In the face of the arrogance of the middle-aged man, the sergeant showed a strange smile on his face, he brushed away the middle-aged man's fingers with his hand and said lightly: "I really don't believe it, you can try it, I want to see who can let me go home and eat myself, and don't point my finger at me, I don't care about it this time, but I don't want there to be a next time." ”

Seeing the disdain in the sergeant's eyes, his middle-aged man couldn't help but be furious, he couldn't remember how many years no one other than the head of the family dared to look at him with such eyes, and now he actually saw it again, and it was seen in a military household that he thought was inferior, which made him feel a kind of heartfelt anger.

He raised his hand again, pointed at the sergeant Yan Zòng who was the leader, showed a trace of hideous gaze, and shouted in a low voice: "Boy, you are dead, I swear that no matter as long as you are still in Shandong, I will not ruin your family for a day, I will not be surnamed Mo...... Ah......h

As soon as the middle-aged man's voice fell, the originally hideous words suddenly turned into a cry of pain, and then he saw that his index finger pointing at the sergeant was firmly grasped by the sergeant and twisted into a strange shape, and he seemed to be able to hear the subtle clicking sound of the index finger due to the deformation.

The sentence "Ten Fingers Connecting the Heart" is not said in vain, after the fingers were twisted into another shape, the middle-aged man's original fierce expression immediately turned into an extremely painful expression in an instant, and the speed of change was comparable to the change of face in Sichuan.

"Ah...... You...... Let go...... Let it go...... "Under the bitter pain, the middle-aged man's knees weakened, and the whole person couldn't help but kneel down.

And seeing that this middle-aged man suffered a loss, the caravan guys and some guards who were originally watching the excitement in the back hurriedly rushed up, and many people even stepped forward and cursed in their mouths and wanted to be unkind to this sergeant. But they had forgotten who the sergeant was, they were the army, they were a whole, and now someone wanted to disadvantage their robes, and the soldiers, who had been standing behind the sergeant purely to watch the excitement, immediately took off their shoulders and aimed them at them. These flashing bayonets immediately dumbfounded the guards who were eager to try. Looking at the unkind faces of the sergeants, these guards could only retreat step by step.

Looking at the middle-aged hot man kneeling in front of him, the sergeant with a smile on his face slowly lowered his head and looked at the middle-aged man kneeling in front of him, leaning into his ear and whispering: "I don't know if I will go home and eat myself, but if you don't accept our review package again, dare you guarantee that you won't want to use this finger, do you understand?" ”

"You ......" The middle-aged man was furious, and he was originally attacking, but the huge pain that continued to come from his index finger made him have to succumb to the sergeant's obscenity, and he could only cry and say, "Okay...... We are subject to review, you guys check! ”

Looking at the middle-aged man's face deformed by pain, the sergeant snorted lightly before shouting to the soldiers beside him, "Brothers." Good search in the past! ”

"Yes!"

More than a dozen sergeants immediately searched for a caravan of hundreds of carts, and it took them a long time to count the goods, and then a merchant with a goatee estimated the value of the goods, and finally handed a list to the sergeant at the head.

The sergeant looked at the list in his hand and said to the middle-aged man with a smile: "You have a lot of good things in these goods, worth more than six thousand taels of silver, according to the rules you have to pay two hundred taels of silver, now please go to the gate of the city and pay the silver." ”

The middle-aged man was distressed and annoyed, but he did not have the slightest recourse under the threat of a bayonet. I could only helplessly and unwillingly hand over the silver. It's just that he looked at the sergeant with an inexplicable resentment in his eyes as he left......

"Smack...... Smack......"

The sound of continuous slaps sounded in a deep backyard, where the middle-aged man who had been stopped at the city gate today and handed over two hundred taels of silver was standing in the courtyard with his head down, allowing a young man to slap him. The man scolded as he fought back, "You bastard...... Idiot...... Why did our Mo family raise such a waste as you, and let people stop the goods at the city gate. I also obediently paid taxes, why don't you die! ”

The young man continued to slap while scolding, and the middle-aged man's face was already swollen, but he still didn't dare to move for half a minute. Obediently stood in place and was beaten. Seeing his dejected appearance, the young man was angry and stretched out his hand to hit him, but was stopped by an old and majestic voice.

Jing Qi ...... That's enough...... Don't hit! ”

An old man who had been sitting silently on a stone bench next to him spoke. The old man was about sixty years old, with a short beard under his chin, and his emaciated face was full of majesty. I saw him wave his hand and say in a deep voice: "Jingqi...... Get out of the way, Mofu, come here! ”

The old man's voice was not loud, but listening to the ears of the middle-aged man named Mo Fu made him feel a little cold in his hands and feet, Mo Fu took two steps before and knelt down with a puff and said in a trembling voice: "Master...... This time it's the villain's incompetence that has disgraced you, so punish the villain! ”

The old man closed his eyes and muttered for a while before he said, "Mo Fu, you tell everything about today as it is, and you must not omit anything." ”

"Yes!"

Mo Fu trembled and said what happened at the city gate today, the old man did not make any sound when he spoke, but his eyes were slightly closed and silent, until Mo Fu finished speaking, he was still silent, and after a while, he said in an old voice: "You can't be blamed for this matter, it's really that the new Hou Ye is too arrogant, it seems necessary to let him see how powerful we are, Mo Fu ......"

"The villain is here!" Mo Fu, who was kneeling on the ground to confess his sins, was shocked and hurriedly responded: "What do you command?" ”

"Although the responsibility for this matter is not entirely on you, but our Mo family's face was lost by you after all, and after you go back, you will go to the big housekeeper to receive thirty whips."

"Yes...... Thank you, sir, for your grace! Hearing that he was going to receive thirty whips, Mo Fu was not only not depressed but relieved, he knew the Mo family's rules very well, as long as he finished receiving these thirty whips, even if it was over, no one would settle accounts with him in the future.

"Also, after you go back, you will personally take my name to the Liu family, the Quan family, the Gui family, the Ning family, and the Weng family, and say that I will ask them to come to us at noon tomorrow to discuss some things."

"Yes...... Master. The villain got it! ”

Hearing his master say this, Mo Fu felt more like he had taken a reassuring pill, the old man was able to send himself out on an errand, which proved that the old man still appreciated him, and his status in the Mo family would not be shaken because of today's incident.

After Mo Fu went out, the young man who had been standing beside Master Mo said with some resentment: "Dad, Mo Fu has made such a big mistake with this dog, you just gave him thirty whips and let him go?" It's too cheap for him. ”

Master Mo glanced at the young man lightly: "Then what do you want to do...... Kill him? Mo Fu has been with me for more than twenty years, what would I think if I punished the people below him for such a small matter? Who else will do our best for us in the future? I told you a long time ago, although the way of the emperor cannot be soft-hearted, but it cannot be too strict. Otherwise, people's hearts will be scattered, and you have to grasp the proportions in this? Do you understand? ”

Although the young man looked gloomy, he did not dare to disobey his father's words, and he replied respectfully: "Yes...... The child understood. ”

Seeing that his son understood this, Master Mo said again: "By the way, you will personally take my name to the political envoy, the envoy and the envoy to command the yamen, and invite Master Ma, Master Ke and Master Lu to come over to the mansion to talk about it, and say that the father wants to invite them to a light meal." ”

Hearing this, the young man couldn't help but ask excitedly, "Dad." Could it be that they will also support us? ”

Master Mo said indifferently: "Although this is not guaranteed by my father, but Yue Yang's move is really angry, and almost all the merchants and gentry in Shandong have been offended. But secretly they won't embarrass us, but we have to talk to them beforehand. Okay, go ahead, and say that the Father is looking forward to it in the house. ”

"Yes...... Boy, go now. The young man hurried out.

Night falls. In a side hall in the backyard of Mo's Mansion, Master Mo was talking to several bigwigs from Shandong Province, including Ma Ke, the newly arrived envoy, Ke Zhennan, the political envoy of Shandong, and Lu Zhili, the commander of the capital.

At this time, Master Mo was calm and arrogant, and a warm smile appeared on his face, and he couldn't stop greeting him.

I saw Master Mo arch his hand to Ke Zhennan and the others: "Master Ke, Master Ma and Master Lu are parents in a province. I can come to the humble house today, the old man and others really feel puffy, and I will prepare a little wine today, so please invite a few adults to sit down. ”

"Very good!" Ke Zhennan and the others were also as good as flowing, and immediately sat down with Master Mo.

After a few people sat down, Master Mo personally held the wine pot and poured wine for Ke Zhennan and others, and after pouring it was full, he picked up the wine glass and said to them: "A few adults, the old man will do it first as a respect, and I will give a glass to a few adults." With that, he craned his neck and squeaked, and drank the wine from his glass.

"Okay, Old Man Mo has a lot!" Seeing this, Ke Zhennan and the others also raised their wine glasses and drank them all.

Although Master Mo is a majestic head of the family in front of his subordinates, his posture is very low in front of Ke Zhennan and others tonight, but this can't be blamed on him, Huaxia has been an official-based country since ancient times, and the status of officials is far higher than that of businessmen.

And Ke Zhennan and the others are said to be provincial bosses, so they don't have to care too much about Master Mo, a businessman, but they still happily went to the appointment after receiving the invitation from Master Mo. After all, for the richest man in Jinan, the necessary face still has to be given.

Mo Lao's real name is Mo Ren, the Mo family has developed into one of the wealthy households in Jinan and even Shandong in a few decades under his leadership, the Mo family has more than 300,000 acres of fields in Jinan alone, and there are many industries in various parts of Shandong, each time it takes ten days and a half months to inspect these places, as the saying goes, quantitative changes will cause qualitative changes, when the wealth reaches a certain level, even Ke Zhennan and others have to pay attention to it.

After three rounds of wine and five flavors, Master Mo put down his wine glass and said to Ke Zhennan: "Master Ke, the old man invited you to come here today to listen to your teachings, and secondly, I want to ask you to be the master of the old man, please save the Mo family, save the old gentry from all over Shandong!" After speaking, Master Mo bowed to Ke Zhennan and the others.

"Alas...... Mr. Mo, what are you doing here, are you trying to torture me and others? "Ke Zhennan and others are more than comparable in terms of identity

Master Mo is much taller, but he doesn't dare to accept him safely, after all, the age of the people is there. The ancients paid attention to respecting the old and loving the young, if he accepted the worship of Master Mo with peace of mind, if it was rumored in the future, there would be a royal history to impeach him.

After helping Master Mo up, Ke Zhennan said with a wry smile: "Old Man Mo, if you have something to say, please speak up, as long as it can be done, this official, Master Ma, and Lord Lu will not sit idly by." ”

"yes...... Why should Master Mo be too polite, if you have something to say, you just have to say it. Mako, who had just put down his glass, was also on the side.

"That's it, Old Man Mo, you are an example of our Jinan Mansion gentry, what can't you say." Lu Zhili also made an official tone on the side.

"Alas...... Several adults are Shandong parents. On weekdays, there are many opportunities, and the old man didn't want to trouble a few, but how many of you know what happened these days, since the Marquis of Yue came to Jinan, he immediately got a new deal, what kind of official gentry to pay grain, spread the land into the mu, fire consumption and other things, this is not to completely abandon the ancestral system, this is worth it? In this way, the old man is worried that this will inevitably make the heavens angry, and the country will not be a country! ”

Master Mo was distressed when he said this, he looked like an old man who was worried about the country and the people, and if someone who didn't know him didn't know him, it was estimated that nine times out of ten, he would definitely be coaxed by his performance. But Ke Zhennan, who are they? They are all people who have been rolling in officialdom for half their lives, what kind of people have never seen it, in their eyes, Master Mo's tricks are all leftovers from their play.

Ma Ke pursed his lips covertly and said lightly: "Master Mo, if you have something to say, just say it." Master Shicaike, Master Lu, and the official have already said that we will definitely not stand idly by if we can help. ”

Seeing Ma Ke say this, Master Mo also knew that the subtext of what the other party said was that there was something to say, don't bother to perform in front of us. But blushing had disappeared for years for his age, he said with a light cough.

"That's good. The old man said bluntly. When I was in Taizu, I made a rule that all those who had meritorious names and officials and gentry should be exempted from forced labor, and subsidies such as rice and grain should be given to scholars. For more than 200 years, Uncle Wu's scholars in our dynasty have been grateful for this, but our newly arrived governor wants to completely overthrow the ancestral system set in the early years, which can't help but blatantly violate the last instructions of the grandfather, and it is also the way to kill in chaos. ”

Speaking of this, what Master Mo said was tears, and the image of a worried country and the people jumped out.

Ke Zhennan, Ma Ke, and Lu Zhili glanced at each other, and then said: "Master Mo, we shouldn't refute your old face, but this time Marquis Yue came to Shandong with the emperor's holy decree, and we can't openly go against the emperor's will, so I can't openly stand up against the emperor with Master Ma and Lord Lu in this matter, I hope you can understand this." ”

Old Man Mo sighed: "My lord...... How innocent are the people, if you want to suffer from this tea poison, can't you be the master of the people on the land of Qilu? ”

At this time, Lu Zhili, who had not spoken, spoke: "Master Mo, don't embarrass Master Ke, at this time, we are really powerless, we can only help, but this official will also try to restrain the soldiers under his command and let them be more comfortable." ”

Hearing this, Master Mo sighed as if he was dead, shook his head and stopped talking. And from this moment on, Master Mo has been frequently persuading him to drink, and he didn't mention what happened just now until the end of the banquet.

After the banquet, Master Mo personally sent Ke Zhennan and the three out of the Mo Mansion, and then returned to the inner courtyard accompanied by a little maid. It's just that when he just returned to the inner courtyard, his son Mo Jingqi greeted him and asked eagerly, "Dad, what did Master Shicai Ke say?" ”

Master Mo waved his hand and sent the maid away, and then said lightly: "Ke Zhennan didn't say anything, just said that at this time, it was a matter personally assigned by the emperor, and they were not easy to interfere, otherwise it would make the emperor unhappy, and they could only help this matter." ”

Mo Jingqi said angrily: "What? How could they? On weekdays, we respect them less, but now they don't recognize people in the blink of an eye when they have something to ask for, these white-eyed wolves! ”

"Shut up...... What do you know? Master Mo glared at his son, "If they didn't express their position, it is already the greatest support, is it possible that you still expect them to run to fight with that Hou Ye in person, you think they are our domestic dogs, and they will bite whoever they say." ”

"That'...... So what to do? Without the support of a few adults, it would be difficult for us to fight against that Yueyang! Mo Jingqi was a little panicked.

"Hmph...... Says who? On the contrary, without the government's stopping, we can better sing this play, I want to let that Yue Yang know that they are going to smash the old man's job, and the old man will cut off his roots first! Jingqi, you hurry up and inform the old man to attend the dinner tomorrow night in person and discuss important matters with them! ”

"Yes...... Don't worry, Dad, the child is ready! Speaking of this, Mo Jingqi's face was full of excitement...... (To be continued......)