Footsteps and loud voices.

The local three giants in Ningxia Town, the general soldiers, governors, and lieutenant officials are all chief officials, and now there is another minister sent by the imperial court to verify the tax rate of the acres of land, and Zhou Dong, the minister of Dali Temple, has made up a card game alive.

A large group of people surrounded the four of them and came straight into the back hall, Jiang Feng and other local Jinyi Wei officials looked nervously and solemnly, but seeing that Song Nan was still burying his head and snoring and drinking porridge, he seemed to turn a blind eye, and even Hou Dabiao and Wang Yong did not get up, and sat and drank porridge next to Song Nan, as if they were just ordinary people who came to visit, not the members of the town.

The four adults muttered in their hearts because Song Nan didn't come out of the back hall, but now they saw Song Nan sitting in the back hall and eating porridge, without any intention of getting up to greet him, and he didn't even raise his eyelids, he looked at each other twice, and they all saw displeasure in each other's eyes.

But displeasure is displeasure, the four of them are not stupid enough to turn their faces immediately, An Wei was born as a civil official, acted tactfully, walked a few steps to the hall, arched his hand in his hand, smiled on his face, and said in his mouth: "Lord Song ......"

As soon as he opened his mouth, he stepped forward with four tall Jinyi guards next to the hall, stretched out his big hands like a fan and stopped in front of him like an iron gate and shouted: "My adults are having breakfast, and there is no one to disturb you!" ”

An Weixue was stunned for a moment, his face changed, as the governor of the town, he was actually called a no-brainer, and he was blocked outside the hall, this Song Nan's shelf is too big. The faces of the three people in the rear also sank, even if Song Nan's official position was greater than these people, and his own people did not belong to Song Nan, how could he not be so insulted.

The chief soldier Jiang Han angrily bumped up, even if he wanted to turn his face, he would have to theorize when he stepped forward, but An Weixue pulled him and signaled him not to be reckless, Jiang Han closed his mouth with an ugly face, and stared at Song Nan in the hall with angry eyes.

Song Nan snorted and drank the porridge at the bottom of the bowl, and finally raised his head from the porridge bowl, Wang Yong handed over the cloth towel for Song Nan to wipe his mouth and face, Song Nan asked while wiping: "Didn't you say that several adults in this town are going to visit?" What about them? ”

Wang Yong said: "Several adults are waiting outside the door." ”

Song Nan looked out of the hall in surprise, pestled the four people in the courtyard at the entrance of the hall, his face was extremely ugly, and he hurriedly said: "Oh, how do you do this, how do you let a few adults stand outside the hall, why don't you invite them in and sit down, why don't you tell me earlier?" ”

Wang Yong couldn't help but laugh and said in a deep voice: "Yes, yes, it is a dereliction of duty, and I can't bear to disturb it when I see the sweetness of the millet porridge drunk by the adults." ”

Song Nan walked to the door beside him, and scolded: "No matter how delicious the millet porridge is, you can't slack off your lords, how many military and political affairs do you have to do, aren't you delaying their time?" ”

Wang Yong confessed again and again, Song Nan came to the entrance of the hall with a smile on his face, and bowed his hand and said: "Oh, a few adults, the subordinates are rude, I'm really embarrassed, sue for the crime, please hurry up." ”

Jiang Han, Li Zeng and others were disdainful in their hearts, obviously turning a blind eye, but saying that their subordinates were rude, and this kind of drama was too fake; However, Song Nan had already greeted him with a smile, and several people were in a slightly better mood, so they gave salutes one after another, and Song Nan ordered someone to serve tea and water, and let the four of them into the hall.

After sitting down, they introduced each other's identities and introduced each other's greetings, and An Weixue said: "I was surprised to hear that Song Houye came to this town, and we only got the news early this morning. Hou Ye didn't say hello beforehand, and we went out of the city to greet the adults, but now it seems that a few of us are ignorant. ”

Li Zeng, the eunuch of the town army, said with a smile: "Yes, the lord is a distinguished guest from the capital, our Ningxia Town is a remote border town, and the lord is here, but those of us who are landlords don't know it, and it is indeed a mistake to fail to meet the adults." ”

Song Nan smiled and said: "Be polite, it was late when I entered the city yesterday, so I didn't disturb you, I planned to meet you one by one today, but I didn't expect you to arrive first." ”

Li Zeng said with a smile: "How dare you work Hou Ye to visit a few of us, Hou Ye is a Shangguan, not only the commander of the Jinyi Guard, but also recently received the commander of the Shenshu Battalion, although our family is late to congratulate, but also to congratulate, Lord Song, congratulations." ”

When everyone heard this, they congratulated one after another, and Song Nan waved his hand and thanked him: "Thank you, thank you, the emperor's grace is mighty, the more you dare to pressure and take responsibility, like a thorn in your back." ”

Zhou Dong interjected with a smile: "Master Hou, this is a happy trouble, I want to have such pressure and trouble, but I still can't think of it." ”

Everyone laughed, and the previous embarrassing atmosphere suddenly became much more relaxed, and then Song Nan talked and laughed with the officials, making Jiang Han and the others suddenly feel that the arrogant Song Nan in front of them and the approachable and humorous Song Nan in front of them were like two people.

"Marquis Song, you are a big celebrity in front of the emperor, and you are busy with important duties, how did you come to our Ningxia Town? Did you come on business? Miscellaneous jokes, the first one who couldn't hold his breath was Zhou Dong, the Shaoqing of Dali Temple, the three giants of Ningxia Town had not yet asked, but he, an outsider, had asked first.

Before Song Nan could speak, he heard Hou Dabiao say coldly: "Lord Zhou, the purpose of Lord Hou's coming here is not something that you Lord Zhou can ask. ”

Zhou Dong's face was flushed with shame, although he was a Shaoqing of Dali Temple, and he was also a member of the imperial court, but among the three major judicial organs of the Ming Dynasty, Dali Temple was ranked after the Criminal Department and the Beizhen Fusi Prison, which was reduced to a dispensable institution, otherwise he would not have been sent by Liu Jin to Ningxia Town to do something to measure the tax rate per acre. In Beijing, he often dealt with Hou Dabiao, some cases, Dali Temple wanted to grab the right to judge with the Fusi of Beizhen, or jointly try some cases, the two sides had no less friction, Hou Dabiao did not give Zhou Dong a look, although he saw Hou Dabiao in another town today, he did not give him face.

Song Nan glared at Hou Dabiao and said, "How do you talk about this?" Lord Zhou is a Qincha, and although he has no right to ask me about my affairs, he can't be so rude. ”

Hou Dabiao nodded and said, "The adults are taught." ”

Song Nan turned his head and said with a smile: "Since Lord Zhou is so concerned about the purpose of my visit, it is actually not a secret. ”

Zhou Dong hurriedly said: "No, no, the lower official just asked casually, thinking that maybe he could help in official business, but he didn't want to spy on any secrets of the adults." ”

Song Nan smiled and said: "I know Lord Zhou's kindness, I am not here to do things on orders, but some things within the yamen need to be dealt with, so I have come all the way here." ”

Jiang Han asked in a deep voice, "Oh? What kind of major events need to be handled by Hou Ye in person? The Jinyiwei brothers of the Jinyiwei Thousand Households in Ningxia Town have always been meticulous and capable, and they also assisted me in capturing many Tartar spies with bad intentions in Ningxia Town, but if there is anything important, I haven't heard of any major mistakes. ”

Song Nan smiled and said: "Jiang Zongbing has a very high opinion of my Jinyi Wei Yamen, thank you very much, Jiang Qianhu reported to me last night, saying that Jiang Zongbing takes good care of our Jinyi Guard's brothers on weekdays, and I thank you here first." I am actually here for one thing, and you have long known about it, and it is for the fact that Yang Yiqing, the chief official of the three sides, was attacked in the post house in this town. Several months have passed since this incident, and the emperor was very angry when he heard about it, and ordered my Jinyi guard to investigate the matter strictly, but there has been no progress. The emperor asked me once a year ago, but I was speechless, and I felt that I had betrayed the emperor's trust. During the annual leave, I also thought about this in my heart, but I couldn't sleep well, no, I originally planned to visit relatives in my hometown in Ulzhou, but I came to our Ningxia town with a change of heart. ”

Everyone suddenly fell silent, thinking that Song Nan would prevaricate the purpose, and they didn't plan to ask, but Song Nan suddenly admitted that he came to investigate Yang Yiqing's attack, which was unexpected. But in fact, the four seniors all knew in their hearts that Song Nan came here for those things, and they all knew it whether they asked or not.

An Weixue sighed repeatedly: "It turned out that the Marquis of Song, who was alarmed by this matter, came in person, and such an incident happened under the rule of my Ningxia Town, and I and other local officials could not escape the blame; To tell the truth, Xia Guan, Jiang Zongbing and Gonggong Li were deeply humiliated by this matter, and they were also actively investigating the matter, but the thief was really cunning, and he didn't have half a point, but he didn't find out the clues. ”

Li Zeng, the eunuch of the town army, echoed: "Yes, yes, the governor and the chief soldier have issued a strict order to find out about this matter, and this matter must be investigated." ”

Song Nan said lightly: "The matter is a big deal, but fortunately, Lord Yang is fine, as long as there is a reasonable explanation, the emperor will not say anything." But I heard that the explanation given by the General Military Office and the Governor's Yamen is that the Tartar spies sneaked into the city to assassinate Lord Yang, which is a bit of nonsense. Although I, Song Nan, am young, and my experience is naturally not as good as that of all of you here, but I can also see that this is a fabricated reason, could it be that the General Military Mansion and the Governor's Yamen actually have no clues? ”

An Weixue was ashamed, and coughed dryly: "This ...... This matter has always been investigated by the General Military Office, and my Governor Yamen was not actually involved in it, and the statement given by the Governor Yamen was also based on the conclusions of the General Military Office. ”

Jiang Han glanced at An Weixue with disdain, he just pinned each other's legs on weekdays, and he didn't hesitate to shirk his responsibility in front of outsiders, what a fucking bastard; Seeing Song Nan's eyes looking at him, Jiang Han straightened his chest and said, "Master Song, there is only one possibility for this matter, otherwise it will be difficult to explain the attack on Lord Yang." My lord must not believe that there will be spies in Ningxia Town to make trouble, but in fact, no matter how strict the investigation is, there will be fish that slip through the net. ”

Song Nan shook his head and said: "I don't believe that there are spies in the city, or there are thousands of spies in the capital, but the question is, where does your conclusion come from?" Did you see it with your own eyes, or do you have solid evidence? ”

Jiang Han said disapprerovingly: "That's not true, my subordinate commander Zhou Ang who is responsible for investigating this matter is reporting to me like this, how can I not believe the words of my brothers?" Moreover, half a month ago, there was a bloody incident in the city, and more than a dozen people suddenly burst into the wilderness, and some people claimed to have seen the perpetrator holding a scimitar in his hand, shaped like a Tartar blade to kill a person, doesn't this just prove the daring behavior of the Tartar spies in the city? The attack on Lord Yang must have been their doing. ”

Song Nan said slowly: "But this qiē is also estimated?" The perpetrator was not caught, and every qiē is all Yidu, right? ”

Jiang Han said: "Lord Song, this kind of thing is actually not a big deal, Lord Yang is unharmed, and the city is not in chaos, we are stationed in Ningxia Town, shouldering the heavy responsibility of resisting tens of thousands of Tartars from the northeast and west, how can we focus on these small things." If you have time, you can go and investigate it in detail, but you are not interested in it. ”

Song Nan smiled and said, "If Lord Yang is killed under your jurisdiction, do you think this is still a trivial matter?" ”

Jiang Han said coldly: "Who of us who leads the troops to guard the border is not carrying his head, if Lord Yang is unfortunately killed, it is also fate." If I, Jiang Han, are punished by the imperial court for this, it will be helpless; Lord Yang doesn't have to stay in Ningxia Town, he is a noble official, he should stay in the Guyuan Trilateral General Mansion, he has to come, what can I do. ”

An Weixue hurriedly said: "Mr. Jiang, you can't say that. Song Houye, Jiang Zongbing is straight, he doesn't speak very well, but he is by no means rude, and please don't blame the adults. ”