Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 722 The Down to the Countryside Movement

"Is he a sixth-rank official or a sixth-rank official? Why put someone of the sixth rank in a sixth-rank position?"

At this moment, Luo, the Assistant Director of the Granary Department, held up Lin Musen's nameplate and questioned his subordinates: "How do you calculate this? He and I are both sixth-rank officials. It is inappropriate for me to be his superior."

As Luo Yuanwailang was speaking, an announcement came from outside that Lin Musen had come to pay his respects. He quickly got up to greet him. After all, it was only right for a low-ranking official nearing fifty to be polite to such a young official appointed by His Majesty. After all, no matter how you looked at it, Lin Musen would eventually become his superior. To point fingers at him now would be utterly insane.

"Lord Lin, I am so sorry for not greeting you sooner!"

This official clearly did not know Xia Lin, which was normal, because his rank was obviously not high enough to recognize Xia Lin; only those who were qualified to stand in the Golden Hall could recognize him.

"Greetings, Lord Luo." Xia Lin put down the gift in his hand and bowed to Lord Luo. "This humble official has come to inform you that I hope you will guide me in the days to come. Please forgive any shortcomings."

Seeing his politeness, Lord Luo was taken aback. He quickly stepped forward to return the courtesy and said, "Lord Lin, please don't say that. The Ministry of Revenue ultimately prefers young people like Lord Lin. We old men are not up to the task."

The two exchanged pleasantries and chatted for a while before leaving since they had nothing else to do. Xia Lin's position as the Second Division of the Granary Department was basically the most leisurely department in the entire Ministry of Revenue. Originally, it was supposed to be in charge of the military granaries, but after the military reforms a few years ago, the military granaries were now under the direct jurisdiction of the Privy Council. However, the Ministry of Revenue and Civil Affairs had not yet had time to change its management system, so it was essentially a completely idle position.

"Sir, is our next stop to see Physician Wu?"

"Yes." Xia Lin nodded and said, "We will definitely need to pay a visit to the chief officials of the two departments."

After walking around the department for a while, the two arrived at the hall of Wu Langzhong, the chief official of the two departments. As soon as they entered, they saw Wu Langzhong sitting there, looking down and fiddling with an abacus.

Xia Lin coughed at the door, and Doctor Wu looked up and glanced at him, but that one glance nearly scared the soul out of him.

From Xia Lin's perspective, it was just a reminder, but from Wu Langzhong's perspective, it was as if he was working when a cough came from outside. When he looked up, he saw that it was the murderous demon Xia Daosheng.

Who wouldn't feel a jolt in their heart? You see, while a physician doesn't often get to the imperial court, he does have the opportunity, especially these days with such major personnel changes. The scene of Xia Lin appearing in the hall a few days ago with the heads of more than a dozen generals of the Great Wei still sends chills down his spine in the middle of the night. And now, suddenly looking up, the god of death is right in front of him. How could anyone remain calm...?

"Wu Langzhong, I am Lin Musen, the newly appointed head of the Second Division."

"Xia... Oh, Lord Lin." Physician Wu almost knelt down to pay his respects, but when he heard the other party introduce himself as Lin Musen, he couldn't help but feel relieved: "Lord Lin, please have a seat."

At this moment, the doctor was also feeling a little uneasy. He had some doubts, but he wasn't sure. After all, things were too illogical. It was indeed a bit puzzling that the Night Emperor had come to be a minor official.

In the ensuing conversation, Dr. Wu kept observing Xia Lin's demeanor and actions, seemingly trying to determine whether he was indeed the Blood-Handed Butcher Xia Daosheng. However, Xia Lin's ability to disguise himself was clearly first-rate; he could convincingly impersonate anyone, almost as if it were ingrained in his DNA. So, if such a minor official could see through the deception, then the fact that he had remained in that position for so many years meant that he must have been framed by a villain.

After a round of probing, the entire Ministry of Revenue now knows that they have a manager who looks very much like Xia Daosheng. This has achieved his goal, because if everyone spreads the word, he will eventually become the Lin Musen who looks very much like Xia Daosheng.

After all, people say that Lin Musen has improved, and that being able to resemble him even a third of him is already a sign of great prestige.

And so, Xia Lin settled down in the inconspicuous Second Warehouse of the Ministry of Revenue, but a few days later, the most outrageous thing happened.

Following the man who resembled the Night Emperor, another man who resembled the Emperor has appeared in the Kurabu Nijisan (Records of the Re ...

He became one of the two heads of the warehouse department, and could shake hands with Lin Musen just by opening the window of his office.

"are you crazy!"

That day, Xia Lin pushed open the window and yelled at "Tian Qing," who was leaning back in her chair eating breakfast, "What are you doing here?"

"Oh dear, why can't I come if you can? Besides, you yourself said you wanted to go deep into the grassroots to understand the most urgent needs of the people. Do you think this sixth-rank official is too low?"

Xia Lin slammed the window shut, but a moment later, he heard a series of knocking sounds outside. He impatiently opened the window and saw "Tian Qing" from next door tapping on his window with a wooden stick.

"What do you want to do?"

"I have a day off this afternoon, how about we go out and have some fun later?"

"I have no money," Xia Lin said impatiently. "I'm not like you; I don't do anything productive."

"Hey~~ that's not how it works. How can you call this neglecting my duties? My duties are quite proper. Anyway, I don't have much to do in the court. In this time of suppressing the rebellion, I'm actually quite safe here. After all, everyone thinks I'm still recuperating in Fuliang. If there are assassins, they'll only go to Fuliang to look for me. They would never imagine that I've already returned to the capital and become a sixth-rank official."

"You're really bored out of your mind." The two chatted casually, and these two offices were now like forbidden territory for high-ranking officials. They all tried their best to avoid coming to this idle government office, especially officials of the rank of vice minister and above, who regarded the gates of the two offices as tigers and leopards and dared not pass by the gates easily.

As for why... it's probably easy to understand if you think about it. It might be a coincidence that there was someone in the room who looked 90% like the Night Emperor, but a few days later, someone who looked 90% like the current Emperor also appeared here.

This could be called a coincidence, and they could have worn their official hats for nothing all these years. But they couldn't figure out why this was happening, and they didn't have the courage to ask for an explanation, so they could only let them do as they pleased.

Fortunately, the whole capital is focused on the first batch of students going to the countryside, and has no time to pay attention to these trivial matters, so letting the two of them stay in that small courtyard is not a bad choice.

As evening approached, Xia Lin was about to finish work and go home when he saw Tian Qing perched on a chair, peering over the wall. Hearing a noise behind him, Xia Lin turned around and immediately called out, "Come quick!"

Xia Lin walked over curiously, stepped onto the artificial hill and looked out. He saw people everywhere, and caravans heading towards the outskirts of the city. Both sides of the road were filled with people crying and seeing them off. But what was surprising was that although some of the young people sitting in the cars were also very disappointed, most of them were excited and even full of expectations. There was a real light in their eyes.

"They must think the world outside is vast, and that with their own abilities they can definitely make a name for themselves." Tian Qing turned around and laughed, "But they don't know that their first step will be facing the gentry, who have been entrenched there for even longer than the powerful families. Hey, Daosheng, were you dealing with the gentry back then?"

Xia Lin stroked his chin and recalled for a while: "I led three thousand strong men to do the damn thing."

"Okay." Tian Qing silently turned her head away: "Asking is pointless."

"However, they will have their own methods. As long as they can keep their feet on the ground, these young people have plenty of strength and means. Just wait for the good news."

"What will happen to them?"

“I’ve already laid the groundwork for them.” Xia Lin chuckled. “They will kill the local gentry just as I kill the powerful families. It’s just that my reputation in history might not be very good. There will definitely be a group of people who say how cruel I am and will even publish books to curse me.”

"Will they scold me too?"

"What are you thinking? Of course you will."

Tian Qing gasped, "Oh no..."

"Actually, it's not so bad. As long as you always stand on the side of justice, they are nothing but duckweed trying to shake a tree. Future generations will smash their dog heads."

"What is justice?"

"History will judge for itself, and reputation speaks for itself. What we need to do is protect the flame of our heritage and prevent it from being stolen by others, otherwise your statue will be vandalized with excrement after you die."

"how about you?"

“Drag him out and whip his corpse, then smash him to pieces and feed him to the fish.”

"That's alright." Tian Qing nodded vigorously. "Feeding the fish is good, these fish need to be fed. Hey, what are you planning to do next?"

"There are too many things to do, so I plan to take it one step at a time. Let's start by building a real industrial zone, but that will probably be another difficult task. And then there's the sea; it's time to prepare to conquer it."

“The sea,” Tian Qing gazed at the horizon. “You must find it funny, but I… I’ve never even seen a truly blue sea, only a sea full of yellow mud.”

"It's alright, I'll just go on a business trip to Ningbo in a few days and take a look."

"really?"

"Then what's the point of me lying to you?" Xia Lin clicked her tongue. "How about I make a plan for you to look at these next few days?"

"That's possible."

They weren't trying to hide their conversation from people, and right below them stood the Vice Minister of Revenue. He was just leaving get off work, but the road was crowded, so he didn't take a carriage and instead walked along the wall of the Ministry of Revenue. Unfortunately, he overheard the conversation above him as he passed by.

He was pressed tightly against the wall, afraid to make any sudden movements or breathe too heavily, lest he be discovered if he moved. The psychological pressure made his heart rate exceed 160, and sudden death was imminent...

(End of this chapter)