"It's the Niu Er we're waiting to kill." The four of them replied together.
"Are you here for the reward?" the magistrate asked.
"Exactly." came the unanimous reply again.
"Okay, come with this county."
The four of them followed the magistrate to the so-called main hall. The Luyang County Yamen was really shabby. Even the plaque "Mingjing Gaohang" hung on the main hall had fallen off. There was not even a brick on the ground, just loess rammed earth.
The foundation of the building and the county magistrate's public case are also in dilapidated condition, and there is nothing on it, including the gavel, pen holder, signature bottles and other necessary props.
Although the yamen was in ruins, the prestige of the county magistrate was not diminished at all. With a flick of his sleeves, he sat down on the public seat, showing no anger and dignity, just like a county parent.
"Ascend to the court." There was no gavel, so Magistrate Liu slapped the table with his hand and gave the order. Two officers who looked quite young threw their brooms and quickly came to the court, even holding water and fire sticks in their hands.
No, I had to put my hands on my hips and shout twice in a low voice: "Mighty." It was better than nothing.
"Who are you here? Why don't you kneel down when you see this county?"
"We are neither the plaintiff nor the defendant, so why are we kneeling?" Zhao Ding'an, a stupid young man, dared to contradict the county magistrate.
However, Yuan Feng took the lead and knelt down, saying that the common people had seen the magistrate. Zhao Ding'an and others had no choice but to kneel down when they saw this.
Being contradicted by the ignorant people, the magistrate did not get angry, because he did not have high hopes for the education level of these outsiders. Now that he saw that they knew how to advance and retreat, he stopped pursuing it and asked: "Where is the stop outside the Yamen?"
Is that corpse Lanzhou Niu Er?"
The young man named Jing Yun answered at the door: "Dad, the child has been tested and there is no doubt that he is Niu Er. The scar on his chest was left by me. There is no mistake."
Liu Zhixian stroked his beard and asked Zhao Ding'an: "You are the oldest among the four. You answer the questions. You answer the questions asked by the county. Do you understand?"
Zhao Ding'an agreed, and then the two of them asked and answered questions. The magistrate used plain and easy-to-understand words, which were easy to understand. In just a few words, he made everything clear.
"It's good to eliminate harm for the people. Your name is Zhao Ding'an, right?" After confirming the name again, Magistrate Liu wrote a few words with a brush, used his personal seal on the paper, and said: "This is for you.
Let’s take it.”
Zhao Ding'an stepped forward and took the piece of paper over and took a look. There were only a few words on it. He didn't recognize any of them, so he had to show it to Yuan Feng. Yuan Feng was shocked when he glanced at it. It turned out that this was an IOU.
.
I owe Zhao Ding'an, a fellow villager in Shibalibao, and others a thousand taels of silver in bonuses. I have made this promise without proof. As a proof, there is a willow in the main hall of Luyang County. Below it is a small seal with the name of the magistrate of Liu County: Liu Songpo.
"Brother Feng, what is written on this?"
"This is an IOU from the county magistrate. It's a white note."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Ding'an became anxious, "Master, we are in urgent need of this money!"
"Bold! I've already been very kind by promising you a bounty, but you still want to go further. I think you are obsessed with money," Young Master Jingyun said angrily.
"You are obsessed with money. In the battle with Niu Er, six people from the caravan died, and we also lost a brother. Don't we deserve this money?" Zhao Ding'an was not afraid, and stood up and glared at Liu Jingyun.
"Hmph, who knows if you picked up this corpse and came to deceive the government." Liu Jingyun said scornfully.
"You!" Zhao Ding'an stared and was about to take action.
"Don't be rude!" Although the magistrate's voice was not loud, it was full of majesty, which calmed down the two people who wanted to take action. Magistrate Liu walked down from the public seat and said with a pleasant expression: "The notice to arrest Niu Er is from this county.
If you serve in Lanzhou Prefecture, the next magistrate will definitely not accept the debt. Since you have chased me for hundreds of miles, this county will not default on the debt. However, you have also seen the situation in Luyang County. Even the yamen of this county
We are all living in poverty, and where can we get a thousand taels of silver, so I have no choice but to write an IOU to the four of you. When the county's salary arrives, I will ask you to come and collect it. What do you think?"
As a county magistrate, he was very polite in his words. The four young men were not ungrateful people. Since they accepted the debt, they had to pay the debt first. Yuan Feng took the lead and saluted the magistrate and said goodbye: "Thank you.
Sir, we threw the body away and went back."
"Wait a minute, although this county has no money to reward you, it can reward you with other benefits."
The four people were suspicious and did not understand what the magistrate was talking about. The magistrate Liu looked under the public case for a moment, took out a seal carved on wood and said: "Luyang County has been without government for three years, all systems have collapsed, and bandits have
The war is raging and the people are in dire straits. On the way to take office, this county made up its mind to reorganize the local military equipment so that the horse thieves will have no hiding place. From now on, they will disappear in Luyang. Since you are practicing martial arts to protect the environment and the people, I will give you a
With a serious family background, our custom is that ten households are the armor, and the ten armors are the protectors. There are hundreds of households in Shibali Fort, which happens to be one protector. This seal is the certificate given by the government to you for legally holding swords, guns, bows and arrows, but there is a fee.
alright."
Zhao Ding'an took the wooden seal over, and the four of them gathered together to carefully look at the extremely simple seal. After blowing off the dust on it, four positive inscriptions could be seen: Bao Jia Ninth.
"As for who will be the security guard, it's up to you to decide." After Magistrate Liu finished speaking, he coughed lightly, and the yamen servant at the door shouted: "Quit."
The young men kowtowed to the county magistrate and exited the county office under Liu Jingyun's disdainful gaze, dragging Niu Er's body that was oozing with body fluids away. Then Liu Jingyun walked into the hall and said dissatisfiedly: "Dad, why are you doing this?
Believe what those little brats say."
Liu Zhi County Road: "When they left Lanzhou Prefecture ten days ago, these four young men drove a carriage and waited near the government office. They must have come to see my father for a reward of silver. Today they appeared in Luyang again, and the carriage changed into
It’s really hard for them to get on a donkey cart and travel eight hundred miles round trip, and the young man named Zhao’s answer doesn’t seem to be false.”
"But……"
"But what, you don't believe that dozens of dolls can suppress these horse thieves? In fact, these so-called horse thieves are just poor farmers, herdsmen and fleeing soldiers. If the court is really determined to eliminate them, one battalion of cavalry will be enough.
, It's a pity... Well, let's not mention it, my father was moved to the left seven times in a row within a year, and I am extremely disappointed with the actions of these people in the court."
Liu Songpo walked out of the courtroom and came to the yard. He looked at the dilapidated county through the open door. All the glory of the past came to his mind. He walked a few steps and softly recited a poem:
A letter written in the morning to the Nine Heavens and banished to eight thousand people on Chaoyang Road in the evening
If you want to eliminate evil things for the sake of sage, you are willing to cherish your remaining years.
Where is the home of Yunheng Qinling? The snow embraces the blue and the horse stops moving forward
I know you came from afar with purpose, so that you can take me back to the riverside
After reciting, Liu Songpo smiled mockingly and said: "I wonder how the bitter cold in the northwest border compares to the miasma in Lingnan. Do they think they can defeat me by constantly demoting officials and relying on difficult conditions? In fact, in my opinion
, being a county magistrate in Luyang is much better than being a magistrate with a false title in Lanzhou. At least there are no corrupt officials for hundreds of miles around. It doesn’t matter if the conditions are difficult. Back then, I didn’t even have money to light candles, so I relied on my neighbors.
I come to study by the light of the lamp, and I still win three yuan in a row and get a title on the gold medal list. Now at least I have an oil lamp, pen, ink, paper and inkstone, which is already good."
Liu Jingyun heard his father's monologue and couldn't help but said: "Father, the emperor will definitely use you again."
Liu Zhixian said: "Jingyun, my father has already arrived in Luyang. There is no place to go if he is demoted further. You should go back. After all, you are not my biological son. You cannot delay your future because of this."
Liu Jingyun fell to his knees with a plop: "Father, if I don't leave, I will protect you."
In Shibali Fort and Hu Laizi Tavern, the leading figures gathered again to discuss how to deal with the "official seal" brought back by Yuan Feng.
"Is this security chief considered an official of the imperial court?"
"Why don't you count them? They are still military attachés. With this seal, the children practicing swords and arrows are the officers and soldiers."
"The officers and soldiers are no more than regiment members. There are no officers at the level of chief security officer in the officers and soldiers."
"The members of the group are the members of the group, they are better than those horse thieves."
The villagers were talking about it. In any case, they were quite satisfied with Yuan Feng's trip to Lanzhou. Although they couldn't get the money back, they still had the IOU in hand and the seal from the county magistrate.
Shibalibao returned to the embrace of the imperial court, no longer like the motherless child who was bullied by bandits all day long.
"But the government will collect taxes. How can we pay taxes on these few acres of thin farmland? When it comes to scraping land, the government is more powerful than horse thieves." An old man said leisurely.
As soon as these words came out, everyone's enthusiasm was awakened by a ladle of cold water. A few years ago, when the government was still there, the oppression was vividly visible. The tax collectors and the payers wanted to rob the people of their last grain of food.
Since the Luyang County magistrate was exterminated three years ago, no official from the official family has come here. It has become a standard place without royal laws. The knife in the hand of the horse thief is the rule, but the horse thief always robs.
Leaving a way for the common people to survive is like raising hens that can lay eggs. It is no better than the evil-hearted government who even kills the chickens that lay eggs to eat their meat.
Now that the county magistrate has come to Luyang County again, it is possible that the days like three years ago will happen again. Everyone did not dare to think about it anymore and fell silent.
Suddenly Yuan Feng spoke up: "There are only two servants in the county. Even the cleaning has to be done by the county magistrate's son himself. Why should he collect taxes? Even if he collects them, what will he use to transport them back? Does it depend on Lanzhou Prefecture?"
Officers and soldiers? I think they are too lazy to work for these few taels of silver. In fact, there is nothing to fear. It would be great if the county magistrate was considerate of the people. We will not pay less than what is due. If he dares to loot people's wealth, the former county magistrate
This is his role model."
Everyone took a breath, these words were harsh enough, but after thinking about it, they felt relieved. If they kill, they will kill. Who knows who will do it. The case three years ago has not been solved yet, even if another county magistrate is killed.
, I’m afraid it won’t cause much trouble.
"Brother Feng is knowledgeable. Just keep this seal. From now on, you will be the security chief of our Shibali Fort."
Shibali Fort implemented a universal suffrage system, and everyone unanimously agreed that Yuan Feng would be appointed as the chief security officer. Anyway, the government did not set an age limit.
From then on, the small armed force of the Thirteen Taibao took on the guise of legality, and private salt became official salt.