Merit-based card draws, quickly become a Heavenly Emperor

Of course, Huo Shouguang also investigated Founder's background.

He had just passed the imperial examination less than half a year ago and served as a patrolman in the underworld. Later, he was transferred to Yongqing County as a patrol inspector. He was promoted after solving a case.

Such a resume was not worth mentioning in Huo Shouguang's eyes.

For an outsider with no connections, being exiled to a poor and remote place like Cangwu is basically the end of his career.

He hadn't taken the other party seriously at first, but Fang Zheng's visit to the Zheng family made him reconsider.

Zheng Ping'an has served as a clerk his whole life and has a lot of old grudges against him. If the two of them join forces, it will indeed be a problem.

He became increasingly uneasy, so while Fang was having tea at the Zheng family's house, he had already rushed outside.

Little did he know that after failing to intimidate the new supervisor, he would take the initiative to welcome him.

Such behavior, in the eyes of others, is a typical case of being arrogant at first and obsequious at second, which is laughable and already puts one at a disadvantage.

The door opened, and Fang Zheng walked out, followed by Guan Tieyi.

Huo Shouguang's expression quickly switched to a warm smile as he stepped forward and cupped his hands in greeting: "I am Huo Shouguang, and I greet Lord Supervisor Fang."

"It was my oversight that I was unaware of your arrival, sir. I hope you will forgive me."

They downplayed the incident, glossing over the events that had occurred.

Fang Zheng smiled and returned the greeting with a cupped hand: "I have long heard that County Magistrate Huo is an extraordinary man, and seeing him today, I can confirm that his reputation is well-deserved."

Knowing that Lord Huo is busy with official duties, I am truly sorry to have troubled you to make this trip in person.

Huo Shouguang narrowed his eyes upon hearing this.

These words were clearly meant to disgust him, and they also pointed out that he had come to greet the new supervisor.

If this is said in public, others will think that he is afraid of the new county magistrate, which is why he came to greet him personally.

But he had no way to explain it right now, so he gritted his teeth and said, "Then please, Your Excellency, move along and we'll go back to the county office."

"Perfect timing! I also need to introduce the officials of this county to you, Your Excellency."

"OK."

Fang Zheng smiled, stepped down, glanced at the horses prepared by Huo Shouguang, but did not mount them. Instead, he walked forward with his hands behind his back.

"Lord Huo, the county government office isn't far from here. Let's walk back and enjoy the local customs and culture of Cangwu County along the way."

Huo Shouguang was stunned again.

Since the supervisor was walking, he couldn't ride ahead on horseback, so he could only follow.

The entire population of Cangwu County will know that the new supervisor has arrived, and that he himself is accompanying him back.

Isn't this clearly a sign that the new supervisor is shorter than him?

While he was still hesitating, Fang Zheng had already walked quite a distance, and Huo Shouguang had no choice but to follow.

The two walked one after the other through the main street of Cangwu County, attracting the attention of the people on the street.

They recognized Huo Shouguang, the county magistrate who usually swaggered around the streets, but today he was walking behind a young man.

As I turned the corner, a procession came towards me, with a few people in Taoist robes leading the way, carrying a white jade tiger statue.

A dozen or so believers followed behind, chanting "White Tiger Holy Spirit, protect all living beings" as they walked. Their voices echoed through the alley, and many people on the roadside knelt down.

Fang Zheng frowned.

It is the White Tiger Society.

This heretical sect has a very high influence in Dinghu County, and in its place of origin, Cangwu County, it naturally has more and more followers.

In Fang Zheng's view, the White Tiger Society had reached a point where it had to be eliminated, otherwise it would cause big trouble sooner or later.

Unfortunately, the officials of Dinghu County either didn't take the White Tiger Society seriously, or they turned a blind eye because they had received benefits from it.

Just like Huo Shouguang, who served as the county magistrate of Cangwu County for more than ten years, how could he not know about the White Tiger Society?

If it weren't for the indulgence of the county officials, would the followers of the White Tiger Society dare to walk through the streets in broad daylight?

Fang Zheng glanced at the constables behind him, who all seemed unfazed by the situation, and a sudden idea struck him.

So he stopped and stood in the middle of the road, blocking the way for the group.

The leading Taoist priest's face darkened: "Make way, the White Tiger is on patrol, those who block the way will surely suffer misfortune."

Fang Zheng didn't move, but turned to Huo Shouguang: "Lord Huo, who are these people?"

Huo Shouguang's expression changed slightly, and he lowered his voice, saying, "Lord Fang, let's discuss this further when we get back."

The Taoist priests had already recognized Huo Shouguang, and hearing how polite he was to the young man, they guessed that he was the newly appointed supervisor.

They dared not be stubborn any longer and stepped aside to make way: "The road leads to heaven, each of us should go our own way."

The group bypassed them, and Fang Zheng glanced in the direction they had gone, but said nothing more, and continued walking towards the county government office.

As the birthplace of the White Tiger Society, Cangwu County has a temple dedicated to the White Tiger Society in the city, where believers go to burn incense and kowtow every day, making it a very popular place of worship.

If it's just a county, that's fine. But if the entire Dinghu County has temples and shrines, then the so-called White Tiger Holy Spirit of the White Tiger Society will inevitably become a scourge.

The incense offerings from so many believers are enough to refine one's cultivation, and that magical power even surpasses the power of some officials.

In Fang Zheng's view, the White Tiger Society had been operating in Dinghu County for at least several years and had absorbed the offerings of countless believers.

Although such incense offerings and vows may pollute the soul and hinder the attainment of the Great Dao, and are not accepted by orthodox practitioners, they can provide extremely high assistance in the early stages of cultivation.

Being able to run rampant in a prefecture, even a sixth-rank prefecture governor was unwilling to provoke him and let him be, it is estimated that the White Tiger Holy Spirit has at least reached the sixth-rank Sun Travel Realm.

That's naturally beyond Fang Zheng's ability to deal with. To completely eradicate the White Tiger Society, at least the prefect would need to step in and gather a large army to launch a campaign against them.

Fang Zheng had no control over Dinghu County Prefecture; he was just a minor county supervisor. He needed to first improve the local customs and practices in the county.

Upon arriving at the county government office, unlike the previous time when they were deliberately ignored, a row of officials were already standing there, clearly because Huo Shouguang had arranged for them to be notified in advance.

He introduced them one by one: clerks, registrars, constables, granary officials, a total of about ten people.

Fang Zheng looked over them one by one, a smile on his face, already understanding the situation.

The names of these people corresponded one-to-one with those he saw in the secret cards, and not one of them was not surnamed "Huo".

After the introductions, Huo Shouguang smiled and said that he had prepared a feast to welcome Lord Fang.

There's no such thing as a good banquet, and Fang Zheng naturally wouldn't fall into such a trap. He waved his hand and said, "I've been traveling all the way and I'm tired. Let's rest first."

No need for food, please help yourselves.

Later, I will need to trouble County Lieutenant Huo to take me to see County Magistrate Shen.

After saying that, he turned and left with Guan Tieyi.

"Advancing and retreating with proper strategy, waiting for the enemy to tire themselves out, speaking and laughing with composure, and displaying natural dignity. Etiquette +2, Wisdom +2."

Fang Zheng glanced at the system notification and a smile appeared on his lips.

He wished Huo Shouguang had more of these little tricks, as they were all good opportunities for him to improve his five virtues.

.........

Cangwu County is a small county, and the County Supervisory Office does not have a separate office space; it is located inside the county government office.

There were several rooms in the backyard for the supervisor to live in. After Fang Zheng and Guan Tieyi arrived, they quickly arranged their luggage and then went to find Huo Shouguang to say that they wanted to pay their respects to County Magistrate Shen Xingzhou.

Huo Shouguang did not refuse and led him through two streets to Shen Xingzhou's residence.

The gate was tightly closed, and some of the paint on the door panels had already peeled off.

Huo Shouguang stepped forward and knocked on the door. After knocking for a while, someone finally came to open it.