The casual life of the flat space

Shang'an County is a wonder. It is located in a remote area, right? It is rich in resources. It is sparsely populated, right? It is also a military stronghold.

So even though the entire Shang'an had less than a thousand households and could only be classified as a medium-to-lower-level county, all four chief officials were present, and there were also nearly a hundred local "temporary workers" hired by the court to govern the area.

The Great Yu Dynasty has been peaceful for nearly 400 years. Bai Tieying doesn't know about other places, but Shang'an has local forces controlling the county government positions. Recently, Xiao Taicong can actually be re-elected for nine years in Shang'an. If Xiao's brain was not a problem, according to General Zhao, he could even work until retirement.

Bai Tieying didn't know how Shang'an ended up with Xiao Taicong, the county magistrate, but judging from the luxurious decoration of the county government office that Bai Tieying saw along the way, and the relatively complete staff configuration that was introduced in advance when he and General Zhao and others came - if it weren't for Xiao Taicong, Shang'an might have been really good; if it weren't for these local forces, Shang'an might have been finished long ago.

Generally speaking, officials serving in other places rarely go against those petty officials with complicated connections. But I don't know what means Xiao Taicong used to make the other chief officials and petty officials, at least on the surface, obey him.

Of course, Xiao Taicong's popularity was not that good after all. Everyone knew that the news had come from the capital that he was going to be investigated, but they all kept it secret from Xiao Taicong's family.

If it weren't located on the border, judging from the total annual income of the merchants Bai Tieying knew, Shang'an was actually no worse than Zhongxian or Shangxian. Bai Tieying didn't know what it was like before, but during Xiao Taicong's tenure, the county government was built quite well.

It is said that "officials do not build government offices, and guests do not build inns." A county magistrate who normally stays in one place for three years will not spend the money and grain available during his term of office to let future generations "enjoy the shade." Wouldn't it be better for him to use that money to encourage farming and sericulture, build water conservancy projects, accumulate political achievements, and rise to a high position?

But Xiao Taicong was as eccentric as Shang'an County. Not only did he build a house for himself, he also made the county government office as comfortable and beautiful as possible. When General Zhao mentioned this, he could not find any fault with him.

As Bai Tieying gradually got to know the buildings here, and heard General Zhao's praise, she realized that the screen wall in front of Shang'an County Government Office, which was set up to ward off evil spirits, had killed countless middle and lower-level counties in seconds.

What's more, after the screen wall, there is the county government gatehouse and the land god temple, which are buildings that are generally not found in medium and lower-level counties. There is even a yamen god temple, a building that can only be understood but not described.

The main hall, also known as the People's Hall, has three classes of Zao, Zhuang, and Kuai on both sides, and six rooms of Li, Hu, Li, Bing, Xing, and Gong. The east wing is where the county magistrate and the chief clerk work and store general information, while the west wing is where the county lieutenant and the clerk stay and the prison where the prisoners are held.

Behind the lobby were the Military Equipment Bureau and the Jiage Warehouse, which were important places in the government, so two separate gatehouses were set up. The sign on the gatehouse that read "No entry for idle people" was aimed at everyone who should not stay here.

Walking through the long stone corridor in the middle of the bureau, you will enter the second hall area. General Zhao is now resting in the Qing Pavilion of the second hall. It is said that Xiao Taicong really built this place as his own home. Not to mention the interior decoration, the floor area alone is three times that before he took office.

Generally, the hall of a county with less than 500 households, or even a county with more than 4,000 households, "has multiple functions". Every year, various ceremonies, hearings, welcoming and seeing off superiors, and receiving imperial edicts are all held in this place.

But Xiao Taicong was not like that. He moved the civil cases under trial to the Second Hall, and the Qingge where he usually worked and rested was right next to it. This made some things self-evident and intriguing. And General Zhao also followed the convention when he discussed disaster relief matters with the county government officials and put them in the Second Hall. So when he wanted to rest, he naturally came to the Qingge.

Normally, General Zhao was appointed as the acting county magistrate, which was considered as overstepping his authority and was a waste of talent. Although civil and military officials were not as incompatible as fire and water, they should definitely not be mixed together.

But who could blame it? The previous county magistrate had resigned, the county lieutenant's leg injury had not healed, and the chief clerk was a tax-collecting officer, so no one knew how the people who came to investigate reported. General Zhao was a fifth-rank commander-in-chief, and he was also serving as the acting county magistrate.

Because he was a military officer, it was more appropriate to call him "Zhixianshi", or "Zhixian" as the common people called him. But this was definitely a temporary measure, and even General Zhao himself said it was "the acting county magistrate", so everyone called it that.

There are three ways for Emperor Yu to enter the government: the imperial examination, the imperial examination and the imperial appointment. The official of Ai Zhubu was originally called "specially mentioned" - "Any scholar who has been repeatedly rejected by the Ministry of Rites or failed the imperial examination, when he meets the emperor's personal adviser, his name will be recorded and allowed to take the exam directly, so it is called "specially mentioned".

What General Zhao didn't say was that it was originally a means for the court to show favor to scholars, but later it gradually became a "Jinna" official who could be appointed by paying money, but there were not many people like Ai Zhubu who had real power.

Although the timing is right now and he has the official status as a guarantee, it is no easier for Ai Zhubu to become the acting county magistrate than to take the imperial examination. It depends on whether his family's connections are as strong as Xiao Taicong's.

As the acting county magistrate, General Zhao could gain many benefits during the power vacuum period. On a daily basis, Ai Zhubu would be in charge of government affairs, so this position was quite good. He did not care who would be the successor to the county magistrate.

Ai Zhubu wanted to move up in the career ladder, so he was so active in seizing power, but he was not stupid. For such a major event, any relative would rush to the west as a unit, and naturally he would invite General Zhao to come as soon as possible.

General Zhao was a military officer after all, and was not familiar with how to organize matters such as pest control. So when he asked questions and no one answered, and the people who were called spoke in a confusing manner, he became a little unable to suppress his anger, so he took General Li to Qingge to rest.

As soon as he came in, he heard the doorman say that someone named Qiu Ge'er wanted to see him. He was wondering why Mu Qingqiu came. Could it be that something went wrong with Xin Sanbai? Unexpectedly, Bai Tieying came to announce good news just like the magpie.

So General Zhao thought about it and decided: No matter whether Bai Tieying's method is useful or not, we have to use it! Because they haven't come up with a solution for more than an hour, and another 49 days won't be enough for them to argue.

And the reason they were so good at talking was because the current acting county magistrate was General Zhao. In order to save face, General Zhao quickly explained everything from the county government structure to various tricks to Bai Tieying, so that she could grasp the tricks when she persuaded the county lieutenant, the chief clerk and others later. In Bai Tieying's original words, it was "setting the right rhythm"!