The Happy Life of Small Officials in Northern Song Dynasty

The red sun fell to the west, reflecting a crimson sky and earth.

The car paused and stopped, and someone reported outside the window: "Master Sansi, the Niutou post has arrived, and the county magistrate of Zhe County led a group of gentry officials to meet him in front."

Yan Shu stretched his waist, rubbed his forehead and said, "Pass down the order, I will rest at the Niutou Post today, and go on the road tomorrow."

The man took the order and went away; Su Jin opened the door and got out of the car, and then stretched out his hand to help Yan Shu get out of the car. Fu Bi was at the front of the team directing the cars and horses to park, and ordered the posthouse officials to feed the horses and fetch water to welcome them.

Yan Shu squinted his eyes to adapt to the setting sun, and walked forward. Su Jin followed closely, but his eyes kept wandering, looking for Yan Biyun's trace.

In a corner of the stable outside the post station, Su Jin saw the familiar purple carriage. Although he didn't see anyone, a stone fell from his heart.

Pang De, the county magistrate of Zhe County, led all the county officials and a group of squires to greet him in front of him. Seeing Yan Shu's arrival, they all stepped forward to salute and greet him.

Yan Shu smiled and said: "You guys got the news very quickly, so you know that the official is coming, why are you making such a big show?"

Pang De is a skinny old man, his eyes are gurgling around, and he looks unusually clever. Hearing this, he bowed and said: "It should be, it should be, Lord Sansi passed through the county several times, and every time he was dismissed, he would It’s a hindsight, it’s really impolite, this time I have been waiting here since the afternoon, just to show the friendship of the landlord.”

Yan Shu frowned and said, "Isn't it a waste of official business if everyone delays for half a day?"

Pang De said with a smile: "Don't worry, my lord, everything has been arranged properly before I dare to wait here. In any case, I can't neglect my official duties. Besides, when my lord comes to this county, the safety of the county is also an official duty, and the subordinate officials are also on business. Woolen cloth."

Yan Shu chuckled and said, "You can talk, last time the bandits made a case here, now you're all going to be frightened."

Pound sighed and said: "It's fine if you don't mention it, but when you mention this matter, the officials will feel burned. There has never been a robbery in this county for several years. I don't want to have such a big incident in the official post all at once. The case, the lower official is ashamed, the official document reported has already been sent to Yingtian Mansion, the adults must have seen it, the lower official Zhengming county captain and the three classes of government officials will investigate this matter day and night, and I will definitely give an explanation to the adults."

Yan Shu nodded and said, "Very good, but it's not for me, but for your new magistrate. He will definitely come to ask for your explanation for this matter, but he has nothing to do with the old man."

Pang De nodded and said: "Yes, the official document was delivered yesterday, and it is the blessing of the people of Yingtian that Mr. Bao can come to take charge of Yingtian Mansion. Needless to say, this is also the point of Mr. Sansi. the grace of the people."

Yan Shu smiled slightly, noncommittal.Su Jin could not help secretly admiring Pound's smooth words and smooth flattery.

Fu Bi arranged the garrison and security of the entourage, stepped forward and said, "Master Sansi, let's rest at the post station. After driving for a day, you must be tired."

Yan Shu waved his hand and said, "Let's go, I haven't eaten a single grain of rice for a day, so hurry up and prepare meals for everyone to eat and rest, and feed and water the horses."

Fu Bi said: "The lower officials understand that they are already in the process of making arrangements."

The crowd surrounded Yan Shu and entered the gate of the inn, and walked through the wide courtyard to the hall. The inn servants brought clean water for Yan Shu, Fu Bi and others to wash their faces and remove the dust, and served tea to quench their thirst.

Su Jin didn't want to listen to the courtesies between them in the hall, so he took the time to go back; the post stations on both sides of the official road were originally military posts, not only the place was large, but also there were tall earth and stone watchtowers around them , Su Jin went around trying to find Yan Biyun's residence, but he didn't see a single person. Bored, he climbed up a nearby stone tower and looked down.

From the height of the tower, you can have a panoramic view of the entire post station. Several piles of bonfires have already been lit in the front courtyard, and a few puffs of green smoke go straight up to the gray sky in the evening. Dozens of soldiers are busy feeding horses and feeding materials. Soldiers have already started patrolling around the station with weapons in hand.

Su Jin looked at the layout of the station. It was surrounded by high walls and surrounded by a wilderness. There were postmen guarding the station. Not to mention that the open area could not hide people. Once the gate in front was closed, it would be difficult to get in. I don't know how Tang Jie and a dozen guards were killed quietly.

While he was contemplating, he suddenly heard someone shouting from below: "Young Master Su, what are you doing up there? The lord ordered the villain to invite you to dinner."

Su Jin hurriedly climbed down the stone pagoda and walked back with that entourage. A tall and thin figure stood there at the back door of the hall. Was it Xiao Xianer or who?

Xiao Xian'er also saw Su Jin, and their eyes met quickly, Xiao Xian'er hurriedly bowed her head and stepped aside, Su Jin wanted to talk to her, but at this time it was really not the right time, so she had to pass by. He secretly pinched her little hand as a greeting.

The hall was already brightly lit. Su Jin saw Yan Biyun sitting next to Yan Shu at a glance. He only glanced at Su Jin lightly, then turned his head away. Su Jin was already used to avoiding suspicion.

Yan Shu waved to Su Jin, pointed to the vacant seat on his right hand and said, "Come, come, sit next to me. You don't feel tired from the bumps all the way, and you still walk around."

Su Jin hurriedly said: "I see that the stone pagoda can be climbed high and looked far away, so I climbed up to see the scenery. In the twilight of the wilderness, the autumn color is extremely magnificent."

Yan Shu chuckled and said, "You can tell at a glance that you haven't crossed the border. If this is considered magnificent, what is the scenery in the northwest of our Great Song Dynasty? I didn't hear Fan Xiwen's saying, 'The scenery is different in autumn, and the geese in Hengyang don't pay attention to it. 'What?"

Su Jin smiled and said: "There is no comparison between the autumn scenery of the Central Plains and the outside of the Great Wall. If the autumn scenery in the south of the Yangtze River is the little family jade of the cardamom age, the autumn scenery of the Central Plains can be regarded as a famous lady in the middle of the family, while the autumn scenery outside the Great Wall can be called the weather-beaten dust. Old woman, from south to north is just a round of life."

Yan Shu applauded: "It's a good metaphor, thank you for thinking of it."

Yan Biyun lowered his head and smiled softly, and rolled his eyes at Su Jin.

Pang De didn't like Su Jin very much before, but this time he saw that Su Jin talked freely in front of Lord Sansi, and the relationship between the two was very harmonious, so he realized that this young man seemed not simple, and hurriedly said: "San Si My lord hasn't introduced this junior official on behalf of the lower official yet, seeing that the junior official Qi Yuxuan is handsome and handsome, he must come from an extraordinary background."

Yan Shu was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "I'm just a nephew, surnamed Su, who came out to practice with me, and every child said it casually, and everyone laughed at him."

Pang De waved his hand and said: "That's not what you said. Brother Su has a lot of rhetoric when he talks, so he must not be someone in the pool."

Yan Shu said: "Don't praise him, come and eat, it's hard to prepare a big table of good wine and food for Magistrate Pang, and reduce the meal order. I feel hungry every day, and the old man is already impatient."

When Yan Shu said this, the smell of steaming food and wine on the table became more and more pungent. Su Jin, who could still hold back the hunger, groaned, causing everyone to look at him. Yan Biyun covered his mouth and burst out laughing.

Su Jin was a little embarrassed, and said with a smile: "Writing starts from the mouth, poetry comes from the belly! Show your shame! Show your shame!"

Everyone laughed loudly and raised their fingers one after another: "What a quick wit, what a good sentence."

Pang De raised his thumbs and said with a smile: "Young officials are quite calm and calm in front of the collapse of a mountain. You should be honest and speak well. In time, you will become a famous minister of our Great Song Dynasty."

Yan Shu laughed and said, "It's too early to say that, we can start eating, otherwise someone might have to recite poetry again."

Amidst the roar of laughter, the crowd started to move. The people who had been hungry for a day were eating indecently. Pang De was terrified when he saw it. In the Zhe County under the jurisdiction, everyone still insisted on me, and no one cared about this problem at all. Seeing everyone gobbling up, Pang De poured out sour water in bursts, and the roasted whole lamb at noon hadn't been digested yet.

After drinking and eating, they drank tea and chatted for a while. Yan Shu covered his mouth and yelled. Pound immediately said goodbye and went back to the county government office. Yan Shu was not invited to spend the night at the county government office. Firstly, the journey was far away, and secondly, he had to leave early tomorrow morning.

Yan Shu was old and drowsy after drinking, so he went back to his room to rest first; Fu Bi, Su Jin, Yan Biyun and the others sat under the lamp and chatted about family affairs, Yan Biyun asked about his cousin's recent situation, Fu Bi answered them one by one. At the moment, Su Jin looks like an outsider, unable to intervene.

Fu Bi was a man of knowledge, seeing that he was obviously in the way here, so he stopped talking and was about to leave, but was stopped by Su Jin.

"Brother, go slowly, I have something I want to talk to you about."

Fu Bi turned around and said, "Oh? What's the matter?"

Yan Biyun said: "Do you want my servant to avoid it?"

Su Jin said: "What's the secret between you and me? It's out of the question."

Yan Biyun blushed, and gave Su Jin a reproachful look, Fu Bi secretly raised his thumb, thinking: thick-skinned, promising.

"My little brother just climbed up to the stone tower of the post station to look at it, and suddenly I have a question, and I want to ask my brother for advice."

"So polite, say."

"There are post officials and servants in our post station in the Song Dynasty. Can we garrison troops?"

Fu Bi said: "In normal times, there are several postmen in addition to the post generals. Because the post station is responsible for transmitting military information and government affairs, delivering official documents, and receiving official errands, it will be equipped with different numbers of manpower according to needs; in wartime, The post station is equivalent to a military station, and if it is responsible for supplies occasionally, the number of people will be too many. Why did Xiaodi Su suddenly ask this?"

Su Jin didn't answer his question, and continued to ask: "How many people are there on weekdays in a station like Niutou Station?"

Fu Bi thought for a while and said: "This post station is responsible for all the reception and delivery from the capital to Jingdong Road. I am afraid that there are many people. It is estimated that there are at least about 20 people. The specific number of people will be known when you ask the station general. "

Su Jin waved his hand and said: "Then there is no need to alarm others. When I looked around from the stone pagoda, I found that the terrain of the post station is very good. Not only is the foothold quite high, but the surrounding area is a wilderness. I think if someone wants to It may not be easy to sneak into the post station under such terrain."

Fu Bi frowned and said hesitantly, "You mean..."

Su Jin stood up gently and waved: "You follow me."

Fu Bi and Yan Biyun got up suspiciously, and followed Su Jin out of the hall.