Chapter 18: The Necessity of Struggle

Rebellion is punishable by death, and the villagers bowed their heads in fear, some already considering escape.

Old Master Gao and Great-grandfather knelt on the ground, their faces full of pleading.

"Great lord, we humble country folk would never dare rebel. Today, we only seek justice."

Yan Zibin, holding his official airs, spoke coldly, "What a rabble of lowborn creatures. As if you’d have the guts to rebel. Disperse at once."

The ragged villagers remained kneeling, bewildered and helpless.

They were naturally afraid of the authorities; to them, the county magistrate was a figure of immense power.

"What’s this? Did you not hear my words? Must I issue an arrest warrant and punish your whole family with hard labor before you obey?"

Yan Zibin glared, his voice thunderous and impatient. "A bunch of peasants scraping the fields, eating the courage of bears and leopards, daring to act so insolently before me?"

Just as the villagers were at a loss, Li Yi spoke.

"The county magistrate’s power is indeed vast—commanding, flipping truth and falsehood, abusing authority for personal gain. Who here doesn't know you’re just the Ai family’s dog, barking only at us powerless commoners?"

Li Yi curled his lips with a mocking smile. "No wonder everyone calls you a mongrel official."

A gasp swept through the crowd.

A mere peasant dared insult the county magistrate so openly? Yet the words struck a deep resonance.

"You—you—"

Yan Zibin, furious, pointed at Li Yi, trembling and unable to speak.

Beside him, Ai Yingjia stared in astonishment at the young man.

If word of this spread, Yan Zibin’s reputation would be ruined. A mongrel official, and Ai’s dog—Ai Yingjia’s expression darkened; soon, the Ai family’s reputation might be destroyed too.

"This is treason! Seize him—kill this scoundrel!"

Yan Zibin finally regained his composure, shouting in anger.

Two constables stepped forward with drawn waist knives, aiming at Li Yi.

Li Yi slowly raised his head, his icy gaze falling on the constables, making them recoil in unison.

Their synchrony was oddly impressive.

Li Yi faced the villagers, bowing deeply with folded fists.

The villagers glanced at each other, puzzled.

"Today, I gathered you not to besiege the Ai family, nor to incite trouble, but to ask everyone to bear witness."

Li Yi spoke loudly, "Ai Wanhua repeatedly harassed my fiancée, tried to lure her with wealth, and when he failed, resorted to violence. Fortunately, I stopped him. But Ai Wanhua pressed harder, pulling out a forged loan note to force me to sell my wife. I refused. The elders pleaded bitterly, but he insulted and threatened them, finally ordering his servants to attack. Such behavior is outrageous and condemned by all."

"Luckily, I know some martial arts and subdued the villain. The neighbors begged me to let him go, so I did, unwillingly. Unexpectedly, he accused me of assault and attempted rebellion. I have never seen such shamelessness."

Li Yi recounted the events simply, and outrage surged among the villagers.

Many good women in Ganquan had suffered at Ai Wanhua’s hands.

"Nonsense! It’s clear you refused to repay your debt and assaulted Ai Wanhua in anger. The injuries are proof," Yan Zibin retorted.

Li Yi turned to the irate Yan Zibin, produced several papers, and said coldly, "Here are Ai Wanhua’s signed confessions, detailing everything. If the county magistrate still doubts, the Li family village has plenty of witnesses."

Yan Zibin’s face grew blank; with witnesses and evidence, he could no longer twist the truth.

"Li Yi, what does it matter if you have evidence? I’m arresting you today—what can you do?"

Yan Zibin raged.

"Arrest me? With these men?" Li Yi snorted.

The constables felt insulted, but there was nothing they could do.

Yan Zibin’s anger burned—he, the dignified magistrate of Mizhi County, commanding thousands, was humiliated and threatened by a mere country boy, and he was powerless to retaliate.

"Li Yi, I am the magistrate of Mizhi County—how dare you insult me?"

"Only now does the lord remember he is Mizhi’s magistrate?"

Li Yi sneered, "How many families has Ai Wanhua ruined? Are you truly ignorant? You willingly serve the Ai family, branded a mongrel official. But if I rally the thousands of Ganquan villagers, write blood petitions accusing you of corruption and persecuting the people, you’ll lose your official hat. Will the Ai family still keep their dog then?"

Yan Zibin’s face turned pale, looking back at Ai Yingjia hiding behind him, his limbs growing cold. The Ai family would surely abandon him without mercy.

Looking again at Li Yi, Yan Zibin felt the youth was truly frightening—there was no need to make an enemy of such a hero for the Ai family.

"Well said, Brother Yi!"

"These officials are just dogs for the landowning gentry!"

"Master, I’ll join you in petitioning—go to Yan’an, to Xi’an, and bring down these corrupt officials!"

"I’ll go too!"

"Me as well!"

The villagers erupted in excitement; usually, they were the ones bullied by officials.

Today, Li Yi had boldly cursed the magistrate, who didn’t dare retort—a cathartic sight.

Yan Zibin’s face was grim; if these unruly villagers petitioned, his downfall was certain.

He could no longer remain, covering his face and fleeing into the Ai family residence.

"Useless wretch," Ai Yingjia cursed inwardly, forced to step forward himself.

He put on a kindly face, speaking gently, "Dear friends, the Ai family has always cherished books and served as officials. Though we may not boast grand virtue, we have always been friendly neighbors. Whenever you needed silver for weddings or funerals, I never refused. In grain dealings, we never cheated. Many in Ganquan rely on renting Ai family land for their livelihood."

The villagers nodded; though they hated Ai Wanhua, Master Ai’s reputation was still good.

Ai Yingjia, leaning on his cane, sighed deeply, a look of pain and remorse on his face.

"It’s my fault—I failed to discipline my son, thinking him merely young and ignorant, not realizing he’d cause such trouble. I apologize to you all."

He coughed, covering his mouth with a handkerchief and bowing slightly.

The villagers became flustered, terrified.

"Master Ai, you need not blame yourself. Just watch over him in the future."

"Yes, Master Ai was once a high official; how could he apologize to us?"

"Take care, Master Ai, don’t let this trouble your health."

...

Ai Yingjia saw his gesture had salvaged some of the Ai family’s reputation, and his expression improved.

"Master Ai’s willingness to uphold justice is admirable. But after all this, how will you deal with Ai Wanhua? I haven’t heard an answer."

Ai Yingjia turned to Li Yi, finding the youth smiling at him, lips tinged with irony.

Suppressing his displeasure, Ai Yingjia spoke solemnly, "Though Ai Wanhua is my son, I will not shield him. Tomorrow, he’ll be taken to Mizhi County for judgment. The decision will be left to the magistrate."

Yan Zibin and the Ai family were in league; there was no way Ai Wanhua would be truly convicted.

Li Yi chuckled—Master Ai’s false benevolence was a deft maneuver.

But he did not expose him, instead smiling, "Master Ai is truly reasonable. The villagers say that in Ganquan, the Ai family is like heaven; what they fear isn’t Ai Wanhua, but the Ai family itself—not having land to farm, water to use, or loans for emergencies. Isn’t that so?"

Ai Yingjia stroked his beard without replying, his demeanor calm, tacitly agreeing.

Li Yi sighed, "But these past two years, the court has increased Liaoning taxes, and the levies have suffocated the villagers. With disasters ongoing, life is only harder. Master Ai is kind and charitable—perhaps you could reduce this year’s land rent from seventy percent to fifty percent, so everyone can catch their breath?"

"Brother Yi is right."

"Master Ai, seventy percent is too high—please lower it."

"Master Ai, you’re benevolent, give us a way to survive."

...

Ai Yingjia now realized he had hoisted the stone only to crush his own foot.

He meant to restore the Ai family’s reputation, but Li Yi seized the opportunity to press for lower rents.

The Ai family owned tens of thousands of acres in Ganquan; reducing rent by twenty percent was a huge loss.

"Well, the Ai family has many mouths to feed; it’s not easy. It’s not that I don’t wish to lower the rent, but the landlord has no surplus grain."

"Then I was presumptuous, thinking Master Ai was wise, charitable, willing to help the villagers. But as it turns out—"

"Charity has always been the Ai family’s tradition. These are hard times—we’ll reduce the rent by two tenths."

Ai Yingjia’s heart bled.

"That’s wonderful!"

The villagers cheered, their eyes filled with gratitude toward Li Yi.

They knew that if not for Li Yi, Ai Yingjia would never have lowered the rent.

"Master Ai, Ai Wanhua has given Brother Yi so much trouble—shouldn’t there be some compensation?" Li Zijing seized the opportunity to speak loudly.

Ai Yingjia cursed inwardly, but kept smiling.

"Brother Yi has suffered; go to the accounts room later for ten taels of silver as the Ai family’s apology."

With that, he left without looking back.

As the Ai family retreated in disarray, the villagers surged forward, surrounding Li Yi with cheers.

For the first time, they saw ordinary people force the county magistrate into hiding and make the Ai family bow and apologize.

Those once lofty figures who could crush them without a second thought were, after all, capable of fear.

Looking at the grand gates of the Ai family estate, the awe in their eyes faded. They suddenly glimpsed a new way of life.

Li Yi observed all this.

He had Li Guo summon them here so they could see: those who oppressed and exploited them—the officials and gentry—were nothing but paper tigers.

Once their sense of resistance was awakened and their desire to fight grew, he could raise the banner and rally them all with a single call.

This was why, even when the red flag flew and the nation was strong in later generations, the old revolutionaries still kept the word "struggle" ever-present.

Without struggle, there will always be exploitation and oppression.