Seeing the man's frightened expression, Qiu Yizi sighed and asked him to tell Manager Sun that he was safe and had already returned home. He then rewarded him with a few taels of silver and told him to stay and be careful. If the situation went wrong, he should not hesitate but escape immediately.
Qiu Yizi wanted to visit Wu Changxi, but when he thought that he might meet the incompetent governor of Mingzhou again, he became furious and immediately gave up the idea. He ordered everyone to be careful and alert to prevent sneak attacks by Japanese pirates, and then he went out of the city and headed southwest where Shanyin County was located.
After leaving Mingzhou City and arriving in the suburbs, the place seemed more lively.
Those who originally lived in Mingzhou moved to the countryside with their families, old and young, to escape the burning, killing and looting of the Japanese pirates. Those who still had relatives in the countryside were fine. As long as they were thick-skinned enough and ignored the cold eyes of their poor relatives, they could stay there to avoid the storm. Those who had no relatives in the countryside could only make do with what they had. Those with connections stayed in temples and Taoist temples, those with money stayed in country villas, and those who had nothing could only set up tents. Although they could not avoid the wind and rain, as long as they could temporarily save their lives, they would not care about so many things.
When Qiu Yizi saw such a chaotic scene along the way, he knew that the Japanese pirates' rebellion should not be taken lightly, so he quickly quickened his pace and headed towards Shanyin County.
After walking for two days, the group finally saw the not-so-tall city wall of Shanyin County among the endless hills.
Qiu Yizi had only been transferred to Shanyin County as the county magistrate for half a year since he passed the imperial examination. As he had done several major things without stopping, the total number of days he lived in Shanyin County was only less than a month, and less than half of that time he was fighting against the Jiangnan Dao Jiedu Army led by Yin Chengliang.
However, Qiu Yizhi had experienced several dangers on his way to Mingzhou, and he almost met with an accident. At present, the Japanese invasion had not been quelled, and the situation was still unclear. Therefore, when he thought of the extremely reliable Zhao Chengxiao guarding the city in Shanyin County, he was very happy, and seeing that the official road ahead was flat, he led the way to the county.
The one guarding the city gate today is the personal soldier nicknamed "Iron-Headed Dragon". He is the best martial artist among the 18 men under Qiu Yizhi. Although he is rough, he is meticulous in his work, so he is quite trusted by Qiu Yizhi.
The "Iron-Headed Dragon" heard the sound of horse hooves in the distance, looked up, and saw a very agile horse carrying a handsome young man galloping towards him.
"Iron-Headed Dragon" was very familiar with this horse and this man. He quickly galloped forward. When the horse on the other side gradually slowed down, he grabbed the reins and stroked the strong neck muscles of the Ferghana horse. He looked up and said, "Sir, why did you take so long? Is it because the people you brought with you are lazy and unwilling to bring back a letter for you? I will teach them a lesson!"
Qiu Yizi smiled and said, "Who dares not to listen to me? It's just that my subordinates are short of manpower and can't mobilize anyone. You don't have to worry, you see, I'm back safe and sound. How many people did I take out at that time? Didn't I bring all of them back?"
As they were talking, the large group of people that Qiu Yizi had left behind also arrived. Several of the personal soldiers were on good terms with "Iron Head Jiao", and they started laughing and joking with each other as soon as they met. This group of people were all born as bandits and had no control over their mouths, so they started swearing.
Qiu Yizhi saw that there were also Lin Shuhan, a gentleman, and Wen Lingjiao, two women in his team. It was awkward for them to listen to these words, so he interrupted them and said, "Hey, 'Iron Head Dragon'! You kid didn't guard the city gate well, but kept talking nonsense. Aren't you afraid that your brother Zhao will punish you?"
Qiu Yizi's question reminded Iron Head Dragon, who hurriedly said, "Speaking of which, Brother Zhao still has something to discuss with the adults!"
After hearing this, Qiu Yizi hurriedly asked, "What's the matter? Is it serious?"
"Iron Head Dragon" stroked his smooth scalp and said, "It seems that a few people came to see you, sir. Brother Zhao has arranged for them to stay. He said that these people are nothing serious. If you want to see them, you can see them. If you don't want to see them, it doesn't matter..."
Qiu Yizi was stunned when he heard this. Although Zhao Chengxiao was recruited by bandits, he was born into a poor peasant family. He was quite polite in his words and deeds on weekdays. Why did someone who came to visit him today have such a lukewarm attitude
However, Zhao Chengxiao was still cautious. Since he said he was not an important person, there was no need to meet him immediately. Moreover, in Qiu Yizi's view, there were no other "important people" in the world except the emperor, the prime minister and several prince brothers.
So Qiu Yizi nodded and said, "That's fine. 'Iron Head Jiao', you go in and tell them that I'm back, and ask Brother Zhao to send someone to clean up a few rooms. We're tired from the journey, so we'll rest up there."
After hearing this, "Iron-Headed Dragon" immediately agreed and turned around and ran towards the county town.
Seeing his anxious figure, Qiu Yizi smiled and shook his head, then called on everyone to pass through the shallow gate of Shanyin County wall and come into the county.
Shanyin County seemed to be in relatively good order.
At this time, it was the time when the Shen hour was insufficient and the Wei hour was excessive. The sun was still floating on the western horizon, refusing to set, emitting lazy light. A few clouds on the horizon reflected the setting sun, showing magnificent and wonderful colors.
Shanyin County is not a big city like Jinling or Mingzhou. People in the countryside get up early, go to bed early, and even eat early. The people in the city had just finished dinner and were greeting their relatives and neighbors, going out for a walk in groups of three or five, when they saw a group of people coming from outside the city, and everyone stopped to watch.
But they saw that the person who came was none other than Qiu Yizi, the official of their Shanyin County. They all gathered around him and talked to Qiu Yizi in a bustling manner, calling him "Sir" every time they opened their mouths and "honest official" every time they closed their mouths.
Qiu Yizi did not stay in the county for a long time. Not only did he not do anything to promote benefits or eliminate disadvantages, but because the sisters Yang Ying'er and Yang Qiao'er stood out, the government troops launched a massive siege, and the entire Shanyin County was almost reduced to a sea of fire.
Qiu Yizi was deeply impressed by the love and respect from the people of the city. He immediately dismounted and bowed to the people. He then pulled over an old man with white hair and beard and asked emotionally, "Old man, I have never built a bridge, a temple, or a memorial archway for your county since I came to take up my post. The people have really mistreated me..."
The old man laughed and said, "Your Excellency is too modest. I'm not afraid that you will think I am too blunt. Building bridges and temples is your political achievement, and the money is still collected from the people. If you build too much, the people will not benefit from it, but will be burdened with more. We ordinary people really can't afford such political achievements!"
Qiu Yizhi was speechless, but then he heard the old man continue, "Let's not talk about other things, just the fact that you rehabilitated the Yang sisters is enough to show that you are an honest and good official. What's more, things damaged by government troops are always damaged in vain, but you actually compensated according to the price. If this kind of thing is told to others, maybe no one will believe it!"
Qiu Yizi was so ashamed to hear this: mistakes should be corrected, debts should be repaid, and damaged items should be compensated; these are all natural and self-evident rules, but in the mouth of this old man, it became a benevolent policy. He really didn't know how his deceased predecessor Li Shenshi was as a senior official
While he was thinking, he heard a familiar voice coming from outside the crowd: "Sir, sir, I'm here!" The person who spoke was Zhao Chengxiao.
Qiu Yizi was delighted to hear this, and quickly reached out to push aside the crowd. Seeing that it was Zhao Chengxiao leading "Iron Head Dragon", Wang Laowu and others walking towards him, he also stepped forward and said with a smile: "It is indeed Brother Zhao. It has been a long time since we last met. You look much better. I think your injury has healed, right?"
Zhao Chengxiao saw that Qiu Yizhi had bandages on several parts of his body, and the soldiers behind him were all injured. Even the martial arts master Yuchi Jiming had a handkerchief tied on his hand and seemed to be injured. He thought that Qiu Yizhi must have experienced great risks on this trip, so he said, "Sir, you are such a noble family. Why are you taking risks again? If there is such a thing in the future, just tell me to do it."
Zhao Chengxiao and Qiu Yizi have known each other since childhood, and Zhao Chengxiao is a few years older than Qiu Yizi. Therefore, although there is a difference in seniority, Zhao Chengxiao always stands in the position of an elder brother and considers things for Qiu Yizi.
Qiu Yizhi also knew what Zhao Chengxiao meant, so she smiled and said, "I'll know what to do next time. This time, I really did escape death. If Brother Zhao is interested, why don't you go back to the county government office and I'll tell him about it?"
Zhao Chengxiao was about to agree, but he saw a man dressed as a scholar squeeze into the crowd, bowed to Qiu Yizhi and said, "My lord, you are back. I am sorry for not welcoming you."
Qiu Yizi looked carefully and saw that the person coming was Xu Rong, the clerk in the county government office.
Xu Rong was the spy that Grand Duke Zheng Xin had planted beside Qiu Yizi. When Qiu Yizi left Shanyin County to investigate the fake leader of the Tianzun Sect, she did not mention it to him, but the truth could not be hidden from him.
Originally this was something that Qiu Yizi was quite apprehensive about, but with Lin Shuhan's brilliant writing, what was originally a matter of dereliction of duty was turned into a good thing for Qiu Yizi to eradicate all evil in front of the emperor.
Therefore, Qiu Yizhi was fearless and disliked Xu Rong even more. When he saw him coming to pay his respects, he did not extend his hand to help him. He said coldly: "So it is Mr. Xu who is here. I did not inform Mr. Xu in advance. It is my fault..."
Although Xu Rong served in Zheng Xin's mansion as a Jinshi, he was now under someone else's roof and had to bow his head. As a clerk, how could he dare to ask his boss to report his whereabouts all the time? Qiu Yizi's words were undoubtedly just sarcasm.
Seeing Xu Rong was speechless for a moment, Qiu Yizhi hurriedly asked, "I remember when I left home, I wanted to ask you to do a statistics of the land situation in Shanyin County. I wonder if you have done this important task, Mr. Xu?"
After hearing this, Xu Rong straightened his body suddenly as if relieved, and said: "How dare I neglect the things that you have asked me to do. I have already counted all the agricultural and forestry land in Shanyin County, and bound them into a book yesterday, and I am waiting for your review..."
As soon as Xu Rong said this, Qiu Yizi felt a little suspicious - even in the flat plains like Suzhou and Hangzhou, it was very difficult to measure the land in just ten days, let alone in a place like Shanyin County with rugged mountains and scattered farmland - it seems that Xu Rong is not without strengths. (To be continued)