After the meal, the local people and the people brought by Feng Kaifeng started working again. No matter what, they had to finish building the pier today.
Zhang Zhong did not plan to go to the yamen today as it was already late. However, Zhang Xiaobao insisted on going. He wanted to see what was going on there. The sooner he found out, the sooner he could find a way to deal with it and move in.
The four of them did not want to go as well. They were tired after a day of work. However, when they looked at the hundreds of armed people around Zhang Zhong, they were afraid that Zhang Zhong, the provincial governor who dared to do anything, would hurt them. Therefore, they could only force themselves to go to the yamen together despite their tiredness.
Lu Zhou's yamen was in Ulei County. It was not far from the county yamen. Under such circumstances, the officials in the county yamen would be very uncomfortable, especially the county magistrate. He was supposed to be the highest official in the county, but he still had to listen to the yamen's orders. He could not show his authority at all.
However, Lu Zhou seemed to be the opposite. The original provincial governor wanted his yamen to be further away from the county yamen. He only had 50 soldiers, but there were 150 yamen runners in Ulei County yamen. Even if the yamen was far away from the Emperor, they were still equipped with weapons. The county magistrate, Zhang Yi, bought these weapons with his own money. As for where he got the money, it was simple.
The group walked for nearly four hours. First, they passed by the county yamen. From the outside, it looked like a dilapidated place. Fortunately, the door did not fall off. However, they could see the two-story building inside. It was built well. This should be the county magistrate's house.
That was Wang Juan's thought. A county magistrate, especially one in such a remote place, wanted to build a building with his salary? Dream on! If his family was really capable, who would come here to be a county magistrate? This was different from Zhang Zhong. Zhang Zhong was promoted from a seventh-grade to a fourth-grade. If he found a good province, no one would want to do it.
The group continued to move forward. After walking for about half an hour, the magistrate's office appeared in front of them. The low walls were built with mud. The paint on the door had almost faded away. There were small holes made by insects. Looking through the wall, the place was not small.
Unfortunately, there were no two-story buildings. At this time, except for a few people who were doing odd jobs, there was no one else in sight. The odd jobs were sitting next to a pile of fire and eating. The rest of the place was dark.
He directly asked someone to open the door. With a squeaking sound, the door was completely opened. Only then did the people inside come over. The reason why the door could be opened just now was because they didn't bolt it.
With the help of the lanterns on Zhang Zhong's side, they saw Zhang Zhong's clothes and immediately knew who had come. They bowed and invited him in.
Zhang Zhong first came to the hall in the manor that specialized in handling cases. He walked to the side of the table and looked at it. There was a layer of dust on it. It seemed that nothing had been done for a long time. He then turned to the study. The study was empty. There was not even a small table, let alone a book. From the traces on the ground, he knew that the previous owner had moved everything that could be moved. How poor was he?
He then looked at the signing room and other places. They were also empty. Zhang Zhong helplessly shook his head. He knew that it was not easy for others to become an official. These things would not be left behind. There were new things on the ship. No wonder all the officials were so greedy. It was not easy to become an official. If they were not greedy, how could they entertain others and give their families a good life?
Perhaps only those officials who were really willing to do things for the people could be less greedy. There were also the children from the big families. They did not need to be greedy. They only wanted to achieve political achievements. Although he was not a member of a big family, his family had a lot of businesses. Instead of spending so much effort to get a few thousand strings of coins, even if it was tens of thousands of strings of coins, it would be better to take a rest during the leisure time.
After taking a look at the manor's office, he walked to the back. The back was similar to Huayuan County, where there were many courtyards. Perhaps it was because the land here was not valuable, but the courtyards at the back were more than twice the size of those in Huayuan County.
When walking with a lantern in the dark, he had to pay more attention to his feet. This place was okay. There were no bluestones on the road, but some sand. The sides of the road were bare. There were no flowers or plants. Two kapok trees stood in the middle of the courtyard. After walking a few steps, Zhang Zhong found that something was wrong.
There was water here. With the light of the lantern, it looked sparkling. When he entered the main courtyard, he could not find a foothold. He looked at the main room. The paper on the window had been torn by the wind and rain. Only a few small pieces were stuck on the window frame.
"This main room seems to be unoccupied. There is a lot of water, so it is wet. It should be the same in other places, right?" Zhang Zhong asked the handyman.
"In reply to Master, that is indeed the case. I don't know why, but water keeps seeping out of this place. People who live in such a place will feel especially uncomfortable. If Master has money, why don't you buy a house outside? Governor Shi has always wanted to buy a house, but unfortunately, he didn't have enough money."
The handyman answered respectfully. He saw that the new Provincial Governor was accompanied by so many armed people and felt that he should be rich.
"Well, this matter is not urgent. You all look around. The people of the Vigorous Protection Team, Xiao Bao, and Cuckoo, follow me to other places."
Zhang Zhong did not know what to do. He asked his son and daughter-in-law anxiously. He sent the others away and led the crowd to the back. After walking for a while, the people of the Protection Team spread out to be on guard. Zhang Zhong looked at his son.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan looked at each other. He squatted down and dipped his finger in the water. He licked it with his tongue and said, "It is not seawater. There is no bitterness or saltiness. It should be underground water seeping up. We need to ask others about the seepage speed.
If it is normal underground water seeping up, it means that the terrain here is low. If the terrain here is not low and it can still seep up, it means … "
"It means that there is pressurized water below. We can make an artesian well. Huzi, go and ask the handyman what is going on here." Wang Juan judged after Zhang Xiaobao's words.
Huzi ran out. After a while, he came back and reported, "This place is higher than other places. There is usually five feet of water in the main house. It has been built with such a high wall. The water will not seep out at that height. But in this way, other places will follow and seep up. It is not fast, but it is not slow either.
The previous governor asked his family to dig a ditch for the water to flow out. It is behind. You will know if you take a look. The previous governor wanted to dig more ditches, but he found that more water came out. The surrounding area is all wet. There are many houses next to the yamen. The people are not willing to do so, so they have to fill it up.
Also, there is a river three li away from here. The previous governor wanted to dig a river across, but the four judges in the yamen did not agree. They said that the yamen's money was a waste of people's money. The county magistrate also told the people not to come and help, so the people did not dare to come. Besides, the previous governor did not have the money to work. "
After Huzi finished speaking, he retreated to the side. There was nothing else for him to do.
Zhang Xiaobao, Wang Juan, and Zhang Zhong walked to the back together. At the back, they saw a ditch. The water gathered together and flowed out along the ditch. When they pushed open the back door, they saw that the water in the ditch flowed in the direction of a few houses. As they walked forward, they saw that the houses had dug ditches themselves and led the water to other places.
"I understand. There is no infrastructure here at all. When the rain falls, the rainwater flows in the same direction as the gutters. I really feel sorry for that Shi guy. The Provincial Governor is such a high-ranking official. For him to treat such a situation like this, he must not be an ordinary person."
Zhang Xiaobao did not need to follow them to know what was going on. He wondered how that person became the Provincial Governor.
"Didn't you hear what Huzi said just now? The Provincial Governor wanted to do something, but those four people stopped him first. Then, the County Magistrate threatened the people. Their family doesn't have much money to hire people to do private work, so they just dragged on like this. These people are really bad. From the looks of it, the four judges and Zhang Yi are bullying the Provincial Governor."
Wang Juan analyzed at the side. She wanted to tell Zhang Xiaobao to quickly think of a solution. Otherwise, his father would also be bullied.
Zhang Xiaobao curled his lips in disdain. "Let's see who dares to use the original method on our family. This place is settled. It is good to have an artesian well. Dig down from the unimportant courtyard and build a pond. Then connect it to the river three miles away. There is running water.
Think about it. The Provincial Governor's family does not have much money, but he privately raises 50 soldiers and makes weapons for them. Why is that? The cost of raising those soldiers is not small. Does it mean that he is afraid of his family's lives being threatened? Then who can threaten his life? "
"The bailiffs do not dare. The county magistrate will not let the bailiffs do such things. However, outsiders dare, especially his family. I think that person is related to Zhang Yi. In other words, when someone threatens the lives of the Provincial Governor's family, the bailiffs will not appear. We can't count on them at all."
Wang Juan added. This kind of thing was very common. It seemed confusing, but it was easy to understand once you knew. If there was anyone to blame, it would be the Provincial Governor's incompetence. A powerful person would take care of the other party.
Zhang Zhong listened at the side and also felt that this was the case. However, he was not afraid. His family was rich. They did not have to worry about whether they had enough money to raise a few hundred more people. There was also the Little Prince's guards. His family would not be harmed.
*****
Zhang Zhong and his family were analyzing the situation and deciding to live in the manor. At the same time, in the yamen of Ulei County, more than ten people gathered together to discuss the matter.
"County Magistrate Zhang, I heard that the new Provincial Governor is not ordinary. His family is rich and there are many people protecting him. Is the previous method no longer working? Why don't we give him some of the salt pan and some of the other precious tributes? "
A skinny man who was half a head taller than the others was sitting on a futon opposite Zhang Yi as he spoke to Zhang Yi.
"His family is rich? You believe that he can casually take out tens of thousands of strings of coins? Don't use the previous method of threatening him. Tomorrow, find a way to find him and find an opportunity to give him a thousand strings of coins. See what he will do. "
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