Shenzhou, the west gate of Jinxia City.
"Uu—" Hong Si stopped his horse and looked in the direction of the gate. Through the city gate, he could see the flow of people passing through the city and the busy shops on the street.
"Master, this place... seems to be more prosperous than expected." The servant Ding Pan said excitedly, "I thought this promotion was another secret demotion!"
"If you can think like this, it proves that the losses you suffered before were not enough for you to learn this lesson." Hong Siqi disagreed, "You don't even think about it, if it is such a good position, why would the official department give it to me? "
"Uh, this... seems to be the same."
"Compared with prosperous places, I prefer small, down-and-out towns. At least I don't have to be remembered all the time, and it's easier to make money." He touched the horse's head, "In this place, I'm afraid every corner They have all been seized by powerful forces from all sides."
"Then... what should I do, Master? Should I report to the government office first?"
"Report? The government has been taken over by pirates. Who should I report to? The most urgent task is to find out who is in charge of this Yancheng now." Hong Si gathered the horse's belly and let the mount slowly move towards the city gate. Go and say, "Let's enter the city."
He is the new governor who was transferred from the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
As a Jinshi during the Tianfeng period, Hong Siqi's career in the first half of the Qi Dynasty was relatively smooth. Although he could not stay in the palace, he was stationed in other places for fifteen years and was promoted from the seventh-rank county magistrate to the fifth-rank magistrate. This is the most proud moment in his life. some time. However, in the next ten years, he never received a promotion. Every time he was promoted, he was promoted and demoted, and it happened to be when he had laid a solid foundation and was about to make a big fortune. This made fewer and fewer cronies willing to follow him, and even the promoted adjutant turned to serve the chief officer who succeeded him. Sometimes Hong Siqi himself wondered whether he was being targeted by a big shot in the court. will be treated like this.
Until this time, it was finally no longer a regular promotion, but a real promotion to the prefect. However, he no longer believed that the official of the Ministry of Civil Affairs made this adjustment based on his political achievements.
Ten years of standing still is enough to change a person's ambitions. When he was admitted to the imperial examination, he still had grand visions. Now he just wants to save enough money so that after becoming an official, he can live a life of dignity and glory.
As for the Hall of Supreme Harmony in Gyeonggi Province, it has become something that is out of reach for him.
After registering his identity and entering the city, Hong Siqi quickly discovered something different about this city—there were places under construction everywhere in the city, as if Jinxia was not an ancient city with a long history, but a newly established place.
Considering the content of the letter of introduction sent with the order of appointment and dismissal, he could understand that the city was attacked by pirates and many parts of the city were damaged. However, this kind of repair is often extremely slow. People who lose their homes usually also lose their belongings. After they become homeless or beggars on the streets, the next group of people will replace them and become the new residents of this land. This process can take anywhere from a few months to several years, depending on the city's population and prosperity.
But here, he was surprised to see many houses being built at the same time. They were obviously not restaurants or hotels, but row houses that were obviously for permanent residence. Even the shapes of these houses are very similar, as if there is someone behind them commanding this large-scale construction.
“Wouldn’t it be disturbing the people to break ground during the day?” Ding Pan pondered, “The government could issue a ground-breaking license for this reason, requiring a certain amount of money to be paid to start construction, and at the same time providing certain conveniences in and out of the city, and we should be able to make a fortune. Master, do you think my idea is correct?"
When collecting benefits, you must make them worth the money. This idea has been taught to him by himself, but now... "Huh, just copy it mechanically." Hong Siqi sneered, "You can tell from the style of the house that this is probably a It is a collective construction project, and someone with such skill must not be simple. Your method can only limit the people who build it by themselves, so don't even think about getting a piece of the pie from the other party."
"Uh... Is that so?" Ding Pan rubbed the back of his head, "It seems I want to keep things simple."
More than that, Hong Si thought in unison. What surprised him more than the houses was the scene on the roadside—no matter whether it was the main road or the alley, he saw no beggars. As a common figure in the city, or a group of forces, he disappeared without a trace in Jinxia City.
For a moment, he couldn't understand what happened before that allowed such people to disappear.
If they were attacked by pirates, they should be increasing rapidly.
Hong Siqi decided to choose a teahouse as his entry point to understand the situation.
He knew that once his identity was announced, it would be difficult for him to have the opportunity to truly explore the details of Jinxia City.
Surprisingly, there were not many people in the teahouse, only two or three including the waiters.
After Hong Siqi ordered a pot of spring tea, he called Dr. Tea over, slapped a few coins and said, "Can I ask a few questions?"
The latter smiled happily after accepting the money for the chat, "Sir, just ask!"
"Hey, brother over there." Suddenly someone shouted to him, "Is this your first time in Jinxia City?"
Hong Siqi nodded in surprise, "Not bad."
"If you want to ask questions, just go to the General Affairs Bureau. The answers there are all the latest government policies. There is no need to ask Dr. Cha."
Dr. Tea obviously did not dare to offend his guests, so he coughed twice and said, "The answers from the Secretariat are all business matters, and there will be no gossip or anecdotes."
General Affairs Bureau? What is this place
And what is the government's new policy... Doesn't it mean that the entire government office is being served? His new governor, who holds official documents from the imperial court, has not yet taken office!
Hong Siqi raised his hands to the other party, thanking him for his kindness, and wrote down the word "General Affairs Bureau" in his heart, "I heard that Jinxia was robbed by pirates a while ago, and the government office suffered heavy losses, so now this city Who’s in charge?”
"Haha, that's a good question, sir." Seeing that he wasn't leaving, Dr. Cha suddenly became more energetic. "There are two people in Jinxia City who keep their word. One of them is naturally Her Royal Highness Princess Guangping, and the other is the new appointee of the Privy Council. The Fu Cheng is also the organizer of the General Affairs Bureau, Lord Xia Fan."
"Her Royal Highness? She is managing the affairs of the city?" Hong Siqi frowned secretly - he had already roughly inquired about the situation here on the way here, and naturally knew that Jinxia was the fiefdom of Princess Guangping, but he did not expect that It was the royal family who would intervene in local politics. "Has no one raised any objections to this? I mean... local wealthy families and wealthy families."
"Hey, why are you objecting?" Dr. Tea sighed, "What I don't know is that on the day the pirates invaded, the government showed no resistance at all. In a short period of time, the north wall and the east wall fell into the hands of the enemy. This is the time. It was the princess who stepped forward and led her own bodyguards to fight all the way from the west gate to the east gate, and then from the east gate back to the north gate, until she was covered in blood."
"Two or three thousand pirates were killed by the princess alone because Her Highness was too brave. Even God was helping her. There were lightning bolts and angry thunder bombardments. The enemy pirates had never seen such a posture before, so they had to break up and flee. . You see, if Her Royal Highness hadn't taken action to fight against the enemy, the people of Jinxia City would have been miserable! So if she wants to take care of Jinxia's affairs, who would dare to say no?"
Hong Siqi took the initiative to ignore the other party's exaggerated words. He had also been exposed to military and political affairs when he was the governor of the state, and he knew that leading troops in battle could not be won by the bravery of one person. "What about the Privy Council Prime Minister? I remember they only deal with evil spirits, right?"
"Master Xia was single-handedly supported by Princess Guangping, and he can be regarded as the actual implementer of the decree." Dr. Cha replied enthusiastically, "He is a great benevolent person. Since the government failed in his duties, he has established the General Affairs Bureau. It is to help the disaster-stricken households repair their houses, and to distribute relief food to prevent refugees from going hungry. Now there are many opportunities to recruit workers. The employer is the princess of Quang Binh, and the remuneration is paid on time and in an accurate amount, so everyone feels that Mr. Xia’s words are consistent with Her Royal Highness herself is not much different."
"Then...who will handle the security and disputes in the city?"
"Of course they are the agents of the Secretariat - they not only deal with evil spirits, but also general criminal investigation cases."
Hong Siqi felt a loud roar in his heart.
It's over, it's over.
What kind of disaster relief organization is this
This is clearly a government affairs department that completely replaces the Jinxia City Government Office!