When the tax-cut decree comes down, even beggars get memorial tablets. The Eastern Depot puts up its sign, and corrupt officials wet themselves. Thirty thousand Kheshig troops choke off the north-south routes, while ten thousand members of the Luo Network keep your backyard under constant watch. Li Chenghan’s rule of thumb: give the living a way through, and give the dead a pit to jump into. Jia Yuanchun is the reward, confiscating estates is the method, and giving the common people room to breathe is the result. As for the civil officials? They can line up for the imperial prison.
