Tanzhou is connected to Yangzhou in the east, Shuzhou in the west, Dajiang in the north, and Yuezhou in the south, so it is naturally divided into two parts: east and west.

The east side is mostly plains, there are two large lakes, Pengze and Yunmengze, just listen to the name, these are two very large wetlands, full of swamps and ponds.

Therefore, the people of the Central Plains have migrated from the north and the east for hundreds of years, and have multiplied here, so that the excellent cultural inheritance of the Han nation has taken root.

In the west of Tanzhou, the most in the south is the big mountain, the big mountain here stretches for thousands of miles, and there are hundreds of ethnic groups and tribes living in it, the most of which is the Miao people.

Most of them rely on the mountains to eat the mountains, hunt wild animals, and also graze cattle and sheep, and live a leisurely and undisputed life.

Tanzhou has been a controversial place since the Qin and Han dynasties, and since the founding of the Great Xia Dynasty, many villages led by Miao people have been set up in Guizhou, and the western part of Tanzhou is adjacent to these Miao people.

There are many Miao tribes and there are great differences, so between the Miao people and the Han people, and between the Miao people and the Miao people, often fight for some water sources and fields.

Tanzhou has jurisdiction over seven prefectures and 41 counties, Changsha Mansion, Yuezhou Mansion, Hengzhou Mansion, Chenzhou Mansion, Longxing Mansion, Jizhou Mansion and Fuzhou Mansion.

The five counties under Hengzhou Prefecture, including Hengyang, Chayang, Qiyang, Guiyang, and Pingyang, are medium-sized prefectures.

Further west of Hengzhou, it is the Miao area of Guizhou Province, so there is a Wugang village near the Miao people in Qiyang County, and there are border troops stationed.

Qiyang is named because it is located in the south of Qishui, and the Han Dynasty belongs to Lingling County, until Daxia Zhitan Prefecture, Lingling County is abolished, and Qiyang County belongs to Hengzhou Prefecture.

At present, Qiyang County has jurisdiction over more than half of the original Lingling area, with a large area and a sparse population, with a population of less than 300,000 and tens of thousands of Miao people.

Yuan Rui didn't go by water, there was enough time, he wanted to check the people's conditions along the way, so he chose the land route.

Originally, the saint gave him a month's leave, plus a month's travel expenses, and he could get to Qiyang before the end of February.

More than 2,500 miles from the capital to Qiyang, it is indeed too far, and the road is not good, and it is reluctant for a month.

Before leaving, the county lord told her that if she wasn't pregnant, she would follow her personally.

In order to ensure the safety of the road, Wei Guogong also selected five guards from his own henchmen and soldiers and handed them over to Yuan Rui.

This time, Yuan Rui also knew that the journey was too long, and there might be accidents at any time, so he couldn't do what he wanted.

He is going to be an official this time, so he can act according to the rules of officialdom and follow the official post.

Therefore, Yuan Rui also follows the normal schedule every day, a post station for half a day, and rests every evening when he arrives at the post station, with an average of seventy or eighty miles a day.

Yuan Rui also has a special situation when he takes office this time, he was dismissed from his post last time, and the original grade of the sixth grade is gone, and only the rank of a county horse is left.

According to the position of the magistrate this time, it should have been the grade of the seventh grade, but the saint somehow, when he asked the officials to give an order, he gave a grace, promoted him by one level, and gave him the grade of the fifth grade.

In fact, it is not particularly gracious, if Yuan Rui is not a jinshi, he is not an official, he is not according to the official rank of officialdom, just as a county horse, the grade has reached the second grade, this is because the county lord of Chiayi is the second grade, and he is a prince.

Besides, the saint still has a little bit of compensation in his heart, otherwise he would not have directly given his unborn child the title of county lord (county lord).

Let him come out to be a county official, but also to give him a transition, when he is familiar with the officialdom and understands how to be an official, when the time is ripe, it will be a matter of time before he manages a government.

So every time I arrived at the post station and saw the documents of the ministry, the director of the post station was still very attentive, the guards of the Guogong Mansion, and the Wupin Zhi County, these are all hard conditions in the officialdom.

Yuan Rui didn't want to be low-key on the road, or he wouldn't be bullied to death, so he didn't come forward at all, and the chores were handed over to the chief around him.

This time, the county lord sent two stewards around him to follow, these two stewards, a man and a woman, have been following the county lord for seven or eight years, and they are also good at handling internal and external affairs.

On February 21, the second year of Taining, a full thirty-five days, Yuan Rui successfully arrived at Hengzhou Mansion.

There was still a stone's throw away from the city gate, and I saw a few people running up from a distance, Yuan Rui sat in front of the carriage, and immediately recognized the people, Qi Feng and A Niu were in front, followed by a few people who looked like servants.

Qi Feng and A Niu came back from the capital in advance, they rode fast horses, unlike Yuan Rui, a few servants, as well as family members, guards, three carriages, and pulled a lot of things, so they arrived in Hengzhou in more than ten days.

Qi Feng came back first for two main things, first to implement the position of the ministry, and then to investigate the situation in Qiyang a little, and make some preparations in advance.

"What are you doing, are you lazy, how many days have it been, and it has only arrived!" As soon as Qi Feng came up, he began to tease Yuan Rui.

"Where is this horse business, the road is not good, and the road can't be walked at all!"

Yuan Rui's most depressed thing is really the road, saying that it is an official road, and it can't even reach the most basic leveling, with potholes all the way, big potholes and small pits.

"No way, no way, there are too many rivers and ponds here in Tanzhou, and it's really not easy to build roads."

"It is said that if you take the waterway and come from the capital, it will be a little faster and stable." Speaking of which, the waterway is indeed more comfortable, "Advanced City, Advanced City, all arranged." Qi Feng hurriedly pulled Yuan Rui to the city.

Qi Feng originally wanted to directly invite Yuan Rui home to live, but Yuan Rui refused.

It's different when you enter Hengzhou, it's too close to Qiyang, and a little wind and grass will leak to Qiyang, and it will be troublesome if it falls into the hearts of those who have a heart.

Yuan Rui didn't want to open all the hole cards at the beginning, and he didn't want to expose himself nakedly.

Yuan Rui still arrived at the post station according to the normal procedure, for the previous officials, to find a good foothold, first go to the mansion to meet with the prefect, get the relevant official documents in the mansion, and then go to the county to take office, this is a normal process.

Yuan Rui first arrived at the post station, everything was arranged, he washed and changed his clothes, and personally went to the government office to present the official documents of the ministry, and then returned to the post station to wait for news, which is the most basic etiquette for a new official to take office.

Back at the post station, Yuan Rui had time to sit down with Qi Feng to discuss future official business.

Song Jianwen, the prefect of Hengzhou, was a scholar in Shaoning for 23 years, and went to Tanzhou in the same year to serve as the magistrate of Pingyang.

Xining was transferred to Hengyang Governor in the first year, Xining was promoted to Hengzhou in five years, and the former prefect of Xining was transferred in eight years, and he took over the throne and became the prefect of Hengzhou, and has been an official for nearly 20 years.

He has been in Hengzhou since he became an official, and he can be regarded as the most senior official in Hengzhou, and he is also the largest local force in Hengzhou.

Hengzhou with a hundred years of stability in the court also developed well, although it is not comparable with the land of fish and rice in the south of the Yangtze River, but it is also a relatively good rice planting area, the climate is suitable, the yield is very stable, so the people eat is not a problem.

Now Hengzhou is relatively stable, and the folk customs are not bad, because several counties have relatively developed water systems, which provide sufficient convenient conditions for the local people to sell materials, so relatively speaking, the people are living a good life.

Yuan Rui knew about the Song Governor's Mansion before he came, and now after listening to Qi Feng's brief introduction, although he is not very familiar with the officialdom, he also knows how terrible it is for an official like the Song Governor's Mansion to stay in a place for twenty years.

The internal relations of officialdom have become intertwined, and it can be said that without his support, it is difficult for the entire Hengzhou to achieve anything.

The next day, Yuan Rui successfully met Song Jianwen, the prefect of Hengzhou, and was given a solid lesson in officialdom.

As soon as Yuan Rui arrived at the door of the prefect's office, a scribe was waiting at the door, and led Yuan Rui directly to the backyard. As soon as I entered the backyard door, a spirited old man in the courtyard stood at the door in civilian clothes, smiling all over his face.

"Lord Yuan, it's been hard all the way!" Song Jianwen is of medium stature, slightly thinner, and his eyes are shining.

"Don't dare to greet adults as adults, and give your lords a salute." Yuan Rui hurriedly stepped forward to give a salute, needless to say that this was the Song Governor's Mansion.

"Come on, come on, sit down in the house and talk slowly." The prefect of Song waited for Yuan Rui to approach and politely let Yuan Rui into the house.

"Your Excellency, please, your lordship first," Yuan Rui didn't know what was going on, he hadn't encountered such a thing.

Governor Song gave in for a moment, but turned around and entered the door first, and then sat in the main seat.

"Come on, serve tea to Lord Yuan." The prefect of Song invited Yuan Rui to sit down and instructed the servants to serve tea.

"Thank you, sir!" Yuan Rui hurriedly got up and thanked him.

"Lord Yuan, you may not know yet, Ling Zun and I are Jinshi in the same year, and we are in Tanzhou in the same year, we are very familiar with each other, I have heard him talk about you for a long time, and you have been very smart since you were a child." Song Governor suddenly said.

"Ah, my lord, the lower official really didn't hear my father mention this matter, it's rude, it's rude."

"It's okay, it's okay, the reason why I saw you in the back hall today is because of this relationship, there is no need to be so angry."

"Alas, we were joking at the time, if it weren't for Ling Zun's early death, maybe the relationship would be closer." Song Zhifu sighed at this time, looked at Yuan Rui, and his face suddenly became sad.

"Lord Yuan, the old man is dragging it up, this is an inner house, you don't have to be too polite, just be at home."

"This, my lord, the lower official...... Yuan Rui gave Shibo a gift! Yuan Rui hurriedly went up the steps and immediately gave a new salute.

"Okay, good, good, nephew, please get up quickly," Song Zhifu got up and came to him, with a smile on his face.

"I heard that my nephew was coming over a few years ago, and I was worried that it would be difficult for the magistrate in Qiyang to be the magistrate, so I went to the inspection envoy to help my nephew change, but unfortunately, the inspection envoy told me that it was the holy imperial decree, helpless!"

"Thank you Shibo, I don't know anything about officialdom, and I need Shibo's advice from time to time in the future."

"You're welcome, we're all our own people, and if you have any difficulties in the future, you can come to me at any time!"

The two chatted for a while, and a scribe walked in with an official document and presented it to the Song prefect.

"Lord Yuan, this is your official document, I have already done it for you, and you can take office at any time."

"Thank you, my lord, after the subordinate arrives, he will do his duty, do things according to the arrangements of the government, and don't cause trouble to the adults."

Yuan Rui took the opportunity to say goodbye to the Song Governor's Mansion, and the Song Governor's Mansion said a few more polite words, saying that he would give Yuan Rui a second time when he came to Hengzhou.

Sitting in the carriage, Yuan Rui was still reminiscing about the conversation just now, with a face full of disbelief.

Qi Feng listened to Yuan Rui's brief explanation of the meeting, and while admiring, he looked at Yuan Rui and laughed teasingly, "How is it, is this Lord Song beyond your imagination!" ”

Yuan Rui looked helpless, "You said, is it all like this in the officialdom, if it weren't for the university scholars and you who gave me guidance in advance, I wouldn't know how to deal with it today." ”

"He invited me to the backyard to meet me, outsiders couldn't see it at all, and they didn't know his attitude, and they would treat me normally in the future. I can understand this, after all, no matter what, it's not a bad thing to take yourself off first. ”

"Childe, he didn't just pick himself off, in the future, when you have a chance and a backer, he will come and see you alone, he will give you very detailed guidance and help you stand on the platform!"

"Childe, look at it again, how good the foreshadowing behind the people is, it has a direct relationship with you!"

"This hasn't taken office yet, and I have recognized a Shibo, what the hell, he's too shrewd." Yuan Rui couldn't help but say.

Qi Feng laughed, "What Shibo, people still want to be your cheap old man!" ”

Yuan Rui also smiled, "It's impossible for him not to know that I married the county lord, this is to express his position, tell me that he knows my details." also told me that no matter what the future holds, for the sake of Wei Guogong's face, it will not be difficult for me! ”

"However, he still wants to help me, telling me that Qiyang is not a good place, let me be careful, and also tell me a meaning, if there is really anything uneven, you can find him, and you can even change places to be an official."

"Childe, you're not bad, the last statement should be very popular with this old fox!"

"Where, this is what Scholar Meng taught me, asking me to go to my boss and try to do what he wants."

"Qi Feng, it seems that this place in Qiyang is not easy to treat, you are a local snake and have to take on a big responsibility!"

"Childe, you are really wrong, I agree with what Scholar Meng said, as long as you are not selfish, and you don't want to be a high-ranking official, it is very simple to be an official!"

"Okay, indeed, I really want to taste the treatment of those so-called clean officials!"

The two talked and laughed and returned to the post station, and made an appointment to go to Qi Feng's house for dinner tonight.

Qi Feng's family is a relatively large family in Tanzhou, which originated in Hengzhou, but after hundreds of years, it is not only in Hengzhou, including Tanzhou, Jingzhou, and Shuzhou, and there are Qi family businesses, and some clansmen have moved to settle down.

Qi Feng's branch is a descendant, Qi Feng's grandfather is still the patriarch of this big family, but Qi Feng's father is not the eldest son, and he has no chance to inherit the patriarchal position in the future, the most likely thing is to move out of the old house and start a new family business.

Yuan Rui has brought a lot of gifts, the relationship between the two has been for so many years, there is no difference in identity for a long time, Yuan Rui went according to the gift of the family, plus he is really low-key, and he is not so particular, and he gets along with the Qi family very harmoniously.

Qi Feng's father not only specially instructed Qi Feng to do things well, but also instructed Qi Feng to protect Yuan Rui well, and pay attention to safety in Qiyang, where Han and Miao are mixed.