The family name was Xu Yu, and I listened silently. This person was born in a family, but he studied with Xu Zhifu as a companion, and he actually learned very well.
According to the laws of the imperial court, those who sold themselves into slavery could not take the imperial examination. Those who had redeemed their bodies could only farm and make a living, and were not allowed to take examinations to become officials. Only their descendants three generations later, including themselves, were allowed to take the examinations and become officials just like the common people.
However, Magistrate Xu himself was a Jinshi, and there was not much to be suspicious of. Moreover, because Xu Yulian was not allowed to become an official for three generations, he could be appointed with confidence and was relatively trusted.
Moreover, Xu Yu has been redeemed, and now he is considered a commoner, but in fact he is half a counselor, so he can speak as he pleases.
Xu Yucai wanted to speak, but suddenly there was the sound of horse hooves coming from outside the bullock cart.
There were also knights following their bullock cart. The rapid sound of horse hooves was not stopped and continued until they were close. This was enough to prove that the people coming were one of our own.
Sure enough, soon I heard someone outside the oxcart hurriedly reporting: "Sir, my grandson is almost at the dock, already fifty miles away!"
In the bullock cart, Xu Yu, a family member, opened his mouth and immediately looked at the magistrate.
After hearing this, Mr. Xu didn't hesitate to smile, stroking his beard and feeling proud: "Sure enough, God helps me, my grandson is here!"
"The boat travels very fast, and it will arrive in just half an hour. You don't have to go back home, just go to the dock!"
"Notify county officials and welcome them as one."
After saying this, he continued to give instructions: "Go back and ask Mr. Zhang to go to the dock with you to welcome the great grandson together!"
Immediately there was the sound of horse hoofbeats from near to far, and they turned back to notify Zhang Dai.
Magistrate Xu smiled slightly and seemed to be in a good mood on the way to the dock.
"Master, why are you involved in this matter?" Xu Yu was silent for a long time and asked: "With your talent, there is no need for this."
"I have tied myself up." Magistrate Xu looked a little confused. After thinking for a long time, he said, "As you know, I read history books and found that young officials often have a hard time ending their lives well."
"It's not just Yukijin."
"This dynasty is still young, and there are not many examples. In the previous dynasty, there were many cases where young people became officials of the fourth or fifth rank, and even ministers. Without exception, their reputations were ruined. Even the family members were lucky enough to have one or two still alive. They were also officials.
The sea rose and fell several times, and the process was thrilling."
"I thought about it carefully and realized that officials have a certain life span."
"Since ancient times, prime ministers are not allowed to serve for ten years. In fact, ministers who divide borders are not allowed to serve for ten years either."
"If you want to become a minister without merit and demerit, you have to calculate your time carefully. Six years as a county minister, six years as a prefecture, ten years as a frontier minister, and ten years as a minister. A total of thirty-two years, and you can almost retire."
"And if you arrive as a minister very early, at the age of thirty or forty, you can be in charge of the government for twenty or thirty years. Whoever the king can tolerate will die without a burial place."
"I don't want to die for the country, I just want to live a prosperous and safe life, so I gave in a little and went to work in a local area. Only by respecting God and fearing my fate and being cautious can I be safe. I don't think my calculation is wrong, but Shen
If there are too many Lun County mansions, it will really become an exodus from the imperial court, and it will be a bit difficult for ministers and ministers to enter the border area, so I have to submit a petition to open the way to the imperial court."
When Magistrate Xu said this, every sentence seemed to hit Xu Yu's heart like a heavy hammer. He was intelligent by nature, and he only hated that he was from a lowly position and could not take the imperial examination. However, he thought very highly of himself. Only now did he realize that he was still a frog in the well.
"It turns out that when I went to serve in another place, I wanted to serve as a minister without merit or demerit."
"With such knowledge, there are so many heroes in the world!"
Xu Yu understood in his heart that this was because he was born into a family with a low status and was not allowed to take the imperial examination for three generations, so he was able to hear this.
"But Master, even if this is the case, there is no need to target the grandson. He has hope of ascending to the throne. What will Master do then?"
"It's actually not up to me. Don't think of me as a god. My tutor is from the emperor. It was arranged by the superiors. I can only play this role. It's not up to me to choose." Prefect Xu smiled bitterly.
"You can only do your errands and leave some room for the future."
Xu Yu's heart sank, but he had nothing to say, when he saw the dock arriving.
From hearing the news to turning around the ox cart and heading to the dock instead, the journey was not that long.
The big river that runs through Lu County is not far from the capital city. It is only five miles away after leaving the city gate. Although it was announced that the grandson was coming, in fact, this notice must be conveyed at least an hour in advance. The so-called county officials are the system officials.
There is no need for officials from the city and nearby county magistrates to come.
When Magistrate Xu arrived, he saw that most of the officials had arrived and bowed one after another. Magistrate Xu returned the bow and asked an official: "Are the ceremonial guards ready?"
"After receiving the notice ten days ago, we have already prepared. We are all ready now."
"Even if it's night, everything is ready."
"That's good." Magistrate Xu finally calmed down. Seeing that the sky was clear, there were still a few rays of sunset, and the water in the canal was wide, he breathed a sigh of relief. He glanced around, then looked around, and found that the officials were here.
, even Zhang Dai came, hurried over, looking a little tired, with an imperceptible smile on his face.
Hundreds of miles of waterway, standing by to greet him, but this is the necessary pomp and circumstance for the prince to travel!
If the emperor goes on patrol, the formation will be larger and there will be more procedures. It is possible to wait at the dock a few days in advance.
This just allowed officials across the county to blow some wind on the docks, which was quite "sympathetic."
The night wind was a bit chilly, and there was even more of a damp smell in the wind. The lookout officer pointed and said: "Sir, look, Taisun's fleet is here!"
"Well, I saw it too." Magistrate Xu looked from a distance, and the officials could see clearly that the warships arrived first, and there were many flags among the flags. Then the fleet covered the entire river in a mighty manner, and all the officials followed suit.
Sequence standing.
Magistrate Xu and Zhang Dai were both neatly dressed and stood in front of a group of officials, looking at the approaching fleet with different expressions.
The other officials who were relatively close all noticed the expressions of these two adults and exchanged glances. They had not heard of any conflicts between the two before. Now they could see that something might have happened between them.
Some are difficult to deal with.
When I saw Magistrate Xu, he still looked as usual, gentle and kind, while Zhang Dai's face was ashen and he stood with Magistrate Xu without saying a word. Magistrate Xu occasionally looked over, and he was also looking straight ahead.
Motionless, like a stone statue.
It really echoes what a certain adult said before, this Deputy Imperial Envoy Zhang is really smelly and hard!
The officials who were nearby could see clearly under the lantern, and felt as if grass had grown in their hearts. However, they did not dare to whisper to others. They were so close. If either of them heard it, it would not matter now.
, who knows whether it will cause a stumbling block to cause some trouble in the future?
Officials who were far away did not have so many concerns. Even if the two turned around to look, so many people were whispering together, how could they know who was talking?
The law does not blame everyone!
If someone was really caught talking about it, with so many people talking together, would they go out to find trouble for a certain person?
Therefore, the lower-ranking officials were even more fearless, and they were all talking in low voices before Taisun's fleet came to the side.
One of them whispered to the familiar colleague next to him: "What on earth is going on with you two? I heard before that isn't Governor Xu and Deputy Imperial Envoy Zhang the same teacher? Shouldn't this be some kind of relationship?
, why do you seem so incompatible with each other? This is really puzzling."
His colleague did know a little bit about the inside story and sneered: "What do you think it is because of? It's not because of the money!"
"Yin Zi? Why does this have anything to do with Yin Zi?" Hearing his colleague say this, the former was even more confused.
"You don't know, just now, Magistrate Xu heard that Master Zhang was coming and immediately went to meet him. Isn't it a bit unbearable to see that this poor man of the same age stayed at an inn all the way here?"
"Then what?"
"Prefect Xu expressed his condolences and gave him a hundred taels of silver. Guess what happened?"
The former already understood at this moment: "He must have been rejected. Hey, Mr. Zhang, I have always heard that his character is too upright, but I didn't expect that he would refuse even this? This is a bit unkind."
"It's not just a refusal. I heard, I heard, too. I heard that Lord Zhang also threw the hundred taels of silver sent by Magistrate Xu directly out the door, causing the Lord to lose a lot of face. This is not only unkind.
, this is simply too inhumane!”
Of course, what this person said was also embellished.
Although Zhang Dai refused the gift of silver, he really didn't do anything like throw the money away. However, everyone in the world felt that he was unkind, so naturally they thought more and more coldly, as if this was more in line with this person's personality.
.
"Although this is true, it is not the key."
"Master Xu knew that he had a violent personality, so he came here specifically to persuade him. The investigation must also pay attention to official rules and the overall situation of the court. The emperor and grandson's face is important and they cannot be willful."
"As a result, this man was so angry that he threw Magistrate Xu and the money out."
"What, you don't even care about the rules and the overall situation?" The officials were dumbfounded and turned to look at Zhang Dai, as if they were looking at a monster.
Among the crowd, a colleague also mentioned this to others and couldn't help shaking his head: "This kind of people are really unbearable and I don't dare to interact with them!"
Tongzhi was very close to Magistrate Xu and Zhang Dai. People around him either stood quietly or talked in lowered voices. He was the first to suddenly raise his voice and deliberately amplify it.
Even the colleague who was talking to him just now was startled by the suddenly amplified voice, and looked a little confused, as if asking, what are you doing?
If such a thing is made public, isn't this going to offend Zhang Dai to death?
Although Zhang Dai is a poor man and has always been a loner in the officialdom, he is still a deputy imperial envoy after all. There is no need to offend someone who has little to do with him!
Even if Master Zhang doesn’t have the right to do anything to a colleague, but...
When others were thinking this, Zhang Dai was still looking forward, but his eyes were already burning. Apparently he heard the words of this colleague, and suddenly shouted: "Sun Dewen!"
This sound caused the group of people who had gradually become quiet to hold their breath.