The Happy Life of Small Officials in Northern Song Dynasty

"If he knew about this, why didn't he use opening a warehouse as an excuse to blackmail me, instead of using beauty to lure me into a trap, maybe he didn't know at all, or he didn't even know that what I moved was military rations " Su Jin chatted to comfort himself.

Yan Biyun sighed: "I hope so, the most urgent task right now is to find out Song Xiang's attitude, and also try to find out who is already under the control of Feng Huhu."

Su Jindao: "Bai Mudan gave me seven names, but that's not all. Feng Laohu followed his fancy and raised several beautiful women. According to the different preferences of officials, he fell into a trap. There must be a lot of people."

Xiao Xian'er gritted her teeth and cursed: "This dirty thief actually came up with so many dirty ideas, my lord, you can't spare him this time."

Su Jin smiled and said: "Don't worry, this kind of scourge must be cleaned up no matter what."

Turning to Yan Biyun, he said, "Bai Mudan said that any officials who fall under his control will be forced to write down documents admitting that they broke into Jian. The point is, if I can get these papers in my hands, firstly, I can relieve the troubles of the officials, and secondly, I can use this to make these guys work for me and listen to me obediently."

Yan Biyun said: "You can't act recklessly. The place where these documents are stored must be the key place for Feng Huo to guard against. You must not put yourself in danger; and even if you get these evidences, you can't use them to blackmail others. Haven't you gone the other way?"

Su Jin laughed and said: "Sister Yan, you are worrying too much, I'm just here to clarify my thoughts, I don't want to do it right away, then Feng Huhu can hold two horses with his palms, so that the horses don't move at all. He is a master of martial arts, I will not be so stupid as to confront him head-on."

Yan Biyun said: "It's good that you know, there are a lot of troubles now, if you mess up again, what should we do, it's better to discuss in the long run."

Su Jin got up with a smile and said: "Got it, I should go back too, first go to Song Mutu to find out, time is waiting for no one, it's the twelfth lunar month, a small Yangzhou has not been settled, other state capitals are afraid It’s already imminent, we can’t delay any longer.”

Yan Biyun said: "Leave after lunch, I haven't been at the same table with you for a long time, the old shopkeeper took Yang Xiaosi and Ma Han to the street, you don't wait for them to come back?"

Su Jin touched her face and said: "After all this is done, we will have plenty of time to be together. We had agreed to have lunch with Song Zhifu at noon, but that dragon was really released by Song Zhifu. I still have to find He's settling accounts. Don't tell him about the old shopkeeper's return. I'll send him out of the city tomorrow morning. The affairs of Luzhou's family can't be delayed. This time Rou Niang will go back with her. As soon as the matter in Yangzhou is over, I'll go back See mother in Luzhou."

After finishing speaking, he leaned over and ignored Yan Biyun's resistance and kissed her on the cheek, then kissed Rou Niang and Xiao Xian'er with his arms around each other, took off his new clothes, put on a tattered old padded jacket and went downstairs. go.

Yan Biyun heard his footsteps receding, and sighed softly: "I really don't know if it's right or wrong for Uncle to let you go this way, and you're like this, and you don't know when you will be the boss. On the contrary, my family likes the day of the state more."

Xiaoxian'er and Rouniang were thoughtful, touching the lips kissed by Su Jin, lost in thought.

……

In the inner hall of the Yangzhou yamen, Song Xiang was all over the place with a smile on his face and tried to persuade him to drink. There were a few good dishes on the table. It seemed that Song Xiang made an exception and added more dishes for Su Jin, the special envoy.

"Special envoy Su, please use it. This is the plum duck from Wufangzhai. They have just resumed business. The government has specially sent someone to take care of the business. At the same time, special envoy Su has a taste of our Yangzhou specialty."

Smiling, Su Jin picked up a piece and put it in his mouth. After chewing a few times, he felt the fragrance in his mouth. He couldn't help but praised: "It really lives up to its reputation, fat but not greasy, fragrant in the mouth, crispy skin and loose bones, delicious meat, delicious."

Song Xiang laughed and said, "That's right, this is also the first time I have tasted it. Speaking of it, I have borrowed the light of the special envoy."

Su Jindao: "The frugality of the magistrate, must have been greatly appreciated by the emperor. That day when I went to the palace to meet the emperor, the lotus seed soup that the emperor gave me was only a few lotus seeds. The emperor is very thrifty. The prefect My lord and the emperor are thinking of getting together."

Song Xiang stopped eating his chopsticks, and sighed: "My ministers are incompetent, and I feel ashamed for letting the emperor do this."

Su Jin said: "We are the ones who are incompetent. No matter how majestic and solid the long embankment is, if the rat ants dig holes and open holes, they will inevitably collapse overnight. If the rat ants are not eliminated, how can there be stability and prosperity?"

Song Xiangdao: "It's not easy to talk about it. The administration of officials is a matter that affects the whole body. How can talking about it be enough?"

Su Jin smiled and said: "Is it that difficult? From the perspective of the overall situation, it is indeed complicated and daunting. In fact, if I follow my humble opinion, every department, every road, every state capital and even every county can be as long as the chief official can Cleaning up officials within your own control will clear the overall situation; for example, you, the magistrate of Yangzhou, do you know if your subordinates are corrupt, selfish, or cheating for profit? If even you I don't know, how can we blame the corrupt officials, the emperor is afraid that he will have to live a poor life."

Song Xiang was startled, put down the wine cup and said, "Master Special Envoy seems to be dissatisfied with the administration of our Yangzhou officials. All the yamen in Yangzhou are functioning normally, and there is no violation of the law found by the inspectors."

Su Jin raised his glass and said: "My lord, why bother? I just took Yangzhou as an example to talk casually. Today I wanted to ask my lord about Long Zhen. When I was going to Bagong Mountain, I ordered Long Zhen to be tied up in the yamen." On the lamppost in the square, the food cannot be taken back, so he is absolutely not allowed to be released, I wonder if the Lord Fuzun released him, how do I explain this to my subordinates? Can I still mobilize my subordinates in the future?"

Song Xiang cupped his hands and said: "Special Envoy Su, this matter is indeed an order from my government. You go to Bagong Mountain for more than ten days. According to your order, you are tied outside in such a cold night. Slowly speaking, it is ten days, or three. Sun can’t stand it either, Long Zhen is a general of the imperial army after all, if he freezes to death, how can he explain to the Privy Council, this government also issued this order out of kindness to you.”

Su Jin said in a cold voice: "So I would like to thank the magistrate for his kindness? Long Zhen escaped in battle, and his business was not good, and he deserved to die. Even if he froze to death, he deserved it. The emperor sent him to help me with my business. His life and death have been handed over to me." Give me your hand, how could I be afraid of the Privy Council, what a joke."

Song Xiang said in embarrassment: "Although this is the case, it is not good to freeze him to death alive. It is the right way to hand him over to a judge for punishment. Does the envoy think so?"

Su Jin said: "But I heard that you didn't seem to do it, but someone under your command secretly let him go, and this person is not in prison now, but drinking and eating meat in a certain place is very comfortable, I came back in time, otherwise, I'm afraid he would have escaped long ago."

Song Xiang hurriedly said: "How can this happen? Shen Dezhang, the chief criminal officer, told the government to put him in prison, and wait for the special envoy to come back to make a decision, so as not to freeze to death on the street and cause the Privy Council to blame. This government heard that it was so reasonable. So he agreed, didn't he take Long Zhen into custody?"

Su Jin sneered and said: "It is taken into custody, but it is not in your Yangzhou prison, but rented a small courtyard near Xiaoshiqiao, and sent some fast guards to serve it every day; I lead people When Bagong Mountain was bathed in blood, the culprit was happy and happy."

Song Xiang was startled and said, "Is this really the case?"

Su Jin said: "Do you want my envoy to take you to have a look? If I hadn't sent someone to inquire about Yangzhou's grain and construction business, I would have been kept in the dark."

Song Xiang was furious, and shouted out loudly: "Come here, call Shen Tixing to see him, and the government will personally question him."

Su Jin stopped him and said, "Wait a minute, I still have something to say."

This Shen Dezhang's name is impressively one of the seven people provided by Bai Mudan. How could Su Jin allow Song Xiang to startle the snake? He still needs to find out whether Song Xiang has anything to do with these things before making the next step.

Song Xiang's face was gloomy, and he was really angry. Shen Dezhang actually did this behind his back. Angry; his crime caused the food to be robbed, and Su Jin almost lost his life before leading his men to snatch it back in blood, but Long Zhen lay comfortably in the private courtyard like nothing happened, which is really unreasonable.

"Don't worry, my lord, the government will give you an explanation on this matter. What exactly is Shen Dezhang's intention? This government must ask clearly." Song Xiang vowed.