On the way back to Beijing, the officials and officials of various military states in the places they passed through were indispensable in the name of presenting Cheng Yi to Xiao Tang in the name of celebrating the success of the Song army. The reason why the bureaucrats and gentry from all walks of life set up large banquets and prepared ceremonial carriages was that most of them learned that Xiao Tang was a celebrity in front of today's official family, and he had repeatedly performed miraculous feats in the side court, so that they were all looking forward to being able to win the court.

Among them, even some state officials who have always thought that martial arts are cheap and noble are not exempt from vulgarity, after all, Xiao Tang can have such a creation in the court today, and it is not just because he only does a martial artist, since he is a second-class member who is a close minister of the Son of Heaven, he can't miss the opportunity to do personal favors to Xiao Tang.

From the boundary of Xihe Road all the way to Gyeonggi Road, passing through many military states, the least of the rich officials in each state should be prepared for thirty or forty thousand yuan, and the most of them are more than ten hundred thousand yuan of gifts and filial piety, not to mention that now Xiao Tang and Tong Guan began to have a gap in their hearts has not been publicized, no matter which way the protégé of the powerful ministers said that there are celebrities who are favored by the official family to beat the state capital under their rule, spending a lot of money to do favors is also an unwritten rule in the officialdom today. It is not uncommon for Xiao Tang to have shallow qualifications in the court, but in terms of his official rank and taste and the degree of being loved by the officials, according to the standard in the minds of the bureaucrats and wealthy people in various state capitals, it is also worth spending more effort to show goodwill.

Nowadays, in addition to the tea and salt compendiums called "Gang" measured by a transportation team or ten ships, other world-famous ones are Zhao Ji's curiosity about flowers and stones, and he did not hesitate to work and lose money to transport the flowers and stones to Bianliang, Tokyo, by land and water; Every year, a large number of birthday gifts are delivered to the formation of powerful ministers of the DPRK...... If Xiao Tang accepted all those congratulatory gifts coldly, he was not sure that there would be any more "Dao He Gang" and "Celebration Gang" from him.

Xiao Tang politely declined, and declined most of the congratulatory gifts from the rich bureaucrats who came to pay respects.

In fact, even if Xiao Tang unscrupulously accepted the heavy congratulatory gifts sent to him, even if someone in the court and China intended to impeach him on this matter, it would be difficult to succeed. Originally, the Great Song Dynasty Law "Song Criminal System" was obviously light in the governance of corrupt officials after referring to the Tang Dynasty's "Tang Law and Discussion", and it was far less severe than the punishment of corrupt officials in the Ming and Qing dynasties (only according to the official documents of the law), not to mention that the Great Song Dynasty from the early years of the founding of the country to the current Zhao Ji, the merry son of heaven, is in power...... There are few eunuchs who are close to him with clean hands and feet, and they are all like that when they embezzle money, who can sue whoever they want?

However, even if Xiao Tang is now secretly operating several cottages in the green forest, and setting up a town in Liaodong to occupy the city, he is also in need of a large amount of financial income, and these heavy favors have long been regarded as "common practice" by many officials, and he also knows very well that some money must not be contaminated. After all, most of the people in the green forest group are willing to gather with him for righteousness, and most of them grit their teeth and hate the corrupt officials in the Beijing court and various military states, shouting slogans to fight corrupt officials on the mountains everywhere, but their own brothers are doing the work of corrupt officials, so how will the henchmen and brothers in the green forest villages feel about Xiao Tang after learning about this? Even if the brothers under his command can understand that the names of such heavy gifts as Zhao Ji's Huashi Gang and Cai Jing's Birthday Gang have spread, over time, in the minds of the green forest heroes, they may not be much different from the Taiwei Gao Yu, who has long been infamous in the rivers and lakes.

What touched Xiao Tang even more deeply was that when he moved to the territory of Yanyan Road, Jingyuan Road, Xihe Road and even the Xia Kingdom, he led the officers and soldiers of the Western Army and other military states to fight bloodily and slept in the open air, and he was able to experience the tragic and heroic feelings of the golden iron horse and the eventful years all the time, but since the class teacher left the side court, Xiao Tang passed by a state capital every time he entertained those local dignitaries who came to congratulate him, a luxurious and exaggerated, but rotten and corrupt bureaucratic atmosphere almost came to his face, The iron-blooded muscles and bones that have been boiled out in the war have been exposed to such an officialdom environment where human feelings and philistines have become popular for a long time, and I am afraid that the soldiers who were determined to sacrifice their lives to protect the country will only have cold hearts, cold blood, and soft bones......

It is no wonder that Yue Fei, the little junior brother who is still in Xiao Jiaji, the famous mansion, with Zhou Tong's diligent study and hard practice, will one day send out the emotion of "Wenchen does not love money, Wuchen does not hesitate to die, and the world is peaceful".

Born in sorrow and dying in peace, although the Western Army units guarding the border court have been fighting fiercely with the Xia State for a long time, and the combat quality of the military and political strictness and non-commissioned officers is far better than that of the forbidden army under the military department of other state capitals, there is indeed a phenomenon of officers and generals in the army filling their own pockets. Since Xiao Tang had the power to take charge of a side of the army and horses, the most severe means of cracking down are those who eat empty salaries and drink the blood of soldiers in the army, such as pacifying Jingxi Road and calming Hedong when selecting and training the Jingnan Army, Xiao Tang has been doing his best to protect the pension system in the army, but it still can't stop other troops from deducting the salaries and pensions of lieutenant generals and soldiers, and there are still countless soldiers who have sacrificed their lives for the country, but even if they die on the battlefield, most of the rewards they should have received are still greedy for ink by the moths in the army. Xiao Tang is at ease and accepts all the heavy congratulatory gifts, but he is afraid that he is no different from those pickled birds who are insatiable and cheat for personal gain.

It is usually the order of the powerful ministers to enter and leave the Beijing Division, and everywhere they pass has to dig out their hearts to ask for money, but Xiao Tang has to spend some brains on how to refuse the heavy money sent to the door.

But anyone who can report his own name and come to congratulate Xiao Tang on the state officials, wealthy gentry and big families are also well-known figures, and most of the officials and eunuchs, local wealthy families and stewards sent are also some people who can speak well and behave exquisitely in all directions. As a last resort, Xiao Tang had to instruct the quick-witted Xu Guanzhong and Xiao Jiasui to deal with those rich bureaucrats, and only accepted some local products sent from all over the country, and all the gold, pearls, jade, and rare treasures were returned, and at most they only received up to 3,000 yuan of money and goods, and went to banquets and socialized along the way.

As for the handmaidens and prostitutes who were gifted by some of the wealthy and wealthy families of the philistine, they were good-looking, graceful, and very good at welcoming their masters...... Xiao Tang didn't see it and directly ordered them to be sent away, and the Xiao Mansion in Bianjing had to discuss with his henchmen and brothers every day, involving important matters such as supporting the green forest and passing through Liaodong, how could Xiao Tang teach men and women who didn't know the bottom of the matter to come and go at will?

And Xiao Tang's actions along the way also taught Liu Fa to see in his eyes, and this veteran general of the Western Army, who was supposed to go to Bianjing to be tried and dismissed, also felt a lot of emotion. One day in the Taiping car, Liu Fa said to Xiao Tang: "Xiao Jieshuai, although Liu knows that he is an upright and upright person, he must not ignore the sophistication of people in the officialdom...... Although it is said that the pure person is self-purifying, but now that the world is like this, Xiao Jieshuai abides by his own heart, but he is afraid that in the eyes of others, he is an outlier who is not close to the officialdom. ”

Xiao Tang heard that Liu Fa, a famous general who has always been majestic and calm in the army, would say this, presumably because he was disheartened by Tong Guan's persecution, he thought about it for a while, and then said: "Corrupt and profit-seekers, relying on the law to invade the people, do not know how to restrain themselves, and their grievances are tied in the hearts of the people. When the army is indiscriminately polluted, it consumes the country's money and food, but it is useless when it is in battle, not to mention, the military state government is unscrupulous when it oppresses the good people, but it forces the people under its rule to have no livelihood to seek, and directly teaches the naked son to follow the thief. The younger generation has always hated the scum of the country like that, because although they know what the world is like now, the younger generation does not want to be compared with the ups and downs of the world, and compare with the traitorous friends as treacherous friends......"

Liu Fa heard Xiao Tang say this, although he was silent for a while, he also respected him even more in his heart. It's just that Liu Fa doesn't know what Xiao Tang is thinking in his heart now: Among the military governors and government offices along the way, the most generous gifts are made of favors, I am afraid that many of them are corrupt officials and inferior gentry who are used to corruption, and most of the heavy money and property are ill-gotten gains that squeeze the people's fat and people's ointment, and they have short hands and soft mouths that eat people, how can I be so kind of a favor with that fighting bird? But the heroes want money, and there is a way to get it, at least along the way, where the corrupt officials and bullies are so powerful, I also look at it, and the officials can't easily move them, but in terms of green forest means, it will be good to find the guys to add a few more riches to the cottage......

I don't want what you give me, but I will rob you when I have the chance.

But I don't know if Liu Jingluo knew that I was thinking in my heart, would he immediately turn against me? Xiao Tang smiled and shook his head slightly. At this moment, I heard that the Taiping car had to come to the military to report: "Qi Xiao Jieshuai, Liu Jingluo, and the honor guard chariot and horse sent by Bianjing to welcome Jieshuai are waiting for them in the first three miles." ”