As Lu Chen took over Yuzhou, the official circles of Yuzhou and Suizhou, which were originally like a pool of stagnant water, became completely agitated.
Those officials, regardless of their official position, who directly imposed labor servitude without obtaining the imperial decree, including their minions, subordinates and their families involved in the matter were all captured by the Xuanji Guards and taken to the Yuzhou City Prison to await their fate.
There were a total of nineteen officials who secretly imposed labor force. Among them, five officials, like Luan Yu, forced the people to death and caused extremely bad effects. All of them were sentenced to death by Lu Chen on the spot and were directly executed three days later.
Although the other fourteen officials did not cause serious consequences, they all had varying degrees of impact on people's livelihood, and privately collecting labor was a violation of court law. Therefore, although they were not executed, Lu Chen did not let them go. The official returned to his original position, but wrote to the empress to let the empress personally punish him.
Of course, pure destruction means nothing.
Even if when he killed the five top county magistrates, all the people watching applauded and applauded, Lu Chen would not think that just killing them would solve the problem.
Life must go on after all.
It is impossible for a county to be without a county magistrate, a bookkeeper, an official, or a government office for a long time, otherwise troubles will arise sooner or later.
Therefore, while getting rid of those dog officials who have done many evil things, we must arrange as soon as possible someone who can ban them, or at least someone who can temporarily act as the county magistrate, to respond to emergencies.
And this person cannot be a traditional bureaucrat.
He doesn't want to just kill a few fat ducks who are obviously full but still want to eat, and then directly support a hungry duck who has an empty stomach and thinks about how to fill his stomach all day long to come to power, otherwise the suffering of the people in the end will not only be It will get better, and it will become more serious.
The interest relationship between officials is already intricate. You are among me and you are among me. Now that nineteen county magistrate vacancies have been vacated, it is simply an earthquake for the Yuzhou officialdom.
So, the candidates he could think of...
"What? Let lowly warriors serve as county magistrates, chief registrars, etc. temporarily?"
Zhizhou Yamen, lobby.
Fang Yu and other Xuanji guards looked at Lu Chen with wide eyes.
"How does this work?"
That's right, Lu Chen's plan was to send these Xuanji Guards, who had served as commanders and magistrates of Xuanwu Guards Qianhu, Baihu, and other guards of the Cangming Army, to act as county magistrates temporarily.
After hearing his assignment, Fang Yu and other Xuanji guards who were named shook their heads like rattles and refused: "The humble men are just rough people. Although they are literate, they are not literate, and they only know some battle formations. I know a little about mathematics, but I have never practiced the way of sages, so how can I be qualified for the posts of county magistrate and chief registrar?"
"The way of sages? Ha..."
Lu Chen suddenly sneered disdainfully: "Do you think only those who practice the way of saints are qualified to be an official?"
Hearing this, Fang Yu hesitated for a moment, and then honestly said what was in his heart: "This has been the case for thousands of years, Lord Governor, is there anything wrong with this?"
Lu Chen narrowed his eyes.
Xuanji Guard, the Empress's eyes and ears, will definitely report to the Empress what he saw and heard in Yuzhou, what he, the governor, did, said, and thought.
If you knew he was a rebellious person... tsk tsk...
As soon as he thought of this, Lu Chen curled his lips and said calmly: "The Tao of the Sages teaches loyalty to the king and patriotism, it teaches cultivating one's character to pursue the great path, it teaches filial piety, respecting one's elders, and it teaches loyalty, propriety, integrity, and a sense of shame. , advocated that "if the monks are at peace, the world will be settled", but it did not teach how to be lenient and caring for the people, and how to act when the people are in danger. It also did not teach how to increase grain production, how to control floods, and how to control the people. How can people live and work in peace and contentment if they are rich, and there is no thought of [benevolent government and caring for the people]."
After a pause, he continued: "The way of the saints is only the basic principle of being a human being and the foundation of a monk. Although it is important, it is not the way to do things after all. It is not enough to enrich the country and strengthen the people and stabilize the world."
Upon hearing this unprecedented remark, all the Xuanji guards, including Fu Huan, were stunned.
Especially Fu Hua.
She is more than just a military commander.
Although she is said to be proficient in martial arts, her literary skills are not bad either.
Being well-equipped in both civil and military skills is not a word used simply to praise others. Merely being literate or being able to write a few simple articles is not worthy of such a high evaluation.
Therefore, Lu Chen's words had a much greater impact on her than other Xuanji guards who had never understood the way of a saint.
Regarding Lu Chen's remarks that broke the traditional understanding, she fell into deep thought for a moment.
Lu Chen suddenly sighed and continued: "I don't blame you for sticking to the old rules. After all, I also witnessed the absurd behavior of Luan Yu and others, and saw the tragic situation in Gou'er Village and Qu'er Village. Only when those faint-hearted officials who didn't care about the lives of the people and felt the unforgettable hatred of Li Wei and other villagers towards the Ping County government came to understand the truth."
Fang Yu cautiously glanced at his immediate superior and saw that she was frowning in thought, so she couldn't hold back her curiosity and asked softly: "What's the point?"
Lu Chen did not answer directly, but turned his head, looked east, and said quietly:
"This is related to the fate of the dynasty and the changes in governance and chaos. Your Majesty needs to know the truth."
As soon as these words came out, everyone looked stern at the same time and did not dare to ask any more questions.
"Anyway."
Lu Chen turned around, walked slowly to Fang Yu, and said solemnly: "You just need to remember that as an official, you should have the people in mind, think about the people's thoughts, and be concerned about the people's concerns. As long as you do this, You will be a thousand times better than those faint-hearted officials who only look for words and excerpts from the books of sages, only know that practice is not easy, and work hard all day long. They do not know the hardships of people's livelihood, do not care about the life and death of the people, and allow their minions to bully the people. Not to mention Luan Yu and his ilk.”
"As long as you can make the people gain something, have enough food and clothing, and live and work in peace and contentment, no matter whether you have fame or not, what your cultivation is, what your talent is, whether you know the way of a saint, you will be a good official."
Hearing this, a strange emotion suddenly rose in everyone's hearts.
However, Fang Yu still had some concerns.
"But, Mr. Governor, we are the Xuanji Guards. Your Majesty has said that our duty is to protect you, Your Majesty. If you become the county magistrate, not to mention that your name is unfair, your Majesty, we will How to explain"
In response, Lu Chen just silently pulled out the Jidao Sword.
"I have the authority of the emperor. As long as it is the political affairs of the two states, I can make a decision with one word. This is your majesty's order. How can I not be clear and righteous? If anyone has any objections to this, I will deal with it. You Don’t worry, just do your part.”
"As for your majesty, I, the governor, will report it to you. Don't worry about it."
Hearing this, Fang Yu and others immediately didn't know how to respond, so they all looked at Fu Hua.
Feeling everyone's gaze, Fu Hua immediately calmed down, thought for a while, and then nodded slightly.
"Listen to Governor Lu. As for Governor Lu, you don't have to worry. With me here, absolutely no one can threaten Governor Lu."
Hearing this, Lu Chen couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.
Stop being so awesome and give those young people a chance, okay? !
Fang Yu naturally didn't know what Lu Chen was thinking at this time. Since the boss said so, they didn't hesitate anymore and directly accepted the order.
At this moment, a Xuanji Guard walked in.
"My Lord Governor, Zhao Ping and Cui Gu, the magistrates of the two states of Yu and Sui, would like to see you."
(End of chapter)
