The warm sun shines on the ancient cornices of Jiangzhou Hall.
Ouyang Rong turned over and dismounted.
He touched the mane of the horse with his hand, and handed the reins to the attendant.
"Feed better fodder."
"Yes, sir."
Chang Sui was about to lead the horse to the trough, and touched the horse's dark red smooth skin. His eyes were filled with envy. He hesitated and turned around to ask:
"It's a magical horse. Don't you want to give it a name?"
Ouyang Rong, who was adjusting his official uniform, turned around and looked at the horse, which was taller than the young man next to him.
This horse was a celebration gift given to him by Li Xian and Wei Mei, and Ouyang Rong was not polite.
He didn't pay much attention to it in the past few days. After bringing it back, he rode it directly to go up and down.
Perhaps it is a legacy from the Northern and Southern Dynasties where Han and Hu people were mixed. People in Qian and Zhou all loved horses. Most officials liked to ride horses when they went to court or wherever they went. It was the fashion of the time.
Almost like the car lover Ouyang Rong was in his previous life.
"Is this horse rare?" Ouyang Rong asked casually.
Chang Sui nodded vigorously, with an envious look on his face:
"Master, this is the Dawan horse from the Western Region. Dawan has many good horses, and the horse sweats blood... This divine horse is also unique in the Dawan horse."
Ouyang Rong took a closer look at the dark red horse.
He has a tall body, slender limbs, a thin head and a tall neck, and thin skin and fine hair. Well, among horses, he is indeed a handsome man. No, it seems to be a female, that is a beautiful girl.
"Sweat like blood?" Ouyang Rong muttered: "Isn't this a BMW that sweats blood?"
Chang Sui was curious: "Sweat-blooded BMW? What's the name? It's really appropriate."
Ouyang Rong shook his head: "It's all nonsense. It's okay. If you want to name it..."
A certain naming geek touched his chin and pondered:
"Everyone in the world says that Lu Bu is among men and the red rabbit is among horses, so that's called..."
"Red Rabbit?"
Ouyang Rong nodded: "Lu Bu."
Chang Sui: "..."
Ouyang Rong suddenly laughed: "You're kidding, let's call it 'Dongmei'. It sweats like blood and is as fresh as red plums. It's almost the winter solstice of the Yuan Dynasty."
After saying that, Ouyang Rong walked directly into the Jiangzhou lobby.
Changsui led 'Dongmei' to the stable.
It’s a new day, and Ouyang Rong is as good as usual.
The Jiangzhou lobby is the main hall of the Jiangzhou government office, with a mirror hanging high, allowing people who have been wronged to play drums to go to the hall and the government to judge cases.
However, the Jiangzhou lobby has a higher standard. On weekdays, it is mostly used as a place for governors, chief historians and other state officials to work, and cases are rarely resolved.
Unless it is the Jimin Cangmi case, or a major or unsolved case that cannot be handled by the counties below.
But after looking at the grievance drum, Ouyang Rong shook his head. He had been working here for a month and had not encountered a single case. The biggest feeling here was... leisure.
The officials in Jiangzhou's lobby are all like salted fishes, and one is competing with the other.
"Where's Mr. Wang?"
Not seeing a certain governor in the main office hall, Ouyang Rong stopped a young official in green clothes and asked.
The young official in green clothes replied: "The governor summoned two celebrities from Kuanglu in the Symin's Courtyard in the back house to discuss the mountains and rivers of Jiangzhou and sympathize with the people's sentiments."
Kuanglu refers to Mount Lu, adjacent to Xunyang City.
Kuanglu is the most beautiful place in the world, and literati like to visit it. In the words of Ouyang Rong in his previous life, it is the check-in point for Internet celebrities in this era.
There are many places of interest and historic sites. Countless literati, celebrities and people with lofty ideals have left their mark on the mountain. There are also many people who live in seclusion, including Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism.
Ouyang Rong nodded and expressed his agreement:
"What a considerate person. Mr. Wang is on duty every day. He is really busy."
He sat down in the empty main hall with the first seat, and his office was on the left side of the governor, because Chang Shi was nominally the governor's first deputy.
The young official in green clothes didn't dare to say a word when he heard the words. He pretended not to hear and then withdrew with a sneer.
Sitting in his seat, Ouyang Rong looked at ease, opened the stack of papers, and started a new day of "settling accounts."
Speaking of which, Jiangzhou is indeed a good place.
Bordering the Yangtze River to the north, Kuanglu to the east, and Yunmeng to the south, rivers, lakes, and famous mountains are all gathered together in one place. Looking at the whole country, it is probably the only one.
It is said that the eyebrows convey emotions and the eyebrows are beautiful, hence the reputation of Xunyang City in Jiangzhou as “the place where eyebrows appear in the world”.
It is a pity that the political and cultural centers of the Daqian and Dazhou dynasties were in the two capitals of Guanzhong in the north. The beautiful Xunyang City in Jiangzhou became a good place to demote officials.
Officials in the DPRK devalued this place, and it was not bad for people who lost their way to go sightseeing and relax, so a very unique... culture of derogating officials was formed in Xunyang City.
Well, this is a new word he summed up recently.
"Ha." Ouyang Rong chuckled and shook his head.
The atmosphere created by the culture of demoting officials inside and outside Xunyang City is quite interesting. The common people and officials are equally miserable.
Moreover, there are many monks and Taoists walking around in Xunyang City, and they all like to visit Kuanglu Mountain. The free talk style of Buddhism and Taoism is very popular, which is highly praised by the people of Jiangzhou.
After all, my buddies have been frustrated in life and demoted from official positions, so it’s better to lie less to buddies and talk less about Confucianism who actively engages in the world. It’s good to have a little solace by advocating Buddhism, meditating on Taoism, and cultivating the world.
This is roughly where the salty fish atmosphere comes from.
But to say that you don’t want to be promoted at all? Don’t want to lift the banishment and return to the divine capital?
That's not necessarily the case. Among the newly released poems from various literary gatherings in Xunyang City every night, which one does not have a sour allusion about Yang Yi's unexpected encounter and Zhong Qi's unexpected encounter?
It expresses the regret of not being able to find talent and being willing to write, but having no way to find a job.
"Moaning for no reason."
Ouyang Rong curled his lips, buried himself in the papers, and continued to work hard.
The sunlight outside the main hall gradually rose to the sky, and the winter morning passed quickly.
Ouyang Rong splashed his ink and completed today's official document tasks with great efficiency.
He put down the brush, pushed it away from the table, twisted his wrist, leaned back on the chair, and took a long breath:
"It's a joke, it's done. Go back to Yinbingzhai and split a piece of bamboo and do an abacus. This calculation is too troublesome and backward. But I heard from my teacher that Confucius Di and other court officials also used this calculation to settle accounts. Tsk, tsk, otherwise Send one back later?"
Ouyang Rong muttered for a while, then turned his head and glanced at the sundial on the corridor.
There is still an hour and a half before lunch.
Ouyang Rong turned around and looked at the empty seat opposite his seat.
"It's okay if Governor Wang doesn't come. Where are you, Yuan Sima? You don't even order anything, how can you be so confident?"
Ouyang Rong sighed.
He is the governor of Jiangzhou. The seat opposite him, the seat to the lower right of the governor, should have been the office of Sima Jiangzhou.
Jiangzhou Sima can also be regarded as the assistant official of the governor, but his position is lower than that of the chief historian, and he is only the third in command of a state in name.
But what is more unlucky than Chang Shi is that due to historical legacy, the position of Sima, who was supposed to manage the army of a state, gradually lost his military power and was deprived of official positions such as governor.
Becoming an official with positions but no power was recognized as a local leisure position in the official circles of the Zhou Dynasty, and was a popular option for demotion.
The current Sima of Jiangzhou is named Yuan Huaimin, and he seems to be a member of Jingzhao Prefecture in Chang'an with good roots.
This 'Yuan' surname was heard to come from a certain aristocratic family, but for unknown reasons, he was demoted to Jiangzhou.
Since Ouyang Rong took office, he has seen him no more than twice.
When he first took office, Ouyang Rong could still see him trotting in sleepily every morning to take a nap.
Then he became increasingly invisible, often arriving late and leaving early on the pretext of "minor illness and pain".
Oh, it's good now, this Yuan Sima doesn't even order anymore.
If you are absent from work for one day, half your salary will be deducted.
Ouyang Rong had no expression on his face, took out a roster, dipped his pen in ink, and added a stroke.
He stood up, holding the roster and a writing brush, and left the empty Jiangzhou lobby. He went to the surrounding subordinate offices and began to inspect them one by one.
This can be regarded as one of the daily tasks of Jiangzhou Governor.
Except that Wang Lengran was the governor and had the excuse of "caring for the people's feelings", Ouyang Rong couldn't care less.
In Jiangzhou Hall, all officials, including Jiangzhou Sima, were under his supervision.
Ouyang Rong walked around the official office and found that today was not bad. There were seven or eight more people coming than yesterday.
In other words, there are seven or eight fewer people asking for leave due to illness than yesterday, which is gratifying.
Of course, except for Jiangzhou Sima Yuan Huaimin who came without asking for leave.
Strange, what's going on with this feeling of relief?
Ouyang Rong lowered his head to record and twitched the corner of his mouth.
If this kind of thing like asking for leave from time to time and completing tasks on time had happened in Longcheng County, where he was in power, Diao County Magistrate and his colleagues would have been fined all their salaries.
It's just that at the moment, the nominal chief of Jiangzhou Hall is Wang Lengran. If he takes the lead, it will naturally be effective and difficult to cure.
Moreover, when Ouyang Rong reported this matter a few days ago, he suggested establishing a penalty and forfeiture mechanism to restrain his subordinates from asking for leave and leaving early. As a result, Wang Lengran, the governor, just smiled, nodded, and laughed.
And he said it nicely, saying that Ouyang Rong, the governor of Jiangsu Province, would have full control over the matter. He was very supportive and allowed him to go ahead and do whatever he wanted.
Ouyang Rong didn't know the old governor's trap.
He stood still and stopped being evil for the time being.
After the inspection, Ouyang Rong returned to the main hall, but there was still no sign of Yuan Huaimin.
He looked around the empty main hall.
"Huang Miao." Ouyang Rong shook his head slightly and threw the Dian Mao roster on the table.
It is now late December, and we are about to usher in the Yuanzheng and Winter Solstice holidays.
Logically speaking, the end of the year should be the busiest time.
The result is good now, not all people are present in the Jiangzhou lobby.
Ouyang Rong has often wondered recently whether he is the only "honest person" in the lobby of Jiangzhou. Well, he is the only one who comes to serve as an official, and everyone else comes to Jiangzhou to live and travel.
At present, most of the people's livelihood affairs in the city fell on Ouyang Rong's desk, and they were piled high.
Except for the fat job of managing trade in the Shipping Department of Xunyangdu City, no one seems to be willing to do other things.
In other words, if you want to do something, you don’t have enough official positions, and if you don’t want to do it, you won’t be able to do it.
The former are the slick little officials under the Jiangzhou lobby.
The latter, such as Wang Lengran and Yuan Huaimin, were scholars who were born in the imperial examination or were high-ranking officials.
Ouyang Rong finally understood why the hundreds of thousands of stones of grain in Jiangzhou Jimin warehouse were emptied out by a few giant rats.
The main focus is "governing by doing nothing".
It seems that the "resident officials" of Jiangzhou Prefecture are not as enthusiastic about the affairs in Xunyang City as the smart businessmen gathered from other places.
But this kind of inaction and neglect of government seems to be beneficial to Ouyang Rong?
A Jiangzhou governor who was willing to take on large and special tasks naturally had great power in Xunyang City, and his finances and people's livelihood were in his hands.
Wang Lengran, in particular, didn't seem to care that Jiangzhou Prefecture's money bag fell into Ouyang Rong's hands.
It seems stupid, but if you think about it carefully, it's normal.
In this era of feudal imperial power, in the eyes of the arrogant noble officers, scholars, peasants, and merchants ranked last, and their status was inferior to that of craftsmen and as low as actors.
What's a money bag? It's called a cash machine.
Ouyang Rong estimated that in Wang Lengran's eyes, it might be enough to hold on to the military power of Xunyang City and the nearby Zhechong Mansion.
Wang Lengran kept a tight lid on any matters involving gun barrels and did not let Ouyang Rong touch them at all, especially the guards near the Xunyang Palace. In fact, they were almost half-imprisoned. Wang Lengran reported the trends to Wang Lengran every day.
Ouyang Rong chuckled lightly and continued to bury his head in the paperwork, carefully settling the accounts in advance for the upcoming casting of the Buddha.
About an hour later, the noon bell sounded, and Ouyang Rong put down his pen.
"I left the city in the afternoon to choose a location..."
He muttered and left the main hall.
First, he summoned his entourage and headed to the stable together, preparing to lead "Dongmei" away.
When Ouyang Rong came near the stable, his face was startled.
In the stable ahead, I saw a man in green clothes, about twenty-seven or eighty-years-old, circling around "Dongmei". From time to time, he stretched out his hand to touch it, with a look of insanity on his face. He even ran to stick out his buttocks and put it in the manger. of feed.
"Dongmei" couldn't bear to avoid it, snorted, and suddenly kicked her feet back. The official in green uniform was so frightened that he fell backwards. He got up from the ground, straightened his hat, touched his body, and let out a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, he didn't get kicked, otherwise someone's first case after taking office would be fresh.
"Yuan Huaimin, what are you doing?" Ouyang Rong frowned and approached.
"Ah, Lord Nagashi."
A certain Jiangzhou Sima was startled and asked with a stern expression: "This...is this your mount?"
"Yes." Ouyang Rong nodded: "My name is Dongmei. Why, did he offend your stallion?"
"No, no." Yuan Huaimin was shocked, pointed at Dongmei, and said seriously: "This is a good horse. Sir Chang Shi, can you lend it to me?"
"What do you want to do?" After a pause, he reminded me warmly: "It's a mare."
"Such a good horse deserves a poem. I want to take it back and observe it carefully. I want to wash it first. Well, it would be good to draw a picture of a good horse coming out of the bath."
"..."
Ouyang Rong led the horse and left without looking back: "Stay away from Dongmei, he doesn't want to see you."
Dongmei snorted immediately and rubbed her master's shoulder with her horse's head, as if she was humane and burst into tears of gratitude.
Yuan Huaimin, a horse lover, immediately followed and begged: "Master Changshi, please grant this official's wish..."
Ouyang Rong suddenly turned around: "You don't have Dian Mao, so you've been harassing it all morning, right?"
"Dian Mao?" Yuan Huaimin was startled, then slapped his forehead and made a sad face: "Ah, I forgot!"
"It's really yours." He nodded in praise, then changed his face the next second and said calmly:
"If you miss work for one day, half your salary will be deducted."
"Alas alas, don't be angry, Mr. Changshi. Can you please keep your name? Your lower official salary will be forfeited soon. Yuan Zhengye will have to eat snow..."
Yuan Huaimin suddenly held his stomach: "Ouch, I have a stomachache today. Lord Changshi, please take one day off, take one day off..."
How could it be so out of tune?
Ouyang Rong left with a straight face.
You deserve to be the Sima of Jiangzhou.
(End of chapter)
