prior instruction, the county lord intends to give you a chance to reform first, deducting only this month's stipend as a warning to observe your future conduct."

With that, he looked toward Feng Ping again. "Vice-Magistrate Feng, that reward silver comes from this very source. Only by having both rewards and punishments can there be true fairness. I wonder what your opinion is?"