The playboy county magistrate

Standing on the other side of the city gate, the man responsible for checking the identity documents of the people in the city and letting them pass was also very bored. Seeing his colleagues guarding the city gate acting so strangely, he went over and whispered a reminder.

"What are you staring at? We've finally seen a new face in Fuyu County. Don't scare him away, or this place will really become a ghost town."

The city gatekeeper, holding the identity document, finally came to his senses and gestured to the person who had been whispering to him to look at his hand.

That one glance was enough to freeze another person in shock.

Fortunately, the person who had been stunned earlier had now come to his senses and asked again to confirm, his eyes filled with more expectation than before.

"May I ask, is the new magistrate, Lord Li Xuanzhi, sitting in the carriage?"

Wang Bogang nodded, and the guard yelled and dashed out, leaving only a blur in his wake.

If it weren't for a copper coin falling out of the tattered lottery tube he was carrying and spinning on the ground, Uncle Wang would have thought that the city gate guard was just a clueless fool who was just for show.

This guy's tolerance is terrible. Could it be that the Second Young Master's unpopularity in the capital has spread to such a remote place so quickly? The other party is too lazy to hide it anymore and is expressing their dissatisfaction on the spot.

It's said that good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels fast. But isn't this bad news spreading too quickly?

Li Xuanzhi, along with Wang Bo and Tang Zheng, waited at the city gate for half an hour, but no one came to greet them, which made him somewhat puzzled.

This dilapidated city gate could collapse with a single touch, and the city wall is even crumbling with clods of earth. They're so poor, how could they possibly exclude newcomers?

How about a normal greeting from colleagues?

If all else fails, lead him to the county government office. What's the point of him just standing here eating dust?

Li Xuanzhi rubbed his aching back and legs, glanced helplessly at the city gate where no common people passed by and the only gatekeeper guarding the place, and sighed deeply.

"Please tell me the way to the county government office. I can't be late for my new post."

Li Xuanzhi was also surprised to find that there wasn't even a constable guarding the gate when he arrived at the county government office. Li Xuanzhi had no choice but to lead his men inside with a heavy heart.

Li Xuanzhi hadn't expected things to turn out this way, and just then he overheard the people inside complaining about him.

"A new magistrate? What's so surprising about that? We've had six or seven new magistrates come to take over our county, but they all either turned around and ran away because there wasn't enough money to be made, or they thought life here was too hard and couldn't stand it. I heard the new magistrate is from the capital. Can a young master from the capital really stand this wretched place?"

Li Xuanzhi coughed and slowly walked in from outside the door.

"Since I, the magistrate, have traveled a great distance from the capital to come here, I naturally intend to do practical things for the people. Who said I, the magistrate, would leave? As long as Fuyu County remains in dire straits, I will not leave!"

It's unclear whether it was Li Xuanzhi's sudden appearance that left the people gossiping behind their backs too embarrassed to react, or whether it was Li Xuanzhi's words that had left them still reeling.

After a long period of silent staring at each other, an elderly man with white hair and beard, whose hands were like withered tree branches, and who was wearing the same blue official robe as Li Xuanzhi, stood up excitedly.

"I've served as magistrate of Fuyu County for a full thirty years! It was agreed that the term would rotate every five years, and finally someone has come to take over, acknowledging the plight of the people here!"

Li Xuanzhi quickly reached out to support the old man who was so excited that he missed a step on flat ground and was walking towards him, almost falling flat on his face.

"Lord Li! You've finally arrived! I've been waiting for you for so long!"

The old man held Li Xuanzhi's hand tightly, tears streaming down his face, wishing he could tell Li Xuanzhi all the grievances he had suffered over the past thirty years.

Li Xuanzhi felt embarrassed. His body was only twenty years old this year, and he had only transmigrated here today. He couldn't possibly blame himself for the old man wasting thirty years in this place.

In a daze, Li Xuanzhi felt that the other party had Parkinson's disease, and that the condition was very serious.

Little did they know that while the old man appeared very eager, what he was really thinking was: "Finally, I can escape this sea of ​​suffering! This Fuyu County is just too difficult to govern. It's not that I'm incompetent; it's just that when I took over, the previous official had already levied a hefty tax on the county before leaving, and the exorbitant taxes and levies would last for fifty years."

Now, finally, a fool who donated his official position has come to take on this hot potato, and he's so confident that he can lead the people to a better life.

The two middle-aged men behind the old man also stood up from their chipped chairs, rubbing their hands awkwardly. Their clothes were patched upon patched, and they looked to be about the same age as the original owner's count father.

I don't know if it's because life is too hard and I worry every day, but I look older and more unkempt.

Li Xuanzhi had expected to face being ostracized by local officials upon arriving in a new place. But for some reason, he could see obvious expectation in the eyes of those two officials.

"By the way, let me introduce you. This is Magistrate Cao, and this is County Commandant Feng. You two should visit each other often, get to know each other, and work together."

Li Xuanzhi smiled and exchanged greetings with the two officials, offering a brief hello. He had no idea what the two officials were thinking:

When will there be any more fools willing to donate their official positions? They also want to retire like the old man; what's worse than being an official?

Li Xuanzhi suddenly remembered that in the documents concerning Fuyu County sent by the Ministry of Personnel when the original owner was about to take up his post, there were these eight characters—

The people are honest, straightforward, brave, chivalrous, and righteous.

This means that the local people are of excellent character, kind and honest. They are upright and frank, brave and courageous, and value loyalty and righteousness.

It can only be said that Chinese characters are profound and extensive, and those who wield the pen are skilled in these areas.

For example, if a student has ADHD, the teacher's evaluation of the student would be written as "the student is lively, cheerful, and energetic."

Looking at the current situation in Fuyu County, even the officials are in such a miserable state, so how can the common people be any better off?

Every household was dirt poor, and everyone was in pretty much the same boat. If they didn't help each other, support each other, and be more united and friendly, there wouldn't be many living people left in the city.

In those days, those who could study and take the imperial examinations all had some kind of background; those without money, power, or influence simply couldn't afford to study.

Historically, poor and remote areas have produced unruly people. Considering the old man's statement about no one taking turns in office for thirty years, one can see just how bad Fuyu County is.

The people are hard to manage, the area is poor, and there are no political achievements to gain.

The only difference between being an official here and being exiled three thousand miles away as a criminal is that a few soldiers will be following you around with whips.

Li Xuanzhi knew perfectly well that it was all a pretense for others to curry favor with the Li family by giving him a legitimate county magistrate position; their real intention was to crush him or gain access to people who could benefit them.

If it weren't for the fact that his elder brother in the capital had passed the imperial examination, Li Xuanzhi would have ripped his head off and used it as a football.

Li Xuanzhi even suspected that among his close friends who had grown up together, some had been bribed by his elder brother.

After all, although the original owner was a playboy in the capital, he was not someone who fooled the common people and still had a moral bottom line.

He's just a little mischievous, a little playful, and a little unambitious.

Such a person would not have the opportunity to offend others, so it is reasonable to first suspect the half-brother, someone with whom there is a natural and direct conflict of interest.

However, Li Xuanzhi couldn't worry about these things for the time being.

The most important thing right now is to take on this hot potato.

That doesn't seem quite right; a hot potato is at least hot to handle.

The imperial court is not doing anything, letting this place fall into desolation; it's clearly a case of "cold pot and cold stove."

The original, incompetent person has disappeared, and the one standing here in his place is now Li Xuanzhi.

Would a modern soul like him, who received nine years of compulsory education and worked as a laborer for many years, be defeated by such a small difficulty?

Li Xuanzhi was determined to open the eyes of these ancient people, to let them know what a gap was, what overwhelming strength meant, and what a shock from the depths of their souls was.

The three members of Li Xuanzhi's group were invited to sit down by the old man, who specially chose one of the few chairs in the room that wasn't badly chipped and didn't have any missing legs.

The old man didn't give Li Xuanzhi any extra time to observe; instead, he took a deep breath.

After all, this Lord Li is different from those young people in the past. Since he is determined to stay, he must try his best to speak well of Fuyu County, so that the new magistrate can have more confidence in Fuyu County and he can retire early and enjoy his retirement.

"Originally, there was no county town here. When I was young, this place was just planned to be a county town. The first county magistrate took his sister-in-law and ran away with connections. Before leaving, he tricked me and collected taxes for a full eighty years."

To seize the young?

Li Xuanzhi doubted that he had heard correctly.

Adding even 10% to the exorbitant taxes and levies would be enough to kill someone, but collecting taxes eighty years in advance? How was that collected?

Seemingly noticing the doubt in Li Xuanzhi's eyes, the old magistrate sighed.

"The people in our county are all soldiers and their families who were settled nearby. Most of these people were discharged due to injuries and they all had some money to spare, otherwise they wouldn't have been taxed for eighty years."

Li Xuanzhi nodded knowingly, and did not interrupt the old magistrate, continuing to listen quietly.

"When I became the second magistrate of Fuyu County, I couldn't collect a single copper coin in taxes. Not only that, the people's homes were ransacked, and not a single family has recovered from their hardship."

"Although they have all suffered some physical damage, they can still live a normal life. It's just that over the past thirty years, the children have all grown up. Perhaps due to the influence of their family tradition, or perhaps because they were tricked by the previous corrupt official, they have all developed a certain fondness for violence."

Li Xuanzhi nodded, thinking to himself that the old man's expression was indeed quite tactful.

A family tradition of learning refers to the qualities and characteristics accumulated and passed down through generations.

This is simply to tell him that these people have retained the most traditional way of solving problems in poor and remote areas: whoever has the bigger fist or the higher strength has the final say. In addition, they have been tricked by an unreliable and corrupt official, so their fierce and unruly nature is truly a helpless situation.

Li Xuanzhi did not interrupt the other party, but listened attentively, wanting to know more details about Fuyu County that were not mentioned in the document.