Zhao Huan's guards, accompanied by Wu Ge and others, marched towards Bianjing in a mighty procession. Upon hearing that it was the emperor himself, officials from all over the country flattered him.
Upon hearing that the emperor was coming, officials in Jinyang Town gathered outside the town to greet him early in the morning. The townspeople also flocked to the town, eager to see the emperor.
The mere sight of the current emperor was enough for the common people to brag about for a while after dinner. Back then, I saw the emperor in person. His majesty was truly magnificent, like an immortal...
On this day, not far from Jinyang Town, a pair of officials on the official road ahead came to greet them with drums and gongs.
Zhao Huan frowned: "Cao Dongsheng, what the hell is that in front?"
Cao Dongsheng looked out into the distance and said, "I don't know either. Can you guys go over and ask what's going on?"
Two guards rode over and after a while, they came to report.
"Your Majesty, the person before us is the magistrate of Fengxian County. He heard that Your Majesty would be passing through Fengxian, so he came here early to greet Your Majesty."
Having been with Zhao Huan for so long, Cao Dongsheng could divine the emperor's every move. As soon as Zhao Huan waved his hand, Cao Dongsheng knew what he wanted, so he hurriedly handed him the map.
Zhao Huan opened the Earth Rabbit logo and said, "Fengxian County, we're less than twenty miles out of Jinyang. We're still nearly two hundred miles away from Fengxian County. This county magistrate actually came all the way to greet us. Humph, it seems he's another flatterer. Pass the order, don't pay any attention to this person, and advance at full speed."
"His Majesty has ordered that we ignore the welcoming officials ahead. Move forward at full speed!" Cao Dongsheng shouted.
The army set out, the dragon sedan chair slowly moving forward. The soldiers on the official road also began to march forward.
Fengxian County Magistrate Bai Qingsheng saw the emperor's dragon sedan chair begin to move from afar and hurriedly ordered his runners and the hired civilians to beat drums and gongs, "Hurry, hurry, hurry! Beat the drums, and play a melodious and rhythmic tune. When the emperor arrives, I will be the first to go up, and you will follow with the shouts of 'Long live the emperor!'"
Some of the people were dumb and didn't understand what the county magistrate meant, so Bai Qingsheng got angry: "I'll kneel down and shout 'Long live the county magistrate' first, and then you all will kneel down and shout along. Do you all understand?"
"I understand!" everyone replied.
"Well, let's begin!" Bai Qingsheng personally directed the gongs and drums, his head held high and chest puffed out, trying his best to show off in front of everyone, just to catch the emperor's attention. Everyone knows that flattery will lead to a successful future.
The vanguard of the guards had already arrived. Bai Qingsheng was like a pug with a broken spine, nodding and bowing to the guards. However, he never expected that the guards just kept walking forward without looking around, and no one even turned back to look at him.
Bai Qingsheng panicked, thinking that he had not served her well enough, so he bent his waist even more and the smile on his face wrinkled.
Finally, the emperor's sedan chair arrived. Bai Qingsheng hurriedly knelt and shouted, "I am Bai Qingsheng, the magistrate of Fengxian County, and I am here to greet your Majesty! Long live your Majesty! Long, long live your Majesty!"
The yamen runners and common people behind him were still confused, not knowing whether the county magistrate had finished shouting. By the time Bai Qingsheng anxiously turned around and waved, the yamen runners and the common people beating gongs and drums all knelt and shouted, "Long live the emperor! Long live the emperor!"
The dragon sedan finally came to a stop, and Bai Qingsheng's face was filled with a smile. The curtain of the sedan chair opened, and Zhao Huan gave Bai Qingsheng a cold look. He was curious about the character of this fawning county magistrate.
The county magistrate had a rather peculiar appearance. His big, round face made him look rather cute, but unfortunately his eyes were too small. Even when he tried to open them wide, they only looked like slits.
Zhao Huan lowered the curtain, and the dragon sedan slowly began to move forward. Bai Qingsheng was shocked. Why didn't the emperor offer a few words of comfort? Had his preparations not been thoughtful and lavish enough? This place was still over two hundred miles away from Fengxian County. How could Fengxian County afford to lay out a red carpet and sprinkle clean water on the streets?
Zhao Huan's guards ignored Bai Qingsheng like he was nothing. Bai Qingsheng was panicking, thinking they must have been negligent. But he didn't know where they had been negligent. Could it be because no one from the government office had come?
Indeed, the Chief Clerk and the Chief of Staff hadn't come, nor had the Chief of Staff and the Chief of Staff. Only the Recorder, the Chief of Staff, and the Chief of Staff had come. He had hired the Chief of Staff at a high price, but he hadn't expected him to get along with him. This infuriated Bai Qingsheng. He had told the Chief of Staff, Fan Zha, several times, but he simply wouldn't come.
Fan Zha, known by his name as Zha, is a person of good character. As to why his name contains the character "Zha," this remains unknown. However, the people of Fengxian County have a poor reputation for the county magistrate, but they have a rather favorable opinion of the legal advisor.
Bai Qingsheng didn't think so. He felt the emperor ignored him because his advisor and the others hadn't come. It was his advisor who hadn't given him face, making him look bad in front of the emperor. As a result, Bai Qingsheng, already narrow-minded, resented his advisor even more.
"Hmph! When I get back to the county yamen, I'll be the first to fire you, my heartless lawyer." Bai Qingsheng cursed inwardly. The emperor's guards were already moving away. He turned back to look at the people beating drums and gongs and the yamen runners standing there in a daze. He couldn't help but feel angry. "What are you looking at! Chase them! Go back to the county!"
"Someone, call Wu Ge over!" Zhao Huan lifted the curtain of the sedan chair and said to the guards around him.
Soon Wu Ge came to the sedan chair on horseback and asked, "What are your orders, Your Majesty?"
"Send a few guards to the county ahead at top speed. No one is allowed to greet me in any county or state I pass through. And no extravagance or waste is allowed. I don't want the people in these places to waste money. These are their blood and sweat."
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