Chapter 9

"From the village of Wuxing in the Garlic Mountain Township of Jingkou County in the Southern Yan Prefecture, the village head Liu Yu, aged eighteen, unmarried, one adult male, two younger brothers. The younger brother Daolian is eleven years old, and the third brother Daogui is ten years old. There is one female, Liu Yu's mother Wenshou, aged thirty-nine, making a total of four people."

As he unfolded a yellow household register, Diaohong read it with a smile.

"Village Head Liu, it seems your life isn't easy either. You're the only adult male in the family, with both elderly and young to take care of. Tsk, tsk, tsk, why don't you come to the Diao family? It would definitely be better than being a village head now."

Liu Yu ignored Diaohong's smug expression and stood before the small desk, expressionless and silent.

Liu Yi, on the other hand, sat on a mat. A few clerks brought over a white household register, and Liu Yi unfolded it, preparing to start recording.

The Eastern Jin Dynasty had a special system to distinguish between local residents and northern refugees. Local residents were recorded on a special yellow paper.

This yellow paper was soaked in a special solution to prevent insect damage, allowing it to be preserved for a long time. It would record detailed information about the local residents' families, ages, and property, and taxes would be levied based on this information.

For northern refugees, ordinary white paper was used for registration.

This was not due to cost savings but mainly because many northern refugees were taken in by aristocratic families as servants and tenant farmers through land occupation.

From then on, these people's names would disappear from the national white household register, becoming hidden or black households, working and being loyal only to the aristocratic families. Even the majority of the thugs and guards that Diaohong brought, led by Diaomao, were such black households.

Liu Yu had been a village head for two years and knew a bit about the intricacies of the system. Registration was the first step, at least getting on the white household register, still considered part of the state. The key was the next step, which was land distribution.

After more than two hours, the more than two hundred northern refugees in the courtyard were all registered. Liu Yu was surprised to find that these northern refugees also had their own hierarchies.

For example, the Tan family had over ten tenant farmers and retainers, who seemed to have been subordinate to them even in the north, sharing the Tan surname.

The Wei family, on the other hand, was impoverished, with only three brothers and a few nephews.

Meng Chang's situation was special, as it seemed the entire clan had migrated. Meng Chang himself had no brothers, but Meng Huaiyu and Meng Longfu were his clan brothers.

After registering these people's identities, Liu Yi closed the white household register.

Diaohong nodded in satisfaction: "Very good, Secretary Liu is indeed talented. To finish with so many people in just two hours, no wonder Governor Zhang always praises your intelligence and capability." At this moment, he was in a good mood and switched to a more colloquial tone.

It was already night, and torches had been lit around. Liu Yi's face, illuminated by the torchlight, remained calm. He said calmly, "Prince Diao, you flatter me. This is just part of my duty. It's getting late. How will these northern refugees be accommodated?"

Diaohong smiled: "Don't all states and counties have public shelters to accommodate them? Secretary Liu, you will take them to the public shelter tonight and have them work in the fields early tomorrow morning."

Liu Yu's face darkened, and he said sternly, "Hold on, Prince Diao. Wasn't it said that the entire Southern Yan Prefecture is under military control? The land has been confiscated by the state. Where will they work?"

Diaohong laughed: "There was something I forgot to tell you. The court has decided to change the various counties in Jiangbiao to Southern Xu Prefecture to accommodate the people from north of the Huai River. At the same time, the three counties of You, Bing, and Qing, which were established as refugee counties, will be merged into Southern Xu Prefecture, with the capital in Jingkou. My brother is taking up the position of the newly established Southern Xu Prefecture governor. Remember that."

Liu Yu exclaimed, "What? Southern Xu Prefecture? I've only heard of Southern Yan Prefecture, which was established because the entire Yan Prefecture was lost to the barbarians. The court set it up to remember the lost land and to accommodate the people of Yan Prefecture. But Xu Prefecture hasn't been lost yet, so why set up a Southern Xu Prefecture?"

Diaohong sneered: "These military and state affairs should not be disclosed to you, but since there are so many northern refugees here today, I'll reveal a bit."

"The Qin army is advancing on Pengcheng, and the north of the Huai River is in crisis. Xu Prefecture may not be able to hold, so a large number of Xu Prefecture residents will move south. As for the three counties of You, Bing, and Qing, they have been lost to the enemy for nearly a century. Because they are too far from Jiangdong, few refugees have moved here, so they are now being merged into Southern Xu Prefecture."

Liu Yu frowned and said, "What happened to the public land in Jingkou? Why not distribute it to these refugees and have them serve in the military?"

Diaohong waved his hand and smiled: "No, no, no. The court, considering the hardships the refugees have endured in their journey south, decided not to send them to war immediately. Instead, they will be engaged in farming to provide food for the army."

A look of dissatisfaction flashed in Meng Chang's eyes: "Are we to become tenant farmers? Hand over seventy percent of our crops to the state?"

Diaohong shook his head: "No, I was very clear about this. The land is our Diao family's, and you will become our servants and tenant farmers. After you come to our Diao family tomorrow, you will be registered in our household, and from then on, you will be Diao family members for generations." He pointed to the white household register in front of Liu Yi, "This white register will be erased when the time comes!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the more than two hundred northern refugees erupted in anger. Tan Pingzhi shouted angrily, "Why should the state's land become your Diao family's? Why should we become your servants?"

Wei Yongzhi gritted his teeth and said, "Exactly, if we knew we would become tenant farmers and servants in the south, why did we come here?"

Even Meng Chang said in a deep voice, "Prince Diao, we northerners have had a hard journey south. Even if the court makes us tenant farmers, we can accept it, but to become your family's slaves for generations is too much!"

Diaohong sneered: "Everyone, calm down and listen to me. With the northern barbarians advancing south, the court has issued a decree to encourage aristocratic families to donate money to support the army."

"You must understand, before the troops move, the supplies must be ready. To gather the necessary food and military equipment, the court has decreed that anyone who donates ten million coins will be granted the public land of a state and appointed as the governor of that state. My brother spent thirty million coins, three times more than others, to become the governor of Southern Xu Prefecture!"

Liu Yu clenched his teeth: "So, your Diao family spent a large sum of money to buy the position of Southern Xu Prefecture governor, just to bring these refugees into your family?"