My father is Jiajing

Chapter 415: Hangzhou Officials’ Thoughts

Governor's Office, Hangzhou, Zhejiang.

After Hu Zongxian was appointed Governor-General of Zhejiang, he went straight to Zhejiang with the "trump card order" bestowed by the emperor, shouldering the heavy responsibility of sorting out the overall situation in the southeast.

When Hu Zongxian arrived in Hangzhou City, officials of all ranks in the city gathered on their own initiative at the road that Hu Zongxian had to take to enter the city to welcome the governor who had parachuted in from the capital.

Hu Zongxian also knew that this was the unspoken rule in the officialdom, but the current situation was clearly a critical moment.

If he really had any excessive interactions with these officials in front of the city gate, and the news spread to the capital, it would not be good for his official reputation.

So before entering the city, Hu Zongxian temporarily changed his route and entered the city from another gate.

After he arrived at the Governor-General's Office, Hu Zongxian immediately enshrined the "Trump Card Token" which symbolized his power of life and death as Governor-General in the main hall.

Then Hu Zongxian issued an order as the governor, summoning all officials of Hangzhou, both big and small, to the governor's office for discussions.

The Hangzhou officials who were waiting for Hu Zongxian at the city gate were all stunned when they heard that the governor had arrived at the Governor's Office in the city.

They had been waiting here since early morning, but they had not expected that the Governor had already entered the city.

This made all the officials, big and small, feel extremely nervous, because something like this had never happened before.

Is this new governor not satisfied with their work?
So for a moment, no one dared to hesitate, and they rushed to their respective sedan chairs and hurriedly headed towards the Governor's Office.

Before these people came, Hu Zongxian carefully took out the secret letter that Zhu Zaigui had given him in the capital. Hu Zongxian opened the secret letter carefully.

Now he has been branded as Prince Yu, so even though Hu Zongxian was nervous, he still risked great disapproval and secretly opened the secret letter, wanting to see what instructions Zhu Zaigui gave him in the letter.

After some careful and cautious actions, Hu Zongxian finally opened the secret letter.

After unpacking, Hu Zongxian carefully looked inside and outside to see if there was any room near him.

After making sure everything was safe, Hu Zongxian gently took out the letter from the secret letter.

Then he carefully unfolded it with his back to his body. However, the moment Hu Zongxian unfolded the paper of the secret letter, an unprecedented look of surprise appeared on his face?

Hu Zongxian looked left and right, up and down, and looked at it in the light, but he didn't see a single word on the secret letter.

Hu Zongxian couldn't help but wonder: "Does it require a special method to see the contents of the secret letter?"

So Hu Zongxian took the kettle from the room and gently wet the paper of the secret letter with the warm water in the kettle, but still not a single word appeared on the secret letter.

"Do we need to roast it over fire?"

Hu Zongxian immediately lit the candles in the room and put the wet secret letter paper on them, but even though the paper was almost burned, not a single word appeared.

At this time, Hu Zongxian was also a little confused.

Did the prince really just give me a blank sheet of paper?
But what does this white paper mean?

Hu Zongxian couldn't figure out the secret for a moment, so he carefully folded the secret letter paper and put it into the secret letter envelope.

At this time, the officials of Hangzhou, both big and small, who had hurried in from the city gate, finally arrived at the Governor's Office. The official in charge was the Hangzhou prefect Niu Zhiyuan.

Niu Zhiyuan hurried into the Governor's Office and said politely to the guards, "Please inform the Zhongcheng that the Hangzhou prefect Niu Zhiyuan and the officials of Hangzhou would like to see the Zhongcheng."

These guards were all brought by Hu Zongxian from the capital. They looked at Niu Zhiyuan and replied, "The chancellor has ordered that no one will be received today. If you have any official business, you can first deliver the documents and then wait for an audience."

Niu Zhiyuan was stunned. He didn't expect that after running all the way to the Governor's Office, he was still turned away.

This made Niu Zhiyuan and other officials feel uneasy.

They really have no idea what the new governor's plan is.

But as subordinates, they could not complain, nor could they ignore the governor's orders.

Therefore, Niu Zhiyuan and others could only put on a respectful attitude in front of the Governor-General's Office and bowed to it, which was regarded as their loyalty in welcoming Hu Zongxian to his new office.

Niu Zhiyuan and several close officials also leaned against each other on their way back.

One of them asked in confusion: "What does the new Zhongcheng mean?"

Niu Zhiyuan did not speak, and another official continued: "Maybe the new chancellor is intentionally keeping a distance from us. You know, Zhang Butang and Governor Li were executed by the court for their failure to suppress the Japanese invaders."

"Now that the new chancellor has arrived, he must be hesitant, worried that we are trying to trick him and make him follow in the footsteps of Zhang Butang and Governor Li."

Another official also said, "What kind of talk is that? How can we local officials be so good at putting him in a bad light? We were not the ones who instigated the incident between Zhang Butang and Governor Li. If we had the ability to do this, wouldn't we have been officials in Beijing long ago?"

At this time, another official suddenly laughed and said, "Would you be willing to work as an official in Beijing? They are just some low-paying jobs. How can you live a carefree life in the countryside?"

Niu Zhiyuan listened to these people's nonsense, his face darkened, "Enough, shut up! What are you talking about? Hu Zhongcheng has just arrived, and he may not be used to the local climate, so he didn't meet us right away. What are you guessing?"

"Moreover, the capital is now completely different from what it used to be. What you thought was a cheap government office may have become a popular place."

Niu Zhiyuan's insights are different from those officials. Niu Zhiyuan is also a Jinshi from the two lists, and he has his own connections and contacts. It's just because of bad luck that he was sent to serve as an official in a remote area.

Otherwise, Niu Zhiyuan would also be willing to be a seventh-rank censor.

After all, that is the real ladder to heaven.

It is much better than his current position as a fifth-rank prefect.

He also envied Hu Zongxian's career path.

Hu Zongxian was also a Jinshi with average ranking and was sent out to become a county magistrate. However, he was lucky and suddenly became a censor of the Censorate. He then made meritorious services in Xuanda and Huguang, and finally he was promoted to the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture.

Now he has transformed himself into the Governor-General of Zhejiang, holding the military and political power in the southeast. It would be a lie to say that Niu Zhiyuan was not envious of this trajectory.

Even if the current Governor of Zhejiang is a trap, Niu Zhiyuan is willing to jump into it if given the chance.

But unfortunately, he no longer has anyone to rely on, so he can only hope that he can be appreciated by another noble person, take one more step up, and overcome the hurdle of becoming a prefect. He would be satisfied then.

(End of this chapter)