Han officials

Chapter 92: Unsolvable Problems [13]

In the fourth year of Zhongping, in the third month of spring, on the Gengxu day.

Facing the morning glow, Wei Zhe calmly crossed the Yanshui River and walked into Xiangping City.

The so-called "Yanshui" is actually the Taizi River in Liaodong in later generations.

It is said that during the Spring and Autumn Period, Prince Dan of Yan used the Yan River as a natural barrier to avoid being hunted by Qin soldiers.

However, the name Yanshui is more common in ancient books, and the official name is generally called "Daliangshui".

"Has the Liang River flooded this spring?"

When he first entered Xiangping City, Wei Zhe did not immediately go into the prefectural government office, but walked up to the city wall to inspect it.

This was Wei Zhe's habit, and the county officials of the Liaodong Prefecture had heard of it a long time ago.

It’s true that as the capital of Liaodong County, Xiangping City is obviously much stronger than Korea City.

After all, Lelang County has only been around for more than two hundred years, but Xiangping City has been run by the Han people for more than five hundred years.

As early as the Warring States Period, King Zhao of Yan sent General Qin Kai out of the border to attack the Donghu, expanding the territory by more than a thousand miles. Since then, the Liaodong area has been incorporated into the territory of China.

After years of development during the Qin Dynasty, the Former Han Dynasty and the current dynasty, Xiangping City has become the most important city in Liaodong.

At the same time, when Wei Zhe spoke, County Gongcao Zhongxu hurried forward to report: "There was a small flood at the beginning of the month, but it has now subsided, and all the dikes are intact."

"Oh? I heard that over a hundred houses in Tunkou Township were flooded, and there's a thief problem everywhere."

As soon as Wei Zhe said this, Zhong Xu's pretty face suddenly turned pale.

"This... This must be the Liao River rising again. That, that intersection... There's been a lot going on in the government lately, and I forgot about it. I'll go down and investigate right away."

However, Wei Zhe said with a smile: "No need, since Zhong Gongcao has worked so hard, you should go back and recuperate!"

After saying that, he casually waved his hand, and the personal guard beside him immediately dragged Zhong Xu, who was trying to kneel down to explain, away, without giving him any chance to struggle or defend himself.

Seeing this, many county officials on the city wall were suddenly silent.

Although they had heard of Wei Zhe's reputation for a long time, they still didn't expect that he would take down the county Gongcao as soon as he arrived.

You should know that the county Gongcao is the head of all the officials, in charge of rewards, punishments, appointments and dismissals of county officials, and also assists the prefect, so he is also called Gongcao Shi.

Although the salary was only a hundred stones, it was a position of great power and was usually held by virtuous and capable people in the county.

Of course, they are called virtuous people in the county, but in fact they are all "powerful people" in the county.

The previous prefects would usually use this position to trade with the wealthy and powerful families in the county in exchange for local support.

For example, Zhongxu was a famous and powerful family in Liaodong County, which is why he was appointed by Yang Zhong, the former governor of Liaodong.

However, everything has a price, and the support of local big families is not free.

It was precisely because of this identity that Zhong Xu was able to annex large amounts of fertile land and encroach on the population in Liaodui County.

Perhaps he thought he was one of the three leading officials in the county and the prefect would not touch him easily, so he did not restrain himself.

But it turned out that Wei Zhe was different from any other Liaodong governor they had ever met.

As soon as Zhong Xu returned home, the Zhong family of the Liao team had already become history.

At the beginning of his tenure, Wei Zhe gave the entire Liaodong County a big "surprise".

……

The next day, at the Li family manor in the western suburbs of Xiangping.

Li Min, the head of the Xiangping Li family, looked at the letter in his hand and couldn't help but sigh.

"What a great Marquis Buye! He really shows off his talent!"

Upon hearing this, his son Li Xin immediately asked curiously, "Father, what happened again?"

"Haha~ Read it yourself!" Li Min handed the letter to her son, wanting to test him.

However, what frustrated him was that after reading it, Li Xin actually frowned slightly and said, "Lord Wei's method is too cruel. I'm afraid he's another cruel official!"

Why did Li Xin say this? Because after Wei Zhe destroyed the Zhong Clan Association of the Liao army, he wiped out more than ten famous and powerful families in the county within just half a month. The powerful family heads such as Tian Shao were all executed and killed in the downtown area.

For a moment, not only the prefectural office, but the entire Liaodong County was shocked.

Li Xin did not pity those powerful families, but was somewhat disgusted by Wei Zhe's domineering behavior.

However, after hearing what he said, Li Min, whose hair and beard were already graying, shook his head in disappointment.

Seeing his father's disappointed eyes, Li Xin, who was filial by nature, immediately bowed down and knelt before his father's couch, saying with a face full of shame, "My son is dull, I still need your guidance, father."

"Hey~ get up!" Li Min didn't scold him when she saw this.

After all, Li Min knows his son well. He is filial, hardworking, and good in all aspects.

But he is a little mediocre, just an average talent, and cannot be called excellent.

Therefore, Li Min could only choose to slowly tell him her accumulated life experience bit by bit.

"Fool, you only see his brutal methods, but do you understand why he did it?" Li Min immediately analyzed Wei Zhe's actions as a teaching case for her son, saying, "Everything has a reason. When judging a person, you should also look at his character. No matter how fancy the words are, they are not as trustworthy as their actions!"

Upon hearing this, Li Xin immediately began to think deeply along the lines of his father.

"Although Lord Wei was a renowned general on the battlefield, he was not known for his murderous nature. I heard that during the Battle of Guangzong, he even intervened and saved tens of thousands of refugees and captives, thus saving them from the calamity of the imperial palace."

"Lelang County was under his rule for only two years, and yet it was already well governed. Furthermore, Lelang's literary spirit flourished, and the people became wealthy and learned to be well-mannered. This shows that he truly had the ability to govern the country."

Then Li Xin remembered something and continued, "Xuanfu Wei runs a horse farm and sells fish and salt. He has many partnerships with various families in Liaodong. His prices are always very fair, and he has never abused his power to bully others. This shows that he is not greedy for money."

After hearing this, Li Min nodded with satisfaction.

It doesn't matter if you are a little stupid, as long as you are willing to learn, you can at least become a master who maintains the status quo in the future and keep your family's status intact.

"so what?"

"Based on the above, the Liaodong tyrants... deserve a proper death."

At the end of the speech, Li Xin felt a little unconfident.

However, Li Min looked relieved when he heard this.

You have to know that he once served as the governor of Henei, and he really understood Wei Zhe.

Because cracking down on the powerful is the duty of every prefect, but many prefects cannot do it to the extent of Wei Zhe.

Li Min sighed helplessly and said, "Any county governor who wants to achieve anything must kill the powerful!"

The powerful are different from the gentry. They cannot move up the social ladder like the gentry, so they can only stay rooted in their hometown.

As a result, both land and population resources are mostly occupied by this group of people.

It can be said that the powerful are naturally in opposition to the local governors.

In comparison, many aristocratic families were not as prosperous as the powerful local families.

For example, the Wang family of Lelang and the Li family of Xiangping, their family development paths are different from those of the Liaodong tyrants.

The connections left by their ancestors allowed them to make a living even after leaving Liaodong.

Fundamentally speaking, it's just that the gentry have more choices.

Of course, this is also due to the different directions of resource usage.

Compared with the powerful and wealthy who don't even have the means to give gifts, the gentry spends a sky-high amount on socializing every year.

The reason why the party members have "eight chefs" is not because they are the only eight rich people in the world.

But ordinary local tyrants don’t even have the qualifications to spend money to buy fame!
(End of this chapter)