Accompanied by a servant, Chen Yuan rode his horse to Miaozhou a day in advance and stayed at an inn. He wanted to go to the government office to inquire about information, but he encountered the magistrates of several other counties on the street.
Since they were all colleagues, someone suggested finding a tavern, getting a private room, and everyone sat down to catch up.
Among these men, some, like Chen Yuan, were later arrivals. Their predecessors had all been dismissed from office due to bribery or being implicated in others' misdeeds. Therefore, when they received the transfer order from the Ministry of Personnel, they were always on edge, afraid of doing something wrong and bringing trouble upon themselves.
A county magistrate asked in a low voice, "Was it Lord Xu's or Lord Zhang's idea to send us here this time?"
The other one shook his head and said, "How would I know? I just went to the government office to inquire. Lord Xu has been in Luzhou all along. That road has been under construction for almost a year. I don't know if it's finished yet. If you ask me, this road shouldn't have been built in the first place. If the road is finished, wouldn't it be more convenient for the Great Yan army to come to our Miaozhou from Luzhou if they attack?"
Chen Yuan quickly waved his hand and said, "You can't say that. The road has been repaired, which has made things more convenient for the people. As for the idea that the road will make it easier for Da Yan to attack, there's still the Lüzhou Guard, isn't there? We should trust our soldiers of Da Liang. Look at these past few years, from Yanmen Pass all the way to Liaodong, and then to Wuzhou, our soldiers of Da Liang have firmly guarded the border."
Upon hearing Chen Yuan's words, everyone present knew that he was making amends for what the other person had said earlier. They quickly lowered their heads to drink their tea. After a few sips, they felt that drinking tea in silence was rather awkward. Chen Yuan said, "The wheat harvest is approaching. Lord Zhang has summoned us here to discuss the wheat harvest. I just don't know if Lord Zhang has any plans."
County magistrates deal directly with the people, and some even worked in the fields with their elders when they were young, so they are naturally very familiar with harvesting wheat.
One of them frowned and said, "I can't think of any other reason for calling us here at this time except for the wheat harvest. Never mind, we'll know about these things tomorrow. Let's talk about something else. Ladies and gentlemen, our county has had a bumper wheat harvest this year. I heard from the old folks in the village that it's the first time they've ever seen such good ears of wheat."
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