Wu? couldn't stop laughing secretly, knowing that the county was lying in bed to recuperate, and did not dare to disturb, turned around and walked to the guest room in the shade, and the room leaning against the moon door faintly heard the sound of talking, and quietly went to the window to listen, and someone inside laughed: "Listen to how loud the old men in the upper room screamed, did you dare to shout that it hurt in the governor's yamen that day?" ”

"What kind of place is that, the old man naturally doesn't dare. Obedient people, forty sticks per person, it's no wonder that the ass is not rotten! The old men are used to seeing others being beaten like this, how could they have been beaten like this, and it was not easy to grit their teeth and endure it at that time. ”

"Lord Futai is also strange, it is obviously a thief and robber, but he insists that the people are hungry and ask for food, and when the farming is busy in the next spring, it will be natural and stable, I don't believe it will be so easy to cook. A few elder brothers said that the governor yamen was reluctant to give money for disaster relief, and the people filled their stomachs with next year's grain, and it was difficult to take care of their lives, so did they still have the heart to cultivate the land and farm? ”

"Isn't it! At present, there are still some thieves and thieves, easy to exterminate, if it is not good to release food for disaster relief, the hungry people gather more and more, it will become a spark of the prairie fire, then I am afraid that it will take a lot of time. Blindly concealing it is not always a solution, is the court easy to fool? See how long he can hide it? ”

"Disaster relief? There is only the bottom of the treasury left, what kind of disaster relief will be used? If disaster relief is carried out again, will it be difficult to fill those shortfalls even in the Year of the Monkey? I heard that Lord Futai wants to take advantage of the emperor's tax exemption to fill in some shortfalls! Wouldn't you be so anxious to play the wrench so coldly? ”

Wu? Hearing this, he leaned sideways and peeked into the house, there were seven or eight masters in the room, sitting around the table on the earthen kang, a few side dishes, a pot of soju, drinking slowly, and complaining, "Brother, compared to your Chengcheng County, our master's forty sticks are much more wronged." ”

"How wronged, the same grade and the same crime, naturally deserve the same punishment." The master of Chengcheng County was quite puzzled.

"You Chengcheng County is the first to open up the atmosphere, how can you say the same! As early as the seventh year of the Apocalypse, there was a rebellious Wang Er there who killed Zhang Douyao, the magistrate, and it has not been eradicated for almost two years, but it has affected our Baishui County. Compared with your master, my master's crime is not a donkey puller, how can there be a priority and a secondary! How can you all be forty sticks! The master of Baishui County touched a few locks of sparse beard and argued.

"Yes! If it weren't for your Chengcheng County Wang Er leading the trouble, there would not be Wang Jiayin, a fugitive from the Dingbian camp, making trouble in our Fugu County, as well as the Ansai horse thief Gao Yingxiang, Qingjian Wang Zuohang, and Hannan Wang Daliang are afraid that they are all within the reach of the wind, and they are encouraged by Wang Er, and they are bent on learning from him. "The other masters thought of following the master to suffer and suffer, and they were also full of resentment.

The master of Chengcheng County was afraid of arousing the anger of the people, and he couldn't refute everyone with one mouth, so he was so anxious that he waved his hand again and again and said: "This is not to blame my master, if you want to blame God, blame this bad year, if it is a bumper harvest, how can there be so many homeless people, why do they bother to leave their wives and children to come out and make trouble!" ”

He wanted to lead everyone to find the reason elsewhere, but as soon as the words fell, everyone refuted him one after another: "What's the use of blaming God? What's the weird way? It's really like those grass folk singing: 'God, you are old, deaf and blind. Those who do evil enjoy the glory, and those who fast and do good live and starve. God, you're old. You can't be the sky, you're falling! 'Can you teach the sky to fall and get a new one?' This famine is not unique to this year, in previous years, there were few disasters, and there were not a few rebellions, but now there are more of them? ”

"Then Wang Erliu went to Yijun County, smashed the prison and robbed the prison, is it also to blame God? If these homeless people only grab some food and eat a few large households, they don't have anything to worry about, in order to survive! But now they are plundering and rebelling, openly opposing the imperial court, is it only to blame Lao Tiancheng? At first, Wang Er was only a few hundred hungry people, and it was not a climate, if Lord Futai transferred troops to suppress them, and the army would have collapsed long ago before these little thieves, why was it so difficult to clean up? Does Lord Futai have this in mind? Standing in the pit and not! ”

"Lord Futai is busy! Busy with his birthday, busy collecting money, how to take this matter to heart. ”

"How much did your lord give?"

"What's more, in our poor place where cats and dogs don't poop, where is there any oil and water to squeeze? If you really want to send more, you won't get a stick. If you want to say that there is unrest in the jurisdiction, the two counties of Pucheng and Hancheng, and where is the state and Yan'an not chaotic? Why don't the old men there get beaten, it's not that they are willing to spend money. What kind of gifts do people give to Lord Futai's three festivals and two birthdays, you can eat and drink at the table, will it be less? Has your lord ever had this honor? Haha, it's good to have a cup of tea to eat. Don't just worry about eating and drinking, go back and see your master, maybe you're still anxious about going to the governor's birthday banquet tonight! ”

"The old man was beaten to the point of blood, how did he get it?"

"What a nerd! As long as He Yi is indispensable, who cares if you can't get there? If you don't go, you will save tea for Lord Futai! ”

"I said that early in the morning, my lord stared at the invitation, covered his buttocks and kept shouting that it hurts, thinking that his heart hurts more than flesh! Alas! There is no harvest of autumn grain, if you don't make a fuss about the disaster relief grain from the imperial court, where will there be silver to send? The hundreds of taels of silver that my lord brought to Xi'an were pulled out of the mouths of the common people, and they were all given away or left with sticks. It seems that the gift money for the birthday banquet has to be raised by the township party in the provincial capital. Saying that, the man said goodbye and went out of the kang.

Wu? Hurriedly retreated out of the inn, staring at the outside of the alley from afar, and in less than a cup of hot tea, he saw the master walking with his head bowed and sighing, and bowed and said, "Isn't this Master Li?" It's been a long time, when did you arrive in the provincial capital? ”

The master was stunned, and when he saw that he was dressed as a tutor, he couldn't recognize him after looking at his face carefully, and said lightly: "How do you know us?" Forgive me for being clumsy. ”

"Brother Zun is not Master Li of Baishui County? The younger brother once opened a museum in the house of Wang Yuanwai, the richest man in Baishui, for half a year, and now he came to the provincial capital with him. ”

"But Wang Yuanwai, who runs a crude medicine shop in Xi'an?" Master Li's eyes lit up.

"Exactly."

"I'm begging him!" Master Li said about borrowing money, Wu? Laughing: "How much?" ”

Master Li smiled and said, "Two hundred taels can be borrowed?" A few days ago, I just sent three hundred taels, and I made a mess for the thieves, and I didn't have a good time! ”

"What a coincidence. Wang Yuanwai has always wanted to go to the door of Lord Futai, but when he first arrived in the provincial capital, he didn't care about it for a while. It is not difficult to borrow silver, and the younger brother can be the master, but if you want to ask the respected brother for something, if the respected brother gives it, the silver does not need to be returned. ”

"As long as you have the money, everything else is negotiable."

"The younger brother wants to borrow the invitation card of Lord Futai."

"This is easy to do, originally my lord only sent a few hundred taels of silver, and he didn't have the face to go to the banquet, so he didn't have to worry about people eating and drinking! Where is this invitation, it is clearly a contractual document for debt collection. Master Li took out a big red post from his sleeve and handed it over, grabbed the silver ticket of two hundred taels, and threw it away.

The governor's yamen is full of lights, inside and out, and it is bright. The more than a dozen tables of the Eight Immortals in the flower hall were full of colorful dishes, and a jar of mud-sealed Xifeng wine and Huanggui thick wine were fragrant. As soon as the day was dark, there was an endless stream of guests to come to pay respects, there were hundreds of guests when the lantern was held, the political envoys, the envoys according to the inspection, the commanders, the prefects of the province, the prefects and counties of the prefecture and the county with their high-sounding officials, and the gentry and senior citizens in the city also arrived one after another. Two low wooden platforms were erected outside the hall, each with a troupe singing gongs, babbling and babbling are all Qin dialect, I can't tell what kind of play is performed, both sides are riveting to please and ask for rewards, gongs and drums are loud, knocking on the sky-high price, and the costumed plays do not hesitate to sing. Wu? Get off the sedan chair, come in with the invitation card, see such a grand scene, I can't help but admire, see that the flower hall is full of people, there is no place to settle in the courtyard, and no one comes forward to greet him, and he glimpses a few masters in the ear room next to him are busy registering the ceremony, and all kinds of gifts are piled up in most of the room, leaning over and asking: "Can the registration be completed?" ”

The masters replied without raising their heads: "There are still a few places that are being checked." "Wu? Standing aside, watching them count and check, secretly memorized some numbers, turned to the flower hall, looked left and right outside the door, the flower hall was really lively, red candles were hot, staggered, laughter and noisy. Hu Tingyan, the governor of Shaanxi, sat in the center of the chief with his head barehead and dressed in civilian clothes, smiling and persuading everyone to drink and eat. A magistrate walked up to the chief and said with a smile: "Lord Futai, the humble Pucheng County He Da Shou is better than Nanshan." After saying that, he raised his neck and drank the wine, Hu Tingyan raised his glass with a smile, put it on his lips, and caught a glimpse of Wu standing at the door, and said with a smile: "Where are you from, why are you not at the table?" ”

The house slave guarding the door saw Wu? Looking like he couldn't enter, he was about to be interrogated, but when he saw Futai allowed, he didn't dare to stop him, Wu? Striding in, he went to the chief to find a vacant seat and sat down, and next to him, a prefect wearing a four-grade Yunyan supplement was holding a cup to celebrate his birthday, glanced back at him, his expression was extremely disdainful, and he still smiled and said: "Sanqin suffered a disaster, and there were a few chaotic people, fortunately, Lord Futai was in the middle of the dispatch and strategized, otherwise I would not dare to eat and drink so peacefully." Even if you eat and drink indiscriminately, it is also unpleasant. ”

Another prefect put down his chopsticks and said, "Where are the troubled people?" Isn't it that some of the border soldiers in Yansui went out to loot due to insufficient military salaries? Yan Sui Fu Taiyue and Sheng's son of a son of a bitch, conniving and not asking, only calling it a hungry people to make a rebellion, isn't this beggar-thy-neighbor? If it weren't for Lord Futai's deep cultivation, how could he be tolerated? ”

Hu Tingyan said: "Yue Futai and Benfuyuan don't have any grievances, I think he is in order to exculpate himself, and he is in a hurry, so he made this decision." This Fuyuan originally wanted to laugh at it, as long as it was worthy of heaven and earth, let those young people talk about it. But Sanqin is not only me Hu who eats the emperor's grain and takes a fortune, which of the officials, big and small, is willing to delay his future because of this, and which one is willing to suffer this kind of wretched anger for no reason? I'm just a certain person who has been aggrieved, but I can't stand such a large number of people, so I have to write an excerpt to defend myself. ”

"Lord Futai asked for Sanqin's life, I can't wait to be grateful."

"It's really rare for Lord Futai to have such a mind."

There was a sound of sycophancy in the flower hall, Wu? It sounds very harsh. Hu Tingyan put the cup on the table, got up and said, "He Yue Hesheng wants to pour dirty water on me, how can it be so easy?" There is no need to worry about the chaotic people in a few places, as long as the prefectures and counties give porridge on time and survive until the beginning of spring next year, the people will think about farming, and the people will naturally be gone. At that time, his Yue harmony's false accusations will be self-defeating, and I will go to him again to see how he defends himself? After that, they laughed, and everyone burst into praise.

"Shameless!" There was an angry shout outside the door, and a big man ignored the obstruction of the house slaves, and rushed in, scolding in his mouth: "The red drought is thousands of miles, the hunger is in the wilderness, the people of Li are looking forward to the government's relief of famine and hunger like the hope of the great drought, but the Lord Futai is here only cares about Shengge, Sizhu and putting on a feast, drinking and celebrating his birthday, how can he be a little loyal to the king and the people?" ”

Everyone was shocked by his momentum, stared at the big man together, and exclaimed in their hearts: What is the origin of this person, so bold and arrogant, how dare he scold Futai in person? Hu Tingyan's face sank, he relied on his identity, hidden, touched his gray beard and asked, "Who are you, how dare you go wild here?" ”

The big man said coldly: "Ma Maocai in the matter of the next household department, the order has been completed, and he will go to Beijing to wait for him in the near future." ”

When Hu Tingyan heard that he was a speech official, he was afraid and hateful, squeezed out a smile on his face, and said slowly: "If you are here, you are a guest, if you have something to say, sit down and talk in detail after the banquet, don't disturb everyone's Yaxing!" ”

Ma Mao strode to Wu? Sitting beside him, he took a cup like no one else, only ate and drank a few sips, and then jumped up and said: "How can I also eat this rotten wine and food, it is obviously the people's anointing blood!" Reaching into his throat, he leaned over and vomited, his sleeves and placket were full of stains, and everyone was disgusted and put their chopsticks one after another.

Hu Tingyan's face turned pale, and he shouted: "Ma Maocai, this Fuyuan respects you as a colleague and gives you face, I don't want you to be so presumptuous and disturb my birthday banquet for no reason!" ”

"Lord Futai, but is my food indecent? Hehe, you know, it's much more elegant than the miserable state of cannibalism. There is no rain in Ansai for a year, and in the first month, the autumn grain should be ripe, but the fields are scorched, and the people only get to the mountains to pick the grass for food in order to survive. Now that the grass has been harvested, the bark has to be peeled. If there are children in the family, they dare not let him go out to play, and often he can't find him when he goes out, so he teaches people to catch and eat. The emperor clearly decreed that the whole province should be exempted from grain tax to provide disaster relief and peace to the people. Ma Mao only said that he was sad, and he cried loudly, so that a birthday banquet seemed to become a mourning banquet in a blink of an eye.

Hu Tingyan arched his hand and said: "The emperor is in the ninth fold, how many military affairs?" Shaanxi is still concerned about this little bit of famine, and the officials of all sizes are excited, and they are all working together to tide over the difficulties in order to repay the grace of heaven. You are alarmist here, what is your intention? ”

Ma Maocai sneered: "It's good that Lord Futai has this heart of loyalty and love for the people, and if you rely on the holy grace of your body, you will be able to push it to the people." The saint is anxious and diligent, anxiously seeking treatment, and wants to be peaceful, but now the thieves of the Three Qin Dynasty are rampant, the hungry people are displaced, but the adults are singing and dancing here, is this what it looks like to share the worries for the king? It's really chilling! ”

"Nonsense! Is it disloyal to the king and the people to celebrate his birthday? Do you dare to fall in love with that horse thief Gao Yingxiang's guy? No wonder such a lie confuses the public. Come on, take it for me! Hula poured in more than a dozen wolf-like soldiers and blocked the door.

Ma Maocai argued loudly: "Lord Futai doesn't have to spew blood, I am in Confucianism, how can I be willing to be in the company of those chaotic people?" You just need to catch it, you don't have to force people! ”

Hu Tingyan smiled fiercely: "Hmph! This is the governor's yamen, not a place for you to come and go at will. How can this Fuyuan allow you to play tricks here and shake people's hearts? Tie me up and put me in jail. When the soldiers heard the order, they were about to step forward and tie up, and Ma Mao shouted: "You don't have to do it!" He picked up the wine jug on the table and slammed it hard, ignoring the fact that the wine was overflowing all over the ground, holding his hands high and his chest up, and walking out proudly.

Wu? Stretching out his hand to stop it, he said with a smile: "Brother Tai walks slowly, it's not too late to use the wine and dinner." ”

Hu Tingyan was stunned for a moment, and said in a sullen voice: "It's not worth weighing two catties, but the governor's yamen is where you talk nonsense?" ”

Wu? chuckled twice, got up and smiled, reached into his arms, wrapped Huanglong in his arms and said, "Hu Futai, you should always know what I hold in my hand!" Still on your knees? Hu Tingyan saw the flying cloud dragon on the bright yellow satin, his legs were weak, and he said in fear: "I don't know that Qin sent to arrive, and I didn't greet him, so I hope to beg for forgiveness." Please wait a moment while I change into my crown clothes. Come on, put incense on the case! ”

The people in the flower hall were stunned for a while, and they all got up and stumbled outside to avoid it, and only Wu was left in the flower hall? , Hu Tingyan, and Ma Maocai. The house slaves ran in and out of the ground to serve and receive the order, and Hu Tingyan laughed at Wu? He gave way to the chief: "When Lord Qincha arrived, I really don't know at all, my lord has been tired all the way on the saddle horse, I should have known it a long time ago, otherwise if it is known by those troubled people, wouldn't it be a great sin to despise the holy bow?" ”

Wu? is not humble, Lama Mao sat down and said: "I am tired of staying in the capital, this time I am ordered to go out of Beijing is really like a prison bird out of the cage, so uncomfortable, plain clothes on the road, there is no alarm, a secret visit is better than a clear investigation!" Hey, don't teach me to mess up your situation as soon as I come to announce the decree, Lord Hu, beckon the guests to come back, you can't go back hungry with a congratulatory gift! ”

Everyone was shocked, and kept discussing outside the hall, and only after hearing a greeting did they go back to the hall to meet Qin Cha and sit down again, seeing that Qin Cha did not move his chopsticks, and did not dare to reach out to pick up vegetables, they watched together. Wu? Glancing around at everyone, he asked, "The prefects of Yan'an and Hanzhong, Huazhou, Tongzhou, ? State, Yaozhou, ? How many governors of Zhouzhou, Huizhou, Jiazhou, and Ningqiang Prefecture have arrived? Several people stood up at the banquet and answered.

Wu? He walked up to them and said, "This banquet is hard, are you willing?" The crowd bowed their heads and remained silent, wondering what he meant. Wu? smiled: "My butt is sore, and I have to sit on such a hard bench, I can endure it ruthlessly, but how long will I endure the resentment in my heart?" Knock out your teeth and swallow your stomach, do you want to learn from the market? ”

Hu Tingyan said unhappily: "Bandits are rampant, the people are swarming, this Fuyuan is not hiding and not reporting, I really don't want to worry the emperor." The officials of the prefecture and county are ineffective, and the duties of the Fuyuan are naturally punished in accordance with the law to set an example. You're a special messenger to check the disaster, and your hand is too long! ”

"It is the responsibility of Ben Qin to conduct discipline, correct the impeachment of hundreds of officials, and identify wrongs. This time he was ordered to patrol Shaanxi, collect wind along the way, observe the disaster, be the eyes and ears of the Son of Heaven, charter major events, and make decisions on small matters, the disaster is closely related to the people's uprising, and Ben Qin is not involved in local government affairs for nothing. As Futai, you are in charge of the military and political affairs of the whole province, you don't give relief when you suffer disasters, you hide and don't report the people's changes, and treat people's lives like mustard, causing the people to swell, and the thieves gradually become the trend of burning the prairies. "Wu? The more he talked, the more angry he became, and his voice couldn't help but rise, "How critical the situation in Shaanxi is now, you still have the heart to hold a birthday banquet, and you have received tens of thousands of taels of silver alone, how much rations for the hungry people is this?" Strip me of silk and take the corn from my mouth. The cruelty of human beings is the jackal, why should they hook their claws and saw their teeth to eat human flesh? The anointing blood of these Li people, have you been ruthless? Shengcong is lofty but discerning, see how you can escape? ”

Hu Tingyan got up and paced slowly, and said hesitantly: "There are no less than 1,000 officials of all sizes in Shaanxi Province, and this rule has been left since the Wanli Dynasty, and it is not something that can be changed lightly by one person in this Fuyuan. He pointed out with his hand again and again: "These people who come tonight have official positions of different sizes and grades, but which one does not support his parents and wives, and which one can leave the money?" I understand the big truths you said, I understand, who in the whole world dares to say that he is clean and does not accept stolen money? I dare to say that there is no one! Thousands of miles to be an official, just for food and clothing, you visit your disaster, I am my governor, the well water does not violate the river water, give everyone a way out, you don't look for my bad luck, I am naturally grateful, if you are bound to be embarrassed with my Sanqin gentry, are you not afraid of encountering horse thieves on the way back to Beijing, and you will not have money to buy your life?! After that, he rolled his eyes and couldn't help sneering.

Wu? Said: "You don't have to be ruthless, the people are concealed and not reported, they are greedy for disaster relief money and food, and the feudal treasury is in countless deficits, which one is not a capital crime?" Not to mention that you take advantage of your life to ask for bribes and bully people. I entered Qin under the emperor's secret edict, visited all the way, and reported to the court with 600 miles. Before coming to the governor's yamen, the household registers of the whole province were sealed and transported back to the capital to ask the household commissioner to verify. After speaking, he pulled Ma Mao and left the governor's yamen.