Chapter 350 Is This Lingnan?
"Send it to Chang'an immediately, three hundred miles away!" Lu Zhaoshi said to the postmaster.
"Yes!" The postmaster took the mail, which included a secret letter, a family letter, and a thick official document, all addressed in Chang'an.
"Sir, the new magistrate of Rong County, Wang Duanfang, requests to see you!" said the yamen official outside the door.
"Oh, please let him in!" Lu Zhaoshi waved his hand.
The postmaster went down with the mail and passed by Wang Duanfang.
"Your humble servant Wang Duanfang pays his respects to the Governor!" Wang Duanfang came in and saluted respectfully to Lu Zhaoshi who was sitting on the main seat.
"Master Wang is here?" Lu Zhaoshi raised his hand in return. "Please take a seat and have some tea!"
The police officer came in with hot tea.
Wang Duanfang picked up the teacup and took a sip. No matter how thirsty the nobles were, they would not be impatient to drink.
"Lord Wang, you have worked hard on your journey, trekking through mountains and rivers to this wild land!" Lu Zhaoshi said politely.
"I dare not!" Wang Duanfang was also polite.
"Are your family members accompanying you and are they settled properly?" Lu Zhaoshi asked with concern.
"Your Excellency, my mother couldn't bear the bumpy ride and fell ill on the way, leaving her family stranded. I'm here to report in first!" Wang Duanfang said with a frown.
I was exhausted after walking all the way. Lingnan is indeed a place with many mountains and miasma. If I were not in good health, I would have collapsed long ago.
Lu Zhaoshi took over Wang Duanfang's official letter and read it. He was transferred to Rong County, Wuzhou, Lingnan Road at the same level as the Inspector General.
The rank of the Inspector-General is not high, but he has considerable say. However, he can report rumors on the spot, and officials are afraid of being targeted by the Inspector-General.
Being transferred to Wuzhou, 5,000 miles away, at the same level was a demotion not much better than Su Bucheng's exile. I guess he was disliked by the emperor.
"Submit it to the clerk for approval!" Lu Zhaoshi handed the official certificate to the clerk.
The clerk took it to the clerk's office to stamp it and keep it on file.
The two men drank tea in silence. They were not very familiar with each other, and since Lu Zhaoshi was demoted, he had no desire to communicate.
The best thing about the Inspector General is to make groundless accusations and he is very good at talking, so it is better to say less.
Yan Zheng, the former county magistrate of Rong County, was fifty-three years old and had no hope of promotion. He wrote to the emperor many times requesting retirement and wanted to return to his hometown to retire.
However, officials from Beijing are unwilling to come to this poor place, and Lingnan Province itself is short of officials, so it has been impossible to resign.
This time, my wish finally came true and someone took over.
"Sir, I heard that you have been serving in Wuzhou for ten years?" Wang Duanfang made small talk.
"Hmm!" Lu Zhaoshi replied calmly without comment.
"Are you from the Lu family of Fanyang?" Wang Duanfang asked eagerly.
"Exactly!"
"I am Wang from Taiyuan!"
"I've heard a lot about you!" Lu Zhaoshi said with a bow, a hint of impatience in his eyes.
He has a family in the Wang family of Taiyuan, and it’s not like he hasn’t seen one before.
"What a coincidence, my daughter is the wife of the Lu family!" Wang Duanfang was unaware and continued to get close to her.
"Oh, which boy of the Lu family did your daughter marry?" Lu Zhaoshi was a little surprised. He had never worked in Chang'an and had no dealings with the Lu family in Chang'an.
"Lu Chengye, the second son of Minister Lu of the Ministry of Works!" Wang Duanfang approached and said kindly, "I didn't expect to meet you here!"
There are thousands of words in the eyes, and those who understand will understand.
"Oh!" Lu Zhaoshi looked outside the door. Why would it take so long to investigate this official document?
"Sir, I'm new here and I hope you can give me some advice!" Wang Duanfang didn't say anything when he saw Lu Zhao.
"Sir Wang, Wuzhou is a low-level state, remote, wild, and sparsely populated, with a mix of Han and Li people. It's only this year that it has seen some improvement.
Magistrate Yan of Rong County was old and had resigned several times. Fortunately, he was replaced by Lord Wang.
Lord Wang is from Chang'an, and His Majesty has high hopes for him. I believe that under Lord Wang's governance, Rong County will be revitalized and surpass Wu County!"
Lu Zhaoshi gritted his teeth and said a bunch of official jargon.
"Sir, Rong County..." Wang Duanfang was a little annoyed. This governor only knew how to speak in official language!
"Sir! The inspection of Lord Wang's official certificate has been completed!" The yamen official came back with a backup and returned it.
Wang Duanfang took it and wanted to get closer to him, but he saw Lu Zhaoshi holding up the teacup, not drinking the tea, and pointing his little finger and index finger at him.
The other party served tea and sent the guests away. Wang Duanfang swallowed what he wanted to say and stood up awkwardly, "I'll take my leave!"
"Yeah!" Lu Zhaoshi said lightly.
Wang Duanfang walked out of the government office, looked back at the government office, and then looked at the ancient streets.
The coming and going of people and the hawkers’ shouts are very lively.
Wang Duanfang's eyes were full of disdain for the poor mountains and bad waters, the uncivilized barbarians, and the powerless exiles.
I thought that since we were from the same family, Lu Zhaoshi would look upon me with respect at first sight, but I didn't expect that he would ignore me altogether, and I was rejected in return.
"Hey, hey!" The carriage suddenly stopped, and there was a noise in front, all of which was the sound of pounding.
"What's going on?" Wang Duanfang lifted the curtain, and when the wind blew, dust blew into his eyes.
"Oh!" He lowered the curtain and wiped it with his sleeve for a while before opening his eyes.
The carriage moved forward, but very slowly.
Wang Duanfang opened a gap and found that the official road was wide enough for four cars to drive side by side. Did the Lingnan Road also have four lanes?
The roadbed is paved with stones and filled with soil to be compacted. In order not to affect normal traffic, half of the road is under construction and the other half is open to traffic.
There are many laborers on the construction site, tamping and filling the soil in an orderly manner. Some are setting up formwork and tying bamboo reinforcements. There are managers who look like villagers on site to inspect and guide.
There were no yamen runners guarding with whips, and the laborers worked voluntarily, with bright smiles on their faces.
"Are you performing forced labor?" Wang Duanfang asked.
Seeing that it was an official in official robes, the common people replied respectfully, "Yes, sir!"
"How long will it take to repair it?" Wang Duanfang asked again.
"Replying to the lord, we will repair it during the slack season, and when the busy season comes, we can repair the road."
"This official road is so long, won't it take one or two years?" Wang Duanfang's occupational disease came back, and he still acted like an inspecting censor, finding fault with everything.
"Your Excellency, I am from a nearby village. We have divided the road into sections, and each of us will be responsible for building the section under our respective village's jurisdiction. It won't take long!"
"?" Wang Duanfang was stunned. Is it possible to build a road like this? He has always been an inspector and has no idea how the Ministry of Works conducts construction.
On the one hand, different professions are like different worlds. On the other hand, Beijing officials all think they are superior to others, so how could they care about people's livelihood?
What's more, this was Su Ying's suggestion, to break the whole into parts and carry out construction in sections.
The laborers lived close to home, saving on food and travel time, and they also put their heart into the construction. No one wanted the road to their doorstep to be difficult to travel.
Not only did it motivate workers, but construction was also carried out on the entire road section at the same time. As long as they had time, the laborers would come to build the road, and the construction speed was extremely fast.
After walking a little further, the speed of the carriage suddenly increased and became smoother, and the carriage was driving on the gray-white cement road.
"Is this a cement road?" Wang Duanfang lifted the curtain, stunned. Is this Lingnan? How could there be such advanced technology?
The road behind is almost entirely cement, wider than the road in the provincial capital, and there are many caravans on the road.
"Where is ahead? Why are there so many merchants and travelers?" Wang Duanfang was curious.
"Sir, Tong County ahead produces bean shoots, soybean oil, and soy sauce. Merchants can go there to purchase them!" the coachman replied.
"Tong County? Not Wu County?"
"Sir, it's still early in Wu County. Wu County is even more lively than Tong County!" said the groom with a smile.
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