No, didn't the neighboring Duzhi County just lose his life to a bandit? Although the Holy Emperor has given him a title and a posthumous title, his life is gone. What's the use of these posthumous honors?
Therefore, Ambassador Ge can understand the thoughts of Master Yan and Master He very well. If it were him, he might be waiting to become an official like this.
The city was empty, and there was less delay when the carriage moved. In less than a quarter of an hour, Lin Yuanqiu and his party arrived at the Zhizhoufu Yamen.
The few guards at the door knew that Lord Zhizhou was coming to take office today when the city gate guards came to inform them.
Therefore, when they saw Lin Yuanqiu, who was dressed in official robes, getting off the carriage, they knew that this was the new Lord Zhizhou. The guards hurried forward, knelt down and said in unison, "Young man, here you go. Greetings, sir!"
Lin Yuanqiu raised his hand, "Can Lord Tongzhi and Lord Tongpan be in the government office?"
"Yes, yes!" the leading guard replied hurriedly, "The two adults are in the inner hall."
Lin Yuanqiu nodded and then stepped into the government office.
Following him were the two brothers Zhong Jinan and Zhong Jinhua, followed by Zhong Rong, Lin Sanzhu, and Lin Dazhu.
After hearing the news from the guards, Yan Tongzhi, He Tongpan, and Messenger Ge quickly came out from the Cambodian room to greet them.
Messenger Ge had naturally met Lin Yuanqiu, so when he saw him again now, he felt an inexplicable sense of intimacy like meeting an old friend in a foreign land, "I have met Mr. Lin!"
Yan Tongzhi also hurriedly bowed and saluted, "Your Majesty, Yan Zhikai, has met Lord Zhizhou."
He Tongpan followed closely, "The lower official He Shuiting has met Lord Zhizhou."
Lin Yuanqiu stretched out his hand to support the two of them, "No need to be polite. I am new here. I hope you will give me more guidance in the future."
"No, Master Zhizhou, you are too polite."
He Tongpan quickly said, "My lord, you are too polite."
Although I know Lin Xiuzuan, the procedures I should follow are indispensable.
After several people arrived in the lobby, Ambassador Ge first read the appointment letter from the Ministry of Personnel, which recorded Lin Yuanqiu's basic information, such as a description of his height, body shape, facial features and other parts.
After checking that it was correct, Messenger Ge quickly took out half of the fish charms he carried.
Seeing this, Lin Yuanqiu also took out the other half from the fish bag. When the two pieces of fish were put together, it turned out to be a complete silver carp.
Messenger Ge took back the two fish charms, which was considered to have completed the process of identifying the true identity.
Yan Tongzhi and He Tongpan took out the military talismans that they held on their behalf. Since Lord Zhizhou had taken office, they naturally wanted to hand over the military talismans to Lord Zhizhou.
The soldier talisman, like the fish talisman, is also two and a half pieces. Unlike the tiger talisman that is a whole tiger in the military camp, the soldier talismans held by the prefects in various places look like a tiger's head when put together. The tiger's head is also engraved with the talisman representing the respective state. .
Lin Yuanqiu took the military talisman, then took the wooden box containing the official seal from Ping An's hand, then held it high, knelt down facing the direction of the capital, and said loudly, "I am loved by the Holy One, and I will do my best to serve the people of Yongning Prefecture." Blessings, long live our emperor!"
Having completed his errand, Ambassador Ge was ready to leave Yongning and return to Beijing today. He smiled and bowed to Lin Yuanqiu, "The official errand has been completed. I will set off back to Beijing today. I will say goodbye to Mr. Lin. I wish Mr. Lin People show their great ambitions and fulfill their wishes!"
Lin Yuanqiu returned the greeting with a cupped hand, "Here comes Mr. Lao Ge."
After sending Messenger Ge off, Lin Yuanqiu didn't delay any longer. It was almost noon now, and he wanted to go to the backyard of the government office to have a look before returning to the inn for lunch. If there was no need to clean up, Lin Yuanqiu planned to move here today.
Hearing that Master Lin was going to the back office, Yan and He were busy leading the way. They were making introductions as they walked, "Official affairs are conducted in the front hall of the government office. The side courtyards on both sides are where the sixth room is, and beyond that is the master's office." residence."
The so-called Liufang is actually the small Liufang established in accordance with the six departments of the court: officials, households, rituals, soldiers, punishments, and work.
Lin Yuanqiu saw that in addition to the six rooms, the government office also had ten rooms including a grain room, a salt room, a warehouse, a recruitment room, a Cambodian room, and ten rooms including a reception room, a household head office, a tax department, and a river channel room.
This is a configuration unique to the state capital. Together with the six rooms just now, there are a total of sixteen rooms, that is, sixteen departments.
Seeing Lord Zhizhou coming, the clerks in each room hurriedly came out to salute. Lin Yuanqiu roughly counted the number of clerks, and found that there were about thirty people, plus the government servants, jailers, warehouse guards, horsemen, and lamplighters. By the way, there are also city gate guards. In total, there are nearly 200 people working in the entire government office.
These are two hundred people, and the monthly salary alone is a huge expense. Although the imperial court paid salaries, it was only a small part, and the salaries of self-employed staff in the government offices were not included.
Thinking that there were more than 2,000 guards in the suburban barracks, Lin Yuanqiu couldn't help but look at Yan Tongzhi and He Tongsuan. He was tall and could clearly see the strands of white hair exposed from the brim of their hats.
Therefore, the gray hair of the two of them could not have grown because they were too worried about the Yamen affairs, right?
…
There are three entrances to the backyard of the government office. Each entrance has three main rooms in the north and four rooms in the east and west. There is also a moon cave door open on the west courtyard wall of the second entrance. After passing through the moon cave door, you can see a large garden inside. However, at this time, there are no flowers to watch in Saibei.
Going around the garden to the west, you enter the courtyard again. There are also three main rooms facing north and south, and four wing rooms in the east and west.
With so many houses, it would be no problem to accommodate their family. Lin Sanzhu saw that the window paper in all the rooms was newly replaced, and whether it was on the kang or underground, they were all clean. It was obvious that all rooms had been cleaned.
That way, when they move in later, it will only require a little tidying up.
When leaving the government office, Lin Yuanqiu asked Master Tongzhi what he was most concerned about, which was how many people there were in Yongning City.
How many people?
Yan Tongzhi didn't expect Master Zhou to suddenly ask this question, but he knew this question best, "Sir, there are more than three thousand people in Yongning City."
It was only over three thousand, so no wonder the city looked deserted.
After thinking for a while, Lin Yuanqiu asked again, "How many people are there in our entire Yongning Prefecture?"
When asked about the number of people in Yongning Prefecture, Yan Tongzhi replied without thinking, "More than 40,000."
…
After lunch, the Lin family began to pack their luggage. In fact, there is no need to pack them, because the boxes and cages have not been opened yet. They only need to pack the luggage they carry with them.
Lin Sanzhu was still wearing cyan clothes. Anyway, he had already decided that he would not change his clothes until he found a safe hiding place for the banknotes he was carrying.
As for whether he is slovenly or not, what are you afraid of? He is already a grandpa and will soon be a grandfather. Why should he be so elegant and suave?
After loading all the luggage into the car, the Lin family got on the carriage and left the inn.
Leaving with them, there were also bodyguards and escorts, but their direction was the capital.
After learning that Yongning Prefecture had a population of more than 40,000, this number flashed in Lin Yuanqiu's mind throughout the afternoon, including when he was helping to pack up his new residence.
This state of absent-mindedness lasted until the rooms were tidied up and dinner was served.
And just as Lin Yuanqiu picked up the bowl and prepared to eat, he suddenly had an idea. Yes, since the population in the city is small, why not make a big move.
…
Chapter 188 Big Relocation
The big relocation that Lin Yuanqiu thought of meant moving all the villagers outside the city to the city.
While thinking about relocation, he quickly thought about protection. Yes, as long as all the villagers are relocated to the city, then those Shanrong people who often come to snatch farmers' food in mid-winter won't be able to rob anything.
Also, as there are more people in the city, the demand for daily necessities will also increase. Over time, the economy will improve. With the economy, the government will have more tax revenue. Naturally, various construction projects in the state capital will follow suit.
The most important thing is that the villagers who live in the city no longer have to worry about their food being robbed by Shanrong people, and their lives are safe.
As for him, the magistrate, he only needs to send troops to protect the entire Yongning City.
In addition, I also serve as the magistrate of Dinghu County. If the conditions are suitable, I can definitely act in this way.
By then, neither Shanrong nor bandits will pose a threat to the people under their rule.
The more he thought about it, the more he felt that this method of achieving multiple results with one stone was really perfect. Lin Yuanqiu couldn't help but feel excited and had the urge to take action immediately.
So, after just one bowl of rice, he put down his bowl and chopsticks and quickly went to the study to prepare for the big move.
Logically speaking, for such a plan, the first thing to do is to visit each village, and then make specific arrangements after understanding the actual situation.
But it was already night, and it was simply not practical to visit the village at this time.
Besides, what Lin Yuanqiu wants to do now is not to customize a specific implementation plan for the large-scale relocation, but to design resettlement houses for the villagers first.
Although the area of Yongning City is not small, and more than 40,000 people cannot be accommodated by such a state city, if the house design is unreasonable or too impractical, it will affect the subsequent process.
Therefore, Lin Yuanqiu planned to sort things out by himself first, and later he would talk to his family about this matter so that they could participate, so that he could also listen to everyone's opinions.
It is said that a cobbler is as good as Zhuge Liang. I imagine that through joint discussion with the family, they will definitely be able to design the most practical and reasonable house type.
Old Lintou, Lin Dazhu and Lin Yuanfeng, who were eating at the same table, saw Yuan Qiu getting off the table and going back to business. If they said they were not worried, they would definitely be lying. Lao Lintou and the others also saw it. Ever since they entered Yongning City, Yuan Qiu had been thinking a lot.
Alas, it is not easy to be a local official.
As for Lin Sanzhu, because he was sitting close to his son, he could naturally see it more clearly than his father, eldest brother, second brother, and nephews. Just now, he could clearly see the smile on the corner of Gouzi's mouth.
Based on Lin Sanzhu's understanding of his son, he was basically sure that his son must have come up with some good idea.
As for which aspect it is a good idea, Lin Sanzhu feels that it has a high possibility of curing poverty.
Today, Lin Sanzhu looked at the front yamen all over, and what impressed him most was probably the cracked tables and the dented and uneven wooden doors.
Especially the plaque hanging high above the main hall. It is so old that it has not been repainted.
You said, the government offices in the state are so poor, how can other places be better?
To be honest, Lin Sanzhu was a little curious about what good idea his son had come up with. After all, it was only a day. If it were him, he would definitely not use his brain so quickly.
…
I don’t know if it’s to prevent banditry, but there are no tall trees in the backyard of the government office. All the flowers and plants planted in the yard are knee- or waist-high.
It's dark late in Saibei. It's almost midnight now, and there's still light outside.
Ping An followed behind his young master, holding the cut paper and pen and ink inkstone in his hands.
The master and servant went straight to the place where Wu and Lao Lintou lived, and entered the main room of the courtyard.
Just like in Xiaogaoshan Village and the capital, the west room of the main house is still used by the Lin family as a place for talking and discussing things.
At this time, Lin Dazhu, Lin Erzhu, Lin Sanzhu, Lin Yuanfeng and Lin Yuansong were all there.
Seeing Yuan Qiu coming over and the pen, ink, paper and inkstone in Ping An's hands, everyone was curious and didn't know what Yuan Qiu was planning to do.
Taking the pen, ink and paper from Ping An, Lin Yuanqiu ordered, "Go to the west courtyard and invite my father-in-law and two uncles over."
Ping An responded, turned around and trotted towards the courtyard to the west.
After moving into the backyard of the government office, Lin Yuanqiu made arrangements for the house.
Among them, his father-in-law, two brothers-in-law, and Mrs. Qin, Lin Yuanqiu placed them all in the west courtyard.
The courtyard has three main rooms facing north and south, and four east and west wing rooms. Zhong Rong and his two sons lived in the main room. Master Qin lives in the east chamber.
As for the four rooms in the west wing, Lin Yuanqiu directly converted them into a school. From now on, the children of the family will study there.
This also facilitates Master Qin’s teaching.
In addition, Lin Yuanqiu also assigned Cao Ma's grandson to Master Qin. Cao Ma's grandson was eleven years old and asked him to help Master Qin with messengers and errands.
