Chapter 2934 Returning a Favor
Governor Guo was very pleased with the advice. After thinking for a moment, he said, "We should punish them severely according to the law. These people are all local villagers, even from the same village. To think they could do such a thing as robbing fellow villagers has corrupted the morals of the people. If we don't punish them severely to deter them, I'm afraid that more people will follow their example and become bandits in the future."
Robbery is definitely the fastest way to accumulate wealth in this world. For those who have become bandits due to natural disasters or man-made disasters and cannot survive, Governor Guo might consider showing leniency.
But for those who became bandits purely out of evil intentions, Governor Guo felt that it would not be excessive to kill them all.
Especially those who rob the countryside are intolerable.
After all, the Jin Dynasty was still a society of acquaintances. People from the same state or county had stronger feelings for each other than strangers, not to mention people from the same village. To put it bluntly, the water everyone drank might have come from the same river.
Even if there were bandits who became bandits during famine times, they would go to other places to rob. Who would become bandits in their own territory?
Those people mostly robbed passing merchants. If you robbed local people, are you still considered human beings? Will you bury them in the ancestral temple in the future?
Bandits are evil, and those who even rob local people are even more evil. They have lost even the most basic sense of shame.
Bai Shan thinks so too.
He said, "Jia Lizheng should also be severely punished."
Governor Guo nodded, but still warned: "The local clans are deeply intertwined, so you must be careful when handling them. If the Jia family is difficult to deal with, you can postpone it for now and avoid causing more civil unrest."
Bai Shan agreed.
He added, "Xiao Liu Village is too small. Although the bandit incident wasn't their fault, because so many people were involved, the locals might ostracize Xiao Liu Village. This could lead to a feud between the two villages, which would be bad. You have to find a way to resolve it."
Bai Shan replied respectfully, "Yes."
Governor Guo pondered, "This matter is actually a problem left over from the previous term..." It was obvious that he still wanted to put all the blame on County Magistrate Lu.
Bai Shan: ...
For the sake of their shaky alliance, Bai Shan could only continue to persuade: "Governor, County Magistrate Lu is one of the most senior officials in Qingzhou. He may have failed in this matter, but it is not obvious. Besides, he has a good reputation in Qingzhou."
After an eastern expedition last year, most of the important officials in Qingzhou were dismissed, leaving only one Lu County magistrate.
Before that, County Magistrate Lu had no reputation, but later he became famous.
Everyone else had something to do, but he stayed with a clean record. He seemed like a good official, not to mention that after he took over the Governor's Office, he was able to stabilize the chaos in Qingzhou. He not only had a good reputation in the Qingzhou officialdom, but also among scholars.
Scholars from various counties had been discussing the new magistrate of Yidu County for the past six months, so Bai Shan's advice to Governor Guo was, "If you hold him accountable now, it might seem narrow-minded to outsiders. So, why not encourage him generously and let the world see your broad-mindedness?"
Governor Guo was already hesitant. Upon hearing this, he sighed and said, "Well, let it be."
After discussing the official business in the county, Governor Guo and Zhou Man talked about the medical department.
Zhou Man said, "Sir, I also brought the Qingzhou Medical Bureau's pharmacopoeia Wen Tiandong this time."
She smiled and said, "He is my student. He performed very well in the Imperial Medical Bureau. If the medical bureau in Qingzhou City is opened, I will let him take charge temporarily."
Upon hearing this, Governor Guo looked back and forth at the two men with a smile, and asked, "Master Zhou's arrangement is quite thoughtful."
Zhou Man felt that he was overthinking it. The reason she made such arrangements was not because she wanted to stay in Beihai County with Bai Shan, but because the medical department in Beihai County was at a critical juncture and she had to keep a close eye on it to see it get on the right track.
She still has to write a report later, it's very important.
But Governor Guo just made a joke and didn't say anything else, leaving Zhou Man no chance to explain.
Bai Shan reached out and quietly pinched her fingers, and smiled at her when she looked at him.
Zhou Man glanced at him coldly and noblely, then quickly pulled back her fingers and ignored him.
Governor Guo took the two men out, and everyone sat down in the banquet hall, finally starting the theme of the banquet.
Everyone talked about the development issues and the help needed in each county.
Of course, Beihai County, where major problems have occurred recently, has received special attention. Even if Governor Guo and Bai Shan did not mention it, other county magistrates have expressed concern about the bandit issue.
Bai Shanbian gave a few official responses.
Seeing that Governor Guo hadn't taken the opportunity to attack Magistrate Lu, one of the magistrates took the initiative and said, "With such a serious bandit problem under your jurisdiction, both Lord Bai and the previous magistrate are to blame, right?"
Magistrate Lu then took the initiative to speak to Governor Guo and said, "This is indeed my dereliction of duty. Please punish me, sir."
Governor Guo sighed and said, "You had already been transferred from Beihai County when this happened, so it can't be entirely your fault. However, educating the common people is also your responsibility as a county magistrate."
Governor Guo said to the seven county magistrates, "You should take this as a warning. When you return, you should diligently promote loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, and righteousness, and fulfill your duty of education. Don't think that education is limited to the students in the county school, or that it's not enough to just count how many pass the provincial school entrance exams or how many pass the imperial examinations. The education of the common people shouldn't be neglected either."
Bai Shan immediately stood up with the other county magistrates and respectfully replied "Yes" to Governor Guo.
This matter was just lightly covered.
The county magistrates: ...What about the agreement that Governor Guo and County Magistrate Lu would fight like a dragon and a tiger, like water and fire cannot coexist?
What a good opportunity to find fault, why did you let it go?
County Magistrate Lu's heart, which had been hanging in the air, finally relaxed a little. When he sat down, he couldn't help but glance at the Bai Shan couple sitting opposite him.
Bai Shan was pulling out a chair for Zhou Man, but without meeting his gaze, Zhou Man pulled his sleeve. Bai Shan turned around and nodded slightly to him with a smile while Governor Guo was not paying attention.
When County Magistrate Lu returned home, he was still lost in thought. His advisor breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Fortunately, County Magistrate Bai still remembered the covenant with you, my Lord."
County Magistrate Lu said, "Send him a message quietly, asking him to prepare the official salt for next month."
Magistrate Lu understood the principle of reciprocity and said, "Qingzhou is impoverished, and Governor Guo intends to carve out a new path with Qingzhou's official salt. Coincidentally, he's chosen Beihai County to challenge me. His demands for official salt will undoubtedly be higher, not only in quality but also in quantity. Let him expand the salt fields and find a way to squeeze the Song family out of them and gain control of them."
The master couldn't help but ask, "Even the Master couldn't drive out the Song family at that time, how could he?"
County Magistrate Lu said, "Let him try. Besides, County Magistrate Bai has more capital and more backers than I did back then. He's much more confident than I am."
As for whether it can be done, that is not his business. Anyway, he has already given the information, and it is Bai Shan's business how to do it.
The lawyer agreed and personally passed on the order.
I have homework tonight, so I still can't update. See you tomorrow.
(End of this chapter)
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