Under Xu Huang's coercion, the Zhuge family came to Pengcheng and were placed in a post house. After resting, they could go home the next day.
Zhuge Jin was quite panicked because Xu Huang had said that he had violated the law. He tossed and turned on the couch at night, counting sheep and cows, but no matter how hard he tried, Zhuge Jin couldn't sleep.
In the end, Zhuge Jin had no choice but to put on a robe and get up, walk out of his room, go to the next room, raise his hand and knock on the door gently.
"Second brother, are you asleep?"
After a while, I saw the door of the room being opened with a creaking sound.
Zhuge Jin's second younger brother, the child Zhuge Liang, rubbed his hazy sleepy eyes and said to Zhuge Jin outside the door: "Brother, come in, I'm not asleep."
"You look like this, and you still say you haven't slept." Zhuge Jin smiled, pinched Zhuge Liang's little face, and walked into the house.
Zhuge Jin walked to the table, poured two glasses of water, drank one himself, and pushed the other to Zhuge Liang.
"Second brother, I can't sleep because of my brother."
Zhuge Liang was very surprised: "Brother, you are so good, why can't you sleep?"
Zhuge Jin shook his head and said: "You are too young to understand. That Master Taiping is clearly targeting our Zhuge family. What kind of person is my brother in daily life? Second brother, you also know who will break the law in the world.
I, Zhuge Jin, will never do it! Even so, the pottery merchant was still able to find out my guilt. He really had good intentions and made it clear that he wanted to deliberately deal with our Zhuge family. We are now trapped in a wolf's den, and we don't know what our future will be like.
What a disaster."
Zhuge Liang sat down opposite Zhuge Jin. Although he was young and cute, he looked very calm in his movements, not at all like a ten-year-old child.
"Brother, I don't think so. I think the reason why the young master named Tao keeps us here is not because he wants to cause trouble for us. He may just want someone from our clan to become an official."
"Going into an official position?"
Zhuge Liang nodded and said: "My brother has a feeling that he is probably attracted by your talent, so he wants to keep you in Xuzhou for an excuse. The last time he visited, he probably wanted to hire you."
I left the mountain, but unfortunately I got the news that my uncle was going to serve as the governor of Yuzhang, so I changed my tactics."
Zhuge Jin heard the words and said: "If this is the case, then this matter is easy to talk about. If he is my talent in the truth, the worst he can do is stay here for his brother. Second brother, you, third brother and other clan members will go to Yuzhang with your uncle.
, and also to avoid the war in the Central Plains."
When Zhuge Liang heard this, he bit his lips tightly, and his small eyes seemed to be moist for a moment.
"Brother, if that's the case, wouldn't you have to be separated from our whole family? Alone in a foreign land..."
Zhuge Jin laughed loudly, waved his hands and said: "For the sake of our family, what is there that your elder brother and I can't do? What's the difficulty in being separated from each other? Second brother, when you grow up in the future, if something like this happens to you,
I will inevitably make the same choice as my elder brother."
At this point, Zhuge Jin let out a long sigh and said: "Second brother, you are born smart. When you grow up, you will be a hundred times smarter than your brother. With you here, our Zhuge family will prosper in the future. The eldest brother has no other choice now."
All I want is to protect you and your third brother from the wind and rain, and I hope you grow up quickly."
After hearing Zhuge Jin's words, little Zhuge Liang's eyes couldn't help but turn red.
Can the eldest brother make the determination to stay alone in a foreign land for the sake of the safety of his clan members? If it were me, could I do it?
That night, the two brothers rested together in this room in the post house.
…
…
In the early morning of the next day, Zhuge Jin and Zhuge Liang had just finished cleaning up and washing up, when two unexpected guests were welcomed into the post house.
Pottery and Guo Jia.
When Zhuge Xuan heard that the pottery merchant was coming, he quickly came out to confront the pottery merchant.
"Mr. Tao Fu, you sent someone to bring our entire clan from Houqiu to Pengcheng. What do you want?"
Zhuge Xuan's face turned red, obviously very angry.
But the potter smiled and was not angry at all.
As the saying goes, don't hit the smiling person. The potter's attitude made Zhuge Xuan's anger have no place to express, just like hitting cotton, and it ended in an anticlimax.
"Mr. Zhuge, Mr. Tao is not targeting you deliberately. He just has a case against his nephew that needs Mr. Tao to personally examine and verify. If after I ask, it is false, then Mr. Tao will definitely send someone to arrest Mr. Zhuge.
The family will be sent to Yuzhang, and the nephew will be punished for bearing the thorn."
Upon hearing this, even though Zhuge Xuan was extremely confident in the character of his nephew, he couldn't help but panic at this moment.
What kind of evidence did this little beast named Tao catch on my nephew?
Tao Shang walked up to Zhuge Jin, looked him up and down, and said, "Brother Zhuge, my cousin is Ziyu?"
This sentence left Zhuge Jin with some questions that left Monk Zhang Er scratching his head.
Zhuge Jin was confused in his heart, but his face was very respectful, and he bowed and said: "Returning to Mr. Tao, Jin is indeed named Ziyu."
The pottery merchant smiled and nodded, and then said: "So, Brother Zhuge has already received the crown gift, right?"
Zhuge Jin became more and more confused, and then said: "That's right. Because of the turmoil in the family, Jin has been crowned earlier for three years."
"Oh." The smile on the pottery merchant's face became deeper and deeper: "Do you have a mother-in-law at home?"
Zhuge Jin didn't know why, but little Zhuge Liang behind him suddenly woke up.
The child wanted to remind his brother, but in front of the potter, he didn't know how to speak.
Zhuge Jin was very puzzled... Is there something wrong with this Tao guy? He kidnapped me all the way from Houqiu just to ask me if I was married?
"When I return home, I tell you that Jin is not married yet."
The pottery merchant nodded and said, "Then which girl from whose family have you received lottery gifts and asked for her name?"
Zhuge Liang couldn't hold it in anymore and hurriedly said: "Yes!"
The pottery merchant raised his eyebrows and turned to look at Zhuge Liang with a smile.
But seeing the child's delicate features and cute appearance, there was a hint of impatience on his face at this moment, as if he had understood his intention.
"Are you Zhuge Liang?" There seemed to be a flash of light in the potter's eyes, as terrifying as a vicious dog seeing bones.
When the young Zhuge Liang faced the pottery merchant, he seemed a little embarrassed and whispered: "That's right, the student."
"Okay, you just said that your brother has accepted a lottery to ask for his name, but which girl is he from?"
But this sentence stopped Zhuge Liang in his tracks and he didn't know how to answer.
Zhuge Jin returned his hand and pulled Zhuge Liang, blocking him behind him, and said respectfully: "I am young and talk nonsense. Please don't blame Mr. Tao. Jin has never accepted a favor from anyone or asked for his name."
.”
"hehe."
Tao Shang was now happy: "You are on the right track! Leniency will be given if you confess, and strict if you resist! In this case, it is not a misunderstanding that Tao brought you back. Zhuge Jin, you have been honored for three years, even though you have a period of filial piety.
I am not allowed to get married, but after the period of filial piety, I still refuse to accept the favor and ask for my name. Do you have any opinions on the policies of the Han Dynasty?"
One sentence immediately made Zhuge Jin dumbfounded.
If I don't get married...has it risen to the level of dissatisfaction with Han's policies?
"Mr. Tao Fu, what do you mean by this?"
The pottery merchant touched the bridge of his nose with his hand and turned to wink at Guo Jia.
Guo Jia cleared his throat, stepped forward, and said: "Brother Zhuge, according to Han law, if a clan has fifteen unmarried people, they must pay a head tax of 120 yuan every year until they have passed the six rites."
Until your marriage, the taxes paid by your clan in the past three years have not included this item. When you are crowned, it is because your father died and you need to observe filial piety. Therefore, you do not have to pay the head tax during the period of filial piety. However, according to Yangdu County
According to the household registration record, you have passed your filial piety period this year, and you should have paid the 120 yuan unmarried tax this year! Therefore, you, Zhuge Jin, are now guilty of tax evasion!"
The pottery merchant stood beside him and nodded solemnly: "Zhuge Jin, how dare you owe the imperial court the single tax? What a treason!"
After saying this, Zhuge Xuan and Zhuge Jin's uncle and nephew were stunned like lightning, staring at the pottery merchant and Guo Jia in disbelief.
This is too damn... damn.
After a while, Zhuge Xuan came forward hesitantly and said to Tao Shang in a low voice: "Master Tao, the head tax for Jin'er's unmarried family, the head tax of Yangdu County, has never taken the initiative to ask me about the Zhuge family..."
"Joke!" The pottery merchant raised his eyebrows and criticized and educated him dissatisfiedly: "Zhuge Xuan! Look at what you said. It is an insult to the noble family tradition! I, the Han Dynasty, have laws here. How can it be just because of the deviant reasons?
Is it okay not to hand it over? If he doesn’t accept it, wouldn’t you take the initiative to hand it over? Where is your sense of personal initiative?”
One sentence almost made Zhuge Xuanqi faint.
Do you still have a sense of personal initiative? Can you show a little face when you speak?
This little calf!
Zhuge Jin composed himself, walked up to the pottery merchant, cupped his hands and said: "Master Tao, Jin is willing to abide by the court's laws and double the tax for the one hundred and twenty yuan. I also ask the master to grant me an extrajudicial pardon."
Forgive Jin this time."
Hearing this, the pottery merchant sighed and shook his head, saying, "If you had come a few days earlier, I might have been able to stop you, but now it's too late. I already expressed your debt to you a few days ago for not getting married."
The memorial was sent to Chang'an and reported to Tingwei's Mansion in Beijing. This case is of great importance. Both the court and Tingwei's Mansion take it very seriously. Chang'an has issued a document and will treat your matter as an example and deal with it seriously, Zhuge Jin.
, this matter can no longer be solved by paying back money, I'm afraid I won't be able to help you."
When Zhuge Jin heard this, the muscles on his cheeks twitched angrily.
What do you mean, you reported the matter of my not getting married to the court?...The court took it seriously?
What the hell is wrong with the special lady in the imperial court!?
Are you stupid or am I stupid?!
The potter didn't take Zhuge Jin's dark expression seriously, and continued: "Zhuge Jin, you are really making a big move! I think you are going to die. According to the analysis of Tao's acquaintances in the court,
The imperial court is already targeting you because of this matter! Tell me yourself, how do you think this matter should be resolved?"
Zhuge Jin lowered his head and said nothing. It wasn't that he didn't want to speak, but that he was too angry to speak.
Zhu Ge
After listening to Zhuge Xuan's words, Guo Jia, who was behind Tao Shang, stood up and said with a smile: "I don't want to listen to what Zhuge Xuan said. Law matters are no matter how big or small. They are also loyal to the country. Strengthening the army and enriching the people are loyal. They are loyal to the court."
It is also true to be loyal when collecting taxes. Zhuge Gong forced the officials of the imperial court to act in accordance with the law and separated them into superiors and inferiors. Could it be that I, the Han Dynasty, are biased in our laws?"
The pottery merchant also raised his brows and said angrily: "Zhuge Xuan! Where did you hear what I just said? Are you still justified in tax evasion? I will seriously criticize you now!"
"Ugh..." Zhuge Xuanwen was speechless.
Guo Jia is eloquent and quick in thinking. He has few rivals in the world, and Tao Shang is even more invincible. With Zhuge Xuan's two moves, he is still no match for them.
Since Guo Jia's help, Tao Shang feels that he no longer has to rely on his own thinking and planning to deal with things as before. With the help of geniuses, the two of them can discuss everything in daily life, and many problems can be solved immediately.
Even when it comes to playing hooligans, two people are much more capable than they were alone.
This is the so-called brainstorming and collision of ideas.
The potter continued to question seriously: "Zhuge belongs to the Langya noble clan, and Zhuge Jin is a rare young scholar. He doesn't know how to set an example for the people, but instead evades taxes. I dare to ask Zhuge Gong. If Tao accuses him, what's wrong with him?"