I, Sun Shan, and the Imperial Examination

Chapter 1517 Major repairs are repairs, minor repairs are repairs; Magistrate Sun is just using a pr

Prefect Liu's lips twitched. Magistrate Sun's words sounded so high and mighty that he was speechless.

The other county magistrates stared at Sun Shan speechlessly.

This makes it clear that they have no sense of duty or responsibility.

However, the county magistrates all thought that Sun Shan had gone crazy. After all, being caught and punished by Prefect Liu was bound to cause him some mental instability and make him act abnormally.

Prefect Liu coughed lightly, bringing everyone back to their senses.

He gave an awkward yet polite smile: "Magistrate Sun is right. Hehe, that concludes the collection of taxes and levies. Colleagues, just remember to pay your taxes on time and in full."

As he said this, his eyes glared at Magistrate Shen.

Magistrate Shen had long since developed an invincible thick skin, and simply pretended not to see Prefect Liu's glare.

After that, Prefect Liu rambled on and on about this and that for the whole morning, until he finally finished discussing the contents of the meeting and it was time for the meeting to adjourn.

Prefect Liu coughed lightly and said with a smile, "Gentlemen, today's meeting is adjourned. If there are any questions, please come and discuss them with me in detail."

He waved and was the first to run away.

The remaining people watched Prefect Liu's departing figure until he disappeared from sight, and only then did they finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Magistrate Zou patted Sun Shan on the shoulder and said reassuringly, "Magistrate Sun, keep it up!"

After saying that, he drifted away, leaving without a trace.

The other county magistrates bid farewell to Sun Shan one after another, and without exception, they all said: "Magistrate Sun, you've worked hard!"

Then he drifted away, leaving without a trace.

Magistrate Shen, who considered himself a close friend of Sun Shan, sighed deeply and was about to say something.

Suddenly realizing that they were still in the government office, he grabbed Sun Shan's hand and hurriedly pulled him out of the office.

He said in a low voice, "Brother Sun, oh dear, you're in big trouble. You've been caught by Prefect Liu."

Sun Shan forcefully pulled his hand away and said expressionlessly, "Magistrate Shen, why do you owe so much in taxes?"

At this point, Magistrate Shen felt no remorse whatsoever for letting Sun Shan down.

He even said with righteous indignation, "Brother Sun, you know perfectly well that Mayang County is a place even ghosts don't want to come to. Sigh, being assigned there is the worst luck imaginable. Sigh, Brother Sun, I'm suffering so much, why were I transferred to that place?"

As they walked, Magistrate Shen complained to Sun Shan about how poor and remote Mayang County was, and how fierce the local people were. He lamented how difficult it had been for him to take office there.

If it weren't for my 80-year-old parents and my young grandson, I would have quit my job long ago.

Magistrate Shen complained bitterly, "In Mayang County, not a single magistrate can collect all the taxes. I'm already doing enough to pay grain taxes to Chenzhou Prefecture."

In the past, which county magistrate didn't demand grain and money from Chenzhou Prefecture? Brother Sun, my suffering has no one to confide in, only you can understand me…”

Magistrate Shen muttered to himself for a while.

Outsiders thought that Sun Shan, the person who paid the grain tax on his behalf, was the victim, while Magistrate Shen was as innocent as a white lotus flower.

Sun Shan astutely seized the opportunity to "demand grain and money from Chenzhou Prefecture".

Wow, I didn't know you could do it like that?

It seems I've been too honest; I've never asked Chenzhou Prefecture for anything.

Oh dear, this is the downside of becoming an official right after graduating from school—you lack experience and that's why you get taken advantage of.

When Magistrate Shen learned that Sun Shan had been overcharged for grain taxes, he felt sorry for him.

So he kindly reminded him, "Brother Sun, don't be the first to hand over your taxes in the future. This makes Prefect Liu mistakenly think that Yuanlu County is very rich. Look at Prefect Zou, every time he sees him he looks bitter and resentful, as if he is very poor."

He was always either last or second to last in tax payments, and Prefect Liu often caught him and made him pay an extra share.

"Oh dear, you should learn from him how to get rid of these extra taxes. Consider this a lesson learned, and be more careful next time."

Magistrate Shen frankly told Sun Shan how to "steal chickens and cheat," and how to "cowardly hide."

Sun Shan suddenly asked, "Magistrate Shen, aren't you worried about taxes? They're always in arrears, aren't you annoyed?"

Magistrate Shen said matter-of-factly, "Brother Sun, it's not that I'm deliberately delaying; it's just that Mayang really can't collect the money. Everyone in the prefecture knows this. They can only scold me; what else can they do?"

Magistrate Shen secretly told Sun Shan that Chenzhou Prefecture had once sent a grain collection team to Mayang County to collect taxes.

Hehe, but they were driven back by the people of Mayang County.

Magistrate Shen said gloatingly, "When the prefectural officials come down, the unruly people hide in the mountains. If any of the prefectural officials are alone, the unruly people come out and beat them up. Hehe, it's harder than climbing to heaven to collect grain from the unruly people."

In the end, the Chenzhou government returned home dejectedly and never came to Mayang County to collect taxes again.

The previous magistrates had never tried to collect taxes completely, and Chenzhou Prefecture had long been accustomed to it.

Magistrate Shen, with a flourish of his eyebrows, recounted how the unruly people of Mayang County outwitted and outmaneuvered the government to evade taxes, leaving Sun Shan's scalp tingling with dread.

Fortunately, I was assigned to Yuanlu County, where the people, apart from being a bit gossipy, were "gentle, kind, humble, and modest."

Only because they are truly good citizens can Sun Shan carry out his work so smoothly.

If Sun Shan were assigned to Mayang County, no matter how capable he was, he would not be able to realize his ambitions.

Moreover, Sun Shan's governance skills are really just average; he's not an outstanding individual.

Upon returning to the post station, Sun Shan immediately wrote a letter of invitation requesting an audience with Prefect Liu.

Strike while the iron is hot and be sure to write back about the good things.

Prefect Liu was clearly avoiding Sun Shan and sent his advisor to meet with him.

Prefect Liu was also afraid that Sun Shan would try to renege on the quota assigned to him.

The clerk greeted the guest with a smile, much like a master of ceremonies: "May I ask what business Magistrate Sun has with you, sir?"

Sun Shan, not wanting to beat around the bush, went straight to the point: "Master, I already told Prefect Liu last time that I wanted to expand and repair the official road from Chenzhou Prefecture to Yuanlu County."

Upon hearing this, the advisor's alarm bells began to ring in his mind.

He still smiled broadly and said, "Magistrate Sun's repair of the official road is a good thing."

He secretly thought: Could it be that the government should pay for the road repairs? Absolutely not!

It would be better to secretly pocket the money for road repairs.

Sun Shan continued, "Master, the official road from Chenzhou Prefecture to Yuanlu County is fraught with mountains and ridges, making its construction extremely difficult."

Without hesitation, the clerk said, "What Magistrate Sun said is quite right. It would be better not to repair it. The current official road is still usable. We can repair it when things are less difficult."

See? You can tell they need money to repair the road.

What towering mountains and steep ridges, what extremely difficult conditions? Haha, it's not like you're new to being the magistrate of Yuanlu County. Do you think you don't know the difficulties involved?

Magistrate Sun was unhappy about being assigned a tax quota and wanted to get it back through other channels.

As for how to build the official road?

Haha, major repairs are repairs, minor repairs are repairs; Magistrate Sun is just using this as a pretext to ask for money.

Sun Shan looked at the advisor speechlessly and said, "Advisor, the road definitely needs to be repaired. If it's not repaired, it will be inconvenient for the people of Yuanlu to travel."

He paused for a moment, then stated his ultimate goal: "The mountains between Chenzhou Prefecture and Niujiaoshan in Yuanlu County are under the jurisdiction of Yuanling County. I want to take over these mountains so that I can build a road."