The Happy Life of Small Officials in Northern Song Dynasty

Song Xiang was overwhelmed by Su Jin's momentum, and stood speechless for a while.

Su Jin quickly described all the experiences of going to Feng Huhu's private house this morning, and finally said: "My lord, this Master Feng is not just a commoner as you imagined. In the industry, hands and feet are involved in various market entrances. You go and see who is running the best shops in the highest buildings and the best shops in the major market entrances and even the most prosperous places in Yangzhou; , Don’t mess with the Yangzhou Tiger’, this Yangzhou Tiger refers to this Feng Huo, wake up, don’t be confused anymore.”

Song Xiang sank down on the chair and murmured: "Why is this happening? The news that the government has always received is that Feng Jingyao is kind and generous, and he is active in taxation. He is the first to hand in the taxes of Yangzhou government every year, and he never procrastinates. I didn’t expect him to be such a character.”

Su Jin sneered: "I'm afraid that your subordinates told you all the news about you. They are all string dolls. Do you dare to say that he is bad?"

Song Xiang suddenly stood up and said, "If what you said is true, doesn't it mean that many officials in my Yangzhou Mansion fell into the seduction trap in the Fugui Building and became Feng Huo's accomplices?"

Su Jin said: "I don't want to believe this either, but I'm afraid that's the truth. With my personal experience as evidence, doesn't Song Zhifu still believe it? Is it possible that I will lie in front of such a big event?"

Song Xiang waved his hands wildly, walked back and forth, and said in his mouth: "What should I do? What should I do? I have owed the emperor's kindness, and such a thing happened under my rule. This... this is my house. What should I do?"

Su Jin looked at him contemptuously, and when things came to an end, this Master Song Xiang was like a bloody rooster, who only knew how to shake his paws, but didn't do anything.

"My lord, please hold on to God first. Originally they were in the dark, and I was waiting in the light. Now they are in the light and I am waiting in the dark. There must be a countermeasure; as long as you and I work together, are you afraid that you will not be able to defeat this local snake?" ? As for your officials falling into the financial trap, it is their fault, as long as they are all questioned, make up for their mistakes, at most they will be reprimanded, and they will not be severely punished."

Song Xiang's face was pale, and he looked at Su Jin helplessly and said, "Is Special Envoy Su able to do something? What should we do?"

Su Jin said: "If the magistrate wants to break this deadlock, he must listen to me. I have the confidence to eradicate them together."

Song Xiang seemed to be grasping at straws, and hurriedly said: "Special Envoy Su, our government will definitely listen to you, and do whatever you say. As long as we can get rid of these corrupt people, our government will never shirk."

Su Jin clapped his hands and said: "Okay, what I want is the words of Song Fuzun, you and I work together, there should be no problem, but before that, you can't show it, these people are with you every day, once you The change in their attitude will definitely be perceived by them, and it will be difficult to catch them after they have alerted the enemy.”

Song Xiang nodded and said, "It's not difficult to act, what's rare is what to do next."

Su Jin said: "The first step is to secretly find out how many officials from the Yangzhou government are involved in it. After finding out the details of these people, we can proceed to the second step."

Song Xiang said: "Didn't you say that Bai Mudan gave you the list of seven people?"

Su Jin said: "That's not all, Bai Mudan alone has seven officials arrested, and there are several women in the Fugui Building who cultivate seductive skills like Bai Mudan to seduce, that is to say, these seven people are just the tip of the iceberg It’s just that, the actual number may be several times higher and it’s unknown.”

Song Xiang was speechless, heartbroken.

"General Judge Guo Pinchao, Cangsi Fan Chengren, Mentor Shang Rong, and Mentor Shen Dezhang are all on the list of seven people, and the other three are Wang Dahui, Zhou Zhe, and Sun Youyi. I don't know what official positions these three people have?"

Song Xiang almost died of anger, and murmured: "Sun Youyi, the old bastard, is actually among them. He is my master. He has been with me for ten years, and he came to this position with me from the capital. I didn't expect it, I didn't expect it." ah."

Su Jin shook his head secretly. People around Song Xiang who had been with him for ten years had become Feng Huhu's eyeliner.

"Wang Dahui is the chief officer of the escort department, and he is in charge of criticizing the investigation documents, and Zhou Zhe is in charge of the department of water transportation. Why are these people on board the pirate ship?" Song Xiangyu cried without tears.

Su Jin's heart is also cold. In the current list of seven, almost the heads of the key departments of Yangzhou Prefecture are included. Feng Huo's energy and appetite are really not small. This guy is simply the person at the helm on the ground in Yangzhou Fortunately, so far, there has not been a single person in the military department. If the two commanders of Xiangbing are among them, then things will be a big deal; in comparison, even all the minds in other departments in Yangzhou are now Among them, Su Jin doesn't care, what he cares most about is the control of Yangzhou's military.

"My lord, it may not be so easy to find out the situation of all the staff, but this matter is entrusted to me. I just want to ask my lord to do one thing."

"What's the matter? Tell me now."

"Approximately how many people are there in Yangzhou Xiangbing? Who is currently in command?"

"If the total number of people is about 2000 people, the responsibility of the commander-in-chief is naturally the government. There are also two commanders, each of whom commands ten people with 600 people, and another [-] people are from the township of the military register Bravery is not a resident soldier, it will be summoned and used when needed."

Su Jin said: "Who else is the commander besides Pan Jiang?"

"The other name is also Pan, called Pan Shiyi."

Su Jin said: "The current situation is that we must hold the command of the Xiang soldiers in our hands. With these two thousand and six hundred soldiers, we can extinguish them in one fell swoop if they set up a huge fire. Do you understand what I mean? ?”

"Then I will order Pan Jiang and Pan Shiyi to come to see me immediately, and tell them to be on guard at all times."

Su Jin quickly waved his hands and said, "No, how do you know that these two people can be relied on?"

Song Xiang was startled and said, "Do you suspect that they also fell into the trap of that old thief?"

Su Jin said: "I suspect everyone except you now, I can't take this risk, once you let Feng Huo know that we have noticed, you know the consequences."

"How to do it then?"

Su Jin said: "Look for a reason, just these two people, promote someone you think can be trusted to lead the army, and the soldiers must only listen to your orders."

Song Xiang snorted and said, "How can I dismiss someone in a good manner? Besides, I can't explain it."

Su Jin said: "There are many ways. If these two people are wronged for a while, you can find a reason to temporarily suspend them and order someone to take command instead of dismissal. In this way, you don't have to report it. When the matter subsides, there will be no pardon for the two of them." Just explain it to them; presumably these two people can understand."

Song Xiang thought for a while, then gritted his teeth and said, "Alright, that's the only way to do it now."

Su Jin smiled and said: "If this matter is done well, the matter will be half successful. You don't want us to arrest people at one end, and someone to tip the news at the other end."

Song Xiang nodded and said: "It is indeed a top priority, but how can you find out who is the hidden person around us?"

Su Jin said: "This matter is difficult, but it doesn't bother me. It's not too late. Let's split up. Your matter will be finished this afternoon. I will give you a way to check the payment of salaries. Is there anyone in the army?" It is a written rule that when the salary is paid, the officials will withhold part of the corrupt ink, this happens everywhere, and everyone turns a blind eye, but if you are serious about Song Zhifu, they have nothing to say."

How did Song Xiang know this, his mouth was open, if this was true, it would be a good excuse.

"Okay, I'll take care of it now, and I'm a little worried about another matter."

Su Jin said with a smile: "Are you afraid that we will be shaken out if we are in a hurry to open the warehouse and release the grain?"

Song Xiang sighed: "That's right, this is your and my biggest trick. It will be of no avail even if the army rations have been replenished now."

Su Jindao: "So we must act in a low-key manner. Before the final blow is launched, we should not be in a hurry. After we win in one fell swoop, I will have a way to deal with these people."

Song Xiang didn't know how Su Jin could guarantee that the secret would not be leaked out. Once these people were captured, they would be sent to the capital for trial. Could it be that these people would obediently refuse to confess?

But Su Jin seemed confident and refused to say anything, and Song Xiang had no choice but to rely on this kid to turn the situation around, and he could only follow suit.