Qing Yao

Chapter 186 Let's Climb Together
Old Song was specially summoned by Zhao An. He thought that Lord Zhao wanted to see him for something, but as soon as he entered the room, Lord Zhao gave him a ten-tael red envelope and told him that he was no longer a Han official, but a bondservant of the emperor.

This can be considered as officially entering the royal system, or rather, the very edge of the empire's highest decision-making level.

Therefore, Lao Song must accept the red envelope, as a way of sharing in the joy.

What he said next can be summarized as follows: you and Lao Ding need to realign your "granularity" in the future.

Align with Zhao Baoyi!

Unconditional alignment.

To align oneself with Zhao Baoyi is to align oneself with the Emperor, since Zhao Baoyi is now the Emperor's servant.

The smug Director Song almost blurted out, "You lackey, what are you so arrogant about!"

I dare not curse, I dare not curse.

How can you scold the emperor's people?

After receiving the red envelope, he reported on Zhao Youlu's parents' move. With Lao Song's tireless persuasion, Zhao Youlu's parents agreed to move to another place after the New Year.

The two elders' only request was that Zhao An bring Chunlan and her daughter to see them off when they left.

"It should, it should."

Zhao An nodded and asked Old Song very seriously, "You didn't threaten the two elders, did you?"

"What are you saying, sir? I am a county instructor, how could I do such a thing!"

Old Song firmly denied the matter.

“I’m not saying that intimidation is wrong. As long as the result is right, how it is done is not important. Special measures are needed in special times.”

Old Song couldn't quite keep up with Zhao An's change of topic, and then inquired about the demolition and resettlement situation in Sanyanghe Village.

Old Song said that thanks to the tireless efforts of the workshop and the prison, half of Sanyanghe Village has been demolished. The remaining half has been agreed to be demolished in principle, but it will have to wait until after the Chinese New Year.

If you don't fight during the Lunar New Year, you naturally won't move your house either.

"The people supported the county's water conservancy projects, so when the county sent people from the construction and criminal departments to talk to them, most of them wholeheartedly agreed, saying that the county magistrate was a truly good official who worked for the people, and that they could not let their own families ruin the greater good."

Instructor Song spoke with great enthusiasm, as if he were the good official rather than the county magistrate.

Zhao An keenly sensed something was amiss: "I understand why the people from the workshop went, but what are the people from the torture chamber doing there?"

"This"

Old Song's expression was a little unnatural. After a while, he chuckled awkwardly and said, "The sir just said that as long as the result is correct, how it is done is not important, and who does it is even less important."

"Ai?"

Zhao An gave Old Song, the shrewd old man, a look of approval and coughed lightly: "It's a good thing for the county to build water conservancy projects, but we can't sacrifice the interests of the people just because it's a good thing. What I mean is that the resettlement must be in place. We can't let the people struggle to make a living because they support the county's projects. Their living conditions in the new place can't be worse than in the old place."

"Don't worry, sir. The county magistrate is keeping a close eye on things, so no one below will dare to do anything reckless."

Old Song said there are two ways to resettle them.

First, the county will allocate land for them to build houses in other places, and then coordinate with the local authorities to provide some land for the relocated residents to cultivate. In principle, they should be given more land.

For example, if a household originally had five or six mu of land in Sanheyang, they would be given seven or eight mu in the new location.

The land purchase cost was covered by the county government.

Secondly, they offered cash compensation, allowing villagers to choose where to live after receiving the money, as long as they didn't leave Yangzhou Prefecture. Zhao An was satisfied with this and then shared his idea with Lao Song: to mobilize some writers from the county school to write articles about Lord Ding's efforts to benefit the people, creating momentum and contributing to Lord Ding's advancement.

The first step is to create a major public opinion stir in all sectors of Ganquan County, making "Old Ding is a good county magistrate" the top trending topic in the county. Then, leveraging this wave of public opinion, the message can be extended to the prefecture, the province, and even the imperial court.

Regardless of the year, an official's public image plays a crucial role in their career advancement.

Public opinion is something that can actually be artificially created, and very easily at that.

Zhao An has experience in this area, it would be a waste not to use it to give it a try.

Old Song listened very attentively, and for the first time he truly felt how important the word "public opinion" was to officials, as Lord Zhao had said.

Zhao An thought for a moment and then instructed Old Song, "Isn't the Governor in Yangzhou? Here's what you need to do: go back immediately and prepare a few umbrellas for the people."

"The Umbrella of Ten Thousand People?"

Old Song was stunned for a moment. The "Ten Thousand People Umbrella" was a gift from local gentry and wealthy merchants when local officials left office, meaning that the officials would protect the people of the area like an umbrella while they were still in office.

The more gifts a person gives, the more prestigious the official is considered to be.

If an official is dismissed or demoted, and locals still offer him umbrellas or even stop his sedan chair, it indicates that he is definitely an honest or good official who cares deeply for the people.

It's a great tool for creating momentum.

The other one is the Monument to Virtuous Governance. That thing is more complicated to make and more troublesome than the Umbrella of Ten Thousand People. It is inconvenient to make it on short notice, so Zhao An gave it a break.

"Lord Ding has gone to Huai'an and won't be back for a while. Surely he'll have to come back before we can organize the people to deliver the 'Ten Thousand People's Umbrella'?"

Old Song implied that things were a bit rushed and the timing was poor. It would have been better to send it after the New Year or in the spring, because that would be when the entire project would be underway.

Zhao An shook his head and said, "The Umbrella of Ten Thousand People is not for Lord Ding, but for Governor."

"what?"

Old Song was completely bewildered: Wasn't it said that he was "packaging" the county magistrate to help him get promoted? Why was the "Ten Thousand People Umbrella" given to the governor who had nothing to do with this matter?

Zhao An didn't explain, but continued to say to Lao Song, "You are the master of the county school, so the gentry in the county will definitely give you face. Organize more gentry and spend money to hire some commoners to come and deliver the gifts. As for the money, you can take some from the county school's account, and if that's not enough, I will allocate some from the prefectural school's account."

He paused, then emphasized that when the gentry and common people presented umbrellas to the governor, they must say that they were thanking the governor for building water conservancy projects for the people of Yangzhou and preventing floods. Nothing else needed to be said, and certainly no need to mention Old Ding's name.

Old Song hesitated and said, "I'm afraid the governor doesn't know about the water conservancy project in the county."

Zhao An chuckled: "The governor may not know about this, but won't he ask? If the governor asks, he will know about Lord Ding's affairs. In that case, wouldn't Lord Ding have caught the governor's eye?"

Old Song, you must remember, no matter what you do, even if the credit is great, it's the higher-ups who deserve it, understand? If the governor gains face, won't he have to take care of Lord Ding in return? When we promote someone, we don't necessarily promote them directly; sometimes promoting their superior is more effective than directly promoting them.”

"Ok?"

Old Song sincerely praised, "Your insight is brilliant! No wonder the Emperor took you as his servant!"

It wasn't sarcastic remark; it was genuinely kind.

Zhao An gladly accepted the compliment. With the governor praising him so highly, and Old Ding successfully negotiating with the canal transport authorities on behalf of the canal workers, it would be difficult for him not to be promoted.

What does it mean to be an accomplice?

A party means everyone climbs together, not just me climbing without helping others.

(End of this chapter)