On the big river, the waves hit the shore and the turbid waves rolled.
Wei Chen boarded the embankment to inspect. Everywhere he went, he squatted down and inspected it carefully. From time to time, he asked Gu Tingye to take out a hoe and dig open the embankment surface on the spot to see if there was any jerry-rigged work such as "head shaving and pedicure". Sun Zhuo watched from behind and was secretly frightened. Lord Zhizhou's move was too serious. Fortunately, he had built the river with Egg in his hands beforehand and didn't dare to do anything on the dam. Otherwise, he might have made a fool of himself on the spot.<
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Soon Gu Tingye reported to Wei Chen: "Xingyun, this outer embankment has undoubtedly been recently renovated. I found several places on the embankment surface to dig down. They are all good stones and materials, and there are no problems with the embankment construction."
When Sun Zhuo saw this, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief, patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, Lord Zhizhou. I will guarantee with my head on my neck. This embankment is as solid as gold. It can guarantee the peace of the people of Yuzhou for thirty years!"
An old river worker on the side also helped and said: "Master Zhizhou, according to the rules of the Ministry of Works for building embankments, every foot of empty soil must be compacted to seven inches to make a good embankment.
Sir, the amount of silver you appropriated for the river work is sufficient, and the food you provided is good. The people of the country worked hard to compact the one foot of empty soil to six inches. It is already a rare and good embankment."
Wei Chen nodded when he heard this and looked at Sun Zhuo in front of him with interest.
As far as he knew, Sun Zhuo had a poor background and was just a civil servant, but he had been in the local area for decades and had rich experience at the grassroots level.
Wei Chen visited Mi County several times, and although he always talked to Sun Zhuo as an official, he still gained a lot.
Wei Chen also knew something about Sun Zhuo's past deeds. In one sentence, he said, small virtues are detrimental, but great virtues are not. He is quite capable of getting things done, so he can be called a Xunli.
Although Wei Chen himself was a member of Qingliu, it was only when he went to the local government that he understood the meaning of "emphasis on officials and underestimation of Qingliu".
If you really want to do things, you still have to appoint officials like Sun Zhuo. Although they are a little slippery, they can get things done as long as the officials are willing to put in some effort and encouragement.
After all, in Yuzhou, there are very few officials who can have both ability and political integrity. Wei Chen's principle of hiring people is to put talent first, followed by virtue.
Sun Zhuo is a typical example.
In fact, what Wei Chen didn't know was that Sun Zhuo also admired him very much.
Generally speaking, Zhengyin officials live in prefectural offices and cannot go out through the front door.
But Wei Chen is different.
Not to mention anything else, in the past three months alone, he made five or six trips to Mi County.
Based on Wei Chen's diligent attitude towards political affairs and his hands-on attitude, Sun Zhuo can guarantee that there will not be many such officials in the entire Zhou Dynasty.
……
After inspecting the thirty-mile embankment, it was getting late, so Sun Zhuo invited Wei Chen to a village by the embankment.
This village was requisitioned, but everything was arranged in an orderly manner. The cook outside was already preparing dinner and roasting a whole lamb in the yard.
The resting room had been uninhabited for a long time, and there was a slight odor in the room that was not easy to detect. Wei Chen didn't pay attention, but Sun Zhuo immediately called the maid, brought the incense box and incense burner, and incense to drive away the smell.
Sun Zhuodao: "Your Excellency has come to Mi County to inspect the river embankment several times. I thought that the next time your Excellency came, I would have to find a place to shelter from the wind and rain, so I prepared this Zhuangzi in advance. I didn't expect to send it so quickly."
It comes in handy."
"Zhixian Sun is attentive."
Wei Chen smiled and nodded, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart. An official like Sun Zhuo, who was capable of doing things and always thinking about Shangguan, wasted decades as a county magistrate just because of his family background. This shows the gold content of the Jinshi title.
!
However, if Sun Zhuo is obedient, Wei Chen can consider adding a few points to his evaluation and push him to a higher level. After all, the achievement of building the embankment alone is enough to advance to the first level.
Wei Chen rested for a while, took a few sips of hot tea, and then said slowly: "Since you're here, let's handle official business here."
"Yes."
Sun Zhuo responded quickly and ordered his clerks to bring account books to Wei Chen for review. These were all detailed accounts of Hegong.
The state government allocated 35,000 taels of silver one after another, and Wei Chen naturally wanted to find out where all the money was spent.
Wei Chen first asked his confidant Fang Yuan to come forward and check the accounts. Fang Yuan carefully read through the accounts and marked a few places with a pen, which were all errors and omissions in the accounts.
Sun Zhuo saw it clearly from the side, he was so frightened that he was sweating profusely and felt uneasy in his heart.
He knows best about the accounts he makes himself, and there are indeed some false statements in the accounts.
He thought he had done it perfectly and could hide it from Wei Chen. Although Wei Chen was very capable, he had only been an official for more than a year and he still couldn't develop a sharp eye.
However, I didn't expect that Wei Chen would have such a powerful staff member who could see through his tricks at a glance.
Seeing Sun Zhuozhan's trembling look, Wei Chen couldn't help but smile and said: "It's just official business, Magistrate Sun doesn't need to be so nervous. However, I won't write off these false accounts for you."
"The lower official deserves to die!"
Sun Zhuo was sweating profusely when he heard this, and quickly knelt down to apologize to Wei Chen.
Wei Chen chuckled: "You should understand that although these hundreds of taels of silver are not much, every cent is taken from the people's fat and the people's anointing. It should be taken from the people and used for the people..."
Sun Zhuo heard the coldness in Wei Chen's tone and said hurriedly: "I understand, I understand, I will definitely make up for the falsehoods in the accounts!"
Wei Chen nodded with satisfaction. It was easy to deal with smart people. He softened his tone and said: "I am the governor of Yuzhou. What I want is not an honest but useless official, but an official who can really get things done.
Your achievements in river management are all seen by this official. During this year's evaluation, I will recommend you to the court. Officials move every three years, and you have been a county magistrate for 12 years. It is time for you to move up.
Moved."
Sun Zhuo was overjoyed when he heard this. He burst into tears and said, "I would like to thank Lord Zhizhou for your kindness."
At this time, the roasted whole lamb was also brought up. The maids carried the food boxes into the house and opened them one by one. The aroma was fragrant.
Wei Chen then asked Sun Zhuo to get up and eat with him. The meal was a feast for both host and guest.
The next day, Wei Chen and Gu Tingye left Mi County in a carriage.
On the way, seeing that Gu Tingye was a little unhappy, Wei Chen couldn't help but curiously asked: "What's on your mind, Zhong Huai?"
Gu Tingye held it in all night, and finally couldn't hold it in anymore, and asked in confusion: "Although Sun Zhuo has extraordinary political achievements, his conduct is lacking. Why do you recommend him to the higher-ups for such an official? Xingyun?"
Only then did Wei Chen understand Gu Tingye's confusion, and he smiled and said: "In the past, Chen Ping stole gold from his sister-in-law, and Liu Bang used it, and the world praised it, why?
Just because it was a time of war, it should be based on talents. Only in a time of great governance can we proceed to discuss virtue. Zhonghuai, do you think that the great Zhou Dynasty today can be called a time of great governance?"
A time of great rule?
Gu Tingye thought of many things in an instant.
The Khitan is eyeing you in the north, the newly rising parties in the west, the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun that have long been defeated by their opponents, and the treacherous situation in Bianjing City...