The next day, everyone took a boat across the river from the pier in the north of Gushu City. One day later, they arrived at Liyang City, the seat of Liyang County. Although Liyang County is in the north of the Yangtze River, it still falls under the jurisdiction of Yangzhou.
Li Hui and Lu Zhan entered the county town to meet with Wang Muzhi, the governor of Liyang County. Before going to Juchao County to take up their posts, they had to meet with this superior officer and get some important information and instructions here.
In the county governor's office, Wang Muzhi, the governor of Liyang County, received the two newly appointed county magistrates and county magistrates.
Wang Muzhi is in his forties, chubby, and looks like he is still drunk. He is wearing thin and loose clothes in the winter, his skin is pale and delicate, and he has a half-smiling expression on his face.
Li Hui could tell at a glance that the county guard must have taken Wu Shi San. Only a person who had eaten Wu Shi San would still dress like this in such a cold weather, with such an expression.
After some pleasantries, Wang Muzhi said to Lu Zhan: "Magistrate Lu, how is your ancestor Lu Gong doing? I admire Lu Gong's demeanor and often want to visit Wu County, but I have never had the chance. I didn't expect the young man of the Lu family to come today.
Jiangbei took up his post, which surprised me."
Lu Zhan felt quite proud when he heard what Wang Muzhi said. The Lu family of Wu County was famous in the Jin Dynasty, and Wang Muzhi was probably one of his admirers.
"My Aweng is in good health. Do you know my Aweng? Do you know our Lu family?" Lu Zhan said.
"Who in the world doesn't know about the Lu family in Wu County? Mr. Lu is so virtuous and noble, how come he doesn't know about it?" Wang Muzhi said with a smile.
"That's easy. I was worried that you didn't know my identity. Before I came here, Aweng told me to keep a low profile. But now it seems that I can't keep a low profile anymore. I have a good reputation in the Lu family.
It’s too big, hehehe.” Lu Zhan laughed.
Li Hui frowned as he listened. This Lu Zhan was too ridiculous. It was obvious that Wang Muzhi was just being polite. The Lu family of Wu County was certainly a wealthy family, but now, the Wu County nobles were in misfortune. He did not want to think about what the Wu County nobles were encountering now.
Trouble. I don’t want to think about why he came to Jiangbei to be the county magistrate.
Wang Muzhi chuckled, with a rather amused look in his misty eyes. Li Hui always felt that there was something different in his eyes.
Wang Muzhi said: "The two of you have taken up the post this time, and you have very heavy responsibilities. The imperial court resettled Juchao County in order to stabilize the situation in the north of the Yangtze River, appease the refugees, and ensure that they would not flee across the river and undermine the stability of the south of the Yangtze River. It has been the end of the year and the weather is very cold.
It may not be easy. Are you two prepared?"
Lu Zhan smiled and said: "Don't worry, Mr. Fu, we will definitely control the situation in Juchao County this time and never let a refugee pass through our Juchao County territory. We have already made a plan."
Wang Muzhi chuckled and said, "It turns out that County Magistrate Lu has already made preparations. Then I can feel relieved. I will wait for your good news."
Lu Zhan waved his hand and said with a smile: "Don't worry, just don't worry."
Li Hui couldn't stand listening any more and raised his hands and said: "Your Majesty, although Magistrate Lu has already made a plan, I still think that Your Majesty should tell us about the situation in Juchao County. For example, the number of refugees, the local people
situation, etc. Let us be well aware of it. As the saying goes, only by knowing yourself and the enemy can you handle things with ease."
Wang Muzhi frowned and said: "Does Magistrate Lu think this is necessary? The population and area of the county are all registered, and the number of refugees is difficult to count and changes every day. If you really want to know, then I have to ask someone to verify it.
, a lot of trouble.”
Lu Zhan glanced at Li Hui dissatisfied, waved his hand and said, "I don't think this is necessary. Won't we know the specific situation when we arrive? Why bother telling the Lord?"
Li Hui was dumbfounded. How arrogant must Lu Zhan be to be so arrogant? He didn't know the situation at all, yet he dared to speak so brazenly. I'm afraid this guy is really an idiot.
This Wang Muzhi is also a little strange. Judging from his appearance, he doesn't want to say it. Following Lu Zhan's tone, he seems to be hiding something. Under normal circumstances, when two new officials take office, they have to explain themselves. It would be better for him to provide it himself.
Even after it came out, he refused to tell me. I didn't know what kind of medicine he was selling in his gourd.
"So, I would like to ask the Lord, are all the chief clerks, county officials, yamen, soldiers and officials equipped by the imperial court complete? Are they already in the county yamen, or are they going with Magistrate Lu and the next one?" Li Hui asked in a deep voice.
Wang Muzhi chuckled and said: "Well, I was just about to tell you two. Because Juchao County is a resettled county, the imperial decree came in a hurry, and many things have not yet been completed. I originally wanted to prepare it for you.
No, the biggest trouble in this county now is the refugees going south. The imperial court strictly prohibits the refugees from crossing the river illegally. I have been busy patrolling the river banks recently and resettling the refugees. Therefore, these matters have been delayed. The county lieutenant in charge of Juchao County
The imperial court has not appointed anyone, and the county has no candidates for the time being, so it can only be done by two people. As for the government officials and soldiers, I suggest that you recruit yourself after you arrive. This is not a big deal. After a while, Teng will be able to do it.
After taking action, I will ask you to report to the imperial court to complete the configuration of your county. In short, everything will be there, and it will be ready gradually."
Li Hui felt cold in his heart. Hearing what Wang Muzhi said, it meant that there were no government officials or petty officials in the entire Juchao County. It didn't matter that the chief clerk had not failed, but the county captain was very important. The county captain was in charge of public security.
, if there are county captains, there will be manpower to protect the yamen and carry out affairs. Even if there are only twenty or thirty yamen soldiers and miscellaneous servants, it is a considerable force at hand, which is enough to cope with some situations.
However, now it seems that the Juchao County government has nothing and no manpower. How should it act? Is it possible to rely on the more than ten people brought by itself and Lu Zhan?
Moreover, if the situation mentioned by Wang Muzhi is followed, then the original county seat of Juchao County is in an unattended state, and the presence or absence of the county government is a problem. Where there is no imperial government office, there can still be
what's good?
"Li Xian Cheng, you are really worried. We have enough manpower to recruit some handymen later. What's the need to worry about?" Lu Zhan was ignorant and complained about Li Hui.
At this time, no matter what Li Hui said, he had to ask more clearly about the situation. So he continued to ask: "I dare to ask Wang Fujun, so is Juchao County now unmanned? The county affairs director
Someone must have done it. How do you collect the money and food from the court? Is there anyone in the county government office to look after it? You can't just let it go all the time."
Wang Muzhi said with a smile: "That's not true. There are people in charge of the county government office, and two old officials stay behind to take care of it. As for the collection of money and taxes, the county has its own special officials to go there, and it is enough to set up a temporary government office. You are here now, but there will be no more in the future.
This aspect is troublesome. Speaking of which, Juchao is quite far away from Liyang. The county is also quite large. If you have something to do, you can’t go back and forth in two days, which is very troublesome."
Li Hui thought to himself: It seems that there is indeed no management agency in Juchao County. Two old officials are looking after the yamen, so what's the use? I only go there when collecting money and food. I don't think I care about it at all. Then Juchao County is not enough.
Have you entered a place outside the law? I don’t know what the situation is there.
"I have a request, I wonder if you can agree to it. Can you send a small team of soldiers to accompany us to help us stabilize the situation? We will let them come back after the situation is stabilized. We are not familiar with this place.
When we arrive, it may be difficult to recruit manpower to do the work. Also, I estimate that there is nothing in the Juchao County warehouse. Can you please allocate some rice supplies and send government soldiers to escort us there. Otherwise, we will be left empty-handed and it may be difficult to do anything." Li Hui
He bowed and said.
Wang Muzhi frowned and said: "How can the troops and horses in the county be dispatched at will? Rice supplies cannot be allocated at will. These require permission and are not something you can do whatever you want. Didn't Magistrate Lu just now say that he has already prepared a countermeasure?
What's the strategy? Why does County Magistrate Li seem to be facing so many difficulties again? Magistrate Lu, are you prepared or not? Are you competent?"
Lu Zhan, who was standing by, had long been impatient. He felt that Li Hui was a bit overstepping his authority. On this occasion, he kept asking questions, but he was left alone. Moreover, Li Hui was suspected of causing trouble.
At this moment Wang Muzhi asked, Lu Zhan reprimanded Li Hui unceremoniously: "Li County Cheng, what do you mean? Are you the county magistrate or am I the county magistrate? Before he arrived in Juchao County, he had already
What else can I expect you to do in such a difficult situation? If you do this again, don't blame me for not giving you face."
Li Hui frowned and remained silent. He had nothing to say to Lu Zhan. This guy didn't know the situation at all and there was no need to argue with him.
Lu Zhan held up his hands to Wang Muzhi and said, "Master Fu, don't be the same as him. He doesn't understand the rules, so don't pay attention to him."
Wang Muzhi smiled and said: "It doesn't have to be like this. It's just that there are some things that cannot be done. It's not that I don't want to do it. Magistrate Lu, let's not mention this matter. By the way, are you leaving today or tomorrow?"
Lu Zhan said: "Let's go tomorrow. I heard that there are some famous places in Liyang and I want to visit them. It's just a day of rest. I'm afraid I'll be busy when I take office."
Wang Muzhi chuckled and nodded: "That's right, let's stay for one day. There are indeed many scenic spots in Liyang. There is the White Horse Temple and the Wujiang River Crossing. It is the Wujiang River Crossing where the King of Chu committed suicide and refused to cross the river.
There are also stones stained with the blood of King Chu Ba in the area."
Lu Zhan said happily: "You have to go and have a look. What a pity for that great beauty Yu Ji. Hahaha."