"Seriously! A promise will be made. Liu He smiled: "Yi De Mo panic!" Let's go into the room and talk slowly. ”

"No."

Then everyone entered the house, and after they sat down, Liu He instructed the left and right sergeants to immediately loosen Zhang Shiping and Su Shuang.

"Zhang Gong! Su Gong! I was reckless just now, and I would like to invite the two Haihan! Liu He comforted the two humane.

"Don't dare! Can't! Ministry Sima, all of us are lucky. Your eyes are like torches! Zhang Shiping Khan said.

"Although the public is involved in prohibitions, it is appropriate to hand it over to the department for investigation, how can I deal with it without authority." Liu He looked at Zhang Fei and then looked back at Zhang Shiping: "The nephew of the Gong family is the most filial person!" Although you lost a duel with me for the sake of public justice, the so-called 'people do not raise officials and do not hold officials accountable', this matter can be big or small, but at first you two were unlucky, and you met me, a strong and upright person, but now I have thought about it and decided to let you make meritorious contributions. ”

Zhang Shiping and Su Shuang were already sweating at this time, and Liu He's words seemed to be appeased, but they were really heartfelt.

The so-called strength is upright, which implies that Liu He has the heart of a cool official. Those who are strong will also be strong; Strong order, "Crouching Tiger" Chen Liudong Xuan.

Dong Xuanzi Shaoping, Chen Liuyu is also. At the beginning, it was opened up by Situ Houba, raised the first place, and moved to the North Sea Phase. Later, he was specially recruited as the commander of Luoyang County. At that time, Princess Huyang's house slave killed someone during the day, so she hid in the princess's house, and the officials could not arrest her. When the princess went out, and used this house slave to accompany her, Dong Xuan waited in the Wanshou Pavilion outside the summer gate, but stopped the car and knocked on the horse, drew the ground with a knife, and counted the loss of the princess, and the slave got out of the car, and then beat the house slave to death.

The princess immediately returned to the palace to complain to Emperor Guangwu. The emperor was furious, summoned Xuan, and wanted to kill him.

Dong Xuan kowtowed: "I wish to die by begging for a word." ”

Emperor Guangwu sneered: "What do you want to say?" ”

"Your Majesty's holy virtue is prosperous, and if you set on slaves and kill your beloved, will you still be able to use the law to govern the world in the future? The minister does not need to be whipped, and asks to be able to commit suicide. Dong Xuan immediately hit the pillar with his head, and immediately bled all over his face.

Later, Emperor Guangwu ordered the eunuch to support Dong Xuan and ask him to kowtow to the princess to apologize, Dong Xuan did not agree, so he ordered the eunuch to force him to kowtow and press his head down.

The princess said, "When the king was dressed in white, he died and died, and the officials did not dare to come to the door. Now that he is the Son of Heaven, can't majesty be imposed on a county order? ”

Emperor Guangwu smiled: "The Son of Heaven is not the same as Baiyi. What a strong order! ”

then gave Dong Xuan 300,000 yuan as a reward, but Dong Xuanxi divided the officials and left only a little money for living expenses. During his tenure as the commander of Luoyang, he fought against the strong and strengthened public security, and he was shocked. The Jingshi is called "Crouching Tiger". The song said: "The drum does not sound, Dong Shaoping." [Note 1]

Liu He's meaning is very clear, if he is investigated, he will be killed like a cool official.

"I wish to hear the details of the Ministry of Enlightenment." Zhang Shiping and Su Shuang said in unison.

"The two of you have been selling back and forth to the north, I'm afraid that you have been familiar with the situation of the border county tribes for some years." Liu He asked.

"Back to the Ministry of Justice, it's been almost 20 years. The central and western tribes don't dare to say that they know, but the eastern Xianbei tribes close to Youzhou, we do know everything. Zhang Shiping said.

"If you such forbidden things get out of the jam, you will either bribe the customs captain or smuggle a small road. Right? Liu He asked again.

"Ministry Sima Yingming! All such obscure things are clear. Su Shuang wiped his sweat.

"One last question, do such a head-killing business..."Liu He suddenly became angry: "Who is the Hao behind the scenes?" ”

"This.... I... We..."

Zhang Shiping and Su Shuang began to hesitate.

"Uncle! Say it quickly, I won't be able to protect you if you don't say it. Zhang Fei said anxiously.

"It's Xuzhou Mi's and Jizhou's Zhen's." Su Shuang hurriedly said: "The salt and wire tea we need are all purchased by these two companies; The horses, cattle and sheep exchanged with the tribe were all sold to the two trading houses of Mi and Zhen. ”

Liu He frowned: Could it be the Mizhu family in Xuzhou? Jizhou Zhen Mi's family?

"Mi family in Qu County, East China Sea? Zhongshan Wuji Zhen's family? Liu He asked.

"Yes, yes."

"I can keep the people from holding officials accountable, but if you two want to make meritorious contributions, you need to listen to my orders." Liu He said solemnly.

"No."

"Today's salt and wire tea are all paid to me as military funds, and I give the principal. Do you have any objections? Liu He pointed to the confiscated goods.

"No objections." The two men were as angry as if they had been pardoned.

I thought that I would lose all my money today and lose my head, but I didn't expect Liu He to pay.

"The two of you must have known that I led my troops on the expedition. If you need military funds to buy it, can you buy grain and grass equipment and sell it to me? Liu He asked.

"This matter is easy, as long as the ministry can afford to pay for it."

"Good. In this case, which of you two will go to Youbeiping with me, and who will stay in charge of grain and grass affairs? Liu He looked at Zhang and Su.

"I'll go with Sima! Su Jun stayed in charge of the grain and grass. Zhang Shiping said.

"Good! Joyfully. Liu He got up and helped Zhang Shiping and Su Shuang.

At this time, Zhang Fei said: "I am quite wealthy, I should recruit the townspeople and do great things with the public!" How is it? The man's husband should serve the field and make a name for himself in history. ”

Liu He was very happy: "Yide is really a strong man." ”

"Fly to see the lord." Zhang Fei brushed his clothes and bowed.

Then Liu He said that he should rush to the Taishou Mansion as soon as possible, and everyone set off.

Hundreds of people galloped along the official road, and it only took more than an hour to see the city gate of Zhuo County. Zhuo County is a county governance, the city is seven or eight miles around, nearly 10,000 households in the city, more than 40,000 people. The city wall is rammed with loess, about five zhang high, more than three zhang wide, four city gates are opened, and the defensive facilities such as corner tower and horse face are all complete.

There is a river outside the city, and there is a stone bridge over the river. Liu He dismounted at the head of the bridge and led the horse across the bridge. The water of the moat is very deep, the blue waves are sparkling, and walking on the bridge, the water vapor hits the face, which makes people feel cold and cold.

Liu He saw a woman in a silk hairpin cloth skirt walking in front of him, who might have come to the city to visit relatives, carrying a bamboo basket in one hand, covered with a cloth, and holding a five or six-year-old child with a hanging bun in the other.

Startled by the crisp sound of horses' hooves, the boy turned his head after two steps, eating his fingers, and looked curiously at Liu He and his mount. The woman tightened her grip on his hand, quickly turned her head to look at Liu He, lowered her head and whispered something to him, and avoided the side of the stone bridge. Although Liu He is handsome, he leads a horse, carries a knife, and most importantly is wrapped in armor, he must not be a common man, he is an officer, and it is always right to take the initiative to make concessions.

Liu He wanted to wait for them to cross the bridge before going over, but since the woman got out of the way, he was not a hypocritical person, and walked past them quickly. The woman bowed her head, not daring to look at him; The child is bold, and when the horse passes by, he reaches out to touch it. Although the horse is an old horse, it is not a war horse, but it also has its own pride, how can it be allowed to be touched by children? With a snort, the frightened child quickly retracted his hand.

Liu He said apologetically: "Ma has a bad temper and scares you, I'm sorry." ”

Zhang Fei glanced at the woman and the child, and said to Liu He with a smile: "The lord is self-indulgent and gentle. Don't apologize for being young, famous, and heroic. ”

"The child was frightened by my mount, and although the fault lies with the horse, I am its owner, and it is right to apologize. Yide, you will lead the troops in the future, but don't be impatient and irritable and beat the soldiers. ”

"My lord! Too much to worry about. Or take the gentlemen to my wine shop to pick up the wind and wash the dust, and I will recruit the townspeople again. Zhang Fei proposed.

"Let's go, then." Liu He turned around: "Boyu and Hansheng ordered the soldiers not to disturb the people. ”

[Note 1] Cool officials, ruthless officials who enforce the law, punish lawbreakers, and use tough methods. Han Cheng Warring States Yu Lie, many heroic and cunning people. Its strong and strong are in Hengbangyi, and the bully is strong and strong. And the slaughter guards the distance, and the household registration is large. Therefore, the officials who are selected to be close to the people are dedicated to authority, exterminate the treacherous tracks, first and then hear, and become unscrupulous and fierce, and become their unwieldy authority.

It's just that the cool officials of the Han Dynasty are different from the cool officials of the Wu Zetian period of the Tang Dynasty: the cool officials of Wu Zhou are greedy and cruel, and their selfish desires are extremely heavy; Although the two Han cool officials are basically known for their harshness and violence, they are strong and upright, incorruptible as water, debate right and wrong, and fight for major principles that are beneficial to the country. Such as Zhidu and Zhang Tang.

The emperor used cool officials in order to maintain the authority of the monarchy; Killing cool officials is also to consolidate the monarch's power. The benefits of cool officials: First of all, cool officials are specifically against Haoqiang - fighting the underworld and eliminating evil. Second, most of the political achievements are quite outstanding, there is no offense with the people, the government decrees are smooth, and they are especially good at strengthening law and order. Thirdly, not only "competent", but mostly quite incorruptible. However, the path of cool officials is not so easy to follow, although they often rise to prominence in officialdom, but the final outcome is often tragic. Emperors often have to throw them away to pretend to be good people.