After Zhu Ping'an had a brief acquaintance with the officials and gentry of Jingnan County at the Jieguanting Pavilion, he walked to the north gate Wangyue Gate under the guidance of the county magistrate Zhang Changru, Zhu Bao Wenyuan and others, preparing to enter from the north gate. In the county seat, go to the Chenghuang Temple to worship.
When the county magistrate takes office, he first pays homage to the city god. This is the etiquette rule of the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Pingan has done his homework and is very clear about this.
The City God is one of the eight gods of Confucianism. He is a priest who protects the city and is believed by both folk and Taoists. In the Ming Dynasty, the status of the City God was further improved. After Emperor Hongwu unified the world, on Bingshenshuo in the first month of the second year, the city gods of the city were granted the title of royal nobility. The city gods of Bian, Hao, Jiu, He, Chu and other prefectures where Emperor Hongwu started his career were also granted the title of king. For the king of the first rank, the city god of other prefectures and cities was granted the title of duke of the second rank, the city god of the prefecture city was granted the title of marquis of the third rank, and the city god of the county town was granted the title of earl of the fourth rank.
The Jingnan County Town God was a fourth-rank official conferred by the Ming Dynasty, and his official rank was much higher than his own, a seventh-rank county magistrate.
It is perfectly normal for a subordinate to pay homage to a superior.
Zhu Ping'an ignored feudal superstitions and other things, and simply worshiped his superiors as a subordinate.
"Meet the magistrate."
When Zhu Pingan passed by Wangyue Gate, the people around him knelt down to salute and secretly looked at Zhu Pingan with their peripheral vision.
"Fellows and fellow villagers, no courtesy." Zhu Ping'an showed no pretense. He stopped and smiled and nodded in return to the people who were saluting around him. He asked them to stand up without ceremony and stretched out his hand to help an old man up.
"The county lord is from Dayao Village, and the surname is Yao. The county lord, please come and sit in our dayao village when you have time." The old man who was helped up by Zhu Pingan was very excited, and his voice was trembling.
"It turns out to be Mr. Yao. Okay, I'll go to Dayao Village to bother Mr. Yao after I settle down." Zhu Ping'an agreed with a smile.
After Zhu Ping'an and his party entered the city gate and walked away, the people watching the excitement under the city wall of Wangyue Gate immediately gathered around Mr. Yao. Hearing that Mr. Yao formed a group, they all couldn't wait to ask questions.
"Mr. Yao, what did Xie County tell you?"
"Oh, old man, what did you say to our Xie County?"
"Mr. Yao, we saw you and the county magistrate talking and laughing. What did you say?"
Looking at the people who were sniffing him, Mr. Yao straightened his back, coughed, glared at the bearded men who called Xie County, and said angrily, "What Xie County, do you have any decency? That is the county magistrate, the father-in-law of our common people in Jingnan County."
"Yes, yes, it's the county magistrate you always lectured. So what did the county magistrate tell you?"
People wanted to know what the new county magistrate said to Mr. Yao, so they all responded to what Mr. Yao said.
"What did the county magistrate say to me?" Mr. Yao glanced at everyone and was very satisfied with their curiosity. He stroked his beard and said with a thought, "After the county magistrate helped me up, I I just invited the county magistrate to come and sit in our Dayao Village when he is free."
"Ah? Mr. Yao, you are really awesome. You dare to invite the county magistrate to the village. Hehe, you really dare to say that the county magistrate is so rich and valuable that he can go to our dirty and dilapidated village? [How many jobs did Jingnan have to do? You are the county magistrate, and which county magistrate has ever been to the village? Mr. Yao, thanks to you, you are still a sensible person in Dayao Village."
When people heard this, they couldn't help but laugh, laughing at Yao Lao's whimsical idea of daring to invite the county magistrate to the village as a guest.
"Why don't you tell me why the county magistrate helped me but not you? Let me tell you, after I invited the county magistrate, the county magistrate happily agreed. After saying that he had settled in, he went to Dayao Village to bother me. The master is just being polite. If the county magistrate is able to come, he is just being polite. He is showing respect to me." Mr. Yao glanced at the crowd, raised his head, and said with his hands behind his back, shaking his head.
"Really?! I'm not trying to trick you, right?!"
When people heard this, they couldn't help but be stunned. They didn't believe what Yao Lao said.
"That's still fake!" Yao Laochong puffed his beard and glared at the person who questioned him, "I've seen too many people, and the county magistrate can see that he's a person who promises a lot of money."
People looked at Zhu Ping'an's retreating figure and were slightly stunned.
"This new county magistrate seems a little different from the previous one. At least, he is quite approachable."
Someone said so.
However, someone quickly refuted it.
"Easy to approach? Haha, I know people but not their hearts. Just based on today's encounter, is it too early to draw such a conclusion? It's not like you don't know that some people just know how to pretend. Today is his first time here and he hasn't handed over yet. When he takes office, he pretends to be more friendly to the people. When he takes over and becomes established, he will definitely have a different look. Even if he is really approachable, what's the use. Look, our new county magistrate has many He is young, and his hair has not even grown yet. As the saying goes, if he has no hair on his lips, he will not be able to do things well. If he is a gilded nobleman from a high-ranking official's family, how can he care about the life and death of us common people? If not, he is so He is young and looks naive, but he has no good ideas. How can he control Jingnan, who is facing a complicated situation? Can he fight against the five major dangers of our Jingnan?! Hey, I would rather have someone who is arrogant, domineering, but has great energy. The county magistrate”
Someone dragged him and retorted with a sigh.
"Hey, yes, the name of our Jingnan County is so good. I think back then, it was the Han Dynasty or the Song Dynasty. The general named our county after he pacified the south. The word 'Jing' means pacification. , calmness and peace, so we named Jingnan County, which means 'Jing of the South', to herald good fortune. Our Jingnan County is a beautiful land, and the name is full of good wishes, but alas, our Jingnan County Instead of receiving good wishes, I received a curse, bloodshed and tears, and unbearable suffering, especially the five major harms. The first harm was corrupt officials, collusion between officials and bandits, collusion between officials and businessmen, collusion between government and mines, and the common people; the second harm was the Southern Barbarians. The Miao people rebelled, and the people suffered; the three pests were the mountain bandits, the fourth pest was the pirates, and the fifth pest was the Japanese pirates who massacred and plundered. All of them harmed our people, and each of them caused our people to bleed, shed tears, and suffer unspeakably. These five major harms are one of them. If the sun does not clear up, our Jingnan will not have a good day. However, our new county magistrate is too young."
There was a salesman who was walking around the streets. He mentioned the five major evils, which immediately aroused the resonance of many people.
Looking at the young, short figure walking away, people couldn't help but feel a dark cloud in their hearts.
This county magistrate is too young. His shoulders cannot bear the expectations of the people of Jingnan.
Why
We, the people of Jingnan, have a really hard life.
