The Happy Life of Small Officials in Northern Song Dynasty

Su Jin looked at Pan Jiang and said, "Commander Pan, I'm afraid that the big and small affairs in Yangzhou City cannot escape your eyes. Since you have said it, I must believe it; according to my observation of you, you are not the kind of person who talks about it; ri was at the foot of Bagong Mountain, and I asked the bandit leader Qiu Dabao to send a secret letter to Daying. It is said that you had a dispute about that secret letter; Be on guard, say that you harbor evil intentions and refuse to save yourself, "

Pan Jiang hurriedly stood up and said, "Master Special Envoy, how could such a person be so humble?"

Su Jin pressed his shoulders to ask him to sit down, and said with a smile: "If I believed it, why would I talk to you about this in person? Under the circumstances at that time, it was necessary to be careful. Attacking is a situation of destruction, you are doing the right thing, you should be careful."

"Thank you, Mr. Special Envoy, for your generosity." Pan Jiang was relieved,

"No need to thank me, it should be like this; from this, I know you a little more, and know that you are not a brainless person. To tell you the truth, you are ranked first on the list of meritorious service this time." What I mean is to let someone with some talent like you take the position; looking around, mediocre people are bustling, but talented people have no chance. This time, I will try my best to recommend you. As for the result, it depends on your luck gone."

Pan Jiang fell to his knees, with moist eyes, and said: "Thank you, Mr. Special Envoy, for your support. I will never forget my humble position. My lord is high-spirited and upright, with outstanding talents. My humble position is due to the smoke from the ancestral grave, so I can follow my errand on an errand; Bagong Mountain The First World War was the happiest thing that I have ever done in my life, and I can learn from the sun and the moon in my admiration for my lord."

Su Jin pulled him up with a smile and said, "What is this for? Let's talk in private, without kneeling down and bowing down. You are older than me. Isn't this killing me?"

Pan Jiang wiped his tears and stood up and said: "The humble official has never treated the adult as a young man with a weak crown. At the first meeting in the army warehouse, although he was slapped by the adult, but later saw the adult's method of rectifying Lucang Sigou's victory, the humble official will I have already thrown myself to the adults."

Su Jin smiled and said, "That slap is just for show, don't bother me."

"Don't you dare? I'm humble and foolish. I can bear this slap."

Su Jin laughed and said: "Then, what do you want to tell the envoy?"

Pan Jiang was startled, remembered the business, and hurriedly said: "This matter is extremely unfavorable to your lord. Does your lord know what this Feng Huo came from?"

Su Jin pretended not to know: "I don't know what his background is, but he is just a gentleman in Yangzhou."

Pan Jiangdao: "My lord, you guessed wrong this time. Although Feng Huhu didn't know his identity before he came to Yangzhou, he arrived in Yangzhou more than ten years ago, and then he made a fortune in the past few years, becoming one of the best figures in Yangzhou city. However, during this period of time, I have personally experienced the humiliation."

Su Jin said: "What special means does he have?"

Pan Jiangdao: "Feng Laohu's real name is Feng Jingyao, and his zodiac sign is tiger. It is said that his birthday is Shenshi, and he is a tiger that hunts for food in the evening. Therefore, he is cruel and merciless, so he was nicknamed Feng Huohu."

Su Jin smiled and said, "Isn't it absurd to talk about birthdays?"

Pan Jiang said: "Perhaps these are all gimmicks, but such rumors from the outside world mean that this person is quite legendary."

Su Jin nodded and said, "Go ahead."

"Feng Laohu initially opened a martial arts gym, which also has a bodyguard business. There are many martial arts gyms in Yangzhou bodyguard bureaus, and there is a tendency to bully and suppress them. So he challenged more than a dozen bodyguard bureau martial arts one after another. Every time he competes with others, he must establish life and death documents. As many as six bodyguard instructors died in his hands, and eight were injured, so Liwei almost embraced the business of the Yangzhou Martial Arts Bodyguard Bureau in his arms, and borrowed the financial resources of Nancheng Blind Sanye to recruit disciples, and his power quickly spread Inflate, and gradually sit up."

Comparing with his own understanding, Su Jin understood that what Pan Jiang said was true, and it seemed that he wanted to tell the truth to Su Jin sincerely.

"This man is so arrogant, is there nothing the government can do?"

"My lord doesn't know that the arrogant theory is just a rumor from the outside world. Feng Laohu is very good at disguising himself, treating people with humility and courtesy, and is good at winning people's hearts. He often spends money to build bridges and pave roads, and even pays double the government's grain tax. As far as the magistrate of Yangzhou is concerned, this person is not only not troublesome, but also a good helper in his political achievements, so he is also very polite to him."

Su Jin understands the situation. Generally speaking, prefects are rotated every three years, and then they will be promoted, rewarded and punished according to the evaluation by the Ministry of Officials. Every prefect hopes to do some big things in office, so that they can Give yourself extra points, tired officials to climb up; while those with extremely poor evaluations will either be relegated or unemployed, and may never have a bright future.

These things are the same in ancient and modern times. In the later generations of the 21st century, Su Jin has seen more of those face projects, which are all face projects done by a leader for the sake of political achievements, so that the tea will be cold as soon as people leave, unfinished buildings and unfinished roads are everywhere. Yes, no surprise.

"What I want to talk about in this humble position is the relationship between Feng Huo and the government. In other words, Feng Huo will do what he likes and get through the joints of all the heads of government departments; therefore, there is nothing to see on weekdays. He knew it before anyone else, and Feng Huhu already knew the content of some official documents before they reached the magistrate's hands."

Su Jin was moved and said: "So powerful? Isn't this the emperor of Yangzhou City?"

Pan Jiang was taken aback. How could the Supreme Emperor say this? Doesn't this mean that the magistrate is the emperor?The special envoy really had no scruples in speaking, so he quickly diverted his way: "Feng Laohu is tricky, so some people don't want to cooperate with him, and they will be squeezed out by his colleagues under his force, so Feng Huo's words in Yangzhou city can be compared The magistrate’s will still work.”

Su Jin was silent, and after a while he tentatively said: "I listen to Pan's command. Is there a large number of people in the current yamen who are used by Feng Huo?"

Pan Jiang gritted his teeth and said: "The lowly position has been talked about, but this is actually what I want to talk about. Forgive the lowly position for disrespect. Song Zhifu is very confused. He is deaf to many things. He only knows how to draw and write. Of course, he is an upright official and never He oppresses the people, and he is not corrupt or corrupt. He is too casual in political affairs and has no good judgment on the situation, so that everyone despises him. Feng Huo tried to drag Song Zhifu into the water several times, but Song Zhifu was very hard-headed and never It's a false excuse."

Su Jin said: "Since the magistrate is not tempted by it, isn't it true that his subordinates are also clear?"

Pan Jiang sneered and said, "That's good. Since the magistrate, I dare say that all officials, big and small, have something to do with Feng Huhu, and the relationship is very close."

Su Jin was startled and said, "Is this really the case?"

Pan Jiangdao: "If you want me to show evidence, I don't have any evidence, but some things don't need evidence, and the absence of evidence doesn't mean that I'm just talking nonsense; generally speaking, these things are leak-proof on the official level, but it's hard to find evidence. It is extremely difficult.”

Su Jin got up and took two steps, then suddenly said, "How did you find out about this?"

Pan Jiang smiled wryly and said, "Ask any official you want about these things, everyone knows it well, but no one is willing to say it."

Su Jin said again: "As far as you know, how many people have colluded with Feng Huhu?"

Pan Jiang shook his head and said, "How do you know that, anyway, I know I'm not. You can't tell who is who from the outside."

Su Jin said solemnly: "How can you prove that you are not?"

Pan Jiangdao: "I've said it earlier, I can't prove who is, and I can't prove that I am not, but I do things with my conscience. I originally thought that the suspension yesterday was because Pan Shiyi and I rejected Feng Huhu's invitation several times. Afterwards, the special envoy cleared up his doubts and dispelled the thought, but he saw that the special envoy was deeply worried about the people of Yangzhou, so he took the risk of reporting this to the lord before you went to Beikou Sanli. will tell."

Su Jin understood that he made such a fuss in Beikou Sanli that Pan Jiang and the others believed that he was not involved with Feng Huhu, otherwise he would not come to tell him this if he was killed; as he said, it is not clear who is who , he can't prove his innocence, so can he prove that he has no connection with Feng Huhu?And the disturbance in Beikou Sanli Hutong just proved that he and Feng Huhu had nothing to do with each other, so he dared to tell himself these things.

"Since Feng Huo has done this for a long time, why didn't you report it in a secret letter?" Su Jin asked.

"There is no evidence, my lord. It's not that no one has spoken out. Otherwise, where do you think the rumors came from? But so what? How did he win over and control, and what is his purpose? These are all ignorant, how can he be punished? Someone else Maintenance, the higher-ups ordered to find out, but the people who are all in harmony with Feng Huo are checking Feng Huo, what can they find out? Who will take the risk of going to secret concerts over time? "

Su Jin sighed, sat on the chair, bowed his head and said nothing, what Pan Jiang said was all reasonable, if the matter was so easy, it would be revealed, Feng Huhu would not be called Feng Huhu anymore, it seems that the confessions of those officials are the ironclad evidence, There is no other way.