Ita Era

Chapter 144 Together

Everyone stared at each other, bewildered: "What does this mean?"

No one knows who pressed the button to summon the divine beast, but Little Sugar emerged from the crack to explain, in a way that also had a teaching element: "The magistrate's plan did not include any plans to develop commerce, agriculture, or water conservancy. There was no plan to allocate funds to the county academy. There was no plan to increase revenue or reduce expenditure. His reputation, political achievements, people's livelihood, and fiscal scores were all very low, but because he conducted a fair and just imperial examination, his political achievements were rated B."

Little Sugar: "The clerk understands the law, but not much. The system assessment shows that he did find Daya and basically figured out her situation, but he violated the law when making the decision, so the level of security and law was raised."

Yu Yuan asked, "What does this mean? Which evaluation method does the system use to calculate the score?"

Little Sugar replied: "The official evaluation is how your officialdom evaluates you. The system evaluation is your actual contribution. In the second round, you will start based on your actual contribution. People's livelihood is D, meaning Yong'an County's economy has become very bad. Finance is D, meaning there isn't a single penny in the accounts. Political achievements are B, meaning your superiors have a certain degree of tolerance towards you. Public security is C, meaning there are bandit gangs and mountain bandits around the county town, who may attack villages or towns. Law is C, meaning people lack respect for the law, and the violent crime rate will increase across the board. Reputation is D, meaning the credibility of the county government and the magistrate is very low, and not many people are willing to trust the government."

Yu Yuan: "That would be a complete collapse, there's no point in playing anymore."

Little Sugar: "But your official evaluation is very good, which means that someone has distorted the facts. This kind of thing was very common in feudal times. County officials preyed on the people because they had powerful backers, and the people could only endure it. Although your credibility is very low, the people in feudal times were also very timid. As long as they had food to eat, they would not fight against the government."

Xiaotangtang added: "The system's final settlement is based on official evaluation. If the emperor says you've done well, then you've done well. If the common people say you've done well, then they might be jealous of you. I suggest you break away from modern thinking. You can think of the common people as a coal mine. As long as you don't mine too hard, there won't be any problems."

Chu Yu said, "According to you, we should raise the tax rate and increase the tax burden in the first round?"

Little Sugar shrugged: "Bandit suppression tax, water management tax, these are all for the benefit of the people. It's taken from the people and used for the people. You should have noticed that Yong'an County has a good economy. If you levied taxes across the board as soon as you took office, you'd have all the money you need. But instead, you're thinking about taking down the local tyrants and eliminating the princess. Isn't that a bit too idealistic?"

Ding Shi was filled with vigilance and said, "Gou Tang, you have ulterior motives."

Little Sugar: "I'm just suggesting that you sort out the problems that existed in your first round. Remember, population is the primary productive force."

Ding Shi: "You mean the poll tax?"

Little Sugar didn't respond: "In the second round, you've had a disastrous start. If you lose your value, the people behind you will no longer support you and will instead eliminate you. Because you've pledged allegiance to the princess, you'll inevitably be drawn into the struggle for the throne."

Little Sugar said, "Your core value in the struggle for the throne is Yong'an Pass. The fact that the forces behind the scenes promoted the county magistrate to a garrison general already shows their attitude. Finally, I want to remind you that, according to my calculations, there will be a traitor among you."

"Traitor?"

"Traitors, spies, double agents, I guess. It's time to test your tribe's cohesion. Will you sacrifice yourselves for the greater good, or preserve your core interests? Hehehe, I love watching brothers fight amongst themselves." Little Sugar waved: "Goodbye, I look forward to your performance."

Everyone fell silent, racking their brains for ideas. Su Su asked, "Who could be the traitor?"

No one answered. Su Su looked at Ding Shi and said, "Ding Ding."

Ding Shi said, “Anyone could be involved. Judging from the data, my data has the biggest problem. The princess didn’t protect me, but the Dali Temple did and even promoted me. There might be a force behind me that opposes the princess. Wang Meng is currently in charge of Yong’an Pass. It’s possible that everyone will sell him out. Yong’an Pass’s grain and fodder supplies are provided by Yong’an County. If Yu Yuan stops providing grain and fodder, Yong’an Pass will collapse.”

Yu Yuan asked, "Why should I do this?"

Ding Shi said, "The emperor has issued an imperial edict to you, requiring you to cut off food supplies during wartime."

Yu Yuan was taken aback: "Surely it wouldn't warrant an imperial edict?"

Ding Shi said, "Su Su is under the jurisdiction of the Education Bureau. In order to ensure the smooth conduct of the prefectural examination..."

Su Su interrupted, "It's not that bad. There's a war going on, who would take an exam?"

Ding Shi said, "Even changing dynasties requires examinations."

Chu Yu said, "The key question is: to what extent are we willing to sacrifice for the tribe? Are we willing to die for the tribe and thus lose the right to challenge dungeons?"

Yu Yuan said, "Currently, the benefits the tribe is giving back to its members are too little. Asking members to die for the tribe is indeed a bit excessive. I am a businessman, and I believe in interests more. Judging from the current situation, I think we need a neutral person."

"A neutral party?"

Yu Yuan said, "Suppose Wang Meng receives an order to secretly open the city gates one night and let the rebel army into Yong'an Pass. Wang Meng is in a dilemma. The person behind the scenes can either promote Wang Meng or imprison him. After all, Wang Meng was still promoted despite some problems in the first round."

Yu Yuan said, “Wang Meng can’t communicate with me. He knows the interests I represent, so a neutral party is needed. Wang Meng can communicate with the neutral party to explain the situation and let the neutral party find a way to reach an agreement with me. If the neutral party thinks that an agreement can be reached, he will communicate with me. If the neutral party thinks that a common interest cannot be reached, then Wang Meng will make the decision himself.”

The woman in red said, "Therefore, this neutral person cannot have a collective consciousness."

Yu Yuan nodded: "Yes. Neutral people can find out the bottom line of both sides by asking, which is conducive to binding interests together. Although the tribe's cohesion is not strong, I believe that everyone is willing to sacrifice some interests for the benefit of the tribe. I also understand that it is too difficult to ask an individual to give up their life for the benefit of the collective."

If you lose your life, the collective has nothing to do with you. After all, the Fire Seed Tribe is just a makeshift operation right now, and we can't expect too much from our employees. The same goes for the boss. A boss would risk his life for a Fortune 500 company, not for a small private enterprise.

The woman in red raised her hand: "I'll be the neutral party."

Yu Yuan agreed, and seeing that everyone had no objections, he said, "Then let Hongyi be the neutral person. We have a lot of time today to get a comprehensive understanding of Yong'an County and Yong'an Pass. However, we can't interact on rest days; we can only view the situation in Yong'an County from a God's-eye view."

……

They controlled themselves to fly out of the county government office and saw a different Yong'an City. Most shops were closed, there were many beggars on the streets, some robbing people in broad daylight, and others harassing women. It wasn't exactly chaotic; there weren't many people on the streets, and everyone was in a hurry. Wealthy families had guards and thugs, and they walked calmly and leisurely on the wide streets.

The western part of the city had the largest population, many of whom sold themselves into slavery just to have a bite to eat. Wealthy families would pick and choose from those who were taken into their households, and those who were taken in were all grateful.

A long queue formed at the porridge kitchen in the west of the city. A dozen or so city guards were responsible for maintaining order. Then one of the soldiers took a damp cloth and wiped a little girl's face. The smudges on her face were wiped away, and she became a little beauty. Then several soldiers dragged her away, and...hehehe. Her parents came to rescue her, but were kicked to the ground by the soldiers.

Some people suggested that the parents go to the county government office to find the magistrate, while others said that all crows are black, and the magistrate of Yong'an County was utterly wicked.

Yu Yuan said awkwardly, "What a mess!" They went their separate ways, but their phone calls remained unaffected. Everyone pretended not to see or hear anything. Only then did they understand why feudal society needed upright and just officials; the quality of officials directly affected the livelihoods of the people.

Ding Shi went to the residence of the Vice Minister in Xiaowang Village, searching for the missing armored soldiers. In his spirit form, he wandered around the Vice Minister's house for two hours, eventually passing through a wall into a secret room where he found a box. The box was open, and inside was empty except for an oval-shaped recess.

Ding Shi then went to the Princess's residence.

The Princess's residence has 100 military personnel, and the military camp is located near the residence. The exterior of the Princess's residence is square, but the internal structure is not exactly square. It took Ding Shi a lot of time to memorize the route.

At the Princess's residence, Ding Shi did not find any armored soldiers. The guards of the Princess's residence wore light armor such as leather armor and rode ordinary packhorses, not warhorses. Ding Shi met the Princess for the first time; she was in her forties and looked quite dignified. The only thing he found in the Princess's residence was a box in her study, exactly the same box as the one in the Vice Minister's house, the difference being that her box was closed and locked.

Where did the Ironclad Army go? One hundred Ironclad Army soldiers require considerable logistical support, and without cover, their daily purchase of large quantities of supplies would seem highly suspicious. The Princess's residence and the Vice Minister's household have many people; their purchase of double or triple supplies wouldn't arouse much suspicion.

Ding Shi searched the surrounding area for a long time but could not find the whereabouts of the Ironclad Army.

Wang Meng said, "Yong'an Pass looks very formidable."

At the hour of Ding, the location was determined, and the person was teleported to Yong'an Pass. Yong'an Pass was guarded by one thousand soldiers, two deputy generals, and ten centurions. Yong'an Pass was a cliff pass and an important transportation hub between the north and south. If one wanted to bypass Yong'an Pass, it would take three more days of travel.

Yong'an Pass is a large area with heavy city gates and an inner barbican. Even if the main gate is breached, there is another gate inside. Attacking this gate will result in indiscriminate arrow fire from the defenders on higher ground.

Under normal circumstances, the city gates are open during the day.

The area surrounding Yong'an Pass, including the drill grounds, barracks, market, and the town of Yong'an Pass, was under the dual jurisdiction of the garrison general and the magistrate of Yong'an County. Military matters were the responsibility of the garrison general, while shops and caravans were the responsibility of the magistrate.

To control the military commanders, the magistrate of Yong'an County was responsible for supplying provisions. The magistrate would guarantee, but could only guarantee, that the garrison at Yong'an Pass would have enough provisions for 5-7 days. To prevent the garrison from hoarding provisions, inspections were conducted periodically.

During the remaining rest time, Ding Shi took out the skill book for the Splitting Palm technique and began to learn it.

……

The second round has a preparation time of 48 hours and will begin in half an hour.

In the first round, Magistrate Yu Yuan focused on disaster prevention. In the second round, he focused on two things: first, strictly controlling Yong'an Pass, including ensuring the supply of provisions to Yong'an Pass; second, improving people's livelihoods. Simply put, raising the standard of living for the people. The most basic bottom line was to prevent people from starving to death.

These two tasks are the bottom line for keeping one's official position.

The starting account has 1000 taels of silver. Setting up soup kitchens will consume 100 taels of silver daily. Yu Yuan must turn most of the refugees into farmers, enabling them not only to be self-reliant but also to pay taxes to him.

Currently, 400 acres of fertile land are registered under the county government's name. However, these lands were rented out to four landlords at extremely low prices by previous county magistrates. If Yu Yuan can take back the land and distribute the refugees to farm, he can solve part of the refugee problem.

Wang Meng's main job is to catch spies.

It is said that malicious individuals have repeatedly entered and exited Yong'an Pass, observing its layout, such as the structure of the barbican, the walls, the changing of the guard, the number of soldiers, and the preferences of the commanding generals.

After reading the system instructions, Wang Meng's hatred for spies, traitors, undercover agents, and double agents reached a new height. Why couldn't he get over this hurdle?
Su Su's main job is to assist with the prefectural examination, focusing primarily on Yong'an County. She needs to ensure the candidates from Yong'an County have a good environment for taking the exams. Rumor has it that there were widespread food poisoning incidents before the last prefectural examination. No one died, just some suffered from diarrhea. Ensuring the food safety of the candidates in Yong'an County also falls under Su Su's responsibilities.

It takes 5 hours to travel from Yong'an County to the prefectural capital by horse-drawn carriage.

Su Su has 24 hours to prepare, during which time she needs to hire a carriage, consider whether to hire a security escort agency, choose a route, confirm inns in the prefectural capital, and so on. She will depart with the examinees at 8 a.m. tomorrow, and she will also have supervisory duties after arriving in the prefectural capital.

It's obvious that Su Su's workload has increased significantly.

Ding Shi opened the case file in front of him. The file was thick and contained three cases. After browsing through it, Ding Shi was puzzled. All three cases had already resulted in convictions, with complete witness testimony and physical evidence, and the criminals had confessed. The case process was also quite simple. Was a review necessary?
Ding Shi turned to the last page, where there was a line of text: "Xia Xiang Lou, second floor, Tianzi private room".

Ding Shi reviewed it again and confirmed the anomaly. He had no job duties, had not asked Ding Shi to solve any cases, and had not asked Ding Shi to investigate criminal cases.

Su Su asked, "Ding Ding, what is your job?"

Ding Shi replied: "The Li family's gold theft case, the concubine's poisoning case, and the river mouth female corpse case."

Su Su looked at him with sympathy and said, "Keep it up." After solving three cases in 48 hours, Su Su didn't know what else to say besides sympathy.

Chu Yu said, "Perhaps this is our punishment for the first round."

Yu Yuan said, "My main focus here is money." The core problem is that we don't have money.

Su Su said, "Yu Yuan, I need funding."

Yu Yuan said, "I'll give you one hundred taels."

Su Su said, "At least five hundred." One hundred and two taels of silver is enough to hire five carriages. What about transportation? Lodging? Food? Even if we don't hire a security escort agency, it would cost several taels of silver to equip each examinee with a kitchen knife.

Yu Yuan said, "Two hundred, that's all."

Su Su thought for a while: "Two hundred first, and if you can get the money within 24 hours, give me a little more tomorrow."

Yu Yuan sighed, "Okay. Chu Yu, do you have any ideas on how to make money?"

Chu Yu leaned close to Yu Yuan's ear, her eyes fixed on Wang Meng: "Embezzling salaries and selling military supplies."

(End of this chapter)