On the afternoon of the eighth day of the second lunar month, the state government really sent an official document from the Qing army chief arrester of Yangzhou Prefecture, Tongzhi Xu, who moved to Taizhou and asked him to hurry up to meet him.

Han Xiufeng had already prepared, and as soon as he received the official letter, he asked Dean Gu to sit in the yamen of the inspection department, and set off immediately with Pan Er, Lu Daming, Liang Liu, and Ji Er. The big head also wanted to go, Han Xiufeng didn't want to bring it, but he didn't dare to bring it. Whoever made him five big and three coarse, he knew at a glance that he was a person who could fight, and if he was taken by Xu Ying, he would be in trouble.

It was already late at night when I rushed to Taizhou, and the city gate was closed early, but the lights on the city tower were bright.

In the middle of the night, there were young soldiers and green battalion soldiers guarding the city, no need to ask to know that this is what Xu Ying meant, it is estimated that as soon as he entered the city, he ordered the state government and the Taizhou garrison of Langshan Town, which was stationed in the city, and the 3,000 general administration of Caoyun Yamen Yangzhou to strengthen the city defense.

Pan Er raised his head and shouted for a long time, and the defenders of the city finally put down a hanging basket.

Han Xiufeng stepped into the hanging basket and was hoisted to the head of the city, and a servant who recognized him hurriedly said: "Master Han, I can't see clearly in the middle of the night, the little one really doesn't know it's you!" ”

"It's okay, the city should be like this, no matter who comes, you can't easily open the city gate." Han Xiufeng looked back at the soldiers who were hanging Pan Er and them, and asked in a low voice, "Where is Master Xu staying?" ”

"Back to Master Han, Master Xu is in the state government, and I don't know if he slept at the old man's house so late."

"Master Xu is staying in the state office, what about Master Zhang?"

"Master Zhang is also there, but ...... However, as soon as Master Xu came, Master Zhang handed over the big seal, and even the door, the signing room, and the contract room were all replaced by Master Xu's family. Master Zhang and the others all lived in the inner house, and I heard that the second young master not only didn't go to the lobby during the day, but also didn't go to the second hall. ”

Unexpectedly, Han Xiufeng thought about it and asked, "How many family members did Master Xu bring?" ”

"Even the family members are estimated to have thirty or forty, and the master alone is five! Just now, a family member came to patrol the city, walked around the city, and left. ”

"I know, let's go on duty all night, I'll go to the state government to have a look."

"Okay, look at your feet."

……

Han Xiufeng thought that Xu Ying had rested early, and planned to tell the night guard that the person had arrived in Taizhou, and then go to find an inn to stay first. Unexpectedly, when I rushed to the state office, not only the gate was open, but also the lights were as bright as the city tower.

Menzi accepted the door bag, asked for his identity, and said, "Master Han, wait a minute, the little one will go in and help you report." ”

"Let's report tomorrow, it's too late today to delay Master Xu's rest."

"My lord is in the hall, and he hasn't rested."

"You haven't rested so late?"

"Nope." Menzi didn't dare to delay, arched his hand again, and immediately ran in to report.

Han Xiufeng was not afraid of seeing corrupt officials, let alone officials who were greedy for life and afraid of death, he was afraid of seeing a pedantic official like Xu Ying, so he hurriedly straightened his official uniform and took a few deep breaths in a row.

After a while, Menzi ran back to summon him.

Han Xiufeng followed Menzi into the yamen, and saw a civil official in his fifties sitting in the hall reading official documents, and several soap class officials guarding the hall were silent, and no one dared to doze off with strong spirits.

"Xiaguan Han Xiufeng meets Master Xu!" Han Xiufeng calmed down, walked to the front of the hall and bowed.

"You are Han Xiufeng, the Haian Inspector?" It was not the first time that Xu Ying had heard of the Haian inspection that had just taken office, but he didn't expect Han Xiufeng to be so young, so he put down the official document and looked at it curiously.

"It's Xiaguan."

"How did you get into town?" Xu Ying asked with a gloomy face.

"The lower officer is a soldier who keeps watch at night and hangs him into the city with a hanging basket." Han Xiufeng bowed again.

The one who hung it in showed that the soldiers on the city tower were not lazy, and they did not open the city gate without authorization.

Thinking that the official document was sent out in the morning, and the Ningxiang inspection, which is closer to the state city, did not come at this time, but the Hai'an inspection, which is the farthest away from the state city, arrived first, Xu Ying's face was not as ugly as before, and he turned around and said: "Huzi, go and move a chair." ”

"Yes."

The family moved the chair to the side of the case, and Xu Ying pointed to the chair and said, "Inspector Han, sit down and talk." ”

Han Xiufeng didn't expect to have such courtesy, and hurriedly arched his hand and said, "Master Xu, Xiaguan has been on the boat all night, and Xiaguan is still standing." ”

"If you sit down, how can you talk while standing?" Xu Ying's face was straight, but he said again: "Huzi, serve tea." ”

"Yes!"

The soap class officer on duty felt like he was in a dream, secretly thinking that the old man had never given anyone a good face from the moment he entered the city, and seeing that the soldiers in the garrison camp did not match the roster, and they were all old, weak, sick and disabled, he not only beat Zhang Shoubei, who was also a positive five-grade guard, but also gave Zhang Shoubei a dismissal to be served, not to mention who to give a seat to tea.

Han Xiufeng didn't know this, so he bowed and sat down.

Xu Ying beckoned him to drink tea, and said expressionlessly: "Han Inspector, this official has read an official document submitted by Taizhou, which says that as soon as you arrive, you will summon the Soap Li Archers, the Foreign Commissioned Flood Soldiers and Qingzhuang to investigate the smugglers. If I remember correctly, it seems that it was the night of the first month of the first month, and the private lord saw that the matter was revealed, and the dog jumped over the wall in a hurry, and resisted stubbornly. You took the lead, led the soldiers and young men to fight with them, killed more than 10 smugglers on the spot, captured more than 10 people, and seized more than 1 million catties of smuggled salt. ”

Han Xiufeng suddenly remembered that he was in charge of investigating and arresting smugglers, arresting thieves, and even the green camps stationed in the prefectures and counties of Yangzhou Prefecture were under his control, and hurriedly said: "Back to Master Xu, there is indeed such a thing. ”

"This official knows that this matter is true, and this official has personally interrogated those private thieves you captured, and handed them over to the Yunsi Yamen after the trial." Xu Ying's eyes were a little appreciative, and the corners of his mouth actually hooked up a little smile. However, his smile was not only ugly, but even a little infiltrating.

Han Xiufeng thought that it was not a good thing to be appreciated by you, so he hurriedly said with a bitter face: "Don't be afraid of Master Xu's jokes, Xia Guan was a newcomer at that time, and I didn't know that the private lords were all ruthless outlaws, and some of them didn't know the height of the sky, and as soon as they received the news, they summoned their subordinate Sooli archers, the Xun soldiers of the Foreign Affairs Bureau, and the young men of Zhuang Town under their jurisdiction to investigate, and the result was heavy casualties, and now I still have palpitations when I think about it." ”

"Han Patrol doesn't need to be humble, in the opinion of this official, it's not that the sky is high and the earth is thick, but the newborn calf is not afraid of tigers! The Yunsi Yamen was secretive, and he wanted to turn big things into small things and small things. They don't want to think about whether the official will agree, you can rest assured, the official has already helped you to report it, and the court will definitely praise you for this great achievement. ”

"Thank you Master Xu for your support!" Han Xiufeng hurriedly got up to thank him, but he was secretly complaining in his heart.

"This is the official's business, and there is no need to be polite for Han Patrol." Xu Ying motioned for Han Xiufeng to sit down, and said with great interest: "The few flood soldiers who went with you to investigate the smuggled salt, this official knows that they have been transferred to Jiangning, but he doesn't know what is going on with the young men who are with you to investigate the smuggled salt. ”

How could Han Xiufeng not know what the idea of this fellow acquaintance in front of him was, and hurriedly said: "Back to Master Xu, those private tyrants are really difficult to deal with, not only are they ruthless, but they even dare to kill officials and rebel!" The lower officials were summoned to investigate the young men who seized the smuggled salt, the dead died, and the wounded, and the lower officials did not have a good time this year, and they were busy caring for the aftermath. ”