In the evening, three old men dressed in staff robes stood in front of the gate of Dengxian Pavilion. Behind them, there were a number of servants.

"Lord County Shou, what kind of person do you say this kid named Jiang Lan is?" One of the old men asked.

The county guard stroked the long hair that had passed his chest: "It's not clear what kind of temperament he is, but his relationship with the general Liu Zhengyi must be extraordinary." I heard that this person had killed the son of the Marquis of Yin Ping in the northwest and was imprisoned, but he was bailed out by Liu Zhengyi not long after. Now it is even more prosperous, from a small official to a military officer of a county...... There are already rumors in the DPRK that this kid has some ambiguities with the general's youngest daughter, and he is likely to enter the general's mansion in the future! ”

"It's no wonder." The two old men chimed in.

For officials like them, who were born in the clan and relied on various connections to get to the top, it was hard to believe that a person could achieve a high position by his own ability. In their imagination, Jiang Lan is just a little white face who pulls a woman's skirt to the top. Even if he has a few talents, compared to the relationship behind him, it seems insignificant.

The three of them stood at the door and waited for a while, seeing that the sun was about to set.

The east wind was shining, and at the position where the slanting sun met the horizon, a tall figure flashed in the distance. He stepped on the afterglow of the slanting sun and walked in the direction of Dengxian Pavilion.

"He's coming." The three old men glanced at each other.

The figure soon came to the door of the Dengxian Pavilion, and when the three old men saw this person's face, they were even more convinced of their previous conjectures. At the same time, they secretly scolded a "little white face" in their hearts, but they all had a respectful look on their faces: "The person who came is the new Captain of Dangkou, Jiang Lan?" ”

"Exactly." Jiang Lan bowed his hand and said, "Senior Jiang Lan, I have seen three adults. He put away his usual debauchery, after all, it is better to be cautious when he first enters the officialdom.

"Captain Jiang, below is Xu Luming, the county guard of this Xiangyang County."

"It turned out to be Lord Xu, the juniors had heard of your name before they came, and the general also told me to learn more from old-timers like you." Jiang Lan said politely. In a scene like this, he will still say something.

Lord Xu smiled when he heard this: "The general has won the award." Jiang Duwei is young and promising, and he still needs to ask you for advice. ”

"Where, where."

"These two are Lord Li, the county magistrate of Xiangyang County, and Lord Wang of the Imperial Inspectorate."

"The younger generation has seen two adults."

"Your Excellency, you are too polite, you and Xu Junshou are the chiefs, and it is a blessing for us to see Lord Duwei and the two of them!" Lord Wang shook his head and said. Listening to his official words, Jiang Lan was polite on his face, but he was a little tired in his heart.

"Lord Jiang, please enter the cabinet first, I have prepared a table of banquets for adults to catch the wind and wash the dust."

"Okay, three adults, please." Jiang Lan was invited into the cabinet by the three of them.

At this time, it was not yet night, but there was already a lot of lights in the Dengxian Pavilion. In the corners of the pavilion, there are stone cranes, and in the mouth of the stone cranes, there is also a bright lamp, which illuminates this Dengxian Pavilion as if it were day.

As soon as Jiang Lan entered the door, there was a sound of silk and bamboo orchestra leisurely coming into his ears. Under this "fairy music", there are more than a dozen "fairies" wearing bright yellow tulle dancing to the music. They wore only belly pockets and obscene trousers, and their jade-like skin loomed under the veil.

"These three old bastards are really going to enjoy it." Jiang Lan cursed secretly in his heart.

In the middle of the hall, there is a round table. Jiang Lan was invited to the round table and sat down in the guest seat.

Lord Xu clapped his hands, and then more than a dozen maids and servants brought plates of delicate-looking delicacies to the table.

The dishes were quickly served, and Lord Xu glanced at the dishes on the table, turned his head and said politely to Jiang Lan: "Lord Jiang, you just came out of the capital." The dishes of our Jingxiang small land may not be in your eyes, and I hope you will forgive your sins. ”

Jiang Lan couldn't help frowning when he heard this—not because these dishes were bad, but because they were too good! He had never even seen most of the dishes, even more than the dinner at the General's Palace.

"Lord Xu bothered. I'm not afraid of your jokes, the delicacies at your table, Jiang Lan has never seen anything better than this in his life...... Presumably, you've spent a lot of money on this, right? ”

Lord Xu waved his hand and said, "Lord Jiang is polite, a few dozen taels of silver is nothing." ”

Dozens of taels!

An ordinary person will never see so much money in his life! is Jiang Lan, a five-grade master, and his salary for a year is only fifteen taels of silver!

It is said that Jingxiang people are rich, but Jiang Lan has still seen many beggars in the city who are freezing and starving on the streets! The word "rich" is only rich in this group of gate lords and clans and officials and gentry. It's true: Zhumen's wine and meat stink, and there are frozen bones on the road!

Jiang Lan thought like this, and felt sick in his heart, and lost interest in the delicacies on the table.

"Lord Jiang, the lower officials will give you a drink." The prefectural order lifted a glass of wine. Jiang Lan responded with a smile like a machine, and lifted the wine glass in his hand.

After three rounds of drinking, Lord Xu saw that the time was almost up, so he waved his hand to his side, and the group of dancing girls and waiters also retreated when they saw this. For a moment, there were only four people left at the table in the entire hall.

"Master Jiang, although it is the first time we have met, it is like a friend at first sight...... I have a few words here, I wonder if Lord Jiang would like to hear them? Master Xu said with a somewhat mysterious expression.

"Lord Xu, please speak."

"Master Jiang, you also know that our military Chinese are divided into two factions: 'war' and 'peace'...... Master Jiang is not only the confidant and favorite general of the general, but also the 'main battle faction'. Lord Xu said as he carefully observed the expression on Jiang Lan's face, "Although the fight between the DPRK and China is very fierce, our local officials don't have to be so ......."

"If Lord Xu has anything to say, you might as well say it directly." Jiang Lan interrupted.

"Hehe, Lord Jiang is worthy of being a military general, and he is really fast-talking...... It's not a secret, the elder brother has some things, and he wants to ask the elder brother for help...... "This surnamed Xu looks at his age, when Jiang Lan's father thinks he is old, he actually calls him the elder brother...... It's really shameless.

"Tell me about it."

"That's right, the three of us have some small businesses in this Xiangyang County. Specifically, a number of checkpoints were set up on the official roads in the county in order to collect some 'official road taxes' from passing merchants...... Brother should know that the official roads in our Xiangyang County extend in all directions, and it is not an exaggeration to say that Xiangyang is the hub of the entire Jingxiang and even the entire Central Plains, and it has become a necessary place for caravans to and fro. If you can set up a card to collect taxes, the amount of money you get will be an unimaginable amount......" Lord Xu stopped when he said this, he looked at Jiang Lan with his eyes, waiting for his reply.

"Lord Xu, as the guardian of a county, how can it be a trivial matter to set up a card to collect taxes? So, what do you need help with? ”

"Brother doesn't know, our Daliang country does not allow officials to set up sentry posts privately. But you, as a military capital, are affected by this law. You can send your subordinates to set up checkpoints on various roads on the official road on the pretext of 'preventing the Northern Wei Dynasty from entering the country'...... When the time comes, we will divide the money we get fifty-fifty. Isn't that beautiful? Lord Xu and the three looked at Jiang Lan expectantly. In their opinion, Jiang Lan has no reason to refuse such a good thing.

"This ......" Jiang Lan didn't give an immediate reply, he slowly stood up and paced around the table by himself.

According to his heart, he will definitely reject such a deed. But when he is a newcomer and has an unstable foothold, it is really not appropriate to directly offend these three people.

He thought about it for a long time, and then said to the three of them: "Although this matter sounds good, it also has too much to do, please let the three adults think about it later, and give the three of them a reply later." ”

When the three old foxes heard this, their faces could hardly hide their disappointment.

At the dinner afterwards, since they no longer talked about it, they talked about Fengyue. These three people are all nearly half a hundred years old, but they are all old and young, and they are spitting about which maiko has a good body and where the geisha has a good voice...... Hearing this, Jiang Lan's face was slightly red.

In the evening, the three of them sent Jiang Lan out of Dengxian Pavilion.

Looking at Jiang Lan's distant figure, Lord Xu's face slowly turned pale: "This guy really takes himself seriously!" If it weren't for Liu Zhengyi's support, he would be nothing! ”

Lord Li, the county magistrate on the side, echoed: "That's it! He refused to eat the fat that was brought to his mouth...... My lord, do you think that we give him a little bit? Or, does he know this way of making money and wants to leave us behind and go it alone? ”

"He dares!" Lord Xu said angrily, "Don't forget, we still have Wang Yushi." If he really dares to put aside us and others, Wang Yushi will join him! Hmph, he has Liu Zhengyi's backing, and I am also a protégé of Master Chen! ”

……

Jiang Lan was walking on the way back to the camp, and the evening breeze was gently blowing on his cheeks.

He felt some itching on the back of his hand, and when he looked down and looked up, he saw a mosquito lying on the back of his hand, gulping for blood.

"Mosquitoes and flies suck blood, but Erl. Officials suck blood, but they can squeeze out the people of one side! He muttered, raising his hand and patting the mosquito into a ball of blood, "It's easy to kill a mosquito and fly, but it's hard to eliminate a corrupt official in one place," he sighed, and a sense ......of fear slowly rose in his heart.

He was afraid that he would not be able to get out of the mud without being stained, and he would slowly lose his heart in this rotten officialdom. Just like him today, for fear of offending people, he didn't directly refuse the other party!

"Consider?" Jiang Lan shook his head and sneered, "Either stand directly on the opposite side, or go along with them, what's there to consider...... Master, I'm still cowardly......"