As everyone followed Wei Shi into the county official's office, a familiar feeling came to them.
At that time, Heifu had just arrived in this era. He was just a small soldier, and his life was precarious. Relying on the opportunity he seized during the martial arts performance, he was appreciated by Du Xian, and Chen Baijiang called him here and asked him.
One sentence.
Are you willing to be an official?
In the blink of an eye, more than two years have passed.
Heifu still remembered the old jujube tree in the courtyard that looked like a canopy. Now there were no leaves left on the tree, which made it feel quite desolate.
After entering the courtyard, the others were taken by the clerk to submit the "Zhi", which is the certificate of completion of service. Heifu was led into the hall by Wei Shi. When he took off his shoes in front of the hall, Heifu suddenly remembered that when he first
When I came here once, I had just finished the hard work of Chengdan corvee. I didn't even have socks and had to walk barefoot on the cold floor.
Further inside, the layout of the hall has not changed much. On the left is a bookshelf with slips, and on the right is a "Lanqi" with five weapons: spears, halberds, bows, swords, and guns. The county's Youwei and
Lieutenant Zuo was sitting in the middle, all dressed in black and wearing bamboo crowns, waiting for Mr. Hei.
Lieutenant Zuo is an old acquaintance, so there is no need to introduce him, but Lieutenant Right is a new face. He is Zheng Shou from Yingchuan who was transferred after Heifu served in the army. His title is the 8th-level Duke.
Two years ago, Mr. Hei had to walk over and kneel down to the two of them as soon as he entered the door. But now when he saw him coming, the right lieutenant Zheng Shou immediately smiled and stood up first regardless of his dignity as a county lieutenant.
With all the hands moving, Zuo Wei Yunman could not continue to sit, so he had to stand up to greet the "little pavilion chief" whom he hated so much.
"Heifu has met two county captains."
Hei Fu bowed slightly, this was not Na Da, he was an official now. According to the rules of the Qin State, even if he met the county magistrate, he could bow without bowing, let alone two county captains with the same title as him.
The right lieutenant and the left lieutenant also bowed their hands to him in return.
"Although I have never met Mr. Hei, after I came to Anlu, I heard a lot about your deeds when you were the chief of the pavilion. You are really a rare official. After you went to the army, you made many meritorious deeds. I have always wanted to meet you.
After seeing you, I was shocked that you are so young..."
Zheng Shou is almost forty years old, and there is a sense of twilight in his speech, while Heifu just celebrated his twentieth birthday on the winter solstice last month. He is indeed enviably young. He is an official at such a young age.
What will happen after 20 years? I can’t imagine it.
"I am a younger generation. I relied on a little bit of luck to suddenly receive a reward. I am very frightened. I hope you will give me more guidance in the future."
Zheng Shou took the initiative to show his kindness, and Heifu was of course humble in his words, but he also heard that the new right lieutenant was not as good as his predecessor Du Xianyuan, he was cowardly, and the power of the county lieutenant's office was in the hands of the left lieutenant.
However, as long as you are an individual, you cannot be willing to be an empty puppet or a stamp. This time when Heifu and the others return, might it be a great opportunity for Youwei to counterattack and seize power?
After a few words of greetings, Zheng Shou invited Hei Fu to sit down. He sat on the left side, just opposite Zuo Wei Yunman. Their statuses seemed to be equal.
Their eyes met, Hei Fu grinned, and Zuo Wei actually smiled at him, as if the previous holiday had never happened. This surprised Hei Fu a little, because in his impression, Yun Man had always been
He is a very thoughtful and very patient person.
The two of them were silent there, and the atmosphere was a bit awkward. The only voice left in the hall was the voice of the county right lieutenant Zheng Shou.
Zheng asked Heifu about the situation on the front line, but Heifu only hid some confidential information and told everything else he knew.
"After the snow fell in late November, the fighting basically stopped. The Chu army retreated, and our army also began to withdraw its troops. We dismissed the old soldiers who had expired and went home..."
Even if the King of Qin is still unwilling to accept this war, the basic laws must be followed when recruiting troops. Like the soldiers of Nanjun, if they are forced to serve outside, their morale will only be further reduced, and at the same time, it will cause dissatisfaction among the counties and counties about the war. It is better to demobilize them.
Another group was recruited, so Hei Fu and others were able to return home.
Hei Fu knew in his heart that the King of Qin would never give up. The spring plowing would end early and the autumn harvest would be late. When the country came out of the shadow of failure, a new mobilization order would be issued. That would be a real nationwide war!
Anlu County will certainly not be spared.
But those matters were naturally issued by orders. Heifu no longer had a military rank and could not intervene on his behalf. At most, he could kindly remind the right lieutenant of the county and tell him that the two countries were still in a state of hostility and that he should not relax and update the local troops.
Training, that's all.
At this time, the right lieutenant of the county also mentioned the county's arrangements for these "combat heroes". They had made great achievements and returned, and their social status had risen. Of course, they could no longer continue to be small officials as before, and the King of Qin was praising Li You in his edict.
Here, all counties and counties are also required to entrust heavy responsibilities to the soldiers who have made meritorious service this time, so they dare not let them idle at home, lest they be said to be cold-hearted towards those who have made meritorious deeds.
"Everyone has meritorious service, of course I must put them to good use!"
Right Lieutenant Zheng Shou changed from his usual cowardice and was extremely strong today. He did not ask for Yun Man's opinion at all and made the decision himself. Yun Man even raised his lips but did not raise any objection.
"but……"
Zheng Shou said: "Heifu is now an official. It is too young to be a military historian and travel around. I can no longer arrange for you here..."
Just as he finished speaking, the lieutenant came again outside and reported that a black official was invited to the nearby county magistrate's office!
"Sure enough." The right lieutenant smiled and said: "The county magistrate heard about your return and couldn't wait to see you. As for how to arrange your position, it is up to the county monarch!"
Heifu stood up. At this time, he turned around and walked up to Zuo Wei Yunman, who had said nothing today. He cupped his hands and said with a smile: "Speaking of which, if Zuo Wei hadn't asked me to escort the prisoners north to serve, Heifu would never have been able to do so.
With today's opportunity, Heifu would like to express my gratitude to Zuo Wei on behalf of himself and the soldiers who returned home with me. Zuo Wei, as an elder, really spared no effort to promote the younger people from this county!"
Yun Man's face suddenly turned blue and white, and he was almost going to have a seizure.
But in the end, he still swallowed this breath, regained his composure, and said with a smile as if nothing had happened: "Official officials are humble, and you and I will still have a long time to work together in the future!"
…
"Official official, what position did you get?"
Half an hour later, when Heifu walked out of the county magistrate's office, eight of his men were still waiting outside. Seeing him coming out, they hurriedly gathered around to ask.
But Hei Fu gave it up, looked at everyone and said with a smile: "Let's talk about it, what position did you get?"
Dongmen Bao no longer felt sad about not having a son, and said with a smile: "Your Majesty arranged for me to go on a tour to the northern suburbs."
In the Qin State, the local wandering position did not correspond to that of the doctor. Let Dongmen Leopard do the wandering, which was regarded as preferential treatment. With the evil reputation of Dongmen Leopard, it frightened the thieves in the village, not to mention young men.
Xiao Tao also stammered: "You... Your lieutenant asked me to be the commander of the village and train... to train the archers."
Xiao Tao's strength is his accurate archery. In the past two years, as his life has improved, the 19-year-old has begun to grow taller. He is now over seven feet tall and can shoot stronger bows. His weakness is that he is too shy.
He is not good at words, but as a military officer who is only responsible for training, he is more than enough. What's more, there is a garrison with a noble title who has been assigned to be his special expert and can speak on his behalf.
Hei Fu taught him: "Don't be nervous. Strength speaks for itself in the military camp. When the time comes, you can demonstrate your archery skills and everyone will be convinced."
In addition, Ji Ying was arranged to be the postal clerk of Zhenshui Township, in charge of the post office of the township.
Several other shangzao were either pavilion chiefs or seeking robbers, and most of them were arranged near their homes.
Only Li Xian was thoughtful. When Heifu asked him, he said: "I was recruited to the county to be a military official..."
It just so happens that this position is consistent with Li Xian's characteristics of being careful and resourceful.
Li Xian touched his chin and said: "The positions we have been given are all in line with our wishes, and they are all near the countryside. The right lieutenant is not familiar with us, and does not know everyone's talents. How can we arrange them so well? Is it possible?
…”
He looked at Heifu.
"That's right." Hei Fu then smiled and said, "I was the one who made the suggestion to Lieutenant You. Are the second and third sons satisfied with this new position?"
"Just what we wanted!" Everyone bowed and thanked him, and were even more grateful to Hei Fu. After all, he had been a soldier under Hei Fu for more than a year, so he really understood everyone.
Heifu's guess was correct. Right Lieutenant Zheng Shou really wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to counterattack and seize power. The return of Heifu and the others gave him a large number of ready-made candidates who could be placed in various positions in the county lieutenant system.
An old confidant of Zuo Wei Yunman really brought him a pillow when he was dozing off. Of course, Heifu was also happy to see his "clique" take root and grow in the county, so the two hit it off and formed a tacit "alliance"
.
"After you take office, you must respect the right lieutenant and obey his orders." But Heifu is also confident. The right lieutenant is an airborne officer and has no local roots. It changes every few years. At the critical moment, everyone will still listen.
own words.
"The officials haven't said yet what position the county magistrate has arranged for you." Ji Ying asked curiously.
Hei Fu said disapprovingly: "Before the county magistrate spoke, I said that I had just returned from the front line and suffered a minor injury. I planned to rest at home for some time and did not plan to become an official immediately."
"Why is this!" Dongmen Bao was shocked.
"nonsense!"
Li Xian glared at them: "Is there any position that can accommodate officials in this small Anlu County now?"
Everyone thought the same thing. Originally, in Anlu County, the number of local people who were government officials could be counted on one hand. It would be a bit wronged for Hei Fu to be a village mistress, a warehouse mistress and other officials, but he could be worthy of the title.
The three positions of chief official, jailer and left lieutenant of this noble title are not vacant either.
"That's right, rather than embarrass the county magistrate, it's better to politely decline first."
Hei Fu said this, but in his heart he disliked the fish pond in Anlu County for being too small.
He is originally a golden lin, and when he swims in Yunmeng Daze, how can he be satisfied with being a thing in the pond?
Hei Fu is waiting for Li You's promise! It's time to get the first return of the favor he sent earlier.
Before that, he could just cook salted fish leisurely at home for a few days. After traveling for more than a year, Heifu felt that his bones were about to fall apart...
However, after Heifu said goodbye to everyone and rode back on horseback, his group of men did not disperse. Instead, they were called back together by Li Xian and whispered.
"Actually, there is another way to create vacancies in the county that are suitable for officials."
"What method?" Dongmen Bao, Li Xian and others quickly pricked up their ears.
"It's very simple."
Li Xian said darkly: "Let Zuo Wei be blamed and dismissed!"
