My brother is so cunning

Chapter 980 Political Harmony and Social Stability

Yun Zhongzi had a rich experience in worldly cultivation. During the Yin-Shang period and the early Zhou Dynasty, he traveled among the people many times in disguise as a wandering Taoist.

He had visited the government offices of both the Shang and Zhou dynasties, and even went directly into the Shang palace, telling the palace guards that he was visiting King Zhou. He also witnessed King Zhou presenting him with a pine wood sword, intending to use the sword's energy to kill Daji.

This three-story brick building, the county government of the autonomous region, was the busiest of all the government offices he had ever visited.

Since ancient times, people have always feared officials. Unless forced to, ordinary people do not want to see officials.

Yet this small building was bustling with people, with a constant stream of people coming and going. Despite being a government building, there were no yamen runners setting up checkpoints at the entrance, and anyone could come and go as they pleased.

He mingled with the crowd and walked through the open main entrance of the small building. He was greeted by a spacious hall, and the first thing he saw was the five large red characters "Serve All Beings" hanging on the wall directly opposite the entrance.

There were many wooden tables in the hall, and many young people around seventeen or eighteen years old sat in front of them, waiting for people who came to handle their business.

Different signs stood beside the wooden table, some saying "Civil Affairs," some "Agricultural Affairs," some "Industry and Commerce," and some "Education"...

Some of the people entering the hall easily found the corresponding desks by following the signs and sat down to talk with the young man, while others were illiterate or were visiting for the first time and didn't know where to go.

At the entrance, there was a clever young man carrying a kettle. Every now and then, he would take a ceramic bowl from a nearby table, pour tea into it, and hand it to the bewildered visitors. He would then ask them in a gentle voice what they wanted to do and guide them to the corresponding table.

Yun Zhongzi noticed that the officials in this government office were all teenagers, both men and women, and none of them were very old. However, they were quite mature and experienced in their speech and work. They received the public, explained things patiently, wrote and calculated, and then stamped the red seal. The whole process was orderly.

The immortal had exceptional hearing; with just a little concentration, he could hear the conversations at every wooden table in the vast and noisy hall.

One of the visitors at the wooden table was an elderly woman with a cane. She shakily pulled a cloth bag from her bosom, took out a crumpled piece of paper, and handed it over.

The young man who was handling her affairs glanced at her and said, "Grandma Zhang, you are so old and your grandson is so young. You don't need to come all the way here to collect your welfare every time. I'll register you and arrange for someone to deliver it to your home."

"How could I possibly accept that? I'm already extremely ashamed to receive government funding for nothing. If it weren't for my poor grandson, I would have long since given up on living and would never dare to trouble the government to deliver the money to my door."

"Grandma, it's alright. You can receive the subsidy if you meet the policy requirements. I'll register you right away, and you can just wait at home next month."

"Oh, thank you so much, young sir."

"Grandma, you're too kind. Just call me by my name."

……

Similar conversations were taking place at various tables. Some people were there to register their household registration, some were applying for loans for seeds and farming tools, some were asking the government to send someone to check on pests and diseases in their fields, some were looking to start a small business and were there to apply for a business license, and some had come to register after hearing that the government was recruiting laborers to dig irrigation ditches...

Yun Zhongzi had seen the government offices of the Yin Shang and Zhou dynasties. Compared to those two dynasties, the government offices here were incomparably more honest and diligent.

The Buddhist paradises on earth preached by Western religions and Buddhas probably don't even reach this level of efficient and incorruptible administration.

Upon entering, he saw the plaque that read "Serving All People" and initially dismissed it, assuming it was just for show, like the plaques in the government offices that read "A Clear Mirror Hangs High" or "Upright and Honest." But after living for thousands of years, he never expected to actually witness a government that genuinely served the people.

This is far more impressive than a so-called upright official resolving a few wrongful cases; it takes care of almost every aspect of people's lives and manages their livelihoods in an orderly manner.

What's most remarkable is that these officials, perhaps because of their young age, really don't have any airs of authority. They treat visiting people with utmost courtesy, just like juniors treat their elders, showing humility and politeness.

Based on Yun Zhongzi's thousands of years of experience, with such a government in place, the people of this place are probably the happiest people in the mortal world.

Recalling the tyranny of King Zhou in the past, when the people dared to be angry but dared not speak out; now, the people dare to think and act, and the government is willing to pave roads and build bridges. Such a scene is truly like a change of heaven and earth.

But Yun Zhongzi remembered that when he visited the government of the Great Zhou Dynasty two hundred years ago, he did not see such excellent officials. The people were indeed living better than during the reign of King Zhou, but the improvement was limited.

The people of the vassal states, in particular, suffered even more than during the reign of King Zhou, when there were hundreds of vassal states of the Great Zhou, some of whom were of good character and others were of bad character.

After all, during the reign of King Zhou, there were also loyal and virtuous ministers in the Shang Dynasty, the most typical representatives of which were the Wen family father and son, Bigan, Weizi Qi, Jizi, Shang Rong and other virtuous people.

Yun Zhongzi initially did not support supporting the Zhou dynasty to overthrow the Shang dynasty. He tried to punish only the ringleaders and eliminate the fox demon that brought disaster to the country, but unfortunately, he failed.

It was precisely because he had witnessed the wise ministers of the Shang Dynasty that he still held a glimmer of hope for the future of the Shang Dynasty. If King Zhou had deposed the evil concubine and repented, with the assistance of these wise ministers, the Shang Dynasty might not have been unable to be revived.

"The people are fortunate; our fight was not in vain."

Yun Zhongzi murmured to himself, "I never imagined that after two hundred years, the Great Zhou would be so well-governed and harmonious. Even a remote town of a vassal state has been governed to such an extent."

Having just emerged from seclusion in the secret realm, Yun Zhongzi was unaware that the Great Zhou Dynasty had already fallen. He still believed that everything he had seen was due to the merits of the Zhou royal court in accordance with Heaven's will and the people's will.

"Master, you've been standing at the door for a while now. May I ask what business you have with the government?"

The government receptionist, after welcoming and seeing off many people, finally found a moment of free time and noticed Yun Zhongzi, who was dressed as a Taoist priest.

"Are you here to register your Taoist household registration? There is no Taoist temple here yet. You can go to Bogu City, which is 200 miles to the north. There is a Taoist temple there."

"I am not here on business, but to pay my respects to the local official. I have important matters to discuss with him. Please inform him."

Yun Zhongzi smiled and replied, "I just wonder if it would be convenient for me, a mere mountain cultivator, to bother you, sir?"

"You wish to see County Magistrate Pu?"

The receptionist hesitated for a moment, frowned and thought for a moment before saying, "Is there something you need that requires County Chief Pu's personal attention? Why don't you tell me? Perhaps I can help you solve it."

Although he was politely refused, Yun Zhongzi was not impatient. He actually disguised himself as an ordinary Taoist and took the liberty of requesting an audience with a prefectural official. The official's response was the most courteous he had ever encountered in his thousands of years of immortal life.

(End of this chapter)