Daping County·Prefect’s Mansion
The prefect's mansion was very spacious and deep, and the weather was very hot, but King Lu was in high spirits, a little tanned, and sat down with his face radiant as he looked around.
Xie Chengdong leaned forward to speak, and King Lu smiled: "You don't have to say it. I know what you are going to say. You are just trying to persuade me not to go out casually. If you want to go out, you have to bring a large number of armored soldiers with you."
"But if you want to seize the world, you have to put things into practice. Even in my current position, I have to look at the situation of the people in the city instead of just listening to the reports."
"If I lead a large number of armored soldiers and have strict honors, how can I see the truth?"
"But even if it is a private visit, I still bring a lot of guards. Bailong is not a fish suit. I still understand this." King Lu said: "I went to the city to have a look. Fortunately, there was a plundering incident. It’s not that common yet, there’s plenty of food on the market, and I feel a little at peace in my heart—this is the people’s support.”
Xie Chengdong listened to King Lu's words and sighed: "Although this is the case, the prince is a king of thousands of chariots, so he must pay attention to safety. Next time he is patrolling incognito, please ask me to follow him."
"Okay." King Lu smiled after hearing this, and added: "What I just looked at was the people's morale, and the military's morale is Suzhi. There are three thousand new soldiers in the city. I also ordered people to select the best and reorganize them. It will be done soon." Jun, I can rest assured about this matter, now we have to see the hearts of the gentry and officials."
"Daping County was able to be captured this time thanks to the secret help of many Jin gentry. Some of them were informers, and some were more secretly involved. These people knew the general situation, abandoned the secrets and turned to the light, and sent people, food, and efforts. How could you be stingy about your future? You all arranged it. alright?"
Xie Chengdong said: "There are seven families of Jin gentry in this county who can be rewarded based on their merits. According to the prince's order, I have asked them to send one son each. Now they are all waiting outside, waiting for the prince to receive them."
King Lu nodded, looked at the geographical situation map attentively, and said: "The situation in Qinzhou has been reported. The method of Jibei Marquis is actually good. As long as one-third of the officials follow us, it will work."
"But management is not just about operation, it also has to be coordinated. These seven families of Jin gentry, Gu decided to buy bones with a lot of money. Regardless of their talent, learning, or stupidity, they were all given an official position when they met and served as Gu's secretary."
"No matter how ignorant you are, a descendant of the Jin gentry will always be literate, right?"
"If you train a little, you can be sent abroad, and given an official position, let people know that there will be a future for you if you follow Gu."
Xie Chengdong was sincerely convinced and bowed: "Yes, I will order them to come in now."
Entering the second hall of the Yamen, there is a row of side rooms to the west, which are full of people, drinking tea and talking. There are twenty people, old and young, sitting at the table and chatting with tea and fruit snacks.
There were some young people in the row. One of them offered tea and smiled: "Brother Liu... what did your family do?"
"Hey, a Taoist priest came outside the house. He is usually known as a national player. I also like to play a few moves of Go, but I didn't succeed in it. I just went to check it out out of boredom. Who would have thought that the old man secretly colluded with him and got through to King Lu? The thread." Liu Yin shook a plain fan and said, "Where is your home?"
"My family is not that mysterious!" said the young man opposite. He was a little fat and sweaty from the heat: "My family is a businessman. We sold a batch of grain to King Lu and connected the line."
Everyone took turns chatting, but one person finally couldn't help it and asked: "Hey, what kind of official position do you think we can get? Our family and father have worked hard and taken a lot of risks, so at least we can get an official position, right?" ? If this happens, who will dare to look down on us in the future?"
"That's right. Wealth can be obtained through danger. The coward will starve to death, and the bold will die from exhaustion." One person was talking, and his face suddenly changed with pain. The people around him said: "Li Cheng, are you okay?"
The man held his belly and said, "I suddenly feel anxious. I'll go and come right away."
With that said, he ran out amidst everyone's laughter, and then arrived at the corridor, revealing his ferocious voice: "I don't want to hide my remnant soul in my body."
After he finished speaking, his expression changed again, and he struggled, showing pain: "No, no, you can't do this."
As soon as the words came out, it turned into a sneer: "Blind Taoist, I cured your eyes and restored your youth, but you still want to struggle. I confused the Li family and got close to Qianlong on your behalf. It will be of great benefit to you."
After struggling several times and the pain disappeared, the man got up and went back.
"Li Cheng, are you so fast?" Everyone at the table looked at Li Cheng for a moment. Just as Li Cheng was about to explain, a eunuch came in, looked at everyone and said, "Guys, come in, King Lu wants to summon you."
The seven young men followed immediately, not daring to take a breath. After walking along the corridor for a while, they saw a lush forest of bamboos, with guards patrolling, each with a sword hanging from their waist, standing like nails, and the atmosphere was solemn.
For the first time after entering, all these people were silent, and even their steps slowed down. They already felt the solemnity and solemnity. The eunuch arrived at the door and signaled to stop - this was repeatedly explained, so he stopped immediately, and his heart was beating. After a while, he saw the eunuch enter and then exit, and said loudly: "Come in!"
This group of people went in. Before they saw anyone, they knelt down and shouted loudly: "See King Lu for a thousand years."
King Lu raised his head briefly, glanced at these people, took a sip of tea, and said: "Get up, I looked at your files. Yes, you have all read books, and some of them are scholars."
"The state selects scholars once every three years. Those who are excellent in learning will be officials. They are divided into young students, scholars, promoted people, and Jinshi. Only then can you get an official status. Because of your family's meritorious service, you have taken this step in one step. I have decided to grant you the ninth rank. As an official, it is a rare opportunity to follow Gu to observe the government, so I would like to give you a few words."
The people below were full of joy, but they bowed and obeyed orders. The room was so quiet that even the patrols outside could be heard.
"Loyalty, diligence, secrecy!" King Lu smiled and said in a calm tone: "I won't talk about loyalty and diligence. You should understand. Let's keep it a secret."
"Gu is responsible for all things, and everything he handles involves the fate of thousands of people. You have a rare opportunity to observe the government, so you must know how to keep secrets. If you can keep these three words, you will be indispensable for glory, wealth, wife, and children. Gu Ye I’m willing to give it to you.”
"But if it is leaked, it will be a trivial matter for an individual to be imprisoned or exiled. It is common courtesy to confiscate the family and exterminate the clan."
The young people below did not expect to hear these words, and they all trembled with fear. Among them, Li Chengshi moved, as if he was trembling when he saw the sky for the first time.
When Xie Chengdong saw King Lu's admonishment, he thought it was okay. Then his heart moved. He frowned and thought. He turned to look at these people, but didn't notice anything. He was a little confused for a moment. He just listened to King Lu say: "That's all I have to say, you go down."
After listening to King Lu's instructions, these people secretly breathed a sigh of relief and quickly retreated. For a while, even their joy was much less.
Qinping County County Government
"Zhenjun, the Qinping County Government is just ahead." As soon as the car stopped, a Taoist official reported. Pei Ziyun nodded: "I'm going to see the county magistrate."
"Yes, real person."
Pei Ziyun got off the car, followed by several Taoist officials, and the soldiers followed silently.
"Who?" A yamen servant looked at him and asked. The people in front of him were dressed in clothes he had never seen before. They looked official but not official, and seemed to be Taoist but not Taoist. "Who are you? Are you here on official business in the county yamen?"
After hearing what the yamen servant said, the Taoist official who was following him became furious and took a step forward to yell: "Pei Zhenjun is acting according to the order and is an imperial envoy. Why don't you go and report it quickly?"
"Imperial envoy? Your Majesty the imperial envoy?" Hearing the Taoist official's reprimand, the Yamen servant was frightened and trembled. His feet went weak and he knelt down: "Let me come in and report."
The chief of the guard sent by the eldest princess said: "A mere county magistrate has such a big air, there is no need to complain, Zhenjun, we will go in directly.
There was a knife mark on the face of the captain of the guard. As he said this, he led him inside. The yamen servant murmured and stepped back, not daring to stop him in the slightest.
"Okay." Pei Ziyun nodded, not wanting to waste time on the Yamen servants, so the group of people broke in.
study
The magistrate was reviewing official documents when he suddenly heard a noise outside and was startled: "What's going on outside? How is it appropriate to make such a noise?"
"Bang" the door opened, and the magistrate was furious: "Who is so bold..."
Just after he finished speaking, he realized something was wrong. The captain of the guard looked sternly and stepped forward to take the official document and smash it on the desk. The county magistrate shook his body and took the official document to take a look.
Just after reading it, I remembered the text issued yesterday, my face suddenly turned pale, and I knelt down in a hurry: "I am the magistrate of Qinping County, and I pay my respects to the imperial envoy!"
"Do you know why I'm here?" Pei Ziyun asked. After hearing this, the county magistrate kowtowed and said, "Zhenjun, I understand."
"Then order the county soldiers immediately." Pei Ziyun said.
"Yes, your Majesty the Imperial Envoy." The county magistrate responded, stood up and ordered: "Quick, go and call the county captain over."
"Yes, sir."
The county captain was well prepared and came in a hurry. When he saw Pei Ziyun saluting, his face was solemn: "See the imperial envoy. Three hundred county soldiers have been ordered."
"Start immediately, target Bailing Temple." Pei Ziyun ordered.
"Yes!" Three hundred county soldiers immediately marched out, with their sabers and equipment in place. It was almost dusk, and the frightened street people fled away. They were not far from their position and arrived at Bailing Temple in a blink of an eye.
Pei Ziyun waved his hand, and three hundred county soldiers immediately surrounded him. Even the Taoist officials were guarding everywhere. The county lieutenant came to Pei Ziyun and asked in a low voice: "Zhenjun, are you going to go in and arrest people now?"
"No rush, just wait."
It was getting late, and there were still pilgrims in the Taoist temple. The faithful men and women were holding incense in their hands, and they all looked pious. Pei Ziyun entered inconspicuously. The corridor leads directly to the main hall, and the structure is not large. In front of the hall is a cauldron, and the cauldron contains half of the incense ashes. There is still smoke and fire inside, and those who offer incense are still stacking up the incense.
There was a small table near the steps. There were pens and paper on the table, as well as a merit box. Pei Ziyun understood after looking at it. It turned out that incense was very good, so most people would burn incense in the cauldron and donate money before going to the gods. fragrant.
Pei Ziyun peeked into the hall and saw curls of cigarette smoke. Although the light was dim, he could see from the angle of his eyes that the statues inside the curtain were majestic and had spiritual light.
At this time, a middle-aged Taoist priest came out to say hello: "Those who seek medicine and treatment will come back tomorrow."
The pilgrims gradually dispersed, and when one person came out, Pei Ziyun asked, "Is this place effective?"
This pilgrim was an old man. He squinted at Pei Ziyun and saw that he was wearing silk clothes with fine sewing work. He looked like a scholar. He said: "Effective, effective! Really effective! Don't be scornful!"
"My daughter-in-law was sick, so she brought talisman water and incense ashes back, and she was cured. I am here to fulfill my wish."
"So that's it." Pei Ziyun smiled, took the incense from one side, lit it, put it in, took a step back, and sighed: "Although the incense is effective, it has lost its energy."
After saying that, he turned around and smiled at the middle-aged Taoist who came out to say hello: "Xie Yi, don't you think so? Your master has taken good care of me in the past, and I'm here to repay you."
(End of chapter)