Under the Microscope Episode 3 Recap
> Under the Microscope Recap
Fang Fanzhen welcomed Shuai Jiamo to dinner, thanking him for his hard work on the accounts. Shuai Jiamo admitted he hadn't made a breakthrough but had an idea. He explained that he shouldn't just focus on the converted silver tax but also on goods in kind, such as rice, millet, cloth, and silk, which take time to convert to silver. He added that he still lacks sufficient evidence to make a definitive statement.
Fang Fanzhen offered Shuai Jiamo some silver, pressing him for details. Shuai Jiamo explained that the information could not be "entered into the storehouse" yet, as it would disrupt the balance of the accounts. Soon after, he declared his "time is up" and rushed off to work. Watching him go, Fang Fanzhen muttered to herself that Shuai Jiamo was truly an arithmetic nut. Lying down, Shuai Jiamo vaguely recalled his father's words from his childhood: "Tomorrow is the five-day limit.
At the county and prefectural joint trial, you must report your findings carefully. If anything goes wrong. . . Jiamo, remember this number. . . your father's life's honor and disgrace are in it." The next day, Shuai Jiamo knelt outside the Jin'an Prefectural Office. Prefect Huang and Assistant Prefect Song were present, and an official warned Shuai Jiamo to report his findings truthfully, threatening him with a flogging if he lied. Shuai Jiamo remained kneeling, not beginning his report.
When Prefect Huang asked why, Shuai Jiamo stated he was waiting for his friend, Feng Baoyu, explaining that they initiated the plaint together. A county magistrate dismissed Feng Baoyu as irrelevant, but Shuai Jiamo insisted that his friend wished to gain scholarly honor through this. Prefect Huang warned Shuai Jiamo that if he made a mistake, Feng Baoyu would be punished alongside him. Shuai Jiamo, however, remained resolute, declaring that he would not make a mistake.
Soon after, Feng Baoyu arrived, accompanied by his elder sister Feng Biyu. Cheered on by the gathered crowd to speak for the people, Feng Baoyu excitedly greeted Prefect Huang and the other magistrates, who barely acknowledged him. Prefect Huang reported to Fang Fanzhen that the magistrates of Lanxi, Wancheng, and Tongyang had coincidentally submitted their greeting cards on the very same day that Shuai Jiamo was to present his findings on the Silk Poll Tax case.
Fang Fanzhen explained that the silk tax dispute was widely known in Renhua County, so it was not surprising that neighboring counties had heard about it. Shortly thereafter, the magistrates of Tongyang, Lanxi, and the Assistant Magistrate from Wancheng arrived. Magistrate Mao Panfeng asked if the trial was about the Silk Poll Tax and requested to sit in, despite Fang Fanzhen's reservations. Prefect Huang agreed, noting that the matter involved several counties, and invited them to sit.
Meanwhile, Feng Biyu learned from a subordinate about the arrival of the three magistrates and the Assistant Magistrate from Wancheng, instructing her staff to keep a close eye on them. Feng Biyu then encountered Cheng Renqing, who greeted her with overly flattering remarks and feigned unfamiliarity. She dismissed his pleasantries, urging him to state his purpose. Cheng Renqing continued to compliment her appearance before inquiring about the big case that had drawn other county officials to Renhua.
She suggested he was only there for profit, but he denied it, claiming there was no profit to be made from this case. He then directly asked her to clarify the silk tax matter, to which she demanded "half a string of cash" for any information. Feng Baoyu and Shuai Jiamo presented their case to the county magistrates. Shuai Jiamo began by explaining the origin of the silk tax.
He stated that in the ninth year of the Chenghua reign, when Japanese pirates attacked Fengxing, the court ordered Renhua County to provide 1,500 bolts of silk as military provisions. Although the Japanese withdrew that same year, Renhua continued to pay this amount for the next two years, effectively turning an emergency measure into a regular tax.
When Magistrate Mao Panfeng interrupted, questioning the relevance of the Japanese, Shuai Jiamo clarified that the army's initial request for a total of 6,000 bolts of silk was directed to Jin'an Prefecture, with Renhua contributing 1,500 bolts and the other seven counties contributing the remaining 4,500. He further explained that 6,000 bolts of silk, valued at six qian of silver per bolt today, totaled 3,600 taels, but during the Chenghua years, its silver equivalent was exactly 3,530 taels.
A magistrate quickly deduced that the current Silk Poll Tax paid by Renhua County was, in fact, the former provisions supplement that should have been borne by the entire Jin'an Prefecture. Shuai Jiamo confirmed this. Cheng Renqing, observing from the side, praised Feng Baoyu's public-mindedness, noting how he had risen to speak for the people, a stark contrast to his past as a "playboy."
However, Cheng Renqing then cautioned Feng Biyu that the path ahead was fraught with difficulty, citing the unexpected arrival of the three magistrates as a potential bad omen for her brother. Feng Biyu expressed hope that Shuai Jiamo's accurate calculations would prevent problems. Cheng Renqing questioned Shuai Jiamo's arithmetic background and Feng Biyu's trust in him, to which Feng Biyu revealed that Shuai Jiamo's father was also a renowned master of arithmetic.
Feng Biyu distributed copies of the eight counties' account books from the 9th to the 16th year of the Chenghua reign, which Shuai Jiamo had prepared. Shuai Jiamo explained that the key lay in "what we can't see." He showed that from the 9th to the 11th year of the Chenghua reign, the silk provision supplement—1,500 bolts from Renhua County and 4,500 from the other seven counties—was clearly recorded annually.
However, he discovered that the tax registers for the 12th to the 15th year of the Chenghua reign were missing from the Archives. While acknowledging that damage from fire, earth, and insects was common, he pointed out that the register for the 16th year showed the other seven counties no longer paid their 4,500 bolts of silk supplement. Concurrently, Renhua County's records abruptly displayed a new "Silk Poll Tax" of precisely 3,530 taels.
Shuai Jiamo asserted his suspicion that sometime after the 11th year of the Chenghua reign, someone deliberately recast this tax, covertly transferring the entire burden onto Renhua County. This allowed Jin'an Prefecture's overall accounts to remain balanced, while fundamentally changing who bore the tax. Other officials quickly dismissed Shuai Jiamo's claims as "nonsense" and "arbitrary," given the missing records for the intervening years.
Fang Fanzhen praised Magistrate Deng Siqi as a mathematical prodigy, noting that he had once accurately calculated a year's expenses for Yellow River management. Magistrate Deng then challenged Shuai Jiamo, asserting that while his calculations were precise, he "forgot logistical fees," leaving a "huge flaw" in his argument.
Magistrate Deng elaborated on the distinction between "Goods in Kind" taxes, such as the 6,000 bolts of silk for the army, which entailed substantial transportation costs—requiring hundreds of donkey carts and bearers, along with food and wages—and "converted silver" taxes, like Renhua's 3,530 taels, which were silver and demanded minimal transport, perhaps only three donkey carts. The logistical expenses for these two types of payments, he emphasized, were vastly different.
The officials argued that once logistical fees were factored in, the numbers for the provisions supplement and the Silk Poll Tax would no longer match, thus invalidating Shuai Jiamo's entire premise. After a brief altercation between Fang Fanzhen and Feng Baoyu regarding respect for officials (Feng Baoyu chastised Fang Fanzhen for addressing Magistrate Deng informally), Prefect Huang permitted Shuai Jiamo to continue.
Shuai Jiamo then explained that in the tenth year of the Jiajing reign, the "Single Whip Law" was implemented in Fengxing, introducing a new regulation: "government collection and transportation" for all taxes. He clarified that prior to this law, people were responsible for collecting and transporting their own taxes to the storehouses, but afterward, the government assumed both collection and transportation duties.
He further elaborated that initially, corvée labor was used for transportation, but this was later replaced by "paying silver instead of labor," requiring citizens to pay a fixed amount of silver to the government instead.
Shuai Jiamo explained that before the tenth year of the Jiajing reign, the value of "Goods in Kind" taxes was recorded in one register (the money and grain tax book), while the logistical costs, which involved corvée labor, were recorded in a separate register (the corvée roster). Thus, the value of the goods and the cost of their transportation were kept in two distinct account books.
However, after the implementation of "government collection and transportation" in Jiajing 10th year, and with logistical fees converted to silver payments, a single register was then used. He presented copies of registers from the fifth year of Jiajing and the first year of Longqing as evidence, inviting comparison to illustrate this change in bookkeeping.
Shuai Jiamo then confidently stated that in his calculations for the period after Jiajing 10th year, he had already accounted for and subtracted the logistical fees, and the sum still remained precisely 3,530 taels, offering to explain his intricate algorithm if needed. Unconvinced, the magistrates retorted that numerical similarity alone did not prove the two taxes were the same, demanding further proof that the Chenghua 9th year provisions supplement evolved into the later Silk Poll Tax.
Shuai Jiamo conceded that the current figures cannot conclusively prove his claim due to the missing registers from the 12th to the 15th year of the Chenghua reign. However, he asserted that while Jin'an Prefecture's main registers were incomplete, copies must exist in the individual sub-ledgers of the eight subordinate counties. Feng Baoyu clarified that this meant requesting each county to open its Archives for verification, a suggestion Shuai Jiamo affirmed.
The other magistrates vehemently objected, arguing that the Archives were sensitive state locations not to be easily accessed by commoners. Feng Baoyu countered that it was not trespassing if the investigation was conducted openly with everyone present. Prefect Huang, considering the burden of over 3,000 taels, agreed to personally oversee the process and dispatch his trusted subordinate to accompany them for the inspection of each county's Archives.
Just as the Prefect's proposal to open the Archives gained momentum, Assistant Magistrate Ren Yi dramatically feigned illness, collapsing and requesting to speak privately with Prefect Huang. The other magistrates quickly intervened, citing Assistant Magistrate Ren's age and the unfairness of making a decision without the representative of Wancheng County. They insisted there was no need to rush and suggested adjourning the trial until the following day, to which Prefect Huang reluctantly agreed.
Later, the three county magistrates gathered at Assistant Magistrate Ren's lodging. Upon being assured there were no outsiders, Assistant Magistrate Ren opened his eyes, revealing his feigned illness. The magistrates commended his quick thinking, which they believed saved them from a difficult situation. Magistrate Mao Panfeng emphatically declared their solidarity, threatening anyone who dared to retreat, even vowing to burn down Lanxi's Archives if Prefect Huang attempted to force an inspection.
Assistant Magistrate Ren then cautioned them against getting bogged down in the specifics of the silk tax. At this point, Cheng Renqing entered, much to Magistrate Mao's annoyance, who questioned his presence at a government meeting, asserting it was not a lawsuit for a lawyer. Cheng Renqing replied that he was "at someone's behest to bring you something."
