The Happy Life of Small Officials in Northern Song Dynasty

wVice President Liu got up and bowed to Zhu Shiyong and the two presidents, Tang and Huang, and said in a low voice: "My lord, the two presidents, the old man is not trying to show off, but the current situation is extremely dangerous, and everything is in danger." In the clouds and mist, I can't see clearly; the old man is afraid to say something, which will cause everyone to be uneasy..)"

Zhu Shiyong said: "Are you worried about the authenticity of the source of this news?"

Vice President Liu said: "I have to worry, Lang Yongping may not be reliable, what he says is [-]% old and only [-]% can be believed."

Tang Jiyuan said dissatisfiedly: "Old Liu, why are you doing this? The big event is imminent. How can you doubt Lang Yongping because he has a lot of enemies with you in the past day? Besides, can we gamble on such things? Can we take To gamble on the veracity of this matter with your wealth and life? Wouldn’t that be resignation to fate.”

Zhu Shiyong nodded and said: "What Chairman Tang said is very true. Whether this matter is true or not, we can't gamble. If we lose the bet, we will lose all our wealth and life; besides, even if the news about Liu Laogen and that official document is false, we can't bet on it." You can't sit idly by, once this news spreads and the whole city knows it, you and I will still be in big trouble."

Vice President Huang shook his chubby cheeks and echoed: "Master Fu Zun said very well, I think this news cannot be faked, we did it so secretly, there should be no rumors, and now it is like this, it must be true. Chen Laogen and the official document are indeed in the hands of that Ouyang Xiu; otherwise, how could it be so detailed as rumored?"

President Liu sighed: "Since you all think so, I have nothing to say; I really don't want to take any risks; but I want to ask Mr. Fu Zun, does this Ouyang Xiu have friendship with you? Can he be the magistrate?" This matter?"

Zhu Shiyong shook his head and said: "Ouyang Xiu is a mad dog. People in the court are afraid to avoid it. He has ruined several court officials in his hands. I have no friendship with him. How can he take this matter for me?"

Chairman Liu said: "Will Lu Xianghui help the Lord?"

Zhu Shiyong shook his head again and said: "He may help me with small things. When such a catastrophe is imminent, Lu Xiang will never protect me. The government sees the truth above the officialdom very clearly. Big things can be turned into small ones, and small things can also be solved." Huawu, but such a thing like losing his head, that is something that no one will get angry with, so don't even think about it."

The three members of the chamber of commerce rolled their eyes at the same time, and thought to themselves: You have made such a reputation even today, and you can't even lick the ditches with money. You are really incompetent.

President Liu said again: "This Ouyang Xiu likes something, maybe he can use some means to win him over..."

Zhu Shiyong shook his head for the third time and said, "This man doesn't like money or women, how can he win him over?"

Chairman Liu scratched his head: "Does he not like anything?"

Zhu Shiyong said: "His greatest hobby is to use people's excuses to impeach officials and step on other people's corpses to climb up."

President Liu almost spurted out a mouthful of old blood, took a few quick breaths to calm down, and said slowly: "Then we can only use the last resort."

Both Zhu Shiyong and Tang Huang looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to speak.

"Don't do anything..." Vice President Liu gritted his teeth and squeezed out a few words, and his voice became extremely weird: "Since the evidence is a disaster for us, let's destroy the evidence and rely on him without evidence. No one dares to touch a single hair of Lord Fu Zun..."

Zhu Shiyong and the other three took a deep breath and looked at each other in awe.

"The old man's suggestion is, whether Su Jin is setting off smoke bombs or the evidence is really in the hands of Ouyang Xiu, we must act immediately; this Ouyang Xiu did not return to Beijing, but hid in Shouzhou for the New Year, this is a godsend opportunity , must not be missed; as long as Chen Laogen and the letter are not escorted to the capital, there will be a lot to do."

Zhu Shiyong frowned and said, "You mean we send someone to steal it?"

Vice-President Liu said: "Steal... if you can't steal it, grab it... if you can't steal it, kill it, destroy that official document, kill Chen Laogen, what will they use to deal with your lord?"

Zhu Shiyong remained motionless, his beard frowned, and the room was silent. A skylark thought that there were four statues in the room, and boldly flew to the window sill to look around; Disappeared without a trace.

"This plan can be done, and... it has to be done." Zhu Shiyong's voice was colder than the north wind in the cold night: "There is no need to take back the witnesses and physical evidence, they will be destroyed on the spot; all relevant people will be killed together. , must not leave any news; in order to prevent Su Jin's children from playing tricks, even he must not let him go, and get rid of the serious troubles in his heart..."

Everyone in the chamber of commerce tightened their hearts for a while. Zhu Shiyong was really going to take a risk. Hearing his tone, Su Jin and Lang Shaodong couldn't let it go. These are people who know the truth.

"However, it is not easy to do it. It is easy to do it in Luzhou City, but how to do it in Shouzhou City? Go there to find people? After the situation is successful, how will the court respond?" Tang Jiyuan threw out worries like a cannonball.

Zhu Shiyong squinted his eyes and said: "Manpower is not a problem, expensive Jing is not expensive, as long as there are thirty or forty strong men who suddenly mobilize and attack them unprepared, it will definitely work; manpower can only be found by you. We can't hide it; as for the court's accountability, let's just use the Bagong Mountain incident as a prevarication, and say that Su Jin wiped out the Bagong Mountain bandits, and it is inevitable that some bandits will flee. Enemy, the most I can do is to blame me for my bad defense, so how can Xiang Lu not protect me for such a small responsibility?"

Tang Jiyuan clapped his hands and praised: "It's easy to deal with, and the court will definitely have nothing to say; it's just that this manpower will not be available for a while, and it will be fine if Hei Qi is not dead."

Zhu Shiyong grimaced and said, "Isn't it possible to get away from that dead bandit? As far as I know, there are many brave people in Luzhou City. Desperadoes only need huge profits to encourage and lure them. How can they not die?"

Vice President Liu's eyes lit up, and he suddenly said: "My lord, do you still remember the small group of gangsters captured in October last year? Where are those people now?"

Zhu Shiyong said in surprise: "That's right, those people are suitable for this matter. The year before last coincided with the death anniversary of the Empress Dowager, the emperor issued an order of commutation and amnesty. These people were going to be beheaded. I don't know if it's dead or alive."

Vice President Liu said: "Those people are all big, round, brave, and brave. How can they die so easily? Just promise to be free, and reward a large amount of money, and they will definitely work hard. Afterwards, they will all be slaughtered..."

Zhu Shiyong opened his mouth and said with a smile: "As expected of Xiao Zhuge, this plan is great! Let's do it before it's too late. I'm afraid this year will be uneasy."

Tang Jiyuan said: "I'm afraid there are people who have a more uneasy life than us."

Everyone laughed loudly, startling the little sparrows in the courtyard to fly.

……

On the fourth night of the first lunar month of the second year of Qingli, Shouzhou City is still immersed in the festive atmosphere. The Huaishui Inn in Xicheng just set off firecrackers today to worship the God of Wealth and open to welcome guests; Business is just a show.

The shopkeeper didn't plan to welcome guests, and when it got dark, except for two shopkeepers and a second shopkeeper who were on duty in the lobby, the rest of the people herded sheep early and went home; The young guys who stayed behind were so thin that they rubbed their hands and stamped their feet in the cold, so they asked them to cover the shop door, made a small mutton pot, poured three bowls of wine, and the three of them sat around the small stove to drink and eat hot pot to keep out the cold.

When the three of them were eating hotly, they heard the door of the inn being kicked open with a bang, and a gust of cold wind rushed in, blowing the charcoal fire under the red clay hot pot into the air, and the three of them were caught off guard and were blinded.

A young man hurriedly got up to check with blurred eyes, and just two steps away, he saw more than 20 big men rushing in from outside the house, all of them standing in the store like black iron towers.

The little guy hurriedly said: "Guests, are you going to stay at the hotel?"

A big man scolded with a non-local accent: "Turtle son, when I saw the new year, I burst into tears. Is Ge Laozi crying? Did your family die?"

The young man said: "Why does the guest officer speak so dirty, isn't he blinded by charcoal?"

The big man stared at him and said, "The son of a turtle is not forgiving, how about a beating?"

The second shopkeeper hurriedly rushed forward and nodded with an apologetic smile: "Guest officers, the young man is not sensible, everyone, come in quickly, it's strangely cold outside, Xiao Yi didn't fetch hot water to wipe the faces of the guests, don't be stupid What are you doing standing here?"

The guy named Xiao Yi quickly agreed, and trotted to the backyard to bring hot water and towels to serve; the second shopkeeper greeted the group of big men to sit down, and said with an apologetic smile, "You guys want to stay in the shop?"

A man who looked like a leader said in a deep voice: "Bring some wine and food to eat, and arrange five guest rooms. After eating and drinking, I will rest for three o'clock and then go on my way."

The second shopkeeper said in embarrassment: "Do you only rest until the third watch? The rent is not easy to calculate."

The man waved his hand, and one of the people around him took out a money bag and threw it on the table, saying, "You son of a bitch, you are so smart, will Qian Laozi lose you a penny? Hurry up and get some food and drink, and wait a moment to slap you in the face." .”

The second shopkeeper trembled in fright, reached out and quickly took the money bag, and quickly turned around to arrange the food and drink.