Chapter 1235

Xia Di Palace.

"Huangzhou is promoting a barbarian bone to county magistrate?" Xia Di saw the memorial, his expression strange; upon first seeing the two words "barbarian bone," he thought it was someone with the same name and surname.

But upon careful thought, that doesn't make sense—only barbarians have the surname Barbarian, and in nearly a thousand years, only Barbarian Bone has held office among them.

Looking further at the detailed personal profile, it truly is the Great Xia top scholar Barbarian Bone.

The previous three county magistrates submitted their lists to the imperial court; only the Minister of Personnel needed to go through the formalities for approval, but Barbarian Bone's term and qualifications were insufficient, so becoming county magistrate required Xia Di's approval.

"Is Barbarian Bone doing that well, allowing Huangzhou to promote him exceptionally?"

Xia Di carefully read the section on Barbarian Bone's resume in the memorial, his expression growing increasingly strange.

"In just half a month, were all the county magistrates of Zhongshan Commandery captured by Barbarian Bone?"

"The old county magistrate was captured, the one promoted from below was captured, and the one dispatched from above for training was captured."

This isn't Barbarian Bone doing too well—it's clearly that no one else dares to be county magistrate except Barbarian Bone.

"But it's really strange—Barbarian Bone was doing well as county magistrate before, so why has he suddenly had so many matters recently?"

Afterwards, Xia Di, while reviewing the detailed capture process, saw the repeated appearance of "Lu Constable, Meng Constable" and fell silent for a long time.

The confusion was finally resolved.

Xia Di wrote a "approved" character on the memorial's signature.

……

"Did Your Majesty approve this so quickly?" Lü Zhou Mu, upon receiving the result, was quite surprised; usually, the Emperor does not make such rapid decisions on exceptional promotions.

It seems Barbarian Bone carries great weight in Your Majesty's heart.

The news of Barbarian Bone's exceptional promotion to county magistrate quickly spread to all the county magistrates of Zhongshan Commandery; they had their own sources of information, faster than official announcements.

"Barbarian Bone became county magistrate?"

"His qualifications aren't sufficient—how did he become county magistrate?"

"Upon careful thought, it's actually reasonable—Barbarian Bone is upright and impartial, enforces the law fairly, is the Emperor's personally appointed top scholar, and is also a disciple of the Wen Dao Sect; he should have long been fit to be county magistrate."

"It's not that simple—I have some connections above; reportedly, during the previous two county magistrate appointments, Barbarian Bone was among the candidates, but several officials opposed his appointment."

"Later, those several officials were implicated in the 'Biographies of Officials,' and whether they could retain their positions remains uncertain."

"Hiss—was this also part of Barbarian Bone's calculations? How terrifying."

……

"Barbarian Lord's divine strategy and profound planning—I am deeply impressed!" The chief clerk repeatedly praised; when Barbarian Bone first became county magistrate, he was his deputy, and he had the longest contact with Barbarian Bone.

After such prolonged contact, he originally thought Barbarian Bone was a simple, honest sort; frankly speaking, such people don't get far in officialdom, so he could only do his best to shield Barbarian Bone, avoiding strained relations with colleagues and superiors.

So when he learned that Barbarian Bone had captured the county magistrate before the previous one, he was extremely anxious—this is a major taboo in officialdom.

Who would have thought Barbarian Bone's subsequent actions were completely unexpected? The subsequently appointed county magistrates were all pulled down by him; to say this is coincidence, he utterly disbelieves it—where in the world could there be so many coincidences?

This must be Barbarian Bone's calculation!

Surely his usual demeanor is also a deception to confuse opponents, letting them lower their guard.

Such scheming, such patience, such calculation—truly befitting a disciple of the Wen Dao Sect!

He has served six county magistrates; these magistrates either got promoted or retired in their original posts, and he could tell at a glance, having thought he had cultivated a pair of discerning eyes, yet he never saw through Barbarian Bone.

"Ah? I got promoted?" Barbarian Bone held a transfer order, utterly bewildered, examining it from all sides to verify its authenticity.

He came to the mundane world to transcend it, not to become an official in the mundane world.

Moreover, he hasn't done anything—how did he get promoted?

"Congratulations, congratulations." Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou clapped with one hand on each side; their junior brother had been promoted, and as senior brothers, they sincerely rejoiced for Barbarian Bone from the bottom of their hearts.

"Can I really do well as county magistrate?" Barbarian Bone lacked confidence.

"I can't even manage a small county properly—look, the prison is recently overcrowded, either gang-related crimes or brazen thefts in broad daylight; if it weren't for the two senior brothers, I wouldn't know the county is this chaotic."

Meng Jingzhou kindly comforted Barbarian Bone: "You shouldn't say that; in my view, other places in Great Xia are just as chaotic, only they haven't discovered it—these people being caught in our county actually shows your governance is effective."

"Furthermore, many who transcend the mundane world during the Void Refining stage choose to become officials, but look at them—whose promotion speed matches yours?"

"You are literally born to be an official." Lu Yang encouraged, "You might even walk the third path of the Void Refining stage—governing the mundane world."

"I never realized I was this capable." Barbarian Bone had no doubt; how could his senior brothers deceive him?

Soon after, Barbarian Bone felt a headache—just one Quxian County could capture so many cultivators causing trouble; upon reaching Zhongshan Commandery, who knows how many more cultivators he might encounter.

Especially since his cultivation has always been unstable, and once the two senior brothers finish handling the ghost incidents, they will leave; if Zhongshan Commandery erupts in chaos, no one will be able to hold the fort.

Barbarian Bone voiced his worries; Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou thought, this is indeed a problem—we're still around, so it's fine to say, but if we leave, what then?

Lu Yang came up with a good idea: "Why not buy some insurance? Although it can't prevent chaos, it can reduce losses."

Meng Jingzhou struck his palm, feeling Old Lu's idea was not bad.

Seeing both senior brothers thought it was a good idea, Barbarian Bone also gained confidence.

"By the way, Chief Clerk Liu, do you want to follow me to the commandery?" Barbarian Bone asked; these past years, he had greatly benefited from Chief Clerk Liu teaching him the rules of officialdom, and in a new place, having Chief Clerk Liu accompany him would give him someone to consult when encountering matters.

"Me?" Chief Clerk Liu exclaimed in surprise; at his age, he actually still had a chance for promotion.

He excitedly bowed to Barbarian Bone: "Thank you, Lord, for your kindness!"

"What about the two senior brothers—are they preparing?"

Lu Yang shrugged: "Following you to Zhongshan Commandery, after all, it won't delay ghost-hunting."

Furthermore, since Barbarian Bone is new to Zhongshan Commandery as county magistrate, the two of them still need to go to the commandery to prop up the situation.

……

"You want to buy insurance for the entire Zhongshan Commandery?" The president of the Huangzhou branch of the Landing Gold Money Merchants Association was quite surprised; the news of Barbarian Bone's appointment to Zhongshan Commandery had already spread, and this newly appointed county magistrate—how could he buy insurance right after taking office?

Buying insurance for the entire commandery is a major deal.

"Yes, and we want to buy the highest coverage insurance." Barbarian Bone said seriously, with Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou standing behind him, the three presenting a proper, official demeanor.

"This……" The branch president felt embarrassed, always sensing something odd about this matter, though he showed nothing on his face; "You are preparing for danger in safety, willing to buy insurance—we are very welcome."

"It's just that Zhongshan Commandery is buying insurance for the first time, so we need to conduct a risk assessment."

"I understand, it's just that your branch sent people to our Zhongshan Commandery to assess the risk and determine the fee," Man Gu said, though in fact he completely didn't understand; these rules were something he had heard Lu Yang and the other mention on the road.

The branch president shook his head: "That's the old regulation. After experiencing the Sword Tower and the Shantianhai Sect incidents twice, our chamber of commerce suffered heavy losses, so the headquarters revised the regulations."

"For an order as large as yours, it needs to be reported to headquarters, which will dispatch personnel to conduct a risk assessment, and then the chamber president will make the final decision before a result can be obtained."

(End of Chapter)