Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 71: Eliminating the Abuses
Zhang Yu had already made plans when he was appointed as the magistrate of Zheng County. It had not been long since the great chaos in the country. It was basically impossible for him to get promoted by governing the country and get a better position before the chaos.

Therefore, Zhang Yu's purpose was obvious. He was appointed to gain merit and reputation for subsequent promotion. Therefore, Zhang Yu needed to do something, but he couldn't offend the nobles who held the power of speech. Zhang Yu needed to judge the importance of this matter.

Under this purpose, the reason for choosing Du Ji as the breakthrough point for the work is very simple. Du Ji is not a local and has no connection with most of the officials in Zheng County. By asking Du Ji now, we can get more information about the internal affairs of Zheng County from him, which will help Zhang Yu to objectively analyze the situation.

As for Liang Mi, as the representative of the local tyrants, if he did not want to affect the interests of the local gentry and powerful people too much, he had to let Liang Mi continue to serve as Gongcao to help him govern Zheng County.

In the county hall, Zhang Yu and Du Ji were sitting opposite each other, while Hao Zhao and Meng Ningzhi were guarding outside to prevent irrelevant people from interrupting their conversation without permission.

Zhang Yu poured a glass of water for Du Ji and asked, "Bo Hou is serving as the county magistrate as Gong Cao. Now that I am here, I wonder what Bo Hou's plans are?"

Du Ji didn't know Zhang Yu's intention and thought Zhang Yu was worried that he would compete with him for power. He said, "I am following the order of Chang Yinshou to temporarily manage Zheng County. Now that Zheng County is under the leadership of Zhang Jun, I will return to Chang'an to report to the governor."

Zhang Yu smiled and said, "When Yu visited Chang Yinshou, Chang mentioned Bohou to me, saying that when I was appointed to Zheng County, I could ask Bohou for advice on the affairs of Zheng County."

After a pause, he added: "Although Yu is now the county magistrate, he still needs Bo Hou's help to manage the affairs of Zheng County. Therefore, I have sent a letter to Lord Yin to temporarily retain Bo Hou in Zheng County to perform the duties of the county magistrate and assist me in governing Zheng County."

Du Ji was a little surprised. He didn't expect Zhang Yu to keep him as the county magistrate instead of driving him away. This was a disguised division of his power. However, Du Ji quickly realized that Zhang Yu could keep him as the county magistrate or drive him away. After all, he was only a county official, not a county magistrate officially appointed by the court.

Did Zhang Yu keep him here to deal with Gong Cao Liang Mi? Or was there some other purpose? If he was intent on corruption and rebellion, how could he accept this appointment?
"Your Excellency, I am so kind. Although I am temporarily in charge of county affairs, I am not well educated and dare not accept your advice!"

Soon, Du Ji regained his thoughts and asked, "The county lord has summoned me today. Apart from being the temporary county magistrate, what else do you want?"

Zhang Yu hesitated for a moment and said, "To be honest, I am a young official and have just been appointed as the county magistrate. I want to eliminate the bad policies of the previous incumbent, but I am hesitant because I have just arrived in Zheng County and do not know the situation in the county. Now Bohou is young and promising, and is highly appreciated by the governor, so I want to ask you about the county affairs."

Hearing this, Du Ji felt relieved and said, "The problems in Zheng County started with the previous county magistrate. He did not care about governing the people, was greedy and incompetent. During his tenure, there were many criminal cases and more than 300 prisoners were detained. The people were very resentful."

"In Ji's opinion, the county lord's most urgent task is to adjudicate the case, let the innocent return home, bring the criminals to justice, and appease the people's grievances!"

There are only a little over 10,000 registered households in Zheng County, but there are more than 300 prisoners in custody. If you add the cases where there are no prisoners needed, there are probably 500 to 600 cases piled up.

Five or six hundred cases means that one out of every twenty households has an unresolved case, and one out of every thirty households has a relative in prison. How can the people not have complaints?

Zhang Yu nodded slightly and asked, "Apart from the prison, are there any other important matters?"

Du Ji pondered for a moment and asked, "Does the county lord want to get to the root of the problem?"

"Please tell me in detail, Lord Bo!" Zhang Yu asked, perking up a little.

"Hmm~"

Du Ji said: "Most of the officials in Zheng County are the sons of powerful people. There are often people who rely on their family background to break the law and discipline. If the county lord wants to rectify the administration of officials, he must also dismiss the bad sons and rectify the style of the officials."

"The rebels in the northwest are rampant now, and the chaos in Guandong has just been quelled, so it is not easy to start a war."

Zhang Yu thought for a moment and said, "If we want to rectify the administration of officials, we should not act hastily, but should proceed gradually."

Zhang Yu turned a blind eye to the issue of official administration. If he wanted to accomplish something, he would still have to rely on these people in the short term. Unless the administration of officials was not rectified, the government would not be able to proceed.

"In that case!"

Du Ji understood clearly that Zhang Yu was not a man who only talked about military affairs on paper, and said: "Zheng County has many mountains and few fields. Now the number of refugees in the county is increasing day by day, and there are nearly a thousand people. In order to avoid sudden civil unrest, the county lord needs to solve this matter!"

Apparently, Du Ji had reported both events in Zheng County to Chang Qia. Chang Qia was worried that Zhang Yu didn't know the key points of the meeting, so he reminded Zhang Yu during the conversation.

"Where are the refugees in the county distributed now?" Zhang Yu asked.

"Liang Gongcao dispersed the refugees to various villages and pavilions for food. Although this temporarily alleviated their difficulties, it is not a long-term solution. We need to deal with it as soon as possible!" Du Ji said.

Zhang Yu frowned slightly. Zheng County had many mountains and few fields. It would be difficult to provide land for the people in the county. It would not be easy to make room for new land for these people. Unless new land could be found to accommodate these refugees, or to relocate them to other places.

"good!"

Zhang Yu had an idea and said, "Before I arrived at Zheng County, I wondered what the Marquis was responsible for?"

"Prison matters!"

Du Ji said, "I am here at the order of the Lord to come to Zheng County to adjudicate the case as quickly as possible and send the people back home."

"Your position as Marquis Bo remains unchanged, and you are still responsible for adjudicating cases. But in addition to making decisions as quickly as possible, you must also be fair to avoid wrongful imprisonment," Zhang Yu reminded.

"I'll try my best!" Du Ji looked embarrassed and answered reluctantly.

There are too many cases backlogged, and it is really difficult for Du Ji to be efficient and maintain quality at the moment.

Seeing this, Zhang Yu said, "When the Marquis of Bo is adjudicating a case, any difficult or major case can be postponed for retrial. When we are free, the Marquis of Bo and I will personally go to the prison to adjudicate the difficult and major cases."

"promise!"

At this point, Zhang Yu saw that the atmosphere was almost right, and said with a smile: "Bo Hou and I are about the same age. When there is no one around, we might as well call each other by our courtesy names."

"Yu Zi Ji An!"

As he spoke, Zhang Yu seemed to recall something and asked, "Since Bo Hou took office, have any officials bribed you?" "Answer truthfully. I have no other intentions. I just want to know the customs in Zheng County."

Du Ji hesitated for a moment and said, "When I first took office, Liang Gongcao sent me a box of gifts. I wanted to refuse it, but I was afraid of offending Gongcao, so I had to accept it temporarily. I plan to return it to Liang Gongcao when I am done with my work and return to Yin."

"County Lord Ruo~"

"Just call each other by our courtesy names!" Zhang Yu smiled again and said, "No need to be so formal."

Seeing Zhang Yu's sincerity, Du Ji said, "The current official atmosphere is like this. If Ji An wants to govern Zheng County, he should not cause trouble with Liang Gongcao."

"I've taken note of what Bo Hou said!" Zhang Yu said.

The two chatted for a long time, and Hao Zhao walked into the hall.

"My Lord, Liang Gongcao is waiting outside the hall!"

"Ji has something to do, so I'll leave first!" Du Ji was quite perceptive and stood up to say goodbye.

"good!"

After a while, a clerk in his forties appeared. He was very calm in his movements, but when he saw Zhang Yu, he bowed actively, carried the box, and walked in.

"Your servant greets the county lord!"

"Mr. Liang, please take a seat!"

Zhang Yu stood up and greeted him, saying with a smile: "I didn't enjoy talking with you last night, so I specially invite you to come to chat with me today!"

Liang Mi handed over the box with both hands and said with a smile: "This is a little respect from the gentlemen in the county. I hope you will not reject it."

Zhang Yu naturally took the lacquer box, felt the weight of the box, and said with a smile: "Liang Gongcao is really thoughtful!"

"Please sit down!"

Zhang Yu extended his hand to invite Liang Mi to sit down, and said, "I have invited you here today to discuss the matter of the refugees in the county!"

"Before Yu took office, Chang Yinshou told me that Zheng County was the strategic point of Qiaohan, and it was the only way to enter and exit Guanzhong. Now there are as many as a thousand refugees. If we are not careful in managing them, it may cause turmoil in the county. When the traffic is cut off, your life and mine may be in danger." Zhang Yu exaggerated the threat.

"Mr. Liang is in charge of the refugees' affairs. Do you have any strategies to teach me?" Zhang Yu asked.

Liang Mi hesitated and said, "To deal with the refugees in the county, we need to let them have a way to make a living. But now there are few lands and many people in the county, and there is no land for the refugees to cultivate. Now we can only let the refugees live in the village pavilion temporarily."

Zhang Yu hesitated for a moment and said, "I have a plan that will not harm the interests of the people of Zheng County and will also help the refugees."

"Oh?"

Liang Mi became interested and asked, "I would like to hear your detailed explanation!"

Zhang Yu took a sip of water and said, "Zheng County is narrow but densely populated. Why don't we borrow fields from the mountains, draw water from Huashan Mountain, and irrigate the land through the mountains to benefit the people. The fields we have opened can be given to the refugees, and I will ask the governor Chang Yin for tax exemption."

"Borrowing fields from the mountains?"

Liang Mi fell into deep thought. Terraces already existed in the Han Dynasty, but they were not popularized. Now Zhang Yu planned to reclaim land in the mountains to settle refugees, which was not impossible.

"My lord, all the grain in the government treasury has been sent to the army, and now there is no grain left in the government treasury. Although the idea of borrowing land from the mountains is a good one, I don't know where the funds for reclaiming the land will come from?" Liang Mi asked.

Zhang Yu paced a few times and said with a smile: "I have heard that the families in Zheng County are wealthy and kind-hearted. Why don't you donate grain and money to help the county reclaim the mountain fields?"

When these words came out, Liang Mi opened his mouth slightly, his expression full of shock.

Why did the county lord, who used to act and speak in a disciplined manner, suddenly talk crazy now? He expected the big families in the county to pay money to help him achieve political achievements, so he might as well find a way to get the refugees out of Zheng County.

Isn't it a foolish dream to ask the big families to pay for reclaiming the mountain fields?

At this moment, Liang Mi glanced at the lacquer box, his heart filled with regret.

Last night, he saw Zhang Yu being appointed as a county magistrate at a young age. He thought that his family background was extraordinary. In order to curry favor with Zhang Yu, he even bribed him with gold bars. Now he is afraid that he has messed up!

"how?"

Zhang Yu looked at Liang Mi and asked with a smile, "Does Lord Liang think this is inappropriate?"

Liang Mi shook his head and said, "It's okay to borrow land from the mountain, but it's not okay to ask the families in the county to provide grain and money. Please think twice!"

Zhang Yu lowered his hands and asked, "How can you say that Liang Jun is not worthy of your decision when you don't know my plan?"

Because of Zhang Yu's superior status, Liang Mi couldn't get angry, so he just said with a cold expression: "The world is bustling, all for profit, the world is bustling, all for profit. Now I can ask you to donate a little money, but I'm afraid it will be difficult to ask you to pay money and grain to open up the land."

"Why is there no profit in cultivating the land?" Zhang Yu asked in return.

(End of this chapter)