When they started drawing circles with charcoal pencils, all the folks in Jia'an County realized that they were sitting three feet away from the people on both sides. At the beginning, no one understood why they had to sit so far apart, but now they understood that the reason they sat so far apart was so that when they drew circles, the people next to them would not be able to see them easily. This could be considered a small confidentiality measure, very thoughtful.
As for the few who could not read, after hearing what Shi Changfeng said, they also knew the order of the three names on the ticket for local celebrities, so they would not make mistakes.
Half a quarter of an hour passed quickly and everyone had circled their tickets.
"Okay, everyone can put together the votes for the local celebrities in your hands, and then everyone will take turns to put the votes in this box!" Shi Changfeng said, and he signaled the attendant beside him to open the box and hold it up, letting everyone see that the box was empty and there was no tampering. Then he put the box down, "For the first ticket, let's start with Wang Dou, and then everyone line up and vote in order..."
When Wang Dou heard this, he didn't say much. He just stood up from his seat, nodded at Shi Changfeng, then walked to the ballot box and put the folded ticket into the box.
After Wang Dou, it was Su Youlun, and then the fellow villagers sitting in the first row. Everyone lined up and took turns to go up. After casting their votes, they sat back down. So in a short time, all 100 people had cast their votes.
Then the votes were counted in public. Shi Changfeng opened the box and took out a ticket for the local celebrity. He looked at the circle drawn on it and read out loud, "Su Youlun, one vote..." After that, he opened the ticket and showed it to everyone around him so that everyone could see that the circle drawn on the ticket circled Su Youlun's name.
As Shi Changfeng finished speaking, a servant standing behind him drew a horizontal line with charcoal behind Su Youlun's name on a wooden board behind Shi Changfeng...
"Shao Yuanjie, one vote..."
"Shao Yuanjie, one vote..."
"Wang Dou votes..."
"Su Youlun, one vote..."
"Wang Dou, one vote..."
"Wang Dou votes..."
"There are two circles on this ticket, and two people are selected. It is considered as abstention and does not count..."
…
As Shi Changfeng took out the votes for the local celebrities, counted them, and displayed them, the number of votes in the ballot box was decreasing rapidly, while the number of "正" characters after the three people's names on the wooden board was gradually increasing. In the first fifty votes, the gap between the three was not too obvious, and it was not clear who would win in the end. The three people participating in this selection were very nervous. As they listened to Shi Changfeng's voice counting the votes, they held their breath unconsciously...
But after fifty votes, the votes for Wang Dou began to increase gradually, and the expression of Wang Dou, who was sitting aside, also became interesting. Every time Shi Changfeng read out his name, the fat on his face almost trembled.
When Shi Changfeng took out the last ticket from the ballot box and read out "Wang Dou, one vote...", Wang Dou's face had turned red, while Shao Yuanjie and Su Youlun next to him let out a long breath, one looked a little gray, and the other shook his head and smiled bitterly.
Finally, the votes can be counted by looking at the "正" characters on the blackboard with the names of the three people. Wang Dou's name has the most "正" characters, more than eight, three more than Shao Yuanjie and Su Youlun. The winner is clear at a glance...
"There are 100 votes cast by the local sages of Jia'an County this time, and two votes were abandoned, so the actual number of votes is 98. Among them, Wang Dou received 43 votes, Shao Yuanjie received 28 votes, and Su Youlun received 27 votes. After the local sages voted, Wang Dou, the local sage of Jia'an County, received the most votes and will be the next magistrate of Jia'an County!" Shi Changfeng finally showed a smile on his face. He turned his head and looked at Wang Dou, who had stood up and was flushed with excitement. "Sir Wang, congratulations. After I report the results to the Supervisor, the official appointment document from the Supervisor's Office will come down within the next two days. Sir Wang, as the elder of a county in the future, don't disappoint the local sages who voted for you today!"
Hearing Shi Changfeng calling him "Sir", Wang Dou felt as if he was stepping on cotton and could hardly stand. "Don't worry, Sir Shi, I know, I know. The selection is over today. I have booked a banquet at Yingxian Tower. I hope Sir Shi will come..."
"I have to rush back to Pingxi City today to report to the Supervisor the results of today's selection of the county magistrate of Jia'an County, so I won't bother you any more. As colleagues, we will meet again in the future. Don't forget what you said here today. Don't let the oath come true. The Supervisor hates officials who are corrupt and oppress the people the most. Once they are discovered, they will be dismissed from their posts and thrown into prison at the very least, or their entire family will be implicated and destroyed. Don't say I didn't warn you!"
Wang Dou, who was excited, heard Shi Changfeng's words and looked at Shi Changfeng's clear and deep eyes. He suddenly woke up and clasped his fists to Shi Changfeng, "Thank you for your reminder, Lord Shi. Don't worry, I will never let you down. If I embezzle a penny from the public and wantonly oppress the people, it will bring shame to our ancestors. You don't need to ask you to send someone to take it away. Just let God strike me to death..."
Shi Changfeng nodded, "It's the best if Lord Wang thinks so!" After saying these words to Wang Dou, Shi Changfeng looked at the local sages present and said solemnly, "As local sages, your vote today is cast on behalf of the people who nominated you. The position of local sage is both an honor and a responsibility, and it is also the earnest hope of the governor. The county magistrate was elected by you, so you have the responsibility to supervise. According to the governor's intention, the position of local sage will be elected every four years in the future. If the county magistrate you elected is incompetent, or does perverse things that make the people complain, if more than two-thirds of you, that is, sixty-six local sages, jointly write a letter, the governor's office can initiate impeachment and hold him accountable..."
Shi Changfeng's words stunned everyone in the hall, especially the village elders. Originally, they thought that the village elders would be honored for life after being elected, or that they would be useless after the county magistrate was selected. But from what Shi Changfeng said, the governor seemed to intend to make the title of village elders a grassroots system. In this way, the power of the village elders seemed to be great. The county magistrate could be selected and impeached, which was a great thing. In the future, the village elders would be completely elected by the local people, which meant that the local people could indirectly decide the candidate for a county magistrate...
Due to their limited knowledge, several people in the hall felt that today's events seemed very complicated, but no one could see through it. They only felt that the Supervisor who arranged all this was unfathomable and even more awe-inspiring.
…
"Our county magistrate has been elected, it's Master Wang Dou..." As the news from the National Martial Arts Hall spread outside, the people of Jia'an County who were watching the excitement outside the National Martial Arts Hall finally became excited. The servants arranged by the Wang family outside the National Martial Arts Hall started to play gongs and drums, and started to make a lot of noise...
“Does anyone know how this county magistrate is chosen? If anyone knows, please tell me…” Most people who were just watching the fun were more interested in the process of selecting the county magistrate.
"I heard that the county magistrate is elected by one vote from each village elder. The ballot is called the village elders' ballot, and three names are printed on it. If you want someone to be the county magistrate, you circle his name. Whoever gets the most votes from the 100 village elders will be the county magistrate..."
"If I were a local sage, I would have voted to decide who would be the county magistrate..."
"of course!"
"I didn't expect this local sage to be so powerful..."
As the selection process of the county magistrate was exposed in the National Martial Arts Hall, there was a louder noise outside the hall. For the people watching, knowing the selection process of the county magistrate made them feel extremely fresh. They did not expect that the county magistrate could be selected in this way, and they did not expect that the local sage who was recommended by them before would have such great power all of a sudden...
…
In a restaurant not far from the National Martial Arts Museum, Hua Ruxue and the old man sat at the window of a box facing the street, looking at the bustling scene on the street outside the National Martial Arts Museum and listening to the people talking below. Both of them had a strange gleam in their eyes.
"Officials are at the top, which is Yang, and the people are at the bottom, which is Yin. Since ancient times, officials have been at the top, and the upper has been bullying the lower. When things reach their extreme, they will turn around, and the lower will overcome the upper. This is the principle of the succession and reincarnation of the courts and the world in all dynasties. The root cause is the mutual punishment and mutual restraint of Yin and Yang. If officials can be at the bottom, the Yin will move and the Yang will be born, then the people below will no longer be bullied, and the superiors will no longer be feared. In this way, Yin and Yang will be harmonious and support each other, and everything will be perfect. Peace for all ages can be expected. This is the kingdom of heaven..." The old man sighed and looked at Hua Ruxue, "I didn't expect that the dream of the Holy Lord back then would be realized for the first time in Jia'an County. According to the Holy Lord's will, whoever can do this in the world, even if he is not a member of the White Lotus Sect, can be the leader of the White Lotus Sect, and all the White Lotus Sect members in the world will respect him..."
(End of this chapter)