After leaving the county government office, Zhu Yunwen said to Zhao Qingzhu:
"Some things really can't be judged by appearances alone. If we had only heard the people's side of the story this time, without conducting an in-depth investigation, how would we have known that the actual situation was so unimaginable?"
Hearing Zhu Yunwen's words, Zhao Qingzhu nodded and said:
"Yes, these people used to live very poor lives, so now that things have improved a little, they think it's already very good."
The officials of the past were extremely corrupt, openly oppressing the people. Now, under the rule of the Ming Dynasty, these officials only do their jobs on the surface, while secretly continuing to do wrong.
Yet, the common people still wouldn't discover it; in fact, they might even think that the current officials are much better than before. While they are indeed better, they are still doing bad things.
Zhu Yunwen nodded:
"We cannot condone the current officials' continued wrongdoings just because they are much better than the officials of the past."
So, instead of rushing to resolve this, let's head to the former capital of Annam, where the Provincial Administration Office is located.
Once we arrive at our destination, we'll deal with all the problematic officials we've encountered along the way. This way, we can avoid alerting them.
Upon hearing Zhu Yuntong's words, Zhao Qingzhu finally understood why Zhu Yuntong hadn't revealed his identity this time.
It seems they're prepared to investigate thoroughly, both overtly and covertly, this time.
Next, Zhu Yunwen and Zhao Qingzhu passed through one or two more cities along the way.
After they arrived at the place, they did not go directly to ask the people, since it seemed that asking would be futile.
These ordinary people just think that the officials are all good; their expectations of the officials are too low.
Asking them won't get you any accurate or useful information.
Therefore, Zhu Yunwen still needed to go to the county government office to make a determination through his own on-site understanding and observation.
After inspecting the next two cities, Zhu Yunwen found that there weren't many major problems, but there were still some minor ones.
To his surprise, when he arrived at the next city and was on a secluded road, four or five masked assassins wielding long knives suddenly appeared from all around him, intending to kill Zhu Yunwen.
Zhu Yunwen was somewhat bewildered by the scene before him. He frowned and said to the masked men:
"Who are you people, and why do you want to kill me?"
The masked men simply stared coldly at Zhu Yunwen, and the burly man at the head spoke:
"Boy, we'll let you die knowing the truth. We were sent by the magistrate of Gaoshan County. You threatened him before, did you think you could live much longer?"
Upon hearing this, Zhu Yunwen immediately understood, but still had some doubts and said:
"Oh, so it was him. But why didn't you make your move in Gaoshan County or outside of Gaoshan County? Now that I've come all this way, isn't it a bit troublesome?"
The burly man at the head of the group sneered:
"You seem eager to die, don't you? Our magistrate isn't stupid. If you kill someone in or near Gaoshan County, wouldn't that easily leave clues and incriminating evidence?"
"Killing you after you've come this far greatly reduces suspicion; that's the safest approach."
Zhu Yunwen immediately laughed and said:
"So, your magistrate is quite clever after all. What a pity."
The burly man asked:
"What's a pity?"
Zhu Yunwen: "Unfortunately, he miscalculated one thing."
The burly man looked puzzled, but Zhu Yunwen didn't bother to say anything more. At this moment, Zhao Qingzhu had already made his move.
She rushed out in an instant, and in no time at all, the masked burly men fell to the ground, screaming in agony.
Zhu Yunwen waved his fan and, together with Zhao Qingzhu, continued walking calmly into the distance.
After walking a distance, Zhu Yunwen muttered to himself:
"Too bad, he miscalculated. Sending these cowards won't kill me..."
Upon hearing this, the masked men, who were already severely injured, rolled their eyes in anger and fainted.
Zhu Yunwen did not take this matter too seriously and continued to pass through one or two more cities.
In some county towns, I've encountered some truly despicable local officials.
Zhu Yunwen, having already concealed his identity, still did not punish him in any way. He simply kept the matter in mind and prepared to go to the Provincial Administration Commission to have it ordered to be dealt with by the Provincial Administration Commission.
The highest administrative official in Annam was the Provincial Governor sent by the Ming Dynasty. The Provincial Governor was basically the highest official in a province or region, and could be considered a powerful regional official.
Similar to the top official in a province in later generations.
Therefore, such a person wields very high authority. Annam itself is not a very large place, at most comparable to some provinces of the Ming Dynasty, and possibly slightly larger than some provinces.
Therefore, his rank is also at the provincial level, just like Goryeo, which is classified as a province.
During the Ming Dynasty, Goryeo was called Goryeo Province, while Annam was called Annam Province.
The highest government office in Goryeo was called the Goryeo Provincial Administration Commission, while the highest government office in Annam was called the Annam Provincial Administration Commission, and its head was naturally the Provincial Administration Commissioner.
The top judicial official was the Provincial Judicial Commissioner.
The top military and political leader is the Commander-in-Chief.
Zhu Yunwen's destination this time was Wangchen City, formerly the capital of Annam, which is now the city where the Annam Provincial Administration Office was located.
Zhu Yunwen originally thought the journey would be relatively smooth. Although he had discovered many corrupt officials, he believed that once he arrived at the Annam Provincial Administration Commission and explained the situation, the local governor would surely punish these corrupt officials immediately.
However, the reality was quite different. After several days, Zhu Yunwen passed through many cities and recorded a list of corrupt and lawless officials.
Subsequently, upon arriving at the city where the Provincial Administration Commission was located, and preparing to meet the Provincial Administration Commissioner at the Provincial Administration Office, Zhu Yunwen had a bad premonition.
He didn't know why, but he felt a vague sense of oppression upon arriving in the territory of the Provincial Administration Office, which made him uneasy.
At first, he didn't think much about it and went straight to the outside of the Provincial Administration Office, where he revealed his identity.
A moment later, the provincial governor of Annam, along with a large group of officials, rushed out and knelt down.
"The Provincial Governor of Annam, along with all the officials of the Provincial Administration Office, pays homage to His Highness the Crown Prince. May His Highness the Crown Prince live a thousand years..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
