Yesterday came late, I couldn't see anything clearly, I only knew that the furniture in the inner house was very elegant, and when I got up early this morning, Ren Yu'er and Cuihua found out how extravagant the Yamen of the South Bank Hall was.

Inside the door of the house, in the upper room, there is no oil lamp, no cloth threads can be seen, according to a girl specially left by Chen Chongtong to serve, the previous ladies of the old man's family never used cloth to bind their feet, but used silk. At night, there is no oil lamp, and the inside and outside of the house are all lit with candles.

Tongzhi knew that the silk used in the clothes of the lord and his ladies were all sent to Suzhou and Hangzhou to buy. Not only the same master, but even the following Guanhezhou Tong, Guanhezhou Judge, Guanhe County, Guanhe Zhubo and Guanhe Inspection, every year will first finalize the pattern and color of silk and satin, and send someone to find a first-class machine workshop in Suzhou and Hangzhou to weave another machine. For each kind of satin, five pieces must be made, that is, one piece of the big gown, one piece of the lack of gold, one fruit yuan, one coat, and one horse coat!

I went to the kitchen to cook breakfast, and found that there were more than 20 coal stoves, in the words of the Chen family's girl, there were dozens of cooks in the river hall before, and none of the cooks were specialized in cooking one or two good dishes, and he didn't have to worry about other dishes. As long as he cooks the dishes he is responsible for, and when the servants or maids serve the dishes to the feast, he can float out and wander around.

The flowers and trees in the yard are taken care of, the pavilions and rockeries are cleaned and repaired by special people, and the precious flowers such as Jianlan and peony that are just for the master to watch will cost thousands of taels of silver every year. It is said that when Chen Chongtong came to take care of the Nan'an Hall from the fifth-rank alternate magistrate county with Qinjia, there were as many as 100 cooks, florists and handymen in the Yamen of the River Hall, and more than half of them had been dismissed because they couldn't afford to support them.

Just when Ren Yu'er and Cuihua were secretly frightened by the extravagance of the Yamen of the River Hall, a Shaoxing man named Chen Gong'an came to ask for a meeting with a generous gift.

He was neither an official nor an official, and Han Xiufeng, who had also just gotten up, didn't plan to summon him, but he didn't expect that person to report to him again, saying that the Yamen of the River Hall owed him more than 8,000 taels of silver! As soon as he took office, he was approached to collect debts, Han Xiufeng was made ridiculous, thinking that he couldn't leave a bad impression on the people outside, so he could only ask Ji Da to bring him in.

To Han Xiufeng's surprise, the man surnamed Chen was not afraid at all when he saw him, he first knelt down respectfully, then presented a beautiful wooden box, carefully took out a string of pearls from the wooden box, and said with a sneer: "Master Han, this string of pearls is made of Qi Nan (agarwood), it is said that the fragrance emitted by it can be smelled half a mile away, and it is like entering the room of Zhilan when hanging on the body!" ”

"It's too precious, not to mention that this official is just a donor who is a Zhengwupin Guan He Tongzhi, neither a Hanlin official who entered the imperial examination, nor an official affiliated to the Yamen such as the Military Aircraft Department, the Hanzhan Kedao and the Ministry of Rites, Guozijian, Taichang Temple, and Honglu Office. Not only can it not be used, but it is also not blessed. ”

"Master Han, you are so young and you are in the fifth grade, this pearl is not needed now, and it will definitely be used sooner or later. Even if you advocate frugality and don't want to wear it, you can use it to honor the officials who can use it. ”

"Your kindness is understood by the official, and it is still the same sentence, this string of pearls is too valuable, and the official can't afford it." Han Xiufeng didn't bother to talk to him, and asked bluntly: "You just asked someone to pass the word, saying that my South Bank Hall Yamen owes you more than 8,000 taels, how do you owe more than 8,000 taels, do you have a certificate?" ”

Chen Gong'an didn't expect Han Xiufeng to be so difficult to speak, so he simply arched his hand and said: "Master Han, the little one has been helping Zhang Luocai, the Yamen of the River Hall, to buy and invite the theater troupe to pay the gods all these years, and the money for the errand is all accounted for, and the 'Da Anlan' just a few years ago cost more than 13,000 taels, but the predecessor Tongzhi reimbursed the small one 7,000 taels, and the small one has looked for Master Chen, and the old man Chen said that he is just taking care of the affairs of the South Bank Hall, and let the little one wait for Master Han to come and ask to see him when you arrive." ”

The so-called "Da Anlan" is to invite the opera troupe to sing and perform to the river god after the frost falls every year. Pray that the river god will not make waves after watching the big play, so that the river will be stable and not flooded.

In other places, the gods also invite opera troupes to sing big operas, but they sing for three or five days at most. The river hall is different from other places, not only singing for two or three months, starting from September, in October, until the end of November, and it is not an ordinary theater troupe, it is said that every year people will be sent to Suzhou, Yangzhou and other places, please have a famous big theater troupe, and invite famous actors and famous actors to perform dramas.

No one knows whether the river god came to see it or not, but the officials of the river hall must have watched it all the time. Han Xiufeng can even imagine that during the "Da Anlan" period, there will not only be big dramas to watch every day, but also feasts all day long, plus the manager will definitely benefit from it, which is naturally indispensable.

It is said that they respect ghosts and gods, but the previous river members did not manage the river well, and actually used the river silver allocated by the imperial court on it, and even left more than 8,000 taels of deficit, the more Han Xiufeng thought about it, the more depressed he became, and said coldly: "Chen Gong'an, what is this official doing here, you must have heard of it." ”

"Master Han forgives the sin, little one...... The little ones really don't know. ”

"I don't know, I don't know, it's okay, the official can tell you, it's not too late to know." Thinking of the wealth of the Yamen of the South Bank Hall in front of him, Han Xiufeng simply got up and said: "This official is different from the previous ones, he doesn't care about river affairs, he only asks about local taxes, money, food and criminal lawsuits, but comes to train troops by order!" ”

Chen Gong'an was very well-informed, in fact, he already knew, but he still pretended to be at a loss and asked: "Master Han, if you don't care about this, what should you do with the more than 8,000 taels of silver owed by the Yamen of the River Hall?" ”

"It is natural to repay debts, and whoever owes you money will naturally ask for it."

"But ......"

"Don't be, the Yamen of the River Hall is now the big tent of the Chinese army in the River Camp, if you mess around again, don't blame the official for the marching method!" Thinking that it would not be good for him to get out of the way like this, Han Xiufeng looked back at the Chaozhu he sent, and continued: "Since this Chaozhu has already been sent, this official will accept it on behalf of the imperial court for the time being, and turn it back to Chen Chongtong and Chen Lao Ye to sell it at a price to fill the military salary." You can rest assured that the official will never let you suffer, if you can change the price of 1,000 taels, the official will definitely help you ask for a 1,000 taels, if you can change the price of 3,000 taels, then help you ask for a 3,000 taels. ”

"Master Han, little ......"

"Ji Da, send off!"

"Obey," Ji Daqiang replied with a smile, and then turned around and said, "Mr. Chen, please." ”

Wang Qianli, who had just sent away the surname Chen, who had gone to the village early in the morning to help rent a house, came back, and said with a wry smile as soon as he entered the door: "Fourth master, I don't know if I don't go around the neighborhood, I was startled when I turned around." ”

Han Xiufeng beckoned him to sit down for breakfast, and asked curiously, "What's wrong?" ”

"In the village, there are not only pawnshops, silver buildings, restaurants, inns, and antique calligraphy and painting shops, all of which are said to be bought and sold by the Yamen of the River Hall. Just now, that Chen Gong'an opened an antique calligraphy and painting shop, specializing in bribes from the Yamen of the River Hall. If I'm not mistaken, he just came to check on you on the pretext of collecting debts, because his shop is full of civil and military officials under the jurisdiction of the South Bank Department, all waiting for news from you. ”

"Those Guanhe Prefecture judges, Zhou Tonghe, Guanhe County Cheng, and Zhu Bo are also here?"

"Here, it seems that there are still a few patrols."

"I don't care what they're worried about." Han Xiufeng muttered.

Wang Qianli picked up the dishes and chopsticks and said with a smile: "That's because you don't want to take care of it, you can manage it as long as you want to, not to mention the river affairs of the river section under the jurisdiction of the South Bank Hall, Master Shi hasn't taken care of it yet." ”

Han Xiufeng thought about it and asked, "What about the Metropolitan Administration and the Garrison Office opposite?" ”

"I asked the chief entourage left by Chen Chongtong to help investigate, according to Chen Chongtong's family, the Du Si surnamed Xu knew that he would soon leave office, and he also knew that you were ordered to train the army, so you asked your family to pack up and move out of the capital office overnight, and it seems that you are living in an inn in the city waiting for news."

"There's no one in the Metropolitan Division?"

"Before he left, he left two people, except for the two family members he left behind to wait for the handover with the new capital office, there are dozens of soldiers left."

"He wants to go?"

Not only did he want to leave, but the guards, Mr. Qian, and Mr. General Estimate who were guarding in Chen Gong'an's store didn't want to do it anymore. One is that you are worried that you will eat so much empty salary, and you will not be able to get together so many soldiers to deal with you; The second is that I am worried that you will lead them to quell the rebellion, after all, everyone knows that you are here to train the troops on orders. ”

Han Xiufeng thought about it for a while, and couldn't help laughing: "If the surnamed Xu leaves, who will lead those original soldiers of the River Battalion to serve in Jinghai?" However, I, Han Xiufeng, am not a person who is exterminated, and it is not impossible for him to retreat if he wants to, at least he has to spit out the money and food that he has embezzled! ”

"Why don't I get a few men out into the city and get him back?"

"Don't worry, eat first."

"What if he runs away?"

"Don't worry, Yongxiang didn't arrive, he didn't dare to run. If he dares to run, he will leave his post without permission, and he will be punished. ”

"Okay, eat first."

As he was talking, Cui Hao walked in with a stack of famous posts and resumes and said with a smile: "Dong Weng, all the river officers who didn't have time to go to the Provincial Department to greet you with Chen Chongtong last night have arrived, and they are all waiting for you to summon them outside." ”

Chen Chongtong was busy all night, and probably didn't bother to tell him that his official didn't care about river affairs and local taxes, money, grain, and criminal lawsuits. Brother Dezhong, please go and explain it to them, send them to the North Shore Hall, and then draw up a notice and post it at the entrance of the yamen to tell the civil and military officials, military and civilians under the jurisdiction of the South Shore Hall. ”

Thinking that there were a lot of things to do in the afternoon, Han Xiufeng raised his head and said to Su Jueming, who was waiting on the side: "Jueming, you go to the Qianzhuang Yinlou in the village to ask how this silver money was exchanged, and ask a few more." If it is appropriate, call the big heads and exchange the five thousand taels of silver that they received from the provincial office last night into money. ”

"All for money?" Su Jueming asked subconsciously.

"It's all for money, and if it's not for money, how can you use it."

"Yes, the little one goes!

…………

PS: My head doesn't hurt as much as at noon, I'm alive again, hurry up and code a chapter, the first chapter of the new year, I wish you book friends good health and all the best in the new year!

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