There are people in the yamen who are easy to do, Han Xiufeng and Second Master Fei waited outside for less than half an hour, and Du San came out with a big grin.

"Big brother, what do you say?" Han Xiufeng got up and asked.

Du San looked back behind him, and said with his eyebrows fluttering: "Thanks to the second master, not only did he go up to the bottom of the official document that filled in the gaps, but he also met a cousin of the Wuxuan Division, he asked a few words, and asked me to come over on the fifteenth day of the month to listen to the letter." ”

"The Wu Xuan Division seems to be in charge of the military attache grade and the promotion of the selection, today is the ninth day of the lunar month, he asked you to come to the fifteenth day of the lunar month, so I will know if I can make it up in six days."

"When he came out, Ba Liuye said that if he couldn't make up for it this month, he would have to wait until next month. Because it is the New Year, the lobby of the New Year has to be sealed, and one letter is twenty days. ”

"Next month will be next month, if you make up for it this month, you have to rush to take office, and you won't even have a good year."

"yes, it's a matter of time anyway."

Second Master Fei moved his legs and feet, and while walking back with the two of them, he said in a firm tone: "Boy, don't think about celebrating the New Year in the capital, go back and pack up your things, prepare well, and you will have to leave in six or seven days." ”

"Second master, how do you know?" Du San asked curiously.

Second Master Fei looked back at the empty entrance of the military department, and said with a smile: "Tomorrow Zhixing will go to the ministry to confess, and you will know it when you go to the entrance of the hall of the ministry together." ”

"What's wrong with the lobby door?" Du San asked puzzled.

"No one!" Second Master Fei put his hands on his sleeves and explained as he walked: "If it is put aside, there will be eight officers waiting to fill the vacancy if there are not ten at the entrance of the lobby of the military department. If you look at today, there is no one at the door, which shows that the war in Guangxi is tight, as long as everyone who comes to fill the gap has errands. ”

Du San asked in surprise: "Do you want to let me go to Guangxi to quell the chaos?" ”

Second Master Fei didn't answer his question, but turned around and asked, "Zhixing, was the water in the canal big when you came?" ”

Han Xiufeng was stunned for a moment, and immediately reacted: "When we came, we heard from the boatman that a few months ago, the Yellow River broke in Fengbei, and even Pei County was flooded. The river went all the way east and jumped into the canal, so the water level in that section of the canal this year was seven or eight feet higher than usual. ”

"Why don't you flood a Pei county." Fei Erye sighed and said solemnly: "One of our fellow townsmen Wang is on an errand in the Ministry of Industry, and he knows this best, he said that the governor of Nanhe reported that on August 20, the Yellow River broke the embankment from Fengbei, the width was one hundred and eighty-five zhang, and the water depth was three or four zhang, and the yellow water was rushing and roaring, the sound was like thunder, rushing to the north, and the sound of the waves could be heard thirty or forty miles away. ”

"Are there any dead people?" Han Xiufeng asked subconsciously.

"It's not that there are no dead people, but I don't know how many people died!" Fei Erye paused, and then to: "The Panlong set of Yihexing City bears the brunt, the Panlong set has 32 yamen, 81 streets, has been busy all year round, businessmen gather, business is prosperous, known as 'Jinling City in the south, Panlong in the north' reputation.

When the mouth breaks, the yellow water falls from the sky, and the waves are like mountains, the waves are turbulent, and they are rampage. Under the impact of the swirl of the yellow current, the dragon set fell deeper and deeper, and was instantly engulfed and buried deep underwater. Now it has become Panlong Lake, which is five miles wide from north to south, twelve miles long from east to west, and nearly 50,000 or 60,000 acres of water surface! ”

Du San didn't care if there was a breach in the Yellow River, and asked eagerly: "Second master, what does this have to do with whether I can make up for the gap, and whether I will be sent out to Guangxi to quell the chaos?" ”

"Yes, and it matters." Second Master Fei looked back at him and explained: "In the cold winter, the river is frozen, and it is the best time to block the breach. If it is not blocked in time, there will be another peach flood in another 80 or 90 days, and it will be difficult to slow down again. Mr. Wang said that the Governor of Liangjiang and the Governor of Nanhe had successively requested that 4.5 million taels of silver be allocated to block the breach, but they have not allocated it until today. ”

"Why not?" Han Xiufeng asked in a low voice.

"First, there is not so much treasury silver in the household department, and it seems that there are only 2.6 million taels when I hear Master Wang say; Then there are the bandits and bandits in Guangxi, and now the soldiers are gathered, and the required military salaries are particularly important, and the imperial court has decided to 'move the delay and urgency' and suspend the handling of the matter of blocking the breach. ”

"All the money of the imperial court was used to quell the chaos in Guangxi?"

"All the money has been used to quell the chaos, let alone people!"

Du San finally understood why Second Master Fei was so determined, and after a long while, he said with a sad face: "Second Master, can you help me talk to Sixth Master Ba again, and see if you can not let me go to Guangxi." ”

"Where to put you out, Ba Liu doesn't count."

"Then who has the final say?"

"Raising soldiers for a thousand days and using soldiers for a while, I think it's useless for anyone to say it now, I can only blame you for being born at the wrong time." Second Master Fei didn't want to scare him anymore, so he immediately changed his words: "Sai Weng knows if he is blessed, this may be an opportunity for you to make a contribution." Besides, this is just speculation, and it might put you somewhere else. ”

"I ...... I don't want to do this or that, I ......."

"Big brother, Jiren has his own heavenly appearance, your lucky stars shine, you will be fine." Han Xiufeng hurriedly comforted.

"That's right, how lucky I am Du San, everyone in the camp said that I was a lucky general."

"That's it, let's go, let's go to the provincial pavilion first."

……

Sichuan Hall is located in the upper inclined street outside the Xuanwu Gate, the road surface is wide, high in the west and low in the east, because it is named "Shangxiaxiao Street" because it is not straight along the south moat, which is very rare in the regular streets of Beijing like a chessboard.

Shangxie Street is about two miles long, the north side is along the moat, there are several guild halls on the south side of the street, from east to west are Zhongzhou Guild Hall, Wuxing Guild Hall, Taiyuan Guild Hall, Sichuan Guild Hall, and then to the west are Panyu Guild Hall and Dongguan Guild Hall.

Among so many guild halls, Zhongzhou Guild Hall is the most impressive, with Shangxie Street in the north and Dazhi Bridge in the south, and its architecture is also very exquisite. There is a plaque hanging on the top of the gate of Songyun Thatched Cottage, from the door you can see that there is a verandah leading directly to the lobby, according to Fei Erye, there is not only the Jingzhong Temple dedicated to the statue of Yue Fei in the museum, but also the Xiangxian Temple and the stage.

Although the Sichuan Hall is a provincial hall, it is a little shabby, and there are only more than a dozen rooms in the front and back. Han Xiufeng and Du San followed Second Master Fei through the front hall and found the curator who was busy calling the servants to clean the courtyard.

"Second master, these two are ......"

"Director Zhang, this is the Han Inspector from Ba County, and this is Mr. Du Qian, who came from Chongqing Town to fill the vacancy. Du Qian always has a town and Taiwan guarantee, and there is no need to seal the knot with the guarantee, and the Han patrol has to bother you to help you make a seal. ”

Director Zhang has been busy preparing for the reception of the master who came to Beijing to take the exam, and was a little disappointed to hear that Han Xiufeng and Du San were not here to take the exam, but he still smiled and greeted: "I thought it was a move to take the exam, let's take a walk, it's cold outside, let's go into the house and say." ”

"Director Xie Zhang." Han Xiufeng bowed.

"They are all fellow villagers, so there is no need to be polite." Director Zhang returned the salute, greeted the three of them in the flower hall, and said with a smile while motioning to the servants to serve tea: "Han Patrol, the guild hall has a statute, and the same is true for the ending of the seal." If you want to ask for insurance for your fellow countrymen who are officials in Beijing, how much do you have to pay for the printing fee, I think the second master has already told you. ”

"The second master said that people like me should pay twenty taels."

"It's good to know, do you have the license and corresponding documents of the household department?"

"Bring it, it's all here, you can take a look." Han Xiufeng hurriedly took out the silver ticket and the corresponding official document from his arms.

Curator Zhang put aside the silver ticket, picked up the official document and the household license and looked at it carefully, and then looked up and asked: "Han Patrol, whether there is a fellow villager and Beijing official insurance, whether you can confess is one thing, and whether this deficiency can be made up is another matter." I think you must have come prepared, did you have a plan to make up for this shortcoming? ”

Fei Erye said very clearly on the road, it is better to find only one person everywhere, and although the Sichuan fellow in front of him is just a showman, he has only been a master in Yamen for a few years, but the road is very wide, and he is also reliable, otherwise the Sichuan officials in Beijing will not let him be the curator, let alone let him be in charge of the ending of the seal.

Han Xiufeng didn't want to spend money in vain, let alone look too stingy, so he took out a silver ticket of three hundred taels from his arms, and then took a quaint sandalwood box from Du San's hand, opened it and took out an inkstone, and arched his hand: "It's a shame to say that my family was poor in my later life, and in order to come to the capital to make offerings, I sold all the things that my family could sell, only three hundred taels and this ancestral inkstone." ”

"Director Zhang, Zhixing was recommended by Master Gu, and Master Gu specially wrote me a letter. As for me, I am old, if the next year's 'Spring Hair' is named Sun Mountain again, I will pack my luggage and go back to my hometown in Bishan. After I left, the guild hall couldn't be left unattended, and I was planning to go to Master Ji later, and discuss with Master Ji to see if I could let Zhixing take care of the guild hall for me. ”

"Second master, why are you so troubled, even if you go to high school next year, what can you do."

"If you don't go to the Yellow River, you won't die, and you will always be unwilling if you don't take the test." Second Master Fei sighed lightly, pointed to the inkstone and said, "Director Zhang, let's get down to business first." ”

"Okay, I'll take a look at this inkstone first." Curator Zhang picked up the inkstone and carefully studied it, knocked it with his fingers after looking at it, and sighed a few more times after knocking, then gently put the inkstone back into the inkstone, looked up and said: "Han Inspection, since you were recommended by Master Gu, you will help take care of the Chongqing Hall next, that is a family." The family doesn't speak two words, your ancestral inkstone is too valuable. Leave the silver ticket and take the inkstone back. ”

Han Xiufeng would rather take a silver ticket than an inkstone, and hurriedly said: "Director Zhang, I know that this lack is not easy to make up, and I am worried that it will not be enough if it is only three hundred taels." ”

"Three hundred taels is a little less, but it can also do something. And this inkstone is not only worth a few hundred taels, but also your heirloom, it's a pity to donate it. ”

"The sword is given to heroes, the treasure inkstone is given to celebrities, and even the fame of the late life can't be examined, what's the use of keeping it!"

"You're up to it?"

"As long as I can fill the gap!"

Director Zhang looked back at Second Master Fei and said in a deep voice: "Lord Yang plans to go to Xianliang Temple tomorrow to meet the Governor of Liangjiang who has returned to Beijing to face the saint, and he is worried about sending something. Otherwise, I will go to Lord Yang's house at night and ask Lord Yang to see if this inkstone is suitable. If it is suitable, Zhixing must make up for this shortcoming, it is only a matter of time. ”

Han Xiufeng didn't know which Lord Yang he was talking about, but he only knew that the person who could go to meet the Governor of Liangjiang must be a senior official, so he hurriedly got up and said, "Thank you, Director Zhang." ”

"Self-sufficient, you're welcome."

Curator Zhang put away the silver ticket and inkstone, got up and called someone to get the official document and license to go to the seal. What surprised Han Xiufeng was that as long as he gave enough money, he didn't even have to go to the ministry for himself, and the provincial pavilion would send someone to help complete all the matters related to the confession.