The Happy Life of Small Officials in Northern Song Dynasty

The curtain was lifted, and Song Xiang, who was full of anger, didn't care about his image of a modest gentleman at all. His face was half-washed and hadn't been dried yet. His clothes were open, revealing the little clothes inside. The fluttered lips were blown high, and a few wisps were still sticking to the wet face, which seemed to be really angry.

Su Jin couldn't bear it, and took the risk by himself, forcing Song Xiang to a dead end. No wonder he was so angry, so he stepped forward to help Song Xiang who was staggering, and said in his mouth: "My lord, don't get angry, it's me who hurt your body." An irreparable crime."

Song Xiang waved Su Jin's outstretched hand away, pointed to his nose and said: "Su Jin, you ignorant boy, you are unforgivably guilty of opening a warehouse to stockpile grain without permission. I will send you to the capital, to the emperor I will punish you for your crime."

Su Jin continued to say: "It should be, it should be, the emissary came here to plead guilty to the Lord Fu Zun, and the Lord Fu Zun can take me to the capital to question the crime, I have no complaints."

Song Xiang said angrily: "Do you still dare to complain? None of the people involved in this matter can escape, and the government will question all of you."

Su Jin hurriedly said: "I did this alone, and there is no forgiveness for others. I am the one who invited you to drink Mongolian sweat medicinal wine, I was the one who forged the official document, and I was the one who opened the warehouse to release the grain. Your lord wants to ask, Just take me alone."

"What? You gave me Mongolian Khan medicinal wine? I said why did I sleep all day? It turned out that you, a villain, made trouble. I still trust you so much in vain. I'm so angry."

Song Xiang beat his chest and stomped his feet, and shouted loudly: "Come here, come here, take Su Jin into custody immediately, and escort him to Beijing."

Song Quan, who was standing on the side, quickly stepped forward and knelt down and said, "Daddy, daddy, no, Special Envoy Su took the risk for the sake of the people of Yangzhou. You can't punish him for this. Besides, my son knew about it beforehand. Then The official document was forged by my son, and your seal was also stolen by my son, so you have to take it with your son."

Song Xiang was heartbroken, and gritted his teeth: "Then I will take it together. Don't blame my father for being cruel. You have already committed a heinous crime. There is no other way to forgive this crime. Maybe I will take you to Beijing. Come here." ! Take these two together."

The yamen servants at the door heard what happened to the master and rushed over, but when they heard that they wanted to take the envoy and the young master, they all looked at each other and didn't know what to do.

"Take it, what are you waiting for?" Song Xiang picked up a teacup and threw it at the hesitant yamen servants, looking crazy.

The team leader had no choice but to yell forward, only to hear a voice from the corner say: "Prefect Song, if you want to take it, you can take it with me."

Song Xiang turned his head to look, and saw the chubby Gou Dasheng sitting there with a look of surprise on his face; although Song Xiang was furious, he was not confused, and hurriedly cupped his hands and said, "Gou Cangsi, you don't know the details. Two people..."

Gou Dasheng waved his hand and said: "Don't talk about it, I know what happened. I went to Yangzhou City yesterday afternoon. When I came to see you, your son said you were sick and lethargic, so he didn't dare to disturb you. Later, I went to Cangsi, Special Envoy Su Every move I made was witnessed by the officer.”

Song Xiang stomped his feet and said, "Then why don't you stop them? Don't you let them trample on the court's laws and regulations, and even your own life will be lost?"

Gou Dasheng said in his heart: "You pretend I don't want to, after tossing and tossing for a long time, and being whipped, in the end it's not the thief boat that was pulled on board."

"That's right, but I think... what Special Envoy Su did was the right choice." Gou Dasheng said.

"What? Gou Cangsi, aren't you joking with the old man? You actually said that such a serious crime as using military rations was the right choice. I think you are too old to be confused." Song Xiang cursed angrily.

Gou Dasheng scratched his head and said, "Don't be anxious, Song Zhifu. Just listen to me, the food shortage in Yangzhou City is getting more and more serious. If you don't take extraordinary measures, the people may starve to death or freeze to death. What's more serious is brewing food." When a large-scale civil uprising comes, it will really be a big deal; if the matter is urgent, it is okay to use idle military rations. Moreover, the special envoy of Su said that the Luzhou grain transportation team will arrive every day, and then they will quietly fill up the warehouse That's right."

Song Xiang was about to burst into tears: "Luzhou Grain Transport Team? Do you believe his lies? He even dared to drug his own officials, and even forged official documents. You don't want to do anything he dare not do." Think, where did he get 50 shi of grain to donate to Yangzhou?"

Gou Dasheng was terrified by what he said, and looked at Su Jin suspiciously. Su Jin knew that this was a critical moment. If Gou Dasheng had doubts about him at this time, the alliance between himself and Gou Dasheng would collapse in an instant, so he said sternly : "This envoy swears to the heavens that if there is a half-truth in the matter of Luzhou's food, I will die badly; this envoy is about to send someone to urge it, but the delay for a long time must be due to the snow, and the official way is not good. It's easy to go, thousands of vehicles have taken a lot of trouble along the way, I beg the magistrate, can you send someone to help?"

Song Xiang said angrily: "How long are you going to lie to me? You are an envoy of the emperor, but you do such a thing. Are you worthy of the trust of the Holy Majesty?"

Su Jin's face changed suddenly when he heard the words, and he said: "Prefect Song, you have said a lot of good things and bad things. You just accept this deadly reason. Is it worthy of the emperor to let the people in the city starve to death and freeze to death? Since the envoy came to Yangzhou Well, Yangzhou Mansion has become like this due to your Song Zhifu's inaction, you don't reflect on yourself, but blame me and others who tried their best to help the people. Could it be that the people are displaced and hungry, and you can guard your place with peace of mind? Cang Junliang get a good night's sleep?"

Gou Dasheng stretched out his hand to pull Su Jin, for fear that his fierce words would irritate Song Xiang here; Su Jin pushed him away, pointed at Song Xiang and continued: "In this case, you should tie up this envoy and go to the capital to question the crime." Yes; this envoy will never drag others down, and I will bear all the blame. You have eyes and ears. Go out and have a look. There are more than [-] people kneeling in the snow in the Yamen square, just to thank you The magistrate's kindness, I, Su Jin, do not regret my death, and the thoughts in the hearts of the common people are not greedy for you, if you don't believe me, go to the government office to see if I, Su Jin, have told lies."

Listening to Su Jin's angry words, Song Xiang was also introspecting in his heart. If he said that he was really shameless and escorted Su Jin, Gou Dasheng, and Song Quan to Beijing together, he would not be able to do it. Once you get out, no matter how many parties you have brought, you can't get rid of the responsibility. Just now, the chest was full of anger, but now it is slowly calming down.

After Su Jin finished speaking, he stood there angrily, gnashing his teeth, while Song Xiang sat down on the chair, rubbed his forehead and sighed; what Su Jin said was unreasonable, he always wanted to take that step, but always Shy and afraid to act, Su Jin didn't care to open a warehouse for relief as soon as he came. This courage was actually something Song Xiang admired from the bottom of his heart, but... how this matter will end is really a headache.

Several people in the yamen were silent, all of them were like clay sculptures and wood carvings, but the noise outside the yamen became louder and louder, and suddenly the people spontaneously let out a sky-shattering cry, flooding the entire city of Yangzhou.

"My lord is dedicated to serving the people wholeheartedly. We wait for the people to wish you good luck and a long life!"

"Master Zhifu is the master of Qingtian, come out and meet me, and I will kowtow to you!"

"Master Cangsi came out to meet, the people of Yangzhou thank you for your great kindness!"

"..."

The spontaneous shouts of the common people made the teacups in the house buzzing, and anyone under such a situation would inevitably feel emotional; Su Jin is fine, Song Xiang and Gou Dasheng have been officials for many years, seeking to get promoted and make a fortune Besides, who doesn't want to be an official voice loved by the people, but it's a pity that they have been criticized behind their backs or abused by others for so many years. It has never been before that the shouts of the people set off a monstrous storm in the hearts of the two of them. wave.

Finally, Song Xiang got up slowly, with tears in his eyes, sighed and said: "This is the end, let's find a way to make up for it slowly, you and I go out to meet the people of Yangzhou, we can't teach the people to suffer outside freeze."

Su Jin stiffened his neck and said in his heart: I am doing things with my head up, and in exchange for such a big reputation for you, I still have to accept your words. It's really not worth it.

Song Xiang came forward and took Su Jin's arm and said, "Master Special Envoy, don't be angry, first go out with the mansion to meet people talking about it."

Su Jin said: "I want you to go, I won't go."

Song Xiang bumped into a wall, and the old man blushed and said, "Do you want me to kneel down and invite you?"

After saying that, he gave Gou Dasheng a wink, and Gou Dasheng understood, rushed forward, took Su Jin's other arm, and the two of them half dragged and half dragged Su Jin to the outside of the yamen.