The City God Temple in Jingnan County is not large in scale. A plaque with the words "City God Temple" is hung above the main entrance of the main hall, and peach wood couplets are hung on the left and right sides: "Be a good person with a correct heart, your soul will rest in peace and your sleep will be peaceful; do good deeds and heaven and earth will witness them, and ghosts and gods will admire them."
Under the guidance of Zhang Xiancheng and others, Zhu Ping'an entered the City God Temple from the middle corridor of the ceremonial gate of the City God Temple.
After entering the main hall of the City God Temple, Zhu Ping'an discovered that the deity enshrined in the Jingnan County City God Temple was Wen Tianxiang, a famous patriotic and loyal minister of the Southern Song Dynasty, who was also a historical figure that Zhu Ping'an had always admired very much.
Perhaps it was because Wen Tianxiang once resisted the Yuan Dynasty on the land of Jingnan County, so Jingnan County enshrined him as the deity of the City God Temple.
Inside the hall, the three sacrificial animals and various utensils have been displayed, ready for one to worship the City God.
After everything was ready, Zhu Ping'an led Zhang Xiancheng and others to kneel and kowtow three times to the City God, burn incense and worship, and swear on the ground, "I am Zhu Ping'an, the subordinate, who is ordered by the emperor to take up the post of magistrate of Jingnan County. I swear to the gods that the gods are wise, upright and spiritual. The gods lead the netherworld, the yin and yang, the inside and outside. I have not yet prepared for government affairs. I hope the gods will silently bless me and make my government affairs flourish to protect the people. If I neglect my government affairs, be treacherous and greedy, frame my subordinates, and abuse the people, the gods will bring disaster upon me. I am Zhu Ping'an, the subordinate, respectfully swearing this oath to show my heart and do my best. The gods will see clearly and come to me for judgment. I dare to report."
This is called an oath with the gods, which is the most important part of worshiping the city god. One must swear to be loyal to the gods and to one's duty, to use yin and yang as the inside and outside, and to achieve co-governance between man and god. Only in this way can one enter the government to manage affairs. The city god will review and inspect the performance of the county magistrate after taking office, and give rewards and punishments.
After worshiping the City God, Zhu Ping'an, led by Zhang Xiancheng and others, went to the Jingnan County Government to receive the seal.
Accepting the seal is a sign of taking office.
All Zhu Ping'an carried with him was the appointment document issued by the Ministry of Personnel and his own seal. At this stage, he could only accept the seal of the magistrate of Jingnan County after verifying his identity with the appointment document and seal issued by the Ministry of Personnel.
Only in this way can he be considered as the magistrate of Jingnan County.
When they arrived at the county government office, Zhu Ping'an divided his troops into two groups. He asked Liu Dadao to drive the carriage, carrying Hua'er, to go through the side door to the back house to pack up and settle down. He took Liu Mu and others, followed by Zhang Xiancheng and others into the county government office through the main gate.
"Greetings to the county lord."
The three shifts of yamen runners of the county government had already lined up and were waiting. After Zhu Ping'an and others entered the county government, they knelt down and saluted.
"No need to be polite, everyone please stand up."
Zhu Ping'an nodded to the yamen runners and made a gesture with both hands, indicating that they should stand up.
"Thank you, Your Excellency." The yamen runners stood up in response.
"Please come this way, County Lord. The ceremonial gate is over here. After passing the ceremonial gate, you will reach the lobby of the county government office. Our Jingnan County government office was built in the eighth year of Dade in the Yuan Dynasty of the Mongol Dynasty, and it has a history of more than 200 years. It was later renovated and expanded three times in the twelfth year of Hongwu, the twentieth year of Yongle, and the sixth year of Zhengde. It has been renovated many times by successive county lords, and it has the appearance it has today. The government office is located in the north and faces the south, with the civil officials on the left and the military officials on the right, the government office in the front and the residence in the back, and the prison in the south."
County Magistrate Zhang led Zhu Ping'an forward and acted as a commentator as they walked, briefly introducing the history and layout of the county government to Zhu Ping'an.
Zhu Ping'an nodded and observed as he walked. When they reached the ceremonial gate, County Magistrate Zhang stopped and asked Zhu Ping'an to go in first to show his respect for the county chief. He followed Zhu Ping'an in.
Just as County Magistrate Zhang said, after passing the ceremonial gate, Zhu Ping'an saw the lobby of the county government office.
The lobby seemed to have just been renovated, and it was clean and tidy. The layout and furnishings were similar to those of the old county government sites that Zhu Ping'an had visited in modern times. On the two pillars in front of the lobby, there was a couplet in red and black lacquer, which read, "The law is enforced without favoritism, and orders are enforced without reason; rewards are heavy for doubts, and punishments are light for doubts." A plaque hung above the lobby, with the words "A clear mirror hangs high" written on it. Below the plaque was a warm pavilion, with a three-foot black lacquered case in the middle, on which were placed the four treasures of the study and red and green headed signs for trial. Behind the case was a white wall, with a wooden frame in the middle, and a white base inside the frame, on which was painted a huge picture of "sea tide and sun."
There is a bright mirror hanging high above the head and the sea facing the sun behind, which means that officials should be as bright as the sun and the moon and as clear as the sea water.
This will be the main place where he will work in the future. Zhu Ping'an stepped forward to the warm room and stretched out his hand to stroke the desk.
"Your Excellency, would you like to accept the seal now?" County Magistrate Zhang Changru stepped forward and asked softly.
"That's right." Zhu Ping'an nodded.
"Chief Clerk Yao, why don't you hurry up and get the county magistrate's seal?" County Magistrate Zhang Changru looked at Chief Clerk Yao Wenyuan and reminded him.
"Please forgive me for the offense, but it is a matter of procedure. Please show me the three treasures."
After Chief Clerk Yao Wenyuan took out the county magistrate's seal with a seal on it, he held the seal in both hands, bowed and said to Zhu Ping'an.
The so-called three treasures are the seal, the official document of the Ministry of Personnel and the sword. These three are the proof of the identity of the incoming county magistrate.
"Master Yao, you are too kind." Zhu Ping'an smiled and nodded, then turned his gaze to Liu Mu and said softly, "Brother Mu, please give me the three treasures."
"Yes, sir." Liu Mu responded and respectfully handed the three treasures he carried with him to Zhu Ping'an.
"Please." Zhu Ping'an placed the three treasures on the desk and extended his hand to make a gesture of invitation to Yao Zhubo and others.
The Dianshi Li Da was the first to come forward to check, and he looked over it over and over again. Then Zhang Xiancheng, Yao Zhubo and others also came forward to check one by one.
After checking and confirming that it was correct, Chief Clerk Yao handed the county magistrate's seal to Zhu Ping'an with both hands. In the presence of everyone, Zhu Ping'an removed the seal, took out the county magistrate's seal with both hands, and placed it on the desk.
"Greetings to the county lord."
County Magistrate Zhang and Chief Clerk Yao led the officials of Jingnan County Office and stepped forward, standing in the hall. They bowed twice and formally met Zhu Ping'an.
"Please stand up, everyone. I have been ordered by the emperor to be transferred to Jingnan as the magistrate. It is a heavy responsibility to govern the people. However, I am new here and I am young and inexperienced. I will have to rely on you in the future. I hope that you will work together with me, serve the country with all your heart and soul, and work together to benefit the people of Jingnan." Zhu Ping'an stood up and bowed in response.
"Your Excellency is too modest. We will certainly obey your orders and follow your lead in the future, serve the country loyally and benefit the people of Jingnan." County Magistrate Zhang and everyone else replied in unison.
Then, the yamen runners, jailers, clerks, classics officials, lobbyists, Buddhist officials, Taoist officials, fortune tellers, medical officials, and academic officials came forward from the bottom to the top and bowed twice to Zhu Ping'an, who stood up to accept the greeting.
The court was opened, the office was arranged, and the officials were ordered to go to the county town and the countryside to post notices to inform the people in the area that the new magistrate had taken office.
After that, Zhu Ping'an attended the welcoming banquet prepared by County Magistrate Zhang and others as usual, and both guests and hosts had a great time at the banquet.
By the evening, Zhu Ping'an had completed all the procedures for taking up the post and was almost exhausted.
"Sir, did the handover go smoothly?"
The little maid Hua'er had already prepared foot-washing water for Zhu Ping'an and brought it to his feet for him to soak his feet. She massaged Zhu Ping'an's shoulders from behind and asked in a low voice while massaging.
"If everything went smoothly, then why is my son-in-law still frowning?" Hua'er asked in confusion.
"It's because it went too smoothly." Zhu Ping'an narrowed his eyes and said slowly.