After Zhu Ping'an had a brief acquaintance with the officials and gentry of Jingnan County at the reception pavilion, he, under the guidance of the county magistrate Zhang Changru, the chief clerk Yao Wenyuan and others, walked towards the north gate Wangyue Gate, preparing to enter the county from the north gate and go to the City God Temple to worship.
When a county magistrate took office, he first worshipped the City God. This was the etiquette and rules of the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Ping'an had done his homework and was very clear about this.
The City God is one of the eight gods in the Confucian "Zhouguan". He is a priest who protects the city and is believed by the people and Taoism. In the Ming Dynasty, the status of the City God was further improved. After the Hongwu Emperor unified the country, he conferred titles on the city gods of the world on the first day of the first month of the second year. The City God of the capital was conferred the title of king. The City Gods of Bian, Hao, Jiu, He, Chu and other states where the Hongwu Emperor started his career were also conferred the title of first-rank king. The City Gods of other prefectures were conferred the title of second-rank duke, the City Gods of state capitals were conferred the title of third-rank marquis, and the City Gods of county towns were conferred the title of fourth-rank earl.
The City God of Jingnan County was a fourth-rank official conferred by the Ming Dynasty court, and his official rank was much higher than that of himself, a seventh-rank county magistrate.
It is normal for a subordinate to pay respect to his superior.
Zhu Ping'an ignored feudal superstitions and simply paid respects to his superior as a subordinate.
"Greetings to the magistrate."
When Zhu Ping'an passed through Wangyue Gate, the people around him knelt down and saluted, secretly glancing at him out of the corner of their eyes.
"No need to bow, fellow villagers." Zhu Ping'an was not arrogant. He stopped and smiled as he nodded to the people around him who were bowing. He asked them to stand up without bowing and reached out to help an old man up.
“Your Excellency, I’m from Dayao Village and my surname is Yao… Your Excellency, please come to our Dayao Village when you have time…” The old man who was helped up by Zhu Ping’an was very excited and his voice trembled a little.
"So it's Mr. Yao. Okay, I'll go to Dayao Village to bother you once I'm settled." Zhu Ping'an agreed with a smile.
After Zhu Ping'an and his party stepped into the city gate and walked away, the people who were watching the excitement under the Wangyue Gate city wall instantly gathered around Old Yao, surrounded him, and couldn't wait to ask questions.
"Mr. Yao, what did the young magistrate say to you?"
"Yes, Mr. Yao, what did you talk about with our young magistrate?"
"Mr. Yao, we saw you and the county magistrate talking and laughing. What did you talk about?"
…
Looking at the people surrounding him, Mr. Yao straightened his back, coughed, and glared at those who called him "little magistrate". He said in a strong voice, "What little magistrate? Do you have any manners? He is the magistrate, the parent official of the people of Jingnan County."
"Yes, yes, yes, you are teaching a lesson to the magistrate. What did the magistrate say to you?"
People wanted to know what the new magistrate would say to Old Man Yao, so they all readily agreed to whatever Old Man Yao said.
"As for what the magistrate told me..." Old Yao glanced at everyone, very satisfied with their curiosity, stroked his beard, shook his head and said, "After the magistrate helped me up, I invited him to visit our Dayao Village when he is free."
"Ah? Mr. Yao, you are really awesome. You dare to invite the county magistrate to our village. Hehe... You are really bold. How precious is the county magistrate? How can he come to our dirty and shabby village? How many county magistrates have been replaced in Jingnan, and which one has ever visited the village? Mr. Yao, you are a wise man in Dayao Village."
When people heard this, they couldn't help but laugh, laughing at Old Yao's wild idea of daring to invite the county magistrate to visit the village.
"Otherwise, why did the county magistrate help me but not you? Let me tell you, after I invited the county magistrate, he happily agreed and said that he would come to Dayao Village to bother me after he settled down. The county magistrate was just polite. There was no such thing as bothering me or not. The county magistrate came because he condescended to do me a favor and he thought highly of me..." Old Yao glanced at everyone, raised his head, and said while shaking his head with his hands behind his back.
"Really?! Are you kidding me?!"
When people heard this, they were stunned. Some of them did not believe what Yao Lao said.
"Of course it's true!" Yao Lao glared at the person who questioned him, "I've seen a lot of people, and I can tell from the first glance that the county magistrate is a man who keeps his word."
People were slightly stunned as they looked at Zhu Ping'an's receding back.
"This new county magistrate seems a little different from the previous ones. At least, he is quite approachable."
Someone said so.
However, someone soon refuted it.
"Easy to approach? Haha, you can't judge a person by his appearance. It's too early to draw such a conclusion based on our first encounter today, isn't it? You all know that some people are good at pretending. Today he has just arrived and hasn't taken over the position yet. He pretends to be friendly to the people. Once he takes over and stands firm, he will definitely be a different person. Even if he is really easy to approach, what's the use? Look at our new county magistrate. He is so young. He may not even have all his hair grown. As the saying goes, if he has no hair on his lips, he can't do things well. If he is a gilded young man from a high-ranking official's family, he won't care about the lives of us ordinary people; if not, he is so young and looks stupid and not very smart. How can he control Jingnan, where the situation is complicated? Can he fight against the five major evils in Jingnan?! Oh, I would rather have a county magistrate who is arrogant, domineering, but capable..."
Someone shook his head and retorted with a sigh.
"Ah, yes, our Jingnan County has a great name. Back then, it was the Han Dynasty or the Song Dynasty. The general named our county after he pacified the south. The word 'Jing' means peace, tranquility, and safety. The name Jingnan County means 'Peace of the South', which is a good omen. Our Jingnan County is a land of beauty, and the name is full of good wishes, but... Alas, our Jingnan has not received good wishes, but has been cursed, with bloodshed and tears and unbearable suffering, especially the five major disasters. The first disaster is corrupt officials, collusion between officials and bandits, collusion between officials and businessmen, and collusion between officials and mines, which oppress the people; the second disaster is the rebellion of the Miao people in the south, which causes disaster to the people; the third disaster is the invasion of mountain bandits, the fourth disaster is the invasion of sea pirates, and the fifth disaster is the massacre of Japanese pirates. Each of them is a disaster for our people, and each of them makes our people bleed, cry, and suffer. As long as these five major disasters are not eliminated, our Jingnan will never have a good day. But our new county magistrate is too young..."
There was a peddler who was walking around the streets. He mentioned the five major evils, which immediately resonated with the common people.
Looking at the young, short figure walking away, people couldn't help but feel a cloud of gloom in their hearts.
This county magistrate is too young... ... His shoulders cannot bear the expectations of the people of Jingnan... ...
We, the people of Jingnan, have a really hard life.