Township Inspector

"Ultimately, the Wu family's foundations are too shallow. We rose too quickly, nowhere near as deeply rooted as the Zhou family... Never mind anything else; my Wu family could never secure a County Vice-Magistrate or a Chief Clerk..."

Wu Ming sighed, then suddenly rose and went outside.

Two maids were already waiting there, respectfully straightening his clothes.

"Have they all arrived?"

"People from Baishui Village, Qingshi Village, Datian Village... even the branches in the other townships have all gathered!"

A bright-eyed maid named Green Bud spoke softly. Her breath, warm and fragrant as an orchid, brushed past him, carrying the sweet scent of her hair. Wu Ming was delighted.

"Excellent! To the ancestral hall!"

But the timing was wrong. Wu Ming naturally put thoughts of pleasure aside and headed for the Wu family ancestral hall.

The hall covered a vast area, with sweeping eaves and ornate brackets beneath fresh red bricks and green tiles.

A small square lay in front, crowded with over a hundred people of all ages and both sexes. When Wu Ming entered, they all bowed slightly, smiling broadly. Only a few elderly clan members maintained their composure.

This was the Wu clan.

Of course, there was hardly a single close relative among them. Most were distant branches, and some had even forced their way into the family by tracing their genealogy to claim kinship.

As for the blood ties in a clan like this, well...

But in ancient times, people believed in banding together for mutual protection. Those with the same surname had all been one family five hundred years ago, after all! As long as their genealogies matched, outsiders had no grounds to gossip.

"Everyone!"

Wu Ming raised a hand slightly.

Seeing that the once-infamous little scoundrel had become an entirely different person, exuding an imposing authority, the crowd fell silent.

"Everyone... as head of the Wu family, I was deeply pained to hear what happened in Qingshi Village!"

Wu Ming spoke fluently, utterly at odds with the dissolute, lecherous wastrel he had once seemed to be. "I've summoned you here today to lay down rules for our Wu clan!"

"...Without books, one knows nothing of proper conduct. Which great family in Yunping doesn't pass down a legacy of poetry and books? I've watched our younger generation spend their days farming in the fields and playing in the countryside, squandering the best years of their lives. It pains me greatly. So I've decided to build a clan school and set aside a hundred mu of farmland to support it. Every Wu family child may attend for free, with meals and lodging provided. The most promising students will even receive rewards!"

His words set off an uproar.

Studying was no small expense, and growing boys ate their fathers out of house and home. Wu Ming was willing to open a school and feed the students, giving the Wu family children a future. The people below were astonished.

"Excellent!"

An elderly clan member who had said nothing until then clapped his hands. "It's long past time! Long past time!"

These people had naturally already heard the news about Wu Ming and discussed it among themselves.

Now that they saw it was indeed a good thing, they threw their full support behind it.

Wu Ming smiled. "Then come with me into the ancestral hall, everyone. We'll settle the rules, then make offerings to our ancestors and establish them as law!"

The hall's doors opened. Wu Ming led the way inside, followed by the men in orderly procession. The rules were strict; the women could only wait outside, envious.

Inside, incense smoke curled through the air. Once they had agreed on the rules, Wu Ming wrote the sacrificial prayer himself. An elderly clan member read it aloud, then they burned it and lit incense to honor their ancestors.

Everything proceeded in perfect order. Wu Ming carried out each step solemnly and precisely, with admirable grace, though no one could tell what was on his mind.

"My worthy nephew! By doing this, you've laid the foundation for our clan's next hundred years. I can die with no regrets..."

"Indeed, having you take charge is a great blessing for us!"

The old men truly cared about the Wu clan. Their feelings welled up, and tears streamed down their faces.

Wu Ming smiled and answered each of them, completely erasing the clan's old impression of him as a wastrel.

After today, the story of the prodigal son who had turned his life around would surely spread through every village for miles around.

They stayed busy until midday, then hosted a grand banquet, treating a hundred people to a hearty meal. They had slaughtered a pig for the occasion. Fragrant, glistening red-braised pork, white flour buns, and all kinds of dishes flowed out one after another in great abundance. Wu Ming knew that many had probably come just for the meal, so he had specifically told the kitchen to serve generous portions.

Rural people lived in poverty. Even at festivals, meat was a rare treat. Seeing such a feast, the clanspeople were overjoyed. They swept through the food like a whirlwind, women and children alike smiling from ear to ear. At the end, they even packed up all the leftovers before leaving, thoroughly satisfied.

"Young Master!"

Steward Wu, who had been sent to the county seat, returned just then, looking ashamed. "Eldest Miss is in seclusion and won't see anyone. This servant has failed!"

"In seclusion..."

Wu Ming rubbed his chin. "Never mind. Go and draw up plans for the school. Have the land deeds for the hundred mu ready..."

Seeing Steward Wu looking somewhat pained, he couldn't help smiling. "What? You think it isn't worth it?"

"No... I was thinking that if Eldest Miss knew, she would surely be pleased..."

Steward Wu smiled ingratiatingly and said a few more words before taking his leave. A hint of red seemed to glimmer at the corner of his eye.

"Come to think of it... he didn't just join us after making his fortune. He's been a hereditary servant for generations. No wonder he feels this way..."

Wu Ming fell silent for a moment, then sighed.

You couldn't understand the role a clan played in a person's life without living in ancient times.

Even if Wu Ming rebelled, the whole clan would be implicated. Once he made his move, his clanspeople and hereditary servants would have to follow him down that road to the bitter end.

Of course, that was when the family was powerful. When it was weak, having its lands seized and its property coveted was all too common.

But times had changed. Wu Ming's branch had been weak before and naturally suffered bullying. Now, with Wu Qing's rise, they had even seized the position of clan head. Everything was different.

"Though this is a world where individuals can transcend, an organization's wings and the power of a faction aren't entirely useless. At the very least, they can handle all sorts of trifling tasks..."

Building a school, fostering Literary Qi, and teaching the children to read and write were matters of great importance to a clan.

Wu Ming knew Wu Qing must have had the same idea before, but she was a woman, and Wu Ming had been a hopeless wastrel, so the plan had been delayed.

But now? Everything was different!

"Among the clanspeople, there will naturally be good and bad. We'll have to screen them one by one. Those who once coveted our family's land will be excluded outright, while the other clanspeople's children will all be treated equally..."

The older generation had too many schemes of their own, and Wu Ming didn't dare use them.

But after the younger generation learned to read and write and entered his system, their rough edges would be worn down. Then they would be useful.

He could even send some hereditary servants to sit in on classes. At the very least, they should learn a few characters.

With such effort sustained over ten, even several dozen years, the literary culture would flourish. If they could produce a few Talented Scholars or Juren, the family would be secure, and the clan would prosper.

But that was the way of peaceful times. In an age of chaos, there was another path.

Scholars were only seeds. The civil and military wings were both essential!

Now that the Zhou family was pressuring him, Wu Ming was even more eager to bring power under his control.

The next day, in the faint light of dawn and the lingering chill, he ordered the Village Militia to assemble.

The Wu family had twenty qing of farmland and two hundred tenant households. It was one of the foremost powers in the region. At this time, its Village Militia numbered over fifty men, lined up in ranks. They weren't exactly elite, but every one of them was strong and sturdy. Not bad at all.

"Ahem!"

When Wu Ming approached, Feng Han gave a light cough. The fifty-odd men immediately shouted in unison, "Greetings, Young Master!"

"At ease!"

Wu Ming was quite pleased.

In truth, the entire fortified village could muster two hundred people if fully mobilized, but that would disrupt everything else.

Under the ancient military system, one man was taken from every five households. In other words, one able-bodied man from every five families served full-time in the military, so that normal society and its production wouldn't be disrupted.

The Wu family had two hundred households, so raising forty or fifty men when needed was easy.

Any more than that required an attack or a siege. Then everyone would take up arms, with their families' lives depending on the fortified village. Hundreds of people fighting to the death could hold back thousands of troops!

Wu Ming was very confident in his ability to command these men.

That was because the lives of tenant farmers and their families depended entirely on their landlord. If Wu Ming took a dislike to one of them and reclaimed his land, they would be left homeless at once and forced to become refugees.

Since the founding of Great Zhou, land consolidation had grown increasingly severe, and disasters and man-made calamities came one after another. For refugees, there was truly no way out but death.

"I've decided to rebuild the patrol post!"

Wu Ming watched them drill, then announced it loudly.

"According to regulations, each patrol post has one Township Inspector and five runners, all of whom can be entered into the official rolls and receive a salary. There can also be ten assistants. That makes sixteen people!"

The county had a Patrol Office responsible for catching thieves. Each township had a patrol post subordinate to it. In practice, though, the unspoken rule was that wherever a powerful local family held sway, that family recommended the candidates, and the Patrol Office approved them.

They were low-ranking functionaries, but to the people below, it was still a way out. The crowd immediately grew restless.

"Now, each Village Militia squad will split into groups and compete in martial arts. Choose sixteen people, then have the rest select the Township Inspector!"

At Wu Ming's words, the men below eagerly rolled up their sleeves, itching for a chance to compete. Feng Han kept order as they formed rings and began in full swing, yet everything remained orderly.

What a pity... If Feng Han became the Township Inspector, that would be perfect!

Wu Ming could only keep the thought to himself.

Feng Han was a great talent in the eighth stage of the physical body, at the Internal Gang realm. If he enlisted in the army, he could gain Official Status and be appointed Deputy Commander of the Subordinate Ninth Rank.

The Township Inspector had some real authority and opportunities for profit, but in the end, he was still a lowly runner. Sending Feng Han to do that would be an insult.

For now, Feng Han had revealed something of himself to Wu Ming, but he was still only a guest of the Wu family. He could leave whenever he wished.

"Hahaha... A contest for an official post? How could I miss out on something like that?"

Suddenly, a voice like muffled thunder rang out beyond the practice yard.

Then a tall, powerfully built man strode in, his silkworm brows and leopard eyes striking, his beard bristling like needles. Every word boomed like thunder.

Though it was late autumn, he wore no shirt. Muscles like tempered steel rippled across his body, crisscrossed with sinister centipede-like scars that made anyone who saw them recoil.

A fine fellow, but he seems a little unruly!

Wu Ming's eyes flashed. "Who is he?"