The Ming Dynasty took an unconventional approach

Chapter 442: Retreat

Cai Sheng, the new magistrate of Yushan County, was confused and asked cautiously, "Sir, did Pan Yun get into trouble?"

"Just answer whatever I ask you, and don't ask other questions," the Jinyiwei scolded, and asked again: "Where are her indenture and redemption agreement?"

Cai Sheng quickly looked at the county lieutenant and said, "Quickly, get all the things on file for this person."

County lieutenant: "...Sir, everything is here."

Cai Sheng frowned, "What about the contract of sale and the contract of redemption?"

The county lieutenant opened his mouth and glanced at the chief clerk. Seeing that he had no intention of speaking, and the Jinyiwei standing beside him stared at him covetously, he could only explain helplessly: "The indenture contract has naturally been returned to the owner. After the transfer of nationality, they can keep it or destroy it as they wish. As for the redemption contract..."

He took a deep breath and said, "This is the redemption deed."

Everyone looked together and saw a line of words pressed between his fingers, "Redemption of good, three cents for labor, settled."

The Jinyiwei's face was solemn, and Cai Sheng couldn't help getting angry, and scolded: "Nonsense, the redemption deed should be in duplicate. She is a foreigner, and she needs a deed as proof to settle down and become a naturalized resident. How do the household office do things?"

The county lieutenant certainly couldn't say that Wang Cong had used a backdoor because he was a good friend of the previous county magistrate Mingren. Instead, he said, "Sir, she was registered and naturalized on the same day, and..."

He paused and then leaned over to the new county magistrate's ear and said, "Sir, our county government has no money."

Cai Sheng frowned, "What do you mean no money?"

The chief clerk who had been silent all this time finally said, "Sir, Yushan County has many mountains and little land, and the taxation has always been low. Not much money is left for expenditure each year, and every penny should be spent carefully. For official business like this that can be signed on the same day, there is really no need to waste two extra pieces of paper and ink. Just make a good record on it."

Cai Sheng was stunned and couldn't believe it. "How much can two pieces of paper cost? Papermaking technology has been improved again and again. Now a piece of paper only costs twelve coins. How come such a big county government can't even afford two pieces of paper?"

When the chief clerk heard this, he knew that the newly appointed county magistrate came from a wealthy family and had no idea of ​​people's livelihood.

He quickly glanced at the Jinyiwei, not daring to say anything too profound. He just bowed with the county lieutenant and said, "It is my incompetence."

Cai Sheng had no choice but to look at the Jinyiwei with an embarrassed look on his face, "My lords, look at this..."

The Jinyiwei snorted coldly with a sullen face. They were not Cai Sheng, so they certainly understood what the chief clerk and the county lieutenant said.

Although these people came from the capital, they were responsible for supervising all officials. Regarding people's livelihood, they knew no less than the local county magistrates.

So the Jinyiwei did not delve into the matter any further, but instead asked in detail who was in charge of the record and what questions were asked at the time. They asked about every detail, no matter how big or small.

The Jinyiwei asked expressionlessly before their faces turned cold and they asked the clerk sternly, "What is your relationship with Wang Feiyin and his son from Sanqing Temple?"

The clerk was startled and shook his head repeatedly, "Your Excellency, I have no relationship with Master Wang."

"If there is no special relationship, how could you remember a business matter from a few years ago so clearly?"

The clerk immediately said, "Of course I remember. Although several years have passed, they want to be registered as naturalized residents. Due to poverty, Yushan County has not conducted a population census for many years. There are even fewer people like Pan Yun who redeemed themselves and became good people to be registered as naturalized residents."

He said, "Besides, Mr. Wang of Sanqing Temple has a good relationship with our county magistrate. This matter was specially ordered by the county magistrate, so I naturally paid more attention to it, which is why I remember it so clearly."

Cai Sheng, who was standing by, immediately distanced himself from the matter, "I am not the county magistrate."

The clerk paused for a moment before nodding repeatedly, "Yes, yes, it's our Magistrate Ming." The Royal Guards sealed the file and took it away, then divided it into two teams, one to go to Sanqing Temple, and the other to look for Mingren who had been promoted and left.

As soon as they left, the county lieutenant and the chief clerk looked at Cai Sheng and sighed.

Cai Sheng was very unhappy and asked in a deep voice: "What did you mean just now? What do you mean by our Yushan County is poor? That is clearly due to your dereliction of duty and negligence!"

The chief clerk said quickly, "Sir, don't underestimate these two pieces of paper. There are so many towns in the county. If we save two pieces of paper for each matter, we can save a lot of money over time.
However, if we don’t pay attention to this little thing, once it is released, the cost may be three, five, or even ten times the normal cost.”

Cai Sheng, who had just taken office as the county magistrate for two days, was unhappy and said, "Don't fool me. I know you are bullying me because I am new here. Use paper as you want. I don't have to worry about this supply. Don't scare me with three, five, or ten times the amount. I want to see how you can use three or five times the amount."

The chief clerk and the county lieutenant had nothing to say and wanted to let it go, but they were both from the county, and if Cai Sheng was tormented, the ones who would suffer in the end would be their own relatives and friends, the folks of Yushan County.

If we don't let him make trouble, they will be the ones who suffer in the future.

So the two of them looked at each other and decided to use this incident to teach the new county magistrate a lesson.

The Jinyiwei went straight to Sanqing Temple.

Wang Feiyin, who was chatting with fellow villagers in the mountain temple, paused, as if he had some feeling. He counted with his fingers, and then counted again. Finally, he stood up with a sigh and said, "Everyone, I have an epiphany. I have to go into the mountains to practice in seclusion. I won't be able to come out for a hundred days. I'll trouble you to help look after the mountain temple. If Cong'er and the others come back and I haven't come out yet, please help pass on a message and ask them to leave someone to look after the house."

The villagers agreed immediately and continued chatting.

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Seeing how calm they were, Wang Feiyin smiled slightly, flicked his sleeves and went out, and soon disappeared into the valley.

No one, whether sitting in the temple or working in the fields, paid any attention to Wang Feiyin.

When the Jinyiwei came, the villagers just pointed to the mountain and said, "Only Abbot Wang is in the temple now. Go up and look for him."

The two Jinyiwei took half a day to finally climb to the Sanqing Temple, but they found that the gate was closed and there was no one there.

The two of them took some effort to unlock the door and go in. They wiped their fingers on the table in the hall and found no dust on them, but the incense burner was cold. Looking at the color of the ash in the burner, one of the Jinyiwei said, "At most, he has been gone for a day."

"Look! Dig three feet into the ground to find him!"

The two men turned the top of the mountain upside down but found nothing.

In the evening, the fog in the mountains grew thicker, and the entire mountaintop was shrouded in clouds and mist. The two people were in the midst of it, and although they were only four or five steps apart, when they looked at each other, everything was blurry.

"It looks like it will rain on the top of the mountain tonight."

"Want to go down the mountain?"

"No, stay here. I don't believe he won't come back!"

Wang Feiyin did not come back, not only that night but also the next night. On the third day, the two Jinyiwei finally went down the mountain.

The villagers at the foot of the mountain saw their gloomy faces and finally realized, "Oh, Master Wang said he went into seclusion in the mountains and will not come out for a hundred days. You will not be able to wait for him on the mountain. You should go to the mountains to look for him and maybe you can find him."

　I caught a cold, please take a day off

　　(End of this chapter)