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"Seventeenth Prince, someone sent by Prince Yong has arrived," said Seventeenth Prince's personal servant as he entered the room of the post station where Seventeenth Prince was staying.
"Oh. Fourth Brother already said so in his letter. Please come in quickly." Seventeen, who was reading a book, quickly put the book away and said.
As the visitor entered, a burly man over seven feet tall walked in. Upon seeing the Seventeenth Prince, he immediately clasped his hands in a salute and said to Yinli, "Duolong, a second-class imperial guard, greets the Seventeenth Prince!"
"No need for formalities, Fourth Brother's letter. I've already read it. It says you once led troops in this area and are very familiar with it," Yinli said.
"Yes, I once served as a military advisor in this area. I have some understanding of the people's lives and customs here. It is truly an honor for me that Prince Yong has entrusted me with assisting the Seventeenth Prince," Duolong said.
“Very good. It’s easier to handle things now that you know this place. I’ve been here for almost a month. There are many ethnic minorities scattered around here, and we don’t speak the same language. The roads are rugged, and some places are inaccessible. In addition, the heavy snow has blocked the roads, which is very detrimental to disaster relief. I asked the local magistrate to send people into the mountains to investigate the extent of the disaster, but some of them went and never returned,” Seventeen said.
"Your Excellency, this area is home to many ethnic minorities, each with its own settlements. To interact with them, one must understand their languages. Furthermore, this region is mountainous, and heavy snow has blocked the mountains, making travel difficult. Those who haven't returned are either trapped there by local disaster victims or stranded by the snow. I previously led troops in this area and am quite familiar with the terrain," Duolong said.
"That's great. I'll go and talk to the officials in the local prefectures and counties. This time, the disaster relief funds from the imperial court must be distributed to every single household, and they can't do what they used to. But it's really difficult to figure out exactly how many households and people are affected in this area, and how many places have been hit by the disaster. In addition, the local officials aren't very cooperative, so things aren't progressing much," said Seventeen.
"Seventeenth Master, why don't you just retrieve the household registration records from the prefecture and county?" Duolong said. "They all record the local customs and population of this area."
"Those are records from decades ago, so they're not relevant to the current population. I've found that the officials of this generation are incredibly incompetent. They're paid by the court but they don't do anything for the court," Seventeen said with a hint of indignation.
Duolong observed that this Seventeenth Prince was indeed a newcomer to officialdom, with no experience whatsoever and no understanding of how to conduct oneself in officialdom.
"Your Highness, the most difficult people to deal with in officialdom are these local minor officials. Their ranks are low, but there's hardly anyone supervising them. Far from the emperor's reach, they can do whatever they want, or do nothing, and if no one reports them, they can continue to do so peacefully. That's how the saying 'a county magistrate earns 100,000 taels of silver in three years' comes about. These people are all slick and cunning. Seeing that Your Highness is a prince on his first official mission, although they are extremely respectful, they are actually wary of you and don't take you seriously," Duolong said.
“You are right. They all appear very respectful to this imperial envoy on the surface, but when it comes to actually doing something, they all make excuses and create numerous difficulties,” said Seventeen.
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