As the sun set, Wei Changtian and his group arrived at Zhongling County.
Indeed, as the general had said, the county wasn’t very large. The city gate was old and worn, with moss growing on the city walls, clearly neglected for years.
There were only two possible reasons for this situation.
One, the locals were too poor.
Two, the officials were too wealthy.
Judging from the county magistrate’s equally worn-out residence, Zhongling County seemed to belong to the former category.
“Governor Liang, this is a humble place in the countryside.”
At dinner, the thin county magistrate’s expression was tense, filled with apologies: “If the food doesn’t suit your taste, please don’t mind.”
“What’s this, Governor Wang? We’re all rough people who eat wind and sleep in the dew, so having a hot meal is already a blessing!”
Liang Zhen didn’t stand on ceremony, laughing heartily as he began to eat.
The county magistrate let out a slight sigh of relief, his face filled with gratitude.
Everyone started eating, and although the dishes weren’t exquisite and the wine wasn’t fine, it was still better than the meal they had at the post station at noon.
As Wei Changtian ate, he glanced at the thin county magistrate, whose clothes were still patched up, and thought to himself that this seemed like an honest official.
However, Zhongling County was strategically located and wasn’t some desolate place, so he wondered why it was so poor under his governance.
Liang Zhen seemed to have the same question, so after eating for a while, he casually asked:
“Governor Wang, as we traveled, I saw that the land in Zhongling County is fertile and borders a wide river. Why is the county so poor?”
“Th-this…”
The thin county magistrate looked guilty, putting down his chopsticks, his face flushing red as he struggled to speak.
Liang Zhen didn’t use his official position to pressure him, treating him like a family member with a difficult story to tell.
“Don’t take it to heart, Governor Wang. I was just asking casually. If you’re not willing to say, then let’s just forget it.”
“Ah…”
The thin county magistrate opened his mouth, then let out a long sigh, seemingly wanting to say something but not daring to.
Just then, Wei Changtian suddenly asked: “Governor Wang, is the bandit problem in Zhongling County quite severe?”
“Th-this…”
The thin county magistrate was taken aback: “You, sir… how did you know this?”
He didn’t know Wei Changtian’s true identity, thinking he was just a family member of Liang Zhen’s.
Wei Changtian, of course, wouldn’t introduce himself as the Wei family’s young master who had killed the prime minister. Instead, he explained while eating:
“As we passed through several villages, we didn’t see a single villager. The doors and windows of every house were tightly closed, but it wasn’t a deserted village.”
“It seems that these villagers must have hidden when they heard the horses’ hooves.”
“Ordinary people are afraid of horses, except for mountain bandits. I couldn’t think of any other reason.”
“Plus, although it’s cold today, there were too many people burning incense and offering sacrifices along the way, and most of those graves were new. That’s why I had this guess.”
After Wei Changtian finished speaking, everyone at the table looked at him with surprise.
They had all seen these things, but they never thought that much about it.
The thin county magistrate’s expression was equally astonished.
He hesitated for a long time, finally nodding bitterly.
“This young master is right. In recent years, our county has indeed been plagued by bandits, and many people have fled, leaving the place desolate.”
“Why don’t you eliminate them?” Liang Jin asked, puzzled.
“You don’t know, miss. It’s not that I don’t want to eliminate them…”
The lean county magistrate’s tone was full of pain: “It’s just that I have the heart but not the power!”
“For years, the bandits have been causing trouble, leaving vast tracts of land uncultivated, and many farmers can’t even pay their taxes.”
“The people are poor, and the government is poor too. Where would we get the money to support the officials and soldiers?”
“It’s not something to be ashamed of, but… the entire county of Zhongling has fewer than a hundred officials and soldiers combined. How can we dare to eliminate the bandits?”
“Knowing there are bandits but being unable to eliminate them, watching the people of Zhongling suffer… it’s my incompetence, my incompetence!”
“…”
As they watched the lean county magistrate beat his chest and stomp his feet, on the verge of tears, everyone fell silent.
This Zhongling County was indeed too miserable, a place so large yet unable to support even a hundred officials and soldiers?
“Why don’t you report to the prefecture and let them send people to eliminate the bandits?” Liang Jin asked, furrowing her brows.
“We did report, but the prefecture requires us to cover the expenses for the troops, which Zhongling County can’t afford.”
The lean county magistrate clenched his teeth, his fists trembling: “Furthermore, we need to bribe the officials in the prefecture.”
“I, I really…”
“…”
The room fell silent, with everyone staring at the worn-out county magistrate, unsure of what to say.
Until Wei Changtian suddenly spoke up: “County Magistrate Wang, although Zhongling County is small, there must be many shops and businesses in the city. If each of them donates some silver, it should be enough to cover the expenses for the prefecture to send troops.”
“I’ve tried that.”
The lean county magistrate shook his head: “Except for a few, the others aren’t willing to contribute a single coin.”
“They think they’re safe in the city and don’t care about the lives of the people outside!”
“Not willing to contribute?”
Wei Changtian looked at the county magistrate as if he were stupid: “Then just use a knife to force them to contribute!”
“…”
The county magistrate was stunned for a moment before finally managing to squeeze out a sentence: “You, you can’t do that, it’s against the law…”
As soon as he said this, everyone understood why Zhongling County had ended up in this state.
No money to eliminate bandits, so bandits run rampant, people die or flee, and there’s even less money, so bandits become even more rampant…
What a vicious cycle!
At this rate, it’s estimated that the entire Zhongling County will become a bandit’s lair in no time.
In fact, the solution is simple – find a way to get the money, fill the bellies of the officials, and ask the prefecture to send troops to eliminate the bandits.
Once the bandits are eliminated, all problems will be solved.
The problem lies with this County Magistrate Wang being too “clean” and ” upright”.
He’s unwilling to spend money to bribe the officials in the prefecture or use “illegal” means to force merchants to donate.
The result is – the bandit problem remains unsolved and is getting increasingly severe.
Wei Changtian clicked his tongue, suddenly remembering a phrase Kangxi had once said –
A clean official is not necessarily a good official.
Now it seems, there’s indeed some truth to it.
…
The meal had become quite gloomy towards the end.
After listening to the situation in Zhongling County, Liang Zhen and the others expressed their deep sympathy. Then, they continued eating and drinking, without any intention of helping to suppress the bandits.
After all, this was Tan Zhou’s territory, and as the commander of Shu Province, Liang Zhen would be leading his men onto someone else’s turf to suppress the bandits… Although County Magistrate Xiao would definitely be grateful, it was unknown what the officials at Tan Zhou Prefecture would think.
Except for Liang Jin, everyone else didn’t take the bandit situation in Zhongling County too seriously. After eating their fill and drinking to their hearts’ content, they bid farewell to County Magistrate Xiao and returned to their inn to rest, preparing to set off early the next day.
But what nobody expected was…
They didn’t want to get involved in trouble, but trouble came knocking on their door instead.