Original subtitles

[Under the Microscope]

[Episode 14]

Shuai!

Shuai!

Physician!

Physician! Hurry!

Magistrate Fang.

You've already called for

a physician?

Master Fan.

You have no idea.

During the last trial,

Shuai fainted.

I was really

worried about him.

That's why I'm well prepared today.

How is he?

Your Excellency,

Shuai Jiamo is fine.

It's the same problem of repressed negative emotions.

He'll be fine

after he rests in the shade.

Help him up.

Find a shaded place

for him to rest for a while.

Hurry up.

Hurry up.

Where were we? Let's continue.

Song Ren.

I've checked the documents.

You were a Recommendee

but didn't make it any further.

You could only work as a clerk,

and there was to be no progression in your career.

You must have been indignant,

right?

When people like you lose their prospects,

they can only think about money.

You found that false reporting of land ownership

was a good business,

so you instigated Shuai Duncheng

to tamper with it

for you to turn a huge profit, right?

Shuai Duncheng was a noble man

and didn't want to collude with you.

You were worried that the matter would be exposed,

so you framed him

for embezzling the Silk Poll Tax,

and then killed him.

Right?

No!

Shuai Duncheng was not a noble man!

He threatened me first!

What could I have done?

Assistant Prefect Song.

That's not true.

Master Fan.

Master Fan can vouch for me.

Grand Coordinator Li.

This petty lawyer is in contempt of Court,

he should be flogged.

Otherwise, it will damage the authority of the courtroom.

I'm willing to be punished!

You broke the rules.

You can't blame me.

Guards!

Drag him out.

Flog him ten times as a warning.

Yes, I'll go myself.

Assistant Prefect Song.

Assistant Prefect Song.

This is an old case.

I can't find you guilty

by what he said alone.

However,

to avoid suspicion,

you should leave now.

Remember,

latch onto Fan Yuan and don't let go.

I can't do it.

I don't have your abilities.

You must do it.

If you don't,

is the arithmetic nut going to do it?

Remember what I said last night,

and you won't lose.

For today's conference,

I set the ground rule

that is was not to be any tricks of barratry.

However, Cheng Renqing violated this rule for his own benefit,

ignorant of the harms of deception.

He will be flogged ten times

as a warning to others.

Slow down.

Xiao Zhi,

get my medicine box for me.

It's over there.

There.

Don't sit down.

Lie down.

We've discussed for so long.

What do you think?

Tell me.

Feng Baoyu.

Uphold righteousness, accurate remeasurement of the land.

What?

No, no.

It- It was a slip of the tongue.

Preposterous!

How dare you talk glibly in the courtroom?

Are you trying to fool us?

No.

Uphold righteousness,

accurate remeasurement of the land.

Well-

Grand- Grand Coordinator Li.

Since

the Complete Works of the Silk Event is real,

we request a thorough investigation of the lands of Renhua.

They- They should be accurately remeasured

to retrieve the profit from the false disclosure of land ownership

over the past 20 years.

Local gentry and officials implicated

should be punished severely.

Yes- Yes.

Yes.

Magistrate Fang.

Magistrate Mao.

Both of you are

magistrates in Jin'an.

What do you think about

Feng Baoyu’s idea?

Grand Coordinator Li.

First, let's set aside the issue of the veracity

of the Complete Works of the Silk Event.

The people are here

because they have been roused to anger

due to the Remeasurement Policy.

If we do it again, I'm afraid

we wouldn't be able to handle them.

I will abide faithfully

by the orders of the Grand Coordinator's Office,

no questions asked.

Gentlemen, well...

Remeasuring land...

This...

may cause public resentment.

Let's not add fuel to the fire.

No- No- No.

It- It's not like that.

It's not like what?

Make yourself clear!

This- Land Remeasurement-

What?

Feng Baoyu.

I‘m warning you.

In this court of law,

you must think carefully

before you speak!

If you say anything wrong,

I'm afraid...

I'm afraid you will have to

say it boldly!

Say it.

Say it.

If you've made up your mind, speak!

Uphold righteousness...

Tomorrow, we must

latch onto the point on

land remeasurement

and make our case on it.

This is what

the Grand Coordinator is most concerned about.

Shortening rope while measuring fields and false disclosure of ownership

is equivalent to stealing money

from the imperial court.

Shortening rope while measuring fields, false disclosure of ownership,

accurate remeasurement of the land.

Grand Secretary Zhang is about to implement his reforms

for land remeasurement.

This

Speak!

is a vital spot.

Shortening rope while measuring fields, false disclosure of ownership,

accurate remeasurement of the land.

Grand Coordinator Li,

the Land Remeasurement Policy caused civil unrest

not because of the policy itself,

but because of mishandling in its implementation on the ground.

Preposterous!

How dare a mere scholar like you

discuss state affairs so boldly here?

Magistrate Mao, you're wrong!

I'm not talking nonsense!

I saw it and experienced it myself

in Tongyang County.

You have had such an experience?

Speak.

From here on,

Feng Baoyu must rely on himself.

Actually, I've never thought that

you needed to win this case.

As long as the three of you come out of it

safe and sound,

I will be very thankful.

You

have always underestimated your brother.

You took care of him too well.

As a result,

in front of you,

he has to cower

and pretend to be a useless playboy.

Who are you calling useless?

You—

I think even though Baoyu—

Young Master Feng

looks foolish,

he's actually very formidable.

Did you hear that?

Very well.

Since Miss Xiao Zhi

said that

Feng Baoyu is rather formidable,

as his loved one,

you should let go

and let him grow up.

Feng Baoyu

has an unyielding air to him.

I wonder if he

learned it from Shuai Jiamo.

I can't match up for sure.

The Chen family's tragedy

is happening repeatedly in Tongyang.

The local gentry appropriate land,

subofficial functionaries oppress the commoners,

and officials only want to protect themselves.

They collaborate and collude with one another.

No matter how wise the policy is,

when they're the ones implementing it,

it'll end up going haywire!

This is

the real crux of the problem.

Are you making an accusation against

all the officials of Jin'an Prefecture?

Magistrate Deng and Assistant Magistrate Ren

were fearful to act.

But you, Magistrate Mao,

were an accomplice!

The civil unrest

was caused by your indulgence

of the subofficial functionaries!

You mismanaged

a perfectly good policy,

and you want Shuai and I

to take the blame!

Shuai Duncheng and Shuai Jiamo

wanted to reveal the truth,

but you colluded to suppress them.

You even hired assassins

to kill them!

Ridiculous!

It's ridiculous.

As you all know,

poverty and wealth are unpredictable.

Fields and property have no fixed owners.

Why are you making

consensual transactions

out to be crimes?

How can you tell

they're consensual, Mao Panfeng?

Grand Coordinator Li.

The land Renhua uses to pay taxes

is less than 70% of what it was 20 years ago.

Magistrate Mao.

Tell me.

Where did the land go?

First, the gentry employed all sorts of machinations

to take them away

from the farmers.

Then, they colluded with officials

to tamper with fish-scale map registers

to hide away the land

and avoid taxation by the court!

Doesn't the Complete Works of the Silk Event

prove exactly this?

If every province and county in our country

were like Jin'an Prefecture,

where taxable fields shrink every year,

wouldn't the commoners' burdens get ever heavier,

while the court fails to increase its revenue?

Each year, the products of the fields

go neither to the commoners,

nor to the imperial granaries.

They've all fallen into the hands of you

bloodsucking, cankerous, and parasitic

officials!

If this goes on,

the country will be ruined!

Feng Baoyu!

You—

What a great argument.

If this were the provincial examinations,

I'd nominate you for first place.

Tell me.

Grand Coordinator Li,

he is merely talking nonsense

and making slanderous comments on affairs of governance.

You need evidence

to prove that it's nonsense.

What did you say?

The Chen family...

Where are they now?

They're here!

Miss Xiao Zhi.

Don't bother with me.

Get back to the courtroom.

You have to testify for Baoyu.

Okay.

Thank you, Xiao Zhi.

Where are they?

Looks like it's still a trick.

Since there are no witnesses,

Grand Coordinator Li,

I think we can close the case as soon as possible.

I'm also from Tongyang County.

What Mr. Feng said

is true!

That is how those subofficial functionaries

have been bullying

us commoners!

I'm willing to testify!

I'm willing to testify too!

I can also testify!

We are willing to testify!

We are willing to testify!

We are willing to testify!

We are willing to testify!

We are willing to testify!

We are willing to testify!

We are willing to testify!

We are willing to testify!

We are willing to testify!

Folks, calm down.

If you're willing to testify,

please sign

on this document

and stamp your fingerprint on it!

Okay!

Okay!

I have never understood

why I couldn't compare to

a brat who came from

the backwaters.

Grand Coordinator Li,

most of the nonsense

Feng Baoyu spouted

are either extreme cases, outliers,

or devoid of supporting evidence.

If this gets out,

the magistrates of the eight counties of Jin'an

will be frightened.

Magistrate Fang, are you frightened?

Grand Coordinator Li,

the people call me Statue Fang.

Would a statue be frightened?

Magistrate Mao of Lanxi County,

you should feel frightened.

Grand Coordinator Li,

I want to make another allegation.

Previously,

when you wanted to investigate the Silk Poll Tax,

Mao Panfeng defied your orders

and set fire to the Archives

to destroy the court's account books.

He even tried to silence Shuai and me.

Nonsense!

The verdict was clear.

It was Zhang who did it,

and he has already committed suicide to escape punishment.

Another suicide to escape punishment?

Mao Panfeng.

Why are all the criminals in Jin'an Prefecture

so sensible?

Whenever you need them to,

they commit suicide right away, right?

Grand Coordinator Li,

you mustn't believe

the words of petty men.

They are infamous

in Jin'an Prefecture

for being treacherous people.

They're not trustworthy.

Who is he?

Aren't you already dead?

We must thank Magistrate Fang

for his brilliance.

Magistrate Fang,

what is going on?

He-

Him?

This functionary...

He hanged himself

in my prison.

It turns out that he had merely passed out.

That same night, the coroner reported that

he suddenly...

came back to life.

How lucky, wouldn't you say?

How lucky.

Why didn't you say something?

Why didn't you say something?

Say something?

To whom?

Magistrate Mao.

You're the one

who wronged me.

You sent someone

to Renhua's prison.

You wanted him to die in prison.

Wouldn't that have made me a scapegoat?

Why did you

pin something so troublesome on me?

And you expect me to say something? Say what?

I-

Who should I tell?

Old Mister,

please step forward.

Here.

Go to Grand Coordinator Li

and tell him everything.

Grand Coordinator Li.

Magistrate Mao and Constable Lu

came to me

and asked me to cooperate with them.

They wanted to burn down the Archives

along with the people in it,

and then make it look like a mishap caused by candles.

Why did Yunniang choose

a shabby lawyer like you?

Unfortunately, she chose and married the wrong man.

That's why she ended up dying young.

You must miss her too.

He's talking nonsense!

Constable Lu

even went to the prison

to force me to commit suicide.

He said that if I didn't die,

my daughter and grandson...

Help him up.

Old Mister.

I was lucky to survive,

so I asked someone to send news to Lanxi.

Unexpectedly,

my daughter and grandson

had starved to death at home.

It was you people!

You didn't

keep your promise

to protect the lives and livelihood

of my family!

You old man!

You're slandering me! I'll strangle you!

I'll strangle you, Magistrate Mao!

I'll strangle you!

I'll strangle you to death!

Be careful!

Be careful!

Kill him!

Kill him!

Kill him!

You old geezer!

I'll kill you!

Stop!

Stop! Stop!

This is a witness.

Bring Magistrate Mao down for treatment.

Yes.

Old geezer.

Take him away.

Yes.

Get up.

Go!

Fan Yuan!

Fan Yuan burned the book!

You're slandering me!

Magistrate Fang,

did you see

who did it?

It-

It... was chaotic just now.

My heart stopped.

I- I didn't notice.

Stay up there then.

Come on, let’s continue.

Grand Coordinator Li.

Grand Coordinator Li.

Come down.

Okay.

Let's continue.

Let's continue our discussion.

Grand Coordinator Li.

The truth is very obvious now.

Twenty years ago,

Song Ren took bribes from the gentry

to silence Shuai Duncheng and cover up the truth.

Ma Wencai's family sold land

and cheated in the imperial examinations.

Twenty years later,

Prefect Huang and Inspector Liu

wanted to investigate this matter thoroughly,

but Mao Panfeng

destroyed the evidence

and instigated the people to civil unrest!

All these signs indicate that

corruption in Jin'an Prefecture runs deep

and a reform must go underway!

All of this

was caused by Shuai Jiamo's

plaint regarding the Silk Poll Tax.

He isn't guilty, he has done us a great service.

Please conduct a thorough investigation!

Purging accumulated maladies

has indeed been

the court's intention for the past couple of years.

But what- what-

what ideas could you have?

I propose an accurate remeasurement of the land

and a revision of the Silk Poll Tax.

What a great argument.

What do you have to say?

Feng Baoyu!

Haven't you attended the school

that I built?

How dare you

behave so imprudently in a court of law?

That is merely a means

you people use to earn prestige!

Compared to the profit you have made from corruption,

it's nothing!

You people?

I'm talking about the Fan family!

Half of the Complete Works of the Silk Event

concerns the Fan family!

He is the true mastermind!

Your Excellency.

Which article in the Great Ming Code stipulates that

those who possess more fields are guilty?

None.

I indeed possess

quite a bit of land.

I obtained them lawfully, through shrewd management.

Is it a crime

to achieve wealth from hard work?

You have so much land.

How can all of them come from

fair transactions?

Do you know how much land

Grand Secretary Xu Jie's family owns

in his hometown of Songjiang, Fengxing?

Let me tell you.

240,000 mu!

If you're so capable,

go to Grand Secretary Xu's residence

and speak to him.

Didn't you just say

all wealthy gentry are parasites?

Do you think Grand Secretary Xu

is the biggest parasite?

Master Fan,

we're talking about governance in Jin'an today.

Other matters are irrelevant.

No!

This is the same matter!

The Yuan family in Jiaxing

owns 200,000 mu of land.

The Xu family in Qiantang owns 180,000 mu of land.

The Yu family in Yuyao owns 170,000 mu of land.

There are wealthy gentry families

everywhere in Jiangnan.

You've been studying for so many years,

how could you be so treacherous?

Do you want to go against

all the gentry families in Jiangnan?

You old fox,

that is not what we're talking about.

We're not talking about

buying and selling land,

but about your false reporting of land ownership.

The Silk—

I think

today's discussion

can end here.

Everyone, please leave.

Even without the Complete Works of the Silk Event,

I can still prove it!

Wait!

Shuai Jiamo.

Did you memorize it?

I've never read it.

How could I memorize it?

But as long as Master Fan

lets me remeasure any piece of land

under his name

to see if it tallies with the the information

in the fish-scale map registers,

I can figure it out!

Remeasure his land!

Remeasure his land!

Remeasure his land!

Remeasure his land!

Yes! Remeasure his land!

Remeasure his land!

As long as we compare, we can prove it!

Public opinion is of utmost importance right now.

Why don't you agree to it?

The fields are ours anyway.

Plus, the subofficial functionaries in charge of measuring them

are in our pocket.

Let's give him

the most irregular field we have.

I don't think he will be able to

do anything with it.

I do have

a piece of land in Renhua.

It's known as "Below Wugong Lake,"

number 69.

I want to use this method

to prove my innocence.

If Shuai Jiamo's accusations are false,

Your Excellency,

please punish him severely.

Don't worry.

I will be impartial

and punish him severely.

Shuai Jiamo.

Think it through.

Actually, I'm very happy.

From the very beginning, since the debate at Renhua County,

I didn't understand

why a simple

arithmetic problem

must become so complicated.

It's clearly as simple as

one plus one equals two.

But it involved

so many irrelevant people and things.

That's why

we are in this situation now.

This is great.

An arithmetic problem

has to return

to arithmetic itself!

Once the problem is solved,

everything can be solved.

Good.

I admire your courage.

Let's go now.

No need!

Below Wugong Lake,

field number 69

is the most irregular field in our county.

It took me three tries

to get the answer.

Jiamo.

Do you remember

the Art of Gathering Projected Steps I taught you?

Yes.

First, lay rope around the circumference!

Then, from the starting point, calculate the distance in steps!

Based on the shape of the field, identify the peaks!

Then, project the step number to find the area!

In this way,

no matter how complicated the fields are,

as long as we mark out the peaks in the length and width

and take those distances in steps,

the area can easily be derived.

Father,

I've got it.

It's 10 mu and 6 fen, right?

Father!

This field measures

10 mu and 6 fen exactly!

Ridiculous!

You clearly just made it up

to frame Master Fan!

It's written clearly

on the fish-scale map register

that it's 9 mu and 2 fen.

Grand Coordinator Li,

please send a subofficial functionary from the Prefectural Revenue Office

to check the measurement.

Don't get taken in by petty people.

That's right.

Alright.

Is it 9 mu 2 fen?

Or is it 10 mu 6 fen?

It does need to be calculated again.

What a coincidence!

What a coincidence!

I have several famous arithmeticians

at my service.

They are very experienced at measuring fields.

Come!

Go now.

Move!

Move!

Move!

He's back.

The result?

Grand Coordinator Li.

The results for the measurement of

Below Wugong Lake,

number 69

are 10 mu and 6 fen.

Grand Coordinator Li.

I have something to say

regarding the measurement of land.

Could we

speak in private?

Master Fan.

I am here

to listen to you

for old time's sake.

How will you explain yourself?

I don't have any explanations.

I believe

you will be impartial.

I know the thing you care most about

is finishing the land remeasurement

by the time you return to the capital.

Haven't you seen

what had happened to the two officials

after the episode of civil unrest?

In the capital,

how will you report to Grand Secretary Zhang

and His Majesty?

The court wants general principles.

You want

results.

I will give you

the perfect results.

What?

What now?

How many days did you say

it will take for you

to measure all the land in Renhua?

Ten days.

Ten days?

The Land Remeasurement Policy

was a good thing.

It's all because of the greedy gentry

and evil officials

that it turned into a bad thing.

The more they hide their fields,

the more grain they snatch

from your bowls!

So,

this time,

let's make our position clear

on the land remeasurement!

Shall we?

Yes!

Yes!

My good friend, Shuai Jiamo,

knows a method of land measurement

that can help everyone

calculate the area of your fields

quickly and accurately.

Next,

let's welcome my good friend, Shuai Jiamo!

Bravo!

Bravo!

Shuai.

Go on!

Hurry.

Bravo!

This method

is called

the Art of Gathering Projected Steps.

My father taught me how to do it.

My father said

numbers are simple by nature.

Arithmetic

is the most honest thing

in the world.

The connections between numbers

are like the constellations

in the sky.

If you can understand

the intricacies and principles

within arithmetic,

you can calculate anything you wish

in this world.

This

is the path I pursue.

A bountiful harvest!

A bountiful harvest!

Jiamo, you're back.

Come.

Come in.

Get the soup.

Yes, the soup is ready.

I'll get you some soup.

Add more chicken.

Here, have some chicken soup.

Careful, it's hot.

Why is there no chicken head?

Why do you want to eat chicken head?

You're not stupid.

Here.

Jiamo.

You've grown up.

Here.

Shuai.

Shuai, why are you crying?

Put him down.

Put him down.

Why are you crying, Shuai?

Well...

You can leave first.

Go on.

Have some water, Old Master.

Here you are.

Thank you.

Good work.

Everyone, please stop.

Have some water.

Drink some water.

Thank you.

Okay.

Come on.

Have some water.

First, lay rope around the circumference.

Then, from the starting point, calculate the distance in steps.

Based on the shape of the field, identify the peaks.

Then, project the step number to find the area.

Marvelous.

Marvelous.

Everyone, gather around.

I have good news.

Good news.

Our county's taxes have been reduced.

We don't have to pay so much taxes anymore.

Bravo!

Commander Ma Wencai of the Military Defense Circuit,

Magistrate Mao Panfeng of Lanxi County,

and Assistant Prefect Song Ren of Jin'an

are guilty of defrauding and corruption,

as well as inciting civil unrest

and attempted murder.

They have been handed over to the Censorate.

Lu Feilong, their accomplice,

harmed his fellow villagers.

He has been conscripted into the border army 3,000 li away.

Bravo!

Bravo!

Bravo!

Fan Yuan hid his land,

and the areas involved are sizeable.

His land has been confiscated.

Effective immediately,

Renhua County only needs to pay

1,000 taels of the Silk Poll Tax.

The other 2,530 taels

will come from the confiscation of Fan Yuan's land.

Bravo!

Bravo!

Bravo!

Baoyu, are you done?

I'm working!

If your sister were here,

she would be done by now.

Don't talk to me about her.

She has it easy now.

Recently,

I wrote a book.

I want you

to be the first to read it.

Are you just

passing by,

or did you come here on purpose?