Youzhou was in turmoil, and the Yihe River was the center of the ups and downs. In this tragedy, in the city of Yihe River alone, there were twenty-four families with surnames of more than forty generals who were killed on the spot in the city of Yihe City. There are no fewer than seven hundred people, and those who are implicated but not dead are mostly sent to the border. According to the continuous reports of the spies and spies, the local snake who chose to be wise and safe at the beginning has little resentment now. It's very simple. If someone dies, he will have more territory. It's quite impressive, and it's all taken over by these grass-roots families. The food and money are the servants of the mother, the women and maids of other families who have been coveted, and the rare calligraphy and paintings sold at cheap prices are all real benefits. After Xu Fengnian entered the city, he lifted the curtain several times to look out, and he could see many cold eyes, numbness, hatred, fear, hatred, and so on.
Xu Fengnian returned to the general's mansion, Song Yan and Wang Xihua had not yet returned to the mansion, and the end of Yihe, these two high-ranking Lingzhou officials who were temporarily transferred to Youzhou did not directly intervene in specific affairs, but more general Huangfuping and governor Wang Peifang. Xu Fengnian didn't know how the pair of political opponents could get together. At that time, he made up his mind to call this young Latin man to Youzhou, intending to let Song Yan serve as the assistant to Youzhou, and he was born as an assistant general. Hu Kui, the new governor of Liangzhou, is not trusting Hu Kui, who has made outstanding achievements in the governorship of Liangzhou, but that in the four states of Beiliang Road in the future, it is inevitable that civil and military complement each other and check and balance each other. This trend is not limited to On the surface, the two positions of general and governor, as for Wang Xihua, who is outstanding in his writing and knowledge in Beiliang, are a bit like being "happy" for Youzhou, which is full of blood and rain, and Qingludong Academy also needs a good literary master to take over the place, and everything begins Difficult, when scholars go to Liang, it is impossible to cram all of them into the officialdom of Beiliang at once. Divide a roughly accurate three-six-nine grade. Xu Fengnian was sitting in Huangfuping's extremely shabby study room, not to mention a few books, not even decorations, it was a dull and cold room, indeed similar to Huangfuping's temperament.
Xu Fengnian was flipping through an unpopular photo book, without raising his head, he said, "Come in."
The person who entered the house was surnamed Liu, and he was the spy leader of Yihe City. He reported to the King of Beiliang what he had collected today, and it was all fragmentary conversations between Song Yan and Wang Xihua. It turned out that after witnessing the bloodshed in Youzhou, the two knew the cause of the incident, and had no objection to the treatment of the Yihe Huang family. Fifteen people who heard the book, no matter the common people or the gentry, did not deserve such a heavy punishment from the King of Beiliang. Song Yan, who had always admired Legalism, thought that everyone deserved more than a crime, and the two rushed to Youzhou. There was no accident. He was in charge of Youzhou Biejia, and Wang Xihua was in charge of Yizhou's academic administration. The two had a dispute, so they made a bet. If Wang Xihua won, the two would exchange positions, but Song Yan actually said that he would definitely win, and the official position would remain the same from now on. However, when Wang Xihua saw Song Yan in the future, he had to follow the etiquette of the lower officials to pay respects to the upper officials.
Hearing this, Xu Fengnian put down the book and said with a smile: "The two adults really have leisure and elegance. It is impossible for the sixty-five people to check one by one."
Liu Meizi said softly: "That's not the case, Wang Xihua only chose three people."
Xu Fengnian nodded and said: "Students are angry because they are afraid that they will not win. Go ahead and tell me which three people you have chosen."
The unattractive Yihe spy respectfully said: "They are Cao Sheng, a son of the Cao family in Yihe, Qi Fengnian, the shopkeeper of Qiji Silk and Satin Shop, and Han Laicai, a villager. Among the three, Cao Sheng is the regular customer of Jingyixuan Restaurant , the Cao family is the last member of the general family in Yihe. Qi Fengnian is a door-to-door son-in-law who has a good reputation on Yihe West Street. Han Laicai pretends to enter the building to buy wine, but in reality he is shy and hides behind to take the opportunity to listen to the storyteller. For these things, Song Yan and Wang Xihua carefully looked through the files after making a bet, and Wang Xihua selected three people from a stick of incense, and Song Yan nodded in approval."
Xu Fengnian got up and said: "Wang Xihua believes that people are inherently good, and everyone has a heart of compassion. What Song Yan learned is that human nature is inherently evil. The dispute between the two is not a dispute between moral articles, but in the final analysis is a dispute between people's hearts outside of books. If I had to guess, the loser would definitely be the moralist Wang Xihua, but the victor was the old fox Song Yan. I will not agree to such a bet."
The spy leader surnamed Liu hesitated for a moment, but he still plucked up his courage and said: "From the humble point of view, Song Yan is not invincible, except for Cao Sheng who was responsible for two murders, like the rich businessman Qi Fengnian and Murano The common people, Han Laicai, should have been imprisoned according to the law."
Xu Fengnian shook his hand, "In a place like Beiliang, chivalry is important, but chivalry is not necessarily so. It is easy to commit crimes, but it is difficult not to commit crimes."
The spy was silent.
Xu Fengnian smiled and said: "This time, many families in Yihe City are busy fishing for money, Liu Jingxing, you might as well take some gold and silver from them, and treat it as a reward to your brothers, there is no reason for you to work so hard. Staring, those who do nothing take advantage of it, forgive them for not daring to let go of their mouths and spit out some fat. But this king has agreed with you in advance, this time is just a special case, not a new rule for you to do things in the future."
Liu Jingxing grinned cheerfully, still not the slightest bit of cunning that a shrewd spy should have in the impression of outsiders, but became more honest and simple, not like a cold spy who called Song Yan Wang Xihua by his first name. Xu Fengnian continued to pick up the book, and Liu Jingxing said goodbye. When he crossed the threshold and gently closed the door, he caught a glimpse of a little girl out of the corner of his eye, which shocked him a lot. From the beginning to the end, Liu Jingxing did not notice such a girl. The young girl, with her head tilted to the side of the gold hairpin, was squatting beside a half-person-high blue and white porcelain vase, looking at Liu Jingxing. Liu Jingxing quickly retracted his gaze, lowered his head, and closed the door completely. Not long after Liu Jingxing left, Song Yan from Lingzhou knocked on the door and entered. Xu Fengnian held the book and pointed to the chair opposite the table. Song Yan sat down calmly. Xu Fengnian joked: "Our Wang Gongcao is really himself. Bumping headlong into your trap."
Song Yan is not surprised that today's events were known by spies. During this period of time, the eyes of Yihe City are all over the place, and he and Wang Xihua are also eye-catching. Even the more tactful civil servants are like this, it can be seen that the governance of Beiliang has a long way to go."
Xu Fengnian smiled at Miss Hehe, "Please bring two jugs of wine."
The girl left quietly, and she really came back with two pots of green ant wine. Xu Fengnian and Song Yan each shared a pot of wine. Xu Fengnian said with emotion: "I used to know that it is not easy to be in charge, but only when I really sit in this position can I understand the truth of being in charge." It's not easy, fighting with people, fighting with wicked people, people like the Yihe Huang family, but also fighting with good people, people like Huang Shang, Wang Xihua, and even fighting with the sky. In the past, it was a pleasure to listen to the rain and enjoy the snow, but now you have to Considering the harvest of the jurisdiction. I have a stack of secret letters to deal with now. It is said that Song Tanglu, the steward of the palace, colluded with officials and edited the music for his nephew. The children of the Lu family embezzled the fertile land and were exposed. There is also an elder of the Lu family A lot of money to buy calligraphy and paintings turned out to be counterfeit. If you can’t return it, you will cause trouble. A young master drank flower wine in Liangzhou and was jealous of the general seed Sun Zhengfeng. It stands to reason that it would be peace of mind to kill both of them. In addition, the youngest son of Wei Tieshan, the deputy commander of the infantry, moved his belongings to the neighboring Hezhou. The illegal real gold and silver alone packed sixteen large boxes and was sent by the patrol soldiers. After being detained, rumors soon spread that the border soldiers insulted the daughter-in-law of the deputy commander. There was also Gu Dazu, a young captain who was highly valued, who was beaten to death outside the border for no reason."
Song Yan said flatly: "As long as you drag your family along, there will be conflicts. There is still a gap between husband and wife between father and son, let alone such a big Beiliang?"
Xu Fengnian said with a smile: "From now on, you and Hu Kui Huangfuping will be responsible for all the government affairs of Youzhou. Your Excellency will always fight for you, saying that you, Song Yankong, have magical powers, but it is useless. The place of martial arts, I hope that after getting you to Youzhou, there will be some places of use for martial arts."
Song Yan nodded and said, "You should do your best."
Xu Fengnian didn't go, picked up half of the jug left, stood up, walked out of the study with Song Yan, Song Yan left, Xu Fengnian found Wang Xihua, who was temporarily living in a side courtyard of the general's mansion, and told him that he wanted to see someone, Wang Xihua walked out of the mansion in a daze, got into the carriage, left Yihe City and came to the outskirts. There was an irrigation ditch here, which raised a fairly lush reed marsh. They have all become golden grasses. Near the reed marshes, there are a few small villages gathered by the river. The cool breeze is blowing, and the spring is warm. Walking on the narrow dirt road, the air is full of the fragrance of green reeds. Groups of village children were picking young shoots. Xu Fengnian and Wang Xihua slowly came to a small ferry by the river, where clumps of reeds cuddled gracefully, a tender and charming scenery rarely seen in Beiliang. In Xu Fengnian's hand was a hollow stalk of a green reed, shaped like a rough reed flute. Xu Fengnian sat on the cobblestone ferry, blowing on the reed pipe, sobbing faintly. Wang Xihua didn't sit down, but stood by the river, thinking in his heart, probably the young feudal lord was dissatisfied with why he made the bet with Song Yan, why he questioned his actions in Youzhou, but he thought that he was half-hearted. Because of his confidant's affection, he didn't use the usual official tricks to clean himself up.
Xu Fengnian stopped playing the reed flute, raised his head, and pointed to the northeast, "There was a poor scholar from Beiliang, who went to Beijing for seven years, and finally came to the fore. The year before last, he had become the living doctor of the emperor's close minister, and last year he became the doctor of the kaogong department. Assistant Minister Zhao Youling and Prime Minister Yin Maochun presided over the Beijing Review. This year, he will participate in the evaluation of Liyang local four-rank officials. In early spring, he visited the south privately with Prince Zhao Zhuan. After returning to Beijing, they got married. The concubine attended at the same time, full of splendor. On the wedding night, with big red candles and red hijab, the woman is a golden branch and jade leaf surnamed Zhao. This scholar is destined to rise to the top in the future. Among them, there are only two secret letters sent to Beiliang, one is the candidate for the crown prince, and the other is about the physical condition of the Zhao family emperor. Such a scholar who has made great contributions to Beiliang only wrote two words at the end of the two secret letters , ask Beiliang to pass it on to someone."
Xu Fengnian paused, and said flatly, "Don't read."
"Don't wait."
Wang Xihua sighed.
Xu Fengnian continued to speak slowly: "Before this scholar became famous, there was a Zhao Gou spy here who was staring at him for many years. So even if it is such a simple four words, the person who cares, the person who waits, Still never know."
Wang Xihua asked softly, "Is that infatuated woman still waiting?"
Xu Fengnian nodded, and stretched out his hand to pat the stones beside the ferry, "She was here to send scholars to the capital to rush for the exam, and she was never married. If she missed her, she would come here and wait, because he promised her back then that no matter what Whether or not you can get the honor in the exam, you will return to your hometown to marry her to get started."
Wang Xihua sighed sincerely: "Such a scholar, such a woman, should be married to a beloved man, even if the King of Beiliang personally presides over their marriage, it would not be an exaggeration."
Xu Fengnian turned a deaf ear and said, "After the end of last year, women no longer come to the ferry to wait for others."
Wang Xihua was stunned.
Xu Fengnian threw the empty reed tube into the water, without turning his head, but stretched out his finger, pointing to the distance beside Wang Xihua, "She died in the reed marsh and was buried there."
Xu Fengnian stretched his hands into his cuffs, "I came to Youzhou and Yihe to kill people. You, Wang Xihua, said in your heart that I killed innocent people indiscriminately. I think that no matter how innocent those powerful people are, they are not as innocent as this woman. Besides, such a woman , Youzhou can’t count the number of such tragedies. You scholars, you keep saying that you are dedicated to peace in the world. I, Xu Fengnian, think that peace in the world is too far away, and peace is so close, so we must do it first.”
Wang Xihua's face was pale.
Xu Fengnian got up, shook his sleeves, and bowed to a small grave in Luweidang.
Turning around and leaving, leaving behind Wang Xihua who was slumped on the ground, Xu Fengnian said in a deep voice, "I am lucky to be a human being, but I don't treat others as human beings. Since I am not a human being, in Beiliang, I will kill every one I see."
More than a hundred dead men from Youzhou appeared in Luweidang, and they thought they had seized the opportunity to kill this single man, King Tu Fan, on the spot.
Xu Fengnian put his hands behind his back and did it in one go, smashing hundreds of people to pieces.