Flourishing of the Ming Dynasty Novel - Chapter 67

Chapter 67 There Will Be a Discussion Field
Time flowed slowly but surely.

The winter snow melted and the spring breeze blew on his face. Even Guangling County, which was located in the north, had entered spring. It was now March.

Throughout the first and second months, the most talked about in the county were the collapsed Zheng Clan and Xiao Mo, and the county government was really busy for a while. But after the spring, everyone’s attention was diverted from these matters, and all of them fell on the matter of spring plowing, which was more relevant to them.

Only then did Lu Zhen, who was in the county magistrate’s position, realize that the burden on his shoulders was really not light. Taking back the county magistrate’s power from Zheng Fu and the others was not the end, but the beginning.

As a county magistrate, not only did he have to fight against the uneasy subordinates below, he also had to deal with all sorts of trivial matters. And after entering the spring, the county magistrate’s biggest thing was to persuade Nongsang.

As a farming world, spring sowing was the most important thing in the year. Whether it was the capital, Jiangnan, or Guang Ling, who was far away from the border, there was no difference at all. This was also the key to assessing the excellence of an official in the future.

In order to encourage the people to have a variety of food, Lu Zhen, as county magistrate, must create a more stable environment for them. During this period of time, not only will he not accept all kinds of litigation cases, he will also take the initiative to go down to demonstrate and offer sympathy, so as to achieve a more powerful publicity effect.

This will make our county magistrate Lu suffer. As a young man with four possessions in the 21st century, and as a young man with ambitions who grew up in the city, he sometimes yearns to live in the countryside, but when he reaches the field, he will be completely blind. The only thing he could do was to talk nonsense with the peasants, which instead delayed their farming time.

But even if it was just a show, County Magistrate Lu had to rush to the fields of the townships every day. Otherwise, if someone found out that he had complained to the magistrate’s yamen, he would suffer.

As a result, Lu Zhen had been leaving early and returning late for half a month since March, running between the fields and the county government. There was almost no time to pay attention to other matters. Fortunately, the county magistrate and the master book were still there to take care of the daily affairs of the county government, so there were no mistakes.

Fortunately, Lu Zhen had already established a high prestige in the county government because of his previous thunderbolt methods. Therefore, even if he was not in the yamen now, the two officials did not dare to take advantage of this opportunity to gain real power. Instead, they would take out the important matters alone and make a decision after the county magistrate returned.

That evening, Lu Zhen, who had returned with the sunset clouds, saw two officials waiting for him in the second hall. At this moment, his body was exhausted, and his boots and clothes were stained with wet mud from the fields. When he saw them, he sighed, “Is there anything else I need to decide? Just wait for a moment, and then I’ll change my clothes.”

The two of them only said yes, but they also showed some respect on their faces.

Actually, they were quite impressed by Lu Zhen’s current practice outside. Previous county magistrates had also gone deep into the following practices, but they only insisted on doing so for three to five days at most. But now this county magistrate Lu has been in the countryside for half a month, his drive is really admirable.

The heavens are pitiful. Lu Zhen really doesn’t know that he only needs to mean it for a moment. Otherwise, how could he be so busy all the time? He didn’t know that although there was a written rule that the county magistrate had to set an example to persuade Nongsang, everyone still had a way to deal with it, and that was to pretend to be sick.

Many officials would excuse their discomfort after the first few days and then stay in the county yamen without going down to the fields. This has long been a hidden rule in the bureaucracy. No one will use this against any official, but it will not be recorded in historical documents. As a result, Lu Zhen, a newbie in the bureaucracy, could only be foolishly busy.

After a while, Lu Zhen put on a clean set of clothes and came to his public house in the second hall. At this time, the two officials were already waiting outside.

After sitting down and drinking a mouthful of hot tea, Lu Zhen exhaled a mouthful of turbid air and asked, “What’s the matter with you two today? Didn’t you say before that you can just leave the documents for general business? This official will take the time to read the reply.” In a few months, he had fully integrated into his current identity, speaking and behaving more like an official of this era.

“Your Excellency, this is an official document sent by the magistrate’s office this afternoon. As the matter is of great importance, the two of them dare not be careless.” As he spoke, Hou Xiancheng carefully handed over a document in his hand.

Lu Zhen casually took it, but he wasn’t in a hurry to open it. Instead, he asked, “But what made you two so cautious?”

“The Imperial Court intends to open up a few more discussion grounds in the border area, and our Datong Prefecture has set up Guangling County. This is a document issued by the Imperial Court, the General Armament Yamen and the Magistrate’s Yamen, so we must not be careless.” Hou Xiancheng said seriously.

“A discussion?” Lu Zhen muttered softly and frowned slightly, seemingly happy and worried.

The so-called “discussion field” was the market used to trade with outsiders in the border area. In Shanxi, the only people who were traded were naturally the Mongols in the north.

As a dynasty, Great Ming possessed all sorts of treasures. On the contrary, the Meng people in the north didn’t have much to ask for. They couldn’t even produce the salt tea and other necessities of life. There were only cattle, sheep, livestock, and horses. Therefore, under the difficult circumstances, they had only two choices. Either they sent troops to snatch away the border of Great Ming, or they did business with Great Ming.

Big Ming naturally didn’t like the leather goods or cattle and sheep, and he was interested in their horses. Unfortunately, Meng Ren was not an idiot. How could he sell his horse to the enemy? Therefore, this business was not very pleasant.

However, in order to survive, or live a better life, the Mongols could only do business with Ming Country when they had no way of winning on the battlefield. For this reason, they even lowered their heads and paid tribute to Great Ming.

This year, the Mongolian envoy once again pleaded with Emperor for more discussion. The imperial court, which could not avoid it, could only agree and set up a few places. Of course, the more detailed and specific location was decided by the local officials themselves. It was unknown who made the decision, but it was actually decided to go to Guangling County.

Lu Zhen opened the paperwork with a headache. After sweeping through it with a single glance, he was stunned again, “Why is there still a matter with the General Armament Yamen here?”

“I heard from the person who sent the official document that this matter was suggested by Commander Hu.” Shen Zhubu explained.

“This … why did he do this?” Lu Zhen couldn’t help but face bitterly, “Isn’t the conflict between me and him already over?”

“Sir, Commander Hu should be kind.” Hou Xiancheng hurriedly explained, “Actually, opening a discussion field is not necessarily an opportunity for our county. In this way, if we want to trade with the Mongols, there will always be merchants who will rush over. Secondly, some things in our county can also be sold to Dazi …”

Hearing this, Lu Zhen couldn’t help but knock on his forehead. Luckily, he was still a traveler, so how could he not even see through this? In the later generations, if those backward and poor places could build large business circles, it would be very beneficial to the development of the place, and the current situation in Guangling County was also ordinary.

It was ridiculous that he was still treating a gentleman with a petty heart, thinking that Hu Sui was harming him. This was clearly a great help from General Hu. With this discussion, Guangling County would definitely be greatly improved, and all of this would naturally be recorded under the name of the county magistrate.

Thinking about this, Lu Zhen was both ashamed and happy. His face was already full of smiles, and the exhaustion on his body had been swept away. “Alright, this official should try my best to do half of this well and not disappoint Chief Hu!” Moreover, with such a reasonable reason, there was no need for him to run into the fields day by day, Lu Zhen added in his heart. He hasn’t been honest enough to think it necessary to do it every day.

At this moment, Shen Zhubu solemnly added, “However, Sir, there are certain hidden dangers in this matter. After all, it is the Tartars who are greeted in the discussion arena. Once any trouble arises, we may not be able to bear it.”

Only then did Lu Zhen restrain his smile and nodded, “I can save this.” “So this matter is not only a matter for my county government, but also an important matter for the entire Guangling County, including the barracks there. Naturally, he has also made great efforts.”

Seeing that the county magistrate was so clear-headed, the two of them finally revealed a happy expression, “Your Excellency is wise.” With his words, things would be easier in the future.

‘”Tomorrow, we will invite Chief Liu Yi and Liu to discuss. At that time, they will be responsible for maintaining the safety of the Deliberation Ground. Our county government can at most send people to maintain law and order on the spot. Do you understand?” Lu Zhen handed over his bottom line.

The two of them agreed again. Under the discussion of the three of them, this matter related to the future of Guangling County was completely settled …

In the next few days, Lu Zhen put aside other matters and concentrated on finding a suitable place to open up a discussion field inside and outside the county.

This was no small matter, and the choice of a place was even more important. Because he was doing business with the Mongol people, the location of this discussion field should be in a place that the county and army could control, and it should not be too close. Otherwise, it might give Dazi an opportunity to take advantage of it. It really took a while to think about it.

After many days of investigation, Lu Zhen finally confirmed the location on March 20. After that, he could only wait for the official documents of the superior yamen to come down, and the newly opened discussion field would truly stand up.

However, Lu Zhen, who was busy with all of this, did not know that the Imperial Court had no time to take care of such a small matter at this moment, because a big thing had already happened in the Imperial Court …

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