novelaction Chapter 667 No such person found
Chapter 667 No such person found
If the city lord of Jiangcheng was the magistrate's superior, then Lin Ping was the superior he respected.
This youngest general in history was already famous. This time, he not only pacified the Lotus Palace, but also repelled the army of the Daye Dynasty, which was very inspiring.
There are already many folk songs praising Lin Ping, so how could the magistrate of Qinghe County not have heard of his reputation?
"You are an elder, please don't kneel before a junior like me. Please rise quickly," Lin Ping said, helping the other person up, thus winning over another wave of people's hearts.
He could defeat his enemies whenever he was ruthless, and he could win people's hearts whenever he was kind.
In other words, no matter what Lin Ping does, he can still be praised, which is quite frustrating.
He promised to be a spendthrift and live off his wife, but in the end, he became a hero.
"Elder sister, have you heard that Yunying and Ping'er were appointed as Grand Generals and defeated the army of the Daye Dynasty? They are not only pillars of the court but also heroes in the hearts of the people. If it weren't for Ping'er's help, how could the City Lord's Mansion have so easily taken back the fiefdom?"
Jiang Xiuwu praised Lin Ping, saying that it was to make Jiang Lanfeng look at Lin Ping with new eyes and thus give up on letting Jiang Yunying marry his senior brother's son.
However, Jiang Lanfeng's reason for wanting Jiang Yunying to marry his senior brother's son was not because the son was more outstanding, but simply because he wanted to use this as an excuse to get closer to his senior brother.
Therefore, no matter how well Lin Ping does, he cannot get past Jiang Lanfeng.
"So what if he's a general? He was still being choked and begging for mercy by his senior brother, wasn't he?" Jiang Lanfeng said sarcastically.
"Old hag, aren't you afraid your senior sister will come after you if you're so worried about your senior brother?" Lin Ping cursed inwardly.
According to Lin Ping's understanding, Jiang Lanfeng's senior brother only has eyes for her senior sister, and the two have long since tied the knot.
The son who was abandoned in the family was born to Jiang Lanfeng's senior brother and sister.
Jiang Lanfeng didn't say it, but her every move made it clear. Wasn't she afraid of getting a spanking for competing with her senior sister for a man?
Lin Ping wasn't angry about this. Openly challenging Jiang Lanfeng wouldn't end well, especially since he didn't have his thousand crossbowmen with him.
He continued to help the magistrate of Qinghe County open the household registers, and was equally bewildered by the chaotic names.
"Has Magistrate Liu ever considered classifying these people's names by surname?" Lin Ping asked softly.
"Classifying by surname means putting people with the same surname in the same book?" The magistrate of Qinghe County was quite clever and understood immediately.
"Not only that, it can also be sorted by the first letter of the pinyin, which makes it very convenient to find people's names and can greatly save time in tax collection," Lin Ping continued.
"What is Pinyin?" the magistrate asked curiously.
Lin Ping then realized that there was no pinyin in ancient times, so it was no wonder the other party didn't understand.
“You can send your advisor to Huiwen Academy to study. He can learn not only pinyin, but also the four arithmetic operations.”
"Is that the academy that surpasses the Imperial Academy?"
The magistrate of Qinghe County asked with great delight.
In the past few months, Huiwen Academy has become famous, and talented people from all over the world are vying for its attention, but Lin Ping has not accepted any of its students.
The reason is simple: Lin Ping needs technically skilled people, not these bookish scholars.
"I wouldn't dare say I'm on par with the Imperial Academy, but I'll still be able to learn something," Lin Ping said modestly.
He suddenly had an idea: to train all the clerks in government offices across the country, so that they would at least be able to do the four basic arithmetic operations.
"On behalf of the people of Qinghe County, I thank the General," Magistrate Liu said, bowing his head to the ground with tears of gratitude.
After some polite exchanges, the two continued to look through the household registration records, but there were too many to handle.
Before long, Luo Shaolan and others also joined in, with the steward and accountant from the city lord's mansion helping out.
Many hands make light work; in just one afternoon, hundreds of household registration records were thoroughly searched.
"Reporting to the General, we truly cannot find Zhang Jiuxiang," Magistrate Liu said, blaming himself.
“Senior brother would never lie. You must have searched too carelessly and missed something,” Jiang Lanfeng said sternly.
"Stop talking nonsense, come and find me if you're not happy!" Lin Ping really wanted to curse.
Jiang Lanfeng kept saying she was anxious, but she didn't bother to look at these old household registration records.
Lin Ping found it unsurprising to flip through it; twenty years had passed, and who knew what had happened in between.
Furthermore, given Jiang Lanfeng's noble status, the old man would surely hide his identity and treat the infant like an ancestor.
"Could Zhang Jiuxiang have changed his identity? Magistrate Liu, could you please bring me the household registration from twenty years ago?" Lin Ping said hurriedly.
"A household registration from twenty years ago?" Magistrate Liu was clearly somewhat troubled.
According to the regulations of the Wu Kingdom, the household registration system is revised every ten years, and the old household registrations are usually destroyed three years after the revision.
"Could it have already been destroyed?" Lin Ping asked, somewhat disappointed.
"General, please don't worry, I will go back to the yamen to look for it right away." Magistrate Liu kowtowed repeatedly and withdrew.
If it were anyone else, Magistrate Liu wouldn't have gone to such lengths; he would have simply ordered it destroyed. He was just following the rules.
But the other party was Lin Ping, a hero he admired. He was determined to find the household registration from twenty years ago, even if it meant digging three feet into the ground.
At midnight, Jiang Lanfeng became a door god, his donkey-faced figure blocking Jiang Yunying's doorway, ostensibly to prevent fire, theft, and Lin Ping.
Her concerns were not unfounded; if she didn't stop him, Lin Ping would definitely not let go of the opportunity for a night of passion.
Moreover, absence makes the heart grow fonder, and he and Jiang Yunying had not seen each other for several days.
Lin Ping wasn't in a hurry. As long as he could find Jiang Lanfeng's son, he could dissolve the marriage.
At that time, Jiang Lanfeng would have no reason to stop him. Lin Ping would not only walk into Jiang Yunying's room openly, but also let the sound of the cat's meow fill the entire city lord's mansion.
He was confident in his abilities and didn't need the help of the old Chinese medicine doctor or Old Wang next door.
The next morning, the magistrate of Qinghe County hurriedly entered the government office, carefully holding a household register in his hands.
"General, I've found it!" Magistrate Liu excitedly opened the household register, and sure enough, there was a name named Zhang Jiuxiang on it.
Just as Lin Ping had predicted, Zhang Jiuxiang had moved out of Qinghe County twenty years ago and, according to the household registration records, went directly to Shanyang County, which was the seat of Jiangcheng.
"Is it in Jiangcheng?" Lin Ping said excitedly, hurriedly sending someone to the government office to retrieve the household registration.
The newly appointed prefect was from the city lord's mansion. Upon hearing the city lord's order, he rushed over, carrying a thick stack of household registers.
He was cautious and brought several clerks with him. They spent about two hours going through the household register, but still couldn't find the name Zhang Jiuxiang.
"Do you have any records of the move in from twenty years ago?" Lin Ping continued to ask.
Jiang Chengyin shook his head and said, "Jiangcheng has a large population, and the household registration is destroyed every ten years. We can no longer find records from twenty years ago."
"I understand, you can all leave now." Lin Ping shrugged, looking utterly dejected.
Clearly, the lead through household registration has run dry, and he needs to visit each household one by one, hoping that there is still time.