Li Qiufeng secretly thought in his heart that when he was in the capital, although he had also been to the Criminal Department and the Ministry of Rites to listen to the case, he had seen Shangshu, Shilang, the chief and other officials handle the case. When these high-ranking officials in the capital tried the case, they rarely faked their hands. And since he arrived in Henan, whether it is the Yamen of the Luoyang Prefect or the Yamen of Xiuwu Zhixian County, it is all the master's words. No wonder the common people say "Hades is good, but the little ghost is difficult". There are so many imps under these local officials, and it is more and more difficult for the common people to demand justice.

When he thought of this, his heart suddenly moved, remembering that day he was visiting the prefect's yamen in Luoyang at night, and eavesdropping on the Luoyang prefect Han Qusi and his master Ji Dingzhong. There is a wit hidden in the words of these two people, not at all like talking between the prefect and his subordinates. And when he arrived in Xiuwu County, such a Master Zhang emerged, who controlled the authority of the county yamen, and Ji Dingzhong's position in the Luoyang prefect's yamen had to fight.

Li Qiufeng thought about it carefully, and the more he thought about it, the more strange it became. And I found that the appearance of this Master Zhang is really similar to that Master Ji Dingzhong. Thinking about it, both of them are scheming and cunning people, as the saying goes, "each other is born from the heart", and it is not surprising that two treacherous people are born with the appearance of villains.

The two talked and talked, and soon arrived in front of the inn. Li Qiufeng said to Yin Zhutou: "Thank you Yin Zhutou for accompanying Li today." Li went to the inn to pack up his things, and then went to live in the City God Temple. Yin Zhutou, please go back first. ”

Yin Zhutou said: "For the big ...... The hero's service is a blessing for the villain. The villain went to the magistrate's yamen and told the county lord and the magistrate of the county about the hero's residence in the Chenghuang Temple. ”

Li Qiufeng nodded, and then said goodbye to Yin Zhutou. Yin Zhutou turned around and took two steps, suddenly remembered something again, hurriedly stopped, turned to Li Qiufeng and said: "The house money of this inn has its own county government to settle it, and the hero doesn't have to pay attention to it." ”

After Yin Zhutou left, Li Qiufeng walked into the inn. The boss was writing and calculating at the counter, and when he saw Li Qiufeng walking in, he hurriedly stepped forward, nodded and said, "Uncle is back." Whatever you want to eat for lunch, the villain instructs someone to prepare it for you. ”

Li Qiufeng said with a smile: "If there is something going on, I have to check out and leave." Ask the boss to settle the store money. ”

When the boss heard that Li Qiufeng was leaving, he was overjoyed, with a heartfelt smile on his face, and said: "Uncle lives in a small shop, which is the blessing of a small shop." If you want to invite other inns, you can't ask for it, so don't worry about what store money is not store. ”

Li Qiufeng shook his head and said, "How can you live in a hotel without paying the money?" The boss doesn't have to worry about it, it's better to settle the store money clearly. ”

The boss thought to himself, as long as you leave the inn immediately, Lao Tzu will burn high incense. Otherwise, if you live for ten days and half a month, Lao Tzu will not have to pay three or four taels of silver, and a month will be in vain. The sooner you get out of here, the better, it's best not to let Lao Tzu see you again!

Li Qiufeng saw that the boss refused to settle the store money, so in desperation, he had to shake his head and walk back to his house. He didn't have any luggage on him, and the burden wrapped around Guan Yu's head had also been taken away by Situ Qiao, leaving only a snatched steel knife at this time. He still wrapped the steel knife in a sheet, looked around the room again, and was about to leave the house, when he suddenly heard footsteps outside the house, and then someone said at the door, "Is Uncle Li there?"

Li Qiufeng was a little familiar with this person's voice, and his heart was stunned, and then he said in a deep voice: "Which one has arrived?"

I only heard the man outside the door say: "In Xia Zhang Hao, I was ordered by my master to come to see Uncle Li." ”

Li Qiufeng heard that Zhang Hao had arrived, so he relieved himself, hurriedly opened the door, and let Zhang Hao into the house. Zhang Hao arched his hand towards Li Qiufeng, and said, "I have been ordered by my master to send something to Uncle Li." ”

After he finished speaking, he untied a sackcloth burden from his body. The bag was about five feet long and about five inches wide, and I don't know what it contained. Zhang Hao put the burden on the table, and then said to Li Qiufeng: "The master has left Xiuwu County, but he has not gone far. If Uncle Li finds anything, he can go to that earthen house, and someone will naturally receive Uncle Li. ”

Li Qiufeng nodded, and said, "Will Brother Zhang still stay in Xiuwu County?"

Zhang Hao said: "This has to obey the master's orders." He just ordered Zai Xia to send this thing to Uncle Li, and then rushed back to return to him. As for whether to stay in Xiuwu County, it depends on what the master plans. ”

When Zhang Hao said this, he glanced at Li Qiufeng, and then continued: "If Uncle Li has nothing else to do, he will leave in the future." ”

Li Qiufeng said: "Brother Lao Zhang, you go back to see the Venerable, and please say hello to him on behalf of Li." ”

Zhang Hao arched his hand and said: "Remember, Uncle Li, take care." ”

Li Qiufeng sent Zhang Hao to the door, and suddenly remembered another thing, grabbed the burden on the table with his right hand and followed, and said to Zhang Hao: "There is one more thing, please tell Your Excellency Brother Zhang." The Yamen of Xiuwu County should restrain the righteous people and assist the Yamen to maintain law and order. Li has already agreed. Because most of these righteous people gathered in the City God Temple in the east of the city, Yi Li was going to live in the City God Temple today. If you have something to discuss, you can go to the City God Temple to find it. ”

The two walked to the inn lobby as they spoke, the boss had been waiting there for a long time, and when he saw the two of them coming out, he hurriedly greeted them. Li Qiufeng didn't wait for him to speak, so he put a piece of loose silver that he had already held in his hand on a table, and said, "This is the store money, boss, please take it." But the boss refused to settle the bill, so I had to give it casually. More and less, please don't care about the boss. ”

The boss was startled, glanced at the silver on the table, waved his hands around, and said in a trembling voice: "Great, uncle, don't dare to do this! The poor master in the yamen knows that the villain has accepted your silver, and he has to demolish the villain's inn! You still keep this silver and this silver." As long as you say a few good words to the villain at the cha master, you will feel sorry for the villain. ”

The boss said as he spoke, and his face was full of horror. Li Qiufeng was angry and funny in his heart, and was about to say more, but Zhang Hao gave him a look and said: "This boss is also kind, Uncle Li should put away the silver." ”

Li Qiufeng had no choice but to take the silver back, and said, "Okay, okay, I'll get the silver back." Thank you boss for your care, I will definitely speak well for you on the Yamen's side. ”

The boss was relieved and said, "Then thank you uncle, the villain is grateful." ”

Li Qiufeng and Zhang Hao left the inn together. For fear of arousing suspicion, the two did not immediately separate, but walked slowly forward side by side. It's just that when they walked, between the lightning and flint, the two of them had a full view of the surrounding situation. Li Qiufeng saw that there were no suspicious characters around, so he breathed a sigh of relief and sighed: "Lord Huang, the magistrate of Xiuwu County, can already be regarded as a good official, but the people under his rule are still afraid of the Yamen messengers. The rule of the court officials is really worrying. ”

Zhang Hao smiled slightly, and said: "Uncle Li has been in the capital for a long time, but I am afraid that I don't know the prestige of the magistrate." Which of these people is not the emperor of the soil? Breaking the prefect's house and destroying the county decree are not a joke. The common people don't know the emperor and the dignitaries in the capital, and they only see the magistrates and yacha in their eyes, and these people are the sky above their heads, deciding their life and death. The innkeeper was not afraid of you, but afraid that the yamen would find him trouble. These people are accustomed to being oppressed, and if you do well to them, you will make them frightened and troubled, and they will not sleep well. It is better not to give money, but they will breathe a sigh of relief. ”

The more Li Qiufeng listened, the more curious he became, and said: "Could it be that they have been bullied for a long time, and they are better treated, but they can't accept it?"

Zhang Hao nodded and said, "Exactly." This is where the sorrow of the common people lies. For thousands of years, they have been oppressed by the government and can barely breathe. After a long time, it has become the most common thing. If you are kind to them, they will wonder in their hearts that they have done something, lest greater evil come down from heaven, and they will be terrified. In Xiajiu in the south of Zhili as an errand, Jiangnan is the land of fish and rice, much richer than the north. However, the rich are the officials and gentry, and the common people are oppressed even more than in the north. If we trace back to the source, it was the government and gentry who oppressed the people too hard, and some of the people fled to the sea and became the same party of the Japanese invaders. If there were no people who were familiar with the inside of the Ming Dynasty to guide the way, how could they make such a big fuss with just a few gangsters?"

Li Qiufeng didn't expect Zhang Hao to have such insight, and he was quite surprised, and couldn't help but say: "Listening to your words is better than reading for ten years." Brother Zhang has such insight, and Li admires it very much. ”

Zhang Hao shook his head and said with a smile: "Uncle Li, don't laugh at it." Where do you have any knowledge, but I've been in Nanzhili for a long time, and I've seen too many things, so I'm just talking about it casually. ”

When he said this, he glanced at Li Qiufeng, lowered his voice and said, "Uncle Li, this is just to talk to you, but don't let Shangguan know." Otherwise, after Shangguan heard it, he would inevitably not say that he was discussing the affairs of the court in vain. At that time, I'm afraid that I won't be able to eat and walk around......"

Li Qiufeng didn't wait for him to finish, and then smiled: "Brother Zhang can rest assured." Li has left Jinyiwei, and he will not re-enter officialdom in this life, so naturally he will not have any dealings with Brother Zhang's superiors. This time, he promised to help him do things, just to help his friends. What's more, although Li and Brother Zhang met for the first time, they admired Brother Zhang very much, and would definitely not frame Brother Zhang. ”

Zhang Hao breathed a sigh of relief, chatted with Li Qiufeng for a few more words, and then left. Li Qiufeng walked in a hurry, and when it was confirmed that no one was tracking, he turned to the northeast. It's just that this circle is a bit big, and when he turned to the City God Temple, he had been walking for more than half an hour. At this time, the temple gate of the City God Temple was wide open, and there was an endless stream of pilgrims who came to burn incense. Li Qiufeng thought to himself, it seemed that Wan Congyun and the others had already left, otherwise these pilgrims would not dare to come to the temple to burn incense.