In the winter, it was getting dark very late, but Gongsun Xun's residence had lit a torch early, and the doctor who didn't need to go to the Chancellor's desk so early to do things actually threw his beloved wife on the bed alone, and then got up early to work.

What happened?

"Wen Qi..." Under the torch in the courtyard, Lu Fan's face was almost bloodless. "Are you really going to act like this?"

"This is natural." Gongsun Xun, who was tying something on the ground, said disapprovingly. "But Zi Heng, I didn't see you being so rude when killing people before, so what does it mean today?"

Lu Fan's face was still pale, and he couldn't help but ask again: "Wen Qi, is this thing really made by nature?"

"Of course." Gongsun Xun said calmly. "My mother told me about it when I was a child. It is indeed a very common thing. I'm just a scholar. How many people will see this thing more? It's not necessarily a scholar.

how."

Lu Fan took a long breath: "The truth is right, but I still feel a little disgusted, so contrary to the way of heaven..."

"That's alright." Gongsun Xun interrupted helplessly. "It's all thanks to you, Ziheng, for being able to help me find such a thing. Go and rest..."

Lu Fan immediately handed over his hand: "That's good. Wen Qi shouldn't come to see me in the next two days and let me rest for a while."

"Easy to say, easy to say!" Gongsun Xun nodded with great understanding.

Lu Fan immediately fled.

Seeing Lu Ziheng stumbling away from the courtyard, Gongsun Xun finally packed up. He picked up a large wooden box for documents in one hand, picked up a bag of rice in the other, and kicked it away.

A slightly fat tabby cat beside him walked slowly out, and then took a car to Nangong under the escort of Han Dang.

In other words, the Nangong is the center of the empire and has strict rules, but after all, it is the place where hundreds of officials work. It is still somewhat different from the purely forbidden area in the North Palace, so the palace gate is a lot more relaxed after all... Let's explore carefully...

For a moment, it probably means that all weapons except ceremonial knives are not allowed inside. As for other things, as long as they are not too taboo, there is nothing to say if you want to bring them in. It is just that you are allowed in but not allowed out.

Otherwise, Gongsun Xun would not be able to carry a bag of grains in every day.

"Mr. Gongsun." The man in charge of the army at the entrance of the palace slightly cupped his hands while facing him under the light of the fire. This was one of the benefits of confronting Duan Xihou head-on that day. "It's so early today."

"The rooster crows too early at home." Gongsun Xun smiled in front of him. He had something in both hands and could not return the favor. "I couldn't sleep anymore, so I came here early. Why, you are still on duty today, Yu Zhonglang?"

"No," the lieutenant named Yu immediately said with a wry smile. "The new year is approaching, and my colleagues are all asking for leave to move around. People like me who have no roots and power in Luozhong can only keep on duty."

Gongsun Xun immediately understood... This is the most common thing among the guards and even the sergeants in Luozhong. The powerful people naturally don't need to mention it, but the rich people can easily be lazy as long as they are willing to spend money, and then there will be

A situation where 'rich people die idle and poor people die from exhaustion'.

This kind of thing was particularly prominent among the Lang officials in the Early Han Dynasty, so much so that a certain Zhong Lang general made corresponding reforms and became famous in history. But in the Later Han Dynasty, only Ha Lin Lang and Hu Ben Lang had this dilemma...

Of course, it is also a kind of long-standing malpractice and corruption that has continued for more than a hundred years in the country. It would be strange if the Han Dynasty had clear politics and no worries in the world!

"However, Dr. Gongsun is also a busy man, isn't he?" Mr. Yu Zhong pointed at the huge wooden box he held in front of him and said, "Are these many documents entrusted by others?"

Gongsun Xun immediately laughed: "Where is the real document? It's just a few jars of honey, picked out from the New Year's goods sent by people from my hometown in western Liaoning. This time I plan to give it to my teacher Lu Gong, so that he can drink it with warm water while working."

"I'll just say it!"

"By the way, wait for me here in the evening and go to my house for a drink together." Gongsun Xun comforted him by the way. "It's almost the Chinese New Year, and everyone is going out, so there is no need to be restrained."

"In that case, She would like to thank Dr. Gongsun for his kindness." The officer on duty immediately responded with clasped fists.

Immediately, without any inspection at all, Gongsun Xun walked into the Nangong Palace leisurely, and then went straight to the Chancery's desk, which should have just been unlocked. After entering the Chancery's desk, which seemed to have few people, he looked around.

After the episode, he quickly came to the window he was most familiar with...opened the window, untied the object tied with a cloth strip in the wooden box, and put it directly into the chicken coop...the whole process was neat and tidy!

Then, Gongsun Xun placed a bag of rice grains by the window, held the box calmly, walked into his public room with the cloth, and began to light a lamp and process paperwork.

However, as a member of the Zhongdu officials in charge of flood and fire disasters and the security of thieves, as soon as these bamboo slips were opened, the current situation of the empire's foundation being riddled with holes immediately came to light.

In fact, it’s not just Luoyang? There are disasters everywhere in the world!

There has been no rain in Nanyang for several months, and it is not known whether spring plowing will be hindered. A group of hundreds of thieves broke out in Jingzhao, robbing homes everywhere, while Jingzhao Yin was ill and was helpless; all counties in Hebei sent people to report, and the prison was full.

, I don’t know how to deal with it; the houses at Nangong Pingcheng Gate were not seriously damaged during the earthquake, but after the earthquake, cracks appeared everywhere, fearing that they would collapse...

Gongsun Xun sighed. It is no wonder that Liu Tao would be worried all day long. Any loyal minister who stayed in the position of Cao Shangshu, the official of Zhongdu, for a long time would probably be "burned with worry".

"On... we should ask the emperor to send his guards out to Nanyang to pray for rain!"

"On... Jingzhao is an important place in Xijing. We should quickly increase the reward to capture the bandits. In addition, the original Jingzhao Yin is suffering from illness. He has repeatedly written to beg to go. He should turn to the Ministry of Civil Affairs to discuss this matter!"

"On...an amnesty for Hebei."

"On...the Nangong Pingcheng Gate should be repaired."

"Argument……"

Just as I was about to start writing again, suddenly, several loud rooster crows came from outside, and it was suddenly dark.

Gongsun Xun curled his lips and didn't pay much attention. Instead, he shook his head and continued to write and deal with the official documents.

In the blink of an eye, it was afternoon, and the atmosphere in the chancery suddenly became solemn. The tall Lu Zhi walked past the corridor with an expressionless face. The ministers, chief ministers and others around him all tried to avoid him. But in the distance, the people in the corridor were far away.

In front of the window, Liu Tao's hand holding his beard began to tremble.

After another half an hour, Lai Yan, who was in charge of the secret service, also rushed over panting with the help of a little Huangmen. After another half an hour, Cao Jie, Wang Fu, Yuan Wei, Yuan Feng, Yang

Ci, Qiao Xuan, Zhang Ji, Chen Qiu, Liu Kuan, Yang Qiu... all of them came in droves.

To be honest, this is the first time I’ve seen many important people here, Gongsun Xun.

For example, Qiao Xuan, whom he once imitated, is now old and no longer as tough as he was in the story; another example is Wang Fu, the main target he had set in mind, but as expected, he looked around. Except for Cao Jie, Yuan

Feng, Yuan Wei, and Yang Ci, all of them were actually polite to everyone; and Chen Qiu, the unlucky guy who had just lost his position among the three princes and the mistress of the marriage, now looked very sad.

…

Of course, there is also a Yang Sphere. I don’t know why this great master appears here?!

"Liu Shizhong!" Wang Fu is a fat man with gray hair on his temples. He looks quite upright. If he didn't have a beard, he would look rich. At this time, he was standing by the window with his sleeves rolled up, his face full of impatience. "You."

Why can't the palace live peacefully during the Chinese New Year? In October, there was a solar eclipse and an earthquake, so two and three ministers went to the palace in succession; last month, you sent letters continuously, from the Chancellor's Stand to the Censor's Stand, and then to

Yilang, if you insist on talking nonsense about 'invading yang with yin', your majesty will not be able to sleep well. It's not easy for him to live in peace, so why do you want to cause trouble for no reason?!"

"Did I cause the incident?" As soon as the other party finished speaking, Liu Tao asked back sternly. "Did the solar eclipse be caused by Liu Ziqi's practice of witchcraft, or was the earthquake caused by me on Tongtuo Street?

Is it caused by stamping your feet? Besides, such a celestial phenomenon will be caused by the Yin energy in the country that invades the monarch. This is the conclusion of the sages for hundreds of years and is recorded in the classics! Why am I talking nonsense?"

"What is recorded in the classics, wasn't it you, Liu Ziqi, who shouted it out loud on Tongtuo Street?" Wang Fu became more and more weird. "Don't think that I don't know. Isn't it you who have the final say on how to interpret the classics?"

When Liu Tao heard this, his beard and hair became even more irritated: "Confucian classics are not decided by us academics. Could it be that you, a regular servant, have the final say?!"

"I don't know whether what I, a regular servant, say counts." Wang Fu suddenly sneered, ignoring the faces of the people around him. "But at least it's better than what you, a lieutenant, say! After all, the general who thought I said what he said doesn't count."

I remember that I and Sangong were all dead!"

As soon as this statement came out, starting from the eldest Qiao Xuan to the youngest Yang Qiu, all the officials looked sideways. Even the good old Liu Kuan and Yuan Yang all stared at Wang with a smile but not a smile.

Just... this made the latter feel uncomfortable for a moment.

"Okay!" At this moment, the gray-haired Cao Jie couldn't help coughing. "How to explain disasters is the duty of the great Confucians. Wang Changshi doesn't need to say more. And what happened in October is also

Wen Raogong (Liu Kuan) and Bo Zhengong (Chen Qiu) have already set an example for the country, so there is no need to say more. Let's just discuss the matter. Liu Shizhong...well, Lu Shizhong, you just need to be troublesome.

Please tell me what happened today quickly, His Majesty is still waiting in the Beigong!"

As soon as these words came out, many officials nodded hurriedly. Wang Fu and Liu Tao looked at each other and snorted coldly, and then said no more.

Lu Zhi stepped forward expressionlessly and saluted the ministers, but he spoke bluntly without any modification: "To be honest with you, the matter is actually very simple. We have always raised chickens in the Shangshutai. When we were feeding the chickens today,

A group of ministers discovered that there was an extra rooster in the chicken pen for no reason... They all thought it was a sign of the 'female chicken turning into a male' in the book, so they were all frightened."

"Isn't this nonsense?" Wang Fu couldn't help but interrupt again. "Maybe they remembered it wrong? It's just one more chicken and one less chicken..."

"Prince." Gongsun Xun suddenly interrupted regardless of his status. "No matter how ignorant we are, we will not remember one rooster as two. One and two are still correct."

Wang Fu couldn't help but hesitate, and the ministers crowded in the corridor also looked at each other in confusion.

"This..." Wang Fu suddenly said thoughtfully again. "Is there anywhere else to raise chickens nearby? The Chancery is in the center of the Nangong. The roosters have strong feathers. Maybe they flew from there."

"Return to the prince." Gongsun Xun once again replied without hesitation. "There is only one place in the Nangong Palace where chickens are fed at the Chancellor's desk. I checked the document and found that this was a custom left over when Yang Huaigong, the famous prime minister of this dynasty, was appointed as the chancellor. He

He was very diligent back then and was very strict with his subordinates. He often came to work at the Chancellor's desk before dawn. When the chickens crow, he would go out to inspect and check whether all the ministers were present and whether there were all the ministers. There were no chickens in other places in Nangong...

"

Wang Fu became increasingly speechless.

"I see." Cao Jie suddenly spoke again. "Then... I remember it's Gongsun Wenqi, right? Have you ever checked this... this 'rooster' first?"

"We don't dare to move lightly," Lu Zhi suddenly said. "The Chancery is an important central place, and the transformation of a female chicken into a male is a very bad omen, so we don't dare to move lightly. Moreover, Liu Shizhong and I immediately guarded here after hearing the movement.

, watched over the entire process and did not let anyone touch him, just waiting for all the gentlemen to arrive..."

"I'll be honest with you," Liu Tao defended boldly again. "I dare risk my life as a guarantee. Today, no one has gone to the chicken pen to do anything. They are just waiting for you to come."

Cao Jie looked at Liu Tao, then at the tall Lu Zhi and Gongsun Xun who was hiding behind him. After a while, he slowly nodded: "I understand. In that case, everyone is here, let's go down.

Send someone to catch him and have a look!"

Lu Zhi and Liu Tao each signaled, and then a group of ministers and ministers immediately went around to the outside of the official temple on the Shangshutai and entered through the main entrance of the chicken pen. For a moment, the chickens were really beating outside the window... Of course, the struggle of a group of chickens was in vain.

Meaning, not to mention the two roosters soon, even the hens were all caught, only to be released later.

Finally, the two little Huangmen followed Cao Jie's instructions, each took a 'rooster' and ran outside the Chancellor's Stand to wait for inspection.

And a group of dignitaries also slowly walked outside, preparing to test with their own eyes whether the two chickens were evil.
To be continued...