Flourishing of the Ming Dynasty Novel - Chapter 102

Chapter 102 Pay a Visit to the Magistrate
After entering Datong City, Lu Zhen did not directly rush to the magistrate’s office. Instead, he first settled Chu Yunrong and Lin Lie into the inn and asked Lin Lie to take care of them. Only then did he accompany Li Xian and Lin Lie to the magistrate’s office and pay his respects to his immediate superior, Shen Tianxing.

As for Hu Sui, who was actually closer to him, Lu Zhen naturally had to pay his respects when the time came, but after all, there was no direct contact on official business between the two sides, so he could only wait for later.

The structure of the magistrate’s yamen was not too different from that of the county government. It also passed through the eight-character wall. After entering the gate, there were buildings like the lobby and the second hall. The only difference was that they occupied a larger area and looked more dignified. In fact, almost all the yamens of the Great Ming Dynasty were printed in the same mold. These were the rules laid down by Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, who was obviously obsessive-compulsive. His desire for control could cover almost all aspects of the work and life of the officials and citizens of the country.

Apart from the many yamens that were regulated by the structure, the old buildings inside were also the same. Most of these yamen buildings were built during the founding of the Great Ming Empire. It had been almost a hundred years since then, but the officials had no intention of repairing them. This naturally made them look old, or even somewhat old.

The reason for this was because there was a hidden rule in the officialdom that officials did not cultivate. There were naturally many reasons why there was such an unwritten rule. However, there were two main reasons. First, the money paid by the Xiu Yamen would cause people to talk about officials using people’s lipids and ointments randomly. No matter how greedy you are secretly, you will still keep a low profile in this regard. Otherwise, you will be giving someone a hand.

Secondly, it is because of the mobility of officials. The Great Ming Magistrate’s term was as short as two to three years, and as long as eight to nine years. During this period, he could be transferred elsewhere at any time. However, repairing the yamen would take quite a while. If he had just spent a lot of effort repairing the yamen and was about to leave, wouldn’t he be marrying someone else?

Therefore, based on the principle that one more thing was better than one less thing, there was such a rule in Great Ming’s official circles that officials did not cultivate. Whether it was the rich Jiangnan or the remote border, almost all of the yamens looked the same.

However, although it looked old, the rules in the yamen were still strict. Especially in a border area like Datong, the guards here were even tighter. Even the guards outside the magistrate’s yamen were not ordinary government servants. Instead, they were soldiers who were in high spirits.

Standing in front of Lu Zhen were four military men who were holding spears and standing straight like javelins. When they saw him coming, they looked at him with vigilant eyes. Only after Lu Zhen handed over the official credentials did they relax and let him in. As for Li Xian and the other two, they could only wait outside the door.

After explaining his intentions at the porter’s office, Lu Zhen was led by an errand boy to a side hall in the second hall. Although he was ordered to come by the magistrate, the magistrate was usually busy with business, so it was naturally impossible to see him immediately. He could only report the famous assassin and the things he wanted to do first, and then wait for the summons.

After entering the side hall, Lu Zhen saw a few green-robed officials waiting for tea. Evidently, these people were also here to work for the Prefecture Government, asking to see the Prefecture Magistrate. So he cupped his hands and bowed to them, then picked a chair and sat down.

Just as a 40-year-old official was about to ask Lu Zhen about his identity, a clerk walked over and asked for a thorn and official document from Lu Zhen as usual. Lu Zhen didn’t dare to neglect and hurriedly handed over the prepared name thorn. The man lowered his head and revealed a peculiar expression, “So it’s Lord Guang Ling County Magistrate Lu. I’m sorry.”

When the others heard this name, their faces slightly changed as they looked at Lu Zhen with admiration. Now, in terms of who had the strongest reputation in Shanxi, it was time for him to count as County Magistrate Lu Zhen Lu. Apart from leading people to block Meng Ren’s attack, the news that the Imperial Court wanted to summon him to the capital had also spread in the official circles, so everyone naturally had to look at him differently.

Lu Zhen only smiled modestly at this, “A little bit of fame isn’t worth mentioning.” As he spoke, he handed over the official document in his hand and stuffed a piece of broken silver without a trace.

The clerk took the document and the silver and found that it weighed four to five coins. He was delighted and smiled even more beautifully. “County magistrate Lu is our model for officials. I naturally respect him from the bottom of my heart. Furthermore, my magistrate has mentioned you several times. I’m sure he will be summoned soon.” With that, he bowed slightly and retreated.

When the others saw this, they knew what Lu Zhen had done. They unconsciously looked at the young county magistrate in astonishment and marveled in their hearts. They had been in the bureaucracy for a long time, so they naturally knew about this kind of thing. However, they didn’t expect a young man who didn’t have much experience and had just made a contribution to know this kind of thing. It was truly amazing.

They didn’t know that Lu Zhen was a transmigrator with hundreds of years more knowledge than them, and knew some of the dao in the officialdom. The so-called King of Hell likes to see little ghosts difficult to pester. These scribes look inconspicuous and don’t have any power. But if you don’t take care of them, you, an outsider subordinate official, will probably have to suffer at their hands.

Not to mention anything else, if a non-local official who asked to see the magistrate did not have these clerks to help him deliver the items in time, he would probably have to wait in this small hall for several days. The magistrate might not know about this, but at that time, you will have to say something about your suffering.

This was indeed an official malady, but it was also a helpless move. Who told the Great Ancestor Emperor to set a low salary for the officials? If they didn’t get money from other places, they would have to drink the northwest wind. Lu Zhen wasn’t someone like Hai Rui who didn’t eat the world’s fireworks. He naturally knew how to adapt and would do some harmless little things according to the situation.

After a moment of hesitation, the officials came over to greet Lu Zhen. Lu Zhen did not put on airs. He smiled and communicated with these officials who were actually inferior to him in terms of rank, such as county government officials, county magistrates, and even dian shi. He said it was a pleasure to meet them and said a few more modest words.

In this way, time passed quickly. Half an hour passed like this. At this moment, the clerk walked in. When everyone saw him, the topic that had just started stopped. They all looked at him with anticipation, hoping that they could be called to see the magistrate.

The clerk came to Lu Zhen with a smile, “County Magistrate Lu, the magistrate welcomes you.” Although he was the last to arrive here, there was no first-come-first-served rule on this matter, and no one could express their dissatisfaction. Who told him to give the most meaning? As a result, under the rather complicated gaze of a group of officials, Lu Zhen followed the clerk to the public house belonging to the Second Hall of Magistrate Shen’s Mansion.

Shortly after the other party went in to report, a sturdy official in his forties with big ears and a rosy face smiled as he welcomed him out. He wore a red official robe and a Yunyan patch on his chest. It was precisely the clothing of a rank four official. According to the regulation of the official uniforms of the Great Ming Dynasty, the officials of the fourth grade and above were dressed in red official uniforms, while the officials of the fifth grade and below were dressed in turquoise green official uniforms. As for the tonic on his chest, there were many different styles. The civil servants were birds, the military officers were beasts, and the grades were different. Therefore, some people said that the civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty were a group of “beasts dressed in clothes.”

Lu Zhen did not expect that the magistrate would actually come out to welcome him. He hurriedly took a few steps forward and bowed to salute his subordinates. He said, “Guang Ling County Magistrate Lu Zhen greets the magistrate. How can Xiaoguan He De trouble the magistrate to come out to welcome him? He is truly terrified.”

Seeing him behave like this, the smile on Shen Tianxing’s face thickened a little. This young man really knew how to be an official and understand things! Actually, he knew that Lu Zhen was a smart person from the fact that he could see him so quickly. He naturally knew what those people below were doing, but he didn’t say anything. After all, many things usually depended on the clerks. They took the opportunity to earn some extra money for themselves. As long as it wasn’t too excessive, the magistrate would naturally turn a blind eye.

“County magistrate Lu, don’t be too polite. Come in and talk.” After Xu Fu helped him, Shen Tianxing gave Lu Zhen into his own public house. After the two of them took their seats, two cups of tea were delivered. Lu Zhen did not know that this treatment was already extremely high. Normally, subordinate officials could only stand below to reply to the magistrate, let alone have tea to drink.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Shen Tianxing smiled and said, “Speaking of which, this official really wants to see you, Magistrate Lu. I should have seen you in the next year, but it was not until half a year later that we were able to see each other.”

What he was talking about was the last time Lu Zhen was supposed to come here to report on his work. Lu Zhen hurriedly apologized and said, “I hope Lord Prefect doesn’t blame me. At that time, there was a villain who wanted to kill XiaGuan. XiaGuan didn’t dare to leave GuangLing lightly. That’s why …”

“Hmph, this official also knows about this matter. Those thieves are truly bold to the extreme! County Magistrate Lu, this is not a bad move. This official will not blame you.”

“Thank you, Sir, for understanding this lowly official’s difficulties.” Lu Zhen hurriedly thanked him.

Afterwards, the two of them got to the point, but it was Shen Tianxing who said that Lu Zhen would listen. The former only said that he would let Lu Zhen rest assured that he would go to Beijing, and that he would definitely help look after the work in hand. He also asked him to tell the Imperial Court more about Shanxi’s current financial difficulties, so that the Imperial Court could give Datong more money to subsidize Yunyun.

Lu Zhen naturally agreed. Actually, he didn’t even know what to say. This kind of thing was just a promise.

Therefore, when Magistrate Shen asked him if he had any difficulties, Lu Zhen probed and asked, “There is one thing that I really don’t know. I hope Lord Prefect can help me resolve it. That is, who did this transfer order come from? With a little credit, I really don’t dare to think that the Imperial Court will take it so seriously.”