The residence of Lu Chu, the Prime Minister of Kuaiji County, is located on the bank of the Li River behind the county office. It has a deep courtyard and a quiet night. At this time, Lu Chu is strolling under the orchid terrace in the backyard. There is a person beside him with a wide robe and big sleeves. The weather is still swaying in October.
Fan, wherever the wind passes, the fragrance lingers, but this person is He Zhu, a native of Wangshe in Pengcheng.
He Chuan smiled and said: "Brother Zishan, Chen Caozhi invited you and you didn't come. He must have lost face and been embarrassed. Haha, he was about to destroy his prestige."
Lu Chu pondered and said: "Chen Caozhi is the envoy of Tuduan, and I am the official in charge of Tuduan in this county. I should go to visit him. It seems inappropriate to show my contempt for him now."
He Zhu chuckled and said: "Brother Zishan is a sixth-rank county magistrate and comes from the Sanwu clan. Chen Caozhi is just a ninth-rank Zhengxi. The so-called Zuojian of the Tuduan Division seems to be powerful, but in fact he has no real status.
Once the judgment is over, it will be revoked. Even if you despise him, it doesn't matter. Chen Cao is powerless."
Lu Chu said: "My father is the chief official of the Tuduan Department. I cannot be too indifferent to Chen Cao's review of Tuduan. It is necessary to be conciliatory and secretly restrictive."
He Zhu said: "Does Brother Zishan still want to see him like a Shangguan?"
Lu Chu said: "I already told you, I'll see you at the county government office tomorrow."
He Zhudao: "The purpose is to make Chen Caozhi run into a wall. Chen Caozhi was deliberately exaggerated by those Beiqians, such as Jiangzuo Weijie and Wang Bi's resurrection. This is completely Beiqian's conspiracy. You must know that Chen Caozhi's relationship with your sister
This has earned us a lot of fame, but Brother Zishan’s clan has been humiliated by it, and we, the three Wu clans, are all in the same boat, and we all feel disgraced.”
Lu Chu snorted and didn't want to mention it more. The last time he and his younger sister Wei Rui returned to Huating, Chen Caozhi chased him to Qu'a to meet him. He didn't know it at the time. He only got the news later.
Moreover, his brother Lu Qin sent a letter the day before yesterday, saying that Chen Caozhi went to Huating to meet Wei Rui again this time, and simply ignored the Lu family. Now Wei Rui refused to marry another person. This matter has become a laughing stock. If not
If Chen Caozhi is punished severely, where is the prestige of the Lu family? So Lu Qin asked his brother to plan a good life in Kuaiji. Chen Caozhi would be dismissed from office at the least, or jailed at the worst. Only in this way could the majesty of the Sanwu family be shown——
Lu Chudao: "Three Wu families are in the same family. The Gu family, Zhang family, and Kong family all surrendered seven or eight hundred hidden households, but I, the Lu family, the Zhu family, the He family, the Yu family, and the Wei family in this county have all surrendered.
There are only 300 hidden households, doesn’t this clearly show that we don’t support Tu Duan!”
After Kong Wang and Chen Cao became friends, He Zhu was angry and broke off diplomatic relations with Kong Wang. This time, the Kong family did not follow Lu Shi's instructions to resist Tujun, but handed over more than the He family, Yu family, and Wei family.
The double number of hidden houses made He Zhu even more angry and sneered: "Then it depends on whether Chen Caozhi and Zhu Yingtai can find the hidden houses in our He's Manor City. Hehe, the Kong family did so many things in order to please Huan Wen.
Handing over hundreds of hidden households, I'm afraid I won't be able to claim credit and will be isolated in Kuaiji."
At this time, the servant came to report, and the official Zhang Lun asked to see him.
Zhang Lun was one of the fifteen subordinate officials under Lu Chu, and he was highly valued by Lu Chu. He came to report to Lu Chu what Chen Caozhi had just said in the county government office. Lu Chu became furious when he heard it.
Chen Caozhi actually requisitioned all his subordinates, which simply reduced his authority. He angrily shouted at Zhang Lun: "You are all taking orders from him!"
Zhang Lun said in a low voice: "Chen Caozhi holds the chancellery, the edict of Situ Mansion, and Dai Neishi also told me to obey Chen Zuojian during the review period."
He Zhuyi said angrily: "Dai Shu is from the north, and he can indeed speak for Chen Caozhi. Chen Caozhi has no choice but to use the subordinate officials of the county magistrate as a tyrant. Now all the subordinate officials of brother Zishan have become
Chen Caozhi's men have deprived Brother Zishan of his authority, so how should Brother Zishan deal with himself?"
Lu Chu said angrily: "Zhang Lun, you and the other fourteen people are not allowed to see Chen Caozhi tomorrow - it is really unreasonable!"
He Zhu said: "Yes, I want to see what Chen Caozhi can do!"
Zhang Lun was very anxious. He was just a lowly official from a poor family. If Tu Duan made Chen Caozhi fight with the county chief Lu Chu, then the only ones who would be unlucky would be their subordinate officials. Although Lu Chu was powerful, Chen Caozhi was also
It's not that weak. Chen Caozhi has the chancellery and the power granted by the Situ Mansion. It is rumored that Chen Caozhi is a confidant of the great Sima Huanwen. Even if Chen Caozhi can't defeat Lu Chu, it is easy to deal with these small officials -
—
Zhang Lun said: "Jun Cheng, please calm down and listen to your humble position. As Chen Cao said, it is his and Deputy Zhu's responsibility to persuade the wealthy families to hand over their hidden households. We don't need to worry about it. We, the junior officials, only need to listen at any time."
Just dispatch, prepare the household registration, and deal with the daily affairs of Tuduan - Why don't the county magistrate just wait and see what happens and see how Chen Caozhi can persuade the big families in the county to hand over their hidden households? I thought that Chen Caozhi would definitely not be able to persuade him. At that time,
Let’s see how Chen Caozhi ends up?”
Lu Chu also considered that if he ordered his subordinates to refuse to obey Chen Caozhi, and Chen Caozhi had the right to arrest these subordinates, how would he respond? In this way, the situation would become a fire and water, and there would be no way out, and he would be the one to do it.
The Lu family was unwilling to bear the brunt of Lu Chu's obstruction. Lu Chu was not that unwise.
Lu Chu asked He Zhu: "Daofang, do you think Zhang Lun is right?"
He Zhu understood what Lu Chu meant, thought for a while, and said: "Brother Zishan would be too weak if he allowed Chen Caozhi to do this. It is okay for the county officials to be sent by Chen Caozhi, but they must be sent to Chen Caozhi."
If there is some difficulty, and he is not allowed to calmly lobby the big families in Kuaiji - aren't there people in Shangyu, Yuyao and Yuji counties making trouble, then let them make the trouble bigger."
Lu Chu said: "This matter must be done with caution. If it leads to a civil uprising, as the magistrate of Kuaiji County, I will not be able to escape responsibility."
He Zhudao: "Brother Zishan, why should you worry too much? Back then, Shanya had a much better foundation than Chen Caozhi does now. Even if he was dismissed from office and expelled from Yuyao, those recluses couldn't cause much chaos. They just need to pay close attention and control them.
At that time, all the blame can be placed on Chen Cao. In order to appease my big family in Kuaiji, the imperial court will not protect Chen Caozhi, and Tu Duan will not be able to put an end to it."
…
When Lu Chu and He Zhu were conspiring, Chen Caozhi and Xie Daoyun in the county post also urged the county clerk to copy and review the registration notice overnight.
The report was quickly sent to the ten counties under the county, and notices were posted in Guangyi, the main thoroughfare, clearly stating that the hidden households found in the search would not be transferred to other counties, but would only stay in this county, so that these rumors would be self-defeating.
The fifteen county officials all came to listen to the orders of the Tudu Envoy. Chen Caozhi sent ten of them to the ten counties of the county respectively, asking them to cooperate with the local county officials in publicizing the Gengxu Tudu Order to ensure that the people knew the law.
After the ban, the official Zhang Lun was in charge of Shanyin County, the county seat. Zhang Lun did not go to post a notice, but first reported the matter to Lu Chu. Lu Chu looked at the notice and thought to himself: "This Chen Caozhi is actually wise, knowing that the top priority is
We must first calm people's hearts, but with the He family secretly fanning the flames, what role do these ten notices in each county play? Government orders change day by day, and the people tend to believe the rumors rather than the government."
Lu Chu asked Zhang Lun: "Where is Chen Caozhi now?"
Zhang Lun said: "Chenshi left the city to visit the Wei family."
Lu Chu sneered and said: "Chen Zuojian is really diligent in the king's affairs. Has he started lobbying the big families in Kuaiji now? Please wait for good news." He waved to Zhang Lun to go down.
…
The four major families in Kuaiji, except the Yu family in Yuyao County, the other Wei family, Kong family, and He family are all in Shanyin County. The Wei family is closest to the county seat, at the foot of Lanzhu Mountain, twenty miles south of the city. Originally, Chen Caozhi and Xie Daoyun wanted to visit Wei Sien and Xie Chen separately, but after learning that Wei's Manor and Xie's Manor were not far apart, and that it would be grand for them to visit together, going alone would easily cause unnecessary misunderstandings, so he decided to visit together first. Wei Sien, revisit Xie Xingsi.
Xie Daoyun still took the bus today. When boarding the bus, Chen Caozhi said: "Brother Yingtai, if it is inconvenient, there is no need to go."
Xie Daoyun's face turned red, he let out a light "hum", and said calmly: "It's not inconvenient. Since I want to be an official, I will naturally consider it." After saying that, he put down the car curtain, feeling a little embarrassed and annoyed, feeling that Chen Caozhi Sometimes the words are too straightforward, like reminding her to prepare calf-nosed pants when she learned to ride a horse last time, which makes her feel so embarrassed!
A group of people left the south gate of Shanyin County and headed for Lanzhu Mountain along the Li River. Chen Caozhi rode close to Xie Daoyun's ox cart and said: "In the third year of Shengping, I went to Dongshan to ask Master Zhi Mindu to treat my mother's illness. I passed by Shanyin, looking at Lanzhu from a distance, I think that Young Master Yi is gathering elegantly in Lanting, and all the sages have arrived, but now Young Master Yi has also passed away——" He chanted softly: "I know how similar life is everywhere, it should be like a flying dragon stepping on snow and mud, If there are fingers and claws accidentally left on the mud, how can Hongfei think about the west and the east?"
Xie Daoyun was silent for a long time, and for some reason, this poem came to mind:
"There are creeping grasses in the wild, and there is no dew. There is a beautiful person, who is as graceful as the clear air. When we meet by chance, it suits my wish. There are creeping grass in the wild, and there is no dew. There is a beautiful person, who is as graceful as the clear air. When we meet by chance, I meet my son. Together."
Xie Daoyun thought: "Zizhong and I met and knew each other. Did Feihong Xueni accidentally leave his fingers and claws?" He said, "Zizhong, Wei Si'en, the history of Wu Dynasty, after he became an official in old age, he devoted himself to Buddhism. Zizhong studied Buddhist scriptures diligently. Today we can discuss Buddhism with Wei Neishi."
Chen Caozhi smiled and said: "It's strange to think about it. My purpose is to persuade the Wei family to hand over the hidden house, but my purpose is to discuss Buddhist scriptures with Wei Neishi."
Xie Daoyun asked: "I have read Zhi Gong's translations of Anpan Shou Yi Sutra, Jise You Xuan Lun, and Sage Undifferentiated Knowledge. Zhi Gong's theory of Prajna is empty, but its meaning is difficult to understand. Listening to Zi Zhong's sentence, "By chance, there are fingers and claws left on the mud", I thought, doesn't this flying giant's coming and going have a certain origin, is it just a coincidence?"
Chen Cao said: "Those four sentences are not Buddha's verses, they are just random expressions - the nature of dependent origination is empty, the appearance appears due to conditions, and the claws of the snow and mud are not accidental."
Xie Daoyun smiled slightly and lowered the car curtain.
