Chapter 120

Yang Zhengshan glanced at the officials in front of him meaningfully and said, "Who is the official in charge of the government office?"

A Lingli is a clerk in the garrison office, similar to an administrative secretary. Although he has no rank, his status is special because he is the secretary of the leader.

"Sir, I'm here!"

A gray-haired old man came from behind a group of military officers and bowed to Yang Zhengshan with a flattering smile on his face.

Li are not officials, they have no rank.

When dealing with officials, Yang Zhengshan had to consider the attitude of the Wei Si Yamen, but when dealing with clerks in the government office, Yang Zhengshan only needed to say a word.

These officials dared to leave him alone, but the clerks in the yamen did not dare to do so.

"Take me to the government office!"

At this time, Yang Zhengshan was too lazy to say more to his subordinates and just got on his horse and said, "Lead the way!"

The clerk dared not say anything else, nor did he care about other officials, and just led the way.

Soon, their long team entered the city, but the military officers stood there looking at each other.

Finally, everyone's eyes fell on the middle-aged man who was in the lead.

"Captain Qian, what should we do?" The garrison officer Tian Gui stepped forward and asked Captain Xu Wanfu in a low voice.

Xu Wanfu looked at the convoy entering the city with a gloomy face, frowned, and said, "What else can we do? Let's go back to the government office and see what the garrison commander has to say!"

Xu Wanfu was a thousand-householder. The garrison of Anyuanzhou City could be served by a deputy commander of the guards or a deputy commander of the guards. After Cao Han was convicted, there was a great chance that he, a thousand-householder and commander, would become the garrison commander of Anyuanzhou City.

However, he used a lot of connections but still failed to get the position of garrison commander.

Now that Yang Zhengshan has come to take office, he is naturally unwilling.

Of course, this is not the main reason. The reason why he had to give Yang Zhengshan a hard time was mainly because the position of guarding Anyuanzhou City had some special significance.

For him and the people behind him, this is a position that cannot be lost.

Although he wished Yang Zhengshan would die in his heart, on the surface he still had to go to the government office and wait for Yang Zhengshan's instructions.

After all, Yang Zhengshan was their superior. Even if they were dissatisfied, they could not commit crimes against their superior.

At this time, Yang Zhengshan didn't care about what Xu Wanfu and others were thinking. After entering Anyuanzhou City, he looked around the situation in the city.

Anyuan Prefecture had a prefecture chief, which was directly under the jurisdiction of Songzhou Prefecture and had jurisdiction over Yuanhe County and Chengyang County.

After entering the city gate, you will see the South Street of the state capital. On both sides of the bluestone street, there are many wine shops, tea houses and shops. Most of the pedestrians on the street are ordinary people in tattered clothes. A few are wearing silk and satin, and there are also many beggars begging along the street.

When Yang Zhengshan entered the city, many pedestrians on the street pointed at them.

At this time, Yang Zhengshan did not bring any ceremonial guards, but he was wearing the regular clothes of a third-rank official, that is, a black gauze hat, a round-collared shirt, a belt, and a scarlet robe with a tiger patch painted on the chest.

The clothes he wore showed that he was the garrison commander of Anyuan city.

In the entire Anyuan city, no one except Yang Zhengshan could wear such an official robe.

"Is this the new garrison commander?"

"It must be, I don't know where it came from!"

"He doesn't look very old!"

A group of passers-by stood on the roadside and talked.

Yang Zhengshan was riding on a horse when he suddenly heard someone say that he was not very old. He could not help but look up.

Finally he met someone who was willing to tell the truth, and his bad mood instantly improved a lot.

Humph, I'm only forty years old. I won't get angry with anyone who says I'm old.

Well, this guy is obviously a straightforward person with a clear mind. Remember him. If I meet him in the future, I will invite him for tea.

Yang Zhengshan looked at the young man who had just spoken and nodded kindly.

Amidst a group of discussions, Yang Zhengshan arrived at the garrison officer's office.

This garrison hall is not small. The gate is more than ten feet wide and there are two stone lions at the door. It is made of green bricks and green tiles and looks extremely majestic.

"Sir, we're here!" The clerk stood in front of Hongyun and said with a nod and a bow.

"Have you cleaned up the backyard?" Yang Zhengshan asked after dismounting from his horse.

The chief officials of government offices at all levels in Darong would live in the backyard of the government office, such as the county magistrate, the prefect, the governor, the commander of the guards, the commander of the thousand households, and so on.

This makes it convenient for the chief officer to work in the yamen without having to go through the trouble of running back and forth.

If Yang Zhengshan was in Songzhouwei, he would need to rent or buy a house to live in, but in Anyuanzhou City, he could live directly in the backyard of the garrison office.

"Sir, everything is ready!" said the official.

"Let's go to the backyard first!" Yang Zhengshan said.

"Yes!"

The clerk quickly took him to the back of the garrison office.

There is also a big gate in the backyard of the official hall to facilitate the family members to enter and exit.

The front yamen is where offices are held, and family members are definitely not allowed to come in and out as they please.

Going around to the back, a group of women and children got off the carriage one after another.

"Grandpa, is this our new home?"

Yang Chengye pulled Yang Zhengshan's robe and looked up at this strange place.

"Well, this is our new home, let's go in and take a look!"

Yang Zhengshan picked him up and said.

Then, he carried Chengye into the house, but he was stunned after entering.

Isn’t the backyard of this government office too luxurious?

At this time, a young clerk came running over, sweating profusely, and handed a map to the clerk who had just led the way. The clerk then stepped forward and said to Yang Zhengshan, "Sir, this is the map of the backyard!"

map!

Yang Zhengshan was silent for a while.

A backyard actually needs a map!
Well, this can no longer be called a backyard.

Taking the map, Yang Zhengshan began to look at it.

The entire courtyard is very large, with two gardens in the front and back, and a pond between the two gardens. The main courtyard is located at the back, and there are six other courtyards on both sides of the Shezi Garden and the pond.

The main courtyard alone is larger than the backyard of the Yinghebao government office, not to mention the garden pond and other courtyards. "Who built this courtyard?" Yang Zhengshan asked curiously.

"Well, to answer your question, the previous garrison commanders have all expanded the construction," the official replied.

Yang Zhengshan raised his eyebrows.

Gee!

The previous garrisons were all corrupt officials!

How can you build such a big and nice yard without being greedy?

The key point is that the backyard of the official office is not the private property of the garrison, but just a temporary residence. It will be lived in for two to three years at the least and seven to eight years at the most. For the sake of such a yard that does not belong to them, they are willing to spend a lot of money to build and decorate it.

But now it seems to be a good deal for him, with such a nice yard, and he can live comfortably in it.

It’s just that there are too few members of the Yang family, and they simply cannot live in so many courtyards.

"Wang, you will live in the courtyard to the east of the main courtyard. Minghao, you will live in the courtyard to the west of the main courtyard. Yunyan, you will live in the courtyard to the east of the pond. Yunxue and Yunqiao, you two will live in the courtyard to the west of the pond."

"Wenhua, Linzhan, Dashan. All of you go live in the front yard!"

That’s right, the backyard is divided into front and back. The backyard is the pond garden and small courtyard that Yang Zhengshan had just seen, while the front yard is behind the government office, with a hall, study, tea room, wing rooms, ear rooms, back rooms, etc.

Yang Zhengshan arranged them one by one.

Such a large yard is more than enough to accommodate dozens of people. Not to mention the place where the master lives, there are even many rooms for the servants in the back room.

In addition, each courtyard has ear rooms and wing rooms, and even a large stable on the left.

My god, this yard can accommodate three or four hundred people without feeling crowded, and how many people did Yang Zhengshan bring?

Even the servants and soldiers combined numbered no more than a hundred.

Soon, everyone's accommodation was arranged and they began to pack their things.

Naturally, Yang Zhengshan didn't need to sort out his things himself. Wu Hai had already led his people into the main courtyard and had arranged his study and bedroom first.

Just now a group of people were crowded at the door, and it seemed like there were a lot of people. Now everyone has returned to their own courtyards, and Yang Zhengshan suddenly felt that this house seemed a little empty.

Especially the main courtyard, it was too empty for him to live alone.

"Looks like I need to buy some more servants!"

Yang Zhengshan stood in front of the main courtyard gate, looking at the empty garden.

It is winter now, and the grass and trees in the garden have long turned yellow and withered. There is nothing to see.

It would take a lot of manpower just to tidy up such a large yard.

With the current number of servants in the Yang family, they are simply unable to take care of such a large courtyard.

"grown ups!"

Song Dashan came over.

"Is everything arranged?" Yang Zhengshan asked.

All of Song Dashan's family came, including his parents, brothers, sisters, wife and children, a total of eight people.

"Well, everything has been arranged. Mr. Wenhua has arranged a small courtyard for me." Song Dashan said with a silly smile.

He was very satisfied with his courtyard. Although it was not big, it was more than enough for his family to live in.

Yang Zhengshan nodded slightly, then handed him the map in his hand and said, "Please bear the hardship for a while and serve as my guard first!"

This time he only brought twenty soldiers, who were his personal soldiers. Although their number was small, each of them was an elite.

Although he had just arrived in Anyuanzhou City, he felt that the water in Anyuanzhou City was a bit deep.

Until the situation is clarified, the necessary protective measures must be taken.

"Now, check this yard inside and out!"

"Here!"

Song Dashan took the order and took people to check.

At this time, the clerk came over cautiously and said, "Sir, the others are still waiting in the front hall."

Yang Zhengshan glanced at him and asked, "What's your name?"

"My name is Zhou Ren."

"How many years have you been a clerk?"

"I entered the Defense Office in the eighth year of Chengping, and was appointed as a clerk in the thirteenth year of Chengping. It has been twelve years now."

"Twelve years!"

Yang Zhengshan stroked his beard and the look in his eyes became deep.

There is a saying that goes, "The county government is permanent, but the county magistrate is transient."

This sentence is actually suitable for use in any government office.

Every government office has clerks and able-bodied men. Officials are replaced one after another, but clerks and able-bodied men will stay in the government office for their entire lives.

Although clerks and able-bodied men would be replaced, they would generally not be replaced unless they committed serious mistakes.

Because they are very familiar with government affairs, even more familiar than the officials themselves.

The guy in front of me has been a clerk for twelve years and is considered a capable person.

The key point is that the former garrison commander Cao Han was convicted of corruption, but he was still a clerk in the garrison office!

Doesn’t he know that Cao Han is corrupt?
Didn’t he participate in Cao Han’s corruption?

This is definitely impossible. He is a clerk and no matter how big or small the matters in the yamen are, they should not be hidden from him.

If the time was short, he might be able to hide it, but Cao Han’s embezzlement certainly did not happen in a day or two.

"Go to the front yamen and tell them that I am tired today and will not see them. Let's wait until tomorrow!"

Yang Zhengshan said in a flat voice.

"Yes, I understand, little one!"

Zhou Ren bowed and retreated.

Yang Zhengshan looked at his departing back, thoughtfully.

(End of this chapter)