Jurong, county government.
Gu Zhengchen flipped through the roster of academy students. When he saw the name "Guo Xu", his eyes froze slightly.
"The County Lord."
A delicate voice came into the second hall.
Gu Zhengchen frowned and looked up, only to see Liu Boqin's adopted daughter Qian'er standing outside the door.
Due to the rules, Qian'er did not enter the hall.
Gu Zhengchen stood up, walked out from behind the desk and asked, "Miss Qian'er, why do you need to be here? Where is Mr. Liu County Cheng?"
Qian'er looked at Gu Zhengchen and reported in a low voice: "Go back to the county magistrate. I just moved the table and chairs and accidentally twisted my waist. Now I can't get up from the bed. I specifically asked Qian'er to tell the county magistrate that if I tolerate it for a few days, I will take care of my health."
"Twisted?"
Gu Zhengchen showed sympathy and asked quickly: "Can a doctor take a look at it?"
Qian'er nodded softly: "We have invited Dr. Xu Wenxu from Huimin Pharmacy."
"Let's go and have a look."
Gu Zhengchen walked out of the second hall and went straight to the county magistrate's house.
As soon as we arrived at the door, Doctor Xu came over carrying a medicine box.
"The County Lord."
Xu Wen bowed and was polite.
Gu Zhengchen met Xu Wen, an official doctor at Jurong Huimin Pharmacy.
In the third year of Hongwu's reign, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the establishment of Huimin Pharmacy in Fuzhou County, and selected medical households to enrich the area. The main responsibilities were:
Specialized medicine bait to benefit poor and sick soldiers and civilians.
Lao Zhu’s idea is: We have solved the problem of people having difficulty seeing a doctor.
It's a good idea, a free public hospital.
It's just that there is a fatal flaw in the operation of Huimin Pharmacy. The medicinal materials here all come from the drug tax. If this place does not produce medicines, and without these medicines, people rarely use medicines in exchange for taxes, then this Huimin Pharmacy has no medicine available...
If he was short of charcoal, Xu Wen could burn some wood to get it, but if he was short of a lot of medicine, he couldn't get it even if he ordered it from Huimin Pharmacy.
Having said that, the existence of Huimin Pharmacy is not meaningless. At least people can get free consultations when they come to their homes. They can also save a lot of "registration fees" and "expert fees" by prescribing medicines...
Xu Wen, a local doctor in Jurong, is said to have good medical skills.
"Let's go see Liu County Cheng first."
Gu Zhengchen didn't say much and walked quickly into the county prime minister's house. Mrs. Liu greeted him and became sad again.
Inner house.
Liu Boqin was lying on the bed, his face a little pale. When he saw Gu Zhengchen coming, he just wanted to stand up and salute, but he screamed and fell heavily on the bed.
"Liu Xiancheng, please lie down and rest. Doctor Xu."
Gu Zhengchen greeted quickly.
Liu Boqin had a bleak look on his face and said very unwillingly: "Hey, right now, when the county government is busy, I accidentally injured my waist. Liu is ashamed of the county magistrate and the court."
Gu Zhengchen comforted him: "Without a good body, it will be difficult to serve even if you want to be effective. Take good care of yourself and recover as soon as possible. The county government cannot do without Mr. Liu County Cheng."
Liu Boqin lamented and looked at Xu Wen: "Medical Officer Xu, you have to take a closer look. I have to rest for a few days from my sprain. Is there any way to make the pain subside and slow down so that I can get up and assist the county magistrate to deal with it?" Official business..."
"Liu County Cheng, don't say more, just let me take a look."
Xu Wen said, carefully asking Liu Boqin to turn over.
A scream came out, making Mrs. Liu cry endlessly, Qian'er was beside her with sadness, and Gu Zhengchen was as calm as water.
Xu Wen carefully pressed it several times, and Liu Boqin screamed repeatedly, feeling extremely painful.
Soon after, Xu Wen stood up and looked at Gu Zhengchen: "Your Excellency, County Cheng Liu has indeed sprained his waist. His symptoms are a bit serious and he needs to be nursed for a few more days. I will prescribe some medicine right now, and apply it externally or internally, so that Liu County Cheng, please recover soon."
"Thank you."
Gu Zhengchen thanked Xu Wen, looked at Liu Boqin, and said with concern: "I will allow you to take seven days off to recuperate."
"Thank you, Lord County."
Liu Boqin replied weakly.
Sick leave for officials of the Ming Dynasty was not granted upon request. The sick leave must be reported first, and then the medical officer would diagnose and treat the patient and give a guarantee before the leave could be granted.
To ask for leave, Beijing officials need to contact the Ministry of Civil Affairs, Zhongshu Sheng and the emperor.
The county magistrate will take care of it.
After walking out of the county magistrate's house, Gu Zhengchen left behind Xu Wen who was about to leave: "I would also like to ask Medical Officer Xu to come to the second hall to have a few words with me."
Xu Wen couldn't refuse, so he had to agree.
Back in the second hall, Gu Zhengchen sat down, arranged for Gu Cheng to serve Xu Wen tea, and then looked down at various books.
Xu Wen was restless and looked at Gu Zhengchen who didn't say a word.
The atmosphere was a little depressing, making it difficult to breathe.
Xu Wen's face was uncertain and his eyes were wandering. Seeing that Gu Zhengchen had been silent, he had to break the silence: "Your Majesty, there are some matters at Huimin Pharmacy. If your Majesty has no other instructions..."
Snapped!
Gu Zhengchen threw a brochure aside, leaned back in his chair, looked at Xu Wen with a faint look, and said calmly: "Let me tell you, Doctor Xu is best not to return to Huimin Pharmacy for the time being."
Xu Wen's expression changed and he asked confusedly: "What does the county honor mean?"
Gu Zhengchen chuckled, stood up and walked out: "Medical Officer Xu, will you be old enough to know your destiny?"
Xu Wen frowned: "Already fifty-two."
Gu Zhengchen nodded slightly: "More than fifty, which is considered old. Although Huimin Pharmacy is not far from the county government office, there are still two streets after all. Running back and forth is tiring. You might as well sit here, Medical Officer Xu." Just wait a moment, and soon someone will be injured or sick, and they will have to find Dr. Xu to vouch for its authenticity."
Xu Wen did not dare to look at Gu Zhengchen and lowered his head.
Gu Zhengchen sat next to Xu Wen, playing with copper coins in his hand.
No one spoke in the room, like the silence of death.
Xu Wen looked at the copper coins moving freely between Gu Zhengchen's fingers, and beads of sweat began to appear on his forehead.
The pressure on the young magistrate in front of him was terrifying. He seemed to have seen through Liu Boqin's feigning illness and his own false guarantee.
There's nothing I can do, I have to support my family!
There were footsteps outside the door, and the official Zhou Mao hurried over and said hurriedly: "County Lord, it's not good. The chief secretary and Dianshi accidentally fell into the water while exploring the bridge."
"Oh, just falling into the water is not enough, right? Let me guess, is it that the chief clerk and Dianshi are both injured and cannot walk, so they can only stay in bed and rest?"
Gu Zhengchen said calmly.
Zhou Mao looked at Gu Zhengchen who was so calm and was shocked: "How did the county magistrate know?"
Gu Zhengchen sneered and turned to look at Xu Wen: "Medical Officer Xu, what are you waiting for? Go and have a look. After all, they are the chief bookkeepers and historians of Jurong County Government."
Xu Wen felt a little cold all over, picked up the medicine box and followed Gu Zhengchen.
The chief clerk, Zhao Doubei, fell into the water and was frightened. He caught a cold and stepped on a broken pot thrown by some bastard. He was injured and couldn't walk. It was impossible to work.
Classical historian Chen Zhong was even more unlucky. He had a convulsion and fell into a coma. He had to ask for leave if he didn't want to.
In just half a day, the county magistrate, chief registrar, and dianshi all fell ill.
Soon, the sixth-floor clerk and the third-shift office worker also began to fall ill. Some had sick mothers who needed to be taken care of, some had wives who were about to give birth and needed to be accompanied during the delivery, some had children with broken arms and were unintentional to work, and some had diarrhea, headaches, and chest tightness...
All kinds of strange illnesses are coming.
In the evening, all the thirty-five officials in the six houses, except Zhou Mao, the chief official, took leave.
At this point, Jurong County Government was paralyzed...
Gu Zhengchen was sitting in the second hall, sipping tea, and said to Zhou Mao who was standing in the hall: "You should be sick too. Doctor Xu hasn't left yet, so I can give you a look."
Zhou Mao looked struggling, gritted his teeth, and said in a deep voice: "I, Zhou Mao, have said that only the county magistrate will follow the horse's lead! The county magistrate won't let me get sick, so I don't dare to get sick!"
Gu Zhengchen smiled heartily, looked at Zhou Mao, and said appreciatively: "Very good. In that case, let me send Medical Officer Xu to you on my behalf."
Zhou Mao sent Xu Wen away and returned to the second hall. Seeing that Gu Zhengchen was as usual, not panicking at all, he couldn't help frowning and said worriedly: "County Lord, what should we do now? The county government has no manpower..."
Gu Zhengchen held the tea bowl and said leisurely: "Liu Yuxi in the Tang Dynasty said in "Ode to Peeling Stones" that stone can be sharpened to turn dullness into sharpness. Dharma can be used to sharpen it to turn stupidity into wisdom. Zhou Mao, do you know why swords are so powerful? Dull, why do people become stupid?"
Zhou Mao was confused and shook his head.
Gu Zhengchen took a sip of tea, put down the tea bowl, and said pointedly: "Swords are dull because they lack sharpening. People are stupid because they lack education. In a word, it's all due to lack of education!"
Although Zhou Mao didn't quite understand what he said, he understood the meaning of "owe" in this context, and he also understood who "owed" it.
Gu Zhengchen hummed a tune, placed the copper coins on the table, and flicked his fingers to make the coins spin.
Looking at the spinning coins, Gu Zhengchen's eyes were a little cold.
Satyagraha?
These people are really good. Is this a trick that I learned after traveling to India and drinking a lot of Ganges water?
It's just that you rejected Guo Baobao's lobbying, and it's just the third time you sent a message to Guo Jie, Guo Ning, and Guo Liang. Why are you so aggressive?
Do you want to use this trick to isolate yourself and scare yourself?
Oh, OK.
If you want to play bigger, then go for it.
Xu Jie and Hai Rui had been treated like this in history, and he was honored to be treated like this.
The copper coin fell, and there was no sound for a while.
Gu Zhengchen looked at Zhou Mao and smiled slightly: "You are in charge of the official's room."
Zhou Mao's heart trembled, and he had a bad feeling.
Gu Zhengchen picked up the copper coins, knocked on the table, and said in a deep voice: "Starting tomorrow, we will take the exam for all the officials and government officials."
Zhou Mao took a deep breath.
It seems that Gu Zhengchen has no intention of giving in at all, but intends to confront him head-on!
The county magistrate holds the power of supervising and governing officials, that is, "to test the affairs they handle and see whether they are diligent and lazy, so as to punish and advise them."
It's easy to advise.
But the punishment is much harsher. They can be beaten, fined, and even kicked out of the county government.
After all, Gu Zhengchen holds the power to decide who lives in the county government office. If he wants to pass the exam tomorrow, someone will definitely leave the county government office tomorrow.
Gu Zhengchen picked up the pen and wrote a notice, picked it up, blew the ink, and handed it to Zhou Mao: "Thank you for your hard work today and read this notice to every official and government official. There’s no need to go.”
Zhou Mao picked it up and looked at it, only to see a few simple lines written on it:
The official has passed the examination of all the officials and government officials, and those who are capable and loyal will be retained, while the rest will be expelled from the county government.
Zhou Mao's Adam's apple twitched and he looked at Gu Zhengchen: "Your Excellency, if this happens, I'm afraid there will be no one in the county government to do anything..."
Gu Zhengchen stood up, stretched, and said with a smile: "Everyone in the county government office will be replaced. No one is irreplaceable. People, there is no need to take yourself too seriously..."
