Hu Chenggong was locked up in the firewood room for a day, and originally thought that he would be able to confess in this life. Unexpectedly, the iron butler of the Xu Mansion actually came to invite him to join the ranks of the forces of the Xu Mansion, he was naturally overjoyed, and when he went out of the firewood room and followed the iron head to the study to see Xu Liang, his face was flushed with excitement, so that when he raised his foot into the study, he almost tripped over the originally low threshold.

Seeing Xu Liang standing near the window, Hu Chenggong threw himself to the ground and bowed to pay respects.

"Subordinate Hu Chenggong see my lord."

Xu Liang looked at the dead tree pond outside the window attentively, turned around for a long time, and beckoned to Hu Chenggong, who was still respectfully bowing his head to greet him: "Now that Brother Hu can join Tsing Yi Wei, we will be regarded as our own people in the future, Brother Hu doesn't have to be polite, please get up quickly." ”

"Thanks to your subordinates, your subordinates will definitely work hard in the future to repay your great kindness." Hu Chenggong solemnly promised, and then stood up straight.

"I heard the head of Tie Da say that Brother Hu used to be a talent in Chang'an Mansion?" Xu Liang asked.

Hu Chenggong glanced at Tie Tou, his expression was inexplicably sad, his eyes were red, and he waved his hand and said: "My lord smiled, my subordinates were trapped in the casino when they were young, and they couldn't extricate themselves, and even fell into the middle of the family road, and their wives were separated. ”

Xu Liang smiled, patted Hu Chenggong's shoulder quite understandingly, and said with relief: "Brother Hu doesn't have to be sad, as long as you work hard, this official assures you that you will be able to arrest those people who framed you back then and let you dispose of them, and you will be ashamed." ”

Hu Chenggong was greatly moved, and excitedly clasped his fists and said, "Thank you, sir." ”

In the morning, when Tietou recommended this Hu Chenggong to Xu Liang, Xu Liang asked Tietou about the origin of Hu Chenggong in curiosity, and Tietou reported to Xu Liang about Hu Chenggong's past after a conversation with Hu Chenggong in the firewood room in the morning. It turned out that Hu Chenggong was originally a showman in Chang'an Mansion, and his background was also a scholarly family, although he failed to achieve fame in the past few years, but he was also a famous family in the township, and when he was twenty years old, he married the daughter of a local squire, but he took the exam twice in the following six or seven years, but he was named Sun Shan, and he was depressed and couldn't stand his wife, the idle language of the father-in-law, and one day he went to the gambling house to try his skills at the instigation of a group of bad friends.

Hu Chenggong tried to have a problem this time, and he was very lucky at the beginning, winning hundreds of taels of silver in a row, gambling a few times in a row, and then gambling more and more losses, and finally not only lost the thick family foundation, but also owed a huge gambling debt to the gambling house.

In the end, the father-in-law took his wife and children away, and Hu Chenggong's family and land were also collected by the people in the gambling house to pay off the debt. At this point, Hu Chenggong suddenly woke up, and from the beginning to the end, the people in the gambling house took a fancy to the Hu family's property, and used thousands of deceptions to defraud the property. Unfortunately, it was too late, and Hu Chenggong became destitute and displaced overnight.

Xu Liang was also overwhelmed with emotion after knowing Hu Chenggong's past. After a few words of relief, Tietou led Hu Chenggong to the camp of Jitou Mountain to select the men of Tsing Yi Wei.

Xu Liang stayed in the house for a while, worried about the results of Liang Jun's search, and called Dai Yingying to go to the south gate to wait for news. At this time, someone came to report, and Cheng Huangdao Zhou of Zhenyuan County asked to see him.

Most of it was for the sake of the people who were arrested, Xu Liang thought, and met Huang Daozhou in the hall in the front yard.

Huang Daozhou entered the main hall of the Xu Mansion, greeted each other with Xu Liang, and sat down separately. Xu Liang said: "If Huang Xiancheng still wants to intercede for those people in prison, then he will not be able to open his mouth." I will not agree to release those people until their origins are clear. ”

Huang Xiancheng was stunned, and arched his hand: "Lord Xu misunderstood, the officials are not here for this matter. ”

"So what's the matter?" Xu Liang asked, secretly wondering in his heart, now that he has been dismissed from his post by the governor's yamen, it stands to reason that his relationship with the government has nothing to do with except for the hundreds of people locked up in prison. Huang Daozhou is the nominal chief executive of Zhenyuan County, and Huang Xiancheng can decide the affairs of the county government, Xu Liang really can't figure out what else Huang Xiancheng needs to come to the house to discuss.

"My lord, you can take a look at this first." Huang Daozhou took out a letter from his sleeve and handed it to Xu Liang with a solemn expression.

Xu Liang took it suspiciously, took out the letter paper and read it, and couldn't help exclaiming: "The thieves are besieging Jingzhou City? ”

Huang Daozhou nodded and said, "Yes, this is a letter for help that I just received at noon." Lin Jialuo, the magistrate of Jingzhou, saw that the thieves were on the sky and suddenly sent troops to Jingzhou, and sent his henchmen Pegasus to Zhenyuan to ask for help. ”

When Xu Liang heard this, he smiled dumbly and said: "This Jingzhou magistrate is so confused, Jingzhou is besieged, where should he ask the Pingliang prefect Yamen for help, what is the matter with asking for Zhenyuan County?" ”

Huang Xiancheng groaned slightly, looked at Xu Liang and said: "My lord, it's not that this Lin Zhixian is dizzy, this Lin Jialuo can think of sending someone to the town to complain about the urgency, most likely because he thinks that you are still the original county of Zhenyuan." In September, the Lord guarded the town and repelled 50,000 thieves throughout the Northwest Territory. ”

"Huh, so what?" Huang Daozhou didn't mention this stubble, but when he mentioned Xu Liang, he got angry. At that time, in order to defend the town, Xu Liang worked hard and became a villain, but the city was defended, but Xu Liang himself was also accused of "forcibly requisitioning grain and arousing public resentment" by the governor Yamen, and was dismissed from the county magistrate's position.

"In the end, this official is not a dismissal!" Xu Liang shouted angrily.

Huang Daozhou took two steps forward, coughed lightly twice in embarrassment, and explained in a sincere tone: "Ahem, this matter is indeed undertaken by the governor Yamen, the lord has been wronged, and the lower officials and the people of the entire Zhenyuan County have complained for the lord. However, Huang Xiancheng turned his words, stared at Xu Liang, and said meaningfully: "If you want to make a comeback as soon as possible and return to the court, now is an opportunity. ”

"Oh?" Xu Liang stared at Huang Daozhou in surprise, shook the letter paper in his hand, and said: "The edict of the governor yamen is still hot when he is put in Lao Tzu's drawer, Hu Tingyan, Hong Chengchou is still here, the edict they issued will not be overthrown, right?" ”

"Adults don't know!" Huang Xiancheng shook his head, stroked a small handful of beard on his chin, and said with a shiny eye: "In ordinary times, if an official like an adult is dismissed, unless there is a special opportunity, it will be difficult to come back in three or five years." But things are very different now. Huang Xiancheng pointed to the air with his right hand, and said meaningfully: "The above is tracking down the remnants of the eunuch party, the ministers of the central government, the local governors, and even the prefect and county orders, but anyone who has something to do with the eunuch party is like a frightened bird, and they are trying their best to deal with the turmoil that may come at any time." ”

"The lower officials checked the newspaper of the palace in recent days, and at the beginning of the lunar month, the Holy Lord had issued an order to dismiss several local officials who had a close relationship with the eunuchs, and seven local high-ranking officials, including the governor of Caoyun, the governor of Yunnan, the governor of the five armies, and the governor of Jiangxi, were all dismissed. I heard that the materials of our Shaanxi Governor Hu Yanting are on the desk of the saint, and maybe when Lord Hu's black gauze hat will be taken off. ”

When Xu Liang heard the governor of Jiangxi, he couldn't help but be taken aback, Yang Bangxian, the governor of Jiangxi, was also dismissed? But I don't know what the situation of Uncle Huang Weizhong is. But Xu Liang would never take the initiative to ask, wouldn't that mean that he also had something to do with the eunuchs?

Xu Liang sneered: "Huang Xiancheng said so much, but he didn't understand what these have to do with me? ”

"Naturally, it has a lot to do with it!" Huang Xiancheng stroked his palm and said: "You might as well reveal another piece of news to your lordship, Xia Guan heard from the officials of Pingliang Mansion that it seems that Hong Chengchou of Futai has also been denounced, and he is trying to clear his name." On the other hand, on the side of the government, from the governor's yamen to the prefect's yamen, everyone swept the snow in front of the door, and left others to worry about the frost, not to mention taking the initiative to quell the rebellion, even if they went out of the city to rescue, no one was willing to come out. This time Jingzhou was in an emergency, and the lower officials estimated that Pingliang Mansion would never send troops to rescue it. ”

"You mean you want me to lead troops to relieve the siege of Jingzhou?" Xu Liang listened to it for so long, and finally understood what it meant that Huang County had talked so much.

"Exactly!" Huang Xiancheng shouted happily, and secretly said that you finally understand.

"Haha," Xu Liang laughed loudly, pointed to Huang Daozhou and said: "Lord Huang is clever and tongue-in-cheek, and if you don't go to be a lobbyist, you really bury talents." I am now a cloth cloth, its city in the Ming Dynasty was besieged, and the local government did not send troops to rescue it, but instead asked me, a small citizen, to take my brothers to die? There is no such thing in the world! Lord Huang also called it a great opportunity! Hmph, I'm afraid it's a chance to die. ”

"Alas," Huang Daozhou saw that Xu Liang still didn't understand what he meant, so he couldn't help but stomp his feet in a hurry, waved his hand again and again, and said, "My lord, you misunderstood." He took two steps forward, stared at Xu Liang, and asked: "Okay, the lower official will ask a word, the adults have recruited these tens of thousands of horses, and they are making weapons and building camps, but if they can't recover in the future, they will simply pull up the team and become bandits, and from now on they will be the king of the mountain and guard according to the mountain?" Or do adults still hope to be reinstated as an official and glorify their ancestors? ”

When Xu Liang heard this, his face changed, he suddenly stopped smiling, looked at Huang Xiancheng scrutinically, and said in a deep voice: "Yes and what, no, what is it?" ”

Huang Daozhou listened to Xu Liang's words, and there was still a drama in the secret way, with a flick of his long sleeves, he stood tall, and said vigorously: "If the ambition of an adult is only limited to being a mountain king, then the current official has never been here today." If you still want to return to the court and rise to prominence, then you might as well listen to the words of the lower officials. ”

Xu Liang stared at him and didn't speak.

Not speaking is acquiescence. Huang Daozhou smiled at the corner of his mouth, and then said: "My lord can be said to be strong and strong at the moment, but he suffers from not having a proper name, and he has more than 10,000 soldiers in a cloth cloth, which is not tolerated by the court. If the adults can take the opportunity to relieve the siege of Jingzhou this time and defeat the thieves, it will undoubtedly show the court that the adults are still interested in the court and are willing to be used by the court. If you fight a few battles with the thieves decently in the future and make some contributions, then why worry that the court will not pay attention to the adults, and then the adults will be reinstated, or they will be recruited on the spot, and they will be the officials of the Ming Dynasty again. Don't you think this is a good opportunity to return to court, my lord? ”