The reason why Ma Yuanwai is so confident is that, on the one hand, the local squires in Jiangdu are deeply rooted and do not need to be particularly afraid of the two "outsiders", Magistrate Feng and Magistrate Chen. The more important reason is that the Ma family also has the backing of the Ma family.
If there are people in the court, you don't have to be too afraid of these local officials. Just as Magistrate Feng said, if Jiangdu County government comes forward to buy and sell grain, it won't be long before the imperial censor in the court will impeach Jiangdu County with a piece of paper. Impeachment of Jiangdu Prefecture.
There is no need for any other charges, just the words "the government does business and competes with the people for profit" to remove the official skin of Magistrate Feng.
As for the entry of grain dealers from other places...
The local squire forces in Jiangdu are very united. If outsiders want to come to Jiangdu to do business, that's all for other businesses. If they dare to get involved in the grain business, unless there is a huge background behind them, their business will be ruined within two months.
Therefore, these people outside Ma Yuan are confident.
As long as they unite as one, the officials sent by the court may not be able to do anything to them. After all, in the past few decades, the local gentry forces in Jiangdu have driven away countless county magistrates. If the magistrates are sensible, both parties can be harmonious and prosperous. If the county magistrate targets the local squires, he will either be ousted by the Jiangdu squires or be transferred to other places.
If you want to be a good official, especially a good county magistrate, you must firmly remember the principle that "imperial power does not go to the countryside" and cooperate with the local squires and local forces. Then you can serve your term of county magistrate safely and comfortably. If If you have to go against the local forces, then the two sides will have to fight with each other.
Now it is obvious that the Jiangdu squires headed by Ma Yuanwai are very dissatisfied with the "policies" of the two chief officials of the Jiangdu government, and the two sides are about to start a showdown.
After Mr. Feng interviewed Jiangdu grain merchants, the price of grain in Jiangdu city did not drop significantly, and remained at a high price of six cents to eight cents per catty.
Because of the high food prices, Shen Yi's very appropriate nursery rhyme could not be suppressed for a while. Although the county government officials did not allow it to be sung, you could still occasionally hear "Jiangdu is full of tigers and wolves" on the streets. "The sound of singing.
Regarding this situation, Mr. Feng, who is the county magistrate, is not particularly anxious. Anyway, this matter is not his responsibility. He just acts according to the content explained above. As for whether the matter is handled well or not, it is not Magistrate Feng. It needs attention.
However, after all, Mr. Feng did not want to offend his superior. The day after he made an appointment with the grain merchant, the magistrate came to the magistrate's office and met Magistrate Chen, who still looked unhappy. Mr. Feng stood in front of Magistrate Chen with his hands lowered and lowered his head. He bowed his head and said: "Your Majesty, I have already met with the grain merchants according to your instructions, but behind these Jiangdu local merchants..."
Feng Zhixian paused and continued: "They all have more or less imperial backgrounds. I didn't want to push them too hard, so I gave them a three-day deadline to lower the price of food."
Jiangdu is both the south of the Yangtze River and the "Gyeonggi Province". It is one of the famous holy places for imperial examinations. In every subject, there will be several Jiangdu people when the examination results are released. Fourteen years ago, when the examination results were released, there were even ten candidates from Jiangdu. , seven of which came from Ganquan Academy and were passed down as legends.
With such a large "official reserve", there will naturally be many officials from Jiangdu in the imperial court. These officials from Jiangdu will more or less have some "relatives and friends" in their hometowns, and will more or less buy some family properties. .
And their relatives and friends who stayed in Jiangdu were part of the Jiangdu squire force.
After hearing what Magistrate Feng said, Chen Fuzun was expressionless at first, then looked up at Feng Lu and asked, "Have you found the person who created and spread the nursery rhymes?"
Mr. Feng shook his head quickly and said with a wry smile: "Master, this nursery rhyme spread so fast. When I sent someone to investigate, it had already spread all over the Jiangdu. There is no way to trace the source."
"The manpower of the county government is not enough, please forgive me..."
"Three days...three days..."
Chen Fuzun sat in his seat with a gloomy expression. After being silent for a moment, he said: "Since you are the one who said it, it represents our Jiangdu Yamen. I will give them three days. After three days, , I personally went down to inquire about the price of rice in Jiangdu."
Feng Zhixian raised his head and looked at the government official, then lowered his head and said cautiously: "Fu Zun, whether it is the county government office of Xianguan or your government office, there are only a few locals. If you go down in person, those people will You can definitely receive the news in advance. When the time comes, the grain store will lower the price when you go there. If you show off, the prefect's Yamen will have nowhere to go."
"They can't deceive me."
Speaking of this, Chen Yu glanced at Magistrate Feng, and then whispered: "I know that you don't want to offend these local squires in Jiangdu, let alone the people behind them, but you have to remember, this Jiangdu This is the Jiangdu of the imperial court, not the Jiangdu of grain merchants like them!"
Chen Fuzun's voice was low: "I am in Jiangdu, let alone four years, and you have almost one year left in Jiangdu. I am not afraid of dealing with them, so what are you afraid of!"
"If this matter gets serious, the court will certainly blame me, but you, the Jiangdu County Magistrate, are also to blame. Next year is the Civil Service Examination, and you and I are in the same boat as Jiangdu..."
"Should Magistrate Feng not need me to teach you how to help each other in the same boat?"
Feng Lu, the magistrate of Jiangdu, is now serving his second term in Jiangdu. Although he has no particularly big political achievements, he is still stable and his reputation is not bad. If he can get a top grade or a top grade in the civil service examination next year , after completing this term, there is a high probability that there will be a promotion prospect, either to directly become a prefect in a poorer place, or to become a magistrate or co-inspector in a place where he is studying.
And if the evaluation next year is not very good, then there is a high probability that it will be a flat grade.
Jiangdu County Magistrate is already one of the most fertile vacancies in the position of County Magistrate. If he is transferred on a regular basis, unless he is transferred to several counties directly under Jiankang, transfer to any county will be considered a "demotion".
Chen Fuzun's words were a rare "heart-to-heart talk" in the officialdom. After hearing these words, Magistrate Feng also had a different view of himself as a Shangguan who had been with him for more than a year. He bowed his head respectfully and said: "Fu As I have taught you, I will do my best to handle this matter for you."
"Um."
Chen Yu nodded and said slowly: "There are people behind those grain merchants, and there is no one behind this government. If they really want to join forces to fight against the government and the people of Jiangdu, don't blame the Yamen for being ruthless. .”
Magistrate Feng nodded and said, "I understand what the Master means."
………………
While the two chief officials of Jiangdu City were fighting with the squires, Shen Yi and Shen Qilang were walking slowly in Jiangdu City with a few oil paper bags in their hands.
Wrapped in oil paper were several roast chickens.
At this time, although the nursery rhyme turmoil in the city had not passed, it was almost clear that the people in the yamen had not found Xu Fu and other children.
If Xu Fu and others were not found, Shen Yi was not found.
Besides, now that Shen Yi has Master Lu as a guarantee, even if he is really found guilty of Shen Yi, he can confidently pass it on to Master Lu, who will take over the "karma".
Therefore, Shen Yi now has a "gold medal for immunity from death". He no longer has to hide it and can move around openly.
Besides, it would be a bit strange to hide in the academy and not dare to see people.
The roast chickens in Shen Yi's hands were bought by him at a roadside shop, probably from the same shop as the roast chicken that Miss Lu sent to prison.
This time, Shen Yi bought four of them.
There are six children in total, and they are not very old. Four roast chickens should be enough for them to have a delicious meal. It is not that Shen is stingy and is reluctant to buy six. It is really not good to have in hand. Carry.
After Master Shen pretended to wander around the city for a few times, he finally entered the alley and found the resting place of these children at the end of the alley.
A shabby little house.
This small house should be an abandoned ancestral hall, located deep in the alley. Although it can be regarded as a shelter, it lacks bricks and tiles, and there is only one door left, making it very shabby.
In winter, people in this kind of house may freeze to death.
Shen Yi walked to the half door of the room, and instead of walking in directly, he reached out and knocked on the door.
Soon, the leading child, Xu Fu, walked out. He looked up at Shen Yi and let out a long sigh of relief.
Obviously, he has been worried these days that Shen Yi is a liar who doesn't keep his word and talks empty words.
Now that Shen Yi is back, he is relieved.
Because Shen Yi came back to find them, which meant that he would fulfill his promise.
Mr. Shen Qi handed over the four oil paper bags in his hand and smiled: "This is Chen Ji's roast chicken. It is very famous. Take it and give them a share."
Xu Fu swallowed, reached out to take the oil paper bags, and then bowed his head slightly to Shen Yi: "Thank you, Mr. Shen."
After saying this, he walked into the shabby house with four oil paper bags. Not long after, he walked out of the house and came to Shen Yi. He lowered his head and said, "Mr. Shen..."
Shen Yi looked at Xu Fu in surprise and asked with a smile, "You didn't eat?"
Xu Fu lowered his head and said, "I just ate steamed buns. I'm not hungry."
After saying this, he hesitated and said: "Mr. Shen, we did not follow your request. We went out to sing for a day that day. Later I went out again and found that this song was being sung in many places in the city. , I didn’t let them go out again.”
"You did a great job."
Shen Yi looked calm and said calmly: "Remember, from now on, you will not remember this nursery rhyme. This nursery rhyme has nothing to do with you at all. You are not allowed to mention it. Do you understand?"
Xu Fu thoughtfully lowered his head and said, "I understand."
"I will come back to the city in two days to find you a place to stay and buy you some clean clothes."
Shen Qilang smiled gently.
"When you clean up, I'll teach you how to make a living. After you learn it, go and set up a stall at Yudai Lake."
