"Oh? That's it." Ma Daming stepped forward and knocked on the door of Ling Mansion, and then said: "Brother Geng, I was coerced by thieves yesterday and my life fell into the hands of others, but I have always been loyal to you."
"You must have heard that the thief is young and has extremely high martial arts skills. In addition, he can clearly find out the past three years. It can be seen that there is probably a huge power hidden behind him. If he can be uprooted
, Hehe... Then the prefect's achievements will be greatly added to."
His voice suddenly rose.
"In fact, in order not to alert the snake, I temporarily obeyed the thieves and captured two civilians. In fact, what kind of 'Five Cloud Hands' and all the heroes in the world can match the noble status of Master Ling? I will see you later, Sir,
When I give my explanation, I hope Brother Geng can be there to help intercede."
After General Ma Daming finished speaking, he took off a bag of gold and silver from the baggage on his horse and handed it to his colleagues.
Geng Tianba took two steps closer, stretched out his big blue-black hand to take the bag, and weighed the weight.
His brown and wrinkled face twitched twice, and he nodded slowly, but a trace of contempt flashed in the corner of his eyes, and he said in a deep voice: "Then I will say a few more words for you later."
At this moment, the door of Ling Mansion opened, and the two of them stopped talking to each other and walked in together.
The servant in charge of the door closed the door again and inserted the latch, and seemed to catch a glimpse of blue flashing past.
This blue color is none other than Zhao Qing. After having lunch early, she inquired about the location of Ling Mansion and came to investigate, and happened to run into Ma Daming and the others.
Zhao Qing was dressed in a blue shirt, with his face covered with gauze. As he passed by the gorgeous screen wall, he stood in the front hall outside the main hall.
There don't seem to be many servants in the Ling Mansion, but there are a few sword-wielding guards dressed as military attaches standing outside the main entrance. They take a few steps from time to time, making the rustling sound of footsteps rubbing against the ground, and the blade of the sword rubbing against the scabbard. They can be called guards.
strict.
Are there any important discussions going on in the house? I just wanted to check it out.
Zhao Qing glanced at the surrounding building terrain, jumped lightly, and lay on the beams of the corridor along the wall outside the hall, preparing to explore the situation inside the house through the wall.
There has always been a saying in the world that you can peek inside the house by lifting the roof tiles. However, in many areas, especially in wealthy households, there will be layers of mortar, mortar, etc., and the tiles are also multi-layered, so there is no way
Lift the roof and take a peek.
In addition, there were patrols outside, and the roof was still somewhat conspicuous during the day. Without being exposed, Zhao Qing could only give up observing the house and only listen to the sounds.
…
In the main hall of Ling Mansion, the interior is elegantly furnished. On the wall of the middle hall hangs an exquisite portrait of Guan Gong facing the door, standing on a horse with a horizontal sword, majestic.
A middle-aged man of forty-twenty-twenty-three years old was sitting on a sandalwood chair covered with brocade. He was dressed luxuriously and had a strong look on his face.
This person is Ling Tuisi, the prefect of Jingzhou Prefecture.
He looked at a skinny old man sitting on another sandalwood chair next to him, wearing a lion's patchwork suit, with bulging temples on both sides, and took one of the several fine blue and white porcelain tureens filled with tea in the tea tray.
, drank it carefully, and said:
"General Xiao, you have come all the way to be a guest at my home. In your haste, you may have made some mistakes in your reception. Please forgive me."
"I don't dare to take it seriously. Magistrate Ling is out of touch. I, Xiao Fulu, am here today and I have something to ask. I heard that there have been gangsters in Jingzhou City in recent days? Do you need me to order the soldiers under General Xiong Qian of Jingzhou to cooperate with you?" Mr. Xiao said.
replied.
As the commander-in-chief of Yichang Town, Xiao Fulu was in charge of the fourth battalion of the town and was also responsible for Shi Nanxie, Yuan'an Camp, Weichang Camp, Yidu Camp, Jingzhou Guard Camp, and the armaments of Jingzhou City were also under his jurisdiction.
The Qing Dynasty relied on literature to control military affairs. Although the general was in the second rank, he did not have much advantage in status over the prefect. When General Xiao was patrolling Jingzhou, he heard about yesterday's situation and came to visit specifically, hoping to help the prefect Ling suppress the bandits.
Control the situation in Jingzhou City.
Most of the wealthy people from all over the country who gathered yesterday were stationed in Jingzhou City and were not ready to leave. The martial arts masters from several nearby state capitals will enter the city one after another within a few days and also stay in the city.
And with so many people from all walks of life coming here, both the righteous and the underworld, it is naturally not a good thing for the common people. There is a high probability that Jingzhou City will fall into some chaos.
But Ling Tuisi, who was the "Parent Officer" of Jingzhou Prefecture, didn't care at all about this matter at the moment. He was thinking about other things.
In fact, when he served as the magistrate of Jingzhou, he had always followed the principle of "not seeking merit, but seeking no faults". His treatment of the people was quite satisfactory and he could not be called a bad official.
If he had done all kinds of evil things in daily life, even if he had a relationship with Ling Shuanghua, Ding Dian would not have had much respect for him before he was imprisoned by Ling Tuisi.
For the past seven years or so, the most important thing for him is to ensure his retention in Jingzhou. To this end, he has spent nearly one hundred thousand taels of silver and given away rare and rare treasures of even greater value, which has greatly increased the funds of the Longsha Gang.
Operations have been greatly affected.
However, there have been some signs of Liancheng's treasure being obtained by others recently, and a decision must be made as soon as possible. Otherwise, Ling Tuisi cannot bear to pay such a huge price and get nothing.
"Martial Arts Tournament..." Ling Tuisi murmured softly, and then asked: "General Xiao, I wonder who the number one master in the Qing Dynasty is from?"
…
Outside the wall, Zhao Qing listened quietly to the conversation between the two people: first they talked about the masters who served the imperial court, then they discussed the defense deployment of Jingzhou city's army, and finally the two briefly exchanged ideas with their bare hands and complimented each other a few times.
sentence.
Then, Commander Xiao left with his men, and Ma Daming and Geng Tianba, who had been waiting for a long time, entered the house.
Ma Daming maintained a mournful tone and explained yesterday's behavior in detail according to what he said at the door of Ling Mansion. Geng Tianba agreed perfunctorily.
Zhao Qing almost laughed out loud when he heard it outside. Why do you want to increase Ling Tuisi's achievements? He probably has no intention of being promoted at all. Aren't you being irritating by saying this?
However, it can also be heard from this that Ling Tuisi still keeps the real reason why he became the prefect of Jingzhou a secret from his subordinates.
"Well...brother Da Ming, you did quite well, but next time you encounter this kind of thing, you must report it to me before you do it."
Ling Tuisi took a bowl of tea from the tea tray, covered it with his robe and sprinkled a few grains of inconspicuous green powder. He stood up and handed it to Ma Daming, and then handed another bowl to Geng Tianba.
"The magistrate of Shangzhi County in Jiangling County has been reported to the governor for accepting bribes. He is likely to be transferred from here this year. You two are my trusted subordinates, and I will not hide it. This is a good opportunity."
"Chance?"
"Yes, there are opportunities for official positions such as chief secretary and county captain." Ling Tui thought.
"What advice do you have, sir?" Ma Daming and Geng Tianba asked at the same time, with a bit of excitement in their tone.
"I'm not talking about advice. I just hope you can try your best to help me with a few things, and I will look for opportunities to recommend you."
There was an edict in the Qing Dynasty, and candidates for officials, Jinshi, candidates, tribute supervisors, and hermits in the mountains and forests, etc. can be recommended. The recommendation of a prefect of a state is definitely not low.
"The first thing is to mobilize the forces of your sect and help me find a good doctor in the world who can treat old flesh cuts." Ling Tuisi's eyes flashed and he said in a deep voice.
Zhao Qing could hear clearly from outside and thought secretly in his heart: What was Ling Tuisi planning when he tried to heal the scratch on his daughter's face?