Hou Gang invited Hou Xian to sit down, and Hou Xian said, "Lord Junshou, thank you for recommending my son Shiji as the next city lord of Yuncheng. But before the appointment of the Son of Heaven is issued, only you can temporarily act as the city lord. ”

Of course, the lord of the city must be appointed by the Son of Heaven, but if he dies unexpectedly in office, or is unable to exercise his authority for any reason, before the new appointment of the Son of Heaven is issued, according to the Chinese etiquette, the nobleman with the highest status in the local area will first temporarily replace the lord of the city, and the status of this person shall not be lower than that of the lord of the city. If there is no such person in the area, he is replaced by the highest-ranking official in the city.

Hou Shiji does not meet these two conditions, and according to the etiquette law, only Hou Gang himself can temporarily act as the city lord. Hou Gang nodded and said, "I understand, I will personally temporarily replace the city lord of Yuncheng, but I will also ask Brother Shiji to help take care of all the affairs of the city." ”

Hou Gang immediately made a series of arrangements, first sending people to Yuncheng to announce the incident, so that all the officials and the people knew that the city lord of Lechang had died and how he died. Hou Gang will temporarily take the position of the city lord, and Hou Shiji will assist in the management of the city's affairs, and send someone to report to the Chinese Son of Heaven, and Hou Shiji will be recommended by the tribe as the next city lord.

The death of the city lord in office is not a trivial matter, and there are many trivial matters involved in dealing with it, and Hou Gang has arranged it in an orderly and orderly manner, for example, he has not forgotten to exempt Lechang's relatives from the crime of guarding.

The guards are not for nothing, and in a sense, they are equivalent to dead soldiers. For example, on the battlefield, the main general was unfortunately killed by the enemy, and his personal guards were all capital crimes, so they would swear to protect the main general regardless of their lives. Although the place is not a battlefield, if the lord of the city is killed while chasing the murderer and robber, the guards will also be punished.

But Lechang's situation is very special, he was killed by the clan law because of his own guilt, and the guards couldn't stop this kind of thing. Hou Gang could also take down the guards around Lechang for interrogation and punish them for the crime of being an accomplice, but he didn't do this, but he didn't plan to pursue these people.

Although they were not pursued, they could not be reappointed, so they were all dismissed and returned to their hometowns, and these guards were all members of the Hougang clan.

Hou Shiji also asked Hou Gang, today in the ancestral land not only died a Lechang, but also "forced to die" a Dacheng monk Liang Jineng, do you want to send someone to inform the Jiqiu clan and the Lianghuachuan sect to explain the matter clearly?

Hou Gang shook his head and said: "Just publicly announce this matter in the city outline, if you explain it, who should explain it to whom? If the Jiqiu clan and Lianghuachuan don't come, I don't plan to pursue it, so it's already lenient." If they come to inquire about the news, and tell me the details, I would like to see how they will explain it, and now that there are many things in the city, you will go to the city with me tomorrow, and the clan will first prepare how to welcome the envoy of the Son of Heaven. ”

When everyone thinks about it carefully, this is really the truth. Hou Gang didn't provoke Liang Jineng, it was Liang Jineng who was instructed by Hou Lechang to assassinate Hou Gang, and wanted to secretly rob him. Hou Gang is polite not to pursue other people related to him, and there is no need to be afraid of anything, the responsibility for Liang Jineng's death is only his own.

Hou Shiji and the others were not very afraid of the Jiqiu clan, but they didn't want to cause senseless tribal conflicts, but they were still very jealous of the Lianghuachuan sect, and they were cowardly when they thought of Liang Jineng's death, so they thought of sending someone to explain it clearly, so as to avoid causing Lianghuachuan's anger. Hou Gang doesn't have this attitude, he does what he should do, and doesn't take the initiative to pay attention to it.

Hou Gang was young, but he had authority in the clan because of his status as the head of the king. If everything goes well for him when he returns home, although the people will not oppose him, they may not really respect and support him. But after such twists and turns, Hou Gang's methods were undoubtedly revealed, and he handled all kinds of affairs very safely, and the people of the tribe were invisibly convinced and even full of awe for him.

Hou Gang left the ancestral land the next day, took Hou Shiji to Yuncheng, entrusted the affairs of the ancestral land to Hou Xian, and said his hard work to the old man. Hou Xian sighed: "There is actually nothing in the clan, there is something just to find yourself, if everyone lives in peace, how can there be any hardship?"

This is true, in that era, except for the important tasks such as sacrificing ancestors and accepting the conscription of the Son of Heaven, there were not so many messy things, and the head of the monarch was also responsible for resolving some tribal disputes on weekdays. And this kind of dispute adjudication can be handled by the elders through consultation, and those who toss blindly in their own homes are often selfish. This is also the reason why Hou Gang was able to leave for more than ten years.

For example, Lord Boyi, in fact, is also the head of the big tribe and the Bojun canonized by the Son of Heaven, he is often not in the ancestral land of the tribe, and some time ago he followed the emperor Danzhu to the land of Jiuli, and the clan is also safe.

On the way back to Yuncheng, Hou Gang traveled in the same car with Huwa, Taiyi, and Jigu. Taiyi has been very silent, looking thoughtful. Huwa asked, "Are you still thinking about that Liang Ji Neng?"

Taiyi nodded and said, "Yes, that Liang Jineng is not a vicious person. Twenty years ago, he left the mountain and bravely fought the water monsters in the river, and killed the demons for the people, but he was seriously injured by the enemy, so he received Hou Lechang's life-saving grace. In order to repay the grace of saving lives and keep the promise of the year, he will take action for Hou Lechang today. I didn't intend to kill him, but he had to kill himself. I was thinking, if I fall into such a situation, how should I deal with myself?"

Huwa: "You might as well be more specific, if I am Hou Lechang and you are Liang Jineng, what should you do if I let you do such things?"

Taiyi: "I was trying to ask my master for advice." ”

Huwa didn't answer directly, but asked Hou Gang right: "You once presided over the Baguo School Palace, if the disciples of the School Palace have this question, how will you answer?"

Hou Gang smiled bitterly: "Actually, it's very simple, hold the Tao to be right. If you want to repay your kindness, you should not harm your benefactor. That Liang Ji can not hesitate to die for Hou Lechang, and he should know how to die. He should stop Hou Lechang's scheme, not me to prevent me from entering the city.

If I am really incompetent, and I will not be able to serve the people after returning to my clan, there will be a way to replace me in the future. But this kind of thing cannot be done like today, so how can it be done to repay the favor and help the benefactor to commit a capital crime?

If I am not incompetent, Hou Lechang can't fight, Liang Jineng should persuade him to see the situation clearly, extinguish the evil flame in his heart, and be cautious or can keep the position of the city lord, at least he can enjoy his old age in peace.

As for whether Liang Ji can kill me directly, but wants to take me to apprenticeship, he thinks it is a foolproof plan, but he doesn't know that he has fallen into the evil path with Hou Lechang, so he can only be said to be smart. ”

The little demon nodded again and again: "What Lord Hou Gang said is so right! Liang Ji can be smart, and Hou Lechang is even more smart. If they don't rectify these things, how can Lord Hou Gang fight for any position? As long as Hou Lechang is really virtuous and talented, the city lord will not continue to do it, and maybe in the future, he will also be able to obtain the position of Bojun. ”

The little demon knows Hou Gang very well. I think that Cangjie didn't even covet the position of the Chinese Son of Heaven back then, how could Hou Gang, as the successor of Cangjie, covet the position of a small uncle?

It's a pity that he understands Hou Gang, but others may not understand that there are many people in this world who live by themselves. Later, Hou Gang returned to his hometown as the head of the monarch, and he had to accept the canonization of the Son of Heaven as Bojun, which happened in a specific context, and it was inconvenient to hand over this position to others for the time being.

As long as the battle for the succession of the Chinese Son of Heaven has not yet settled, Hou Gang will have to preside over the overall situation in the clan. It's all well and good when there is nothing to do on weekdays, but in today's sensitive times, the tribal leader must be able to calm the scene, see the situation clearly, and calm down, if he rashly gets involved in unnecessary disputes, it will bring trouble or even ruin to the clan.

......

The people of Yincheng have heard about the major events that have just happened, and for the vast majority of people, life has actually been very peaceful for many years, and a little neighborhood dispute can become an after-dinner conversation and be discussed for a long time. And things like this will probably become legends that people will talk about again and again for many years.

After hearing the details, no one thought that the city lord of Lechang should not die. When Hou Gang entered the city, he was welcomed by the people, and everyone paid homage to the king. The vast majority of the inhabitants in the territory of the city are from the Hougang clan, and the residents in the city are even more so, including the peddlers, pawns, soldiers guarding the city, and officials at all levels, almost all of whom are from the Hougang clan.

Because of this, all the previous city lords of Yuncheng had to be recommended by the Hougang clan, and other people would not be able to govern this place at all. Hou Gang took over the city very smoothly and took a seat in the city lord's mansion. Officials at all levels and government officials first came to visit the monarch as a clansman, and Hou Gang officially announced the matter of Lechang, and he himself would temporarily act as the city lord, and everyone then visited the city lord on behalf of the city.

Hou Gang also announced that the Hou Gang clan would recommend Hou Shiji as the next city lord, and from now on, Hou Shiji would assist him in managing the affairs of the city. The lord of the city of Hou Gang is only in name, but in fact, from now on, Hou Shiji will be in charge of the city, waiting for the official appointment of the Son of Heaven. Under normal circumstances, as long as Hou Shiji himself did not commit any major mistakes, the appointment would be certain.

Next, Hou Shiji stood next to the case, and Hou Gang called officials and government officials at all levels to inquire about the affairs of the city in batches, made various instructions, and pointed out the improper governance of the city lord of Lechang in the past.

Yesterday in the ancestral land, the representatives of the various branches of the family were happy and convinced of Hou Gang, but many officials in the city were not present, and there were still doubts about whether the young Hou Gang was talented, and the assassin saw with his own eyes that Hou Gang handled all kinds of affairs very properly, as if he had been the city lord for many years.

Hou Gang has never been a city lord, but he has indeed been an official for many years, and he has done more officials than city lords, and he has seen a lot of various city affairs. Hou Shiji admired this cousin and clan brother very much, he stood next to the case and learned from it, and memorized every word Hou Gang said with his heart.

According to the guidance given by Hou Gang, Hou Shiji will be responsible for the handling of various specific affairs in the future. Hou Gang is very efficient, and he can analyze many very complicated situations clearly in just a few words, and almost complete everything in less than two hours. Suddenly changing a city lord is such a major change, but in his hands it seems to be calm.

Seeing that the matter was almost dealt with, Hou Gang was about to order everyone to retreat and rest, when suddenly there was a report from the government servant - Lord Jiqiu came to visit. (To be continued.) )