"That's right, the civilians shouldn't be in our hands." When it was critical, he did not forget to take more than 100 villagers to flee for his life, He Chunhua was benevolent and righteous, and the follow-up villagers' return to their hometowns and settlements were of course taken over by Wuliu County, and he had nothing to do with him, the governor of Xiazhou.

"So Wuliu County ordered this meal to be a thank-you banquet. A squire surnamed He invited us to his mansion for a night's rest, and my father and mother had already gone down to wash and change clothes, so let's not be late. ”

When he dared to fall asleep, He Chunhua not only led the team through Qianteng Town and arrived at Wuliu County, but also dealt with the county commander and others.

Dad is really energetic, He Lingchuan yawned again.

The carriage had stopped at the door of Squire He's house, and two servants came up to greet them and lead the brothers to a quiet courtyard.

The two washed here, and Qian's mother came over with new clothes and asked the two to change out of their old clothes. In particular, He Lingchuan's clothes were stained with blood and mud, and there were several holes, so he didn't have to get close to smell the boss's fishy smell.

Mother Qian was about to help the brothers tie their hair when someone knocked on the door.

He Lingchuan opened the door and saw that it was Zhu Xiuer.

Zhu Xiuer had already finished picking up and changed into Mrs. Ying's clothes. It is said that people want clothes, her original complexion was dark and her face was red, but after the clothes were splendid, the village girl's rustic atmosphere faded a lot, showing a little calm and quiet bearing.

Probably this is her background, and she has not been polished by the difficult life so far.

She smiled at He Lingchuan: "You have few servants, I'll help Mother Qian." ”

He Lingchuan had a big heart, and took two steps back to let her into the house: "You also live here?" ”

He didn't know what to call Zhu Xiu'er, girl, madam?

"Yes, Mrs. Ying insisted." Zhu Xiu'er raised the wooden grate and motioned for him to sit down, "But the people of Wuliu County, including the county order and the owner of this He mansion, don't know my origin. ”

He Yue answered: "Father has given a gag order to the whole army, and this matter must not be spread outside. Miss Zhu will go north with us, and she will only say that it is our cousin. ”

Concealing what happened to Zhu Xiuer? Not only that, but even concealed the existence of Zhu Xiu'er, lest after she returned to the family, there would be rumors that were unfavorable to her slowly spread. The performance of He Chunhua and his wife can be said to be very generous to Zhu Xiuer.

Zhu Xiu'er said while untying He Lingchuan's knotted hair: "This kindness is difficult to repay Xiu'er's liver and brain. In the future, the He family will not dare to resign! ”

"It's serious, God saves those who save themselves, we just follow the principles of heaven." He Yue asked her, "You really don't want to go to the banquet with us?" It doesn't hurt to go with you as a cousin. ”

Zhu Xiu'er said with a smile: "If I don't go, it's better for me to show up less, and I can rest more." ”

He Yue listened to her brisk voice, and saw that there was light in her eyes, and she was completely relaxed, and she was slightly surprised.

This "cousin" is really like a new student.

After cleaning up, the brothers went to Hongtai Building for a banquet.

……

A meal, the guests and the host are happy.

He Lingchuan came out with a full burp, and the belly mutton here was stewed crispy and delicious, and it was really hot. Officials from the entire Wuliu County came, and there were more than a dozen squires to accompany them.

They kept sending He Chunhua's family to the door of Hongtai Restaurant to get on the bus. When the carriage left, He Lingchuan could still see their enthusiastic smiles.

This kind of enthusiasm has long been strange to him in Blackwater City, but it is still very novel to appear on the faces of officials in other places. They walked from Blackwater City to Wuliu County, and the magistrates along the way were very polite, but they were not so courteous.

Well, maybe it's more appropriate to say it's flattery.

"Hey, Dad, what benefits did you give the county order to make him smile a flower on his face?"

"When I write to the capital about the suppression of bandits, I will mention him by the way, saying that he will compensate the victims in time and pursue the remaining bandits." He Chunhua was tired from a busy day and a night, leaning on the carriage and closing his eyes to recuperate.

He Lingchuan laughed: "Did he chase after him?" ”

"Those mountain roads, Wuliu County has to dredge them a few times to ensure that there are no remaining thieves. There are many dead people in Desheng Town and Xianling Village, and it is related to the rebels, if it is not handled properly, the hat of the county order will be unstable. He Chunhua smiled, "If I give him a mention, he will have more merit than his fault, of course he has to thank me." ”

Mrs. Ying was curious: "How can there be so many officials in one Wuliu County?" "From the county order, the county officer, to the main bookkeeper, the head catcher, and the errand service to the bottom, there are more than 30 people, "Sir, your original county guard doesn't have so many people." ”

"Madame is careful." Mrs. Ying likes to wear flowers, and He Chunhua pointed to the red moon season on her sideburns, "A flower plate needs to be matched with twenty-five or six petals, and if you count the calyx, it is more than that." ”

"It's still famous." He snorted softly, "There are even more of them." ”

He Lingchuan knew that the "famous hall" he was talking about was the establishment. In fact, the number of officials in the county is very small, no more than seven or eight at most, but there are a total of thirty or forty people in Wuliu County, and the extra ones are all non-staff personnel. There are all kinds of taxes, patrols, household arrangements, and schools, and the county can't operate without them.

He Yue frowned: "I don't think Wuliu County is rich, how can I afford it?" ”

Previously, the carriage entered the boundary of Wuliu County, and the old brother who had been tired all day only cared about sleeping, but he walked all the way to see all the way.

Wuliu County is no different from other small rural places, it seems to be a little thinner.

"There are at least twenty waitlists in this county." He Chunhua slowly explained the routine for him, "This is all bought with money, the big family has face, the treasury has silver, and everyone is happy." ”

There are so many supernumeraries, of course, there are county and local governments who recruit them to do things, and there are also local large households who donate, that is, the so-called buying officials, who are idle officials and put some gold on their faces.

"This place is not far from Woling Pass, and it must be affected by the war between officials and bandits, and people's livelihood will inevitably wither. Now that the finances are tight, do you think the county will tighten its belts and suffer itself? ”

He Yue blinked: "The county doesn't care?" ”

"Why doesn't the county know? It's just a bit of a bad rule. When the county ran out of money, it was natural to be flexible. He Chunhua smiled and patted He Yue on the shoulder, "Child, you are too young, being an official is a very deep knowledge." "Although the second son is intelligent, after all, he is only fourteen years old, and he has not yet experienced the sophistication of the human heart.

He Lingchuan also felt magical when he heard it.

The county's finances are tight, and the response method that comes to mind is not to streamline the administration and reduce expenditure, but to exchange money for selling jobs, and the government personnel are more redundant.

It seems unreasonable, but it seems very reasonable.

He Yue was speechless, and only after a long time did he ask: "Why didn't the people from Zhichong Mansion come to the banquet?" I've heard that some of them have returned to Chito. ”

"That's probably because Captain Zhao wants to rush back to report earlier." He Chunhua didn't think about it and said, "The Zhechong Mansion wants to report this matter to the royal court as soon as possible." ”

He Yue realized: "Fight for merit? ”

"Yes, when it comes to the important matter of sending troops to quell the rebellion, whoever reports to the royal court first may get the benefits first."

"It's all conventional." He Chunhua didn't care, "This Lieutenant Chong hasn't moved for many years, and if he doesn't get some credit, he will probably die of old age in the poor countryside." ”

He Lingchuan sighed: "The county order here and the lieutenant of Zhichong Mansion are busy playing, so the father is not afraid of being robbed?" ”

He Chunhua saw that he was angry, and only smiled slightly: "It should be mine, naturally it is still mine." ”

With a bamboo in his chest, he can naturally be honored and disgraced.

Then, he asked about He Lingchuan after he fell off the cliff.

"It's a long story." There were too many things that happened in it, He Lingchuan had no choice but to say to the lake, "My son fell into the hole under the cliff, which happened to be the crocodile demon's lair, where he rescued the dying Wu Shaoyi." He admired his son's kindness, and thought that there would be no other place to go in the future, so he simply accepted Zhao'an! ”

Speaking of this, he remembered: "By the way, what about Wu Shaoyi?" ”

"Rest in another house, guarded." He Chunhua praised the eldest son, "You have done a good job and done a beautiful job in recruiting Wu Shaoyi!" ”

He Lingchuan didn't have much to hide, and told everything that happened later, but omitted his harvest in the immortal cave, and only said that there was nothing in it.

He Chunhua looked out the window, the carriage had already returned to the He house: "It's time to get off, madam, you rest first, I still have something to discuss with the children." ”

Mrs. Ying nodded and took Mother Qian to change her clothes.

He Chunhua took the brothers through the backyard to the firewood room: "I borrowed the firewood room from Mr. He, it is quiet." ”

This house is not as good as their mansion in Blackwater City, and there are also a few acres of vegetable land in the backyard and more than a dozen chickens, which has the advantage of being a large place and few people.

The firewood house is remote and few people are near, but the lights are on at the moment. As soon as He Chunhua's father and son approached, the door opened, and Zhao Qinghe stood at the door.

He Lingchuan followed him and walked in to see that there was a person kneeling in the firewood room, claiming to be Lu Yao's cronies.

Zhao Qinghe caught this guy in the grove by Zhumapo today. He was also unlucky, and before he could run far after escaping from Lu Yao, the horse accidentally broke his leg.

He Lingchuan said strangely: "What are you looking for this person to do?" ”

"He claimed to know a lot about the thief army, and confessed to ask for leniency."

As soon as He Chunhua nodded, the captive hurriedly spoke:

"After the defeat of Woling Pass, the hearts of the righteous soldiers were scattered. General Lu relied on Yu Wei to gather more than 1,000 people, but he couldn't take it well. Everyone worries every day about where the next meal will be and whether they will be surrounded and suppressed by officers and soldiers, but General Lu is drunk all day long. ”

"Once we passed by a town and there was a rich man surnamed Zhao. There were so many cattle, sheep, and grain in his village that he couldn't eat enough, and the family's gold, silver, and wealth were piled up into a small mountain, and the family took the initiative to dedicate it to the general, just begging us not to kill people. The general agreed at the time, but he drank too much wine at night, took a fancy to Old Man Zhao's little grandson, caught him and roasted him to eat, and even praised him for being soft and tender, and Old Man Zhao burped that night. He smiled bitterly, "Later, the local government issued a series of wanted warrants to arrest us, and the officers and soldiers also chased after us like chicken blood, which tired us enough." At that time, we learned that alas, this old man Zhao was originally a big official, and he only returned to his hometown the year before last. If the local state pastor doesn't arrest us, we can't explain it. ”