In the inner office study room, there is only one desk.
There was a bed and three mats, all of which were in shabby condition. Fortunately, they had been cleaned, so they could still be seen through. When I opened the small door of the inner stall, a dank smell hit my face. There were bookshelves standing on the wall.
, there were stacks of bamboo slips, all covered with white mold.
Deng Ji shook his head with a speechless expression.
Cao Peng walked into the stall holding a torch, walked around in a circle, and walked out again.
"Brother-in-law, in my opinion, this is not something that can be sorted out in a short while. We have been traveling all day and are already very tired. Why not simply clean up and rest first. After daybreak, we will get back here.
Wai Wai, please clean up..."
Deng Ji thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.
This whole day, I was tired, panicked, angry, surprised...
The mixture of various emotions also made him a little tired.
Unexpectedly, the first night in Haixi would be spent in such an environment.
He still felt a little disappointed, but in the blink of an eye, he cheered up again and walked out of the study with Puyang Kai, Cao Peng and others.
Fengxiao once reminded me that Haixi County is not a kind place.
The fact that he asked me to serve as Haixi Ling was enough to show how much he valued me. If I backed down so quickly, wouldn't I be living up to Fengxiao's respect? I left behind my wife who had just given birth to a child, and the child who was waiting to be fed.
, isn’t it just to make a career? Although Haixi is chaotic, it is a good place for our generation to build our achievements and show off our talents... I cannot let down everyone’s expectations.
Thinking of this, Deng Ji couldn't help but use force and clenched his fists!
After midnight, it started to rain lightly.
The winter rain was freezing and the temperature dropped sharply. Fortunately, everyone gathered together, so it was not too cold. We first cleared out a few wing rooms, one for Deng Ji, Puyang Kai, and Cao Peng.
In one room, Zhou Cang, Xia Houlan and others divided up several other rooms. At the same time, Cao Peng arranged for security, so everyone stayed in the front yard of the county government office, so there was no need to worry too much.
After all, there are dozens of people here!
If someone wants to cause trouble, there's really no need to worry.
Outside, the rain pattered.
The rainy night at the beach gives people an unusual taste.
There is a fishy smell in the air, and a faint salty smell permeates the air...
Is this Haixi?
Cao Peng fell on the couch and slowly closed his eyes.
It only rained for less than an hour. When it was about to dawn, fog began to appear in Haixi. The regular biological clock made Cao Peng open his eyes on time. He got off the bed and walked out of the room. A cool wind greeted him.
The blowing made him shiver.
The wind in Haixi is not as strong as in the north.
But this kind of coldness can turn into soft fingers and penetrate directly into the seams of people's bones.
Cao Peng wrapped his collar subconsciously and walked out of the room. He saw Xia Houlan leaning on the shelter under the eaves and taking a nap.
"Xiahou, Xiahou!"
"Ah, young master..."
"Let everyone go and have a rest." Cao Peng looked at the sky and said, "It will be dawn soon, I guess there won't be any more problems... There are a lot of things going on today, you go and have a rest first, and when you regain your energy, we will
We still need to repair the government office and sort out the documents."
"Here!"
Xia Houlan didn't show any politeness and just accepted the order.
He knew that what Cao Peng said was right. Haixi is now in a state of ruin, and there are too many things that need to be done! If you don't get a good rest, you will lose your energy. Xia Houlan walked out of the corridor and called to those who were under the corridor.
, the guards who were guarding the shelter went down to rest.
Foggy days are not suitable for strenuous activities.
So Cao Peng just made a few simple movements, stretched his body, picked up a wooden stick from the messy luggage placed under the eaves, and then walked into the back house. The high wall he saw last night
The wall is indeed the courtyard wall of the back house. The courtyard is quite large, with all the buildings, and there are two courtyards on the left and right. There are two towering trees in the courtyard, the branches and leaves of which have withered.
Cao Peng counted more than forty houses in total.
If we add the wing rooms in the front yard, there are more than sixty rooms in total, enough to accommodate these accompanying retinues.
Although the house looks a little dilapidated, there are basically no major problems. It can be habitable after some cleaning, and the project will not be too big.
The two cross-courtyards are very quiet, independent of the entire government office, and at the same time connected by secluded paths.
It can be seen that a lot of effort was put into the initial design of the county government office. However, the designer must not have thought that one day, this building that represented the comfort of the Han Dynasty would be so dilapidated.
"Weeds and flowers beside the Zhuque Bridge, the sun sets at the entrance of Wuyi Alley.
In the old days, the king's swallows flew in front of the hall and flew into the homes of ordinary people."
Cao Peng couldn't help but chant the song "Wo Yi Xiang". Although it was a bit inconsistent, in terms of artistic conception, it was very appropriate.
“Great singing!”
"ah?"
Cao Peng turned around and saw Puyang Kai standing not far from him.
I was so involved just now that...
Cao Peng secretly blamed himself for letting down his guard under such circumstances.
Fortunately, this is Puyang Kai. If someone else were hostile to him, wouldn't it be dangerous? Although this is the backyard of the county government, it is equivalent to a wide open door. The broken courtyard wall is really too easy to get in and out. Even if
If someone comes, it's not easy to notice at this moment.
Puyang Kai walked over with his hands behind his back.
"Youxue, which song did you sing just now?"
The poetry of the Han Dynasty was mostly based on Yuefu.
Five-character style has just begun to rise, and seven-character style is not very popular yet. A very traditional old man like Puyang Kai is not very accepting of seven-character style. Therefore, he uses "singing" instead of poetry. The underlying meaning is quite different.
This seven-character quatrain cannot be considered elegant.
"Uh...Mr. Puyang, you got up so early."
"It's getting late!" Pu Yangkai said, "If I hadn't been too tired yesterday, I would have already gotten up by this time."
As he spoke, a gentle smile appeared on his slightly old-fashioned face, "Afu, which song did you sing just now?"
"Oh, the boy just looked at the scenery in front of him and couldn't help but feel emotional and sang casually."
Pu Yangkai nodded, "I know about the Zhuque Bridge, but where is this Wuyi Lane?"
"This..." Cao Peng was almost choked to death by Puyang Kai. How did he answer? Wuyi Lane is the scenery of Nanjing... Oh, in this era, it should be called Jiankang. God knows if Jiankang has been established? In my impression,
Jiankang City seems to have been built under the supervision of Sun Quan.
With his eyes rolling, Cao Peng pointed at the path leading across the courtyard.
"Sir, please take a look. On both sides of the path, there are towering ancient trees with lush branches... combined with the mist, does it look like it is covered with a layer of black sand?"
Puyang Kai was stunned and looked at it carefully.
"When you say it, there are some similarities."
"Looking at the layout of this county government, I think its original owner must have put a lot of thought into it. But he must not have imagined that one day, the county government he carefully designed would become so dilapidated. I also felt something in my heart for a moment, and sang it casually
, Mr. Ling laughed."
"Hmm...it does have some flavor."
Puyang Kai twisted his beard and said, "In the old days, the king thanked the Yan in front of the hall... By the way, what does this Wang Xie mean?"
Oh my god!
Wang Xie, those are not people of this era.
Cao Peng made up an explanation for Wuyi Lane, but he really couldn't think of the reason for "Wang Xie".
Just listen to Puyang Kai saying to himself, "Could it be that there were county magistrates named Wang and Xie in Haixi before?"
As he said this, he shook his head and stopped pursuing it.
He prefers ancient poetry rather than seven-character quatrains. When Cao Peng recited it softly just now, Puyang Kai only found it interesting, but actually didn't care much about it.
Cao Peng took a deep breath and stretched out his hand to wipe the non-existent cold sweat on his forehead.
I'm in a good place. Fortunately, this old antique didn't ask any questions. If I continue to ask questions, I really don't know how to answer.
"Youxue!"
"Ah, the students are here."
"What do you think of these three pests in Haixi?"
"I?"
Puyang Kai stopped, stretched out his hand, pinched off a withered vine from the palace gate across the courtyard, and played with it in his hand.
"Yes, we have imagined many situations before, but now that we are in Haixi County, we know that there are so many twists and turns."
He turned around, looked at Cao Peng and said, "I'm afraid it won't be easy for Uncle Sun to gain a foothold here."
"Well, that's true."
Cao Peng murmured in his heart: I know it's not easy, but you don't have to ask me.
Pu Yangkai said: "Then where do you think we should start?"
"Oh... I think we should repair the courtyard wall first so that we can see everything here clearly without standing outside the wall."
As he spoke, Cao Peng looked outside the courtyard wall.
"Sir, I think there are countless people hiding outside that wall at this time, paying attention to you and me."
Pu Yangkai followed Cao Peng's line of sight and saw vague figures moving in the mist. His thick eyebrows frowned slightly, and a look of anger suddenly appeared on his face. His voice also increased, and he shouted sternly: "Young man, Xiaoxiao,
It’s nothing to worry about. I’m going to Zhenhaixi on the orders of the Emperor... This is still under the rule of the Han, and this is still the territory of the Han. Let’s see how long they can continue to be arrogant!”
Outside the wall, figures swayed and then disappeared.
Cao Peng also laughed!
"Sir, there is a great spirit in your chest, and all evil will not invade!"
"snort."
Puyang Kai snorted coldly, turned around and left.
"Youxue, it seems that our first step to establish a foothold in Haixi will start from the wall of this courtyard."
The county government represented the majesty of the imperial court.
If it is so easy to be spied on, what's the point?
Puyang Kai originally thought that if he wanted to gain a foothold in Haixi, he had to solve the "three evils" as soon as possible.
But now it seems that it may be necessary to establish the prestige of the imperial court first. How to establish it? Naturally, it starts with the courtyard wall of the county government.
However, Cao Peng didn't notice that when Pu Yangkai walked out of the archway in the backyard, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.
Although Cao Peng did not answer his question, in fact, he had already given the best answer... Shusun was still a little extreme!
In the early morning, Chen Deng walked hurriedly across the path and came to the edge of the pond.
"Father, please call the child. Is there something wrong?"
Chen Gui turned his back to him and did not turn around, "Counting the days, the Haixi Order appointed by Duke Cao should have arrived."
"Father, it should be within the next couple of days."
"Send someone to keep an eye on that side."
Chen Deng asked: "What does father mean..."
"Let's take a look first." Chen Gui coughed lightly, "This Deng Ji, I have never heard of his name before, but he was suddenly entrusted with an important task by Cao Gong. He is by no means an easy person. Keep an eye on Haixi.
, if there is any trouble, be sure to let me know immediately."