Chapter 312: Chapter 180: Let’s Be Blunt, You Can’t Be the County Magistrate Anymore
"What is it?" Lu Yuan replied.
"The Young Madam’s brother has arrived. He’s at the front desk in the first-floor lobby."
Lu Yuan clapped his hands. "Speak of the devil. Go on, bring him up."
"Yes, Young Master!"
Su Liyan gave her brother a hug the moment she saw him.
But Su Changliang gently pushed his sister away, thinking, ’What are you doing? My brother-in-law is right here.’
Su Changliang was truly unappreciative. Many would kill for a hug from such a sweet beauty, yet here he was, turning it down.
As her own brother, he didn’t seem to appreciate it in the slightest.
Lu Yuan spoke up. "Brother-in-law, thank goodness you’re here. We would’ve been flying blind for this afternoon’s report otherwise."
"Brother-in-law, I got held up on the way, but I’m glad I made it in time."
A horse can get diarrhea, after all. It was no match for Lu Yuan’s motorcycle.
Su Changliang took three thick official ledgers from the satchel on his back. "Brother-in-law," he said, "these are the records of all of Taiping City’s affairs for the year."
Lu Yuan picked up the topmost ledger. "Did we really do this much this year?"
"We certainly did," Su Changliang said confidently. "It’s all recorded right here, clear as day."
Lu Yuan flipped through it casually. The ledgers detailed all the tangible accomplishments from his time at the County Yamen.
"Clearing out the Xingzi from the Spirit Stone Mine..."
"Building factories in Taiping City..."
"The people see food as paramount; cultivating hybrid crops..."
"Assisting Vice General Song Chi with bandit suppression..."
"Using wheat harvesters to help farmers bring in the grain..."
Even the matter of clearing the names of Aunt Zhao and Aunt Song was recorded.
Lu Yuan felt a deep sense of satisfaction. Su Changliang was truly cut out for a career in officialdom.
"Good. Excellent. My brother-in-law is a capable man. It’s a waste of your talent to have you as a mere Steward in the County Yamen."
"I owe it all to your support, Brother-in-law," Su Changliang replied calmly.
Su Liyan had also noticed how quickly Su Changliang was maturing, and she was overjoyed for him.
In the afternoon, Su Liyan and her attendants remained at the Post House.
Lu Yuan went to the Governor’s office, taking only Su Changliang with him.
Seven or eight people stood in the front hall of the residence. They were all County Magistrates and their subordinates, here to present their official reports.
The County Magistrate who had chatted with Lu Yuan over lunch that morning was also present, apparently in the same group for the review.
The moment the Governor entered the front hall, his gaze swept across the room and he spotted Lu Yuan. He smiled, but only at Lu Yuan.
Lu Yuan saw the Lord Governor’s baffling smile. It had been quite a while since he had last seen the man.
Lu Yuan thought, ’Are we that close? Why is he smiling at me? He can’t possibly be after my handsome face, can he?’
As was tradition, each County Magistrate had to first present their official ledgers.
The ledgers recorded the various affairs of the counties under their jurisdiction.
Su Changliang submitted theirs on Lu Yuan’s behalf.
The ledgers from the four or five counties were laid out in a row on the desk.
One didn’t need to look closely to see that Taiping City’s submission was the thickest, consisting of three full volumes.
In contrast, the County Magistrate from King Lu’s territory had submitted only a single, very thin volume.
That magistrate was an honest fellow. Even if you’d spent the year wining and dining, even if you’d done absolutely nothing of substance, you should at least pad it out a little. Why be so brutally honest?
The Governor picked up the ledger of just a few pages, holding it by its spine. He raised it to eye level, examining its thickness.
The Governor gave it a hard squeeze, compressing the already thin volume until it seemed even flimsier.
The whole display was just like a teacher inspecting a student’s homework.
With a grim expression, the Governor looked at the magistrate. "You," he said, "did you just bring me the cover?"
Upon hearing this, the honest magistrate’s legs gave out, and he collapsed to his knees. He looked like someone forced to suffer in silence, unable to explain his grievances.
It was incredibly difficult to accomplish anything in King Lu’s fiefdom; the King’s men obstructed him at every turn.
The Governor didn’t even bother to read the contents, simply tossing the ledger on the floor in front of the kneeling magistrate.
The magistrate, still kneeling, stared at the ledger on the floor, his head sinking even lower. His calves were trembling uncontrollably.
The Governor leafed through the other magistrates’ ledgers, but he didn’t even touch Lu Yuan’s.
The Governor proceeded to reprimand every magistrate whose ledger he’d inspected.
Then, the Governor questioned each of them in turn, asking a barrage of questions.
"What is the permanent resident population of your county seat?"
"How many acres of paddy fields versus dry fields?"
"What were this year’s tax revenues?"
...
The Governor already knew the answers to questions like these.
At his level of office, he had other ways of finding out this information.
So, the magistrates being questioned didn’t dare to make things up. If they didn’t know an answer, they admitted it.
The Governor changed his questions every year, so unless someone was truly on top of their duties, it was difficult to provide a comprehensive answer.
Ironically, among all the magistrates questioned, the one with the thinnest ledger answered most fluently.
Clearly, this was a magistrate who truly wanted to serve the people but was prevented from doing so.
Of course, there were also plenty of lazy magistrates trying to pass off shoddy work as genuine, and the Governor gave them another tongue-lashing.
Lu Yuan and Su Changliang stood off to the side, watching the men kneeling all over the floor.
Lu Yuan thought, ’Damn, if he asked me those questions, I wouldn’t be able to answer them either. My brother-in-law, on the other hand, probably knows it all.’
The Governor waved his hand, and his attendants ushered the men out.
He didn’t say whether they would be fined or demoted.
「After the others had left.」
The Governor, all smiles now, walked up to Lu Yuan. "Magistrate Lu," he said, "to think you’ve accomplished so much in less than a year in office."
The Governor said this with a laugh as he held up the ledgers to look at them.
Lu Yuan clasped his hands in a fist-and-palm salute. "I’ve done very little myself. It is mainly due to your excellent leadership, my Lord, and also because this steward of mine is excellent at ’handling’ things for me."
This "handling" was not merely praise for Su Changliang’s good work.
The Governor, having accepted a "gift" the other day, looked at the young man beside Lu Yuan and said, "A brilliant talent. He is destined for great things."
The Governor set down the ledgers. "What’s your name? And what is your position?"
"In response to your question, my Lord..." Su Changliang said with the utmost respect.
Su Changliang told the Governor his name and his position.
"Very well," the Governor said. "I now appoint you the County Magistrate of Taiping City."
Su Changliang immediately refused. "My Lord, I absolutely cannot accept! I am just a lowly steward. I could never be a magistrate. Magistrate Lu is the man for the job."
Listening to this, Lu Yuan realized what was happening. He was being fired and replaced by his own brother-in-law.
’A few days ago, I sent you gifts, and you kept every last one.’
’I was just hoping you’d go easy on the scolding and give me some face.’
’And look where that got me. You’ve stripped me of my post entirely.’
Lu Yuan thought, ’This might be for the best. No office, no burden. I can focus on other things, like tinkering with guns and cannons.’
Lu Yuan didn’t really care about his official position at the County Yamen anyway.
If Lu Yuan’s great-grandfather knew he had managed to get himself fired, he’d be so furious he’d rise from his grave just to give him a good whipping.
Becoming an official... wasn’t that what the older generation always harped on about to their children?
Su Changliang was inwardly dead set against it. He couldn’t just steal his brother-in-law’s iron rice bowl, no matter the circumstances.
The Governor saw that Su Changliang was not going to accept graciously, but he didn’t deign to argue. "Enough. The matter is settled. You may go back for now. Someone will contact you to follow up."
Su Changliang glanced at his brother-in-law, hoping he would intervene and persuade the Governor to reconsider.
Su Changliang wanted a promotion, but not by taking his brother-in-law’s post.
Lu Yuan simply shook his head, his eyes warning Su Changliang not to argue with the Lord Governor.
Left with no choice, Su Changliang took his leave.
After Su Changliang left, the Governor ordered an attendant to serve Lu Yuan tea and show him to a seat.
Once the attendant was gone, only the Governor and Lu Yuan remained in the front hall.
Lu Yuan sat down, lifted his teacup, blew on the hot liquid, and set it back on the table.
The Governor got straight to the point. "Lord Lu, let me be blunt. You can no longer be the County Magistrate of Taiping City."
