"Isn't that right? We can't miss this opportunity. We finally found a clue. We need to build a good relationship with this person this time. This is a local snake. We can use this to break through and find evidence!"
The more they talked, the happier they became.
next door
The person who was so drunk when he was sent to the room turned over and sat up after the door was closed and his footsteps gradually disappeared. How could he still be drunk?
With clear eyes, I listened to the copper pipe. When I got here, I suddenly made a sound.
Jielufu
Zhang Dai got off the ship and took a mule cart. He wanted to put a silk cover on the mule cart and put a flag to show his identity, but Zhang Dai refused and took only Zhang Kan, a servant.
The mule cart was moving slowly, and the sky was gradually filled with layers of sunset. Zhang Kan said: "Ten miles further north we will reach the city gate. Sir, please wait a moment."
"I'm in no hurry."
Zhang Dai said nothing and looked around. He saw mud and reeds everywhere. Only a few poor people were farming, and the crops were not good. But a little further away, there was another scene.
The river flows continuously, and people come and go at the docks next to the river. Merchant ships pass by frequently, and wealthy businessmen wearing silks and satins also drive ox carts on the way to Fucheng.
Zhang Dai couldn't help but sigh and said: "The rich man lives in a prosperous and beautiful forest, but the common people have no place to stand. It's a pity that this land can actually be cultivated..."
Having said this, Zhang Dai remained silent and stopped talking.
Because it is next to a big river, it looks fertile, but in fact floods, droughts and droughts come in turns. When he was the prefect, he didn't understand and forced the land to be reclaimed. As a result, it was flooded by floods in the third year, and the farmers who reclaimed the land went bankrupt and some even committed suicide.
Although Zhang Dai did not admit his mistake, and some people who praised him even said "30,000 acres of land were cultivated at the age of three", he actually had a bad intention. He sighed and looked carefully.
This Fucheng, a relatively fertile area in Zhili, really lives up to the various nicknames given to it by outsiders. Before entering the gate of Fucheng, when entering the outer areas, both villages, towns and counties are showing a prosperous scene.
Rich merchants and gentry will never be unlucky due to floods or droughts. If they can no longer make money here, they can move to other places. Temporary relocation is not too strenuous for them.
Even due to disasters, some people with some power not only avoid being unlucky, but can also make a fortune.
This doesn't seem to be a rare thing in the eyes of officials. It's just a matter of someone checking and not checking, and it's also a question of whether to tear off a fig leaf.
"However, this division between rich and poor is not the right way. Especially businessmen, who do not engage in production but make huge profits, should be banned altogether."
Zhang Dai was full of concern for the country and the people, thinking of writing a letter to severely crack down on the economy. At this time, the mule cart entered the Lu Mansion.
Zhang Dai's reputation in officialdom can be described as polarizing.
People who have no direct interest in him are not shy about praising Zhang Dai's reputation. Some people will even write poems to praise him. This not only pushes Zhang Dai's reputation to a high level within a small area, but also takes the opportunity to reveal it.
The clear name of the person who praised.
But at the same time, there are also a lot of people who despise and fear this person, and even want to make things difficult for him.
Some are interested, and some are not interested but they are not innocent. Even if they don't face Zhang Dai now, they won't face Zhang Dai in the foreseeable few years, but who knows whether they will face this person in the future.
?
If such a person is allowed to rise all the way up and become a powerful person, who knows whether it will prevent more people from getting promoted and making a fortune?
This group of people is the main driving force behind Zhang Dai's "notoriety".
But there are also a very small number of people, the ministers who pointed out that "Zhang Dai is really not beneficial to people's livelihood and state affairs", who have a lot of opinions about him.
At this moment, one of the "pushers" was in the study room of the magistrate's yamen, carefully admiring several paintings and calligraphy arranged on the eucalyptus, and sighed: "Your Majesty, to be fair, Taisun's calligraphy and paintings have indeed reached the level of proficiency.
Compared with the famous masters of the past, he is not inferior to him, or even better."
This man wore a half-worn silk robe, had a long face, and looked like a middle-aged scholar.
"Well, it is indeed." The magistrate held his chin and thought: "In terms of charm, he is even better. I don't know where Taisun got this experience."
"It's a pity that the fate has been decided... and there are Zhang Dai and others who are with him." The middle-aged scholar wanted to speak, but a family member (a son of the family, a slave) knocked on the door and was called in to report the news of Zhang Dai's entry into the city.
"As soon as I mentioned him, he's already here." The prefect said with a smile, stroking his short beard.
"grown ups……"
"Don't be anxious, I already fully understand the reason for your coming. Zhang Dai and I are the same masters, so I can use this reason to come to see him." The prefect said and called his family: "Go and get one hundred taels of silver.
"
"Remember, find a small box and put it in it. I will take it to see my junior brother."
"yes."
"I heard that Zhang Dai keeps dogs and refuses guests." The middle-aged Juren was a little worried about being rejected. The magistrate shook his head and smiled: "If I go at any other time, I might be rejected, but he is one of the imperial envoys and he is here for investigation. Although I have an official rank,
It’s not high, but as the prefect of Jielu Mansion, no matter how impatient he is, he has to endure it. Don’t worry, he won’t really shut me out.”
This is the truth.
If Zhang Dai is not an imperial envoy or an errand, and the officials want to see him, it is not certain whether they can see him.
This person has an unkind temper and often makes people unable to get off the stage.
To use the words of someone who has a deep prejudice against Zhang Dai, he is a smelly and hard manhole rock.
Take the bullock cart out of the Yamen and go straight to Zhang Dai's resting place, the inn.
For poor officials like Zhang Dai, if they were of sufficient rank, they could live in inns along the way and have their own official support, without having to pay for their own money. This would not make it difficult for them to move forward.
After traveling all the way, I had a pretty good life on the road. Even Zhang Kan, who had been living a poor life with me, had some flesh on his face and gained some weight.
Zhang Kan was a servant who grew up with Zhang Dai, and now he has become a personal attendant. His son, his father, and his wife are all servants of the Zhang family, and Zhang Dai trusts them very much.
Things resemble their masters, and so do their personal servants.
It's just that compared to Zhang Dai's toughness, Zhang Kan has a different identity and has to do things inside and out, so he naturally has to be more down-to-earth.
"It turns out to be Mr. Fu Jun. I will go and report it now."
"Come in quickly." Zhang Dai was washing his feet and reading a book under the lamp. Then he said that an official had come in.
The prefect was wearing a fourth-grade official uniform. He was a middle-aged man in his early forties, with a fair face and a bookish air. His eyebrows were slightly raised, showing a sense of dignity. He glanced at Zhang Dai and saw Zhang Dai's simple clothes, so he said: "
Junior brother, are you okay? You have had a hard journey."
Zhang Dai stood up, gave up his hand, and said calmly: "It turns out to be Mr. Xu, please sit down."
"Junior Brother Zhang, it has been many years since we last met, and you have become thinner and thinner." The magistrate stared at this fellow disciple gently: "Is it because the food in the inn is not good? This must be rectified."
"Sir, I am on a mission this time. All supplies at the inn are in accordance with the standards of an imperial mission. How can the treatment be so poor?"
"That means junior brother is worried about national affairs."
Seeing the skinny Zhang Dai, Magistrate Xu felt a lot of emotion in his heart. In terms of grades, both of them were actually the same. They were both from the fourth grade. However, in terms of luck and life, they were just one day at a time.
.
"It's a pity that although Zhang Dai has an upright name, he is actually a giant beetle to the country. He is a scheming figure for the imperial court, so we cannot allow him to live longer. Now if I am given the treatment of dying for the country, I believe that Jiuquanxia will also be grateful to me!
"
When he thought of this, Magistrate Xu's heart brightened and he no longer hesitated.