The Happy Life of Small Officials in Northern Song Dynasty

Su Jin sighed, feeling extremely depressed, he was not strict with his subordinates, and rarely treated them as servants on weekdays, this was caused by the thoughts brought by later generations, so the longer the people around him followed him, the more they would be. It has become irrelevant.

Originally, in Su Jin's heart, he didn't treat the people around him as they are, but now it seems that this kind of thinking is unacceptable. In this era, the strict hierarchical system is the strong bond that keeps the building from falling. Lacking the psychological shackles that can restrain others, my previous thoughts are a bit ridiculous.

"My lord... I was wrong!" It was rare for Ma Han to speak in such a shrill voice like a woman's.

Su Jin said lightly: "Take off all the wet clothes, wring them dry and hang them to dry; Ma Han, go to the open space and do a thousand push-ups as a punishment, and you are not allowed to drink alcohol or eat meat for another three months."

Ma Han hurriedly said: "My lord..."

Su Jin stared and shouted: "What are you talking about? It's okay if you don't want to accept the punishment. When we are out of trouble, we will settle your wages and you can leave on your own."

Ma Han finally knew that Su Jin was really annoyed, and he also blamed himself for being greedy. At this time, he was still thinking about eating wine and meat, and now the three of them were drowned. It's okay to be bare-chested, but how can the young master's small body stand it, won't he freeze to death after this night?

Ma Han fell to his knees, repeatedly admitting his mistakes, Wang Chao also knelt down and begged for mercy, Su Jin fiddled with his wet hair and said: "Do as I said, Wang Chao will move the wet grass away, the ground below should be dry, this night... ...we're going to cuddle up and sleep."

Su Jin's outer cotton robe was completely soaked, but fortunately, the close-fitting clothes inside were still dry, which saved him from the shame of being naked. Wet clothes should never be worn. Hypothermia caused by hypothermia will kill you overnight. The only way is to curl up and huddle together to keep warm, or keep walking all night to let the body generate heat to ensure that it will not freeze.

Although there was no biting wind in the underground cell, it was still as cold as an ice cellar. The water sprinkled on the grass stalks froze into popsicles after a while. After a while, his body was cold, his lips were black and purple, and his upper and lower teeth began to chatter.

The three bandits ate and drank enough, shook their bodies to check around, closed the door of the outer passage, got into the small bed in the corner of the hall, and fell asleep soundly.

The colder it was, the longer the time felt. Su Jin felt that he was already cold to the bone, and Wang Chao and Ma Han couldn't stand it any longer. They squeezed on both sides of Su Jin to keep him warm, but the effect was minimal.

I don't know how long it took, Su Jin's hands and feet gradually went numb, and his body was so cold that he couldn't bear it. Suddenly, he heard the knocking sound of "De De De" from the wooden fence at the east end, and the three turned their heads. I went to see it, but there was no movement.

Turning his head around, there were three more rhythmic knocking sounds. Su Jin got up and came to the fence with a low waist. is beating.

Only then did Su Jin realize that it wasn't the three of them here. The wooden cells were separated by fences. ignored.

Seeing Su Jin coming to the fence, there was a squirm in the grass, and a human head popped out. Su Jin was startled, and leaned back slightly, but he heard the man whisper: "Don't be afraid, little official, the little one is a living person, little one!" His name is Chen Laogen."

Su Jin breathed out and said, "Brother Chen, it's a pleasure to meet you, did you really call us by knocking on the railing?"

Chen Laogen stood on his lips and said softly: "Don't be loud, it will be troublesome if you wake up the gangster, take this and put it on."

After hearing this, Chen Laogen took out a black cloak from the grass under him, and stuffed it for Su Jin through the gap in the fence. Su Jin was almost vomited by a stench, but at least it was dry. It's cold, so I don't care about anything else, I quickly wrapped it around my body, cupped my hands and said, "Thank you, Brother Chen."

Chen Laogen said: "Don't be polite, you just gave me a bad breath, this is also to repay you."

Su Jin said: "You and I don't know each other, how can we talk about repaying?"

Chen Laogen said: "I don't know the little officials. The villain who was bullied by the bandit Qi Laosi who was beaten up by your subordinates just now is really miserable. This man is very vicious. He thought of such tricks to make fun of me, no To tell you the truth, the life of the villain was ruined by the fourth brother Qi, he called this roasted taro..."

Su Jin's hair was standing on end, the bandits really deserved to have their children and grandchildren cut off, this kind of punishment was actually used seriously, once there is a chance, I hope the old four will not forgive.

Su Jin sighed and said: "Brother Chen's fate is so miserable, it really makes people feel embarrassed, dare to ask where is your family? How did you fall into the hands of bandits and suffer this torture?"

Chen Laogen sighed: "The villain is from Luzhou Prefecture. He was originally a servant of the government office. A few days ago, he was ordered by the magistrate to deliver a letter to Suzhou Prefecture. When he passed by the foot of the mountain, he was arrested by bandits. Tortured me in every possible way and asked me if the content of the letter was true. The villain is just a messenger, how can he know the truth of the letter? If they don't believe me, then the fourth brother Qi will use different tricks to torture the villain..."

Su Jin was startled and said, "Are you from Luzhou? Did you send the letter to Suzhou under the order of the prefect Zhu?"

Chen Laogen said: "That's right, the petty officials know our Master Zhu?"

Su Jin smiled and said, "It's not just an acquaintance, but an old acquaintance."

Chen Laogen hurriedly cupped his hands and said: "That's right, just now I heard from the second-in-charge that the petty official is also an official of the imperial court, so he must have known Master Zhu, since that's the case, the villain has something to ask, I don't know if it should be said or not."

Su Jin said: "But it's okay to say."

Chen Laogen said: "The villain is trapped in a bandit's nest and has lost his body. I'm afraid he will die here. If you can get sleepy, please send a letter to Zhu Zhifu for the villain. My 60-year-old mother is deaf. Dazzling, I am an unfilial son, and I have never married a wife. If I die, the pension money from the government will be sent to my old mother. If possible, I would like to ask the neighbors to take care of me."

Su Jin saw that he was speaking miserably, and comforted him: "Brother Chen, don't be discouraged, things may not be so bad, but I promise you, if I can get out of trouble, I will definitely bring my words to you."

Chen Laogen cupped his hands to express his thanks, and Su Jin asked casually: "Brother Chen, just now you said that the prefect Zhu ordered you to send a letter to Suzhou, right?"

Chen Laogen said: "Exactly."

"Bandits in Bagong Mountain are rampant, don't you know? Why do they pass down the mountain again?"

"The magistrate asked for the letter to be delivered in one day and one night, and he said that the bandits in Bagong Mountain have been severely damaged after several rounds of siege, and they dare not come out to commit crimes openly, so the villain has the courage to pass by this mountain."

Su Jin frowned and said, "What day was that? I still remember."

Chen Laogen raised his head and thought for a while, then said: "On the eighth day of November, I remember it very clearly, because when I left the city in the early morning of that day, Ma Jun, the guard from the capital, happened to be transporting food and set off, making all the chaos in the city. danced, so I remember it well."

Su Jin's heart was agitated, he took a few deep breaths, and asked, "Are you sure you don't know the contents of the letter?"

Chen Laogen said: "The official yamen's document is sealed with a wax seal. How do I know that? However, when the bandits tortured me, they kept asking whether the incident of the officers and soldiers transporting food in the letter was true. The villain was also very puzzled. , as far as the villain knows, the matter of transporting food is the work of the cavalry of the Imperial Army, and it is transported to Yangzhou Prefecture. Why did the magistrate write a letter to inform the Suzhou government office of this matter, saying that the food is sent to Suzhou? But I am just an errand Yes, I don’t understand these, so I didn’t think much about it.”

Su Jin's forehead was sweating, and his whole body began to feel dry and hot. There was no trace of chill. He reached out and took off the cloak, and asked, "Are you sure what you said is true?"

Chen Laogen said strangely: "Little official, what's wrong? I didn't say anything in front of the bandits, but the matter of transporting food was true, so I agreed, because I really couldn't stand that guy's tricks. "

Su Jin comforted: "It's okay, you've done a good job, so you can rest and recharge your spirits. When we go out, I will definitely find a way to find someone to cure your hidden illness."

Chen Laogen said happily: "Can the villain still go out?"

Su Jin smiled and said: "Of course I can, but from now on, don't talk to me, pretend that you don't know me, don't say anything if the bandit asks you, and what I said to you just now, you must never talk to a third person." rise."

Seeing Su Jin's seriousness, Chen Laogen nodded his head and said, "The villain will listen to you."

Su Jin reached out, patted him on the shoulder, returned the cloak to Chen Laogen, pulled a large pile of hay from under him, spread it in the corner, and called Chao Chao and Ma Han to come over, and the three of them leaned closely Together, they closed their eyes and fell asleep in a daze.