gnovel Chapter 68 Winning Over
Chapter 68 Winning Over
The county magistrate's office was paved with square bricks. In the center stood a large, black lacquered desk, flanked by side rooms. One side served as a study, while the other was used for resting.
The county magistrate of Chang'an, in charge of the military affairs department.
Shen Ce knelt in the main hall, casually flipping through County Magistrate Ma's resume, and couldn't help but marvel repeatedly.
In the fifth year of the Wude era, Liu Heita rebelled, and the imperial army marched straight towards Mingzhou City. After repeated attacks on the city, they were unable to capture it. At this time, Ma Lian, the fire chief, volunteered to be the vanguard. He took the lead in climbing the city wall, disregarding arrows and stones, and was the first to reach the top of the city wall.
He personally killed five rebel soldiers defending the city, captured a corner of the city wall for ten breaths, and cut down the rebel flag, which greatly boosted the morale of the soldiers. With this gap, the subsequent reinforcements continued to occupy the Mingzhou city wall.
After the fall of Mingzhou, Ce Xun was promoted three times and ranked high in the register of meritorious service.
However, due to serious injuries, he was unable to continue his duties. After being selected by the Ministry of Personnel, he was appointed as the County Commandant of Chang'an County, in charge of military affairs.
None of the people on the list of merits are easy to get along with.
In order not to alert the enemy, Shen Ce immediately summoned the six county constables to his official residence one by one. When he met with each constable, he would review their work experience.
In this city of Chang'an, few of the lower-level officials are incompetent; each and every one of them is an outstanding individual who has fought their way up from the ranks of thousands of soldiers.
After seeing off the county lieutenant who was in charge of the legal affairs department, Shen Ce looked at the county lieutenant introduced by Cheng Zhijie. He thought that the county lieutenant had made greater contributions on the battlefield than him, but he was forced to retire because he was seriously injured.
He closed the document and called out to the door, "Please summon County Magistrate Ma."
The door was suddenly pushed open, and the person who entered was half a head taller than him, with a robust build, thick eyebrows and lips, and a fierce look on his face.
Although his official robes concealed the large burn scars on his neck, it was not difficult to see them. Fortunately, there were no large scars on his face; otherwise, he would not have been able to pass the requirement of having a decent appearance if he wanted to be promoted in the future.
County Magistrate Ma strode into the hall, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said, "I am Ma Lian, County Magistrate Shen, and I am Ma Lian, County Magistrate of Chang'an."
Shen Ce quickly stood up and returned the greeting.
After the two were seated, Shen Ce asked with interest, "County Commandant Ma, is the officialdom comparable to a battlefield?"
"This humble official only focuses on maintaining order, apprehending thieves, guarding the city, and managing the gates. As for officialdom..." Ma Lian said without looking to the side, pausing for a moment before continuing, "This humble official has no desire to get involved."
Shen Ce took out Ma Lian's resume and pushed it to the table: "But judging from your resume, you must be someone who wants to get ahead, otherwise you wouldn't have risked your life to be the first to climb the walls in front of Mingzhou City."
Ma Lian grinned, revealing his stained yellow teeth: "I come from a poor family. To be able to fight my way up to the rank of eighth-grade county lieutenant in the army is a stroke of good luck. I dare not have any more expectations."
Shen Ce nodded and continued, "The autumn tax collection is about to be completed. We need to conduct more inspections in the city's wards and the countryside, lest some thieves, unable to pay their taxes, have developed wicked intentions."
Ma Lian rolled his eyes almost imperceptibly.
Yesterday I met this newly arrived county magistrate. As soon as he met his colleagues who were at the county magistrate level, he put on airs and tried to seize power. He's definitely not a good person. Today he even wants to teach me how to do things... Do I need a civil official from the Imperial Household Department to teach me?
He bowed respectfully without any pretense and said, "The county magistrate is right, that is indeed the case. If there is nothing else of great importance, I will go to the countryside to inspect."
Shen Ce could tell that he was a pure official who only wanted to do practical things and did not want to get involved in the power struggle. Seeing that he was thinking of leaving, he stopped testing him.
He slowly got up, walked to County Commandant Ma, unbuttoned his robe, and pulled it sharply to the right, revealing a scar more than a foot long on his chest.
"I, too, am a veteran of the battlefield, as County Magistrate Ma may know?"
Ma Lian stared intently at the knife wound on Shen Ce's body, which stretched from his shoulder blade to his abdomen. The flesh was torn and the scars were knotted, clearly not fake.
At the same time, people who have come down from the battlefield naturally feel a sense of closeness.
Ma Lian quickly changed his expression, smiled sheepishly, and cupped his hands, saying, "I am usually on patrol and don't interact much with my colleagues in the government office. I only know that the county magistrate was transferred from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and I don't know anything before that."
Seeing that County Magistrate Ma's tone had softened, Shen Ce smiled, took out the token given to him by Cheng Zhijie from his bosom, placed it on his resume, and looked up at Ma Lian.
"How did the county magistrate come to have such a thing?" County Lieutenant Ma asked hastily, pointing to the table.
Shen Ce observed Ma Lian's expression. If he saw that Ma Lian remained unmoved or indifferent, he would find another way.
Seeing the county magistrate's tense and somewhat surprised expression, he naturally knew that it was useful!
"Given by the general."
County Magistrate Ma composed himself, paced back and forth in the room, and after a struggle with his thoughts, clasped his hands in a fist and said, "If it is a gift from the general, I will gladly accept it."
With this promise, Shen Ce felt more at ease.
Once you start to accept something from the bottom of your heart, you quickly become familiar with it. This County Magistrate Ma was also disgusted with the power struggles in the county government, which is why he devoted himself to his work.
He quickly explained the factions within the county government to Shen Ce. The two chief clerks were the magistrate's confidants, and the four subordinate departments—the Department of Merit, the Department of Revenue, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Personnel—usually followed the magistrate's every command.
The official in charge of official duties was transferred from the Imperial Workshop a few days ago, and his background is still unclear.
Shen Ce memorized all this information before telling County Commandant Ma his future plans.
County Magistrate Ma said with a wry smile, "Since the County Magistrate is one of our own, I won't hold back. We are both outnumbered and outmatched, and we're afraid we can't achieve anything from within. We'll have to rely on the County Magistrate's external support."
Shen Ce smiled without saying a word. Judging from the internal situation alone, how could he, a seventh-rank county magistrate, have the qualifications to challenge a fifth-rank county magistrate?
If we're talking about external forces, we're really not afraid of them.
Just as the two were plotting, they suddenly heard a noise outside the door.
"Magistrate Shen, something has happened. Please allow me to report it," the voice said urgently.
Shen Ce stopped County Magistrate Ma, who was about to go to the side room, and gestured for him to sit down normally.
He had already sent five county constables separately, and he was the last to arrive, so it was understandable to anyone who saw him.
"Enter."
The newcomer was none other than Registrar Yan, followed by the County Lieutenant in charge of Revenue. The two quickly stepped forward and bowed to Shen Ce.
He said in a deep voice, "I have been informed that the three townships of Qinglin, Shixia, and Beiyuan in the northwest of Chang'an County are in trouble with the tax collectors and village heads because they are unable to pay their autumn taxes. I fear the situation is likely to escalate further."
It's always the case that things happen sooner or later, but the magistrate had barely left when the villagers violently resisted taxes. Magistrate Li really didn't want to wait a moment longer.
Li Er had just ascended the throne and wanted to show his willingness to win over the people. If he were to incite a popular uprising, he, the county magistrate in charge of the operation, would become the scapegoat.
Shen Ce slammed his fist on the table, making a loud bang, and angrily shouted at the county constable in charge of household registration behind him, "Why didn't you mention this when I questioned you earlier?"
County Magistrate Sun lowered his head and said in a low voice, "This humble official also did not expect that the villagers would dare to do such a thing, so I did not report it."
"When did this happen?"
"Half an hour ago."
"Before the villagers started to riot, an official rode back ahead on horseback to report. There were also three tax collectors and three village heads at the scene."
Shen Ce gave the two men a deep look, pushed open the door and went out. He saw twenty tax collectors standing neatly outside the door and asked in confusion, "What is the meaning of this?"
County Magistrate Sun stepped forward and said, "The county government has never been coerced by the villagers."
Shen Ce snorted coldly: "County Commandant Sun is right, but the villagers fear power rather than gratitude. I think using tax officials is not enough!"
"County Commandant Ma."
"Your humble servant is here."
Order twenty constables to accompany me!