Hu Zhizhang threw the cane to the maid, sat down and said, "Brother Yan Shi, what kind of big man do you think the old man is?" Even if there are thousands of acres of fertile land, in the eyes of their officials and masters, they are just servants who are called, what dignity can they have? I'm used to it, so I'm just left to fate. ”

Yan Laifu said: "This matter is related to our future and fate, and we must not sit idly by." Even if Duke Hu is unwilling to disobey, you have to think about the thousands of villagers behind you. ”

"That's why I'm worried." Hu Zhizhang sighed, "They are just rectifying official studies now, which is harmless, but looking at this posture, it is inevitable that they will put their hands into social studies in the future." Once this opening is opened, it will not be blocked if you want to block it. There must be a countermeasure, and blindly hiding in Tibet is not the way to do it after all. ”

Yan Laifu said: "At present, the county lord is in a hurry, and it is not impossible to push it off for the time being. As for what you said, it's not too late to think about it after that. ”

"Is there any reason why you and I are sick together? At first hearing, it is perfunctory and hard to believe. ”

After hearing this, Yan Laifu thought hard for a while, and suddenly patted his thigh and said: "It's better to do this, you send someone to the yamen to report the illness first, and when they want to come to me, I will say that 'people are soft-spoken, and they can't decide the matter of learning the field alone', so I refused." Even if they have resentment in their hearts, there is no reason to have a seizure. ”

"It's still the younger brother's idea!" Hu Zhizhang was overjoyed, "The old man wrote a letter and asked the servants to be sent to the yamen!" ”

The county magistrate set up a table of wine and food in the inner hall, and waited here for a long time, but no one came; The dish was already half cold, and then I watched a servant in a rough coat hurry over and handed Hu Zhizhang's handwriting to him, telling that his master had been caught with a cold recently, and he was unwell, and it was difficult to come to the hospital, so please discuss it another day.

The county magistrate and others read the letter, but they didn't react much, but the messenger from the house scolded loudly, and the scolding was extremely ugly. He couldn't help it, so he had to follow up and say a few words, ordered the servant to return quickly with the book, and asked Yan Laifu to come over to discuss the matter.

Soon after, Squire Yan replied according to his previous words and resigned from the meeting. The magistrate was repaid, disappointed, and looked at the food on the table lonely, without saying a word for a long time. The prefect's servants were even more sullen and angry, but they were worried about the prefect's face, so they forced a smile and called the officials of the Yamen to come and eat these wines and dishes, but they couldn't swallow a mouthful.

After everyone dispersed, the county magistrate immediately summoned his henchmen and said: "I think the policy above is too strict, it's just an official school, why bother with the word 'kill' in everything, and make the good and decent Huanghuang Rites and Religions all weapons to kill, who will dare to send their children to school in the future, and be stained with these bloody and bloody winds?" Hu and Yan Ergong are willing to be loyal to the government, so it will affect me and them to fight evil, in case there is no harmony in one place, how can order in the township be maintained! ”

The henchmen persuaded: "If there are some misunderstandings, it doesn't matter, it is enough to explain them in the future; But if the second duke is killed, it will be difficult for many farmers to govern for a while, and Qufu will be in chaos! If they don't obey their orders, adults can only have one heart with them! ”

The county magistrate bowed: "I think so too, if you can slow down, it's best to mess up this harmful new deal." ”

One person made a plan and said: "It is better to report the situation to the government and wait for its instructions; At the same time, he sent people to the township to post notices to remind the second prince to make adequate preparations. Although it is not possible to end the matter, it can be prevented. ”

The magistrate of the county agreed, and without waiting for the next day, he sent two officials to ride fast horses, each with more than ten notices, and rushed to each village and village to post it. The two went their separate ways, and because they had nothing on their bodies, they both went to the villagers' houses to borrow paste, and glued the notices to the wall, without paying attention to the people's inquiries, and went away as soon as they were finished, and finally completed the task assigned by the county before the curfew.

Most of the people couldn't read and could not read, so they hurriedly asked Master Hu to read it; Although Hu Zhizhang said that his legs and feet were struggling, but now that he encountered such a major event, he dared to slack off, walked out of the mansion quickly, and actually ran a pair of old legs strong and powerful.

When he arrived at the earthen wall, he read out a few lines on the wall, which read: 'Tell the local villagers: The prefect has an order, and the envoy has come to build a school and discuss with the two squires Hu and Yan. You should know the beauty of the country, and when you see that there are landlords and those who obstruct the new policy, you should send them to the government and cut them off immediately! ’

When the villagers listened, their hearts were shocked, and they all stood there blankly, looking at Master Hu; And after Hu Zhizhang finished reading, he was so frightened that he was sweating, his face was completely white, his whole body trembled, and even his teeth trembled. The servants were shocked, limped back to the mansion with Hu Zhizhang, fell on the bed, felt the ice on their bodies, and their eyes were straight, so they hurriedly took the brazier to keep warm.

The news quickly reached Yan Laifu's ears, he was shocked and anxious, hurriedly put on a coat, and called his subordinates to get up in a sedan chair and come to Hu Zhizhang's mansion.

Yan Laifu walked into the inner courtyard and saw that the doors and windows of the bedroom were closed, and a few maids were sitting outside the door crying, so he asked anxiously: "What happened to your master?" ”

A maid wiped away her tears, looked up and replied: "Master Hu was just urged by the villagers to read the notice, read and read, for some reason, suddenly shivered, so cold that he was carried back to the house, and his body became more and more cold, and his speech was not clear, I am afraid that he was seriously ill!" ”

Yan Laifu stomped his feet and muttered: "I am talking about pretending to be sick, but now I am really sick...... and then gritted his teeth and ordered them: "Open the door quickly, I'll see him!" ”

Hu Zhizhang was covered with a quilt, with a wet cloth wrapped around his forehead, and when he saw that the crack in the door was slightly open, Yan Laifu came from outside in a panic, so he shouted in a low voice: "Brother Yan Shi......"

Yan Laifu knelt in front of his bed, touched his head a few times, and asked with wide eyes, "Are you okay?" ”

"I'm fine...... Hu Zhizhang shook his head reluctantly, "The sons and nephews of the Shicai clan came to visit, and they were roasting and wiping their bodies, and they were already much better." ”

"In this time of crisis, you must not fall!" Yan Laifu was very worried and clenched his hands.

"It's all about the people in the government who are scared, it's just a minor illness. …… Can you read that notice? Hu Zhizhang raised his eyes slightly.

"I've just seen it. It can only be said that the situation has changed drastically, and it is really not optimistic. Yan Laifu said with a deep groan.

"Why don't you go to the county government and end this matter?"

Yan Laifu flatly refused: "There is still a turning point in this matter." I have a way, if I can do the best, it's not too late to compromise with them. ”

"Please!" Hu Zhizhang suddenly became energetic, and he moved forward vigorously.