Chapter 1110: Zhao the Second Takes Office

When it comes to Zhongmu County, most people's first impression would associate it with keywords like Cao Cao, the assassination attempt on Dong Zhuo, fleeing for one's life, and Chen Gong. However, in the current Great Han, there is no *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, and overshadowed by the fame of the Eastern Capital, Zhongmu County's reputation is not particularly high.

But reputation aside, situated in the heart of the Central Plains, on the banks of the Bian River, bordering Zhengzhou to the west and connecting to Kaifeng in the east, lying on the main thoroughfare between east and west, Zhongmu is a genuinely major county of the Central Plains. Whether by population or by economy, it is a prosperous county seat.

By the second year of Kaibao, after a new round of household registration checks, Zhongmu County's registered population had already reached over ten thousand eight hundred households—a true county of ten thousand households. When Emperor Liu Chengyou went on inspection tours, he had also stopped here on multiple occasions.

In terms of population density, no prefecture in the realm can compare with Kaifeng—even the Jiangsu-Zhejiang region, long renowned for its dense population, cannot match it. There's no helping it, for this is where the capital sits. Within and outside the Eastern Capital, the officials, soldiers, farmers, artisans, and merchants residing there have already reached one million, but if one includes the various counties under Kaifeng Prefecture's jurisdiction, the population must be increased by several tenths more. The status of the realm's premier prefecture is no joke—one prefecture's population rivals several remote frontier circuits.

For a time, Liu Chengyou felt delight and pride at the capital's abundant population. However, as time passed, he began to feel the pressure—overly concentrated population brought tremendous pressure in terms of governance and food supply.

Looking at the Great Han as a whole, the population is far from saturation, and contradictions over land remain quite loose. But in localized areas like Kaifeng, the population is clearly excessive. Yet there is no fundamental solution to this. The Great Han's capital is like a powerful magnet, drawing people from all corners of the realm to converge here.

Over the past decade or more, the territory under Kaifeng Prefecture's jurisdiction has continuously expanded, partly with the intention of diverting population. But now, this tactic no longer works well—after all, the towns under Kaifeng Prefecture's administration are already large enough. By the second year of Kaibao, aside from the Eastern Capital itself, there are already a full thirteen counties. If it expanded any further, one might as well carve out the capital prefecture entirely and make Kaifeng Prefecture a circuit of its own.

But regardless, for today's Kaifeng Prefecture, an abundant population is entirely a happy sort of trouble. As for the officials of the counties beneath it, they are delighted—the more people, the higher the county's rank, and the higher the official post's grade.

The newly arrived County Magistrate of Zhongmu is a young man. Though he claims to be twenty-six, he is in fact not yet twenty-five full years old. But his reputation is considerable. His name is Zhao Kuangyi, heir to his father's title of Count of Guangping (hereditary with reduction in rank), brother of Duke of Rongguo Zhao Kuangyin, and the tanhua of the fifteenth year of Qianyou.

Zhao Kuangyi's first post was not in Zhongmu. Though born of distinguished lineage, having passed the examinations with high honors, and enjoying the Emperor's personal favor, Zhao Kuangyi was initially assigned to Yuanwu County. During his two years in office, he performed truly outstandingly.

Zhao the Second's abilities were indeed exceptional—he handled relationships well and wielded formidable tactics. During his tenure in Yuanwu County, he cleared up backlogged criminal cases, struck down a number of local tyrants and evil gentry, and his prestige soared. He constantly kept abreast of the people's hardships, resolving their worries and relieving their distress.

Yuanwu County borders the Yellow River and is a place where floods frequently occur. Zhao Kuangyi took this very seriously, and thus devoted great attention to the construction of dikes and drainage canals. He preferred to handle matters personally—every spring and winter during the dry season, he personally led people to reinforce the riverbanks and inspect the works.

Thus, one year after his arrival, Yuanwu was transformed—order prevailed within its borders, and the people were content. After two years, it could be called greatly governed. Whether the subordinate clerks and commoners, or the censors conducting inspections, or the superiors making tours, all had nothing but praise for Zhao Kuangyi.

So, in late spring of the second year of Kaibao, after evaluation by the Ministry of Personnel, it was unanimously agreed that a small county like Yuanwu was far too easy for Zhao Kuangyi—it was time to add burdens to his shoulders and give him broader space to display his talents.

Then, with the endorsement of Minister of Personnel Dou Yi, a transfer order was issued, moving him to Zhongmu County. As for Zhao Kuangyi, the somewhat stubborn old Dou Yi actually admired him greatly—both for his reputation of filial piety and because Zhao Kuangyi was a model scholar-official, a young man of exceptional promise.

In fact, when all manner of advantageous conditions manifest themselves in a person like Zhao Kuangyi, how could his official career not be smooth sailing, how could his promotions not come quickly? A man like Zhao Kuangyi, with a high starting point and real ability, needs only to proceed step by step, and one day he will surely reach high office.

Now, having been in Zhongmu for less than three months, Zhao Kuangyi has already begun leaving his own mark. Each locality has different governance styles and popular customs, and Zhao Kuangyi has also adjusted his administrative approach in Zhongmu.

Encouraging agriculture and sericulture, and enforcing the law impartially—these are the basic policies. Because Zhongmu adjoins the capital and counts as being at the feet of the Son of Heaven, its official governance cannot be too poor, and public security is quite good. Many heavy-handed measures simply cannot be employed here.

Thus, Zhao Kuangyi began focusing his main energy on promoting reading and learning—actively improving the conditions of local schools, subsidizing impoverished scholars, encouraging study, advocating moral education, promoting virtuous conduct, and gathering the county's literary talents to jointly compile the Zhongmu County Gazetteer.

In a short span of time, Magistrate Zhao's reputation spread once again. This is a man who never worries about finding things to do. Moreover, he is full of energy—while strengthening educational work, he has never been remiss in official duties, always handling public affairs with a vigorous spirit, analyzing matters point by point, and keeping everything in perfect order.

In the height of summer, the weather is exceptionally hot. Under normal circumstances, the people of Zhongmu County are either braving the heat to busy themselves with their livelihoods, hiding at home to escape the heat, or cooling off under trees and by the riverside, or going to teahouses and book stalls to drink tea and listen to stories.

But today is clearly somewhat special—several hundred people have gathered at the county office to watch the excitement. Though with the realm at peace, the common people's entertainment options have begun to diversify, the spectacle before them is clearly a rare one, full of appeal—so many people braving the heat to crowd around and watch.

A dozen or so county office runners, wielding water-and-fire staffs, maintain order. Before the court session begins, seeing the crowd of onlookers, the heat of the weather, and the press of people, Magistrate Zhao Kuangyi specifically ordered two large vats of well water to be carried to the front of the office for the people to quench their thirst and escape the heat.

Though it is only a small gesture, the gathered people of Zhongmu all praise this newly arrived official who is close to the people, feeling that they have truly received care like that of a parent.

A case capable of causing such a stir is clearly no small matter—and indeed, it is the biggest case to occur since Zhao Kuangyi took office. Though the matter is great, investigating and adjudicating it is not difficult—the facts are clear and the evidence is complete.

This is a human tragedy born of property disputes. In Zhongmu County there is a local tycoon surnamed Zhang, who in his youth had been an officer in the imperial army. The head of the household is called Old Man Zhang, possessing over five hundred mu of fields and homesteads, plus various properties in the county town—one of the more famous wealthy families in the county.

He had three sons. In early May, while returning from a visit to relatives, Old Man Zhang fell from his horse and was severely injured, subsequently dying. The large estate he left behind, with no will, caused his sons to fight over it until heads were bloodied.

Of course, only the eldest and second sons were qualified—these two were born of Old Man Zhang's principal wife, while the third son, born of a concubine, could only watch from the sidelines. Normally, even an upright official finds it hard to settle family disputes; even if it went to the authorities, it would be difficult to handle—at most, it would be sent back to the village for the clan elders to decide together. The key point is that this time, it involves loss of life.

After discussion among the Zhang family elders and village notables, it was unanimously agreed that order of seniority should prevail—the eldest son should inherit the estate and take the lion's share, with portions distributed to his two younger brothers.

Naturally dissatisfied with this outcome, the second son—also born of the principal wife—faced the vast family fortune and saw his elder brother take the lion's share merely for being born earlier. Whether from jealousy or blinded by greed, he conspired with local ruffians to bind the eldest son and throw him into the river, making it look like an accidental drowning.

But the eldest son was fortunate—he was rescued by the third son who happened to pass by, and then things blew up. Even if they were brothers, "if you show no mercy, I'll show no righteousness"—the eldest son directly filed a lawsuit. The county office sent men to make arrests, and all those involved were taken into custody. Zhao Kuangyi personally conducted the interrogation, and the ruffians involved, in front of him, spilled everything.

At this point, the matter basically had its conclusion—the second son, in order to seize the family property, had actually hardened his heart to harm his own elder brother, and public opinion was in an uproar. However, what truly caused a massive stir was something reported afterward—that the cause of Old Man Zhang's death was that the eldest son had tampered with his medicine while attending to him, killing his own father, likewise for the sake of inheriting the property sooner...

Zhao Kuangyi took this even more seriously—such an offense against filial piety is even more severe than ordinary violent crimes. He investigated anew, gathered evidence, took testimony, and after half a month, got to the bottom of it all. Thus, today, judgment was pronounced in open court.

The eldest son, for plotting to obtain family property and killing his own father, committed one of the Ten Abominations—sentenced to death on the spot, pending review by the Ministry of Justice and Dali before being sent to the Eastern Capital for execution.

The second son's crime was lighter, but it was still attempted murder. Along with several accomplices, he was sentenced to exile in the northwest, and as the principal instigator, received an additional fifty strokes of the cane.

At the same time, the property that had triggered the Zhang family's upheaval also found its owner. Zhao Kuangyi directly ruled that the third son would inherit it, but he must support his stepmother and raise the children of his two elder brothers...