Chapter 221 Qing County Magistrate

"Hold fast to the green mountain and never let go. The roots are planted in the broken rock. After thousands of blows, it remains strong. No matter which direction the wind blows."

Shen Qingzhou completed the poem "Bamboo and Rock" in one go, making the originally plain rice paper look very textured.

This is the scholar’s ​​real skill of talking about military affairs on paper. Before, he was just a student. Relying on his accumulation from the world of Joy of Life, it is already his limit for him to be able to write "Song of the Frontier".

Now, when he writes the Song of the Frontier, even Li Guang, with the power of a single arrow, has the combat strength of the third rank in Joy of Life.

The reason why he seldom mentioned Li Guang in his poems was that he was not familiar with Li Guang. Moreover, when he summoned the phantoms of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, the Six Gates and others, he gave a feeling of hitting wherever he pointed.

This piece of "Bamboo and Rock" is a defensive skill. Once it is used, his body will become extremely hard. However, he is a little embarrassed to use it. This Confucian skill is not very powerful, and the light and shadow effects are amazing.

Whenever he uses this skill, a phantom of a stubborn stone will appear and cover his body. The defense is so strong that even if he uses "Song of the Frontier" to summon the phantom himself, it cannot break it.

I don’t know if the masters in this world can possess such exaggerated fighting skills, but at least I have the power to protect myself.

In his memory, the masters of "Nirvana in Fire" could definitely not match the exaggerated performance of the grandmaster in "Joy of Life", but as for the ninth rank, he would have to fight first.

"Come here, carve this poem into shape." Shen Qingzhou gave an order, and a huge bluestone that was dug out for road construction was carved into shape by skilled craftsmen after several days.

For a time, Shen Qingzhou's poetic talent began to spread slowly. There was no such poem in this world, it was purely imaginary.

This poem, to some extent, also reflects Shen Qingzhou's philosophy of being an official: upright and incorruptible.

……

"'Bamboo and Rocks', what a good poem, what a good poem, it was actually written by a minor official in a remote area, ahem, quite talented." A pale young man from Jiangzuo League threw the information he had just read into the furnace.

"Master." A middle-aged man said a little worriedly.

"It's okay, Mr. Thirteen, what's so special about Sanyang County?" Mei Changsu asked an elderly man with white hair but very strong.

"This Sanyang County was originally unremarkable, but there is a unique thing. Now there is a thing that has gradually been seen in the mansions of major dignitaries."

"Dust-removing and moisturizing jade soap." If you want to sell it at a high price, the right thing to do is to have a nice name. Mei Changsu is so smart that he guessed it right away.

"Sure enough, I can't hide it from the Sect Master."

"Ahem, recently, the profits of the business in the North have increased, and they also sent this dust-removing soap. Is it produced in Sanyang County?"

“Yes, it is a village in Sanyang County that is for sale. However, news just came from below that it is actually controlled by the county magistrate Shen Zheng.

We have already investigated this person's background. Strangely enough, this is the first time we have seen such a popular person in one place." Mr. Thirteen began to tell Mei Changsu about Shen Qingzhou's past.

"Shen Zheng, Shen Zheng, he is so upright. What a pity! If I hadn't wanted to join Beiyan, I would really like to meet him." Mei Changsu said.

……

"Your humble servant greets the magistrate." Shen Qingzhou went to the government office for the first time to report on his duties. The journey was smooth and there was nothing wrong. The main reason was that Sanyang County gradually became the center of several nearby counties with the help of soap. For the sake of business, Shen Qingzhou had ordered the government office to eliminate the banditry. Some ordinary mountain bandits were defeated by the government office, and they directly sponsored the bandit leader in the name of Shenjia Village, offering no nonsense to you. If you really do something, you will be rewarded. The atmosphere in Sanyang County has now been cleared up under Shen Qingzhou's control.

How could some bandits go against the county magistrate? Before, there was no benefit in beating you, and I kept the money for myself. It's not like now, every penny has to be used on construction, and I have to pay for it myself.

Shen Qingzhou uses this method to do justice, and the effect is obvious. For some tough cases, he handles them secretly or directly offers a high reward. Shen - Lord Justice - is just.

"Shen Zheng, what you have done really brings honor to us and does not bring disgrace to your father." The Tongzhi was an old man, and he quickly supported Shen Qingzhou who was about to bow.

It is true that he is a Tongzhi, an official of the sixth rank, but Shen Qingzhou has already demonstrated his abilities. If he gets promoted again, he can become his superior. So he'd better not be too pretentious.

This time when he reported on his work, he brought the best results of all the counties under the provincial government. No matter the amount or speed of tax collection, they were the best in the provincial government.

Although many people think that Shen Qingzhou is stupid, many county magistrates do not have the ability to collect more taxes, but they do not want to or cannot.

People like him who are powerful and ruthless in their approach to things are always decisive and resolute in their actions.

The county town is under his control. If any trouble occurs in the surrounding villages, he will directly hold the village chief and the clan leader accountable. He has created a peaceful and harmonious world under such oppression.

However, he did not just suppress people with force, he also helped ordinary people. Nowadays, if a person died of starvation under his rule, it would be a big deal. The first thing he did after taking office was to check the land.

He is a local tyrant and has an insider in Shenjia Village. No one can hide the truth from him. Moreover, he relies on soap to attract investment. You want to get the soap, right? If you have money to buy it, of course you can sell it. But you invested in our county, so you have priority over the soap.

It has to be said that this kind of monopoly-like business is more than enough to support an entire county. For those who want to please those nobles, investing some money is nothing. Besides, investment is not without economic effect.

Under such circumstances, who would be unwilling to collect taxes? This is why he is reporting on his work this time.

It's not that there is no way for a county magistrate to be promoted. If he knows a little more, the next step would be to become a prefect. In other words, he inherited the duties of the original county magistrate. There is an inspection period of three years, and this year happens to be the time for that.

The Tongzhi knew very well that with the growth rate of Shen Qingzhou's county, there should be many people who were eyeing his position. In the feudal society, gilding was also very common.

If he wants to gild his reputation, the position of county magistrate must be vacated. Shen Qingzhou has done such a good job, and a horizontal transfer is an insult. It is only done after he has made a mistake. He is an official, and it is only natural for him to be rewarded for his meritorious service. If someone really takes a fancy to him, he will definitely be promoted.

No one is interested in him, but he has been doing this for three years. If he knows a little more, he will be promoted. The main reason is that the economic benefits are really the best among all counties. An official who has no selfish motives, does not want to make money, and is capable and sensible is a sure win.

……

one year later.

"Lord Shen, we can't bear to leave you." A horse-drawn carriage was in the county town that had changed drastically. On the wide road, it was very difficult for the carriage to move forward, and it was full of people.

Sanyang County developed rapidly with the help of soap. Later, it went even further and came out with perfumed soap. The price of soap dropped, but perfumed soap became even more popular among dignitaries. A soap with elaborate carvings could cost seven or eight hundred taels.

Ordinary people could barely make a living with twenty or so taels of silver for a soap, but the rich and powerful could earn hundreds or even thousands of taels of silver for a piece of soap, which seemed quite normal.

(End of this chapter)