“I treated them the same way they treated me. Weren’t those officials in the county government hypocritical? They said one thing to my face and another behind my back. I did the same thing to the Sun family back then.”

I act very politely and respectfully in front of them, but I don't always do that in private. As a result, we end up just going through the motions, like a tug-of-war.

They wouldn't really do anything to me, but I wouldn't really help them either. However, there's a downside to this: if the imperial court wanted to implement any policies, the local gentry and landlords would definitely obstruct them.

Unless I go to their place and say some polite things, and everyone has a pleasant conversation, this matter will be over. To put it bluntly, it's just the culture at the dinner table.

Another downside is that I can forget about doing anything meritorious here, and the imperial court will never discover any good deeds I've done during the assessment.

In other words, they even used a method to limit my future career development.

This question puzzled Zhu Yunwen again, and he immediately asked:

"What does this mean? Do they have the ability to control your career and hinder your future?"

The magistrate smiled and said:

"It's not just possible, it's incredibly easy. Let me put it this way: if I listen to them and always consider their interests, they will gain a great deal of benefits through me."

So even though I am a bad official in the eyes of the people, I can still have a great advantage in the court's assessment.

Because if I cooperate with those gentry and landlords, they will not only reap huge profits, but also set aside a small portion of those profits for local development and governance.

The bridge over that wide river outside Hekou County was built by the old man from the Sun family. Seven or eight years ago, when my predecessor was serving here, I had a very good relationship with him and he always put his needs first.

It was also because my predecessor, the county magistrate, helped Old Master Sun, who quickly acquired a large amount of land in the area. As a result, Old Master Sun donated over a thousand taels of silver to the county government, and a large bridge was built over the river mouth.

Isn't this the achievement of my predecessor, the county magistrate? When the higher-ups come to assess him and find that he has accomplished such a great feat, shouldn't they praise him highly and give him a prominent place on his resume?

That's not all. When officials from the Ministry of Personnel come to conduct assessments, the local gentry and landlords will find ways to help the county magistrates, who have good relations with them and are part of their interest group, to bribe these assessment officials.

Tell me, with this bribe, they can praise the local magistrate however they want. On the contrary, I haven't sought any benefits for these gentry and landlords in recent years.

Therefore, they naturally wouldn't invest in me or offer me anything in return. In fact, they often hindered my efforts to accomplish significant things locally.

In this way, I can't get anything done, and they won't fund me. They might even bribe officials to leave negative marks on my performance evaluation.

Given this situation, I think it won't be long before I lose my position as county magistrate. This is something that these local gentry and landlords don't want to see.

"Replacing them with a compliant magistrate, someone they can cooperate with and collude with—that's what they see as the most important thing right now."

Zhu Yunwen frowned deeply. It seemed that the complexity of this place and the officialdom far exceeded his imagination.

Especially in these remote and mountainous areas, some people have become local tyrants by relying on these vested interests.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to describe them as local tyrants.

Zhu Yunwen now fully understands the situation in these places.

He slammed his hand heavily on the table and said:

"No wonder there's a saying that imperial power doesn't extend to the county level. So it turns out that these places have already formed their own system of interests? Even the head of a county and the lord of a hundred miles are under their control."

"It's utterly despicable! I didn't know before, but now that I do, I will absolutely not allow this to continue."

As he spoke, Zhu Yunwen looked at the county magistrate:

"Don't worry about this matter. The officials of the imperial court will not allow these local forces to interfere and act recklessly. They are not in a position to rule the land with an iron fist."

"The Sun family, is it? You should also prepare to come with me to the Sun family. I want to see just how capable the Sun family patriarch is, and whether he can control me, the grandson of the Ming Dynasty's crown prince."