The house of Song Yan, the prefect of Huangnan County, is empty and sparse, with few servants, and deserted. In fact, this house is one of the best high-rise houses in Huangnan County. However, because it was a haunted house that no one dared to take over, it fell into the hands of Master Song, who had a clear hand. The meritorious general who drank wine with the king of Beiliang when he was young, for some reason, on a snowy night, all the seventy people in his family were killed overnight, no matter women, children, old or young. It was a severe case of beheading someone with a knife, and it is still a big unsolved case on Beiliang Road. Some say it was done by bandits in the green forest, and some say it was done by political opponents who are still serving in the Beiliang frontier army. How about it, it is rumored that every snowy night, there will be women crying and drinking, and the house has been vacant for many years. Later, Song Yan, who does not believe in ghosts and gods, became the chief official of Huangnan County. , all these years have been peaceful.
Although Song Yan admired the power of magic, he had an alias related to Huang Lao, Taoist Caigen, the wife of the county sheriff died young, leaving behind an only daughter who is now waiting in his boudoir, named Song Huangmei, who rode horses and whipped in Huangnan County. Holding a knife and holding a bow, he is extremely heroic and heroic, not inferior to a ranger in Beiliang. When Song Yan noticed that his daughter, who had always regarded rouge as the top evil in the world, asked him for some money, it was not to buy bows and arrows, but to buy them secretly. A lot of rouge and gouache, I ran into her at the house several times, and her daughter's face was not wiped clean, Song Yan knew that this girl had a sweetheart, and Song Yan was happy to see it, and never exposed her daughter's poor cover-up again and again, The study building of the prefect's mansion is adjacent to the garden. Song Yan held a volume of books and stood quietly at the window. In the garden, his daughter and two maidservants who were like sisters were laughing and laughing. With a smile, didn't the daughter speak so loudly on purpose so that the young man who had been standing outside the wall for more than half an hour could hear her
Song Yan had someone explore the family background of the young man. He was born at the bottom of the market, and he was full of blood. He took refuge in a sect that was not high or low in Huangnan County. In several gang fights, he relied on desperate fights to become a sect. The direct disciple of the big brother, who has been tempered by many years of human experience and sophistication, treats people well, and is much higher than those Gaoliang disciples in Huangnan County who are above the top. After chatting for a few words, young people seldom pretend to be surprising, their conversation is simple, and their nature is not bad. Regarding the love between him and his daughter, Song Yan silently took a step back and let it go. Song Yan himself is not from a noble family. He also grew up in a poor alley, so he knows that it is not easy for a poor family to become famous. However, if this person is a scholar, even if he has no hope of fame, Song Yan would have invited him into the mansion a long time ago. He generously recognized the relationship between Weng and his son-in-law. Song Yan is not optimistic about the gang's children, at most he doesn't object. If he, the prefect of Huangnan County, takes the initiative to show his favor, it will be too embarrassing for Song Yan.
Seeing her daughter sneaking towards the courtyard wall, Song Yan didn't forget to look around. Obviously she was too thin-skinned, and she was afraid of being caught by her father, and she knew very well that her father was famous for her ability to see little things, so it's not easy to fool her, Song Yan Yan had to smile wryly and back to the bookshelf from the window. Song Yan put the Legalist book "Five Beetles" back on the shelf, and sat back on the desk with a mountain of documents. Seeing the two secret letters sent from the mansion of the Jinglue Envoy one after another, Song Yan stretched out his fingers to touch the Taotie pattern on the bronze vessel, which meant to exorcise ghosts. Song Yan closed his eyes and felt the burning of his fingertips, and slowly withdrew his hand. He didn't care about the letter from his teacher Li Gongde. On the contrary, the blockbuster of Huangnan County this time was the harbinger of Song Yan's self-establishment. As the tide rises, all boats rise, but the fourth-rank prefect is already at the extreme. Now Beiliang has a change of dynasty. Song Yan knows that he has a bad impression on the king of Beiliang. There is no way to make further progress in the officialdom, every step is late, and Song Yan, who is in his prime and has always been ambitious, does not want to follow other people's buttocks to eat leftovers, but now Song Yan is not sure if the general of Lingzhou is tolerant With his stomach, do you have the courage to come and see him in person, this hard and smelly stone in the official latrine.
While Song Yan was meditating, his daughter's voice came from the garden outside the building, and Song Yan stood up helplessly. This girl is not at all virtuous, how can she marry a good family in the future? Song Yan didn't respond, went downstairs, detoured Walking in through the back door of the garden, I saw that my teacher's daughter, Li Chengzhen, had come to Huangnan County, and there was a strange face beside him. Based on Song Yan's old-fashioned experience, he immediately guessed the identity of Li Chengzhen, a man of the Han clan, Guo Fufeng. . Song Yan didn't have a lot of likes and dislikes about this man. Seeing his daughter Song Huangmei sizing up this man, Song Yan winked. Even if this person becomes the master's son-in-law, Song Yan is not very optimistic about him, let alone with Song Yan's identity, even if Guo Fufeng will go to the top in the future and want to talk to him Standing side by side with Song Yan, at least it will take more than 20 years of hard work. Li Chengzhen held Song Huangmei, who was a few years younger than her, but her expression was tense. This was the first time she brought Guo Fufeng to appear in front of her father's disciples. Others could say that she might sell her business strategy to make her daughter a little bit more face. Song Yan Among the former officials of the Li family, they were already known for their inhumanity, and they were afraid that the prefect would directly issue an order to expel guests with a straight face. This time, he rushed to Huangnan County to meet Uncle Song secretly. His father really had no choice. I don’t know how Guo Fufeng got the Xiaodao The news, after talking to her for a long time, and talking about a lot of hard work, Li negative really hesitated to bring him to Song Mansion. She and Song Huangmei had a good relationship since they were young, and they have always been loved The girl is treated like a younger sister, and the prefect of Song Dynasty dotes on her daughter, which is well known to the world, and this girl has a dark relationship with a Jianghu Erlang who is not as good as Guo Fufeng. The key to "the truth comes to light" is that just thinking of this, Li Chengzhen feels unspeakably sad that he has nowhere to confide in. When will she start thinking about it like this? However, seeing Uncle Song's calm expression, but at least he didn't speak ill of Guo Fufeng, Li Chengzhen felt a little more at ease, and the heartless Song Huangmei didn't know why Sister Li, who was fearless and fearless, had sweat on her palms , A group of people went to sit around the fire in the house, Song Huangmei came back with an excuse to shovel some charcoal for the fire, and ran out of the house in a hurry, Song Yan didn't know that she was going to say goodbye to her lover, so she had to make a movement of stacking chairs and standing on the wall, Girls are not allowed to stay in university, pity the hearts of parents all over the world.
As soon as Song Yan sat down, he received a few famous stickers from the steward. They were all late-born scholars from Huangnan County who came to ask for advice on economics and economics. In fact, they just paid homage to him, the prefect, so that he could become familiar with him. Song Yan asked the steward to return them. They also donated a few books in return by the way. Those few people didn't get to meet them, but they came here on a whim and returned, and they had to show off to their peers. Song Yan dealt with this trivial matter casually, looked at Li Chengzhen and said with a smile: "Uncle Song's salary is all used to buy books, and the family is almost unable to open the pot. It will be difficult to make a living here."
Li Chengzhen was never good at socializing, he just smiled. Guo Fufeng didn't want to be a foil, and took the initiative to say: "Collectors in all dynasties love books like their lives, and they believe that borrowing books is like borrowing their wives. It is better to simply give books to others, just like a celebrity giving a concubine to a concubine. It is a good story. The prefect is well versed in the samadhi."
Song Yan's expression was indifferent, and he didn't agree. Guo Fufeng also had a thick skin, so he didn't feel cold at all. Li Neghen, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, felt a little restless again, for fear that Guo Fufeng's ignorance of official rules and taboos would annoy Song Yan, who was indifferent. Fortunately, Song Huangmei brought a pot of black charcoal at the right time to help her out invisibly. Song Huangmei talked freely in her own home, frowned and said: "Father, Tie Ya just told me that there are some foreigners on the street outside the wall. It's been a while, what are you doing in the empty alleys in winter, are you a villain?"
Song Yan laughed softly: "The road is open to the sky, even if Dad is a prefect, he can't control the legs and feet of passers-by. Some people are willing to suffer from the cold outside the wall. Even if they stay for an hour, Dad can't use the official hat on his head to fight against the situation." people."
Song Huang's eyebrows smacked to feel the taste of his father's words, his face flushed suddenly, and he lowered his head to fiddle with the charcoal fire.
The steward of the house stood at the door, a little panicked, Song Yan got up and walked outside the house, after hearing the news, he remained calm, turned around and said to Li Chengzhen that he was involved in some urgent business, and then asked Song Huangmei to help greet the guests. When the prefect left in a hurry and his footsteps gradually disappeared, Guo Fufeng lowered his head and stretched out his hands to roast the charcoal fire, his face was a bit gloomy. Raising his head to see the beautiful faces of Li Chengzhen and the prefect's daughter, who were whispering and intimate in the boudoir, Guo Fufeng also quickly turned into a warm smiling face, and did not feel dissatisfied because of the county magistrate's negligence. After Li Chengzhen and Song Huangmei had finished whispering women, they began to hesitate to speak. From the corner of their eyes, they caught a glimpse of Guo Fufeng's irresistible look, and then said, "Huangmei, do you know that there are many adulterous priests in Huangnan County who do not conform to the etiquette system?" , was stabbed to my father, saying that Uncle Song not only did not ban him, but allowed his incense to flourish. In fact, these temples were secretly manipulated and turned into means of making money. It is suspected of immorality. I am here this time. , I just want to inform Uncle Song."
Song Huangmei was surprised, then squinted his eyes and smiled: "What's wrong with morals, anyway, this is how we are in Beiliang, what customs are easy to corrupt, no matter how bad it is, it can't be so bad, I think those who deliberately slander and slander My father's bastard is just full of food. Either he is afraid that my father's position is too stable. If my father doesn't move, they won't be able to climb up. Get promoted and get rich. If you don't get promoted, how can you get rich? It was caused by Yinzi. I heard in the restaurant that several counties in Lingzhou pointed their finger at the general of Lingzhou and deliberately muddied the water, so our Huangnan County is safe and sound, and my father will become a target."
There was a wry smile on the corner of Li Chengzhen's mouth, Guo Fufeng glanced at the girl, a little surprised.
Song Huangmei intentionally or unintentionally squinted at Guo Fufeng, who was elegant and elegant, and said to Li Chengzhen: "Sister, brother Hanlin is really amazing now, and his prospects are so lawless that he has become the leader of crossbowmen in the upper reaches of the border. I heard that he has killed countless There are hundreds of barbarians from the North Mang, whose heads can’t be hung on horseback. Is Brother Hanlin going home for the New Year this year? If he comes back, please remember to invite him to my house. I have to tell Brother Hanlin about my unhappiness Absolutely admire. Men, don’t you have to go to the battlefield to kill enemies like Brother Hanlin, otherwise you won’t be considered a man.”
Hearing these insinuations, Guo Fufeng sneered in his heart, his face still calm.
Li Chengzhen carefully glanced at Guo Fufeng, turned his head and smiled forcedly, and said, "Let's go out for a walk."
Guo Fufeng stayed naturally. After the two sisters went out, Li negative stretched out his hand and twisted Song Huangmei's ears, "Damn girl, you dare to teach my sister a lesson? Didn't I write it clearly in the letter for you earlier, don't make a bad face for him, you'd better !"
Song Huangmei curled his lips and said: "Anyway, I didn't like that person at first glance. My father said that scholars should not have too much slavishness. Such scholars have no great prospects. I look at the Guo person and he has both problems." , Sister, listen to me once, you rejected our Northern Liang demon king at the beginning, so many feats to relieve anger, how come it is getting more and more useless in the end? If you knew this was the case, you might as well have followed Xu's lust at that time. Embryo, when I become the side concubine of the vassal king, we will make the adults laugh until the back of their head. Besides, Brother Hanlin can turn his prodigal son back, maybe that one surnamed Xu will wake up one day, really. Going to the frontier to kill the enemy...Of course, I think that with the disposition of that unscrupulous guy, it would be as difficult to ask him to kill with his own hands like Brother Hanlin, so he only dared to bully and bully women. The guy who said good things, what is he thinking, what is the old soldier from Beiliang respectfully sent to Beijing, why did he go to Beimang, what caused a bloody storm on the rivers and lakes of Liyang, who would believe it... "
Li Chengzhen knocked the chattering Song Huangmei's forehead vigorously, and stared angrily, "No one will treat you as dumb if you don't speak."
The two walked to the corner, and saw a group of people walking quietly on the bluestone path of the mansion in the distance. Except for the prefect Song Yan, who was wearing an official uniform and did not have a saber, most of the other men had an eye-catching Beiliang saber hanging from their waists, which added a little bit Winter chill atmosphere.
Song Huangmei, who likes to join in the fun the most, hurriedly tugged on Li Chengzhen's cuffs, and said in admiration: "Yoyo, who is this handsome guy with gray hair and murderous looks, look at my sister, how proud my father is!" , even walking a shoulder distance behind him, no, I have to find an excuse to pay a visit to this hero!"
Li Chengzhen's expression was complicated and difficult to understand.
After all, Song Huangmei still had some loyalty, and she did not leave her sister who was responsible and left alone. She was different from ordinary ladies, she was obsessed with dancing spears and clubs since she was a child, and she kept thinking about it with her father in order to hide a Beiliang knife After many years, Song Yan finally had to agree to get one when she got married, because there is an iron law in Beiliang, as long as you quit the army, even generals are not allowed to wear Beiliang saber privately, even if you are awarded one , and are not allowed to take it out. Of course, it is another matter to abide by it or not. Many dudes in Beiliang are proud of wearing a sword. As long as they are not exposed or bumped into, they will probably be fine. However, there is a world of difference between wearing a sword privately and carrying a sword upright. So far, no serving civil servant in Beiliang is qualified to wear a Beiliang sword. This is like the honor of wearing a sword in the capital. Even though Song Huangmei is the daughter of a prefect, she still admires from the bottom of her heart those soldiers who rely on their own ability to wear a Beiliang knife. The gang boy she likes now also vowed to her that before marrying her, It must be wearing a Beiliang knife and going to the old man's door to ask for marriage.
Song Yan ushered the uninvited guests into the conference hall in the back room, waved off the servants, and poured tea and water himself, with a lot of courtesy, but there was still no trace of fear in his expression.
Even if the young man sitting in front of him is His Royal Highness the Prince of Beiliang, the newly born general of Lingzhou.
Xu Fengnian took the teacup and said calmly: "Back then, under the instigation of the spider web Li Mibi, Beimang Jianghu wanted to infiltrate Beiliang, and only selected civil officials who were soft persimmons to kill, so as to disturb the foundation of Beiliang, but they were intercepted at the border before entering the country. The killings were messy, but there were still some fish that slipped through the net and successfully sneaked into the two states of Youliang. At that time, in order to appease the hearts of the people, many unprovoked disasters were covered up. Lingzhou was relatively better, but it still happened in this mansion. In recent years, most of the Beiliang spies have focused on the dead in Beimang, and seemingly inexplicable murders have happened every now and then, but the common people don't know about it."
Song Yan said with a smile: "Last year there was a murder case in Huangnan County, which alarmed a Chinese cavalry army from other counties to cross the border to kill, uprooted a gang, and almost ransacked the whole family. Intercept and question the school's Wei Xingshi, and later the spies under General Chu sent me a military order, and I knew the danger."
Xu Fengnian said: "Huangnan County is known as Jiangnan outside the Great Wall, and it is the location of Beiliang's granary. Master Song, as our Lingzhou's grain carrier, must have a heavy burden on his shoulders."
Song Yan replied in a flat tone: "This official's responsibility lies."
Xu Fengnian sneered, "It is also the duty of the county governor to prohibit the improper worship of the big and small adulterous priests in the county. Master Song has always been praised for his resolute behavior in Lingzhou. How could he neglect his duty? Three ghost temples in Huangnan County The memorial tablet enshrined in the temple is neither the heroic soul of Beiliang, nor the god with the title granted by the imperial court. It is obviously against the etiquette system, but one of the couplets is still written by Mr. Song. Could it be that Mr. Song is relying on his strategy to protect the adults and commit crimes knowingly? ? I heard that Mr. Song is fond of collecting books, and he collected more than 60 rare ancient books, which are very expensive. I don’t know how much incense was paid to Mr. Song by the temple that violated the regulations this year?”
Song Yan took a sip of tea and said, "It's only five hundred taels, not worth mentioning. It's a pity that many rare books that were so coveted were not included in the bag."
Xu Fengnian said with a smile: "The territory under the jurisdiction is full of prostitutes, corrupting more than 300 taels of ink, the two crimes are punished together, but it is a capital crime of losing one's head. Master Song just wants to use his own head to help my son establish dignity in Lingzhou?"
As expected of being that smelly and hard stone in the latrine in Lingzhou, Song Yan said with a smile, "Since Your Highness came to the door with a knife and Song Yan also pleaded guilty, it's just a matter of one knife."
Xu Fengnian put down his teacup, "You and I know very well that you have disobeyed the wishes of the envoy this time, and you intend to come out of the officialdom in Lingzhou, so that I can pay attention to you, the guy who once annoyed Xu Xiao. When you met The bottleneck of the official, I want to change the family, so that I can go to the next level. I also made enemies on all sides in Lingzhou, bound my hands and feet, and urgently needed someone to break the deadlock. 'Rising from the pole' makes outsiders mistakenly believe that the envoy has made up his mind and wants to bow his head to General Lingzhou, so many subordinates will restrain their small actions wisely. After all, they are really going to be settled by the autumn queen. If they don't keep the dirty work, they will be unable to eat and go around. Although they don't blame everyone, they can kill chickens to make an example to monkeys. After all, a few unlucky chickens will be picked up. I'm also afraid. Song Yan, do you think that without you Huangnan County, I will be stuck in the mud, even if I go ashore, I will be covered in mud, so I can only go to Liangzhou to complain to Xu Xiao."
Song Yan shook his head and said: "Your Highness does not lack the means to break the situation, but he is short of time. After all, even if His Highness kills indiscriminately, he can still show his dissatisfaction. Later, when the military confidantes are in place one by one, plus some Lingzhou local officials and The mutual checks and balances of foreign scholars, haste and slow fire, and the officialdom in Lingzhou was gradually tamed. But it seems that His Highness does not have this ruthless determination for the time being, and he can't afford to wait. On this point, after His Highness came to Huangnan County to find me in person, Song Rock is more certain."
Seeing that Xu Fengnian did not speak, Song Yan continued to speak slowly: "If I become the governor of Lingzhou, I can serve as a pawn for Your Highness to clean up the dirt, and I can also appease Mr. Jinglu envoy publicly. Master Li's control in Lingzhou..."
Xu Fengnian smiled and thought about the words of the magistrate, "The magistrate overestimates himself, the governor of Lingzhou can only be Xu Beizhi, not you Song Yan, you can at most be a Lingzhou don't drive. But this son can tell you something bright By the way, one day Xu Beizhi will become Beiliang Daoist envoy, you may be the governor of Lingzhou, but it's still early, you have to wait, because Beiliang won't touch Mr. Li who has no meritorious deeds, Xu Li The two families have accumulated the incense of two generations, not to mention the hard work of Mr. Li, just my friendship with Li Hanlin is enough to make Mr. Jinglue addicted to being an official, and the immoral thing of killing donkeys is still Of course, if you, Song Yan, are really capable, with Xu Beizhi standing in front of you, the governor of Lingzhou can't do it, but there are still two governor seats in Youliang for this prince to consider. Shizhou, let's not talk about Xu Beizhi as an outlier, you can count how many are under forty years old? Master Song, you can be content."
Song Yan's face was cloudy and uncertain.
In the end, Xu Fengnian said something that made Song Yan dumbfounded, "Also, there are many officials who want to be promoted to Lingzhou. Cool, I can use it to buy people's hearts."
Without waiting for the prefect to nod, Xu Fengnian stood up and said to himself: "Damn it, no wonder so many people want to be emperors, and they can be so confident when they start selling officials and nobles."