On the tenth day of December, the twelfth lunar month festival has passed, and the weather is getting colder and colder. Even Anlu County, which does not snow in previous years, has received a heavy snowfall...
It snowed all night, and by the next morning, the entire Anlu was a vast expanse of white: the trees in the mountains and forests were covered with snow, like twigs and jade leaves; the roofs of Liju were covered with snow, and the people
Hiding in the house, shivering and not wanting to go out; those empty fields turned into a snow field, with a few stray rabbits leaving plum blossom-like footprints on it; Yunmengze also had a thin layer of frost, and the north wind howled on the lake.
As we passed by, there was a cold scene everywhere.
Although the weather is bad, there are still some pedestrians and vehicles on the road. Thirty miles south of Anlu County, a carriage with two horses and shafts is driving slowly. The horses' hooves are wrapped with non-slip straw. The driver is driving the carriage.
While exhaling, the carriage behind him was loaded with firewood, and there was a person lying on the thick haystack...
But I saw that this man was wrapped in thick winter clothes and a raincoat hat, carrying a sword in his shoulder bag, but the hat could not cover the bright red scarf on his forehead, and the raincoat hat could not hide the crimson clothes on his body.
Judging from his attire, he must be a pavilion chief. Hei Fu just passed the examination a few days ago and was appointed as the Huyang Pavilion Chief!
Heifu came today to take up his post. Counting on it, he had postponed taking office for several days.
It turned out that on the first day of the twelfth lunar month, in front of the chief official, Heifu answered twenty legal questions correctly without changing his expression, which shocked the entire official office. The chief official was amazed and immediately reported this matter.
Report to the county magistrate, county right lieutenant, and left lieutenant.
As a result, Zuo Wei, who had been saying that Hei Fu was a rough man, ignorant of laws and regulations, and not an official, had no excuse. He could only hold his nose and watch the county magistrate and You Wei approve the appointment. After all, he was not
Officers.
Although the appointment has been issued, Heifu has been involved in another lawsuit. It was he who sued Sunset Lilizheng for the case!
Hei Fu reported to the county magistrate that Xiuyang Li was inciting the people inside to cause trouble and wanted to break into his house and seize the treadmill. In the past few years, Li Zheng had also been exposed for his private revenge on Hei Fu's family.
come out.
What a coincidence, the person assigned to handle the case was still the prison warden Xi. Seeing that it was Hei Fu, Xi was stunned for a moment, and then his expression was "Why is it you again?"
Fortunately, there were no twists and turns in this case, because there were too many witnesses for Heifu. From Yan Zheng, the old official in Banli who he studied under, to the prison gate in the sunset, they all stood by Heifu and confirmed everything that happened that day.
See things.
As for the residents of Sunset Village who were summoned, perhaps because they felt guilty about what happened that day, or they were afraid of Heifu, the new pavilion chief, they all said that they were only incited by Rizheng to make trouble. Some people also testified.
Said: "In the sunset, when cattle and farm tools are being distributed, relatives are favored. Those who have complaints against them often do not get the cattle and have to pull the plow themselves..."
The place itself is indeed unclean, and now that the wall has been torn down and people are pushing against it, it is even more impossible to get away with the crime.
Finally, with solid evidence, Xi cited the "Code of Conduct for Cadres of the Great Qin Dynasty" ("The Way of Being an Official"), which included "Five Mistakes of Officials", and believed that Xiyang Lili was guilty of "seeing the people arrogant and uneasy about their duties.
Mistakes such as "taking an official position for good things and doing things inappropriately" are, at the very least, a crime of dereliction of duty.
However, considering that it did not cause serious consequences, and the title was from a superior, it could be used as a small atonement. In the end, it was only sentenced to a "redemption tattoo", and at the same time, the official position was removed, the meritorious title was removed, and the rewarded land was confiscated...
Li Zheng completely lost his status now. He spent most of his family wealth and paid more than 30,000 yuan to be exempted from the punishment of tattooing. All the field slaves were also taken away by the government. In the future, he may have to fight with the lowly residents he looked down on.
Together, we went to work in the fields ourselves.
This matter is not over yet. Shang Yang said that those who are separated by ten miles are weak, and those who are separated by five miles are strong. Although the grassroots officials are small, they cannot be lacking in one day. In the sunset, another one must be chosen to come out.
Generally speaking, Li Zheng is elected by local residents or directly appointed by village officials. It is usually the person with the highest title, the most prestige, and the strongest financial resources.
Finally, the old man of the Lijianmen with the highest rank in the Lizhong got his wish and became the new Lizheng. As a result, the position of the Lijianmen became vacant again...
What was unexpected was that when the new inner prison gate was selected, villagers came to the door one after another and asked them to be the inner prison gate!
…
Although Zhong seems to have a cowardly character, he is loyal, fair in doing things, and can be trusted by others. That day, his roar at the doorstep of his home made people here respect him more.
Coupled with the fear of Pavilion Chief Heifu, some residents made moves to please the Heifu family, so Zhong was pushed to this position.
"I don't want to be a prison guard..."
But Zhong was not happy about it and shook his head like a rattle. He was a person who didn't like to be in the limelight, and he really didn't want to get into trouble for five buckets of rice.
The third brother was surprised and thought, why should an official do something inappropriate? How majestic! But Hei Fu supported his intention and thought it would be better not to wade into this muddy water.
Heifu said sincerely and surprised: "Even if the people in the prison, Mr. Wu, etc. recommend me, my uncle doesn't have to take the position. It's just because Qin Law's requirements for these positions are too harsh.
If you are careful, something will happen and you will sit down."
For example, a thief entered A's house and injured A. A called out that there was a thief. His neighbors were all out, and Mr. Wu was out and did not hear the call. During the time of punishment, the neighbors were out and could not be punished. Li Zheng,
Even if Mr. Wu is not here, he cannot be exempted from liability. The inner prison gate that lets the thieves in will inevitably be punished.
In the Qin State, being an official must not only enjoy the benefits of salary, but also bear responsibilities and risks. Remember, remember.
It was a helpless move for Heifu to become the director of the pavilion. As a time traveler, he is well aware of the general trend of the times. He is like a salmon swimming against the current. He knows where to swim to be considered safe. If he cannot advance, he will retreat to the end.
.
Moreover, Heifu did not say anything directly: "You want to please our family? Please forgive me? I'm sorry, I don't have a good temper like my uncle, so I don't appreciate it!"
Besides, what’s the point of being the old man in the reception room?
Therefore, Zhong refused the recommendation from the locals and continued to focus on the more than two hundred acres of land at home and on Jing's education.
At the same time, Heifu's sister-in-law, Citron, was also left in the county's carpentry workshop to participate in the production of "Treading Turrets".
It turned out that after the county engineer and the warehouse clerk presented this thing, the Anlu County magistrate attached great importance to it and immediately ordered a batch to be made first and put into use in the county warehouse - the government-run workshop cannot casually produce the government's "book of orders"
, that is, items other than those in the plan, unless approved by the local county magistrate.
However, the reward that was supposed to be distributed was delayed. Because the county magistrate was not sure how big the credit was, he packed up the matter and a replica of the treadle and sent them to Jiangling City, the capital of Nanjun, to ask the governor of Nanjun.
Teng decided...
From Anlu to Jiangling, across Yunmeng Daze, it is a 500-mile journey through mountains and rivers. It takes more than half a month to go back and forth. This matter will not be determined for a while, and Hei Fu is too lazy to pay attention to it. Because of Qin’s cheating household registration system,
The utensils were presented by Citron, and this matter had little to do with him. Fortunately, no matter what the outcome was, it was his family who got the cheapest, so it was not a loss.
Heifu himself paid a visit to Yan Zheng's house to thank him for his help. On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, after hastily celebrating the twelfth lunar month and settling down at home, he went out to take up his post.
However, Heifu did not go directly to Huyang Pavilion, but first went to Liyi, Zhenshui Township, and met with "Youyou" who was responsible for arresting thieves in this township.
Although the pavilion chief is an official directly subordinate to the county captain and has no direct superior-subordinate relationship with the "township police station chief", the two have many overlapping responsibilities. They will inevitably have to deal with each other in the future, so it is better to say hello first.
.
The way to serve as an official depends not only on ability, but also on human kindness and etiquette.
After that, Heifu was trapped in Jiushui Township by the sudden snowfall. He could not set off until the snow stopped this morning.
Fortunately for him, there was a carriage going to the county town that promised to take him along.
Different from when he went to serve in the county town at the end of September and had to rely on his legs to go back and forth, now Heifu has an official status, with a red turban on his head and crimson clothes. When he encounters a passing carriage, he can stop it with just a hand and bow it.
Start by politely asking if you can give me a ride. The owner of the car will agree.
So, Heifu just lay on the carriage, swinging comfortably, all the way to the northern part of Jishui Township...
…
"Here is the Pavilion Chief, Huyang Pavilion has arrived."
The carriage stopped slowly on the side of the road. The coachman breathed to warm his frozen hands, and then turned around to wake up Heifu, who had fallen asleep.
Hei Fu stood up and took a look, only to see a wooden pillar about ten feet high beside the straight road. On the top of the pillar sat a strange monster statue, which looked like a raccoon and a dog. Hei Fu yelled
No name. Looking down, there is a wooden board nailed in the center of the pillar, with four small seal characters "Huyang Pavilion Department" engraved on it.
Heifu knew that this was Huan Biao, which could also be called Hua Biao. According to legend, Huan Biao was set up on the main traffic road during Yao's time for people to write admonitions and point out the evils of the times. Later, it gradually became the symbol of Tingyi.
Beyond Huanbiao and further in, there is an earthen staircase leading to several earthen houses covered with black tiles, which are the pavilions...
"This is my Tingbu..."
In the past few months, Heifu had seen many pavilions along the way, and he was already used to them. However, this one in front of him made him feel both familiar and unfamiliar, and he had mixed feelings in his heart.
His story begins with a conflict with the chief of the Huyang Pavilion, and then he comes here to take the post by mistake. To become the chief of the pavilion is really not easy.
At this time, two people came out of the open door of the pavilion. They seemed to have been waiting at the door. When the old man saw the carriage stop, he walked out and shouted: "But Mr. Hei?"
The sound was so loud that it shook the snow on the pines and cypresses on the roadside. When Hei Fu saw it, he immediately became happy.
The visitor was also wearing crimson clothes, with a sword on his waist, thick sideburns on his cheeks, and a terrifying leopard print birthmark on his forehead.
Besides his good friend Dongmen Bao, whom he never knew before, who else could he be?
