Thanks to Zhou Jiao'e's efforts, the Zhou family completed the repairs of the governor's mansion without spending a single penny or breaking any rules.
The Zhou family moved smoothly.
Zhou Jiao'e continued to manage the household, while Madam Su was confined to her mother-in-law's side, serving her and chanting Buddhist scriptures.
The Zhou family's inner courtyard was brought to a standstill in the shortest possible time.
Everything is back on track.
With no worries about the future, Zhou Wencheng, the newly appointed governor, began to roll up his sleeves and prepare to make a big splash.
First, organize all the files, household registers, and fish-scale registers of his governor's office.
Cui Boyong instigated a civil unrest, which Xie Yuan exploited and used to kill him.
The governor's mansion was in chaos, and the yamen runners scattered and fled.
However, the rear area was the hardest hit by the war, while the front area was not greatly affected.
All the official documents were also preserved in excellent condition.
Zhou Wencheng began to review them one by one and summarize them.
"The population is still too small, and the amount of farmland is not much either."
Zhou Wencheng focused on the household registration book and the fish-scale register.
The household registration book records all the registered people under the jurisdiction of Yuezhou, while the fish scale book records the mountains, rivers, fields and other land within Yuezhou.
The fish-scale land registration system records land in order of its quality, listing it in order of its value.
Among them are cultivated fertile fields and uncultivated wastelands.
Of course, some of these "wastelands" are not actually wastelands; they have already been cultivated and farmed.
They simply refuse to pay their taxes.
Among these people were mountain dwellers, ordinary people who resisted exorbitant taxes, and local powerful families.
"I hereby order a new population registration and a land survey!"
Uncover all those hidden and unregistered individuals.
Zhou Wencheng was a traditional scholar who believed in the saying, "All land under heaven belongs to the king."
Yuezhou was the Yuezhou of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and the land of Yuezhou was also the land of the dynasty.
If you want to cultivate the land, you have to pay land tax.
It is hateful that some powerful clans take advantage of loopholes in the law to turn law-abiding citizens into hidden households and fertile fields into "wasteland".
They are parasites, devouring the very foundation of the court.
Zhou Wencheng also knew that if he wanted to re-register the population and measure the land, it would inevitably infringe on the interests of those powerful clans and provoke their counterattack.
In neighboring Huangzhou, the former governor was killed on the spot by powerful clans under the pretext of "popular rebellion" for the same reason. After his death, he was also accused of "corruption and harshness that forced good people to rebel."
However, Zhou Wencheng was an upright and loyal minister.
When he was an imperial censor, he dared to impeach the powerful crown prince.
Now that he has become the governor, he dares to act like a "strong-willed magistrate."
Furthermore, Lingnan today is not the same as Lingnan of the past.
With King Helian Jue of Yue in charge, those powerful clans dare not cause any more civil unrest!
When Xie Ze rebelled, Princess Xie had all the assassins secretly sent by the powerful clans killed and returned the bodies to their respective families.
With such domineering power and ruthlessness, the major clans will certainly not dare to cause trouble again!
"...I have actually received the 'protection' of His Highness the King of Yue."
Zhou Wencheng felt a mix of emotions as he thought about these things.
Reason told him that King Helian Jue of Yue was a powerful and influential figure, and was suspected of plotting a rebellion.
They were the traitors and rebels he hated most.
However, it was precisely because of the King of Yue's large army and swift and decisive measures that Lingnan became more orderly.
Even he, a dignified governor, needed the power of the King of Yue to suppress those powerful clans!
"Very well, very well. I have long said that I will no longer interfere in the struggle between the imperial court and the Prince of Yue's mansion."
"I'm wholeheartedly dedicated to serving the people and working hard to govern the area; surely I can't be wrong!"
Thinking this way, Zhou Wencheng's eyes gradually hardened.
Then, he began to write down his plan, one point at a time.
"My lord, Duofu, a eunuch from the Yue King's residence, requests an audience."
Zhou Wencheng was writing furiously, completely unaware of the passage of time.
It was the servant who ran to report, waking him from his busy work.
"Good fortune?"
Helian Jue's trusted eunuch?
Zhou Wencheng had dealt with Duofu when he was at the Yue Prince's Mansion.
He looked to be in his early twenties, fair-skinned and clean-cut, without the effeminate air of a eunuch or the stench of urine.
If someone unaware of the inside story saw him, they would surely think he was a scholar from some family.
Despite his gentle and mild-mannered demeanor and harmless appearance, Zhou Wencheng did not dare to underestimate him.
Back when Helian Jue was drunk and pretending to be insane, Duofu was the guardian of the courtyard.
At that time, Duofu looked distressed and worried.
It's just like a loyal servant who can't bear to see his master fall into depravity.
In fact, Helian Jue was not a "useless person" at all.
Helian Jue is in disguise, and Duofu is one of his strongest helpers.
Subsequently, the Yue Prince's Mansion rose to prominence, and Duofu became increasingly mysterious.
On many occasions, Zhou Wencheng, the former chief secretary of the Prince's Palace, could not find Duofu anywhere in the palace.
The unknown is what makes it more frightening.
In Zhou Wencheng's heart, his fear of Duofu was even greater than his fear of Helian Chen!
Now that he has left the Yue King's mansion, the mysterious Duofu has come knocking on his door.
What is he going to do?
Or does the King of Yue have some instructions?
Zhou Wencheng's expression darkened, and his heart sank.
But now that the person has arrived, he cannot avoid seeing them.
Standing up, straightening his robes, Zhou Wencheng calmly came out to greet them.
"Steward Duo, it's been a while. How are you?"
Zhou Wencheng cupped his hands in a polite greeting to Duofu.
Duofu's official position in the Prince of Yue's mansion was Chief Eunuch, in charge of the eunuchs, palace maids, and other staff in the mansion.
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