Chapter 2818 Reminder
Governor He turned his gaze from the distant sky to her.
Seeing that he was slow to speak, Manbao looked up at him in confusion.
Governor He stared at her for a long moment, then smiled faintly, "Master Zhou, is Master Zheng from the Luozhou Medical Bureau your disciple?"
"Yes." Isn't this something that all officials know?
"How's the fake medicine case going?"
"Oh, County Magistrate Luo has been arrested. Lord Yu and his men say he killed Dian Yao. They already have evidence, but he just refuses to confess."
Governor He said meaningfully, "County Magistrate Luo doesn't have much talent, but he's conceited and greedy. Others won't cry until they see a coffin, but I'm afraid he wouldn't cry even if he saw one."
Man Bao was stunned when he heard him say this about Magistrate Luo. "Then how did he pass the imperial examination?"
Governor He glanced at her and said, "The exam for the Jinshi degree is about poetry and prose, not about how to be an official."
Man Bao was confused and said, "Isn't it said that the handwriting reflects the writer?"
Governor He just snorted softly, then sighed, "Alas, I don't know when someone will take over."
If not, he would die in office.
So the topic returned to, "Is it so difficult to choose the governor of Luozhou?"
"Hmph, some people are qualified enough to come but don't, some want to come but are stopped, and some don't come themselves and can't bear to see others come."
Manbao shook his head. "It's too complicated. Isn't Luozhou just a state? Even the capital isn't this complicated."
Governor He said quietly, "It's because Luozhou isn't the capital, and the benefits aren't enough to impress some of the great leaders, that we're in this situation where we have to fight for it or not."
"With the example of the Prince of Yizhou, and the Prince Gong's appointment to Luozhou, those seeking stability, the timid, and those with loftier ambitions are unwilling to take office here," Governor He said. "But Luozhou is, after all, a superior province, both prosperous and beautiful, so naturally there are many who are tempted. However, some refuse to come themselves, always wanting their relatives and friends to come so that they can unify their factions, hence the stalemate."
Governor He was a little tired after saying so much in one breath. After a short rest, he continued, "The Eastern Palace wants to send someone over to keep an eye on Prince Gong and suppress his development. Although Prince Gong is no longer in charge, he has not allowed the Crown Prince's people to come. The Ministry of Personnel has also been delaying. Alas..."
"Can't the Chief Secretary take over?"
Under the governor's office are the Sima and the Changshi. Generally, when the previous governor leaves, the Changshi or Sima can be nominated to take over.
Governor He shook his head. "They are still inexperienced and lack the ability. Their family background can't suppress the officials of Luozhou. Besides, there is Prince Gong here. The next governor must be chosen from a better family background or a tougher temper."
This is also the reason why the Ministry of Personnel has not been able to select a suitable successor.
The imperial court was obviously unwilling to allow Prince Gong to develop too much power in Luozhou, so the governor sent by the court had to put pressure on him and make so many demands, but the position of Luozhou was not attractive enough, which led to the current embarrassing situation.
Manbao looked at him sympathetically.
Little did she know, Inspector He was also looking at her with sympathy. After waving his hand to dismiss the people around him, he said, "Although Magistrate Luo is conceited, if no one had reminded him or offered advice, I'm afraid he wouldn't have figured out how to use fake medicine to frame the medical bureau. Lord Zhou, someone doesn't want the local medical bureau to continue, or rather, doesn't want the Imperial Medical Bureau to continue."
Man Bao's face darkened slightly as he asked, "Why are the officials in the court always dissatisfied with the Imperial Medical Bureau?"
Governor He leaned back on the large welcoming pillow and said, "I heard that the Imperial Medical Bureau made great contributions during this Eastern Expedition. The officials in the court praised it highly, and the Imperial Medical Bureau was repeatedly rewarded. I no longer feel any resentment."
"Let's talk about the past. Why did you obstruct our Imperial Medical Bureau so much?"
"Because some of the work done by the Imperial Medical Bureau overlaps with that of local government offices," he said. "Take this recent snowstorm for example. Although Magistrate Luo didn't submit a petition to the court to report the disaster, the Governor's Office is in Luoyang, so the Chief Secretary allocated grain to Luoyang County for disaster relief."
"Do you know where the food has been allocated?"
Manbao's heart moved, "Medical Department?"
Governor He nodded.
"The money and grain allocated from above should have been given to the county government and distributed by it, but the Chief Secretary was right to do so. The medical office is supposed to treat the people who have been suffering from the cold, and providing them with porridge and food when they come to see a doctor is also relief. So it's in accordance with the rules for the governor's office to allocate grain to the medical office."
"In addition, in the past two years, some refugees have had to register with the government office in order to see a doctor. Others go directly to the hospital for treatment and medication, then are sent to the county government office to register their household registration and allocate land," said Governor He. "Everyone who sees a doctor must produce their household registration and proof of tax payment, indicating whether they are an upper, middle, or lower household."
"And the Medical Department will record this in the medical records."
Manbao asked in confusion: "Is there any problem with this?"
Governor He smiled slightly and said, "This is a huge problem. Household registration is managed by the county government. Do you know how important it is?"
Manbao didn't say anything.
Governor He said, "A county's household registration is its foundation. In addition, there are records of land holdings. Although the medical office doesn't have complete records, someone with a keen eye can easily calculate the household registration number by summarizing the patients who come to see the doctor. Not to mention that the medical office can also help identify so many refugees."
He murmured, "They might not be refugees, but they could be someone's hidden household."
The temptation of settling down and receiving free medical care is too great, and many refugees and hidden households have come out of the shadows to settle down.
Of course, these are just two of the reasons. There are also financial reasons. It costs a lot of money to establish a medical department.
Even Governor He would wonder, as medicinal materials are consumed at an increasing rate, will their prices increase in the future?
Can people who can afford medical treatment still afford it?
In short, there are many reasons, but after the Eastern Expedition, the ministers and generals in the court, after seeing the capabilities and role of the Imperial Medical Bureau, obviously suppressed these concerns and began to accept the existence of the Imperial Medical Bureau.
The fact that the Dali Temple and the Censorate were able to send officials to Luozhou to investigate the case so quickly shows the direction of the court.
Governor He smiled slightly and said, "I was shocked when I heard about this. I didn't expect the Dali Temple and the Censorate to act so quickly, actually sending Lord Yu and Lord Xia over. I thought they wouldn't come to investigate this case until after the New Year."
If the people in the court were deliberately neglecting their duties, we would first send an official document to reprimand County Magistrate Luo, and then ask him to conduct a self-investigation, or ask him to escort Zheng Gu back to the capital for a slow trial. I'm afraid that half a year would have passed, and by then the evidence would have been almost completely wiped out.
It was nothing like now, where County Magistrate Luo was caught off guard and the other party didn't have time to erase many of his things.
Manbao remained silent. She asked, "Why did Lord He suddenly tell me this?"
"Lord Zhou is a good imperial physician," Governor He said. "We've enjoyed chatting quite a bit lately, and we can be considered close friends regardless of age. Seeing you happily treating Prince Gong every day, I couldn't help but give you a few more reminders."
He said, "County Magistrate Luo is obviously the culprit. If you want to investigate further, I'm afraid it will be impossible."
"Lord Yu is quite capable, but Governor He really believes he can escape?"
Governor He shook his head slightly and said with a smile, "You can ask Lord Yu about this."
See you tomorrow
(End of this chapter)
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