Zhang Guangcheng wanted to transport Zhang Zhigao's coffin back to Qiantang in Zhejiang Province by waterway, and the nearest waterway was from Taizhou to Taixing, from Taixing into the river, east to Shanghai, south to the canal. It's just that now it's not as good as before, the bandits' navy is cruising on the river, and Xu Ying feels that Zhang Guangcheng doesn't dare to take the risk of taking the canal.

The safest way is to go east to Shanghai, and then think that Zhang Guangcheng must be able to guess that he will come to act in Taizhou, and he must be able to guess that he will check the state treasury as soon as he arrives, and he will definitely chase after all the silver in the treasury, it is impossible to be without precautions, Xu Ying suddenly remembered a person, and immediately called Chu Chenggui and more than a dozen fast class officials, requisitioned two fast boats, and rushed to Hai'an to chase after him.

If you don't chase him, you don't know, and if you chase him, it's even more urgent.

When passing through Jiangyan, I learned that Zhang Zhigao's spirit ship had not only just passed through Jiangyan yesterday, but also went to Hai'an. When he rushed to Hai'an, Han Xiufeng had received a letter from Chu Chenggui and was sitting at the mouth of the middle dam waiting.

Huzi, who was standing at the bow of the boat, noticed that something was wrong, and hurriedly lifted the curtain and shouted: "Master, there are all boats ahead, and there are soldiers on board, blocking our way!" ”

"I want to see who is so bold!"

Xu Ying snorted coldly, and when he got out of the cabin, he saw seven or eight boats stopped in the middle of the river, and the bow and stern were all officers and soldiers of the salt fishing camp, as well as a thousand generals and a few generals. All the people who set up the card were looking here from the east, and no one dared to come near. Looking up at the shore again, I saw Han Xiufeng arching his hand towards him, with a harmless smile on his face.

"Master Xu, the lower officials have been waiting for a long time. You have been on the road all night, you must not have had breakfast, the lower officials prepared buns, baked cakes, rice porridge and small pickles, I don't know if Master Xu can appreciate it. ”

"Brother Han, your kindness Xu has received it, but he is on official business, so he really has no time to bother."

"Master Xu, as far as I know, you are here to take charge of Taizhou affairs, from here to the east is Jiaojiao, to the north is Fu'an and Anfeng, and to the south is Rugao, what are your official duties as the main hall of Taizhou?"

Xu Ying didn't want to have time to go around in circles with Han Xiufeng, so he said coldly with his hands behind his back: "Don't hide it, this official is chasing Zhang Guangcheng!" Brother Han, you can't have seen him. ”

"Yes."

"Since you've seen it, as a special envoy from the Holy Lord, why don't you stop it."

"He didn't have any private salt on his ship, why did the lower officials stop him?"

"He didn't carry private salt on his ship, could it be that this official would carry it on his ship?" Xu Ying pointed to the officers and soldiers of the salt fishing camp who blocked his way, and his eyes shifted to Han Xiufeng again.

"Misunderstanding, Master Xu, you misunderstood." arched his hand again, looked at him with a smile and said, "Master Xu, the lower official did not stop Zhang Guangcheng, but stopped you, naturally there is a reason for the lower official." ”

"Brother Han, if I'm not mistaken, Hai'an seems to be under the rule of my Taizhou. As the deputy of the two Huaiyun, you actually stopped me on the boundary of my Taizhou territory, and transferred so many soldiers, what do you want? ”

"I won't let you chase Zhang Guangcheng."

"You're so daring!"

"Master Xu, you also look down on me Han Xiufeng too much. In terms of courage, your courage is much greater than that of me Han Xiufeng, and you are loyal to the liver and courage. ”

"Since you know that this official is loyal and courageous, why do you dare to stop it?" Xu Ying asked through gritted teeth.

Han Xiufeng beckoned him ashore, and said meaningfully: "Because if it weren't for your support at that time, Xia Guan wouldn't be able to do this from the fifth grade to the next level." Because you are a fellow villager of Lord Guo, the lower officials don't want to and can't watch you miss your future in a fit of anger. ”

Xu Ying was made to cry and laugh, and couldn't help asking: "Han Zhixing, so you lead your troops to stop the official, or is it better for the official?" For the sake of the officer? ”

"Exactly." Han Xiufeng nodded slightly, thought about it and emphasized: "If Lord Guo is here, Lord Guo will also stop you." ”

"If Lord Guo knew the inside story, how could he stop me, it's really unreasonable!"

"Master Xu, why don't you listen to persuasion? Since you don't listen to persuasion, let's spend it like this. As long as I, Han Xiufeng, are here, don't want to pass here! ”

"You dare!"

"Liang Jiu listened to the order, guarded the mouth of the middle dam, no one was allowed to pass, if anyone dared to rush the card, they would all be taken."

"Yes!"

"Han Zhixing, you dare to commit a crime!"

"Master Xu, it's not that you don't know, I didn't want to be this official for a long time, why don't I dare." Han Xiufeng didn't bother to grind his mouth, so he simply sat down and picked up the dishes and chopsticks, and ate breakfast like no one else.

Xu Ying turned around to look at the officials who didn't even dare to raise their heads with their heads drooping, and then looked at the officers and soldiers of the salt fishing battalion who were armed with spears and machetes, and finally realized what it meant to be "Xiucai met soldiers, and it was unreasonable", so he could only snort coldly and go ashore with a hard head.

"Master Xu, sit down, let's talk while eating." Han Xiufeng helped him serve porridge, and said like a family: "Zhang Guangcheng is estimated to have arrived in Tongzhou here, even if I let you pass here, you will not be able to catch up." Even if you're lucky enough to catch up, what can you do with him? ”

Seeing that Han Xiufeng let all the people who were waiting on the side retreat, Xu Ying sat opposite him, stared at him and asked angrily: "The state treasury is empty, he swept away all the taxes collected in the first half of the year, leaving such a big deficit, if it were you, would you chase it?" ”

"No, it won't."

"You're not a seal official, you don't have a backache when you stand and talk."

"Master Xu, if I were a seal official like you, I wouldn't chase after you." Han Xiufeng opened the steamer, helped Xu Ying take out a hot bun, and explained: "You must know that it is half a year's tax in Taizhou, not to mention twenty or thirty thousand taels, do you think he will take it with him?" Since he won't have it with you, what can you do with him even if you catch up? It is said that there is a debtor and a debtor, even if you look for it, you can only find Zhang Zhigao, but Zhang Zhigao is dead, can you bring Zhang Zhigao back from the dead, or do you plan to whip Zhang Zhigao's corpse. ”

"Is it possible to achieve such a thing as Zhang Guangcheng to sweep away half a year's taxes?" Xu Ying asked coldly.

"Master Xu, I know you're angry, but there's really no good way to encounter this kind of thing." Han Xiufeng put down his chopsticks and said slowly: "Zhang Zhigao's father and son have done a little too much, but if it is like this, they can't blame their father and son." As the saying goes, a rabbit will bite when it is in a hurry, and a dog will jump off the wall when it is in a hurry. Think about it, how many times did Zhang Zhigao complain of illness after the bandits retreated to Yangzhou, if he was allowed to return to his hometown at that time, how would it be like this. ”

"The one who doesn't allow him to pay tribute is Fu Zhu Lang, it's Lord Lei."

"Master Xu, you pushed it cleanly, as far as I know, you seem to have helped Zhang Zhigao in front of Master Lei." Han Xiufeng did not hesitate to debunk Xu Ying's nonsense, and changed his words again: "If it weren't for the fact that you and Master Guo are fellow villagers, I wouldn't have taken care of this bad thing, and I wouldn't have stopped you here." ”

"Han Zhixing, what do you mean, you make it clear to me!"

"Master Xu, in terms of age, you are older than me; In terms of origin, you are a dignified jinshi; In terms of being an official, you joined the office earlier than me, the official did a bigger job than me, and even served as my boss, so it stands to reason that it is not my turn to get an axe in Han Xiufeng's class. But you actually chased Hai'an because of this matter, and Xiufeng had a few heartfelt words that did not vomit and was unhappy. ”

"Say, I'm going to ask my brother for advice on how to be an official." Xu Ying said that he would ask for advice, but his tone was a little sarcastic.

In the eyes of these officials who have entered the imperial examination, donating their backgrounds is not the right way, Han Xiufeng didn't care, and said slowly: "Master Xu, this person must have a good reputation, and he must have a good official reputation as an official." It is said that death is great, Zhang Zhigao is now dead, if you still hold on to it, not only will you be laughed at, but your official reputation will be ruined, you will have no friends, and even no officials will dare to use you. ”

Xu Ying suddenly found that Han Xiufeng's words had a certain truth, and he was speechless for a while.

What surprised him even more was that Han Xiufeng actually took out a hand-copied official record from the stool, and said while looking at it: "Master Xu, if this is not wrong, you should be the chief arrester of the Qing army in Yangzhou Mansion who was made up in November of the first year of Xianfeng." ”

"So what?" Xu Ying asked subconsciously.

Han Xiufeng asked: "Then do you know how many years Zhang Zhigao has been in the Taizhou main hall?" ”

Xu Ying only knew that Zhang Zhigao had been in Taizhou for many years, but he didn't know how much, so he couldn't help asking: "How many years?" ”

"He was promoted to the governor of Taizhou in the twenty-third year of Daoguang, and he did it for ten years. During the period, Huaiyang Dao changed five terms, Yangzhou prefect changed six terms, two Huaiyan envoys changed seven terms, Ganquan Zhixian changed eight terms, Jiangdu Zhixian County changed seven terms, Yizhen Zhixian County changed more frequently, and nine terms were changed before and after! ”

Looking at Xu Ying's suspicious look, Han Xiufeng simply read: "Chen Wenjie, Guangdong Boluo Juren, elected in August of the twentieth year; Sun Wei, Daoguang 25th Year Agency; Zhang Xuexiang, a native of Shuntian Daxing, served as Daoguang for 26 years; Fang Yu, a native of Nanchang, Jiangxi, was relieved in September of the 27th year of Daoguang and reappointed in the 29th year; Wang Jianxin, a person from the inner countryside of Henan, was transferred to ...... in October of the 27th year"

"What the hell are you trying to say?" Xu Ying asked impatiently.

"Master Xu, although you have been out of Yangzhou for less than three years, it is impossible not to know why the main hall of the prefecture and the state and county has changed so frequently, not because of anything else, but because of taxes! Zhang Zhigao has been able to be the main hall of Taizhou for ten years, not because of anything else, but because the taxes payable to the treasury in Taizhou have never been in arrears in the past ten years, and the food and salary of the Yamen of various sizes in Taizhou should be in arrears, and there has been no mistake in the criminal name, and the performance appraisal comments once every three years are all outstanding! ”

"According to what you say, Zhang Zhigao is still a capable official, or a good official?"

"To the court, he really is." Han Xiufeng put aside the official record, and continued: "Besides, there is a deficit left in office, there are many states and counties that are in deficit, and some even owe the imperial court taxes for three or five years, while Taizhou is only in deficit for half a year, compared to other state and county officials, it is not easy for Zhang Zhigao to do this." In other words, not only did you not suffer much loss, but you took advantage of it, and you even have to thank Zhang Zhigao, after all, this is not a mess in any way. ”

"But ......"

"Master Xu, believe me, it's really not that much. If you don't believe me, you can ask Lord Guo in the future, or you can ask Lord Lei to see what Lord Guo and Lord Lei will say. Looking at Xu Ying's appearance of wanting to speak and stopping, Han Xiufeng reminded again: "I have seen your curtain friends, in my opinion, they are not so much your friends as your friends, let them do something else, it is not okay to expect them to assist you in Taizhou Zhengtang, if there is a suitable one, hire one as soon as possible." ”

"What should this official do, I Xu Ying don't need you Han Zhixing to teach!"

"Well, when I didn't say it."

"Farewell."

"No."

Xu Ying shook his hand away, but did not chase Zhang Guangcheng again, but angrily led Chu Chenggui and other officials to turn around and return to Taizhou. Su Jueming ran over, looked at the distant Fan Ying and asked, "Fourth Master, how many days do you think he can do this Taizhou main hall?" ”

Han Xiufeng was silent for a moment, then turned around and said: "Being able to read does not necessarily mean being a person, and being able to be famous does not necessarily mean being an official." He is stubborn and self-righteous, I think he can't take care of this Taizhou main hall for a few days. ”

"Does he hold a grudge against you?"

"If he holds a grudge against me, he won't go home, and he will die to save face and suffer crimes, which is what he is like." Han Xiufeng raised his arm, motioned for Liang Jiu to lead the troops back to the camp, thought about it and said solemnly: "He may really be a Qing official and loyal to the imperial court, but he is by no means a good official. Let him take charge of Taizhou affairs, it is really not a blessing for the people of Taizhou. ”

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