PS: Thanks to 'Bai Qilin', 'Crimson Moon Lily', 'Xing Zhiyi', and 'Cute Girl' for their precious monthly votes.
PS: Looking up information is really troublesome …
A month later, Sei Itō arrived at the intersection and went to the Provincial Governor's Manor.
Actually, given Sei Itō's speed, no matter how slow he was, it wouldn't take him more than a month to reach the intersection. In fact, it would only take him half a day at most. However, that didn't make sense. The imperial edict of appointment had only been issued the previous night, so how could it appear before the Provincial Governor the next day? Even if Provincial Governor Zhang Jin could recognize the authenticity of the imperial edict, he would still think that it was an exaggeration. Not only would he not treat Sei Itō appropriately, he would even order for him to be captured as a traitor!
Even though Sei Itō didn't possess the strength to do so …
Thus, in order to avoid unnecessary trouble, Sei Itō decided to go on a scenic tour and enjoy the scenery of ancient China. It took him more than a month to reach the intersection.
Of course, Sei Itō wasn't alone at this time. There was a man dressed like a servant beside him.
Upon seeing Sei Itō and Yu Youyou, the soldiers guarding the Provincial Governor's Manor immediately shouted, "Halt!"
"This is the Provincial Governor's Manor. All unrelated personnel should leave at once!"
"This soldier, my lord is the newly appointed Governor of Cangwu Prefecture. I hope that you can pass on a message to the Provincial Governor." Without needing Sei Itō's instructions, the servant stepped forward and introduced them to the two soldiers with a smile on his face.
The two soldiers were taken aback and couldn't help but exchange glances with one another.
"Please wait here." One of them didn't dare to tarry. After greeting the servant, he turned and ran into the Provincial Governor's Manor, leaving the other soldier to watch over Sei Itō and Yu Youyou.
It wasn't until a few minutes later that the soldier ran back.
"My lord invites you in," the soldier said.
"Thank you for your trouble." Ito Mori bowed to the man, then turned to the manservant beside him and said, "You wait here."
"Yes, Master." The servant bowed and replied.
Sei Itō ignored the servant and followed the soldier into the Provincial Governor's Mansion.
Although it was the Provincial Governor's Mansion. However, because it was located in Lingnan, the area under its jurisdiction was mostly mountainous forests and mausoleums, and the people were mostly uncivilized mountain people, the construction of the Provincial Governor's Mansion was not very luxurious. It was very simple and crude, but there were quite a few pavilions inside, one room after another. There were a total of seven to eight rooms. Young women in plain-colored children's clothes were shuttling through the rooms, carrying out ordinary tasks.
Under the curious gazes of the maids, Sei Itō followed the soldiers to a room.
The room was not small, about three or four square meters. A platform about ten centimeters high was built at the innermost part of the room. A short black table was placed on top of it. On one side of the table were dozens of bamboo slips as thick as an arm. There was a man in a red Han costume with a tall crown on his head. His hair was mixed with black and white, and his face was dignified. A red cloth was tied around his forehead. A hale and hearty Confucian scholar, who looked to be in his forties or fifties, was sitting behind the short table. He held a bamboo scroll in his hand and looked at it with interest.
"My lord." The soldier saluted and called out.
The old man raised his head and looked at Sei Itō with a bright gaze that seemed to be able to see through people's hearts.
"Junior Chen Xicheng pays his respects to Provincial Governor." Sei Itō stretched out his arms and raised his thumbs high. His other eight fingers were folded and pressed together. He first raised his hands high above his head. Then, his head and arms moved together as he bowed and greeted.
He was using one of the Nine Rituals of the Han Dynasty, a ritual that was second only to the worship of the ancestors of the Yellow Heaven Houtu.
"You say that you are the newly appointed Governor of Cangwu. Do you have proof?" The Provincial Governor, Zhang Jin, placed the bamboo scroll in his hand back on the short table and looked straight at Sei Itō as he asked calmly.
Although it was just a normal question, the dignified aura of someone who had been in a high position for a long time instantly spread out from his body and pressed down on Sei Itō.
The dignified aura of a mere mortal. Sei Itō was naturally not afraid. Moreover, he had obtained his official position through the orthodox way, so he was not afraid of Zhang Jin's censure. Therefore, he calmly took out an imperial edict made of bright yellow silk cloth from his sleeve and held it in his hand. He said, "I have the appointment letter personally issued by the Emperor."
After saying that, he stepped forward and respectfully handed the imperial edict over.
Seeing the imperial edict, Zhang Jin quickly stood up from the cushion and took the imperial edict with both hands. He unfolded it in front of Sei Itō.
In an instant, the imperial edict, written in official language, recorded Sei Itō's information and appointment letter, as well as the imperial seal, entered Zhang Jin's eyes.
"Hahahaha, with Yi's arrival, Cangwu will definitely be governed." After a while, Zhang Jin closed the imperial edict and walked down from the clay platform with a hearty laugh. He looked at Sei Itō with admiration.
(Author's note: Only now did I realize that during the Three Kingdoms period, people's names were all single characters. Therefore, Sei Itō's name was Chen Yi, and his courtesy name was Xicheng.)
"Your Excellency is too kind. If Cangwu can be governed, it must be because of the Provincial Governor's contributions in the past. It is not Yi's strength," Sei Itō said modestly.
"Hahaha, Xicheng is too humble," Zhang Jin said with a smile.
As expected, regardless of one's status, one loved to hear flattery. Just a moment ago, they were still calling each other Yi, Yi, but in the blink of an eye, they were calling each other Xicheng. It seemed that their relationship had become much closer.
Sei Itō smiled and did not say anything.
"Men," Zhang Jin turned to look outside the room and shouted loudly.
"Your Excellency," a soldier hurriedly appeared and replied respectfully.
"Go and inform Registrar Cao and the others to come to my place. I want to set up a banquet," Zhang Jin ordered.
"Yes," the soldier replied and quickly retreated.
After instructing the soldier, Zhang Jin turned to Sei Itō and pointed to a praying mat beside him and said, "Sit."
However, at this time, Zhang Jin only felt that Ito Sei's eyes in front of him lit up, and his consciousness became blurred. However, this feeling did not last long. In less than a few seconds, he woke up.
"Your Excellency, are you alright?" At this moment, Sei Itō's concerned voice sounded in Zhang Jin's ears.
"Oh, I'm fine. It's probably because I've been reading for too long that I suddenly feel a little dizzy," Zhang Jin shook his head and smiled at Sei Itō.
However, for some reason, he suddenly had a much better impression of this person from Youzhou who had appeared out of nowhere. He felt that this person was someone he could trust and did not need to pay any special attention to or suppress.
"Your Excellency's health is very important. You should take care of your body," Sei Itō pretended to be concerned and said.
"This old man understands," Zhang Jin said with a smile. Then, he turned around and sat down behind the short table and began to chat with Sei Itō.
After about fifteen minutes, more and more people started to appear in the room. For example, the Garrison General XX, Registrar XX, Marquis XX, Sergeant XX, Official XX, etc. They included more than a dozen people from the upper echelons of the building. Then, under Zhang Jin's introduction, they became familiar with each other.
Then, under Zhang Jin's lead, they moved to a larger room. They drank and ate, and continued to deepen their relationship with each other through a banquet.
… …
A day later.
"Xicheng, if you encounter any difficulties in Cangwu, you can send someone to deliver a letter to me. If I can help, I will help Xicheng resolve it. " Accompanied by several officials from the upper echelons of the building, the leader, Zhang Jin, looked at Sei Itō with a kind gaze and promised.
"Thank you for your kindness, Your Excellency. I will not disappoint Your Excellency!" Sei Itō bowed.
"Everyone, I will take my leave." Then, Sei Itō bowed to the others. The others hurriedly bowed back.
Then, Sei Itō straightened up. After that, he leaped onto a sturdy horse and shook the reins, causing the horse to emit a clear crack before he led his servant towards Dark Parasol.
Several days later, Sei Itō and his servant arrived at Guangxin County, the capital of Cangwu County.
Cangwu County was located to the south of Changsha County and to the north of Guilin County. Its territory was roughly equivalent to Guangxi's Dupang Ling and Great Jade Mountain. It was west of Zhaoqing and Luoding in Guangdong, south of Jiangyong and Jianghua in Hunan, and north of Teng County in Guangxi and Xinyi in Guangdong. Compared to Lingling and Guiyang, it was surrounded by Yulin, Hepu, and Hainan Counties. It governed six counties, namely Guangxin County, Xiemu County, Gaoyao County, Fengyang County, Duanxi County, and Hengping County, which was newly established in the fourteenth year of Emperor Ming's Yongping. In terms of location, it was nothing special. Most of its territory consisted of mountains and hills. The people of Yue County were overflowing. Often, they would leave the mountains and invade the borders. Moreover, when Cao Cao rose to power, it would be the frontline of the war against Jingzhou. The vanguard of the army was there.
Sei Itō and his servant rode straight to the county office.
"Who goes there?" a man who appeared to be a soldier asked loudly.
"Call your Excellency out. Tell him that the new governor has arrived." The servant sat high on the horse and looked down at the soldier.
The latter was alarmed. Regardless of whether it was true or not, he hurriedly ran into the office to call for his Excellency.
In just two or three minutes, a middle-aged man dressed in dark-colored Han clothing, with a thin figure, dark skin, and a small beard, walked out of the office. Beside him was the soldier who had just gone in to report.
"My Excellency, it's them." The soldier quickly said.
"Sir, you say that you are the new governor. Do you have proof?" The man sized up Sei Itō. When he saw that the clothes he was wearing, the horse he was riding, the weapon at his waist, and the shoes on his feet were all extraordinary items, he immediately believed him. He hurriedly stepped forward and spoke politely.
Sei Itō, who had just dismounted, smiled and said, "Of course I do." He then took out the imperial edict and handed it to the man. The latter respectfully took it and carefully unfolded the edict to read it.
Sure enough, after a while, the man's expression changed. He saluted and said, "Your subordinate, Zhao Xin, the county officer of Guangxin County, greets my Excellency."
Sei Itō nodded in acknowledgment of the salute. He raised his head and puffed out his chest as he walked into the county office.
"Quickly inform Excellency Zhou and Excellency Zhang to come to the county office." Zhao Xin did not dare to hesitate. He quickly whispered an order to the soldier beside him and quickly caught up with Sei Itō to lead the way for this new officer.
After a few turns, the group arrived at the back hall of the county office.
"County Officer Zhao, are you a local?" Sei Itō asked as he sat down on the main seat.
"Yes." Zhao Xin's heart tightened when he heard this and he quickly replied.
"Then you must be very familiar with the situation in this county?" Sei Itō raised his eyebrows.
"I know a little." Zhao Xin's expression became even more cautious as he replied.
"Good. I'll have to trouble County Officer Zhao to tell me about the situation in Cangwu County." Sei Itō said calmly.
"Yes." Zhao Xin respectfully replied and then began to talk about the situation in Cangwu County.
Through Zhao Xin's narration, Sei Itō quickly gained a general understanding of the power distribution in Cangwu County. For example, Sei Itō now knew that there were a few aristocratic families in Cangwu County and what kind of relationship these aristocratic families had with the government. Some of the officials were members of aristocratic families. The situation of the officials in each county, the state of the county, and the number of soldiers each county had allowed him to not be in the dark.
After more than ten minutes, there was a series of hurried footsteps. Two men, one tall and one short, one fat and one skinny, dressed in official robes, quickly walked in from outside the door.
"Subordinate Zhou Chao (Zhang Li) pays his respects to Governor." When they saw Sei Itō sitting on the main seat, the two men quickly stopped in their tracks and bowed.
Zhou Chao's courtesy name was Fu Xun. According to Zhao Xin, he was from Jingzhou. He was forty-six years old and was currently the county magistrate of Guangxin County. Zhang Li's courtesy name was Ren Chao (Zhao). He was thirty-eight years old and came from an aristocratic family. He was currently the county magistrate.
"Rise." Sei Itō said calmly.
The two men hurriedly straightened their backs. However, before they could see Sei Itō's face clearly, two dazzling rays of light instantly shot into their eyes, as well as Zhao Xin's, who was drinking beside them.
"My Lord." After a moment, the three men regained their senses and bowed respectfully to Sei Itō. It was as though they were servants of this era meeting their master.
"Zhao Xin, gather all the soldiers in the county," Sei Itō, who had hypnotized the three men, did not hesitate and immediately ordered.
"Yes." Zhao Xin accepted the order and left the back hall.
"Zhou Chao, Zhang Li, go and invite all the family heads of the aristocratic families in the county here," Sei Itō ordered again.
"Yes." The two men complied and quickly left the room.
"The road to glory and hegemony will start from this small Guangxin County," Sei Itō muttered to himself as he watched the three men leave.
…
"My Lord." At the same time, in Guangxin County's Zhao Clan, a man who looked like a servant hurriedly ran into the room and called out.
The Zhao Clan was the largest aristocratic family in Guangxin County. It was not because they were the strongest among all the aristocratic families, but because they had someone in the family serving in the government. That person was none other than the county magistrate Zhao Xin, who was in charge of the county's soldiers and law and order. He was the son of the Zhao Clan's patriarch.
"What is it?" The old man sitting in the central room frowned slightly and asked with a displeased expression.
"I heard from the county government that the new governor of Cangwu County has arrived," the man hurriedly replied.
"Is that true?" The old man's expression changed slightly as he hurriedly asked.
"It should be true. It is said that the young master personally brought that person into the county government, "the man replied.
At this moment, another man quickly walked into the room.
"My Lord, county magistrate Zhou of the county government is here," the man respectfully reported.
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