Be a small county magistrate in ancient times

Since Zheng Jie had come to ask for help, he naturally did not hide anything and explained the situation in Xunxian Town and his own thoughts. He then pleaded, "The situation is urgent, please lend a helping hand, General Song."

“Prefect Zheng is eliminating bad habits for the Great Liang and doing things that benefit the people. Since you need my help, I will do my duty.” Song Qingfeng first stated his attitude, but he also had to explain his difficulties: “But the officers and soldiers of Weishan Camp are not allowed to act without orders from the Emperor or the Ministry of War.”

"My intention is to join the general in petitioning the imperial court," Zheng Jie said.

Song Qingfeng personally poured Zheng Jie a cup of tea, saying, "Of course, there's no problem with that." After saying that, he immediately said to the person next to him, "Prepare paper and pen."

As soon as he put down the teapot, the writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone were ready.

Song Qingfeng stepped forward, picked up his pen, thought for a moment, and quickly wrote a memorial. Before the ink had dried, he presented it to Zheng Jie, saying, "Please take a look, Prefect Zheng."

Zheng Jie exchanged a few polite words, but still took the book and looked at it carefully. After confirming that there were no problems, he continued writing on the next page. When he finished, he returned it to Song Qingfeng, saying, "Thank you for your trouble, General Song."

Song Qingfeng glanced at the guards at the door, holding the memorial, but did not immediately order someone to deliver it.

“Prefect Zheng, it will take at least five or six days to send this memorial to the capital, so I’m afraid it won’t be of any help to you at the moment,” Song Qingfeng said. “Since the situation is urgent, why don’t we think of another way?”

Before Zheng Jie could speak, Song Qingfeng continued, "The magistrates of Hongjia County and Weishan County under your jurisdiction both have soldiers at their disposal. Although the number of soldiers in these two counties is not as large as that of the Weishan Battalion, it should be enough to deal with Xunxian Town."

If they were to take action in the next couple of days, only their own officers and soldiers would be able to arrive in time.

Before Song Qingfeng said this, Zheng Jie had never considered borrowing troops from the counties below.

Liangzhou was a special case. In the end, it had suffered from war and chaos. All the officials and soldiers stationed here had only one purpose: to resist foreign enemies.

Therefore, the power held by officials here differs from that elsewhere.

Logically, the prefect should have more power than the county magistrate, so it makes no sense that the county magistrate could mobilize troops while the prefect could not.

But that's the reality.

Previously, during Wei Fangyun's reign, the general concurrently served as the prefect, and the prefect of Liangzhou was responsible for both troop deployment and local administration.

By the time of Liu Dexiang, the city walls of Beishan County had been completed, making it much easier for the Yan army to invade Daliang territory. The court naturally assumed Liangzhou was secure. However, granting the prefect such great power would make the court uneasy, so military and administrative functions were separated. The prefect only had yamen runners under his command; any troop deployment required consultation with the Weishan Camp.

However, the imperial court took away the military power of the prefect of Liangzhou, but not the military power of the magistrates of Hongjia and Weishan counties.

This situation persisted until Zheng Jie took office.

Thinking about it carefully, being the prefect of Liangzhou is really not an easy job.

If the two counties of Hongjia and Weishan are willing to give you face and address you respectfully as Prefect, but they are unwilling to pay you any attention, what can you do?

The deceased Liu Dexiang had never considered this problem. Because Cao Hongxing and Hua Rujin were both socially adept, Liu Dexiang hadn't bothered them to the point of completely breaking off relations before he brought this upon himself.

When it was Zheng Jie's turn, he had to consider this issue.

Just like now, if he asks those two counties for troops and they refuse, how will he save face?

Clearly, Song Qingfeng also realized this, and said, "Prefect Zheng, rest assured, Magistrates Cao and Hua are both reasonable people. Your actions are not for personal gain, but for the sake of the people. I think they will not refuse."

Zheng Jie nodded, "Thank you for the reminder, General Song, but this memorial..."

"Don't worry, I'll have someone send it out right away." Song Qingfeng waved his hand, and the personal guard who had been waiting nearby waved back, "Send someone to the capital."

"Yes."

After the guards left, Zheng Jie also got up to take his leave. Song Qingfeng personally escorted him to the gate of the military camp and gave him a piece of advice before parting: "If you want the support of those two magistrates, you don't actually need to go and invite them in person."

Beishan County is located between these two counties, and Magistrate Meng of Beishan County has a very good relationship with the other two magistrates.

As long as you can persuade Magistrate Meng, he will help you get this done.

Moreover, Magistrate Meng has a hundred personal guards transferred from the Weishan Battalion. Although the number is small, Magistrate Meng's advisor is a skilled military trainer. If those hundred guards could be borrowed, they would be of great use. (End of Chapter)