Zuan naturally stepped forward without hesitation, and Jin Dao Da Ma sat down next to him.
Those in the Yunzhong County government felt a jolt of surprise, realizing they had underestimated the power of this Zu'an.
At this moment, Prefect Zuo Su was somewhat worried. He had only arranged two seats next to Sang Hong, one for Gao Ying and one for Pei You. Now that Zu An had taken one of them, what would happen to the remaining two?
He knew that these scions of prominent families valued their reputation the most, and no one would want to give way. What would he do if they started fighting over it?
No matter how the distribution is done, I'm destined to offend the other party.
However, he quickly came to terms with it. The position had been taken by Zu An, and even if they were to hold a grudge, it would most likely be against someone with the surname Zu.
If you encounter someone with a bad temper, you might get into a conflict with Zuan on the spot.
For powerful and influential families, family reputation is of paramount importance, and even the words of an imperial envoy may not be effective.
Many officials present shared similar thoughts, waiting to see internal conflicts erupt within their teams. After all, everyone knew that the imperial envoy was there to investigate them, so they all hoped their teams would start fighting amongst themselves.
To their surprise, Gao Ying and Pei You showed no intention of competing with Zu An. They naturally squeezed together at another table, as if it were the most natural thing in their minds.
Noticing this, Jian Taiding narrowed his eyes and looked at Zu An a few more times.
After the imperial envoy took his seat, the others followed suit.
Just then, a commotion arose not far away. A burly man with a thick beard pointed to an empty seat in the front row and asked, "Who is this seat for?"
In the layout of the hall, Sang Hong naturally sat in the central seat of honor, with two rows of seats on either side. One row was led by Jian Taiding, and the other by Zuo Su, which was in accordance with their respective statuses.
There weren't many seats in those two rows, and each seat was occupied by a high-ranking official from Yunzhong County. Behind them, there were several rows of officials in the outer layer, who were clearly of a lower rank.
Therefore, being able to sit in these left and right rows is also a reflection of honor and status.
Based on the introduction, this burly man with a bushy beard seems to be a military officer in the Governor's Office. Although he is not as high-ranking as the Chief Secretary or the Military Advisor, he is still considered a high-ranking official in the Governor's Office, and theoretically, he is barely qualified to sit in these two rows.
At this moment, he was glaring angrily at the driver Xu Yu, pointing to an empty seat next to him and questioning him.
He was clearly unhappy to find himself relegated to the back, so he immediately started making trouble.
Sang Hong and Zu An exchanged a glance. It seemed that the conflict between the Governor's Office and the Prefect's Office in Yunzhong County was even greater than expected.
Xu Yu said calmly, "An old friend of mine recently visited me, and this was prepared for him."
"May I ask what official position that person holds?" the burly, bearded man replied in a deep, booming voice.
Xu Yu frowned, but finally answered, "No official position or post."
The burly man with the thick beard laughed heartily: "Since he has no official position or rank, what right does he have to sit here? I want this seat!"
After saying that, he sat down casually and picked up the wine glass on the table to drink.
Xu Yu's face darkened, and he looked directly at Jian Taiding on the other side: "Lord Jian, this is a position belonging to our Prefectural Governor's Office. Do we need your Governor's Office's approval to assign it to someone?"
Jian Taiding smiled slightly: "Lord Xu, you are mistaken. We are all officials appointed by the court, so why should we distinguish between you and me? The people of Yunzhong County are fierce and brave, and soldiers regard honor as their life. The Deputy Commander has always been straightforward and honest, and I cannot persuade him. If he has offended anyone, I hope Lord Xu will forgive him for his many military achievements."
Zu An curiously transmitted his voice to Sang Hongyuan: "Uncle, even if they have a grudge, it doesn't have to be like this in this kind of setting, does it? In front of the imperial envoy, what kind of behavior is this?"
Sang Hong replied, "They're deliberately trying to intimidate me. Xu Yu is an official sent by the central government, representing the court just like me. Jian Taiding's ruthlessness is clearly a warning shot. He showed me friendliness before, but now he's baring his fangs. The subtext is that if we cooperate, he'll be friendly to us too; if we don't, Xu Yu's predicament will be what we'll face in the future."
"Xu Yu is probably doomed to lose face today." Zu An felt some sympathy because he subconsciously disliked Jian Taiding after the Mingyue Chengjiao incident.
Sang Hong smiled and said, "That's not necessarily true."
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