Chapter 343: 72. Sidelined and Squeezed Out

72. Sidelined and Squeezed Out

"Prefect, this Prefect Wang really knows how to pick peaches. Why haven't I seen him so active before?"

In the morning, the sun was bright, but the main hall of the Jiangzhou Government Office was empty.

Only Magistrate Ouyang Rong and Yan Beside Yan Liulang sat alone side by side.

At the front, Cai Qin and Zhu Zhu Lingxu's army were leading troops to advance on Jiangzhou, and the officials of the Jiangzhou Government Office, including Wang Wang Lengran, were all busy with defense matters.

Well, except for Magistrate Ouyang Rong and Yan Beside Yan Liulang.

It wasn't that the two were lazy, but that a certain Prefect Wang began to strive for strength and worry about everything, taking everything into his own hands, without leaving any extra work for them.

The reason was legitimate, and he even gave Chief Clerk Magistrate Ouyang a day off.

Anyone with a discerning eye in the Jiangzhou officialdom could see that this was sidelining and squeezing out.

It was just that with a great enemy at the door and in a wartime state, the power of a prefect was extremely great, and he could even kill low-level officials first and report later.

Therefore, a deputy official like a prefectural chief clerk, who was mainly in charge of people's livelihood, would naturally be suppressed.

However, in everyone's eyes, Chief Clerk Magistrate Ouyang Magistrate Ouyang Lianghan, as the "whistleblower" of this crisis,

was the one who had made preparations for defense for Prince Xunyang City, but was now forcibly sidelined by Wang Wang Lengran, who took over his previous preparations for defending the city as if by force.

It was too unreasonable, and the eating was ugly.

In the Jiangzhou officialdom, everyone knew it without saying.

However, even if they were displeased, no one dared to stand up and point fingers. In officialdom, sometimes one's position is more important than right or wrong.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong tidied up the stack of battle reports from the front, lined them up at the top left corner of the table, aligned them with the edge of the table, and said to Yan Beside Yan Liulang, who was hugging his chest and indignant:

"Actually... it's all the same."

He said lightly and relievedly:

"I have already prepared what should be prepared before, and just continue to do it in those directions."

"Prince Xunyang City is the most critical. Other county towns in Jiangzhou can be lost, but Prince Xunyang City cannot. It is the throat of the Yangtze River, the gateway to the southeast, and whether the water transport in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River is safe depends entirely on the safety of this city."

"Hold the strong city tightly and wait for reinforcements. The situation still has room for recovery. When the imperial army arrives to quell the rebellion later, Prince Xunyang City will also need to serve as an important transit station for grain and logistics."

"Wang Wang Lengran is not a fool. It's just that his position is different. He belittles the good strategy for defending the city with his mouth, but he knows it clearly in his heart, unless he is really blind, heh."

Yan Beside Yan Liulang couldn't help but look at the young Chief Clerk who was tidying up the manuscript on the table with obsessive-compulsive disorder, and clicked his tongue:

"Imperial army logistics transit... The Prefect has already considered such future matters, looking three steps ahead?"

Magistrate Ouyang Rong shook his head and said nothing.

Yan Beside Yan Liulang sighed: "The Prefect is just too concerned about the overall situation, not fighting for anything."

"Fighting is useless."

Magistrate Ouyang Rong shook his head.

Yan Beside Yan Liulang was unconvinced:

"The Prefect could clearly report the unfair treatment received to the imperial court. Aren't the Master and Lord Shen in the court? They would definitely speak for the Prefect..."

"Yan, be careful."

Magistrate Ouyang Rong interrupted and said softly:

"Although the Sage didn't fully believe Li Li Zhengyan's matter, and the imperial court didn't react, the suspicion of the Prince of Prince Xunyang's Mansion is still difficult to completely wash away."

"And I am bound to the Prince of Prince Xunyang's Mansion. In the eyes of many people above, we are one body..."

"The top priority now is to hold Prince Xunyang City. Wang Wang Lengran is definitely more trusted by the imperial court than me."

"After all, Wang Wang Lengran and Lan Changhao are the culprits of Cai Qin's army's delayed mutiny, so they are less likely to rebel."

Magistrate Ouyang Rong smiled self-deprecatingly: "It's ironic."

He looked at Yan Beside Yan Liulang, who was hugging his saber and still unhappy, and said with a smile:

"Yan, think on the bright side. We are not completely sidelined. The matters of building statues and digging canals are still in my hands. With the help of the Prince of Prince Xunyang, Wang Wang Lengran can't interfere."

"As for the Jiangzhou Government Office, after all, it is nominally headed by the Prefect. Let him take power if he wants."

"Since we are idle, let's continue to deal with the statue matter."

"The Prefect is really..."

Yan Beside Yan Liulang looked helpless and said to someone who was optimistic:

"It is clearly the Prefect who has suffered the most injustice, but instead, you are comforting this subordinate."

Magistrate Ouyang Rong smiled and said nothing.

Yan Beside Yan Liulang suddenly lowered his voice and said:

"Prefect, this is a letter sent by Master Chenjun Xie, newly mailed back by Master Chenjun Xie from Shenjing Luoyang, arrived this afternoon."

"Hmm."

Magistrate Ouyang Rong took the letter and opened the wax seal to browse through it.

Yan Beside Yan Liulang looked at Magistrate Ouyang Rong's expression and suddenly explained:

"The guard officer at the West City Gate is in three shifts, changing every day. It happens to be Chief Clerk Chen today. Now that the city is short of manpower, except for the Prefect and me, all officials above Grade 9 are holding multiple posts, filling in everywhere, and all six-department clerks have to go to the city wall to defend."

Perhaps because he had followed Magistrate Ouyang Rong for too long, he noticed his hidden focus and mentioned this topic.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong nodded slightly, his eyes still on the letter, not moving away at all.

Yan Beside Yan Liulang asked curiously:

"What did the Prefect find on this trip out?"

Magistrate Ouyang Rong used his mind for two purposes and said softly:

"The iron chains between Suojiang Tower and Huilong Reef have been arranged, and a pile of large iron cones are also prepared on the shore."

Yan Beside Yan Liulang sneered:

"Heh, although it's slower than the Prefect, it can't be considered truly stupid. This Wang Wang Lengran is purely bad, but he knows clearly in his heart what is a good strategy to block the water and land military edge."

At this moment, Magistrate Ouyang Rong's eyebrows gathered slightly, and he sighed:

"Another team of imperial private envoys is coming from Shenjing Luoyang. They should be carrying the Son of Heaven's imperial edict. I don't know what it is specifically... The travel specifications are quite high."

Yan Beside Yan Liulang was surprised: "What did it say?"

Magistrate Ouyang Rong handed over the letter sent by his teacher Chenjun Xie Xun. Yan Beside Yan Liulang looked at it carefully, and muttered:

"Why did that Sage suddenly send a team of envoys?

"Heh, under the slogan of comforting the front line, I think it's actually to supervise the Prince of Prince Xunyang's Mansion, and maybe even to beat the Prince of Prince Xunyang."

He raised his head, as if remembering the chat in the main hall that day, and looked at Magistrate Ouyang Rong with admiration:

"The Prefect is still sharp and has foresight, having calculated the imperial court and the Sage's measures early on."

Magistrate Ouyang Rong said nothing.

"Judging from the date the letter was sent, this batch of envoys should arrive tomorrow at the earliest..."

He muttered to himself: "It seems that Wang Wang Junzhi's matter cannot be delayed and must be resolved quickly."

"What is the Prefect talking about?" Yan Beside Yan Liulang asked.

"Nothing."

Magistrate Ouyang Rong shook his head.

The carriage returned to Huaiye Lane. Before getting off, Magistrate Ouyang Rong turned his head and asked Yan Beside Yan Liulang:

"Is there any movement on Zhenguang Street in Xingzi Lane?"

Yan Beside Yan Liulang lowered his voice and replied: "There is still a pot of begonia flowers on the wall."

Originally, Magistrate Ouyang Rong had handed over the task of receiving Qin Heng's secret signal to Ye Ye Weilai, letting the little girl go to the Xingzi Lane East Market every morning to buy flowers and fruits and keep an eye on things.

It was just that recently, he felt the atmosphere was wrong and felt a little uneasy, so he simply let Yan Beside Yan Liulang, who was also "idle," run there often.

If the begonia flowers were switched to azaleas, he would report the news immediately to avoid missing the window of opportunity.

Hearing that it was calm there,

Magistrate Ouyang Rong exhaled lightly.

In the evening, returning to the residence in Huaiye Lane, Magistrate Ouyang Rong walked into the study, bent over to write, and finished a letter, preparing to send it back to his teacher Chenjun Xie Xun tomorrow to inquire in detail about certain court trends.

Right now, the Chief Clerk position was temporarily suspended, and having lost the channel of the Jiangzhou Government Office, Magistrate Ouyang Rong could only rely on letters from Chenjun Xie Xun, Shen Shen Xisheng, and others to understand the first-hand news from Shenjing Luoyang, or rely on the old connections of the Prince of Prince Xunyang's family in Shenjing Luoyang, such as the Prince of Xiang's Mansion.

Letter communication was ultimately inefficient, requiring repeated communication, and it took a lot of time to go back and forth.

It could only be said that it was better than nothing.

For example, the Shenjing Luoyang angel who might arrive tomorrow just made Magistrate Ouyang Rong prepare mentally in advance.

Night was deep.

The moon was cool like water.