In this way, they won't have to worry. Being punished for their mistakes will only make them more unscrupulous in the future. Therefore, Your Highness should understand my meaning.

This is a classic case of "one move affects the whole situation," and it's even more apt here in the county government office. The clerks who are usually in charge of handling matters in these county government offices are a united front, and I can't do anything about them.

And how could I dare say that I could do anything to those gentry and landlords? Those gentry and landlords were also locals, and they had long-standing, even long-term, relationships with the constables, clerks, and yamen runners in the county government.

Officials like us, who have only been here for a few years, such as county magistrates, assistant magistrates, and registrars, are not in the same circle as them at all. They not only exclude us, but sometimes they don't even take us seriously.

This is one of the drawbacks of appointing officials by appointment.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yunwen let out a long sigh.

He didn't know if the magistrate was exaggerating.

But upon reflection, it does make sense.

In local areas, the people working at the grassroots level in government offices are all locals.

The real officials are transferred from other places, but can these transferred officials really control the local clerks who have been staying here for a long time?

For the first time, Zhu Yunwen realized that these officials also had such powerlessness.

So he began to speak:

"Indeed, there is one advantage to having officials transferred from one place to another, which can prevent them from developing long-term corrupt and bribery relationships with the people in that place."

But if we send officials from other places, then the problem you described arises: these officials are unable to effectively manage the local, unaffiliated bureaucrats. This problem does indeed seem unsolvable.

Zhu Yuntong had no idea that his original intention was to resolve the issue of the continuous theft of sweet potato and potato seeds in Hekou County.

However, they unexpectedly discovered a loophole in the Ming Dynasty's official system.

Just like before, when dealing with the persistent problem of bandits in Heiyun County, the issue of generally low salaries for officials arose.

It seems that nothing in this world happens without a reason, especially those seemingly strange things.

For example, in one county, bandits and outlaws frequently appear; in another county, sweet potato and potato seeds are repeatedly stolen.

These things are not as simple as they seem on the surface; the real problems lie hidden behind them.