Chapter 85: Magistrate Zhang 3/3

The change this time was not significant, but to improve handwriting to this extent, even a slight improvement would be extremely difficult!

“Your handwriting, I can no longer compare to.” County Magistrate Gou sighed, then began to praise Li Qingzhi.

Li Qingzhi was very happy to be praised, but on the other hand, Sun Juren was a bit anxious.

He contacted his friend, wanting his friend to lodge a complaint in front of Magistrate Zhang in Hexing Prefecture. However, it just happened that Magistrate Zhang was very busy, and his friend hadn’t seen Magistrate Zhang for several days in a row.

That’s not all. County Magistrate Gou treated those laborers particularly well!

He not only gave them meat to eat but also invited doctors to treat them.

In the past, it was common for laborers conscripted by the government to die, but this time… it had been quite a few days, and not a single person had fallen ill!

Because County Magistrate Gou had people tell the laborers his story, the laborers were becoming more and more fond of County Magistrate Gou…

At first, Sun Juren didn’t intend to take action, but now… he couldn’t afford not to.

But even if he wanted to take action, he would have to wait until Magistrate Zhang arrived. But where was Magistrate Zhang?

Sun Juren was anxiously waiting when someone rushed in from outside. “Sir, there’s a letter from the prefectural city!”

After being bedridden due to anger, Sun Juren’s health hadn’t been very good. He lay still on the bed all day, but when he opened this letter…

Sun Juren sat up in bed, shouted in joy, and had his steward summoned.

Magistrate Zhang was coming to Chongcheng County!

He needed to make arrangements as soon as possible!

Indeed, Magistrate Zhang was coming to the prefectural city.

With the New Year approaching, Magistrate Zhang has been quite busy lately. It wasn’t until yesterday, when he felt like playing chess, that he finally found time to play chess with Sun Juren’s friend.

It was during the chess game that Magistrate Zhang learned from Sun Juren’s friend about the situation where the county magistrate of Chongcheng had conscripted many laborers to build a new wharf.

Hexing Prefecture is crisscrossed with waterways, and most people travel by boat. The docks are very important to the common people.

Magistrate Zhang had proposed to build more river docks throughout the prefecture to facilitate the people. But building river docks was not the same as building large docks!

Chongcheng County originally had a dock, so why build another one? Building a dock would inevitably involve widening the river channel and moving a lot of stones. Could the people endure such hard work in the dead of winter? County Magistrate Gou, having a dock in Chongcheng County already, wanted to build another one. This was definitely for political achievements… Ignoring the life and death of the people for his own political achievements, Magistrate Zhang immediately became unhappy and decided to go to Chongcheng County to see for himself.

He had planned to visit various places before the New Year, and Chongcheng County could be his first stop.

Magistrate Zhang planned to depart early today, and Sun Juren’s friend had written a letter last night, asking someone to deliver it to Sun Juren.

The messenger arrived in Chongcheng County late at night, slept on the boat, and came to Sun Juren’s house early this morning to deliver the letter.

Meanwhile, Magistrate Zhang had already set off from the prefectural city.

Magistrate Zhang, nearing fifty, with white hair, had passed the imperial examination at a young age and had once had a successful career due to his family background. Unfortunately, over a decade ago, he accidentally offended the King of Jin, who controlled the court, and was exiled to the northern frontier. Even with the help of relatives and friends, he suffered a lot during his exile and witnessed the hardships of the common people. Later, when the King of Jin died suddenly, the current emperor finally came to power and summoned back those loyal officials persecuted by the King of Jin, and Magistrate Zhang was one of them. After returning to the court, Magistrate Zhang rose rapidly through the ranks and even reached the rank of second-grade official. However, his good fortune didn’t last long, as he offended the eunuch Lu Qingxi, who was deeply trusted by the emperor and held great power. Two years ago, he was expelled from the capital and became the magistrate of Hexing Prefecture. During these two years, he had been very concerned about the people and had done a lot for them, focusing entirely on their livelihoods.

When Magistrate Zhang was exiled, his family was not implicated, but he spent several years in the northern frontier. During those years, his only son died of illness, and his wife couldn’t bear the blow and also passed away. Now, Magistrate Zhang was alone, without sons or daughters, and he looked much older than his actual age, with wrinkles on his forehead and between his eyebrows.

He had extremely strict requirements for himself and lived a very simple life. This time, he was traveling to Chongcheng County on nothing more than an ordinary canopy boat, accompanied only by Sun Juren’s friend and two attendants.

Sun Juren’s friend was very uncomfortable with this. He was a local, very wealthy, and lived a luxurious life. Normally, when traveling, he would not only ride a large boat but also have at least two small boats following behind, ready to obey his commands.

But everyone knew Magistrate Zhang’s temper. He dared to impeach the King of Jin and scold Lu Qingxi… No one in the prefectural city dared to offend him, so Sun Juren’s friend didn’t dare to voice any objections.

Sitting in such a small boat was very uncomfortable, and Sun Juren’s friend felt uncomfortable all over after sitting for a long time. As for Magistrate Zhang, he sat upright, with a serious expression, giving nothing away.

The prefectural city was to the east of Chongcheng County, while the new dock was to the west. Magistrate Zhang wanted to go and see the new dock, but he arrived at the county seat of Chongcheng County first.

The sampan they were traveling on was rented by Magistrate Zhang with no provisions on board. Sun Juren’s friend, feeling hungry and thirsty after the long journey, suggested, “Sir, we’ve been traveling all morning. Why don’t we take a break in the county town and have something to eat?”

Magistrate Zhang, being from the north, never felt comfortable on boats and didn’t have much appetite himself. However, he realized the boatmen and servants must be hungry… so he nodded in agreement.

They found a riverbank to stop at. As they disembarked, Magistrate Zhang noticed a group of women passing by, chatting and laughing while carrying some cloth. Sun Juren’s friend frowned at the scene, finding it vulgar, but Magistrate Zhang’s furrowed brow relaxed slightly.

The river in the county town of Chongcheng was clear, and people were smiling as they passed by… it seemed like everyone was doing well.

However, just as Magistrate Zhang thought this, his expression darkened.

County Magistrate Gou had only been in office for a year, and Chongcheng County’s prosperity wasn’t because of him.

In fact, Magistrate Zhang had visited Chongcheng County last year, and it was just as bustling then.

It was the laborers who were suffering because of County Magistrate Gou.

With these thoughts, Magistrate Zhang lost his appetite. He found a noodle stall and sat down to eat.

After a while, he suddenly asked the old woman serving him noodles, “Ma’am, how’s life treating you?”

The old woman smiled and replied, “Life’s been good. My son is filial, and everything’s been smooth.”

Magistrate Zhang then asked, “Ma’am, what do you think of the county magistrate?”

At the mention of this, the old woman’s eyes sparkled. “The county magistrate is a good man! Back then, Zhang Chuqian’s people used to come here every day asking for money. They would take away half of what we earned at the noodle stall! But now, things are different. Zhang Chuqian has been thrown into prison by the county magistrate!”

After she spoke, someone else chimed in, “That’s right, the county magistrate is a great man!”

And another added, “The county magistrate is particularly adept at judging cases!”

The crowd began to praise the county magistrate one after another.

Magistrate Zhang was stunned. This wasn’t what he had expected.

On the other side, Sun Juren arranged for someone to guard the river mouth, hoping to intercept Magistrate Zhang. But his men were only keeping an eye on the grandiose boats, not the simple sampan that Magistrate Zhang was traveling in!