I, Sun Shan, and the Imperial Examination

Chapter 1247 The Most Luxurious Holiday - Lantern Festival

In the blink of an eye, it is the tenth day of the first lunar month, and tomorrow we will start the most "luxurious holiday" of the year.

The Lantern Festival holiday lasts for ten days, from the eleventh to the twentieth day of the first lunar month.

In Daqian, the Lantern Festival is more grand than New Year's Day and has more holidays.

Officials who have worked for a few days feel great when they think about having another holiday tomorrow!

These days, everyone has been going to work with trepidation and working diligently, fearing that Lord Sun would catch them. Everyone is living in fear.

Officials who had half a month's or one month's salary deducted were especially cautious.

Seeing Master Zhang holding the roster and putting an "X" next to them, my heart skipped a beat.

Moreover, Master Zhang told them clearly that the officials who were marked had caught the attention of Lord Sun and were the targets of special care.

If you make the same mistake again, the punishment will only be more severe.

The officials were so angry that they wanted to secretly put Sun Shan in a sack and beat him up severely.

It’s a pity that Sun Shan was either in the inner courtyard or the outer courtyard of the yamen, and he had few opportunities to go out.

Even if he got out, he would be surrounded by guards and lackeys, and it would be extremely difficult to find an opportunity to take action.

The only way was to stand on a high place and shoot an arrow at him. But this was too difficult. If the arrow was not accurate and killed Lord Sun, they would be in trouble.

The officials secretly drew circles and cursed Sun Shan, hoping to go home after dark so they could sleep in the next day.

County Magistrate Wang, Chief Secretary Wu, and Inspector Liang walked in from outside.

County Magistrate Wang asked, "Sir, tomorrow is another holiday. Here is the list of people on duty. Please take a look."

The imperial court stipulated that the Lantern Festival was a holiday, but there had to be someone in the government office, so someone had to be on duty at night.

Sun Shan looked at the list, nodded and said, "Let's follow the list above."

After a pause, he added: "The wages will still be doubled."

The police officers are quite enthusiastic about working overtime because they get paid for doing so.

County Magistrate Wang nodded and said, "Sir, I understand."

Wu Zhubo came up and asked, "Sir, are you really not planning to prepare any activities for the Lantern Festival this year?"

Not only does the government not hold any activities on New Year's Day, it also does not hold any activities on the Lantern Festival.

Lord Sun was a maverick who abruptly ended the custom of the Yuanlu County government holding the "Lantern Festival" every year.

What is Lord Sun doing? Not only is there no garden party on New Year's Day, but even such a grand festival as the Lantern Festival is not held. The people are dissatisfied.

Sun Shan shook his head and said, "The government won't do it."

Then he pointed to the treasury and said, "You all know how much money the government has in its treasury. We are really powerless."

When these words were spoken, Wu Zhubo and others were choked.

It is true that there is not much money in the government's treasury, but this was not the case in previous years. If they squeeze a little, they can always squeeze out some money. If all else fails, they can ask businesses for sponsorship.

Lord Sun refused to do it. I really couldn't understand why he did that.

Isn’t the usual theme “come from the masses and go to the masses”?

Organize some activities to strengthen ties with the people. Even if the people's impression of the government does not change, at least they will have something to talk about.

There is no way that Lord Sun, who loves fame so much, doesn’t know this truth?

Now that Sun Shan has flatly denied that he would hold the Lantern Festival, what else can Wu Zhubo say?

County Magistrate Wang didn't say anything, and the third-in-command would say even less.

He did what Lord Sun said. Maybe it would be better not to do it, which would reduce trouble.

If Sun Shan knew about Wu Zhubo's complaint, he would definitely pull his ear and say loudly: Not organizing activities is to reduce trouble. The more you do, the more mistakes you make; if you do nothing, no mistakes will be made.

Especially this kind of large-scale group activities, Sun Shan was afraid when he saw them, let alone expecting him to host them.

When people gather together, apart from bringing benefits to businesses, the rest only causes trouble for the government.

As for the commercial taxes, Sun Shan chose not to take them.

For the "official career", maintaining stability is the most important thing.

There should be no major serious incidents within the jurisdiction, such as murder, child trafficking, trampling, etc.

These indicators are related to Sun Shan's promotion and wealth.

Sun Shan didn't want anyone to die because of an event organized by the government, which would have been a big stain on his official career.

Being a human being should be done with caution, and being an official should be done with even more caution.

Of course, these words cannot be said to the subordinates. In short, the government’s treasury is empty and they cannot express any opinions.

If you want to do it, donate money first.

Haha, when they hear about donating money, I’m sure they will run faster than rabbits.

After Wu Zhubo finished his request, he went to Liang Xunjian for instructions: "Sir, I have already followed your instructions. Any merchant who wants to prepare a private lantern banquet must register with the government office. Here is the list of merchants, please take a look."

Inspector Liang already has experience because he did the same thing during the Spring Festival not long ago.

Any business that held a large-scale event with more than 20 people had to report to the government office and clearly inform the business that if anything went wrong, the business would be held responsible. The government office would also send people to guard the business.

At first, Inspector Liang didn't understand why Sun Shan did this, but the more he thought about it, the more he felt that Sun Shan's idea was brilliant.

If the accident happened on someone's territory, we can directly look for the person according to the registration book. We can guarantee that we can find the person who caused the accident, and we will not give the merchant any chance to deny it.

You already know the risks, but you still organize activities for the sake of profit. Then I'm sorry, you must take the responsibility you should take.

It cannot be that the profits belong to the merchants and the responsibilities belong to the government.

Inspector Liang looked at Sun Shan with sparkling eyes.

This guy is really smart, worthy of being a successful candidate in two imperial examinations.

To be able to break through the densely packed imperial examination system, even if one is a top three scholar, is something that ordinary people cannot compare to.

During this Lantern Festival, Mr. Sun did the same thing. If there was any problem, he would contact the merchant and report to his superiors.

At least there is someone responsible to share the risk.

Sun Shan looked at the list and found that they were still those fearless merchants, including the Wang family and three wealthy businessmen.

Knowing that there is a tiger in the mountain, he still goes there. This is a risky way to seek wealth and honor. No wonder he became a big businessman.

Sun Shan said to Inspector Liang, "During the ten days of the holiday, guard the city gates. If you find any suspicious people, you should delay a little and investigate them carefully. Especially on the night of the Lantern Festival, it is the top priority for patrols.

If human traffickers take advantage of the opportunity to kidnap the pimp girls in this county, it will be a tragedy. Remember, you must guard the city gates strictly. Don't be afraid of trouble. Perhaps an inadvertent action of yours can save a pimp girl. Remember!"

Sun Shan was really afraid of these major festivals when crowds gathered.

Even with careful warnings, there are still many careless parents who only care about their own happiness and fail to take good care of their children.

Sun Shan had personally experienced a crime committed by human traffickers and really didn't want such a situation to occur within his jurisdiction.

Moreover, there have been records of children being abducted and sold in Yuanlu County, so we have to be on guard.