Prime Minister

Chapter 140, Page 139: [Using the People as Bait]

The western courtyard of Xinghua County Government Office.

"Brother Kong, have you found any problems?"

Wang Gui, carrying a teacup, approached Kong Li, the clerk in charge of household affairs.

Kong Li looked up at him, shook his head, and said, "It's very clean."

They have been here for five days, and during that time they have basically not left this compound. Every day they have been checking various account books and files from Xinghua County over the past five years.

The county officials would take turns visiting him every day, and the conversation would eventually turn to Xue Huai. Wang Gui and the others, of course, knew nothing about him, and they really did not know where Xue Huai had gone.

Wang Gui sat down at the table, then looked to the other side and asked, "What about Brother Hao's side?"

Hao Shifang, the clerk of the criminal investigation department, put down the case file in his hand and sneered, "To be honest, in the twenty years I have been looking at case files, I have never seen such a flawless case file from Xinghua County. There is not a single flaw in any of the cases. The person who wrote this is truly a master."

Everyone couldn't help but laugh upon hearing this.

These government officials have seen all sorts of strange things. They've been working their way up in the government office for two or three decades and know all too well that having no flaws is the biggest flaw of all.

"Speaking of which, this Magistrate Luo is truly a remarkable person."

Kong Li also paused his inspection of the case files, picked up his teacup and said, "If we look at these account books and case files, the people of Xinghua County lived in peace and prosperity under his governance, and the people were in harmony. He should have been promoted long ago."

Cen Shanfang, a clerk in the Ministry of Personnel on the other side, chimed in: "He won't be promoted. Magistrate Luo's evaluations in the last two major assessments were both below average."

"Tsk."

Wang Gui shook his head, puzzled, and said, "Why do you think he would do this? Does he think we're all blind? Or does he think he can fool the magistrate like this?"

"Who knows? Maybe there are too many problems. If you suppress one, another will surface, so this is the only way to cover it up."

Kong Li recalled his experiences along the way. Although there were precedents of forgery in other prefectures and counties, none were as outrageous as Xinghua County. He continued, "Where do you think the Governor is now? Could he be in Xinghua County?"

Wang Gui coughed lightly and said, "Why bother guessing? We just need to do our job well according to the Hall Master's instructions."

Kong Li realized what was happening and quickly laughed it off, saying, "That's true."

Just then, a clerk announced that Magistrate Luo had arrived. The group exchanged glances and said no more.

Luo Tong led the registrar Mo Jingyu into the hall, where a group of government officials rose to greet him.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Luo Tong looked at Wang Gui with a worried expression and said, "Wang, is there any news about Lord Xue?"

Seeing his unusual expression, Wang Gui asked curiously, "Magistrate Luo, what happened?"

Luo Tong sighed and said, "It's because our county is plagued by floods every summer. These past few days, there has been torrential rain in the north. I'm worried that, like in previous years, the floods will cause the people to lose their entire harvest."

He had the air of someone who cared deeply about the country and its people, and Mo Jingyu then explained the details to the officials under his jurisdiction.

Although Xinghua County was under the jurisdiction of Yangzhou, its situation was different from that of Yizhen County. The floods were not caused by the Yangtze River floods, but by the special geographical location of the area.

This area is the lowest-lying part of the Huaiyang region, hence the nickname "pot bottom depression." The overall terrain resembles an inverted pot bottom, causing water to flow in from all directions, including the Huai River, the Grand Canal, and local rainfall. It is easy to store water but extremely difficult to drain it.

In particular, decades ago, the Yellow River diverted into the Huai River, causing floods from the upper reaches of the Huai River to flow into this low-lying area through tributaries, creating a pattern of four rivers flowing into the pond and foreign water flowing back into the water, resulting in waterlogging disasters almost every August and September.

After listening to Mo Jingyu's introduction, the expressions of all the officials in the government office became solemn.

After these two months of trials, whether they followed Xue Huai out of consideration for their own future or because they were genuinely moved, they all understood Xue Huai's bottom line: officials should consider the people's interests.

If we remain indifferent to a disaster that could very likely cause people to be displaced, we will certainly be held accountable by Xue Huai afterward.

Wang Gui, now the head of the affairs department, naturally took the lead when Xue Huai was away. Seeing everyone looking at him with questions, he said to Luo Tong, "Magistrate Luo, how did our county prevent flooding in previous years?"

Luo Tong sighed, "To be honest, I've been racking my brains over this matter for years. Because our county is low-lying, unless we can build a estuary, the accumulated water simply can't drain away. We can only build dikes to block the water, but that's just a temporary solution. This year, the rainfall in the northern waters has been extremely heavy, and I've noticed that the amount of water flowing into our territory is increasing day by day. The situation is probably much more dangerous than in previous years!"

Although Wang Gui didn't believe that Luo Tong was genuinely concerned for the people, he knew that the other party certainly wouldn't dare to exaggerate the situation. Moreover, it was common knowledge that Xinghua County was poor, and one of the most important reasons for this was the flooding disaster.

However, this matter was beyond his capabilities. After all, he was just a newly promoted official; how could he have the authority to handle such a major issue concerning the safety of the people of an entire county? Seeing that no one spoke up, Luo Tong knew that the time had come, so he said sincerely, "Official Wang, esteemed officials, the situation is urgent, and we must ask the Director to step forward and take charge!"

These officials in the government office were tight-lipped and hadn't uttered a word in the past few days. No matter how Luo Tong tried to probe them, they didn't reveal any clues, and Xue Huai's whereabouts remained a mystery.

However, Luo Tong did not believe that they were truly unaware of the situation, and he immediately intended to use this method to force Xue Huai to reveal himself.

Doesn't the other party always talk about the common people? Now the people of the county are in dire straits and urgently need him, the Assistant Magistrate, to save them. If he remains hidden in the shadows and does nothing, what will he do when all the displaced people flood into the county town?
To Luo Tong's surprise, even after he had analyzed the seriousness of the problem to this extent, Wang Gui still did not budge. He solemnly said, "Magistrate Luo, how about this? This county will start by making arrangements according to the flood prevention measures of previous years, and we will also do our best to assist."

Luo Tong was stunned, and after a long while, he frowned and said, "But is it Lord Xue..."

Kong Li, who was standing to the side, said, "Magistrate Luo, the governor has been working tirelessly for the people these past two months. His temporary departure must be due to important matters. Does this mean that Xinghua County didn't know how to deal with floods in previous years when the governor wasn't here?"

"I did not mean that."

Luo Tong said with difficulty, "Judging from the situation this summer, this flood will be extremely dangerous! In previous years, our county only did minor repairs, but this year, if we want to eliminate the flood threat, we will have to conscript a large number of laborers and levy additional taxes. This is not something I can decide on my own; we must get Lord Xue's approval! Now Lord Xue is nowhere to be found. If something goes wrong, how can I bear such a heavy responsibility?"

Everyone was silent.

As the Assistant Magistrate of Yangzhou, and thanks to Tan Mingguang's magnanimity in relinquishing power, Xue Huai is now in charge of a wide range of affairs, including corvée labor, water conservancy, canal transport, and salt administration.

Luo Tong's request was reasonable. Although he was the magistrate of Xinghua County, he needed the approval of his superiors if it involved policies of this scale.

The officials under the government office felt extremely troubled.

They could disregard Luo Tong, and they knew that Xue Huai had his reasons for leaving temporarily. However, Luo Tong's demands were beyond reproach, and they clearly could not make decisions for Xue Huai.

Wang Gui hesitated. To avoid any unexpected situations, Xue Huai had indeed left him a way to contact him. He only needed to have someone leave a message at a shop in the county town, and someone would deliver it to Xue Huai soon. However, he instinctively felt that Luo Tong had ill intentions.

Seeing this, Luo Tong said, "Gentlemen, how about this? I will issue a formal document in the name of the Prefectural Governor and the County Government, stating that as long as this year's flooding problem can be resolved, I am willing to take responsibility! However, if the Prefectural Governor asks about it later, please help me explain!"

At this moment, he felt incredibly tall and proud, and even felt a little excited, more comfortable than when he was accumulating wealth in the past.

Of course, this thought only flashed through his mind. Luo Tong did not want to be like Zhang Shi, the magistrate of Yizhen County, who was trapped in the position of magistrate for seven or eight years and still dreamed of being honest and upright.

What's the use of being honest if you can't even support your own staff?

Wang Gui took a deep breath and said, "For now, we have no choice but to do this. However, I still need to tell Magistrate Luo that the governor hates officials who exploit the people the most. Whether it is conscripting laborers or collecting labor fees, it must be kept within a reasonable range. We must not let the people suffer before the floods even form!"

Luo Tong said solemnly, "Don't worry, Mr. Wang, I know what to do. I will bring the regulations over later to discuss them with you all."

Although no one trusted Luo Tong, they had no choice but to nod in agreement since he had put it that way.

After Luo Tong left, Kong Li and the others surrounded Wang Gui, all of them looking worried.

Hao Shifang frowned and asked, "Brother Wang, what should we do next?"

During this trip to Xinghua, Xue Huai had been a hands-off manager from the beginning, and the task he assigned them was simply to thoroughly check the accounts and files of the Xinghua County government. They were unaware of Xue Huai's next plans, and now that the situation had suddenly become tense, everyone inevitably felt lost and confused.

Wang Gui pondered for a moment, then said in a low voice, "Please don't worry, everyone. I'll try to contact the Director. For now, we can only ask him to return as soon as possible."

Everyone nodded.

A moment later, a clerk left through the back gate of the compound. After carefully observing his surroundings and confirming that no one was paying attention, he quickly crossed the alley and headed southwest of the county town.

As he entered a shop, two shabby idlers in the distance exchanged a glance, then turned and went back, satisfied.

Upon receiving this news, Yang Mo, the magistrate of Xinghua County, informed Luo Tong, who had already returned to the back hall of the county government office, as quickly as possible.

"Hmph, trying to play tricks on me, nothing special."

Luo Tong sat leisurely in his armchair, looked at Yang Mo and Liu Song opposite him, and said, "Gentlemen, the fish has taken the bait. Now we should move on to the next step and prepare a generous gift for that Lord Xue."

Yang Mo and Liu Song exchanged a smile and nodded, saying, "That's only right."

(End of this chapter)