One

Xu Zhihe served as the defense envoy of Shengzhou and the military envoy of the building ship. The defense envoy was the local military commander who held the military power of a state, similar to the current local garrison commander, and sometimes concurrently served by the local assassin. The first time he went to the field to be an official, Xu Zhihe was excited, tireless, and went to see Wang Rong on the same day as Shengzhou, because he was Xu Wen's son, Wang Rong was very polite to him, the two drank a cup of tea, and after chatting for a while, Xu Zhihe left. The next day, the main officers in charge of the defense of the city were convened to discuss the defense situation of Shengzhou City in detail, including the extent of the defense, the distribution of the defense points of Shengzhou City, what the specific establishment of the army was, how many officers at all levels, how the strength was distributed, how the weapons were and so on. Xu Zhihe asked in detail, and everyone looked at him with strange eyes, and at the end, Xu Zhihe said:

"Ladies and gentlemen, Xu is new to the city, and I don't know a lot about many things, and I hope you will help me in the future. Shengzhou is a military powerhouse, the safety of Shengzhou is related to the safety of the entire Huainan, I hope you can do your duty to protect the peace of my Shengzhou city and the people. After Xu Zhihe finished speaking, several people chimed in:

"Yes, yes, your lordship is reasonable, and we will do our best, but your lord will be the first to look ahead." Xu Zhihe didn't want to listen to compliments, and said:

"Please lead the way, I want to go to the city defense side to have a look."

"My lord, you don't have to worry when you just came, let's rest first!" Someone said.

"Yes, my lord, I'm not in a hurry for this meeting, I'll wait for the adults to pick up the wind and wash the dust first, and the adults will have time to watch it later." The other chimed in.

"Thank you for your kindness, Xu is this character, you can't eat or sleep if you don't finish what you should do, adults, please!" Xu Zhihe insisted on his assertiveness and made a gesture for them to lead the way.

So several officers took Xu Zhihe to inspect the four defenses of Shengzhou City for a whole day, and Xu Zhihe carefully inquired about the garrison everywhere he went, including personnel, time, training, weapons and equipment, etc. Xu Zhihe didn't rest for a whole day, and he tired a few officers who led the way. Xu Zhihe felt average about them as a whole, but there was a city gate official at the main city gate who was focused from beginning to end, neither humble nor arrogant, and his eyes were bright, like a cadre, Xu Zhihe was deeply impressed by him, so he asked:

"Who is this person?"

"His name is Ma Renyu," replied one of the officers who accompanied him, and when he saw that the new lord was interested in him, the officer immediately added, "my lord, don't be fooled by his appearance, a city gate official, and a pretense is useless. ”

"Oh, do you know him?" Xu Zhihe asked again.

"My lord, some people say that he understands the art of war, and I haven't seen him show it for several years, hey, most of them are a guy who cheats and cheats, this kind of person has seen a lot of officials, don't believe it, adult."

"Just try it and you'll know if it's real or fake." Xu Zhihe looked at Ma Renyu's figure and said. The entourage saw that Xu Zhihe was interested in a small city gate official, and his heart was a little sour, so an officer quickly changed the topic and asked:

"Lord Xu has also seen it, I don't know if my lord has a high opinion about the defense of Shengzhou right now?" Xu Zhihe knew that this guy was testing himself and wanted to see if he was an expert or a layman, so he smiled and said:

"I am mainly here today to recognize the road, familiar with the basic situation of the defense of Xiashengzhou, to say that there is no high opinion, only a little advice, at home for the family, in the country for the country, we are waiting for their position to do their own thing, if they neglect their duties and become a traitor, they will be dealt with by military law, and will not be tolerated." Xu Zhihe's tone was firm and his expression was serious, and several officers looked at each other, nodded again and again and said "yes, yes". Xu Zhihe didn't like them very much, except for complimenting them without saying a word of truth, he shouted "drive" and rode back. Xu Zhihe thought that he had just arrived, if he didn't say it well, these guys would definitely not like to listen to it, which would cause them to be disgusted, which would not be conducive to the handling of the relationship in the future, but he couldn't say it was good, otherwise they would be complacent and self-righteous, and it would be difficult to change in the future.

That night, Zhou Zong said to Xu Zhihe, "Childe, have you noticed that the way they look at you today is unusual!" ”

"What's unusual, did I say the wrong thing?" Xu Zhihe asked.

"That's not true, I guess they thought the new defense envoy was a gentleman, just here to put on a show, how can they think that you are so serious, beyond their expectations."

"They think I'm the kind of eunuch who can only eat, drink and have fun, and I came here just to make a false name, and then get some political achievements and leave."

"Well, Childe, you have to act carefully, they are used to the current way of doing things, if they feel that your arrival has harmed their vested interests, I am afraid it will stumble you!"

"Oh, you seem to know them well!"

"I grew up in the market since I was a child, and I have seen a lot of people of all shapes and sizes, and the officials below have always been able to make money and never be humble, you grew up in Xu Mansion since you were a child, it is difficult to get in touch with these low-level officials, and you will know in the future." After hearing Zhou Zong's words, Xu Zhihe looked at him with admiration.

Two

Xu Zhihe also served as the military envoy of the Shengzhou Lou ship, responsible for the construction of warships in Shengzhou. Therefore, on the third day after arriving in Shengzhou, he took Zhou Zong to the factory where the navy was responsible for building warships, and a person in charge took him to walk and watch inside. He also asked in detail about the construction of warships, such as where the wood came from, what kind of wood was used for which purpose, how much different kinds of wood costed, how much each piece of wood was fed, where the shipbuilders came from, how much manpower there was, how much labor was paid for each manpower, and how long it took to build a ship. Just like when they inspected the city defense before, the officials here were also very surprised, Xu Zhihe understood what they meant, and said to the people around him:

"The construction of this warship is very important, related to the future of Huainan, I hope everyone will work together to build the warship well." A group of people said "yes, yes, yes".

After having a preliminary understanding of the defense of Shengzhou and the construction of warships, in the following days, Xu Zhihe and Zhou Zong were busy with these things every day. Xu Zhihe wanted his results too much, he didn't want to disappoint Xu Wen, he wanted to prove to Xu Wen that his adopted son not only only took care of the family's affairs, but also had the ability to help him govern the country. Xu Zhihe was tireless and did it himself, for fear of a little mistake, the defense of Shengzhou was safe and sound, and the construction of warships was also progressing steadily, and things seemed to be going relatively smoothly.

Early this morning, news came from the shipbuilding side that there were many water leaks after the new ship was launched, and Xu Zhihe couldn't sit still when he heard it, so he immediately went over to check. Seeing that Xu Zhihe arrived, the director in charge of shipbuilding came over and said: "My lord, after the new ship is built, it will generally be launched into the water for a day to see if there is any water leakage, this ship was launched yesterday morning, and there is no problem when it is finished in the evening, but when I came to see it again this morning, I found that there was a water leak." Xu Zhihe saw a group of people scooping water out of the boat, and he could see that the problem was more serious.

"Who's the overseer?" Xu Zhihe asked.

"Xiaguan is." A somewhat old, thin official said.

"Is there any difference between this ship and the previous shipbuilding process?"

"The materials and craftsmen of this ship are the same as those of the ship that was launched before, it is a batch of people and a batch of materials, and it has not been changed in the middle."

"That's strange, since the people are the same and the materials are the same, then why is this boat leaking?" Xu Zhihe looked at the person next to him and said.

"Oh, this ......," the principal stumbled, speechless.

Xu Zhihe looked at the people around him, and the expressions on everyone's faces were different, some were anxious, some were indifferent, and some were dazed. Xu Zhihe understands that if the problem is not investigated, it will waste time and financial resources, delay the progress of shipbuilding and not be able to explain to his adoptive father, and it will also affect his adoptive father's confidence in himself.

"No sick or dead, pause before the problem is found, if the progress is delayed and the overall situation of Huainan is affected, none of us can get out of it." Xu Zhihe said with a straight face.

"Yes, yes, I'll check it out immediately." The director said.

Back at his residence, Zhou Zong said to Xu Zhihe: "I guess someone must know what's going on, even if someone knows about that occasion just now, they don't dare to say it." ”

"Well, but what do you say this is for? Someone deliberately makes it bad to make me look bad? Or is it deliberate sabotage? Xu Zhihe wondered.

"The bell has to be tied to the bell, and it has to be checked from the bottom, maybe they know the inside story." Zhou Zong said.

"Well, what you said makes sense, check from the person at the bottom, so Brother Zhou, you go and investigate secretly."

"Okay, Childe."

Three

Zhou Zong hurriedly finished eating and went out, and didn't come back for two days, and at noon on the third day, Zhou Zong hurriedly ran back and told Xu Zhihe that he had found out, and Xu Zhihe asked happily when he heard it:

"Tell me, what's going on?"

"Tung oil, you know what? It is used to prevent rust and waterproof when building ships, and the guy who brushes the oil below said that there is a problem with tung oil. Zhou Zong said.

"Is it reliable?" Xu Zhihe asked.

"It should be reliable, this guy who brushes oil has been doing it for many years, he said that tung oil is good or not, you can know it when you start brushing, when you brush this boat, he reported to the overseer that there is a problem with tung oil, but the overseer went to ask the master and came back and told him that this oil is the same as before, let him not talk nonsense and continue to brush."

"Then why is the person in charge insisting that it's okay and not checking?"

"That's right, I asked the guy the same at the time, and the guy smiled at me and said that the tung oil was personally bought by the principal, and you know about it." Zhou Zong said.

"How did you find this painted guy?"

"At first, the guys were wary, they didn't know who I was? Later, I chatted nonsense, and found that there was a fellow villager, so I got close to him, chatted and got acquainted, and invited him to drink wine in the evening, and he told me to go find this guy who brushed oil. Then I invited this oil-brushing guy to drink, and he told me, and told me not to make a noise, saying that the person in charge had made a lot of oil and water. ”

"If you're really there, two drinks will be done. Looks like we're going to have to get the hang of things. After speaking, he went to the shipyard with Zhou Zong. When he came to the shipyard, Xu Zhihe found the principal, and he did not directly mention the matter of tung oil.

"Did you find out the problem?" Xu Zhihe asked.

"Back to my lord, I'm investigating, but I haven't found out yet." The principal said.

"Well, I haven't found out for three days, so I can't delay it any longer!" Xu Zhihe looked at the principal and said.

The principal glanced at Xu Zhihe and didn't speak, and then Xu Zhihe said something as if he was asking. "You said that the boat leaked, could it be that it was rust and waterproof?"

"Back to my lord, the guys who work are a group of people, they haven't changed, and their skills haven't changed, so it shouldn't be the reason." The principal said.

"Ah, people haven't changed, haven't things changed? For example, tung oil or something, who is responsible for buying this tung oil? Is that you, too? Where did you buy it from? ”

"Yes, it was the lower official who bought it, from Hunan."

"Hunan, Hunan where you went personally?"

"No...... No. "The main thing is a little stumbling, and he seems to realize something.

"Then who went to Hunan to buy it?" Xu Zhihe stared at the principal and asked. The principal panicked all of a sudden, and directly knelt down and said tremblingly:

"My lord, the lower official knows that he is wrong, please punish my lord, please punish my lord,"

Seeing this scene, Xu Zhihe knew that something was wrong, so he said to the principal: "You get up first and say, what's going on?" ”

The principal was very nervous and stammered: "Big ...... My lord, there are many people in Xiaguan's family, and his parents are not in good health and have been taking medicine for a long time. Xiaguan is occasionally mixed with inferior tung oil to make a little difference, and there is absolutely nothing else to do, please be aware of it. ”

"Then it's not the first time you've said that, didn't the ship leak before? Didn't anyone check it? ”

"Back to my lords, I have done it before, but as long as the ship can be used to deal with it, no one will investigate it carefully, and it will be dealt with. I never thought that you were too serious, so I ......"

"Looks like I'm the one who made you rich!" Xu Zhihe said with a straight face.

"Oh, no, no, no, the first time I saw the adult, I expected that the adult was different from the previous adult, I thought that this time I would deal with it, and I wouldn't do it in the future, but I didn't expect it to be found out by the adult, and the lower official didn't dare anymore, please punish the adult, but please don't drive me away, I still rely on the lower official to support my family!" The principal spoke hoarsely.

Xu Zhihe looked at the principal, and then looked at the people around him, he pondered for a while and said: "If I don't punish you and don't set an example, then it is inevitable that others will do the same in the future, and then do something else to affect the overall situation of Huainan." Xu Zhihe looked around, and finally looked at the main matter, pondered for a moment and then said:

"In this way, you return the difference you earned, count as much as you want, buy the good tung oil again, and at the same time punish you for three months, can you be convinced?"

"Convincing, convincing, the subordinate must do what the adult says." The principal kept bowing his head and admitting his mistakes.

"In addition," Xu Zhihe said to everyone, "Considering that everyone has been working hard lately, I will go to discuss with the superiors and strive to improve everyone's salary, so that everyone can work with peace of mind." ”

When everyone heard that they were going to raise their salaries, they immediately shouted in unison, "Thank you, thank you, my lord!" ”

At this time, Xu Zhihe said solemnly and loudly: "But my ugly words are ahead, if anyone wants to do something like this in the future, I Xu Zhihe will never be spared." He put the words "never forgive" very seriously.

The director looked at Xu Zhihe and said, "Don't worry, my lord, the next official promises that there will be no next time." ”