Just as Xiao Shitou, Tian Qingwen, and Zhao Erguan were rushing non-stop to the ghost camp outside Ruiyan Temple, Hong Wending had quietly returned to Chong'an County and had been wandering in the city for a long time.
Based on the reminder from the great monk Hengmin of Ruiyan Zen Temple, he did not enter through the south gate in a grand manner this time. Instead, he deliberately followed a group of cargo carriages, took advantage of the chaos and clung to the bottom of the carriage and sneaked in until he approached Yuxiu Water Gate.
Then he quietly left and went straight to the door of Watergate Shop.
The shop floor was messy due to the fighting, and it still looked like it had the mess on the floor last night. The door panel was also exposed due to a big hole. Although the items in the house were not damaged at all, he never found any small stones.
traces.
Ever since he was attacked last night, Hong Wending had noticed many strange things, especially those figures hiding under the eaves and peeping under the trees. It seemed that he had expected that the drought demon would appear here very early, so he sat on the mountain and watched the fight between tigers and tigers, waiting for Hong Wending.
Instead of fighting to the death, there were a few times when he seemed to want to take advantage of the chaos to attack him.
Out of vigilance against the Jingji Sect, Hong Wending did not inquire about the situation from the neighbors. He had vaguely spotted two rice and noodle shops opposite the Watergate Shop, and there were some unknown shapes in the noodle stall where people could rest and drink tea.
The man was observing him, and he was already suspicious and was about to get up. Hong Wending hurriedly walked past the door pretending to be casual, turned around and walked into a long and narrow path, trying every means to get rid of the prying eyes.
"If something strange happens again, you should go back and report it first..."
Hong Wending naturally knew the priorities of the matter. The most important thing at the moment was to complete Jiang Wen's order to become a naturalized citizen, and then to investigate the rumors of droughts circulating in the streets of Chong'an County. If this matter is really related to some supernatural ghosts.
Regarding the relationship, the first thing he had to do was to report it to his master, and his master, Jiang Wen, would decide how to deal with it.
Regarding his apparently aloof attitude, the great monk Hengmin of Ruiyan Temple had no objection. Even when he heard that he had not received the household registration information for three days, he stated that the Jingji Sect must be causing trouble and he was quite kind.
The earth advises him——
The letter he was holding in his hand at this moment was the handwriting of the great monk Hengmin.
The monk said that this letter would not only help Wen get an appointment with the magistrate, but might also help him handle the long-delayed household registration matter for the villagers.
From the south of the city to the abandoned government office, it only took a stick of incense. Hong Wending checked the wasteland in front of the government office, but still did not find Xiao Shitou and Zhao Erguan playing around. His doubts became more intense, but at this time he also
We could only press on and walk towards the East Chaoyuan.
When I saw Hong Wen Ding again, the county official in front of the hall, who was chatting happily with his colleagues, suddenly looked embarrassed. He pulled back his sleeves, as if he was worried that Hong Wen Ding would ask for the ingot of silver.
However, Hong Wending didn't think too much about it. He first handed over the letter written by the great monk Hengmin. When the official saw the signature on the envelope, he nodded repeatedly. He was convinced that what he had expected before was true. The other party was indeed a well-connected person.
, hurriedly ran in to deliver the message, and returned extremely quickly.
Although the Dongchayuan also has cornices and corners, it is ultimately small in scale. The county's chief register, classics, edicts, and teachings are all crowded together. Even the magistrate of Chong'an County can only sit in the main hall on the north side as a director.
The government official took Hong Wending into the inner corridor and quickly whispered that he had handed over the naturalization documents. However, for some reason, the county magistrate took one look at it and put it on the desk, never mentioning it again. He was really in a low position.
Nothing can be done.
When the two came to the main hall on the north side, the first thing they saw was a huge pile of various books and classics. The covers of the books were divided into categories with labels for land reclamation, promotion of science, official status, tribute of food and goods, increase or decrease of salt, and inventory shortage.
, apparently a backlog of classic records about Tian Fu’s treasury that has been accumulated in this county for many years.
Behind the desk, a young seventh-grade civil servant stood, also looking at Hong Wending.
I saw that he was a plain-looking man with a sad face. He wore square patchwork clothes with sparse moire patterns on his chest. There were colorful Sihe Ruyi cloud patterns around his clothes. In his hand, he held the "Commission to Investigate the Fire Disaster" and the documents written by the people of the city.
"On the County's Taxes and Services" seems to be worrying about this.
"Sir, we have already arrived."
After the county official said this, he quickly pushed Hong Wending forward, stepped back out, and closed the door with his hand.
After the door of the hall was closed, the North Hall suddenly became gloomy. The smell of silverfish bites was faintly emitted from the bookcases, making people feel uncomfortable all over. However, the young county magistrate in front of him still had no worries.
Wandering among them, I seemed to have found some sense of security.
"Your name is Hong Wei, right? I've read your naturalization document, and I've also read Hengmin's letter. It seems that I have misunderstood..."
Then he sat down heavily behind the writing desk, raised his head uneasily and thought for a long time, and finally put down the writing in his hand. It seemed that he still could not find a solution to the problem among the thousands of threads.
"Hey, I didn't mean to make things difficult for you. I just thought that you and the Jingji Sect were in the same category. I felt quite resentful in my heart, so I put it aside."
In front of Hong Wending, Guan Shengjun, the magistrate of Chong'an County, named Zhong Shi, was appointed magistrate of Guangshan County in Henan Province in the eleventh year of Shunzhi. Due to his dedicated education during his tenure, he was the best in official administration. He was also moved to Chong'an County Magistrate the year before last. Inexplicably,
Come to this place where people from all over live in exile and soldiers and bandits are entrenched.
In fact, Guan Shengjun was also very puzzled. The news he heard at the time was that he was supposed to go to Luoding, Guangdong to be the magistrate of this scattered state, but by mistake, he was deliberately placed in Chong'an County because the Geng family of King Jingnan was a vassal.
superior.
Chong'an County is located on the border between Fujian and Jiangxi. It is the bridgehead from the Central Plains to Fujian. The dangers are obvious. But what he didn't expect was that there were so many abuses left by the previous prefect. Even the county government office was abandoned for some reason.
, I have been as terrified as a lost dog for many years.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Even though he has always been known for his hard work and his heart is quite heroic, but here he can only do nothing. After hitting the wall everywhere, he is now turning around to do something
As for the chores of collecting archives and genealogies, I only plan to use my own salary and silver to compile a county chronicle during my term of office.
Chong'an County Magistrate Guan Shengjun rummaged through the desk for a moment and found the naturalization documents of the Dan residents. After looking through them briefly, he took them in his hand and nodded slowly.
Ever since he took charge of Shengjun and was in charge of Chong'an, the one that troubled him the most among all the worries was the people of the Jingli Sect.
On the surface, these people eat fast and take the precepts, and keep their own rules, but secretly they have already colluded with the government, and they are always against the government. What's more, they often coerce people with big names who live in the corner of the city, and people with high status in the county, and force him to do so. The magistrate's signature is really chilling.
For example, the matter of naturalization of refugees has actually been controlled by people placed in the county government offices by the Jingji Sect.
However, the documents of anyone who has joined the Jingji sect will appear on his desk in an instant, and the gentry will often come to press him, and they are too disturbed; and those who are not among the Jingji sect, even if they are from other counties. Once the order has been approved, the naturalization documents will also disappear, just like seeing a ghost in the daytime.
At first, Guan Shengjun would question the situation angrily, but as time passed, he noticed more and more strange things, and he could only swallow his anger. Apart from handling Chongan official duties every day, he could only hide at home the rest of the time. Tune cranes and plant plum blossoms, but you won't be able to move even an inch.
What makes Guan Shengjun so fearful is not only the power of the Jingji Sect, but also the fact that the people of Chong'an seem to have an innate uneasiness and resistance to the government. Even if he keeps telling the truth, he will only learn from Shangjun and move to Mulixin. Not many people were willing to listen, but they still believed in the deceptive words of the Jinglu demons.
"Your Excellency, I have heard about the Jingji Sect in the city from Master Hengmin. It is rare for such disasters to be so serious."
Hong Wending was a little confused as to why the county magistrate in front of him would close the door and vent his bitterness against a common man like himself. But since he was a child, his father had been arrested everywhere and he kept his name anonymous. He suddenly realized that there were so many people in the government who could not help themselves. .
Hearing Hong Wending mention Hengmin from Ruiyan Temple, Guan Shengjun also said happily: "Fortunately, there are still Hengmin monks in the county who are upright and have advanced legacy. Otherwise, I would be in trouble even more." No one is available——"
After saying this, Guan Shengjun patted Hong Wending's shoulder and said in a deep voice.
"Although he was in bad luck at a certain time and was embarrassed by the township party, he still had a heart to serve the people. After many inquiries, I heard that the source of Jinglu's rise to power and the decline of the officialdom was actually related to a murder case during the Jiajing period. , It’s a pity that all the documents from that year were abandoned in the county government office and have not seen the light of day for many years. It is still difficult to find out the reason..."
Guan Shengjun looked at Hong Wending with burning eyes.
In the letter sent to him by the great monk Hengmin, he made it clear that although the young man in front of him was not as old as a weak man, he was as agile as an ape and had unparalleled martial arts. Not only could he be defeated alone by a group of monks, but he also claimed to be able to escape from the hands of Han Ba. Please worship him. Magistrate An will treat him well.
Since last year, Guan Shengjun has thought about finding out the truth more than once. He knows that the knot in his heart is difficult to solve. Only by clearing the source of the obstruction can he solve the difficult situation he is facing. But now the county government officials are arresting him. Even if they have not joined the Jingji Sect, they still have relatives and friends who have unclear dealings with the Jingji Sect. Once the news is leaked, it will lead to great disaster.
It was not that Guan Shengjun had never doubted Hong Wending, but the naturalization document submitted by Hong Wending had been held by him for three days, but it did not attract any overt or covert urging from the Jingluo Sect. What was even worse, he had to rely on the Jingluo Sect. Ruiyan Zen Temple, who refused to deal with him, wrote a letter to help him, which basically eliminated the suspicion of Hong Wending's identity.
The last thing you need to worry about is the ability and willingness of the person in front of you...
"Hong Wei, the county government office has been abandoned for many years. It is rumored that there are often thick clouds and fog, and ghosts and ghosts are at work. It must be extremely dangerous to step into it——"
Chong'an County Magistrate Guan Shengjun told the matter sincerely, but then he put forward his own terms of exchange.
"But if you can retrieve the criminal case files from the Jiajing period for me and help me find out the truth, a naturalization document will be a big deal. I can also guarantee you the qualification to study martial arts in the county. At that time, although the fame was not as good as the literary examination, it was still enough to shine on the lintel!"
Hong Wending remained silent and did not answer, while Guan Shengjun also waited patiently.
In fact, Hong Wending was not interested in the martial arts mentioned by Guan Shengjun. After all, his true identity was still a prisoner of the imperial court. If he really wanted to become a military official, he might not be throwing himself into a trap, but if he just retrieved the criminal case files, he would be able to Immediately approving the naturalization documents of Dan people would be a shortcut to the south.
"Master Magistrate, although Hong Wei is in the wilderness, this matter is still obligatory. However, my junior brother is now left in the city. He used to be friendly with Erguan Zhao, but now he is probably kidnapped by the Jingji Cult. Can you help find him? "
Hong Wending was very thoughtful. He was surrounded by Jiang Wen and naturally learned a lot of skills to leverage others' strength. He planned to use the power of the government to do something for himself. Guan Shengjun pondered for a moment and asked some questions about Xiao Shitou's appearance. Characteristics, he also said in a deep voice.
"...Since it is a young child who is missing, I am not completely helpless. Well, I will order the yamen to go to the county to conduct house-to-house checks because of the danger of "picking and cutting off raw materials."
Guan Shengjun was entrusted with the important task here, so he was certainly not a slut. Even if the Jingji sect had evil intentions, he would not dare to cover the sky with one hand. After some thought, he came up with this method of not exposing his identity.
Seeing that although Hong Wending was still young, he spoke and acted politely and had a clear demeanor, he couldn't help but feel some love for talents in his heart, and patted Hong Wending's shoulder very solemnly.
"Hong Wei, you can go with peace of mind. If this matter is really related to the Jingji Sect, it can at least serve as a warning. I promise that these monsters will never be lawless..."