Fu Heng arrived in Taiyuan on the third day of the first month of March. When he was ordered to tour the south, he had a recital for three days and a statement for five days, and the imperial court promulgated it in the palace newspaper, and occasionally Qianlong's commendation decree was sent by the inner court to the provinces. Therefore, this young uncle has not yet arrived in Shanxi, and he has taken the lead. Governor Khaljishan strictly ordered the capital of Taiyuan to re-cushion the road with loess and build a color workshop every fifty steps along the road. At that time, Khaljishan and the new political envoy Sahalang led the civil and military attachés to bring a full set of honor guards to welcome the willow village ten miles away to wait for the big driver. Khaljishan ordered people to play the field, and at the same time ordered people to go to the front post station to inquire about Fu Heng's itinerary, and the probe horse shuttled back and forth like a meteor:

The last fast horse came back, Goshha rolled down the saddle, and pointed with his hand: "Fu Zhongtang has reached the corner!" ”

When Kharji set up a pergola to watch, he saw that a group of eight people carried a green tweed official sedan chair at the bend of the post road not far in front. It's just that there are unexpectedly few guards of honor in the halo book, the first eight soldiers with knives, the color of the six-grade military uniform as the lead, and the eight guards behind the sedan chair, all of whom are five-grade officials, riding high-headed horses, and walking with the sedan chair with a high spirit. Kharjishan was stunned for a moment, and then ordered: "Set off the cannon and play music!" ”

In an instant, the cannon sounded three times, and the drums played loudly. In the music, the sedan chair slowly landed, and a pro-soldier had already picked up the sedan curtain, and Fu Heng stepped off the sedan chair. He was wearing a nine-python and five-melon python robe, a yellow coat, and a double-eyed peacock feather behind the top of the flowering coral, standing outside the sedan chair and gently flicking the horns of the robe, and walked straight to Khaljishan.

"Slave Karjishan, leading the officials of the Yamen in the Shanxi Provincial City to respectfully ask for long live Sheng'an!" Khaljishan bowed his head deeply.

"St. Ann!"

Fu Heng raised his face and agreed, bent down and grabbed Khaljishan with one hand, and pulled Sahalang with the other, and said, "Two brothers, don't come to harm?" As he spoke, he looked at the two of them. Khaljishan is a fifty-seventh year of Kangxi, an old brand of Jinshi, who is fifty-four years old, with wrinkles on his face, a half-pale goatee on his slightly upturned chin, and he is not smiling. Sahalang is only in his early forties, two sword eyebrows on his face are raised, a jet-black braid hangs straight down to his waist, and he also makes a bow with beige velvet thread, and he doesn't say much-the two are as deep and introverted, it is Yongzheng's personality tone-Fu Heng couldn't help but smile again, and said: "The year before last, Grandmaster Yan Jia, you went to Beijing, you were busy with each other, and you didn't have a good talk in one place!" Before leaving Beijing this time, Qianlong said that the two karls in Shanxi were guilty of a crime, and asked him to pay attention to the harmony.

"The last time I went to Beijing, I met outside the Donghua Gate." Khaljishan said, "You come to promote the political and military affairs of Jin Province, you can meet day and night, please give more guidance from Zhongtang." Sahaliang also said: "The sixth master wrote the chapter on an errand in the south, and the lower officials read it one by one, which was incisive and benefited a lot." There are a lot of things that have not been done in the domain, so I just ask the adults to put them in order. As he spoke, he bowed and said, "Please meet with the officials." ”

Fu Heng smiled and nodded and stepped onto the platform, and the military and civilian officials in the audience were immediately silent.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Fu Heng said solemnly, "Brother has come to the state to run an errand by holy order, first, to exterminate the bandits who are wandering around the Heicha Mountain and the high peaks, and to appease the law and order in Shanxi. The second is to supervise the yamen of Jin Province to sort out the finances and criminal names, and make up for the shortfall. At the time of His Majesty's resignation, the emperor earnestly instructed that Shanxi's government affairs should still be handled by the original officials, and the Qin Cha would only supervise and investigate. So I don't mean to embarrass you. You can rest assured, go back to the government to do the same errands, list the gains and losses of the government affairs over the years, and transfer them to the governor's yamen, and I and the three departments of the province will work together to handle it. Although I am young, I don't do anything, I take the emperor's heart as my heart and the emperor's will as my purpose. If everything is done with leniency as the mainstay, and if there is leniency but not harshness, then the officials and the people will be in harmony. Ben Qincha is honest and self-reliant, and the court is enough to support his life. I came innocent, and I will go innocent. Please supervise all the fathers and officials, if there is any corruption and perversion of the law, please impeach, the emperor will not forgive me! Before he finished speaking, the onlookers were already cheering and applauding like thunder. Fu Heng's face turned red, and he hugged his fists around, and then said with a smile: "Fu Heng is impatient to be lively, Fang is the one who receives the gift on behalf of the sky, and now the big gift has been completed, please fathers, adults, take care of yourself." I still have important matters to discuss with Ka Zhongcheng and Sa Fangbo. With that, he walked off the platform with his hand.

Kharji hurriedly greeted him, looked at the people who were scattering and scattered, and said with a smile: "Sixth Master, how much is important, and it is not at this time." The people in the city are still waiting to see the demeanor of Qincha, according to me, it is better to go back to the city together, don't cool the hearts of the people who admire and love. ”

"What kind of kindness do I have from my father in Shanxi?" Fu Heng smiled tepidly, "I feel uneasy when I get out of the car and am so loved by them." Besides, I'm still thinking about military affairs, and I'm not in the mood for this. Saha forgived: "There is also a reception feast prepared in the reception hall. It's always time to wash the dust for you. Lest you be disappointed. ”

"If I don't eat feasts, I lose my prestige; If I don't shake the mountains into the city, it will cool the hearts of the people, and the customs of Shanxi are really interesting. ”

Both of them were shocked when they heard this. The two looked at each other and didn't dare to insist anymore. Sahalang hurriedly instructed: "All the officials should return to the city first, and each of them will return to the government on his usual errand." Fu Heng waited until the people dispersed, but he didn't sit in a sedan chair, stepped on the horse, and said: "I want to listen to you, won't I live up to such a good spring." ”

"My lord, Yaxing is not shallow." Sahalang and Khaljishan suddenly realized that this drunkard did not mean to drink, but cared about the mountains and rivers, so they each got on their horses and accompanied them, and their orders followed from afar. Sahaliang said with a smile: "There are many victories in Taiyuan, and the Jin Temple is a good place." If you are free, you can go to Jiexiu, where there is a Zitui Temple. ”

Fu Heng casually browsed the surrounding scenery and said, "Let's talk about it after a while." Now I have only thieves in my heart. "Laugh out loud. After a long time, he said, "Master Fu Qing (Fu Shan) is from your Shanxi, and the master often mentions it, but unfortunately he has been dead for many years, and I am afraid of forgetting, so I remind you here, I heard that his family has fallen, and I want to help him." Otherwise, when I go back and ask the master, I will not be able to reply. ”

"Yes." The two of them hurriedly replied with a bow.

"When it comes to scenery, I'm naturally interested." Fu Heng said again, "There is an orchid village on the outskirts of Taiyuan City, have you ever been there?" Kharji said, "I've been there." The view is superb! There is Taihang on the left, Luliang on the right, and the Fen River meanders and flows down the cliff ......" "That's not what I'm talking about. Fu Heng smiled: "I'm talking about the Dou Dafu Temple." ”

"There's a little ancestral hall." Karjishan recalled, "That ancestral hall is not very interesting, there is a spring called 'Cold Spring' in the north of the ancestral hall, and the water is as cold as ice in midsummer, which is somewhat interesting." ”

"Who opened the cold spring?"

"I don't know."

"Doctor Dou." Fu Heng smiled. He asked again, "Who is Dr. Dou?" ”

"I don't know what I do."

"Zhao Jianzi's retainer of the Jin Kingdom," Fu Heng smiled again, "In order to dig a dike to divert the water of the Fen River to irrigate the fields, he was tired to death, and people built a shrine for him to set an example for future generations." The cold spring was created when the ditch was dug up. Even the ancestral hall was built to imitate the Spring and Autumn Mining Regulations. ”

Sahalang had never been to Lan Village, and sighed beside him: "I have long heard that the sixth master is knowledgeable, which is really impressive. ”

"That's what Zhang Zhao told me." Fu Heng said, with a smile on his face. "Jie Zi pushes and cuts shares, does not envy Rongli, is a loyal minister and sage, of course it is rare. It should be the case for a person to read and reason, to do things for the ruler and for others, and to follow the Tao. But what I lack most now in the Qing Dynasty is people like Dr. Dou, who really do something for the people and get a little practical effect, without trying to make a name for themselves. This is the real hero among the husbands. Dr. Dou has not been enshrined by the past dynasties, but the incense has been burning for thousands of years, isn't the truth here thought-provoking? ”

At this point, Khaljishan and Sahalang realized that this was a reprimand from the minister, and they had already cut to the chase before they knew it. They originally thought that although Fu Heng was capable, after all, he was favored by virtue of his status as an uncle. Only then did I understand that this person did have a temperament that surpassed ordinary people, and he couldn't find a word to answer for a while. When Fu Heng walked through a tall color workshop, he praised the exquisiteness of the tie, and said that the people's livelihood is difficult, a color workshop can be used by a family for a year, and they are all eloquent. Until they were fast into the city, the three of them ate a bowl of knife-cut noodles in a small roadside shop.

In order to prepare for the placement of Fu Heng, Khaljishan and Kharqin originally changed the Provincial School Tribute Institute to Qincha Xingyuan. However, Fu Heng only brought less than 20 people with him on this trip, and went to see the Yamen of the governor of the palace: it was inconvenient to occupy the school palace, so he changed the post station in the east gate to a line nearby, and all the expenses were according to the usual practice, and the original post station deacons and others were taken from the treasury. Because Zhang Guangsi had arranged the transfer of troops at Yanmen Pass, and had not yet arrived in Taiyuan, Fu Heng calculated that there were still a few days left, so he met with the chief officials of the yamen in the provincial capital in batches. He has no bad intentions, and all the officials below the third rank are sitting and talking in plain clothes, from the income and expenditure of the money and grain fields per year to the number of candidates and examiners in the imperial examinations of scholars over the years, the number of people who have taken the examination, the income of state and county officials, and the local people's customs...... The sea and the sky are endlessly talking, casual and easy, like family. He also mingled with the local gentry and celebrities, gags, and talked about everything, but he didn't invite guests or go to banquets. The officials in Taiyuan originally heard his reputation and were wary of it, but when they saw him like this, they gradually became acquainted with him, and only Kharjishan and Sahaliang understood it, and they did not dare to despise this young nobleman.

On the fourth day, the governor Yamen handed over the rolling, and Zhang Guangsi, the governor of the four provinces of Shanxi, Henan, Sichuan and Hubei, rushed to Taiyuan from Yanmen Pass. The messenger in front was two generals, with dozens of Goshha dismounted in front of the narrow and low post gate, and signed up to meet them, the spurs and sabers clanged, and the outside of the post station immediately looked murderous. Fu Heng was meeting with Shanxi Xuezheng Khalqin, and when he heard the movement outside, he was about to ask, but Yi Cheng had hurried in and said, "Lord Zhongtang, Zhang Junmen's messenger is here!" ”

"Oh, two messengers first." Fu Heng chuckled in his heart: This person is so majestic! After a moment's thought, he ordered: "Please wait for them in the west room, I am seeing Lord Khalchin." ”

"Back in the middle hall, there are two generals."

Kharchin had already stood up and said: "This is a military matter, and I will retire first." When the middle hall is free, the lowly will come to listen to the training. ”

"Got it." Fu Heng smiled at Yi Cheng and said, "Let them wait, Lord Ka, please take a seat, and we will continue to talk." There has not been a single Jinshi in the states and counties of Yanbei for 20 years, why? ”

Kharchin sat down uneasily and said: "Fundamentally poor, people can only take care of one mouth. If you have to be rich to study, in a bitter cold place, you can't take out one or five cents of silver every year, who can afford to hire a gentleman? The annual salaries of the county school instructors in each county are often in arrears, and there is no surplus income at all, and there are simply vacancies in three counties, and no one has to fill them at all. I went to Datong Mansion this time, some things really make people cry and laugh, some learn to live on the list of monks, traveling Taoist priests; Some are locked all year round, and only on the twenty-third day of the lunar month do the talents go to each person to share a piece of gizzard meat. After that, it is still locked. When I went to Yanggao County, I asked someone to open the school door and go in to see, there was guano everywhere, the artemisia grass grew deep by one person, and the hares and weasels were all over the yard and ......"

"It sounds really frustrating for the literati." Fu Heng smiled: "I went to take a look, the provincial school palace is still quite good, I didn't expect it to be golden." Seeing that he was sent by the province, Kharqin refused to say more, and paused for a moment before saying, "Zhongtang, you are seeing Qin's mission." It's not a township test tribute house. So thank you from the bottom of my heart, if you don't come, who is willing to allocate 100,000 taels of silver to repair my broken yard? Fu Heng knew about it, so he smiled and said, "What I said-I see!" They told me to go, and I said that I would stay in the temple after a little tidying up, and that I would do a good thing for you. As he spoke, he took a sip of tea.

Kharchin also got up with tea and took a sip, bowed goodbye, and said with a smile: "Zhongtang Mingjian, this autumn and autumn, the township test students are not afraid of wind and rain." Humility is the blessing of the middle hall. As he spoke, he withdrew. Fu Heng was stunned for a moment, and then realized the deep meaning of letting himself be stationed in the Gongyuan: when it came to the autumn township test ceremony, this line must be vacated, and there is no reason to repair another line, that is, the province does not urge, and he has to pack up and return to Beijing. You don't need to burn incense to send ghosts, Kharjishan is really cunning to the extreme! Pacing out of the main room with a secret smile in his heart, Fu Hengjing came to the west side room, only to see two military attachés in three-grade uniforms sitting on wooden pestles, although there were cigarettes and tea in the room, and there was no one else, the two of them sat upright like mud tires, not smoking, not sipping tea and not talking. Fu Heng stepped into the door, and the two of them stood up like springs, knelt on one knee, got up and hit another Qian'er, and said, "Mark down and say hello to Lord Qincha!" ”

"Good, good!" Fu Heng smiled all over his face, nodded the wooden pestle with a fan to signal the two to return to their seats, sat down on the chair in the center, and said: "I have heard for a long time that Zhang Guangsi has a good way of governing the army, and when I see the demeanor of the two generals, it is really different. Only then did he take a serious look at the two of them. One is tall and strong, with a bear's waist and a tiger's back; A medium-sized man, with five locks of beautiful hair, looks like a majestic and high-spirited man, compared with the civil officials who came to meet him, he is a servant who is flattered by a song. Fu Heng was impressed, and asked gently, "The two generals have a big name?" Was it Guangsi brought from Sichuan, or was it the Shanxi garrison? ”

The big black man bowed slightly, and said, "Mark Hu Zhenbiao, his name is Fang Jin." It turned out that they were all under the command of General Zhengxi. Later, when the general did something bad, he went to Yue Junmen again. The year before last, I went to Zhang Junmen to run an errand, and I was a standard battalion general under the command of Fan Gaojie, and this time I went to Shanxi, Zhang Junmen brought Fan Junmen and ordered me to run in front of the adults to serve my life. ”

"It's all old military affairs." Fu Heng groaned, and said, "Which camp did Fan Gaojie come from?" Before I left Beijing, I went to the military department to see the roster of officers above the rank of staff general, and the names of the two of you seem to remember, as if there is no name of Fan Junmen! Fang Jin saw Fu Heng looking at himself, and hurriedly said: "Fan Junmen was transferred by Zhang Junmen from the Yamen of the Governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, and we are not very familiar with it. Fu Heng nodded silently, and then asked, "Where is Guangsi now?" Why don't you come along? ”

The two generals didn't seem to know how to reply when they heard this, and after a pause, Fang Jin said: "Back to the adult, this is the rule of Zhang Junmen, I am afraid that Lord Qincha will be busy, so I will make an appointment for a date first." We don't understand the rules of the Chincha-sama. If there is a faux pas, please take a compassionate look at it. We are all martial artists, and obeying orders is our rule. ”

"That's fine." Fu Heng waved his hand and said, "I want to see Zhang Guangsi now, you go back and invite him to come." Hu Zhenbiao and Fang Jin stood up with a "brush", promised "yes", and withdrew. Fu Heng also left the west side room and returned to the upper room to wait. Yi Cheng presented a stack of handbooks, Fu Heng took it in his hand and looked at it upside down, handed it back, and said, "I have probably seen all the chief officials who should be seen." Please go back and maintain the good envoys, from now on, I will be in charge of military affairs. ”

Fu Heng took out the records of the conversations he had received with various yamen officials in the past few days and handed them to a Goshha, and instructed: "Keep these sealed and archived." After cleaning up, Fu Heng was busy changing into official clothes, dressed neatly and sat upright, and strode into the post station in a moment, bowed upwards in the courtyard, and said loudly: "The governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi, Zhang Guangsi, the governor of the soldiers and horses of the four provinces, pays a visit to Lord Qincha!" ”

"Open the middle door and fire the gun!" Fu Hengda said, got up and stood under the dripping eaves, and said, "Please!" As he spoke, the cannon rang out three times, and Zhang Guangsi walked in with high steps. The first two lieutenant generals and the four staff generals were all dressed in armor and swords, and stood with swords at the second gate. At that time, the courtyard was full of Zhang Guangsi's personal soldiers, Goshha, and they stood up according to their posts.

Zhang Guangsi stood in the courtyard, staring at the dashing and elegant little white face on the steps with undisguised contempt for a moment, and then bowed down to greet St. Ann. Fu Heng didn't care, and politely replied to Sheng An. stepped forward to help Zhang Guangsi, and Zhang Guangsi had already stood up. Fu Heng originally wanted to enter the middle hall hand in hand, but seeing that he didn't react, he waved his hand and said with a smile: "General Zhang, please!" Zhang Guangsi had a smile on his face at this time, and he let Fu Heng enter the hall side by side.

"Zhang Zhijun," Fu Heng and Zhang Guangsi sat down separately, thinking in their hearts, working with such an arrogant and domineering person, instead of being polite, it is better to say something, and after offering tea, he said: "The saint is very worried about the two places in Jiangxi and Shanxi where the bandits pulled the flag and caused chaos. I heard that you came to Shanxi for the military parade, and I am very grateful. When I went to Taiyuan to see Khaljishan that night, I talked about the strength of the Yanmen Pass Banner Battalion, and the Ka people said that he was not detailed, but only knew that there were more than 10,000 people, and I am afraid that there were not a few people who ate empty quotas. This is no different from the situation of the Taihu Lake Water Master. Since you have seen it yourself, can you show me that the students will be in order immediately? ”

Zhang Guangsi put his hands on his knees, sat upright, listened to Fu Heng's words without moving, and said: "The camp here is really not good, but in my opinion, it is several times better than the camp of Khaljishan. Originally, I wanted to rush back to meet the Qincha, but after looking at it, those soldiers were all local soldiers, and they couldn't be used without rectification. Shanxi people are smart and intelligent, but the army is going to fight, how can it be loose and loose, like a group of rabble. The sixth master has never led troops to fight, so I can't let go of it in my heart, and when I was rectifying the military parade at Yanmen Pass, I killed three thousand total and more than a dozen ruffians, and I have already rectified it for you. I will leave three more generals here to assist, you will not go to Heicha Mountain, command in Taiyuan, and those thieves who are based on the mountain will not be able to escape! Fu Heng just smiled when he heard him be so complacent, but he didn't think so, and after a little contemplation, he asked, "How is the situation over there?" Is there any espionage? Zhang Guangsi said with a smile: "This is a system, Lan County, Xing County, and Linxian County are all reported every three days." Floating high entrenched in the village of the peak of the mountain, one is that the mountain here is high and dense, and the river under the mountain is vertical and horizontal; Second, it is located at the junction of Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces, and at the junction of Lin, Xing, and Lan counties, and it is not easy for the officers and troops to command in a unified manner, so he can flee to Shaanxi at any time; The third is that the local people are fierce, and they can occupy it for a long time by communicating with the bandits, delivering news, and transporting food to the enemy. These are all unambitious and unambitious acts. After the rectification of our army here, the military discipline is serious, the soldiers are good and the food is sufficient, and 3,000 military horses are dispatched to go, and they will definitely be able to plow the court and sweep the holes in half a month. ”

"Zhang Zhitai is high." Fu Heng felt that Zhang Guangsi's estimation of the strength of both the enemy and us was quite pertinent, and he was wholeheartedly planning for himself, and his original disgust suddenly disappeared by half, and he arched his hand and said, "I wonder when General Zhang will hand over the military power to me?" Which general led the troops? Zhang Guangsi let out a "uh" and shouted: "Fan Gaojie, you three are out of the ranks!" ”

As soon as Zhang Guangsi's voice fell, a middle-aged general with a short figure of five came out with Hu Zhenbiao and Fang Jin, and listened to the order with his hands crossed. Fan Gaojie's figure was about the same as Fang Jin's, only short and thick, with horizontal flesh blooming on his black and red face, and seven or eight knife wounds faintly glowing red, showing his unusual experience. Zhang Guangsi pointed at the three of them and said to Fu Heng: "His name is Fan Gaojie, my deputy general of the left battalion." His name is Hu Zhenbiao, his name is Fang Jin, they are both brave generals who have experienced a hundred battles, and they are the standard battalion generals in the Fan camp. The three of you listen: first, you must lay down the peak of the pack, regardless of life and death, and get the head of Piao Gao and that cheap girl; The second is to respect and protect Fu Zhongtang, if you make a slight mistake, I will put you three in front of the army! I will leave Taiyuan tomorrow and return to Sichuan, waiting for your good news. Got it? ”

"Understood!"

"From now on, you are under the command of Fu Zhongtang!"

"Wow!"

"What's the difficulty, say it now!"

Fan Gaojie took a step forward, bowed his hand to Fu Heng, and said, "There is no difficulty in being humble. There are only more than 1,000 bandits on the Tuo Peak, Zhang Junmen ordered 5,000 men and horses at Yanmen Pass, this messenger can't do it, that is, he doesn't practice military law, and Gao Jie himself is ashamed to death. Only ask the prime minister to sit in Taiyuan, the three of us will go to Yanmen Pass tomorrow to lead the troops westward, and we will definitely step on this pack peak within half a month! ”

"So be it!"

Zhang Guangsi stood up and took a sip of tea and raised his hand to Fu Heng. Fu Heng also hurriedly brought tea and sent Zhang Guangsi to the door of the post station, watching the general roll away in the dust.