Be a small county magistrate in ancient times

Chapter 474 Who will be the head of the police

"Captain Li!" Bafang called him in a low voice, winking at him, "Come here."

Li Ting looked around and saw that the people guarding the gate were not paying attention to him, so he quickly walked up to Bafang. "What's the matter?" he asked in a low voice.

Bafang didn't rush to talk about his own business, but asked, "Why are you standing here guarding the door?"

"Ah." Li Ting sighed, "It's the prefect's arrangement."

His words were full of helplessness. He was obviously not convinced about this matter, but there was nothing he could do.

Bafang asked again: "Who will be the head of the police?"

"The confidant that Lord Liu brought from Gucheng County is called Zheng Lin. I heard that everyone around Lord Liu calls him Lao Qi."

Bafang was surprised and asked, "You are the leader of a group after all, and you haven't done anything wrong. Why did he replace you for no reason?"

"What do you mean by leader? It's just a nice way of saying it." Li Ting said self-deprecatingly, "After all, the three squads of yamen runners are all doing work for the prefect, and they are not like the court officials like them, whose names and positions are registered in the roster of the Ministry of Personnel, and there can be no mistakes.

Whether we are doing our job well or not, or whether we need to be replaced, all depends on the prefect.

If you want to continue to make a living here, you have to accept it. "

Bafang felt sad and wanted to comfort Li Ting, but he didn't know how to start.

"Hey, you haven't told me what you're doing here." Li Ting quickly calmed down and asked Bafang, "Do you have something to ask the prefect? ​​Should I go in and report it?"

"No, no, no." Bafang pulled the man back. "Why should I look for him? Captain Zhang said that the last time he came, Sun Tongpan was not feeling well. I've been wanting to find a chance to come and see him. Can you call him out for me?"

"President Sun, he no longer lives in the county government office." Li Ting pointed Meng Changqing in a direction, "He rented a house on that street, not far from the government office. The one with a wooden frame at the door is his house.

It's not time for him to go to the government office yet, so he should be at home. You can go find him there."

After expressing his gratitude, Bafang followed the direction given by Li Ting and found where Sun Xiang lived.

When Bafang arrived, Sun Xiang was making breakfast for himself in the house. "Bafang." Sun Xiang was very surprised. "Why are you here so early in the morning? Is Lord Meng here?"

"He didn't come." Bafang walked into the house and took a long time to see the scene inside clearly.

The furnishings inside were simple, a small square room with a bed, not very thick bedding, a set of cobbled tables and chairs, a small stove next to the table with something cooking on it, and two locked boxes stacked against the wall.

Bafang's eyes were sore, "Why do you live in a place like this?"

Sun Xiang was a little embarrassed. "I want to be closer to the government office. This place is small, but it's enough for me to live alone."

When Bafang came over, he bought breakfast on the way and ate two pieces himself. He originally planned to take the rest back to Mancang, but now he can't do that.

He took out the oil paper bag, opened it and put it on the table.

"Just right, the porridge I cooked is ready." Sun Xiang turned over two bowls from the corner of the table, took the small pot off the stove, and served each person a bowl of porridge.

Bafang did not say that he had eaten it before. He sat on the only chair in the room and ate it again with Sun Xiang. Seeing Sun Xiang sitting on the bed with the bowl in his hand and eating, he sighed in his heart.

Bafang noticed that the cuffs of his clothes were a little dirty, and couldn't help asking, "Why don't you find someone to help?"

"I have thought about it, but I haven't found a suitable one yet." Sun Xiang himself is very optimistic, "I went through this when I was studying, and I didn't have any difficulty adapting.

When I'm not so busy in a few days, I'll clean up this room and it will be presentable." Bafang buried his head in drinking porridge.

"By the way, Bafang, are you here to see me specifically?" Sun Xiang asked.

"I heard from Captain Zhang that you were not feeling well. I happened to be in the city on some business, so I came to see you."

Sun Xiang smiled and said, "I think I ate something bad a few days ago, and my stomach has been uncomfortable. I took a few doses of medicine and I feel much better now. Now I'm drinking millet porridge as the doctor ordered."

"Is it okay to eat this cake?" Bafang was worried that his good intentions might lead to bad consequences.

"It's okay, it's just a minor problem, I'll be almost cured soon." Sun Xiang said gratefully, "Thank you for thinking of me."

After Bafang finished his porridge, he and Sun Xiang took the bowls outside to wash them. In the middle of the process, he pretended to ask casually, "Is the government office busy recently?"

Sun Xiang understood immediately that they came to see him on the one hand, but more importantly they came to inquire about the situation in the government office.

However, Bafang really asked the right person.

He had long wanted to find someone to talk to about what was happening in the government office, and coincidentally, the first person to come and ask was Meng Changqing.

"It's true that I'm much busier than before." Sun Xiang took the bowl from Bafang and invited him to go inside. "But I don't know what I'm busy with. What I'm doing now is really... hard to describe."

Seeing that he wanted to confide in someone, Bafang immediately asked, "Is there a new order from the government office?"

"Not really," Sun Xiang said. "I used to do it only once, but now I have to do it more than ten times, and I still can't do it well."

"Oh?"

"The official documents I submitted for review and approval were delayed in receiving a response. If I asked about it, it was because there was something wrong with the document and I had to take it back and rewrite it." Sun Xiang sighed, "After all these years of being an official, this is the first time I've realized how difficult it is to be an official."

"Is Magistrate Liu trying to make things difficult for you?" Bafang guessed, "I went to the government office to look for you this morning, and happened to meet Captain Li. I heard him say that the current Captain is a close confidant of Magistrate Liu.

Could it be that even the judge wants to use his own people?"

Sun Xiang shook his head, "I don't know."

"The Tongpan is appointed by the imperial court, and his rank is higher than that of the county magistrate. He can't replace you even if he wants to." Bafang suddenly realized, "I'm afraid that's why he makes things difficult for you everywhere."

"I hate these twists and turns in the officialdom. What is he going to do to replace all the surrounding positions with his own people?" Sun Xiang sneered and sighed, "I followed Lord Wei before and just did my own thing. Now I think I should have followed Lord Wei."

Having said this, Bafang didn't know what to say.

After a brief silence, Sun Xiang spoke again, "Speaking of the way of being an official, among the county magistrates in Liangzhou, the one I admire most is Lord Mao."

Everyone in the eight directions immediately pricked up their ears and listened attentively.

"Although he was not there when Prefect Liu came that day, he was given a welcoming banquet by others afterwards. I don't know what gifts they gave him, but Prefect Liu was very pleased.

Now in Liangzhou Prefecture, if he is not seen for three consecutive days, the prefect will send someone to invite him.

The two of them were talking and laughing together, but I couldn't get a word in. Sometimes I think about it and blame myself for my disdain for personal gain."

Bafang said, "Don't think like that. Ability is the foundation of a person's career. I think Daliang has no shortage of officials who can flatter, but it needs people like you."