Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Canal Is Blocked

[Thank you to yesterday’s readers: "I Lost My Life" for your reward. Thanks also to reader 985526680 for your tip~ I’ve been busy lately and my thanks have been delayed, apologies. In the future, even when busy, I’ll make sure to arrange the next day’s updates in advance. Updates will definitely remain consistent. Additionally, wishing all my fellow readers a Happy Mid-Autumn Festival~]

After they had exchanged the basics of their situations, Roda let out a heavy sigh. “This matter, I fear, is a case of gods at war while mortals suffer. The blockade ahead is at the Watergate, held by the Timber and Bamboo Levy Bureau. The hundred or so boats stranded ahead are all because the bureau refuses to open the gate!”

Roda had only just begun when Zhang Xiaonan, full of pent-up grievances, launched into a tirade. “If it’s the timber and bamboo levy, we accept it. Haven’t we paid it every year? But now the bureau has gone mad, holding the line all day long, not letting a single boat through. Many owners have gone ashore, exhausted every trick they know, and only by noon, under the blazing sun, did three boats get through! Three! Look at the canal—there must be over a hundred boats!”

As Zhang Xiaonan finished, the whole boat suddenly lurched with a dull thud.

Seeing this, both Roda and Zhang Xiaonan, seasoned men of the river, turned pale. “Damn, we’ve crashed!”

Hearing this, the previously composed Hou Qisheng also grew alarmed and hurried to the stern.

At that moment, Hou Fangyu emerged as well. At the stern, a man with a flustered and aggrieved expression quickly bowed. “Forgive me, sir! The boat handles poorly—I’ve caused a collision. Whatever damage is done, I’ll pay for it all.”

Hou Fangyu glanced at the dented stern and waved a hand. “It was an accident. Forget it. Uncle Qisheng, is this guest someone who knows what’s going on?”

With that, Hou Fangyu offered a formal greeting, his tone cool. “I am Hou Chaozong of Guiding.”

Seeing this, Roda and Zhang Xiaonan returned the greeting excitedly. “I am Roda of Xiuning, Huizhou.”

“Zhang Xiaonan, Xiuning, Huizhou.”

Hou Fangyu nodded and climbed to the highest point of the boat, gazing into the distance. At once, he saw at least a hundred boats clogging the canal, stretching from his own vessel all the way to the Watergate at the Timber and Bamboo Levy Bureau in Linqing City.

“If it’s just taxes, pay them. The bureau is a government office—who would dare flout the law?” Hou Fangyu assumed someone ahead was refusing to pay the levy.

But at his words, Roda cried out in protest. “We’re all law-abiding folks. The government collects taxes—we don’t defy that. The trouble is, there’s no way to pay! Word is the tax office and the levy bureau are at odds. Now, even if you want to pay the timber and bamboo levy, the boat fee, and the trade tax in Linqing, there’s no way. That’s why over a hundred boats are stranded!”

Zhang Xiaonan sighed as well. “And more boats are coming every hour. I’m afraid soon the entire Grand Canal will be blocked—hundreds, maybe thousands of boats. Business will certainly suffer.”

Hearing this, Hou Fangyu at last understood the heart of the matter. Strangely enough, people now wanted to pay their taxes—and couldn’t!

The thought of so many boats jammed together made Hou Fangyu’s brows knit tight. He wasn’t moved by sympathy for a few merchants, who at most would lose a few hundred taels of silver from a few days’ delay. But if Hou Fangyu himself was held up, it could mean ten years of prosperity or decline for the House of Hou in Guiding!

That thought made Hou Fangyu anxious. “Uncle Qisheng, quickly find a small boat and get me to shore. I must see for myself what’s happened! Whoever is behind this, I will not let them off!”

Seeing Hou Fangyu’s urgency, Zhang Xiaonan and Roda were delighted. Hou Fangyu was the son of Hou Xun, former Minister of Revenue—a true scion of a high official. For someone of his status to take charge, surely dealing with the likes of a mere Timber and Bamboo Levy Bureau would be no trouble at all for Linqing.

With that, both men spoke up at once. “We have a boat, young master—let us take you ashore!”

Soon, a small boat ferried the group to land.

They proceeded straight to the gates of the Timber and Bamboo Levy Bureau. The bureau occupied one of the city’s watergates—much smaller than the local branch of the Ministry of Revenue, but all the more critical for it. With one watergate closed, the entire canal’s commerce was paralyzed.

As they drew near, they saw the bureau’s entrance crowded with boat owners and captains. The noise of their arguments rose without pause. Yet the bureau’s main doors remained tightly shut, showing no sign of conciliation. In front of the gates, a burly, scar-faced man with a fierce look, surrounded by over two hundred others, encircled the bureau, occasionally calling out weakly for the levy to be collected.

Hou Fangyu stepped forward. Amid the clamor, he quickly pieced together the situation. The canal was blocked, simply because the timber and bamboo levy could not be paid.

Yet, on closer inspection, it was far more complicated.

The reason: the bureau had stopped collecting the levy entirely!

And the explanation was even more infuriating.

“The Timber and Bamboo Levy Bureau is to be abolished. Doors closed, awaiting imperial orders. We dare not harm the people or offend Heaven further!”

Throughout the canal, from the lowest boatmen to the highest ship owners and even the military and civil officials, all knew of the Ministry of Revenue’s recent memorial. Zhu Cilang now intended to tax freight charges, claiming that boat tolls and the timber and bamboo levy overlapped. To the locals, this clearly implied that one tax office in Linqing was enough—any more would only get in the way.

Moreover, Zhu Cilang had also submitted a memorial abolishing the advance tax, further proving that the ministry’s current head was a law unto himself.

With such a man in charge, if the Timber and Bamboo Levy Bureau made no move, everyone would be shocked. But their reaction had been extreme—they simply shut down the bureau!

Had the bureau truly closed, everyone would have respected the Ministry of Revenue’s authority, and whatever the new tax office did next, no one would dare cause trouble.

But the bureau’s action was pure petulance—determined to throw all of Linqing into chaos!

Why? Because the bureau controlled the watergate.

Without the Linqing watergate, how could anyone travel north?

In half a day, aside from a few well-connected ship owners who managed to force their way through, and one fourth-rank official granted a tax exemption, not a single soul had managed to pay the levy.

Countless boat owners groaned in despair—what kind of world was this, when people wanted to hand over their silver and couldn’t?

Hou Fangyu, grasping the full story, was left gloomy and frustrated. “So now, even if you want to pay, you can’t. Such willfulness, wrecking state affairs for personal whim—this Qin Xia is truly deserving of death!”