The Military Governor in Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 123 Golden Branches and Jade Leaves

"The imperial court has issued an order for Datong Town to cooperate with your firearms manufacturing. I will give the order to provide you with as much pig iron and gunpowder as possible. As for how to forge it into refined iron, that's up to you," Chen Tai said.

Because Jia Chen and his group took a detour to Xuanfu Town, the imperial decree from the court had already reached Datong Prefecture a few days ago.

Chen Tai had nothing to say about the imperial edict.

After all, it was Jia Chen who was tasked with it.

Especially since firearms played a huge role this time, he felt that Jia Chen could expand the scale of firearms. If the northern barbarians invaded the south again in the future, he believed that Jia Chen would bring him more surprises.

"Thank you, sir," Jia Chen said with a delighted expression.

These were indeed the supplies he desperately needed.

He hadn't expected to get these things from Liu Tianwang, so he could only ask Chen Tai for them.

Next, he just had to wait for the firearms craftsmen from the capital to arrive so that his firearms manufacturing plan could be truly implemented.

Those large cannons are not easy to manufacture yet, but the manufacture of muskets must be put on the agenda first.

With enough arquebuses, he would be more confident in facing the Northern barbarians' cavalry. Even if he faced the stronger Eight Banners cavalry of the Later Jin in the future, Jia Chen would dare to fight them.

Of course, that's for the future; it's too early to think about that now.

However, we must always prepare for that goal.

Jia Chen rested in Datong Town for one night and was originally planning to set off back to Juqiangbao the next morning.

However, Hu Youcai made Jia Chen stay an extra day.

Chen Tai agreed with this.

Because the two of them also made Jia Chen recount the incident of being ambushed to the governor.

The three families in Datong Town are preparing to jointly submit a memorial to the imperial court to report on this matter.

In the morning at the governor's office, Jia Chen gave a truthful report.

The governor of Datong was naturally indignant about this matter.

As for how to report it, Jia Chen didn't think much about it; this matter was none of his concern.

"Sir? Where are we going now?" Wei Dao asked.

Jia Chen let out a long sigh of relief; he had felt somewhat oppressed at the governor's office earlier.

Those inside are all big shots; my position is far too small.

"There's nothing much to do now, so let's just wander around the city and relax," Jia Chen said with a smile. "Who here is familiar with this area?"

Jia Chen asked the guards beside him.

Finally, two people said they lived near Datong City and were familiar with the area, so they acted as guides to show us around Datong City.

After wandering around for a while, Jia Chen and his group finally sat down at a restaurant to get something to eat.

While waiting for their food to be served, Jia Chen and the others chatted idly.

Suddenly, the entrance to the restaurant became quite noisy.

Jia Chen couldn't help but turn his head to look.

An old man dressed in patched clothes tried to enter the restaurant, but the restaurant owner stopped him and wouldn't let him in.

One person wanted to get in and tried desperately to squeeze in, while the other wouldn't let them in and blocked them closely, and so they remained deadlocked.

"Master Xu, this really won't do."

"Isn't it enough for this old man to pay for a meal with his calligraphy and paintings?"

"Master Xu, you've already pawned dozens of paintings and calligraphy pieces at my shop. Today, it's truly impossible."

Jia Chen smiled. Was this considered dining and dashing?

Of course, using calligraphy and paintings to pay for a meal cannot be entirely described as dining and dashing.

According to the shopkeeper, he had pawned too many paintings and calligraphy here, so it was reasonable to stop letting him in.

After all, businesses need to make money.

"Who is this person? Do you know him?" Jia Chen asked.

"Yes, I know him. He's a famous figure in Datong Prefecture. You wouldn't know unless you've been here before," a guard chuckled. "Sir, do you know who the most pathetic person in Datong Prefecture is?"

"I don't know." Jia Chen shook his head. He couldn't think of anyone who was the most pathetic person in Datong Prefecture.

To be honest, it's probably still ordinary people.

"It's him?" Jia Chen quickly realized.

The fact that his own subordinates were keeping him in suspense was clearly related to the old man at the door.

"The magistrate of Datong County!" The guard did not directly answer Jia Chen's question.

"Really? The county magistrate is incompetent?" Jia Chen said in surprise.

He was rather curious about this claim.

It is said that a county magistrate is a minor official with only a seventh-rank rank, but in reality, he still wields considerable power.

The local officials of a county.

A county magistrate who ruins a family, a prefect who exterminates an entire clan—do you think this is a joke?

This is the power held by the county magistrate.

Jia Chen still found it hard to believe that the county magistrate was incompetent.

"My lord, it wouldn't matter if it were a county magistrate in other places, but for Datong County, it's truly dire. Think about it, the Datong County government is located within Datong City, it's an attached county. Within the city are the Prince of Dai's residence, the General's office, the Governor's office, and the Datong Prefectural Government. You see, all of these are the magistrate's superiors. How can he possibly manage dealing with so many superiors?"

After hearing the guard's explanation, Jia Chen finally understood the reason.

That magistrate of Datong County was truly pitiful.

The so-called "attached county" refers to a county without a separate county seat, where the county government is located within the prefectural city, which is equivalent to the district where the municipal government of a prefecture-level city is located today.

In the county attached to the city, the county magistrate and the prefect worked in the same city. If there were any achievements, the prefect would be credited; if there were any mistakes, the county magistrate would take the blame.

If a county magistrate wants to achieve something, he still has to be mindful of the prefect's attitude.

Those county magistrates in remote areas, being far from the emperor's reach, enjoyed much more freedom.

Furthermore, it was even more difficult for county magistrates whose offices were located in the provincial capital or the capital. In response to this situation, someone once summarized it as follows:

Three lifetimes of misfortune, a county magistrate residing in the city; three lifetimes of evil deeds, a provincial capital residing in the city; three lifetimes of heinous crimes, a capital city residing in the city.

The capital city is divided into two counties, and it is naturally difficult to be the magistrate of both counties.

There are too many big shots in the capital. You could grab any one of them and they could be a high-ranking official or a distant relative of one of these big shots. You can't afford to offend any of them.

The county magistrate in the capital was extremely cautious, as if walking on thin ice. If he wanted to arrest someone, he had to investigate the person's ancestors for eighteen generations and make sure that the person had no background before he could take action.

Otherwise, wouldn't you be just asking for trouble?

However, it's not that being a county magistrate in the capital is the most difficult job.

The two county magistrates in the capital were under the emperor's nose, and the emperor basically knew about them. They were expected to be of great use in the future, and most of them had powerful backers in the court. Ordinary officials would not easily make things difficult for them.

The most difficult position was naturally that of the magistrate of Datong County.

Anyone who comes here to be a county magistrate is basically an unlucky guy who has been exiled here to suffer, with no future prospects.

Generally speaking, the county government office is located in the center of the county town. However, in Datong Prefecture, the most central and northernmost location was the Prince Dai's Mansion, and across the street was the General's Office, as well as the Prefectural Government Office, and so on.

The Datong County Government Office was just a small plot of land, tucked away in a corner in the southeast of the city; it was too shabby.

In fact, besides the county magistrates and officials mentioned earlier, there were also garrison eunuchs, Jinyi Army spies, and so on.

None of these are people the county magistrate can afford to offend.

As Datong Town was one of the nine important border towns, located on the front line against the Northern Yuan invaders, under the pressure of border defense, the magistrate of Datong County often became a logistics officer providing food and fodder. If he failed to meet the army's needs, especially if the army suffered a defeat, the magistrate would most likely be punished for delaying military operations and would be unfairly blamed.

He's definitely a scapegoat.

Sixty percent of the farmland around Datong was designated as military settlements, and the county magistrate had no authority to manage it.

In addition, with the vast amount of land belonging to the Prince of Guidai, the county magistrate had even less land under his jurisdiction.

Without land, there is little tax revenue.

With no money or connections, plus so many powerful figures above him to rely on, and having to listen to everyone and not offend any of them, how could being a county magistrate be easy?

In short, the magistrates of Datong County had a very miserable life; they typically didn't serve long before being dismissed or implicated by the emperor for delaying military operations.

Some were impeached and dismissed from their posts, while others were even executed.

"It's tragic," Jia Chen sighed.

Being an official has its troubles, but even the most miserable people are still the ordinary folks.

"I understand, he is the magistrate of Datong County?" Jia Chen said again.

"Sir, he is the former magistrate," the guard explained. "This Xu Changshan once served as the Vice Minister of Revenue."

"Huh?" Jia Chen exclaimed in surprise, "Then why?"

The Vice Minister of Revenue was a high-ranking official of the third rank, a true bigwig who wielded real power.

Why is it in such a miserable state now?

"My lord," the guard lowered his voice and whispered in Jia Chen's ear, "it is said to be related to Prince Yizhong back then. After the old prince committed a crime, Lord Xu once wrote a letter to plead for him. Oh, at that time he was still the retired emperor. Later, he was demoted for this and came to Datong to be the county magistrate."

Jia Chen paused for a moment.

Prince Yizhong, this is considered a taboo subject in this dynasty.

Jia Chen didn't know much, only that it involved treason, but it was quickly suppressed, and few outsiders knew the specific details.

It is not described in much detail in the original work.

According to Jia Chen's current speculation, Qin Keqing should be the daughter of this Prince Yizhong, originally a noblewoman.

"Of course, when Xu Gong was the magistrate of Datong County, he was different from the previous magistrates. He showed no respect to his superiors, whether it was the general, the governor, or even the Prince of Dai's mansion. If he thought any order was unreasonable or harmful to the interests of the people, he would argue with them based on reason and never compromise. If the people above went too far, he would even block them and demand an explanation, or even curse them. Once, the governor was so humiliated by his cursing that he had to slink away." the guard said.

Jia Chen sighed inwardly, thinking that no matter what dynasty it was, there would always be some people like this, but unfortunately there were too few of them.

"Five years ago, the Chahar tribe launched a major southward invasion. Their army was short of food and needed Datong County to procure provisions. However, the county's treasury was empty. Xu Gong couldn't bear to requisition grain from the people, so he forcibly seized grain from some grain merchants in the city. My lord, you must know that those grain merchants had powerful backers; it's said that some of their shops even had connections to the Prince of Dai's mansion. And then… Xu Gong was dismissed from his post. But even after being dismissed, he still spoke up for the people. Many of those guys tried to silence him, using threats and bribes, but Xu Gong refused to listen. Later, they resorted to underhanded methods, making it difficult for Xu Gong to make a living in the city. I heard that initially, people still bought his calligraphy and paintings, but after those people's interference, no one dared to buy them anymore." The guard sighed, "Xu Gong was truly an honest and good official, what a pity…"

Jia Chen understood the reason.

Xu Changshan has offended too many people, especially the Prince of Dai's Mansion.

However, Xu Changshan was clearly a man of integrity, and even the Prince of Dai's mansion couldn't really kill him.

So they used other methods to deal with Xu Changshan.

They can't threaten Xu Changshan, but they might threaten the people around him.

"Yes, everyone in Datong Prefecture knows Master Xu's name," another guard said. "After Master Xu was dismissed from his post, he didn't return to his hometown. I heard that his hometown is far away in Liaodong. A few years ago, the Later Jin Tartars invaded from the south, the city was breached and massacred, and no one survived. Master Xu's family was among those who perished. He's been staying in Datong Prefecture for over ten years now, and I heard that he occasionally teaches the children from poor families in the city to read and write. But now many people are afraid to send their children to Master Xu for lessons, all because those guys are secretly threatening and sabotaging them."

"Teaching literacy?" Jia Chen's heart skipped a beat, and his gaze toward Xu Changshan became somewhat ardent.

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