"Then Wude Street will be handed over to you, Xiao Zhangtingzhang." Fang Yun smiled, as if he was really congratulating Zhang Jingan.
Zhang Jing'an chuckled and said, "Look at how I demonstrate my talent, Grand Master Zhang!"
"I'll go to the Jieting on Jiangjin Street now. Bye." Fang Yun got on the carriage and asked the coachman to drive. The coachman hesitated for a moment and waved the whip.
Zhang Jing'an was stunned for a moment, and when he saw the carriage moving slowly, he shouted, "Why don't you take me with you?"
"You and I are both pavilion chiefs. You have to support yourself!" Fang Yun's voice came from the carriage.
Zhang Jing'an stared at the carriage in shame and anger, snorted coldly, and said to himself: "Without you, I can still live well. It's just a street! In Jingzhou City, I am also a small local snake! Don't think I don't know what it means to show my power. I will go to the South City to find my brothers and ask them to help me become the head of the pavilion!"
The sun was high in the sky, making Jingzhou City even more lazy in the afternoon.
At the head of Wude Street, there is a two-story building facing the street. The four characters "Wude Duting" are written on the gate of the courtyard.
Although Jieting was small, it was equivalent to the jurisdiction of a township or a town. In terms of wealth and population, it was larger than most towns and villages. The head of the Jieting in such a prosperous place had enormous power.
The public security, taxes, corvée, disputes, commerce, civil affairs, etc. of the entire street were all managed by the pavilion chief. Only major matters would be decided by the city guards or the prefect of Jingzhou.
Wude Street is a little deserted in the afternoon, with not many people coming and going. Noon and nightfall are the busiest times in Wude Street.
Old Gao sat at the entrance of the street pavilion, dozing off in the sun. He had been at Wude Street Pavilion for many years, and had seen many pavilion chiefs coming and going, and had seen many disputes, so he was indifferent to everything. Even when he heard that a new pavilion chief was going to be replaced today, he was still the same as usual, not caring at all, not to mention that he had received news that the new pavilion chief was a little special. He was told to talk less and do less.
"Old man, is this Wude Street Pavilion?" a deliberately rough voice came.
Old Gao slowly raised his head, facing the sun, squinted his eyes, and looked towards the source of the sound.
It was an eleven-year-old kid, followed by seventeen or eighteen people, including a seven or eight-year-old naughty boy wiping his nose with his sleeve, a teenager of the same age as the kid, a young man with a childish face but a strong stature, and two strong men in their thirties.
Old Gao only took a quick glance and, except that he couldn't tell where the little kid leading them came from, he immediately determined that these people were from South City. He also could tell their identities: there were bag carriers at the dock, thieves from the Skillful Hands Sect, idlers who were not doing their jobs, and one who had a broken hand.
Old Gao recognized the one with the broken hand, the leader of the Qiaoshou Sect. When such a small figure saw him, he would definitely bow and scrape. After all, he was wearing a police uniform and represented the government and the Great Chu State. But today, Old Gao could not see any flattery or uneasiness in the eyes of these people, but only excitement and pride.
The old man Gao, who had seen a lot of storms, did not respond like a young man, but stood up and looked at the leading boy with a smile. Although the clothes were old, they were indeed made by Tianruixiang in the city, and small families could not buy them even if they had money.
"Young man, what brings you to Duting?" asked old man Gao.
Before Zhang Jing'an could speak, a young boy behind him shouted, "From today on, Zhang Jing'an is the head of Wude Street, and everyone on the street will listen to him!" After saying that, the boy sniffed his snot, as if a transparent worm had crawled into his nostrils.
Zhang Jing'an smiled slightly, without the slightest bit of arrogance. He calmly took out the document from Governor Qiao, and the governor's printout was clearly visible.
Old Gao was stunned for a moment, then he immediately bent down and said with a smile: "I am here to welcome you, Master. I have been waiting for you for a long time. Please come in."
Zhang Jing'an nodded proudly and walked into the house. The people behind him wanted to follow him in, but Old Gao stretched out his arm to block them.
"This is the street pavilion of the capital of Chu State. No outsiders are allowed to enter." As the old man Gao spoke, he straightened his spine, his eyes revealing the arrogance and coldness that made it difficult for others to approach him.
"Jing'an, he won't let me in!" The sturdy young man carrying a hemp rope behind him became anxious.
Zhang Jing'an turned around, frowned at Old Gao, and said, "I am a new pavilion chief and have found these helpers. What's going on? My words don't work?"
Old Gao stared at Zhang Jing'an's eyes for three breaths, and seeing that Zhang Jing'an showed no sign of weakness, he smiled and asked, "Master Pavilion Master, are you really going to let them in?"
"Is there any problem?" Zhang Jing'an was a little impatient. He didn't want to lose face in front of his friends.
"Then I won't say anything. Please come in, my dear gentlemen!" Old Gao took a step back. Perhaps because of the backlight, there were some shadows on his face.
Zhang Jing'an's friends were very happy and followed him inside.
With the help of the prefect's documents, Zhang Jing'an successfully took over Wude Street Pavilion and quickly gained a basic understanding of the place.
In addition to the pavilion chief, there are two clerks and four runners in the Wude Street Pavilion. Old Gao is one of the four runners. If there are not enough people, the pavilion chief can directly transfer people from the Jingzhou government office.
Wude Street has a large population and is divided into ten "li", each with a lichang, who governs more than a hundred households. If there is nothing going on, the lichang will not come to the street pavilion. The lichang is elected by the residents of each li and appointed by the government office. Although he is in charge of the pavilion chief, the pavilion chief has no right to replace him.
So, Zhang Jing'an took a large group of his men and officially settled down in Wude Duting.
A few days ago, everything was in order. Zhang Jing'an met with ten village heads. As for the governance of Jieting, he did the same as his predecessor, and nothing was different from before.
However, Zhang Jing'an soon heard the news that the nearby Jiangjin Street Pavilion Chief was carrying out drastic reforms. Jiangjin Street was full of complaints, so he was extremely happy and continued to remain unchanged in the face of all changes and be a leisurely pavilion chief.
Time quickly came to the end of September, and a sudden document broke the peace of Wude Street Pavilion.
"It's all Zhang Longxiang's fault!" Zhang Jing'an felt very uncomfortable as he looked at the written reprimand from Governor Qiao.
As early as a few days ago, Zhang Jing'an received news that the Censorate had launched a fierce attack on both him and Fang Yun, and dozens of memorials appeared on the desk of the King of Chu.
The Censorate criticized Fang Yun for his large-scale construction projects that wasted people's money and time, and for issuing some inappropriate rules. At the same time, it did not let Zhang Jing'an off, and accused him of associating with snakes and rats and being useless and incompetent.
Prefect Qiao immediately reprimanded the two men as the responsible officials and asked them to write a written statement admitting their mistakes, otherwise they might be dismissed and investigated.
Zhang Jing'an looked at the document from the prefect and felt uneasy. He didn't expect that even though he had done nothing, he would still be attacked with an excuse. It was obviously because of his identity, not what he had done.
Zhang Jing'an stood up and walked around the room, and finally realized that he had no idea how to deal with this matter. If he admitted his mistake, it would be like giving others a handle. If he did not admit his mistake, he would most likely be dismissed and investigated, which meant that he would not be able to serve as an official and would lose in advance.
"Let's ask the people in the capital first." Zhang Jing'an immediately summoned the clerks and yamen runners in the capital, but no one could come up with a good idea, and Old Gao said nothing. (To be continued.)