The world of film and television begins with the God of Medicine.

Chapter 1506 Source of Power
Xu Jingyi was one of the most prominent local families in Chun'an, owning 3,000 mu of fertile land and several hundred tenant farmers. He also ran a grain store, a herbal medicine shop, and a silk shop, among other businesses, making his business very large within the Hangzhou area.

When Zhang Song, the clerk he used to know well, arrived at their residence in the county town with a large group of men, Xu Jingyi was completely dumbfounded. He wanted to say a few words and ask about the situation, but this man, who used to fawn over him like a dog, showed him no respect this time. He immediately gave Xu Jingyi a good beating, then arrested his entire family and sent them to the county government office.

Under the shade of a tree, Wang Yan sat in a chair, looking at the entire Xu family kneeling there, listening to the report from the head of the household affairs department.

"Third Master, this time we confiscated three houses, eight shops, and their grain depot's granary in the county, finding two thousand shi of grain, in addition to fifty thousand taels of silver..."

"Only two thousand shi?"

Hearing Wang Yan's discontented words, the head of the household affairs office said cautiously, "Third Master, the grain also needs to be transported. Chun'an is a small county; how can it possibly consume so much grain? Even if we confiscate all the grain depots in the county, it still won't reach 20,000 shi..."

Wang Yan's gaze fell on Zhang Song: "Fourth Master, you led the search of the house, but you didn't find any account books or anything?"

"Yes, yes, yes, where are the ledgers? Ledgers!" Zhang Song shouted, ordering his men to fetch several large boxes of ledgers. "Third Master, the ledgers are all here."

"Aren't there any shady accounts?" Wang Yan asked casually as he flipped through the ledgers.

Xu Jingyi, who was kneeling on the ground, laughed instead: "Of course they have them, but they don't dare to give them to you."

"Is that so, Fourth Master?"

Seeing Wang Yan's gentle, smiling face, Zhang Song lowered his head and dared not speak.

Seeing that Wang Yan was not going to give up, but was fanning himself with the account book, the power of silence was displayed in the room, and many people were sweating profusely, and their eyes were drawn to Tian Youlu.

So Tian Youlu had no choice but to speak. He coughed and said, "Well... my dear brother... I wonder why you're looking for this shady ledger?"

"What else could it be? Of course, it's for money and supplies!"

Wang Yan snorted, "No matter how big the Xu family's business is, tens of thousands of shi of grain is not a small amount of money. Their family only has some influence in Hangzhou Prefecture. Without help from others, how could they possibly consume so much?"
Now is the crucial moment. We need to bring this matter to light, follow the trail, and deal with whoever has the grain. Have I been direct enough?

"Oh dear, Third Master, it hasn't come to that yet. Why make such a fuss? Our heads can't handle such a big deal. Besides, ten days have passed and there's still no sign of buying the land. The higher-ups will definitely send us grain for disaster relief."

Wang Yan glanced at Tian Youlu: "Brother, don't always say things like that. Even if we send grain, how much can we send? It takes time for us to find grain ourselves. A month will pass by in a round trip."

We need to clear the fields quickly and figure out the next steps. Whether we plant mulberry trees or grain, we can at least harvest a crop before the end of the year, so the people can have more to eat. Otherwise, how will we survive this year?
"When the people rebel, you'll be the first one to behead me. You don't do your job, and you won't let me do mine. Tell me, if not you, who will behead me?"

Wang Yan's gaze swept across the room. "Bring out the account books, and we can still discuss things. If you can't, then we'll have to have a serious talk today. Master Xu is right here; whoever he points to, I'll deal with! Whether you have the account books or not, you can decide for yourselves."

With a soft hum, Wang Yan instructed the head of the household affairs office to tally the money and grain and arrange the distribution of the grain before leaving the county government office.

Although Chun'an County has been cleaned up, it is not completely clean. There is still a layer of mud on the ground, and it is still uncomfortable to walk on.

However, as the Third Master, Wang, the Registrar, certainly didn't need to walk on this rotten road. Instead, he rode on a worn-out horse, led by a minor official.

As they made their way to the outskirts of the city, the people were busily clearing the mud and water from the roads, while the elderly and infirm waited in the shade for their families to work and earn food.

The county clerks, looking rather listless, set up a soup kitchen in the shade and guarded the grain. Strong local militiamen stood guard nearby, swords in hand.

Since it's a work-for-relief program, now is the time to work. After the work is done, a minor official will give you a slip of paper to prove that you have worked for a sufficient amount of time. With the slip of paper, you can go to the soup kitchen to queue up and receive soup.

It's a win-win situation that allows us to do both work and provide disaster relief.

"Greetings, Third Master."

"Third Master!"

"Third Master, I heard that there isn't enough grain in the county! Is that true?"

"They say they're arresting Xu the wealthy man, but it's really just to raise money and grain..."

……

The people greeted Wang Yan warmly, and some even dared to say that there was no food left and inquire about the situation at the government office.

Wang Yan jumped off his horse and found a high place to stand on.

"Fellow villagers, we are indeed short of food. But don't worry, we always have a way. Today we confiscated two thousand bushels of grain from the Xu family, enough to last us for a few days. His Majesty is very concerned about everything. After so much time, the news of our disaster must have reached His Majesty's ears, and the relief grain must be on its way. So there is absolutely no need to worry about the food problem."

Wang Yan waved his hand and said, "In addition, I also want to say to the other big families in the county, you are also from Chun'an. Now that Chun'an has suffered such a great disaster, it is not good to close your doors and live your lives alone."

I hope that the wealthy families will be good citizens and good merchants of Chun'an, possessing the spirit of selfless dedication to help those in need. After all, your ancestors have earned money here from the villagers for generations; now it's time for you to give back. I hope you will make the right decision. What do the villagers say? Shouldn't you?"

“Of course! Of course! My family used to have thirty mu of land, but now we only have five mu left. We gave it all to Liu the big boss.”

"right……"

Wang Yan raised his arms and shouted, and a hundred people responded to his call.

The food shortage was a fact; the people had all heard about it, and it was impossible to cover it up. At this point, admitting that the arrest of the wealthy Xu family was for food would reassure the people. He then suggested that other wealthy households in the county should voluntarily contribute, which would further reassure the people.

Anyway, the wealthy households can't run away, and the grain is still there; it should be enough to last for a while. There's a huge difference between not having enough food, being on the verge of running out of food, and already running out of food.

As for the fear of the wealthy, that's not something Wang Yan should worry about.

Wang Yan mounted his horse again and went to inspect another location.

"Greetings, Third Master." A burly man, shirtless, grinned and greeted Wang Yan.

"Dazhu, didn't I tell you to lead the brothers to maintain order? How come you're doing work too?" Wang Yan looked at him kindly.

This man was Qi Dazhu, an ordinary farmer from Chun'an County, who rose to prominence because of this incident. He led the able-bodied men in disaster relief, followed Qi Jiguang in fighting Japanese pirates, served as Qi Jiguang's bodyguard, stood guard for Hu Zongxian, and became friends with Hai Rui. Later, because of his honest and simple nature, as well as his strong physique with long arms, a wasp waist, and mantis legs, he was valued by the Embroidered Uniform Guard and joined the Northern Garrison, becoming one of the Thirteen Protectors. He even kowtowed to the Jiajing Emperor.

For someone from an ordinary farming family like him, this was truly a stroke of incredible luck; he had worked his way up to the top.

Qi Dazhu chuckled and said, "When everyone works together, it gets done faster. Besides, there's no order for us to maintain. It's all our own home, so everyone works diligently and no one slacks off or causes trouble."

“That’s well said. It’s your own home, so you should build it with your own heart.” Wang Yan patted Qi Dazhu on the shoulder with satisfaction. “Let’s clear the road first, and then let everyone go back and tidy up their own homes. I’ll think about it and see if I can come up with a way to help everyone build a new house with the least amount of money.”

"What? They're going to build me a new house?" Qi Dazhu's eyes widened, and he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Did everyone hear that? Third Master said he's going to build us a new house!"

"Really?" "A righteous and just official!"

……

Wang Yan waved his hand with a laugh: "I'm not the big boss. Our original big boss was captured and beheaded. He's probably infested with worms by now. I'm building new houses for the villagers, but it's not free. You'll definitely have to spend money, but I'll try to make sure you spend as little as possible. Dazhu, you look honest, but you're quite shrewd."

Qi Dazhu chuckled foolishly, pretending not to understand: "Third Master, how can building a house be cheap? Even if it's just stone and mud, it's not easy to find that many stones. And even if it's just stone and mud, the roof beams still need suitable timber, and timber that can be used for beams is not cheap."

"Then you should get ready and find some wood suitable for the main beams. I'll look into the rest. You can buy a few beams yourselves; you don't need to worry about the other materials. Now every household can afford to build a new house, right?"

“Hiring someone to build a house always costs money, Third Master,” someone added.

Wang Yan casually slapped the man: "Are you stupid? None of us have houses anymore, so let's help each other build some. Why would it cost money?"

The man grimaced, covered the back of his head, chuckled foolishly, and said nothing more.

"As long as I'm here, I'll definitely keep my promises. If I'm not here anymore, there are many things I won't be able to manage."

Wang Yan said loudly, "Alright, the most important thing right now is to clean up the silt and stagnant water. We can talk about building the house later. Dazhu, come to me anytime if you have any problems. Also, if anyone comes to our county to sell grain, bring them to me."

"Yes, Third Master!"

"Get to work, everyone."

After looking around and handling many matters on the spot, he returned to the county government office after dark.

The Xu family mansion, which had been kneeling on the ground during the day, along with the numerous minor officials and local militiamen wielding knives and clubs, were all gone; the place was eerily quiet. The wind rustled the leaves, cicadas buzzed incessantly, and even frogs croaked.

"My dear brother, you're finally back! We've all been waiting for you." Tian Youlu led a group of people and quickly came to greet them.

Wang Yan looked at the group of officials and asked curiously, "Brother, what's the purpose of this grand gathering?"

"Third Master, you have been in office for half a month, and we, your subordinates, have not even held a banquet to welcome you. It is truly inappropriate of us," Zhang Song said with a fawning smile, all to curry favor.

“I understand. The Feast at Hongmen, is that it?” Wang Yan nodded knowingly, but his words were laced with veiled malice.

Not only did he speak, he also took action. He turned to the minor official who had sided with him and said, "Go, call Qi Dazhu over here. Tell him to bring his men and weapons and surround the county government office. If anything happens to me, slaughter everyone in the county government office. Let them fend for themselves."

"Yes, Third Master!" the clerk replied, ignoring everyone's attempts to stop him, and ran off to inform the master.

"Oh, my dear brother, what are you saying? How could we have such audacity? How could we dare to do such a thing?" Tian Youlu argued, his face flushed. "It's really a welcome feast, it's really a welcome feast!"

“Yes, Third Master, you’ve been working so hard lately, we’d like you to get some rest,” Zhang Song chimed in.

Wang Yan laughed heartily and strolled into the main hall of the county government office with his hands behind his back. What was originally a place for discussions now had a large table set up, laden with various dishes—a considerable amount of chicken, duck, fish, and meat.

"It's already this late, and you still managed to arrange such a feast." Wang Yan washed his hands and face, and after some polite refusals, he still gave the head seat to Tian Youlu and sat down next to him.

I tore off a chicken leg and stuffed it into my mouth. When I took it out, all that was left was clean bone. My mouth was full of oil, and it tasted incredibly delicious.

After taking a sip of the wine Zhang Song poured for him, Wang Yan asked, "What exactly is your plan?"

"Third Master, harmony brings wealth," Tian Youlu said. "It's really not that bad..."

Wang Yan looked at the jailer surnamed Wang: "Is Master Xu dead?"

Prisoner Wang shook his head repeatedly: "No, no, Third Master, how could I do such a thing? The Xu family is all fine, not a single hair has fallen."

"That puts me in a difficult position." Wang Yan picked up some fish with his chopsticks. "We asked you to hand over your account books, but you've been hiding them and refusing to. You haven't even killed the Xu family to destroy the evidence. And now, at a time like this, you're spending the government's money to host this deadly meal for me. What are you doing? Huh? Trying to drag me into this mess?"

Wang Yan waved his hand, stopping Tian Youlu's attempt at sophistry.

"I'm not on land, and I don't want to go into the water. I've made myself clear: I need money and food right now. You don't want me to lift the lid and climb up. Actually, I don't want to do that either. What's the point of having a head like mine? How could I possibly be harmed by those up there?"

"If you really get serious, you can slip several hundred taels of silver into my room and accuse me of embezzlement; I can't do anything about it. You even handed a knife to the higher-ups, who can then behead me."

"No, no, my dear brother, how could we possibly do that?"

Wang Yan said, "I don't want to know, and I'm not afraid. I've already told you, so why would I be afraid of you framing me? Speaking of which, you won't give me the account books, you won't let me lift the lid, and you won't give me money or supplies. What exactly do you want? Huh?"
"Don't bother telling me anything more. Either you find me money and provisions, or you bring me the account books, and I'll find them myself. There's no other way."

Everyone's faces turned grim...

They couldn't understand why Wang Yan was being so tough, why he was going against all of them.

Despite the dangerous looks in everyone's eyes, Wang Yan continued eating and drinking heartily, saying with a smile, "Actually, I didn't intend to die together with everyone. Those of you who are related to me can be spared. Everything I've done is for money and supplies, to stabilize the hearts of the people in Chun'an. If killing one of you could resolve this crisis, you wouldn't be sitting here."

The amount they're asking for is too large. You all have large families, and you have a lot to eat and spend. Even if we confiscate your homes, how much money and grain can we possibly find? Why would I want to cause trouble for you?
And yet you still don't believe me, thinking I'm trying to find fault with you. Why don't I just interrogate Master Xu during the day? Why do you insist on the account books? I'm giving you a chance to reform, but you don't cherish it.

Fourth Master has grown quite bold, daring to even squint at me now? Trying to kill me? Hmm?

Wang Yan slapped Zhang Song hard across the face, sending him flying. "Today we'll start by ransacking your house! Come on..."

"Third Master!" Qi Dazhu walked in, knife in hand. Gone was his former naivety; he was now fierce and menacing.

"Go, take the brothers and ransack Fourth Master's house."

"Brother! Brother!" Tian Youlu tugged at Wang Yan's sleeve, "No, no, you mustn't..."

"If everyone keeps giving me attitude, how am I supposed to stay in the government office? Who will listen to me then? Hmm? Qi Dazhu, what are you looking at? Why don't you take Fourth Master home and have him show the brothers where the family's money is?"

"Yes, Third Master!" Qi Dazhu didn't hesitate at all, grabbing the once unapproachable Fourth Master by the collar and dragging him out...

The hall was extremely quiet, with only the sound of Wang Yan eating meat and drinking wine.

And the three ledgers on the table...

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