Chapter 244: The Road to High Office 44

Chapter 244: The Road to High Office 44

The couple spent about two hours reviewing the situation in Lingbei County.

Lingbei County consisted of four streets and eight lanes, all arranged in a grid pattern with the county government office at the very center.

The main front gate of the government office faced Jibei Street, known as the intellectual hub of Lingbei County. Nearly all the private schools in Lingbei were concentrated on Jibei Street.

The back gate of the government office, which led to the residence where Xu Zeping and his company were about to stay, faced Jiling Street. Jiling Street was the economic heart of Lingbei, home to businesses like restaurants, snack shops, and fabric stores.

To the east of the government office was Jidong Street, known as the street of rice, grain, and oil. The businesses here were largely monopolized by the Qin, Cao, and Zhao families, the three major clans of Lingbei County.

According to the information the couple gathered, the Qin, Cao, and Zhao families were well-known large landowners in the county, each owning nearly 200 acres of land.

The civilian land ownership limit was 100 acres, so owning 200 acres suggested that the land was either not registered under a single name or included hidden plots.

However, since everyone on Jidong Street was aware of this, Xu Zeping believed the former possibility was more likely.

To the west of the government office was Jixi Street, part of Lingbei’s bustling market. It was mostly a place where poor commoners set up stalls for trading. It was said that the vegetables sold in the morning market were quite fresh.

As for the eight lanes, due to the lateness of the hour and the encroaching night, they didn’t dare to wander around anymore and stopped their exploration.

By the time they returned to the residence, it was already past 8 PM.

"Young Master, you're finally back," said Little Tiger, who had been sitting on a small stool at the main gate, anxiously waiting. Sweat had appeared on his forehead. Seeing Xu Zeping and his company return, he hurriedly went to greet them. "If you hadn’t come back, I was about to ask Magistrate Xu to send people to look for you."

"Lingbei County is quite unique, which is why we spent a bit more time exploring," Xu Zeping waved his hand and said, "No need to worry."

After returning to the east courtyard, the couple washed up and prepared to rest.

Xu Zeping held a book in his hand, lounging on the soft couch as if reading. But upon closer inspection, Xu Zeping’s eyes seemed distant, suggesting he was deep in thought.

Cheng Ge Er sat before the copper mirror while Xia Tian carefully untied his hair bun.

After Xia Tian finished untying Cheng Ge Er’s hair, he exited the master bedroom, leaving the couple free to settle into bed.

Cheng Ge Er got into bed first, and once Xu Zeping extinguished the candle and groped his way into bed, Cheng Ge Er naturally nestled into Xu Zeping’s arms, resting his head on Xu Zeping’s arm. His voice was filled with affection. "Pingping, how do you want to handle the embroidery workshop?"

"Cheng Ge Er, tomorrow when I hand over the responsibilities to Magistrate Xu, I will inevitably meet the officials of the three classes and six departments of the Lingbei County government office, as well as the deputy magistrate and the chief clerk," Xu Zeping pulled the quilt up, intimately circling his arms around the person in his embrace. "We are new here, and I haven’t figured out the depth of the situation yet. Officials and merchants have always been intricately connected, and I’m not clear about the relationship between Lingbei County and the three major families. I suggested postponing the opening of your embroidery workshop because..."

Xu Zeping then told Cheng Ge Er about his plan to revitalize a toothbrush workshop.

In the process of figuring out how to make toothbrushes, he hoped Cheng Ge Er could recruit a large number of workers to embroider handkerchiefs and pouches featuring the White Fox Lord. One side of these small items would embroider the prototype of the White Fox Lord, the nine-tailed white fox, and the other side would embroider a character design, all to create momentum for the grand drama *Journey of the White Fox Immortal*.

Yes, he intended to adapt the story of the White Fox Lord into a play!

These embroidered items would travel across the Great Jing Dynasty along with the toothbrushes. Any fan of the story would surely be curious about the origin of these items.

By timely staging the drama, it would naturally attract these fans to come to Lingbei County.

Regardless of whether the performance was good or bad, as long as a large number of fans poured into Lingbei County, the economic chain created by their eating, drinking, and entertainment would bring substantial income to the commoners of Lingbei County.

Today, while strolling through the four streets with Cheng Ge Er, he noticed that many commoners' clothes were patched with many repairs. These clothes were quite thin, and even though they wore many layers, it was evident that they were summer clothes.

Worn for three years, then patched up for another six.

He didn’t know what the situation in Lingbei would be this year, but since he had come to Lingbei County and taken on the role of the local official, he had to find a way to keep these people alive.

Every year, a significant number of residents in Lingbei County die from starvation.

Cheng Ge Er has two tasks to assist Xu Zeping with. The first is to figure out the entanglement of interests between the wealthy merchants and the officials in Lingbei County. The second is to understand the family traditions of the major clans.

Xu Zeping needs to recruit a merchant willing to supply the necessary funds. As for which merchant that would be? Xu Zeping is more inclined towards one with a conscience, someone who works for the welfare of the common people.

Like the He family from He Luo, known for their honesty and integrity in business.

A husband and wife are one unit, and gathering information through the inner quarters isn't a bad strategy.

"Pingping, I'm sleepy." After listening to Pingping's plans, Cheng Ge Er had a clear understanding of what he needed to do next, but sleepiness weighed heavily on him, making his eyelids droop.

"Xiang'er, you've worked hard." Xu Zeping kissed the cheek of the person in his arms, whispering soothingly, "Rest easy."

The next morning at 5:30 AM, Xu Zeping quietly slipped out of bed.

He dressed and left the bedroom, instructing Autumn and Xia Tian at the main entrance not to wake Cheng Ge Er.

By the time Cheng Ge Er finally opened his eyes comfortably, it was already 8:30 AM.

After days of traveling, his exhaustion finally caught up with him. Even after opening his eyes, he still didn’t want to get up.

Upon asking the time, he realized that Pingping had already gone to the prefectural office.

Xu Zeping was stunned to see only two or three people seated in the second hall and the scattered "three classes" standing on either side. Were there less than twenty people altogether in the three classes and six offices?

He had expected Lingbei County to be poor, but not this poor.

The three classes: station officers (up to eight), bailiffs (up to eight), and civilian guards (up to thirty).

Now, counting them, there were only seven or eight people in the three classes—two officers and four bailiffs. The remaining two could barely be considered as the strong class.

Why barely? Because their graying hair suggested they were nearly sixty years old. In a few more years, Xu Zeping might have to cough and handle their funeral arrangements.

As for the six offices, a solitary figure—a nearly forty-year-old scholar in a robe—stood...

According to the old county magistrate, the officials of the six offices had been dismissed, had died, or had fled. In short, only this one was left.

The deputy magistrate was sixty-seven years old, wearing a worn-out official robe and an ill-fitting official hat, offering a restrained smile...

The old county magistrate mentioned that no one had taken over; if someone had, he would have retired long ago.

The chief clerk appeared to be eighteen or nineteen, with a pair of innocent and clear eyes...

The old county magistrate said that Chen Ling was a promising student, having passed the provincial examinations at eighteen. If it weren’t for his father's poor health and his passing last year, Chen Ling wouldn’t have been forced into the position and could have continued his studies for another two years.

Next was Clerk Liu, who smiled like a Maitreya Buddha.

Seeing this sparse situation, Xu Zeping was truly speechless. In short, he had overestimated the complexity of the situation in Lingbei County.

Xu Zeping, dressed in a brand-new blue-green official robe, sat alongside County Magistrate Xu at the desk. His gentle and dignified demeanor injected a new vitality into the dilapidated and old second hall.

That blue-green official robe was like the vibrant new growth of bamboo in spring.

Many years later, Chen Ling could not forget the scene of his first meeting with County Magistrate Xu.

Dressed in a blue-green official robe, his skin was so fair that he didn’t seem like a mortal, more like a deity sent to save all beings.

"No need for formalities, everyone." Xu Zeping gently raised his hand to signal them to rise, then said with a smile, "I'm new here and don't know my colleagues well yet. Why don't you all introduce yourselves?"

"My name is Yang Jie, and I serve as the deputy magistrate of Lingbei County."

"My name is Chen Ling, and I am the chief clerk of Lingbei County."

"My name is Yuan Yun, and I serve as the clerk of the six departments in Lingbei County."

...

After the introductions, Xu Zeping got a sense of who was who in Lingbei County. Aside from those who drew salaries from the imperial treasury, such as the deputy magistrate and chief clerk, the rest of the subordinates relied on the government's tax revenue to make a living.

The Great Jing used a two-tax system, with taxes collected during the summer and autumn harvests.

Local taxes included land taxes, business taxes, craft taxes, import duties, and salt taxes.

Each type of tax varied, with some being higher and others lower.

However, Lingbei County only collected the first three types, and Xu Zeping had also reviewed the household records passed to him by the old county magistrate. The government's tax revenue mainly came from land taxes.

The land tax of the Great Jing was not heavy, generally taking one-tenth.

But Lingbei's climate is unusual—though it’s supposed to have two autumn harvests, there’s really only one.

After collecting taxes, 70% had to be sent to the national treasury.

This meant that the local government had to rely on the remaining three-tenths to support its officials and handle natural disasters.

Honestly, Xu Zeping felt a chill run down his spine when he saw the financial records.

This summer, the grain collected was 30,000 stones, leaving three-tenths, which amounted to only 9,000 stones of grain.

At first glance, 9,000 stones of grain seemed like a lot, but after doing the math, one stone equals 120 jin, and each jin is worth about 3 to 5 wen. Converted to silver, that comes out to around 7,000 taels.

The annual salary of the county magistrate was 84 stones of grain, 36 taels of silver, and 120 jin of pork.

The deputy magistrate's annual salary was 75 stones of grain, 25 taels of silver, and 80 jin of pork.

The chief clerk's annual salary was 70 stones of grain, 18 taels of silver, 70 jin of pork—these were fixed expenses.

Right now, one jin of pork costs about 15 wen. After all these calculations, does it still seem like much?

When it comes to business taxes, in this farming community where trade isn’t very active, the annual commercial tax revenue was approximately 6,000 to 7,000 taels, with only a few hundred taels retained locally.

That’s why the clerks had already quit.

No matter what, the county magistrate, deputy magistrate, and chief clerk had fixed, specified salaries, but they... well, their income depended on the remaining grain and silver in the government's treasury.

Most of the time, the clerks of each department didn't receive even one tael of silver, so why would they stay in such conditions?

If the clerks couldn't get one tael of silver, what about the armed forces?

They often went hungry and, over time, dispersed.

After the old county magistrate handed over the records of the armed forces and six departments to Xu Zeping, he also publicly passed the official seal and official documents of the Lingbei County magistrate to him in front of everyone.

On September 4th, in the nineteenth year of the Sheng'an era, Xu Zeping officially became the county magistrate of Lingbei County. He was nineteen years old that year.