Chapter 85

During the Spring Festival, Lin Yanchao mostly stayed at home reading books, except for the necessary social engagements.

After the Cheng family gave a hundred taels, everyone was overjoyed every day.

According to Lin Gaozhu's plan, he intended to buy a dozen acres of fertile land or a plow ox.

In Fujian, where the population was dense and the land scarce, the local gazetteer described the land as extremely expensive.

In recent years, with peace prevailing, an acre of good paddy field could be worth seven or eight taels of silver, and a semi-dry field on the hillside could be worth three or four taels. A plow ox would cost about six or seven taels.

To buy ten acres of paddy fields and a plow ox, the hundred taels would be just about enough. Everyone agreed with this idea, as accumulating land was a simple and practical concept. If the money were spent on food and drink, not only would the family disapprove, but others would also call it wasteful.

After making the decision, Lin Gaozhu asked his elder brother and third uncle to take care of the matter.

Near the Lin family's paddy fields, there were fields belonging to a neighbor from another village and a distant relative from the same village. According to the third uncle's plan, they would connect these fields into one large plot and buy the land before the spring plowing.

Just as the Lin family was planning to buy the land, the elder brother received his appointment as a clerk in the military office of Houguan County. Upon hearing this news, the whole family was overjoyed. Although it was still an unofficial position, it significantly improved the social status of the elder brother and his wife.

Lin Yanchao originally thought that clerks could not take the imperial examinations, but later learned that this was a misconception. Clerks were not prohibited from taking the exams; rather, they did not need to take them because they already had the qualifications to become officials.

In the Ming Dynasty, there were three paths to becoming an official: the jinshi (imperial scholar), the kegong (tribute scholar), and the clerk. In the early Ming, many high-ranking officials came from the ranks of clerks. By the mid to late Ming, the court emphasized the kegong path and stipulated that censors and county magistrates could not be selected from clerks. Later, it was further stipulated that only those with exceptional talent could rise from the ranks of tribute scholars and clerks.

However, within the government, clerks were still much higher in status than constables. Constables were not allowed to take the imperial examinations for three generations. After the elder brother's joy turned to tears, he held a grand banquet in the village and invited his old friends from the government office. His wife also frequently visited her family to show off, which made others avoid her.

After a few days of celebration, the elder brother started his new job at the government office and moved into the clerk's quarters, and the excitement gradually subsided.

With the elder brother's wish fulfilled, Lin Yanchao also felt relieved. The academy would start classes on the second day of the second month, and Lin Yanchao would then study at the inner school of the academy.

A few days after the Lantern Festival, Lin Yanchao had just finished reading and was about to go to bed when he suddenly heard the sound of drums and gongs outside.

"The Japanese pirates are here!"

"The Japanese pirates are here!"

Lin Yanchao, still half-asleep, thought, "Japanese pirates?"

No, that can't be right.

Lin Yanchao jumped out of bed, and Qianqian, who was sleeping on a small bed nearby, woke up groggily and asked, "What's wrong, Brother Chao?"

Lin Yanchao immediately opened the window and saw that several households in the village had already lit their lamps. Dogs in the village were barking wildly, showing signs of panic.

On the dirt road in the village, people were banging drums and gongs, shouting in panic, "The Japanese pirates are here! The Japanese pirates are here!"

Bang!

The door opened, and a figure ran in, pulling Lin Yanchao without a word.

"Chao, the Japanese pirates are here, let's run to the mountains." In the dim light, it was clearly the third uncle.

The third uncle pulled Lin Yanchao forcefully, but Lin Yanchao, who had calmed down, shouted, "Third Uncle, stay calm."

The third uncle's teeth were chattering, clearly very afraid.

Lin Gaozhu was at the government office in Hongtang Market, and the elder brother had just gone to the county office the day before. Now, only Lin Yanchao, the third uncle, and Lin Yanchao's younger brother were men in the house.

Then came the sound of hurried footsteps downstairs, and the elder brother's wife's panicked voice, "Are the Japanese pirates here?"

Suddenly, a cry was heard, and Lin Yanshou cried, "Mother, where are you? Where are you? It's so dark, I'm so scared."

As they spoke, hurried footsteps were heard outside, and someone shouted, "Run, the Japanese pirates have bowlegs. If we go to the mountains, we'll be safe."

Bowlegs? Yes, the Japanese pirates were pirates who lived on small ships for a long time, so they had bowlegs, but that didn't mean they couldn't climb mountains. Lin Yanchao shook his head.

The elder brother, suddenly faced with chaos, was at a loss.

"We must leave quickly, or it will be too late!" the third uncle urged.

Lin Yanchao said, "Third Uncle, don't panic. We are in a remote area, and the Japanese pirates won't come here so quickly. They will first raid the prosperous towns. So, you pack up your valuables, and I'll go to the dam to check, and I'll be back soon."

Lin Qianqian said anxiously, "Yanchao, be careful."

"I know."

Saying this, Lin Yanchao ran out of the house and up to the top of the dam. Looking into the distance, he saw several beacons burning along the Min River, with flames raging and clearly visible in the night sky. The nearest beacon was in the direction of the downstream salt warehouse. Looking upstream, he saw more beacons burning one after another.

The sight of the beacons burning in succession indicated that a large group of Japanese pirates had indeed invaded the Min River and were moving upstream. This was war, and Lin Yanchao, who had grown up in a peaceful era, was completely unprepared.

He was just a scholar, hoping to change his and his family's fate through the imperial examinations. He had never thought about war.

People were fleeing to the mountains, as was the old custom, but would it be effective? Lin Yanchao remembered that when he was five or six years old, his parents were killed by Japanese pirates while hiding in the mountains.

An old saying goes, "In small chaos, hide in the city; in great chaos, hide in the countryside."

During the most severe period of Japanese pirate raids in the Jiajing era, cities like Ningde, Fuqing, Yongfu, and Lianjiang were all attacked by Japanese pirates, and there were even attempts to attack the provincial capital. Later, the court sent Tan Lun to govern Fujian and dispatched generals Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou to clear out the pirates. The power of the Japanese pirates had since declined.

Therefore, the Japanese pirates now dared not attack the provincial capital and would instead raid the surrounding countryside. So, hiding in the mountains was more dangerous.

The beacons were still burning brightly, and the Japanese pirates would not arrive so quickly. It would be better to hide in the city. With this in mind, Lin Yanchao ran back home and found that everyone had already packed their belongings.

The third uncle took a hoe for self-defense, and Lin Yanchao and Lin Yanshou each took a sickle.

Lin Yanshou was still crying, and Lin Yanchao shouted, "Brother, you are a man of the family. Don't be a crybaby. If the Japanese pirates come, will your mother protect you?"

Lin Yanshou stopped crying at Lin Yanchao's words.

Lin Yanchao said, "The Japanese pirates won't come so quickly. We'll take the official road directly to Hongtang Market to find Grandfather. He will take care of us. If not, he will arrange a boat to take us into the city."

The third uncle quickly said, "Why don't we go to the mountains? What if we encounter the Japanese pirates on the official road?"

Lin Yanchao said, "There is no food in the mountains. If the Japanese pirates raid for a long time, we will either be found or starve to death. Taking a small risk to enter the city now will ensure our safety later."

Everyone agreed that Lin Yanchao made sense, and they set out. The third uncle led the family out of the house.

The village chief was organizing the villagers to flee to the mountains at the village entrance. Hearing that Lin Yanchao wanted to hide in the city, he said, "Why don't you go to the mountains? I always hide there when the Japanese pirates come."

Lin Yanchao said, "The mountains are not safe either. The hills of Xifeng, Dongqilin, and Hongshui are too small to hide people. If the Japanese pirates really come to search, hiding will be useless."

The village chief said, "You're right. Hiding in the mountains is not good. We shouldn't put all our eggs in one basket. Is there anyone who wants to go to the city?"

"We have relatives in the city, let's go together!"

Five or six households responded. The village chief said, "Let's go together, and we can help each other on the way."

Lin Yanchao nodded and said, "Village chief, come with us to the city!"

The village chief shook his head and said, "Someone has to stay here. The Japanese pirates might leave soon. Sigh, if it weren't for your father leading the Japanese pirates away, I would have been dead long ago. I didn't expect to suffer this at my age."

Lin Yanchao's eyes welled up and he said, "Village chief, I'll go first. Take care!"

With that, Lin Yanchao and about forty others set out on the official road. More and more people were heading east to the city, carrying their families, and the sound of children crying could be heard all along the way.

Before they reached Hongtang Market, they heard someone say, "It's bad, the soldiers have sealed the bridge. What are we going to do?"

Lin Yanchao thought, "This is bad. The Hongshan Bridge is the only land route to the provincial capital. If it's sealed, how can we get through?" He decided to take one step at a time and first find Lin Gaozhu at the government office in the river port.