The distance between the Qianhu in front of Xiahe Village and Lingshanwei is not far away, and it is not too close, Liu Yan, Chen Xun and others rode horses and walked for most of the day, and only arrived at Lingshan Acropolis in the evening.

Seeing the huge Lingshan Acropolis again, Liu Yan's mood was completely different from when he went north to Qingzhou.

"It's okay for the integrity officer Hu Zongming to say, I don't know what the attitude of those civil officials is."

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the civil officials were famous for the discrimination and suppression of the military generals, and a seven-grade county commander dared to point to the nose of the five-grade and thousand-household military attaché and scolded loudly, but the scolded military attache did not dare to reply a word, which was the status quo between the civil and military forces at the end of the Ming Dynasty.

Chen Xun said with a smile: "Don't pay attention to those sour people, what are they capable of?" If they really have the ability, let them go to the battlefield and cut a few heads and come back! ”

Liu Yan waved his hand noncommittally and instructed Chen Xun: "When you meet those officials, don't talk nonsense." ”

"Yes, my subordinates understand."

The official mansion was not far from the south gate of Lingshanwei, and when Liu Yan and the others arrived, the official Hu Zongming had already led a cadre of officials of all sizes to greet him at the door of the mansion.

Seeing this, Liu Yan hurriedly led his subordinates to dismount and saluted Hu Zongming with his fists.

"My subordinates have seen adults!"

Although Liu Yan is not interested in Hu Zongming, the ability shown by this person in the battle of Yaoshan really can't get into Liu Yan's eyes. But Hu Zongming is Liu Yan's official after all, and at least he took care of Liu Yan after the war, and Liu Yan was happy to sell him face.

At this time, Liu Yan said "movingly": "How can my subordinates and others wait here, it's really torturous for my subordinates!" ”

Hu Zongming laughed and said: "Liu Qianhu doesn't have to be so polite, you are my great hero of Lingshanwei, according to Governor Yan's evaluation of you, let alone to greet you here, even if this official leads a team to Xiahe Village to invite you to Qianqianhu, it is okay." ”

Hu Zongming said that these are all true, with Liu Yan's exploits in the first battle of Yaoshan Mountain Road, Lingshan Wei, and even Governor Yan Jizu and other officials, can be regarded as successfully passing the battle in this battle of Qing troops entering the customs.

You must know that this time Emperor Chongzhen was extremely angry at the achievements of the Ming army in various departments, and he had already arrested more than 30 people just for the senior officers above the third grade. The experience of the generals is even more miserable, as long as it is found that it is defeated, or it is related to the responsibility of defeat, they will all be beheaded on the spot, and the generals above the fifth grade will be beheaded eighteen people!

In such an environment, with Liu Yan's military exploits, Shandong Governor Yan Jizu passed the test without danger, and was in a high position with the result of offsetting his merits and demerits, while Lingshanwei and other Shandong generals not only passed the test smoothly, but also many people were promoted because of their merits, such a result can only be said to be a miracle.

At this time, Hu Zongming said so, and the surrounding officials had different expressions, Liu Yan also noticed the expressions of these people, and looking at the official uniforms, these people were all civil officials in the Lingshan Acropolis.

Liu Yan clenched his fists and said: "My lord's words, I torture my subordinates!" ”

"Haha, don't talk about it, let's go in, the banquet is ready, let's not get drunk today!"

After speaking, Hu Zongming pulled Liu Yan into the mansion of the integrity officer, Chen Xun followed in with a group of night guards and guards, but when entering the second courtyard gate, a group of soldiers were led away by a general flag officer arranged by Hu Zongming, and went to the side across the courtyard to eat and drink, only Chen Xun followed Liu Yan into the main hall of the backyard.

The civil officials who followed behind Hu Zongming and Liu Yan mainly heard that Hu Zongming appreciated Liu Yan, and heard that Yan Jizu, the governor of Shandong, also admired him, so they came out to greet him.

At this time, everyone looked at Hu Zongming smiling and greeting Liu Yan while walking, although these civil officials also echoed two sentences from time to time, but the sense of superiority in their bones still made people uncomfortable, Chen Xun behind Liu Yan pouted, Liu Yan looked calm, and talked and laughed with Hu Zongming.

After the greetings, everyone also came to the main hall of the mansion, Hu Zongming smiled and beckoned, and everyone sat down in turn.

At this time, the integrity officer Hu Zongming introduced a group of colleagues to Liu Yan, Liu Yan saw a large number of civil officials wearing black yarns, wearing green official uniforms, embroidered quail or practicing magpie complements, most of them are nine-grade officials or miscellaneous positions, strictly speaking, there are no civil officials in this Lingshan Acropolis, these people should be regarded as officials in the strict sense.

In this group of people, there is Lingshan Wei Confucianism Zhengfu Zhang Wenqi, and behind him are Confucian instructors Jiang Hongzhi and Huang Rixun.

There are also Lingshan guard Mu Wenyuan, Beihuangcang ambassador Wang Ju, secretary Qi Guan and others, at this time they saw a small chief flag officer born warrior, now become the defense officer of a city, they all felt incredible.

In addition, there is also the Dianke Dynasty of the Department of Medicine, from whom Liu Yan once asked for Bao Xuezhen.

There is also Hu Daguan, the commander of Lingshan, who is a strong middle-aged man, who is in charge of more than 200 people in the city. Hu Daguan seemed to admire Liu Yan very much, and he was full of admiration for Liu Yan at this time.

Liu Yan also noticed that behind the integrity officer Hu Zongming, in addition to Ji Xianhai, the guard officer of the Zhongqianhu Office, and Tang Jingming, the guard of the Jiaozhou Guard, there were also a squire of Lingshanwei, but these people did not have a good face for Liu Yan at this time.

At first, Liu Yan also couldn't figure it out, he shouldn't have a chance to offend these gentry. But after thinking about it carefully, Liu Yan figured it out.

It should be Liu Yan who implemented a new policy in Wangjiazhuang, not only leading military households to reclaim wasteland, distribute cultivated land and farm tools, etc., but also implement a relatively low field tax at this time, which is a great attraction to farmers.

Many tenants in the families of these gentry escaped, and many of these tenants who escaped fled to Wangjiazhuang and became military commoners under Liu Yan's rule.

"If that's the case, then don't blame me, if you want to blame you bloodsuckers, you're too greedy!"

Liu Yan wanted to understand the joints, so he stopped paying attention to those gentry.

At this time, after Hu Zongming introduced a group of civil officials, he smiled and invited everyone to the table, and this time the banquet was set up in a small hall on the side of the main hall, with three tables.

Liu Yan walked into the small hall and glanced around, only to see that a table full of delicacies was already placed on the table.

However, compared with yesterday's military attache banquet, these delicacies are obviously a little vegetarian and a little elegant, lacking the big fish and meat of the military attache banquet, but more vegetarian dishes, as well as elegant and allegorical delicacies.

After everyone sat down, under the cup of the integrity officer Hu Zongming, the banquet began.

However, unlike the military attache banquet, the civil officials and gentry present did not have the same profligate form as the military attaché, and the banquet between the literati was extremely boring and boring.

Hu Zongming entertained Liu Yan, and after some courtesy greetings, he said some nonsense such as civil and military assistance, reporting to the king, and sharing worries for the holy monarch, and a cadre of literati and squires present proposed to compose poems and lyrics, and the prostitutes present played and sang on the spot, and their interest was very high, and the poems were composed one after another, and the more they composed, the more elated they became.

Chen Xun just drank two glasses of wine, then yawned, and there was no intention of eating and drinking. And when Liu Yan saw such a scene, what else could he do besides keep smiling?

Hu Zongming once politely asked Liu Yan to compose a few poems, Liu Yan didn't know anything about composing poems, and believed that among the traversers, ninety-nine out of a hundred did not have the ability to compose poems. Of course, Hu Zongming didn't believe that Liu Yan had the talent to compose poetry as a martial artist, and when he saw Liu Yan refusing, he was not reluctant, but he just showed his skills.

At this time, Hu Zongming's poems were full of enthusiasm, and he composed one song after another in public, and his suppressed voice attracted applause. Those civil officials and gentry kept clapping their hands one by one, turning a banquet into a poetry competition, which made Liu Yan speechless.

However, Hu Zongming's performance made Liu Yan very different, he didn't expect that an ethics officer of the guard station would have such a literary talent.

Ji Xianhai, the defender of the Zhongqianhu Institute next to him, saw the doubts in Liu Yan's eyes, so he leaned over and whispered: "Master Hu originally spent several years in private school, and there are famous teachers who teach, although he is a military attaché, but his literary talent is also very good. Otherwise, the former Master Li would not have used our Lord Hu so much. ”

Liu Yan nodded and said that he understood, but he didn't expect that the ethics officer Hu Zongming still had such a ability, and he really underestimated people.

After composing the poem, those civil officials and gentry talked about Lao, Zhuang, Confucius, and Menglai, and Liu Yan listened carefully, but he did not have any profound opinions.

Looking at the officials who were chatting happily, Liu Yan fell into deep thought, through yesterday's banquet and today's banquet, Liu Yan felt deeply disappointed with the officials above and below Lingshanwei. Whether it is the civil officials in the Lingshan Acropolis or the military generals in the Qianhu House in Xiahe Village, they are all the same virtues, timid and arrogant, corrupt and greedy, but they are still good at talking, but they have no corresponding ability. The people who talk nonsense in the history books, and the people who sit and draw promises, are afraid that this kind of goods are being referred to.

The bigger the city, the more degenerate the officialdom is, in a small Lingshan Acropolis and a small Xiahe Village in front of a thousand households, civil officials and military generals are like this, and presumably more prosperous places are even more unsightly.

In the three hundred years of the Ming Dynasty, the world has experienced a glorious civilization, and it has been passed down to the present, at least in the officialdom, which has been broken in its bones. Now Liu Yan has only the eunuch group, and he has never seen it, but it must not be much better.

From Liu Yan's feelings about Hu Zongming, Hu Zongming seems to have a certain ambition, but he prefers empty talk rather than pragmatic politics, and just concentrates on officialdom.

Liu Yan finally stopped listening, and beckoned Chen Xun to concentrate on eating, it didn't make sense to listen, although the officials and squires present were polite and polite to Liu Yan, but there was a kind of indifference in their bones, Liu Yan couldn't melt into their circle, what else could he do if he didn't eat vegetables? Fortunately, the dishes in this banquet are still very rich, looking at these delicacies and wines, I never imagined that there were a large number of soldiers and civilians who were about to starve to death outside, thinking that the Ming Dynasty was still peaceful and prosperous.

Finally, after the boring banquet, Liu Yan and Chen Xun said goodbye, and the ethics officer Hu Zongming personally sent them out, and the two exchanged pleasantries for a while, and Liu Yan took Chen Xun to turn over and get on the horse, hugged his fists and left.

At this time, looking at the departing figures of Liu Yan and the others, especially the figures of the dozens of ironclad cavalrymen, Hu Zongming couldn't help frowning. muttered to himself: "This person is inscrutable, and with such strength, I am afraid that his future achievements will be far above me." ”

It is said that after Liu Yan led his troops back to the Qianqian Household Office in Xiahe Village, he did not take care of military affairs for several days, but focused on hygiene.

The sanitation of the Qianhu in front of Xiahezhai is also very worrisome, there is garbage and human and animal feces everywhere, and it is the time of summer and autumn, the weather is hot, which makes the smell inside and outside the city of Qianhu, which makes Liu Yan unbearable.

So Liu Yan ordered all the soldiers and officials of the Qianqian Household Office in Xiahe Village to go to the streets, clean all the streets and official offices in the city, and called on the people in the city to clean up as one. 33

A big cleaning was lifted by Liu Yan in this way, and it lasted for four days, and a large amount of garbage was cleaned up, so much that the military and civilian officials in the city were also dumbfounded, and the Qianhu in front of Xiahe Village was also completely new, and everywhere was extremely tidy, and the military and civilian officials also felt extremely refreshing, and understood a lot of Liu Yan's orders.

The next day, Liu Yan sent people to Wangjiazhuang and took Wang Yunhe to the Qianhu Office in Xiahezhai and settled in the Qianhu official hall. The two women sent by Dai Jingbin, Wang Yunhe also brought them back.

Some people died, but not completely......