kvmb Chapter 564 A Simple Matter
Chapter 564 A Simple Matter
Although the official positions in the Hanlin Academy were of low rank, they were known as "future prime ministers." During their tenure in the Hanlin Academy, they had the opportunity to meet the emperor and the crown prince, leave an impression on the emperor, and lay the foundation for their future official career.
However, not everything in the world goes according to plan. Despite being the second-place scholar in the imperial examinations, Li Mingyuan was not given a position in the Hanlin Academy. Instead, he was assigned to serve as a county magistrate in the remote Qingzhou.
The fact that a student who should have been awarded a prestigious official position in the Hanlin Academy was instead given the post of county magistrate in a remote area has astonished countless people.
Anyone with even a slight understanding of the Xia Dynasty court would know that it was not unusual for Li Mingyuan to be appointed as a county magistrate.
The Xia Dynasty had been established for over two hundred years, and social classes had long been solidified. Although the imperial examination system still offered a path for scholars from humble backgrounds to achieve upward social mobility, in reality...
This road had long been controlled by powerful families in the capital.
Li Mingyuan, the son of a peasant, had no support in the imperial court. How could he possibly be assigned a good official position?
On the contrary, those candidates who ranked lower than Li Mingyuan were granted much better official positions because they had connections in the court.
Of course, at that time Li Mingyuan was unaware of these underhanded dealings. He simply assumed that the imperial court was short of official positions, which was why he was appointed as the magistrate of a remote county.
Li Mingyuan showed no dissatisfaction with this, but instead packed his bags, left the capital, and headed to Qingzhou to take up his post.
From Haizhou to the capital, and then from the capital to Qingzhou, Li Mingyuan gained a lot of experience. Especially after arriving in Taiping County, he felt even more keenly the hardships faced by ordinary people.
Along the way, Li Mingyuan saw countless people, most of whom were not doing well. They worked day and night, just hoping to earn enough to support their families, but very few of them were actually able to eat their fill.
"When I get to Taiping County, I will definitely govern it well and make sure all the people have enough to eat!"
Li Mingyuan had this idea in his mind, and after arriving in Taiping County, he did indeed put it into action.
Taiping County is adjacent to Liangzhou. The land is barren, and the local people suffer greatly due to the occasional mischief caused by corrupt officials and the oppression by powerful families and landlords.
However, the situation improved considerably after Li Mingyuan took office. Under Li Mingyuan's strict governance, the petty officials in Taiping County who often took advantage of the people became much more restrained, and even the big families and landlords no longer dared to arbitrarily annex the people's land.
As a result, the situation in Taiping County naturally improved, and the people gained some breathing room.
In addition, Li Mingyuan also constructed a large number of water conservancy projects in Taiping County, which greatly facilitated irrigation for farmers.
Under Li Mingyuan's governance, Taiping County, which was originally lifeless, burst forth with vitality, and the people had more smiles on their faces when they met and talked.
"Lord Li is such a good official! Our lives have become so much better since he came."
"That's right! There used to be an official named Wang who would always ask me for bribes. As a result, he was caught by Lord Li last time and was given a good beating. He still can't get out of bed."
"We've been waiting for this for ages, and finally, a good official like Magistrate Li has arrived! We're going to have a great life from now on!"
"Yes! With Lord Li around, our lives are getting better every day!"
"..."
Occasionally, when he goes out in plain clothes and hears the praise from the people, Li Mingyuan's lips will always curl into a smile. He used to not know why he was studying, but now he roughly understands what he wants.
He hoped that the people could live better lives, that he could bring benefits to the region, and that the people would praise his name.
Under Li Mingyuan's governance, Taiping County prospered, and the lives of the people improved. Li Mingyuan's reputation as a good official spread far and wide, even reaching the ears of people in neighboring counties.
However, to Li Mingyuan's utter surprise, he served as the county magistrate for ten years!
Li Mingyuan was outstanding in terms of personal talent, official reputation, and political achievements. Unfortunately, he lacked the most important thing: connections in officialdom!
Without connections, no one would praise Li Mingyuan's achievements, and no one would promote him. As a result, Li Mingyuan would naturally lose the opportunity to be promoted, and no matter how outstanding his political achievements were, he could only remain a county magistrate for a long time.
Although Li Mingyuan was somewhat dissatisfied with this, he still diligently governed Taiping County.
Finally, in the tenth year of Li Mingyuan's tenth term as county magistrate, the imperial court finally recognized Li Mingyuan's achievements, and Li Mingyuan was thus given the opportunity to be promoted, from the county magistrate of Taiping County to the prefect of Taicang Prefecture!
Upon learning of his promotion, Li Mingyuan smiled. After ten years of hard work and dedication in governing Taiping County, he had finally been promoted. This showed that the court still had discerning people, and that it wasn't all just those aristocratic scions who only thought about their own family's interests.
Several days later, when Li Mingyuan left Taiping County and was about to head to the prefectural city, the people in the city and the villagers outside the city spontaneously gathered outside the city to see him off. The scene of ten thousand people seeing him off was extremely spectacular and enough to shock everyone who saw it.
"Lord Li, could you please stay? We need you."
An old man was pushed in front of Li Mingyuan, and said with eyes full of reluctance.
The ten years that Li Mingyuan served as the magistrate of Taiping County were undoubtedly the best period in terms of living standards for the people of Taiping County, so they were very reluctant to part with Li Mingyuan.
"Yes! Lord Li, can you please not leave? We've only had a few years of good life!"
"With Lord Li gone, we're afraid we'll be starving again."
"Lord Li, could you please stay?"
"..."
Thousands of people gathered outside the city to see Li Mingyuan off, pleading with him to stay. In their hearts, Li Mingyuan was the best magistrate in the world. It was Li Mingyuan who ensured they had enough to eat and that they were protected from being bullied by corrupt officials and landlords. It could be said that Li Mingyuan was the key to the people of Taiping County being able to have enough to eat.
If the court sends another corrupt official after Li Mingyuan leaves, they will probably return to their previous state of hunger in the blink of an eye.
Looking at the earnest faces, Li Mingyuan couldn't help but be moved. When he saw thousands of people spontaneously seeing him off, he couldn't help but shed tears.
To be fair, Li Mingyuan didn't do much for the people of Taiping County. He simply enforced the law, built water conservancy projects, and reduced corvée labor—nothing too difficult to do.