From Jingzhou to Yuezhou, take a boat down the river, and you can get there in one day. Since watching Jiang Meichen and others' impeachment of Luo Fangyu by Jiang Meichen and others that day, the pen fun pavilion www.biquge.info has been unhappy in his heart, and after a little hesitation, he still decided to write to the court to intercede for him. Qiu Yinming remembered that when Geng Jiuchou was in office before, although he was cold to him, he was indeed a good person, he was wrongfully imprisoned, and he did not have the opportunity to petition for him, and now his students are also in danger, what should he do. At the beginning, when Yu Qian Wang Wen was in trouble, he went with the flow in order to protect himself, in fact, he didn't want to stand up and speak up like Dongfang Yan in his heart, but now that he thinks about it, he is a little embarrassed. After the ship left Jingzhou, it stayed overnight in Shishou County. Qiu Yinming wrote a letter overnight and immediately sent someone to Beijing.

In the afternoon of the next day, the light rain gradually subsided, and he landed on the shore and entered the city, and was greeted by Fan Wende, the capital of Yuezhou. A few days ago, I passed through Yuezhou on the way from Wuchang to Jingzhou, and had a light meal with Fan Zhifu, which can be regarded as mutual recognition. On this day, when Fang met, Governor Fan sighed, for the birthday of the prince, as the governor here, he has been entertaining officials from all over the world in the past few days, preparing various matters, and he is very busy. Everyone knows that this Wang Fuquan is a talkative person in front of Gonggong Cao, who dares not to flatter well.

After eating a cup of tea with Governor Fan, Qiu Yinming said goodbye. After arriving at the post house, he immediately sent the books and congratulatory gifts that had been prepared long ago to Wang Fuquan's mansion. Follow the customs of the locals, although I despise it in my heart, I must be polite on my face. It took a long time for the messenger to return. It turned out that the birthday banquet was approaching, and Wang Fu's whole mansion was full of visitors, not only officials from all over the world who came to congratulate him on his birthday, but also local tyrants and giants in Yuezhou Mansion. Every day, the cars and horses in front of the gate are noisy, and the crowns and hats are crowded.

In the blink of an eye, it was July 18.

Yuezhou Mansion is bordered by the Yangtze River in the north, and Dongting is 800 miles in the west, densely populated, fertile and verdant, with lakes and mountains, and different scenery in the four seasons. Wang Fuquan's birthday banquet was arranged in the famous building in the west of the city, Yueyang Tower. It is said that Yueyang Tower is the old ruins of the Eastern Wu of the Three Kingdoms, which has been destroyed and built several times, and has gone through the vicissitudes of wind and rain. During the Qingli period of the Northern Song Dynasty, Yuezhou Taishou Tengzijing rebuilt the building, and gradually became famous all over the world after Fan Wenzhenggong's witty words. Today, this Yueyang Building is really the property of a local gentry. I heard that this gentleman was born in a scholarly family, although he has never entered the office, but he is a gentleman who leads the literary world in the local area. Over the years, in Yueyang Tower and its surroundings to repair the historic sites, widely planted flowers and trees, and leveled the road, it seems to be a scenic spot for people to visit and recreation. Local officials often borrowed the place for private gatherings.

The banquet begins at noon. It was a clear day, the wind and clouds were light, and the banquet was initially set up in the open-air lake in front of the building. As far as the eye can see, the flat lake is like a bi, and the distant mountains are green like snails, all of which are in sight. It's a sight to behold. But the banquet was full of staggered and mixed words. Marigold overflows with fine wine, and jade plates serve delicacies. Flatterers, polite people, and people who sit on the table and watch the wind, in this piece of drunken gold, each has his own thoughts.

The presence of the new governor of Huguang came as a surprise to many. It has been rumored that although this Qiu Yushi is currently only patrolling as the imperial historian of the capital, he is quite favored by senior cabinet officials and has a bright future. This person is an honest official, since he arrived in Hubei, outside of official business, he has shirked all personal contacts, and a few days ago he also went out on patrol in micro-clothes, and his whereabouts are mysterious. Therefore, people often come to get close to Qiu Yinmingtao during the banquet.

At this time, the banquet has been open for a long time, but I saw that the first seat was a middle-aged eunuch with five short figures, big ears, and a big red woven gold Luo yarn python robe, which was Wang Fuquan. There were two other eunuchs in the seat, who were Wang Fuquan's cronies, Eunuch Liu of Jingzhou and Eunuch Ma of Changde. Wang Fuquan was in charge of military affairs in Huguang, and most of his daily contacts were military attachés. Sitting on the right hand side of Wang Fuquan was the commander Li Ju. This person is forty or fifty years old, with a face like a heavy jujube, tiger eyes and a wide palate, a slender figure, but his waist and belly have been blessed, and Wang Fuquan drinks and talks. The military attache present also included one Tongzhi and two servants under Li Ju, and the commanders of the local Yuezhou Wei and nearby several guards, Tongzhi, Tongshi, and thousands of households, and other large and small officers, no less than dozens of people. There are also many civil servants. Fan Zhifu, who was preparing the banquet, was talking with Qiu Yinming at this time, and there were Yan Zhongmin, the deputy envoy of the inspection, Lu Hongsheng, the senator, Jiang Meichen, the superintendent of the imperial history, and the other two Wang surnames, surnamed Zhang, supervising the imperial history, and the rest of the prefects, prefectures, and county orders, a total of about 20 people.

Just as he was talking about the case of Luo Fangyu, Governor Fan said: "Lord Qiu, to be honest, I think Lord Luo has been wronged. Qiu Yinming saw that he was a little cautious, so he asked, "Does Master Fan know the reason?" Fan Wende hesitated for a moment and said, "It's okay to say it." Many people know about this. ”

"About half a year ago, Lord Luo went out on patrol and passed by Changde Mansion. At that time, the Qu prefect of Changde reported to him that thousands of households in the Wei Institute had forcibly expropriated fertile land and oppressed the people in the local area, and the people had changed their color. Lord Luo attaches great importance to it, and after careful investigation, it is indeed true. Moreover, "Governor Fan turned his head to look at the eunuch Ma who was flushed with alcohol on the other side, and whispered: "The money and real estate that have been collected have been honored a lot to that father-in-law Ma." ”

Qiu Yinming asked: "When I first came, I heard that Lord Luo had reported several official corruption incidents to the imperial court, but they were all gone. Presumably that time, too? ”

Governor Fan nodded and said, "Exactly." The prefect of Qu has some dealings with me, so I know a little bit of the inside story. Later, Lord Luo reported to the imperial court twice, and finally got a reply, and several thousands of households who committed the crime were dismissed and investigated. Who knows, it didn't take long for Qu Zhifu to be impeached and demoted to Jiangxi as a county magistrate. Alas, who made him so ignorant of the severity. I also persuaded him at the beginning that he had no power and no backing, and if he wanted to stand out, he would only invite disaster. This Lord Luo must be upright. ”

While the two were talking, they saw Jiang Meichen walking towards this side. After approaching the salute, Jiang Yushi said to Qiu Yinming: "Lord Qiu, I have heard of the name for a long time, and I am fortunate to meet it." Xia Guan did not have the opportunity to visit first, and he was really ashamed. ”

Qiu Yinming looked at him for a moment, this person's demeanor was elegant and bookish. It turned out that he was the scum who befriended the rivers and lakes, and recently wrote the imperial history of impeachment of Lord Luo. Sure enough, no one should be disguised. He replied: "Don't dare to be." You and I are the same science and technology scholars, why should you be so formal. A few days ago, Qiu had read the recital of the adults in the newspaper, and the writing was brilliant and admirable. ”

After a polite discussion, the three of them sat down and talked again. Leave it at that.

After it was dark, the banquet was transferred to Yueyang Tower. The delicacies of land and water have been enjoyed, and at this time, the table has changed to various fine points and rare fruits. Leban has also changed. Previously, it was just a courtesan who performed a few sets of new dramas in the pavilion outside, but now they have changed a few handsome little friends, silver kite tooth boards, and sang songs on the banquet. The eunuch Wang looked at the spring breeze on his face, and the corners of his mouth drooled. At this time, the courtesans handed the wine to the table one by one, and most of the officers who had drunk for several rounds began to laugh. Some civil servants stood up to take their leave.

Qiu Yinming was also about to leave the table, and when he caught a glimpse of Fan Zhifu's tired face, he knew that since he was the host, it would be difficult for him to leave, so he stepped forward and said to Fan Wende: "Lord Fan has worked hard. I don't know how much effort it took to make this banquet so good. Fan Wende sighed: "Alas, fortunately, it was only done this time. At this time, a little excellent served the wine at the table and saluted the eunuch Wang with a flattering face. Wang Fuquan smiled, drank the wine in one gulp, and reached out to hug the little you to sit down.

said goodbye to all the adults, and said a few polite words to the eunuch Wang, and Qiu Yinming said goodbye. The moon is in the sky, the autumn breeze is blowing, the lake is sprinkled with gold, but it is a good night, and I feel refreshed. The manner of the speech of the officials at the table was somewhat aware of the interests of each of them. I didn't have the opportunity to meet with Li Ju some time ago, but although I met today, there were many people at the table, and I didn't say a few words. But you can feel his attention to himself. It's better to visit him while he is in Yuezhou.

The next day, before Qiu Yinming finished writing the post, he received a letter from Li Ju, inviting him to inspect the Yuezhou Weijun camp tomorrow. This came very abruptly, he and Li Ju almost didn't know each other, how could they invite him to the barracks when they met for the first time? After thinking about it, Li Ju must have heard his deeds from Zhang Tianyi. In any case, if you come to it, you will be safe, and it will be up to them to see what tricks they have.

The next day, the sky was clear, after breakfast, Qiu Yinming took the crown to meet Li Ju outside the city, boarded the official boat, the entourage was crowded, the flag was shining, the gong sounded into Dongting Lake, and went south for five miles, which was the main camp of Yuezhou Wei. When the commander came, the guard post had already been prepared, and the military appearance was neat, the swords and guns were shining, and the parade was full of energy. After watching the infantry drill for a while, Li Ju invited Qiu Yinming to drink tea in the main hall in the courtyard of the back camp. I have heard that Li Ju loves money, and it is true. The clothes and belts are all made of luxurious materials, embroidered with gold and jade, and they are extremely ostentatious. Now that the sea is safe, these officers have long been pampered, let alone a commander like him. Although Qiu Yinming remembered them one by one, he still felt more and more powerless. How can these officials be easily shaken by the fact that they seek personal gains, protect each other, and share weal and woe.

After sitting down for tea, Li Ju suddenly asked, "I heard that Lord Qiu intends to clean up the turbulent people on this trip. I wonder how it's going? ”

Qiu Yinming said: "I'm ashamed to say it. I still don't have a clue. The whereabouts of the displaced people are uncertain and extremely difficult to control, which is really annoying. ”

Li Ju smiled and said, "Adults don't have to blame themselves. When you first come here, you naturally don't know the local people. As everyone knows, the mountains and rivers in this wide area of the lake are crisscrossed, and there are many powerful rivers and lakes, not to mention the general government, even the officials have suffered their losses. ”

Qiu Yinming pretended to be surprised and said, "Is there really such a thing? ”

"Don't Lord Qiu really know?" Li Ju glanced at him meaningfully and said, "I won't tell you, not long ago, a group of strongmen from the rivers and lakes gathered in Jingzhou Mansion, and I heard that the strength is extraordinary. When I found out, I sent an army to encircle and suppress them, but they repulsed them. ”

Qiu Yinming immediately said: "Since they are characters in the rivers and lakes and have nothing to do with the imperial court, why is Master Li so interested in them?" Supposedly, I was in Jingzhou not long ago, how did I not know that there was such a strongman. ”

Li Ju didn't beat around the bush, and said straightly: "Lord Qiu, there are no outsiders here, why should you pretend not to know." As far as I know, adults often have dealings with these Jianghu people. Seeing that Qiu Yinming's face hadn't changed much, he said, "Since it's all said, let's just let you meet you, my friends in the rivers and lakes." ”

Qiu Yinming's heart lit up and asked, "My lord mean, your friend Mr. Zhang?" ”

Li Ju laughed and said, "Lord Qiu is really well-informed. Mr. Zhang has admired adults for a long time and has never had the opportunity to meet. He happens to be here today. "Let's call someone to come and invite Zhang Tianyi.