Chapter 106: The Corvée Labor of Leshan Prefecture

The lightly injured disaster victims under Physician Cui’s care had already left.

A few unlucky ones, however, had started developing fevers.

Their wounds were swelling—looking quite bad.

The others, when passing by, saw that it was just as Old Yan had said: the bandits’ blades were “highly poisonous.” They felt particularly fortunate that they weren’t the ones injured.

They also secretly vowed never to let those heartless bandits get close.

“If their fever doesn’t go down soon, it’ll be a big problem,” said Physician Cui.

Yan Lao’er sniffed the lingering scent of alcohol in the air. “Try wiping their bodies with liquor at intervals—see if that can bring down the fever.”

Physician Cui sighed. “We only managed to find a few jars. Some were already used for treating wounds earlier. I’m not sure if what’s left will be enough.”

“How would wounds like these normally be treated?” Yan Lao’er asked.

Would they really saw the limb off?!

“The necrotic flesh must be removed. If that doesn’t work…” Physician Cui recalled carefully. “A red-hot iron brand can be used to cauterize it.”

Yan Lao’er: That sounds excruciating!

But the logic behind it seemed correct.

If there was no other way, they might have to try it.

Physician Cui hesitated. “I’ll prepare another round of decoction for them.”

Yan Lao’er tentatively suggested, “Brother Cui, besides drinking the medicine, how about applying it externally on the wounds too? Wouldn’t that be a two-pronged approach?”

Physician Cui’s medical knowledge was limited to common minor illnesses. Apothecaries usually sold pre-mixed wound medicine as exclusive formulas, and outsiders wouldn’t know the specifics. Because of this, he had a blind spot regarding external applications—since he had no medicine for it on hand, he had simply put the matter aside.

Now that he was reminded, he found the idea quite reasonable.

He hurried to brew the medicine, planning to give it a try.

Yan Lao’er watched his busy figure, feeling deeply worried.

Brother Cui was truly a good person, but his medical skills…

Could he really entrust his whole family’s health to him?

“Dad! Mom wants to eat those wild fruits we traded for last time,” Yan Yu ran over and whispered.

“Alright, I’ll go ask.” Yan Lao’er nodded.

Those wild fruits had been exchanged when they visited Uncle An’s village.

It had only been a few days, yet the bandits who once made them tremble in fear now lay eternally in the mountains.

They had gone from passive defense to active offense.

Now, when the bandits were mentioned, everyone’s first thought was probably: What reward do we get for wiping them out?

…

Village Chief Luo and several elders stood nearby, keeping the disaster victims at a distance.

As he put it, “You can follow us if you want, we can’t stop you—but don’t come too close.”

The disaster victims were extremely cautious, afraid of displeasing these elderly men—after all, they were the village elders of their benefactors.

Having suffered extreme hunger at the hands of the bandits, their first priority was finding food.

Fortunately, they knew they couldn’t overeat after prolonged starvation, so they only ate a little before scattering to search for more food.

Some even teamed up to return to Old Pine Mountain to fetch water.

Liang Manshan approached, hoping to discuss a trade with Scholar Yan—perhaps they could exchange for some water containers or cooking pots.

Village Chief Luo, after asking for clarification, told him, “Why bother our scholar with these matters? Just talk to Yan Lao’er.”

Yan Lao’er happened to be passing by and overheard.

“Scholar Liang, if you need something, just tell me,” he said warmly.

“Brother Yan.”

Now that Liang Manshan had cleaned himself up, his scholarly demeanor was evident.

He smiled warmly. “I wanted to ask if you have any spare pots, water pouches, or bamboo tubes. Without proper utensils, it’s been quite inconvenient. We’re open to trading or purchasing them.”

“Scholar Liang, this isn’t the best place to talk. Why don’t you come to where my family is settled?”

“I’d be honored!” At this moment, Liang Manshan realized that Yan Lao’er’s second brother, the scholar, had likely read quite a bit himself.

“Brother Yan, please don’t keep calling me ‘Scholar Liang.’ With your scholar brother here, it makes me feel ashamed. Just call me Manshan.”

Liang Manshan had an easygoing personality and was easy to get along with.

“My name is Huai’an,” Yan Lao’er said with slight excitement—finally, he got to introduce himself with his real name!

“Brother Huai’an,” Liang Manshan greeted again.

Yan Huai’an quickly waved it off. “We’re all struggling here. Let’s drop the formalities.”

“Brother Huai’an is right.” Liang Manshan agreed wholeheartedly.

“This is my family’s ox cart.” Yan Huai’an felt a bit proud as he introduced it.

“From a distance, I noticed the double-decked frame—seems very practical!” Liang Manshan praised. “But how is it on the road? Is it hard on the ox?”

“Heh, my ox is quite strong. I also take great care in feeding it. Besides, the frame may look exaggerated, but it doesn’t actually add much weight. We often get off and walk when traveling.”

Yan Lao’er set down a small table from the cart and took out two stools.

Liang Manshan was full of admiration.

Look at their ‘refugee’ life—it was more like a countryside outing.

Seeing a guest arrive, Da ya poured two cups of water.

“What is this?” Liang Manshan found everything novel.

“Honeysuckle tea. Brother Cui says it’s good for clearing heat and detoxifying.”

“Brother Huai’an, we’re truly fortunate to have encountered such kindhearted people like you. We owe you our lives—if you ever need anything, just say the word.” Liang Manshan spoke with heartfelt sincerity.

In truth, these words would have been better addressed to Scholar Yan, but Yan Huai’an was just as important.

After all, a family of two brothers—there was no need to distinguish too finely.

And from what he observed, Brother Huai’an seemed to be the one handling daily affairs.

He was more familiar with dealing with villagers and mountain folk, showing great proficiency.

“Oh, don’t say that! Everyone has done their part.

“We’re all in the same boat, fleeing because we couldn’t survive in our hometowns. How could we ignore each other when we can help? The bandits were vicious, but if we hadn’t stood together, we wouldn’t have made it this far.”

“Sigh…” Liang Manshan sighed. “Some of our people have still been separated from their families—I don’t know when we’ll reunite. But compared to what could have happened, we’re lucky. At least our lives are no longer in danger. If we had been sold to the mines, we might never have seen the sky again.”

“Manshan, are you from Leshan Prefecture?”

“Yes, I’m a Leshan native.”

“Have you heard of any mines in the area?”

Liang Manshan hesitated for a moment before answering, “There are indeed mines within Leshan Prefecture and Xizhou Prefecture. But I don’t know which one these bandits intended to sell us to.”

“Aren’t these mines under the imperial court? How could they still be capturing people for labor?” Yan Lao’er asked.

Liang Manshan smiled bitterly. “Brother Huai’an, just from that question alone, I can tell you’re not from Leshan.”

“We’re from Qishan.”

“The mines belong to the imperial court, and the workers are mostly convicts. But coal and iron are in high demand. The court only sets an annual quota—whether they can extract enough and how they do it isn’t closely monitored.

“From the prefectural government down to the county, the pressure to meet quotas trickles downward. There aren’t enough convicts? Then they buy workers. Still not enough? Then they assign it as corvée labor. Every year, villagers are drafted.

“Fortunately, the officials don’t want too many deaths, so the assignments aren’t too frequent—usually only a month at most. We grit our teeth and endure it.”

—————

—Corvée labor is a form of unpaid, forced labor imposed by a government or ruling authority, typically for public works projects such as building roads, bridges, or fortifications. It has been used throughout history in various societies, often as a form of taxation where citizens or peasants were required to contribute labor instead of money. Unlike slavery, corvée labor was usually temporary, though it could be highly exploitative. Some well-known examples include the labor systems of ancient Egypt, medieval Europe, and imperial China.