Chapter 157 Sheng Huaizhou Prefect
Governor?
Du Min hurriedly went back to his room to change into his official robes. He jogged to the front office, holding his official hat, and led the county magistrate, registrar, and county lieutenant who were already waiting there to greet him. They hadn't gone far when they met the governor's carriage.
"Du Min, the magistrate of Heqing County, led the county clerks to pay their respects to the Governor." Du Min bowed in greeting.
The two-horse carriage stopped, the door opened, and a scarlet official robe first caught Du Min's eye. He glanced at it again before moving his gaze upward.
"Magistrate Du, it's been a long time!" the governor said loudly.
"Vice Minister?" Du Min was surprised. Since they were old acquaintances, he spoke with a touch of familiarity, "I heard from the yamen runners that the Governor's carriage had arrived. I was wondering if it could be you."
This man was the governor who visited Heqing County in early spring last year, also known as the Vice Minister of the Chancellery. At that time, he helped Du Min out of his predicament at the Heyang Bridge.
"I never expected to see you again so soon." The governor got out of his carriage and said, "Qingfeng, why don't you come and pay your respects to Lord Du?"
An official in a blue robe strode up from behind the carriage. He greeted Du Min and said, “Lord Du, I am Yu Qingfeng, the chief of the Water Department. Two months ago, the Ministry of Personnel transferred me to serve as the River Embankment Attendant in Heqing County.”
Du Min recalled that he had written an official document to the Ministry of Works in March requesting personnel, and it was already the end of June before the personnel arrived.
“I have long awaited your presence, and now you have finally arrived.” Du Min nodded, leading the governor into the government office, and asked with a smile, “Sir, you did not come to stay at the Heqing County government office specifically to send us helpers, did you?”
"No, that's not it. I met Xiang Yezhe in Henan County, Huai Prefecture," the governor explained. "I learned from him that you were undertaking large-scale water conservancy projects in Heqing County, so I made a special detour to see you."
The group took their seats in the clerk's office. Xiang Yezhe rose and explained, "My lord, please forgive my delay. The canal and river digging project you mentioned in your official document is similar to the Qin Canal in Huai Prefecture. When I left the capital, I heard that Huai Prefecture was suffering from a severe drought. After inquiring, I learned that the Qin Canal had dried up and was abandoned. In order to ascertain the situation and to prevent similar problems from occurring with the canals in Heqing County, I went to investigate in person."
Du Min was overjoyed. "No, no, thank you for your hard work, Your Excellency. On behalf of the people of Heqing County, I am grateful for your dedication."
"You flatter me, sir," Xiang Yezhe said, sitting back down.
"I remember you said last year that you wanted to build a water system in Heqing County similar to that in Wu County, Suzhou. I rejected it then, but you still haven't given up?" the governor asked.
Du Min produced his water system map and said, “Thanks to your reminder, I rejected the impractical parts and retained some measures beneficial to agriculture. To solve the flood problem, I built a river embankment over ten feet high on the north bank of the Yellow River and designated it as permanent farmland for men to plant fruit trees and mulberry and hemp. This will strengthen the embankment and prevent it from collapsing. With the embankment in place, the Yellow River’s water level will rise significantly. I will build an outlet here to divert Yellow River water into the canal, and then open the canal to release water during droughts and agricultural water seasons. As for the siltation, laborers will be responsible for dredging the river mud every late autumn and early spring. The mud can be used to fertilize the fields or to repair roads.”
“I understand.” The governor pushed away the water system map. “The same is true for the Qin Canal. However, the Yellow River in the Huaizhou section is severely silted up, and the Yellow River frequently changes course, causing the Qin Canal to dry up and become prone to drought.”
“Heqing County will not be affected. Heqing County is located upstream of Huaizhou, where the Yellow River flows faster. In addition, the river embankments are high, which increases the water capacity. There will be no situation where the Yellow River changes course,” Du Min said. Holding the water system map, he cautiously asked, “Sir, you are not here to stop us, are you? The money we use to build the embankments and dig canals is raised by the government itself. We have not asked the imperial court for money. The laborers we hire are also paid. The land occupied by the canal digging will also be purchased by the government. The people have no objections.”
"Oh? Such a huge project was entirely funded by the government? How much money did you raise? Over a million strings of cash?" The governor asked, half-believing.
"No, we've only raised nearly 200,000 strings of cash. After deducting the cost of buying the land, that's enough to hire laborers for two years. From last October to this June, we've built 18 li of dikes and dug the irrigation canals to a depth of seven feet. I'm confident that the irrigation canals will be completed by the end of this year, and the dikes are expected to be completed next year. As for the river channel, even if it's not completed next year, it's fine. Heqing County has over 13,000 adult men. If they serve two years of corvée labor, the river channel will definitely be completed." Du Min had a plan in mind, and he spoke eloquently.
The room darkened. Magistrate Sun brought a candle to light an oil lamp, and flames shot up, illuminating the shock in the governor's eyes. Two hundred thousand strings of cash! Less than two hundred thousand strings! And such a massive project could be completed. In the past five years, the imperial court had allocated well over a million strings of cash to Huai Prefecture for dredging river channels and maintaining water conservancy projects, yet the Yellow River frequently changed course, sections of the Qin Canal were abandoned, and floods and droughts occurred every year.
Du Min didn't notice the other party's strange expression. He was thinking about getting promoted ahead of schedule next year and wanted to make a good impression on the governor. He said firmly, "After the first batch of funds is used up, I can raise more funds. At the latest, the river can be completed by the middle of the following year."
"You can still raise funds? You mustn't oppress the people," the governor reminded him.
"No, no, that's not it. You've misunderstood. You don't think that this nearly 200,000 yuan in donations was forced upon the people by my power, do you?" Du Min handed over the donation list. "Take a look. This batch of donations was jointly donated by merchants, gentry, and prominent families in Heqing County. The donation was handled by the Baishan Association, and there was no government involvement."
The governor opened the bound register, and on the first page, in the first column, was the Qingniao Paper Craft School, with a note below stating a donation of 22,000 strings of cash. He vaguely recalled the name of the Ming Dynasty scholar Du Min, and vaguely remembered that Du Min's second sister-in-law was in charge of the school. He immediately understood that Du Min carried a money bag with him, which explained his confident claim that he could raise more funds.
"Did the donation to the free school get the Minister of Rites' approval? You can squander the Ministry of Rites' money?" The governor inquired discreetly, a thought forming in his mind.
"The name of the school is 'righteous,' meaning it is for righteousness, not for profit. Its glory comes from donations from the people, and the profits are used for the people. Only the remainder goes to the Ministry of Rites," Du Min said grandly, emphasizing at the end, "My lord, I have not squandered this money. All of this money has a proper purpose, and not a single penny has been used for me."
“I can testify that every expenditure of the charitable funds received by the government was jointly signed by Lord Du, myself, Registrar Xu, and County Lieutenant Lin, and can withstand any inspection,” said Magistrate Sun.
"I misspoke." The governor stroked his beard and glanced at Du Min. It was a waste of his talents to keep such a capable official in Heqing County. He was better suited to go to Huaizhou to clean up the mess.
"Here you go." The governor stood up and handed the booklet to Du Min, saying, "Take me to inspect the dikes and canals tomorrow."
Du Min agreed. He looked outside and saw that it was already dark. He said with annoyance, "I forgot myself when we were talking about business. A feast has been prepared in the government office. Lord Li, gentlemen, please come to the government office for dinner."
The servants guarding the office were swatting mosquitoes when they heard voices and footsteps coming out. They immediately ran back to the government office to report the news.
When Du Min and his party arrived at the government office, a table of food had already been set out in the hall. Yin Caiwei greeted them and then withdrew.
Meng Qing, Du Li, and Wang Zhou had already eaten dinner and returned to their respective rooms before the governor entered, without going out to disturb him.
For the next five days, Du Min stayed home until dark, accompanying the governor on his travels throughout Heqing County. This was, of course, what he wanted. He subtly led the governor to examine his achievements in Heqing County, such as assisting Magistrate Zhao in curbing the extravagant funeral practices in Heyin County, and his work at the Meng family dye house and bamboo workshop in sheltering beggars, refugees, and those struggling to make ends meet… He demonstrated to the governor that he not only had a strong style but also the means to implement benevolent governance, making him a good magistrate wholeheartedly devoted to the people.
This was also what the governor wanted to know. The more he looked at it, the more satisfied he became. When he left Heqing County, he wrote an official document and sent it to Chang'an. This document was delivered directly to the female sage's desk.
*
On July 16, the governor came to Heqing County again.
Du Min and Xiang Yezhe were inspecting the terrain and field distribution of Heqing County when they returned in the evening and learned that the governor had come again.
"Sir, when did you arrive? The people in the yamen didn't even inform me." Du Min feigned anger.
The governor chuckled and waved his hand, saying, "I told them not to call you. You're busy with important matters, so I won't bother you."
"The Chief of Household and I accompanied the Imperial Inspector Xiang on an inspection tour of the terrain and field distribution in Heqing County, hoping to plan a waterway with the shortest route that could flow through more fields." Du Min did not hesitate to show off his diligence in governing.
"Lord Du is a pragmatic official. If there were more diligent and benevolent officials like Lord Du in the court, it would be a great blessing for the Tang Dynasty." The governor picked up an official document from the table and handed it over. "Lord Du, I'm here to bring you good news. I have truthfully reported your words and deeds in Heqing County to the Emperor, who greatly admires you and intends to promote you to the position of Prefect of Huaizhou. In the next few months, you should properly hand over the official duties in Heqing County, and at the end of the year, you should go to Chang'an to report to the Ministry of Personnel."
Du Min was shocked. A thunderbolt seemed to explode in his mind, and he clenched his teeth to keep his face from changing drastically.
"My lord, I have served as the magistrate of Heqing County for less than two years, and the project I initiated is still unfinished. If I go to Huaizhou, what will happen to the administration of Heqing County?" Du Min was flustered. If he hadn't planned to go to the Ministry of Rites, he would have already knelt down and kowtowed in gratitude. If he went to the Huaizhou Prefectural Governor's Office, the great benefits brought by the free school would no longer be his concern.
“You’ve been promoted, so a new magistrate will naturally come,” the governor said.
"I don't feel comfortable handing this matter over to someone else," Du Min said, trying to decline.
"Oh? Could it be that you intend to serve as the magistrate of Heqing County for a long time?" The governor stared at him probingly. "The Qin Canal in Huaizhou was built during the Qin Dynasty and is still in use after several dynasties. The dikes and canals in Heqing County will be the same. Can you stay here and guard it forever? I don't believe you don't understand the reasons behind this. Do you have other concerns? Or do you look down on the position of the Prefect of Huaizhou?"
"You flatter me, sir. How could I possibly look down on the position of Prefect of Huaizhou?" Du Min dared not refuse any longer. He explained in a flustered manner, "This is my first time serving as an official. The water conservancy project in Heqing County is like my first child. I am reluctant to let go of it before it has even grown up. I hope you will understand."
The governor's expression softened. He stood up, patted Du Min on the shoulder, and said, "Lord Du, you come from a peasant family with no family background or connections. It is your good fortune to be valued by the female saint. Cherish it."
Du Min bowed deeply towards the northwest, saying, "This humble official will certainly not fail the Emperor's trust."
That's what he said, but after seeing the governor off, Du Min immediately returned to the government office for help: "Second sister-in-law, help! What am I going to do!"
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