In the side hall of the yamen in Luoyang, Zhang County Magistrates poured a cup of tea for Li Mu and asked in surprise, "Why are you in Luoyang?"
Li Mu replied, "I was transferred here because of the Chu Jiang Of Gojoseon incident."
He looked at Zhang County Magistrates and asked, "Sir, how did you become a Shendu Commandant? I remember that you were transferred to a county in Zhongjun to be a county magistrate …"
"It's a long story." Zhang County Magistrates sighed and said, "Before I was appointed, the original Shendu Commandant was removed from his position and sent to prison. I don't know why the imperial court sent me to replace him …"
The change from Yangqiu County Magistrate to Shendu Commandant was not much of a difference in terms of jurisdiction. It was even smaller. However, the yamen was directly under the imperial court and its administrative level was equivalent to that of a county. Zhang County Magistrates had been dormant in Yangqiu County for ten years and finally achieved a three-rank promotion today.
Li Mu clasped his hands and said, "Congratulations, Sir. Congratulations …"
"Congratulations my ass …" Zhang County Magistrates drank the tea in his cup in one gulp and leaned back in his chair with a hopeless expression. He said, "It's not easy to be in this position. The imperial court changes several Shendu Commandants every year. It's better to be in Yangqiu County. I don't want to follow in the footsteps of my predecessor …"
He looked at Li Mu and said sympathetically, "It's not easy for you to be in this position. Do you know what happened to your predecessor, your predecessor, your predecessor, and your predecessor?"
Li Mu said, "Dead, blind, and crippled?"
Zhang County Magistrates was stunned. "How dare you come here if you know?"
Li Mu sighed helplessly and asked, "I just found out. Sir, do you know the inside story?"
Zhang County Magistrates nodded and said, "I've only heard about it. The arrester before the yamen was beheaded by His Majesty because of corruption and disregard for human life. The arrester before the previous arrester only took office for three days before he broke both his legs and resigned. The previous arrester suddenly lost his sight the day before he took office …"
Li Mu said in shock, "How did that happen?"
Zhang County Magistrates sighed and said, "The yamen sounds impressive, but it's actually a coward. Nominally, it's in charge of everything in Luoyang, but it doesn't dare to manage 30% of the things that happen in Luoyang. The yamen can't handle 30% of the things that happen in Luoyang. If they make a slight mistake, not only will they lose their position, they won't be able to keep it, their heads won't be able to keep it."
If Li Mu had known that his predecessors all ended up like this, he wouldn't have come to this damned place even if he was beaten to death.
Now, he had already boasted to Liu Hanyan and Wanwan that he would make a name for himself in Fairy's Capital in a year's time and bring them to Fairy's Capital in a grand manner. It was too late to run away now.
Zhang County Magistrates looked at Li Mu and said, "In short, you have to be careful when you work here. Don't cause any trouble …"
Li Mu shook his head and asked, "Sir, do I look like someone who would cause trouble?"
Li Mu was a little depressed about the previous arresters' fates. However, he had encountered more than just bad things in Luoyang this time.
At the very least, his immediate superior was an old acquaintance. At the very least, his life in the yamen would be much better and he wouldn't be bullied by others. Before Li Mu came here, he was still worried that he would be assigned to work under someone from the old party. Now, he could rest assured.
Li Mu carried Xiao Bai and walked out of the side hall. The arrester from before came up and said, "Arrester Li, I'll take you to your place."
The yamen was very big. As an arrester, Li Mu had his own private residence in the yamen in Luoyang.
The arrester led Li Mu through a few moon gates and brought him to a small courtyard. He said, "This is where you'll be staying. Your subordinates have already cleaned it up for you …"
Regardless of how the job of arrester in the yamen was, at least the treatment was much better than in the county yamen.
Although there was only one room and the courtyard was very narrow, at least they didn't have to squeeze with many people. It was enough for Li Mu and Xiao Bai.
This time, he came to Luoyang with a lot of banknotes. But it was obviously more convenient and safer to live in the yamen than outside.
When he had a firm foothold in Luoyang, he would buy a house in the city and wait for Liu Hanyan and Wanwan to come.
The arrester helped Li Mu put the bundle into the room and gave him the key. He said, "The bedding on the bed is old. If you don't like it, I'll throw it away for you. You can go to the tailor shop on the street and buy a new one …"
Li Mu wasn't used to using things used by strangers. He said, "Then throw it away."
The arrester carried the bedding and ran out quickly. After a while, he came back huffing and puffing. He asked, "Arrester Li, do you have any other orders?"
This arrester was quite perceptive. From his accent, Li Mu guessed that he was born and raised in Luoyang. He had just arrived in Luoyang and wasn't familiar with everything. He needed someone who was familiar with this place.
Li Mu looked at him and asked, "What's your name?"
The arrester said, "I'm Wang Wu."
Li Mu continued to ask, "Wang Wu, how long have you been in the yamen?"
Wang Wu smiled and said, "I grew up in Luoyang. Five years ago, I replaced my father and came to the yamen."
Li Mu said, "Then you should be very familiar with Luoyang."
Wang Wu said embarrassedly, "I'm not bragging, but in Luoyang, I can find any place you want even if I close my eyes."
"That's good." Li Mu said, "This is my first time in Luoyang. Show me around and buy some daily necessities."
Wang Wu immediately agreed. He walked in front of Li Mu. When they left the yamen, they met several arresters.
Wang Wu walked up and said to them, "This is Arrester Li, the new one in the yamen."
Several of them immediately saluted Li Mu and said, "Greetings, Arrester Li."
Only a middle-aged arrester with a long face only glanced at Li Mu before he turned his head and stood to the side with his knife.
When they walked out of the yamen, Wang Wu took the initiative to say, "That's Deputy Arrester Sun. Originally, everyone thought that after the previous arrester resigned, he should be the next arrester. Now that you've come to the yamen, he might be a little dissatisfied, but he'll be fine after a while …"
Li Mu pursed his lips and said, "Who would dare to fight for this lousy job? If he's willing, I'll trade with him."
Wang Wu said in surprise, "Does Arrester Li also know that this isn't a good job?"
Li Mu said, "You all know, right?"
Wang Wu chuckled and said, "The arresters in the yamen have changed three times in two months. Everyone has seen it. Only Deputy Arrester Sun is stubborn. He's only thinking about five times the salary. But he has to be alive to earn this salary, but he also has to be alive to spend it …"
Li Mu said, "It seems that you know the previous arresters very well. Tell me, why did they leave their posts?"
Wang Wu said, "This constable before that was because he stood on the wrong side. He stood on the side of the old party, shielded the old party members, took bribes, bent the law, and disregarded human life. After the internal guards found out, he was sentenced to be executed …"
Wang Wu had been in the yamen all this time, so he knew more inside information than Lord Zhang, who had just arrived.
Li Mu asked again, "What about the other two?"
Wang Wu said, "As for the other two, one of them fell down three days after his appointment, shattering his leg bones. The other one blinded his own eyes the day before his appointment. The next one will be you …"
Wang Wu looked around and whispered to Li Mu, "I've heard of your deeds of cursing the heavens and cursing the earth. I admire you a lot, but I have to remind you that Luoyang is different from the outside world. The new party and the old party are not as simple as you think. If Arrester Li doesn't want to follow in the footsteps of the previous arresters, you have to be very careful. Isn't it comfortable to go shopping and drink tea every day? If you see some things, just pretend you didn't see them. After all, there are so many yamens in Luoyang. The more you do, the more mistakes you make. It's good to not do it …"
Li Mu glanced at him and said, "You see it clearly."
Wang Wu sighed and said, "Only you. If it were someone else, I wouldn't have said so much to him."
Wang Wu tried his best to persuade Li Mu, and Li Mu kept it in mind.
No wonder he could stay in the yamen for so long. His awareness was even better than Lord Zhang's.
Since it was not easy to see through the new party and the old party, he would not look at it anymore.
As a small official in Luoyang, he only needed to do his job well.
The two of them walked on the street. Someone rode on a horse on the street, causing the people to panic. Wang Wu hurriedly pulled Li Mu to the side to hide.
Even Yangqiu County and North County did not allow horses on the street. Li Mu asked Wang Wu, "Are horses allowed on the streets of Luoyang?"
"No." Wang Wu shook his head and said, "Arrester Li will know about these things in the future."
An old woman dodged in a hurry and fell to the ground. The passersby hurriedly walked past her, but no one helped her.
Li Mu walked over and helped the old woman up. He asked, "Are you alright?"
The old woman shook her head and said, "I'm fine. Thank you, young man."
After helping the old woman sit on the side of the road to rest, Li Mu and Wang Wu continued forward. Li Mu sighed and said, "Is this really Luoyang?"
"You can't blame them." Wang Wu shook his head and said, "A few months ago, someone helped an old woman up on the street and was accused by the old woman. Later, the case was reported to the yamen. At that time, the captain sentenced the person who helped the old woman to 20 strokes of the cane and fined a lot of silver. Now that something like this has happened, everyone is afraid …"
Wang Wu said, "I know Arrester Li is from North County, but Luoyang is different from North County. You might not be used to it at first, but after seeing it more, you won't find it strange …"
Li Mu asked, "Does His Majesty not care about this?"
Wang Wu shook his head and said, "His Majesty is in charge of the affairs of the 36 counties. He doesn't have the time to care about this. If Arrester Li doesn't want to offend the old party or the new party, then just turn a blind eye. Or just close both eyes …"
Li Mu originally thought that Yangqiu County was a special case.
After all, Yangqiu County and County County still had justice and justice. Luoyang was the capital of Great Zhou, so there must be more order. Now it seemed that Yangqiu County and County County were special cases …
Soon, Wang Wu took him to a tailor shop. In this shop, in addition to tailoring clothes for people, there were also ready-made bedding for sale.
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