Chapter 72: Height of Audacity
The official was fair-skinned with a sparse amount of facial hair on his face. After he entered the room, he clasped his hands together in salute and said with a smile, “My apologies for keeping you waiting, Upper Immortal Wei. However, Lord Sun is currently in secluded cultivation, so I shall receive you in his stead instead. I am Ren Youwei, county assistant of Quyang. What might you require of me today?”
A county assistant was a reserve candidate for the magistrate position. Basically a ceremonial post, it held a high rank but wielded no real authority. That said, it would be folly to take his harmless appearance as weakness. He was a Dao Foundation stage cultivator.
Wei Yuan rose to his feet and returned the salute. Then, he got right to the point, “I have come to seek justice for the three hundred militiamen of Flying Sand Village! It’s been months since they have answered the call to arms and fought many battles. However, they have not received a single tael of military pay or seen a grain of military provisions, much less compensated for their loss. I have come to ask where their pay, provisions, and compensations have gone!”
Ren Youwei feigned a look of realization and answered, “I see! You may not be aware, upper immortal, but military pay and provisions are both matters of the utmost importance, and the imperial court has strict regulations that none may violate. For starters, one cannot simply form a militia without first submitting a formal application to the court and obtaining official approval. Otherwise, if everyone could train their own militia, wouldn’t that lead to chaos throughout the realm? In this county, the authority to approve militia applications lies not with the county office, but with Staff General Liao. In truth, we have forwarded Teacher Fang’s petition for militia approval to him long ago. Yet for some reason, the approval has been delayed. Without it, how could we dare allocate a single tael of silver? It would be a matter of life and death, would it not?”
Ren Youwei was an old fox. He had kicked the ball to Staff General Liao and washed himself of the blame completely.
Wei Yuan was inexperienced. He could not think of a way to catch this slippery eel. However, he also knew that he would be doing what Ren Youwei wanted if he took his leave now, so he stayed exactly where he was and asked, “I will be paying Staff General Liao a visit. Setting the matters of military pay and provisions, Flying Sand Village had lost thirty-seven people in total in the past few months. They deserve compensation for their loss. What standard do you intend to follow in granting the compensation, Lord Wei?”
Ren Youwei wore a troubled look. “A militiaman who died in battle does deserve to be compensated, but they must one be registered, and two die in a battle that was assigned by a superior to be eligible for compensation. I’m sorry to say this, but the villagers of Flying Sand Village do not meet any of the requirements.”
Wei Yuan said again, “Many of the elderly living in the village have starved to death, and it is the imperial court’s responsibility to give relief aid. I won’t put you in a difficult position. Just allocate some grain for emergency relief—this is a matter of life and death.”
Ren Youwei let out a long sigh and said, “It pains me deeply to hear that people are starving to death. Alas! What can we do in these troubled times? We’re at war right now, and our county is part of the front lines. According to imperial law, all food counts as military supplies during this time. Without a joint decree from the county magistrate and the staff general, no one can move so much as a single grain. Even the biscuit stalls in the county have been shut down. There is truly nothing I can do to help in this regard.”