This person truly is from the breed that "commands the wind and rain"; he cannot be measured by ordinary standards.
Xu Qing's fundamental intention was not to exterminate them completely, but to assert dominance.
Scholar Hu deeply understood that if Xu Qing opted for total annihilation, the order in Jiangning Prefecture would soon be in chaos, which would be counterproductive.
The problem is, Xu Qing was certain they would not dare to defy him to the death.
Subsidizing the field measurements was just for tax purposes after all; to defy would mean to disregard their own lives. Which carries more weight?
They are old eels, not the tough mud-legged folk.
Those with mud legs have nothing, thus only their toughness remains.
In fact, Scholar Hu had a good reputation in the village. On regular days, if he "encountered" someone without land or a coffin for their parents' burial, he would generously help, buying them a modest wooden coffin and a burial plot.
