readx; Early the next morning, Zhang Yun, the right minister, invited Zhang Bingguo, the left envoy of Dushui, to Zhongshu Province. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

The water supervisor is the smallest functional department in the temple supervisors of the Tang Dynasty, originally belonged to the general supervisor, the twenty-fifth year of the Kaiyuan Dynasty was separated from the prison, and became a reading institution, in charge of the government, the mountains and rivers, Jinliang, and the ditch weir and the pond, the highest official of the capital water supervisor is called the water messenger, divided into two envoys, only the five grades are on the upper rank, and the officials in all the temples have the lowest rank.

However, in the past few months, the water supervisor has been quite valued, Cui Ning went to Jianghuai Henan to dredge the water transport, including Zhu Min, the right envoy of the capital water, almost more than half of the water supervision officials have followed Cui Ning to Jianghuai, and there are only five or six water supervision officials left in the imperial court, and Zhang Bingguo, the left envoy, is responsible for the affairs of the supervisor.

Zhang Bingguo is about 40 years old this year, he is a Jinshi in the second year of Tianbao, he is very tall, dark and thin, because being an official in the capital water supervisor is a chore, he often has to go out for a run, and there are almost no white and fat officials.

Early in the morning, the right Xiangguo looked for himself, Zhang Bingguo did not dare to slack off, all the way from the imperial city to Zhongshu Province in a hurry, at the door to make clear the intention, a person led him to Zhang Yun's courtroom.

"Right Xiangguo, Zhang Bingguo, the water supervisor, asks to see you."

"Let him in!"

Zhang Bingguo walked into the court room, bowed and saluted: "See the right Xiangguo!" ”

Zhang Yun put down the pen in his hand and said with a smile: "I'm really sorry to invite Zhang Zuo Envoy early in the morning." ”

Zhang Bingguo belongs to the Wei Party faction in the imperial court, because he is the head of the water prison, so he is deeply valued by Wei Tao, and can be regarded as the backbone of the Wei Party. ”

"Hmmm! That's right. ”

Zhang Yun picked up a book of recitals and asked him: "I received a recital from Jianghuai from Cui Xiangguo the day before yesterday, which said that since the beginning of summer in Jianghuai this year, there have been heavy rains and serious floods, so I am very worried about the situation in Guanzhong. ”

Without waiting for Zhang Yun to finish speaking, Zhang Bingguo hurriedly said: "The Guanzhong River Canal is indeed old in many places, and if there is a flood, the embankment will inevitably burst, and the subordinates understand it in their hearts, and they have also written to Pei Xiangguo several times, but Pei Xiangguo always said that the imperial court is short of funds, and he will discuss this matter after a while. ”

Zhang Bingguo is telling the truth, as his own business, he knows the situation of the canal in Guanzhong well, he is also very worried, once there is a breach of the embankment to flood the farmland, his official hat can not be kept, as the saying goes, three years will be flooded, Guanzhong has not had a flood for two years, this year from the spring will be more rain, he is very worried, once there is a flood this year, the canal that has been in disrepair for a long time will inevitably burst, flooding the farmland, for which he has raised this matter to Pei Zunqing, who was then the right minister of the country, since the beginning of the year, But every time it was delayed by Pei Zunqing due to the shortage of court funds, it was rare for Zhang Yun to take the initiative to raise this matter today, how could he not seize this opportunity.

Zhang Yun pondered for a while, and then said: "It is a fact that the imperial court is short of funds, An Lushan rebelled, a large number of immigrants from Hebei, and a huge amount of money was spent, and the treasury was really empty, but the resettlement has ended, and recently Anxi has released a batch of tax silver, and the situation is much better, so I consider allocating 500,000 yuan to repair the Guanzhong River Canal......"

Zhang Bingguo was overjoyed, and hurriedly gave a deep salute, "Thank you for your attention!" ”

Zhang Yun waved his hand and stopped him, "You listen to me finish speaking." ”

Zhang Bingguo hurriedly shut up, and Zhang Yun smiled at this time: "It's not so easy to get Liu Yan's miser to pay for it, so I plan to take him to the field investigation today, and Jingzhao Yin Ligan will also go with him, I just want to ask you, the situation of that river embankment is the most serious?" ”

The most serious damage to the canal is the Qizhou section of the Shengyuan Canal, followed by the Zhongbai Canal, Zhang Bingguo originally wanted to say the Shengyuan Canal, but when he heard that Jingzhao Yin Ligan was also going to go with him, he couldn't say Qizhou, so he had to change his words: "Back to Xiangguo, the area around Zhongbai Canal is more serious." ”

Zhang Yun nodded, "Okay! Let's go to Zhongbaiqu, Zhang Zuo can go back and prepare some more materials, and we will set off in the afternoon. ”

Zhang Bingguo hesitated, "Humble duty..... Are you going too? ”

"Do you have anything else to do?"

Zhang Yun looked at him strangely, and the implication was that the right Xiangguo inspected the canal, can you not accompany the left envoy?

Zhang Bingguo's heart was awe-inspiring, "I understand my humble position, so let's prepare." ”

Zhang Bingguo turned around and left, Zhang Yun looked at his back and smiled coldly.

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In the afternoon, Zhang Yun, the right minister, took a group of inspection officials and guards, including Liu Yan, the head of the household department, and Zhang Bingguo, the left envoy of Dushui, and nearly 100 people, accompanied by Jingzhao Yin Ligan.

"The county order of Gaoling County is to see Xiangguo!"

Zhang Yun said with a smile in the carriage: "We came to inspect the canal, we may not be able to go back tonight, and I also ask Wu County Commander to arrange food and accommodation, it is okay to be simple." ”

"The lowly position understands, the lowly position will be arranged, now Xiangguo and the envoys will go to the county government to rest for a while?"

Zhang Yun looked at Liu Yan and said with a smile: "What does Liu Shilang mean?" ”

Liu Yan knew in his heart that bringing himself to inspect was nothing more than asking for money, but Liu Yan was a very serious person, since he came to inspect, he would not go through the formalities, he looked at the sky, and said: "It's still early, we might as well hurry up and check the river embankment, if possible, I want to rush back to Chang'an overnight, tomorrow morning Jiangnan's tax report will be delivered, I need to check." ”

"Huh! Liu Shilang is worthy of being the busiest man in the imperial court! I also wanted to rush back overnight, but my health didn't allow it, so I had to stay overnight. ”

Zhang Yun smiled, and asked Jingzhao Yin Li Gandao: "What does Li Envoy mean?" ”

Li Gan bowed and said: "It is also recommended that the lowly post start the inspection immediately, but the lowly post can stay and accompany Xiangguo." ”

Zhang Yun glanced at Zhang Bingguo again, "What about Zhang Zuo?" ”

Generally speaking, the maintenance of the river embankment is applied for by the counties, and then reported to the state, the counties of Chang'an are reported to the Jingzhao Mansion, and the state or Jingzhao Yin is submitted to the Ministry of Industry after approval, and the Ministry of Water in the Ministry of Industry summarizes and approves the applications of the counties in each state, and then transfers them to the Metropolitan Water Supervision to formulate specific plans and costs, and finally reports to Xiangguo for approval, if the cost exceeds a certain amount, it must be reported to the emperor, and then the officials of the Metropolitan Water Supervision will organize the construction of the people in conjunction with the county.

In the middle, the Ministry of Industry belongs to the examination and approval body, the role is very great, it stands to reason, Xiangguo to inspect, even if the Ministry of Industry does not come, the Ministry of Industry must also be accompanied, but here you can not see the shadow of the Ministry of Industry Lang Li Kaifu, only came to a water department, the level of accompaniment is not equal, to put it ugly, this is called contempt for the power, is a taboo in the officialdom.

Zhang Bingguo didn't understand why Li Kaifu didn't come to accompany him today, but he didn't want to ask too much, he always felt that something was wrong in his heart, but he couldn't say it.

Seeing Zhang Yun ask him, he bowed down and said, "Humble and follow the country!" ”

Zhang Yun nodded, brushed his beard and smiled: "Okay! Let's not rush to the county government office first, and now start inspecting the river embankment. ”

Everyone turned the carriage and horses, and then went to Zhongbai Canal, Wu County Ling was very familiar with the situation here, so he gave everyone a detailed introduction to the current situation of the river embankment.

"The Zhongbai Canal has not been repaired for 16 years since it was repaired once in the first year of Tianbao, and now it is no different from ordinary rivers......

Under the introduction of Wu County's order, everyone saw that the weeds on both sides of the river were dense, the willows were shady, and a bridge built in the early years of the Kaiyuan Dynasty was very dilapidated, and the artificially built embankment could not be seen at all.

Wu Xian Ling led everyone to walk the number again, and came to a section of the canal, he pointed to a section of the river channel that has already shown signs of bursting the embankment: "Everyone, please look here, this section of the river is the most dilapidated, the embankment collapsed, a month ago there was a burst in the heavy rain, flooding dozens of acres of fertile land, I led the people to use straw bags to temporarily plug the gap, now I am most worried about heavy rain, if the rainfall is too large, not only will the embankment burst, but also the river will overflow, flooding thousands of hectares of fertile land along the river." ”

Everyone is stationary, this section of the embankment is higher, has exceeded the large area of fertile fields outside the embankment, looking at the harvest season, the endless yellow and clear wheat waves, everyone can't help but feel a little heavy in their hearts, once it rains, this section of the embankment will collapse after all, flooding this large area of rich land.

Zhang Yun sighed and said: "It's really time to repair it, don't delay this matter any longer, I will hold a meeting of the political hall after I go back, settle this matter, and start work as soon as possible." ”

He said to Liu Yan again: "I hope that the money and grain from the household department can be allocated in time, and the project will not be delayed." ”

Liu Yan nodded, "I understand, I will pay as soon as possible!" ”

Li Gan saw that it was not early, so he smiled and said: "There is still some distance from the county seat, and if you don't go back, it will be dark." ”

Zhang Yun smiled slightly, "Okay then!" See here today, let's go back to the county government first!

Everyone turned the horse's head, followed the order of Wu County, and went to Gaoling County, when they arrived at the county seat, it was already dark, everyone had a simple dinner in the county office, Liu Yan had something to do tomorrow, so he rushed back to Chang'an overnight, and the rest of the people wanted to stay in Gaoling County for one night.

The accommodation has been arranged, because of the poor conditions of the post station, Zhang Yun lived in a clansman's house in Gaoling County, and the rest of the officials lived in the post station.

Zhang Bingguo was led by a guard to Zhang Yun's clan army, the house is located in the east of the city, and the post station is in the west of the city, the two places are quite far apart, the carriage traveled for a quarter of an hour to come to a big mansion, the front of the mansion is quite deserted, there are no gatekeepers, the house is also a little old, and there is no plaque, giving people a strange feeling, it seems to be uninhabited.

With a creak, the guard pushed open the door and led Zhang Bingguo into the house, with a bang, the door of the house closed again, and when he entered the house, this feeling of being uninhabited was even stronger, it was dark everywhere, there were no lights in all the rooms, and it seemed that no one lived, and the silence was a little scary.

Zhang Bingguo couldn't hold back any longer and asked, "Does Zhang Xiangguo live here?" ”

"Zhang Xiangguo lives in the back house, this is a guest room, usually no one lives, just now we came in from the side door, please come with me!"

The guard replied coldly, and took Zhang Bingguo into a courtyard, he pointed to a room with lights in front of him, "That's Xiangguo's temporary study, Zhang Zuo, please!" ”

Zhang Bingguo glanced back, only to see four big men clasping their hands in front of their chests, blocking the door, he felt that he had come all the way in the afternoon, and it seemed that he had not seen these four big men.

Zhang Bingguo was even more suspicious in his heart, and he walked to the door to report: "Humble Zhang Bingguo asks to see Xiangguo!" ”

"Come in!"

The voice was very low, not like Zhang Yun's voice, he slowly pushed the door open, he suddenly found that this door turned out to be an iron door, he was taken aback, just about to retreat, but the guards pushed him into the room, 'Boom! With a bang, the iron door slammed shut.

The room was dazzlingly bright, Zhang Bingguo covered the light with his hands, and when his eyes adapted to the light, he found that this room was actually a stone house, the bare bluestone was not decorated at all, the room was empty, and there were more than a dozen big men standing against the wall, all of them were naked, their faces were full of meat, there was an iron pillar in the middle, there were iron chains on both sides, there was an empty table and chair next to it, there was no one on the chair, he was terrified, what kind of place was this, he couldn't help but take a step back.

At this time, a person walked out of the inner room and said with a smile: "Welcome Zhang Zuo's envoy to the Gaoling Information Hall." ”

"Intelligence Hall?"

Zhang Bingguo's heart trembled, and he recognized the person in front of him, Hu Peiyun, the head of the Intelligence Hall.

"You ...... What to do! ”

Zhang Bingguo wanted to shout, but his voice was trembling, a little timid, he had already guessed that it was very likely that the Ruizhao case had happened, but as the chief official of the imperial court capital water supervisor, he had the self-esteem of a high-ranking official.

Hu Peiyun sat down, he opened a file on the table, and said lightly: "I understand Zhang Zuo's feelings, but if many things are not explained clearly, I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to let Zhang Zuo go back, and it will be difficult for me to explain to the top." ”

Hu Peiyun's boss is Li Qingan, did Li Qingan find out something? Zhang Bingguo's heart was even more frightened, and his voice trembled: "I don't understand... What do you mean, you want me to say.... What the? ”

"Alright! Let me ask a few questions and ask Zhang Zuo to answer them truthfully. ”

"Wait!"

Zhang Bingguo stretched out his hand, as if to stop Hu Peiyun from stepping forward, he hurriedly said: "I am a dignified official of the imperial court, and I am the left envoy of the Dushui Prison, unless there is an impeachment of the Imperial History Observatory and a resolution of the Political Affairs Hall, you have no right to interrogate me!" ”

"Who said I was interrogating you, I just asked you a few questions, and it was up to you whether I answered or not."

Hu Peiyun sneered, took out the red line book from the file, turned a few pages and asked: "At one o'clock last night, Qi Xun went to your mansion and stayed in your mansion for half an hour, and you sent him out afterwards, and you also said at the door, please rest assured that Manager Qi will definitely do what I have explained, I just want to ask, first, what is the relationship between you and Qi Xun, why do you call him Manager Qi; Second, what did he tell you to do? ”

Hu Peiyun's tone was not serious, but his words hit Zhang Bingguo's chest like a hammer, and Zhang Bingguo only felt 'Buzz! With a bang, it went blank, did they know everything?

His legs began to weaken, he opened his mouth and couldn't say a word, Hu Peiyun was not in a hurry, he looked at him so coldly, Hu Peiyun had to admire the lord's methods, yesterday he said that it was inconvenient to arrest and interrogate in the capital, but today Zhang Yun took Zhang Bingguo to Gaoling County in the name of inspecting the canal, and when he went back tomorrow, no one could think that Zhang Bingguo had been interrogated.

In fact, according to Hu Peiyun's idea, don't care about this Zhang Bingguo, directly arrest Qi Xun, and wipe out all the spies in the Southern Tang Dynasty, all the officials who colluded with the Southern Tang Dynasty can get it from Qi Xun's mouth, there is no need to go around Zhang Bingguo's bend, but Li Qingan only said one sentence, this Zhang Bingguo is a good bait, Hu Peiyun suddenly woke up, he had to admire Li Qingan's clever methods.

Looking at the despair in Zhang Bingguo's eyes, Hu Peiyun smiled faintly and said, "What, is my question difficult to answer?" Don't tell me, you have forgotten. ”

Zhang Bingguo gradually recovered his train of thought, he wiped the big beads of sweat on his forehead, there was no written correspondence between him and Qi Xun, he believed that there was no evidence in the intelligence hall, so he stubbornly said: "Qi Xun turned out to be the Shaoqing of Dali Temple in the imperial court, and I am the same science and technology, and I have a good personal relationship, although he took refuge in the Southern Tang Dynasty, but that is his private matter, and it has nothing to do with me, this time he came to Chang'an to deal with the old mansion property, and came to see me by the way, so the friendship is reunited, why not?" ”

"Humph! Is he really here to deal with the old mansion? ”

"Yes, that's what he told me, as for whether he came to Chang'an for anything else, I don't know, I called him the manager, that's always my old name for him, I promised to help him find the buyer of the old house, of course I have to help him do it, what's the problem?"

Hu Peiyun couldn't help but applaud, "What a clever tooth, push everything off, okay!" Let's put this matter aside for a moment. ”

After speaking, he took out another official letterhead, showed it to Zhang Bingguo, and said: "This is the order that you transferred the water supervision ship to Zhongbaiqu five days ago, with your signature on it, the ship stayed in Zhongbaiqu overnight, and a white jade tablet appeared next to the Xianling Tomb the next day, what is going on, you explain it to me?" ”

Zhang Bingguo's heart was even more frightened, this decree he still saw in the morning, how could it be in the hands of Hu Peiyun now, although he was afraid in his heart, but the matter had come to this, he had no way back, so he gritted his teeth and said: "Sending a boat is naturally to investigate the water conservancy of the river canal, aren't we here today?" It was because the investigation found that the Zhongbai Canal was in danger of bursting, so it ....."

"Fart!"

Hu Peiyun slapped the table heavily, pointed at him and said angrily: "Are you an idiot for me?" You are all water supervisors and seventy-four officials, who did you send to check the canal, you tell me, I will immediately find him to confront him, you don't tell me, you went to inspect it yourself, you went to your colleague's house to drink wine that afternoon, do you think I didn't find out? The shipkeeper in charge of the ship has already explained, you gave the boat to a man named Luo Si, and there are white jade fragments on the boat, which are exactly the same as the white jade tablet, how do you explain this? ”

If Zhang Bingguo continues to be tough, he can still say that the boat was lent to Qi Xun privately, and he doesn't know what Qi Xun is doing with it, so his crime is at most for private use of the official ship, and he will be fined for half a year.

But Zhang Bingguo is a scholar after all, he doesn't have such a strong psychological quality, plus there is a ghost in his heart, he finally couldn't resist it, his spirit completely collapsed, he fell to his knees, cried bitterly and said: "I confess, I was confused for a while, I was bribed by Qi Xun, and I lent him the boat privately, I am guilty!" ”

"What is Qi Xun going to do with the boat, do you know?"

"I ..... I know! ”

Hu Peiyun walked up to him with his hands behind his back, "Hmm! You are still a remedy, you are honest, in fact, Qi Xun confessed, not only the white jade stele, but also the thousand-year-old turtle incident, you also lent the boat to him, and you also participated in the planning, right? ”

Zhang Bingguo nodded, "Yes, I suggest putting the turtle in Gaoling County." ”

"Excellent! Are you willing to make atonement for your sins? ”

"I ..... Willing! ”

Hu Peiyun lowered his head and whispered a few words in his ear, Zhang Bingguo's eyes suddenly widened, and he was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat, "This.... This, I don't dare, I can't do it! ”

"Zhang Zuo Envoy!"

Hu Peiyun's face sank, and he elongated his voice and said: "Colluding with the Southern Tang Dynasty, the lowest crime is also to remove from the official position, the whole family is exiled to Lingnan, your son is only ten years old, your mother is not in good health, the old mother is seventy-three years old, can you really bear to let them go to Lingnan to suffer that kind of crime?" As the saying goes, seventy-three, the ghost gate, do you think your mother has been wandering all the way to the miasma of Lingnan, can she survive this noble gate? Think about it! ”

Zhang Bingguo is a filial son, and it is not bad to be an official, but because of his poor family background, he couldn't stand Qi Xun's favor and bribery temptation for a while, so he accepted him two thousand taels of silver, and was ready to do things for his mother in the future, so he did a foolish thing, and now his weakness was caught, which made him shake for a while, bowing his head and saying nothing.

Hu Peiyun saw that he had been said to have been moved by six points, so he continued to attack his heart and said: "Zhang Zuo, don't forget, in the first two years, the court owed a few years, your family even sold Yongye Tian, and the family was so poor that they ate porridge and vegetables, so cold days, your lady also went to help people wash clothes to make a living, but she fell ill, who gave you thirty silver dollars every month, so that your family survived that winter, it was Anxi, it was His Royal Highness King Zhao, but not only did you not know about Entu, but today you also deliberately smeared His Royal Highness King Zhao and damaged his reputation, Zhang Zuo, But people have to speak of conscience, if your mother knew that you would take revenge, would she be able to bear the blow? ”

"Don't ..... That's it! ”

Zhang Bingguo was lying on the ground, already crying bitterly, "I'm guilty!" I am willing to atone for my sins, I am willing to ......."

"Excellent! Very good! ”

Hu Peiyun helped him up, patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Actually, His Royal Highness King Zhao doesn't want to arrest you in Chang'an, just to give you a chance, he said that Zhang Zuo is an honest official, and proficient in water conservancy, he is a rare good official, if you know your mistakes and are willing to change, in the future, let you go to Jiangnan to be the Jianghuai water envoy, do a good job, and then promote you to Yangzhou Taishou, Zhang Zuo, His Royal Highness King Zhao knows how to make good use of people, but it is much more promising than following that Wei Shangshu, do you say yes!" ”

Zhang Bingguo wiped away the tears on his face, nodded heavily, and said, "Please tell His Royal Highness King Zhao that no matter what he asks me to do, I am willing to serve him!" ”

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(To be continued)