Chapter 45: The Great Disappointment
Just when the Qinglong Gang was still in a hurry, Wu Zhi and his party hurried slowly, and with the efforts of all the boatmen, the two ships finally arrived in Weishi County when it was just dark and sailed into the dock of Weishi County.
When the ship docked, the moon had not yet come out, and when night fell, the lights on the surrounding piers and river banks were sparse and dim, and it was obviously impossible to unload and disembark at this time. In desperation, just in case, Wu Zhi had to order everyone to spend the night on the ship and wait for tomorrow to get off the ship and go ashore.
Under the guidance of Ma Laoer, Da Hu and Er Hu ordered enough meals in a nearby wine shop called "Song Lou", and asked the guys to pack them and send them to the boat, and the two boats had a lively dinner together. The dishes were very delicious and delicious, which made everyone ecstatic, in addition to Wu Zhi's family, everyone was also very moved by Wu Zhi's generosity.
When they arrived in Weishi County, it was equivalent to coming to the base camp of the Qinglong Gang, and the six people who knew the inside story, including Wu Zhi and Wu Xiu, still felt a little uneasy, and they were afraid that something bad would happen in the middle of the night. So, according to the pattern of last night, after everyone had eaten dinner and confirmed that no one needed to get off the dock on the boat, Ma Lao Er and Ma Lao San consciously moved the boat from the pier, away from the river bank, and anchored in the middle of the river for the night. Wu Zhi also acted as usual, and together with the big tiger and the second tiger, he took turns to keep vigil and keep watch.
But what Wu Zhi and the others didn't know was that the current Qinglong Gang was already in chaos, cloudy, and too busy to take care of themselves, so how could they still have the heart to find out if there were any strange merchants who had come to Weishi County, let alone have the intention of looting.
A peaceful night!
The sky is just bright, the breeze is cool, the birds are singing and the insects are singing, and the early pedestrians make Weishi County lively, and the sound of the wheel, the sound of swaying, the sound of unloading and loading, and the sound of shouting and selling pastries and breakfast come and go.
Wu Zhi woke up from his sleep, rubbed his eyes that were a little sore, slowly got up and got off, walked to the door and window of the cabin to look outside, the sky was already bright, and the river was dense and picturesque.
Wu Zhi looked out the window fixedly, but he was very strange in his heart: "What the hell is this Qinglong Gang doing?" It is really strange that he dared to intercept and kill in Zhuxian Town, which is dozens of miles away, and did not set up an ambush to intercept in his own base camp! ”
He didn't know that people were worried.
After washing up and eating breakfast, Wu Zhi gathered everyone together and began to direct everyone to unload and disembark, regardless of women, children, old and young, everyone consciously and spontaneously came to help. Soon, all the altars and jars and many salutes were moved off the ship, almost the entire dock was piled up, and the people on the dock and the streets on both sides of the river were very surprised, and they stopped to watch and discuss, this is a real big move!
After paying Ma Lao Er and Ma Lao San enough boat fares, Wu Zhi and the others worked together, loaded the things into the carriage, asked a passer-by, and after learning where the county government was, they rushed to the county office. There were so many things that I could only load and transport them in several trips, until it was noon when I moved everything to the side gate of the county government.
The altars and jars are piled up in front of the side door of the county government, which is magnificent, and attracts the onlookers of passers-by and pointing. The two officials guarding on both sides of the gate of the county government were also puzzled and surprised, whispering. But they didn't dare to drive Wu Zhi and the others away, because Wu Zhi piled up everything on the right side of the wall in front of the county yamen, which did not affect the entry and exit of pedestrians and officials, and they were not easy to interfere with.
After all the people and property came to the county office, Wu Zhi asked everyone to stay where they were and wait, and then he took out the appointment order and appointment letter from his body and strode towards the gate of the county office.
I saw that the Weishi County Ya sits in the north and faces south, the gate is three rooms wide, the gate tower is shaped, and the top of the mountain is hanging. There is a large open space left in front of the gate, the west side is the Xuanzhao Pavilion, and the east side is the Spring Pavilion. There is a stone platform on both sides of the gate, and there is a stone lion on the platform to ward off evil spirits, which is majestic and majestic. On both sides of the gate, there are clouds: outside the door, the spring is warm and rainy, and the three-foot law is scorching and frosty inside. The majestic county government gate plaque is hung high, and the four gilded characters of "Weishi County Office" in handwriting are vigorous and powerful, shining brightly. There is also a smaller plaque hanging under the back door number, on which the handwritten "diligent government and love the people" four gilt characters, also quite imposing. Outside the gate, on the right-hand side, there is a huge drum of grievances.
"Who are you? How dare you break into the county office? Seeing Wu Zhi's big intention to enter the gate, the two officials hurriedly stepped forward to stop him and scolded.
"Oh! I'm your new prefectural commander, and I'm here to take office today. Please lead the way. Wu Zhi raised the appointment and appointment letter in Yang's hand, and said unhurriedly.
"You're our new county magistrate?" The two officials looked at the young Wu Zhi and couldn't believe it, and when they took the things in Wu Zhi's hand, the two of them were stunned, this is indeed the court order and official appointment letter, written in black and white, and it is also stamped with the big red official seal of the court officials!
"Can I go in?" Seeing that the two of them were still distracted, Wu Zhi was a little displeased and said in a deep voice.
"Huh?!" The two of them finally reacted, nodded hurriedly, and responded with sincere fear: "Master, please!" ”
Wu Zhi quickly took the appointment order and appointment letter from them, and stepped straight into the gate of the county office, and the two of them hurriedly followed closely behind, guiding him to the lobby.
Walking into the gate, a huge ring stone wall lies in front of Wu Zhi's eyes, which is engraved with 16 vigorous characters of "Erfeng Erlu, the people are fat and the people are anointed, the people are easy to abuse, and the heavens are difficult to deceive". Bypass the ring stone wall, the eyes suddenly open up, the wide small square is around, the buildings are lined up, and then to the north is the hall, the second hall and the inner courtyard; To the east of it is the county hall, the main book hall and the grain hall; To the west is the county magistrate's hall and the soap officer's room, and there are various halls, pavilions and corridors in the middle of each hall and courtyard.
"The county magistrate is here! The county magistrate is here! When Wu Zhi walked to the front of the hall, one of the officials opened his throat and shouted loudly, which immediately alarmed the officials who were working in the office, and ran out of the room to check on one or two.
Seeing that the person who came was a young man, everyone couldn't help but be suspicious, thinking that the two companions were joking, but they didn't care, and began to whisper, but they didn't dare to question loudly, they knew the truth from their mouths better than anyone else.
After a while, three people came out of the county hall, one after the other, and in front of them was a scribe wearing a crown hat and a green official uniform, in his thirties, of medium stature, with a white face and a smile on the corner of his mouth. He was followed by a tall, thin man in his early forties and a short beard in a wide-sleeved brocade robe, wearing a scarf and a long sleeve. The last one was followed by an official wearing a crown hat and a green official uniform, nearly forty years old, with a long beard, a burly figure, and a tight mouth, but he was a little distant from the two in front of him, and he did not intend to join the conversation between the two, and he was a little alone.
The three of them came to stand still in front of Wu Zhi, lined up, and did not immediately greet Wu Zhi, but just looked Wu Zhi up and down.
What does this mean? It's not good! It seems that I am not welcome here! Wu Zhi thought to himself in his heart, and also quietly looked at the three comers, unmoved, his expression calm as one.
Being stared at by Wu Zhi's sharp gaze, the three of them finally couldn't stand it anymore, and hurriedly looked away, and the scribe standing at the front didn't even raise his hand, his expression was arrogant, and he asked lukewarmly: "You said you are the magistrate?" Do you have a certificate? ”
"Who are you?" Wu Zhi was calm, and asked lukewarmly, and did not show him the appointment and appointment letter in his hand.
"This is Lord Chengyu Wenqiong from our Wei County!" The middle-aged man on the left hurriedly interjected, a little flattering.
"Who are you?" Wu Zhi remained silent, glanced at the middle-aged man and the burly man on the far right, and asked lightly. Since they don't give themselves face, then do it officially!
"This official is the master of this place, Wang Mingyang!" The middle-aged man straightened his chest, quite proud.
"I'm Wei Gang, the county lieutenant of Weishi County, may I ask what the prince is doing here?" The burly man arched his hand, which was considered a salute, and his tone was softer, which seemed quite polite.
"See for yourselves!" Wu Zhi's face palened slightly, and he handed the appointment and appointment letter in his hand to Wei Gang.
Wei Gang took the things in Wu Zhi's hand and unfolded them to see, and Yu Wenqiong and Wang Mingyang also hurried over. When the three of them saw it, their hearts moved, and they couldn't help but look up at Wu Zhi, and then carefully checked the appointment order and appointment letter, and after confirming that it was correct, the three of them raised their heads again, looked at Wu Zhi after looking at each other, and looked at Wu Zhi with different expressions. Especially Yu Wenqiong, her eyes were dull and her face was full of loss.
Before Wu Zhi arrived, because the three of them had not yet received the edict of the imperial court, Wu Zhi felt that the trip was short and did not send someone to inform him in advance, the three of them pondered for a few days during this time, and saw that the imperial court had not sent a new county order to take office, and the three of them thought that the county Cheng Yu Wenqiong was likely to be promoted to the county order, but now Wu Zhi fell from the sky and sat on the seat of the county honor, the three of them felt that they had miscalculated, and Yu Wenqiong was even more disappointed!
"I've seen Lord Zhixian!" "I've seen Lord Zhixian!" "I've seen Lord Zhixian!" It wasn't until Wu Zhi took back the transfer order and appointment letter from Wei Gang that the three of them reacted, and they could only force a smile and bow to Wu Zhi in unison. Wu Zhi heard the many unwillingness in Yu Wenqiong's heart, and also heard the slightest flattery of Wang Mingyang.
"Hello!" Stretching out his hand not to hit the smiling person, it was only at this time that Wu Zhi showed a smiling face, and also bowed to the three of them, greeting them in his own way.
The three of them were stunned when they heard this, and they all felt that the young new county commander in front of them was a little unpredictable.
At this time, the officials who were watching the excitement on the side couldn't help but be startled when they heard the words of the three adults, and hurriedly gathered around, hurriedly saluting and greeting Wu Zhi, and they were sincerely afraid.
Damn! They don't know Mount Tai with their eyes, the dignified county magistrate is clubbing in front of their eyes, and they are still chewing their tongues in front of him, isn't this "the old birthday star hanged himself - I don't want to live anymore"? If they are hated by this new magistrate, it will be enough for them to drink a pot!
"Hello everyone!" Wu Zhi smiled and nodded to them one by one, and greeted them.
Wu Zhi's words made the officials refreshed and surprised, and at the same time, they were also shocked by the youth of the county magistrate in front of them.
"Lord Wang, is there a vacant room in the backyard? This county is going to see it! "There was too much delay when I came in, it is estimated that Wu Xiu and Feng Niang are in a hurry, Wu Zhi doesn't plan to talk nonsense with everyone, he has to find a place to settle down first. After asking Wang Mingyang, he raised his feet and walked to the backyard. Wang Mingyang hurriedly followed up.
Backyard, the former county commander Wu Cheng was lucky to be transferred to the capital, his accommodation place was naturally vacant, this is a self-contained high-walled independent courtyard, shady trees, the environment is not bad, can live more than a dozen people. After a brief turn, Wu Zhi decided to live here for a few days and then move out after finding a new house. The county government has a lot of mouths, and the things he has to do are relatively secret, and it is easy to be leaked if he lives in the county office, and it is also very inconvenient to enter and exit.
After making up his mind, Wu Zhi returned to the yamen and beckoned everyone to transfer the things to the back gate of the county yamen first, and then move the things into the backyard from the back door. There are many people and great strength, and with the help of many officials, everything was quickly moved to the backyard, and the courtyard was piled up.
That night, Wu Zhi and the other thirty people spent the night in the backyard.