Han official!

Chapter 128: Capture
People in the Western Han Dynasty had to be registered at birth, which means their household registration had to be completed.

Minor children, called boys and girls, start paying a mouth tax from the age of three until they turn fourteen, and only need to pay twenty coins per year.

When you are seven years old, you should start reading.

The Western Han Dynasty attached great importance to primary education. It established county schools in counties and prefectures, and also set up schools in counties, roads, towns, townships, and villages, establishing a primary education system covering all counties and prefectures.

This was compulsory education unique to the Western Han Dynasty. The quality of education was relatively average. It usually used "Cangjie Pian" for enlightenment, and only taught literacy and some common knowledge, such as what the five vegetables were, surnames, animals, medicines, etc.

From the age of twenty-two to fifty-six, every adult man is required to serve in the military for two years during his lifetime.

During military service, knowing how to read and write well is a necessary condition for selection as an official.

Yin Qi and Wang Wenshu had three carts of hemp paper at home, which could guarantee that several generations of their family would be recruited as officials. This was equivalent to ensuring that their sons, grandsons, great-grandsons, and even great-great-grandsons could become civil servants.

This favor is too great.

Yin Qi and Wang Wenshu had no choice but to bow deeply.

His waist was bent too deeply, and the wide sleeves of his black clothes hung down to the ground.

The thief catcher and the prison officer were all envious.

Under the system of universal military service in the Western Han Dynasty, there were too many competitors and it was too difficult to recruit officials.

It is difficult for a small family with an asset of less than 100,000 coins to be promoted to a military officer. What's more, most thief catchers and prison clerks are just poor people with an asset of less than 20,000 coins, and their sons can only attend compulsory education with average quality.

There was no extra money for his son to continue his studies with a teacher, and even less money to buy hemp paper and bamboo slips for his son to practice his handwriting.

Guo Jie looked at the thief catcher and the prison official, who were all envious, and said with a smile, "Before you two leave Gushuli, each of you should take thirty pieces of hemp paper and take them back to help your sons and daughters practice calligraphy, so that you can be recruited as military officials."

One knife is equal to one hundred pieces of hemp paper.

Thirty dollars is a total of three thousand sheets of hemp paper!
Even if you are as stupid as a pig, you can still write well.

Promoted to a military officer during military service!
The thief catcher and the prison clerk's eyes turned red. They looked at Guo Jie with sobs and bowed deeply, imitating Yin Qi and Wang Wenshu.

At the entrance of Gushuli.

Two cruel officials in iron hats and black clothes, accompanied by the thief catchers and prison clerks who were responsible for arresting and guarding the nobles and dukes in subsequent purges, bowed deeply to Guo Jie.

A lot of people bowed down.

Guo Jie's face was filled with joy. He did not refuse to bow, and watched with delight as his reputation soared among the thief catchers and prison clerks.

The ethos of the Western Han Dynasty was to value death over life.

As long as these low-level officials and people feel that they have received Guo Jie's kindness.

He would be like Ji Shaogong, who drew his sword and committed suicide just because he didn't want to reveal the direction of Guo Jie's escape.

Chong Huangrou glanced at Guo Jie and secretly admired him. Guo Jie was indeed a hero who fought a tiger with his bare hands. He really did not care about money and valued friendship.

He was a marquis' son from a wealthy family, and he didn't care about the lower-class officials and people, nor did he think that the lower-class officials and people were of any use.

I just think that Guo Jie's behavior is in line with the demeanor of a true hero.

He is not a fake hero like Du Junao.

Du Jun'ao's reputation was greatly promoted, but he spread rumors that Princess Pingyang had an affair with a riding slave. He was just a villain.

Of all the people at the entrance of Gushuli, only Du Junao, who was kneeling on the ground with his hands tied behind his back, looked deeply at Guo Jie.

Guo Jie bribed the thief catchers in the eight streets and nine alleys of Chang'an and the jailers in the twenty-eight prisons.

If you bribe all the thief catchers and prison officials in Chang'an.

Chang'an City was Guo Jie's backyard.

He could come in and go out as he pleased. Guo Jie was the emperor among the lower class.

Du Junao smiled bitterly, and saw that Guo Jie's lofty ambitions were of no use. From Chong Huangrou's reaction, it could be seen that no one, including the nobles and powerful people, cared about the lower-level officials.

Today, if Du Junao had not seen Guo Jie winning people's hearts, he would not have thought of the four words "Emperor of the Neighborhood".

Given Guo Jie's personality and considering his past actions, he would not let Du Junao survive.

Yin Qi has already said it.

Du Junao and his clansmen and his wife's relatives within three generations were all sent to the tiger's den that the people of Chang'an feared.

"Mr. Guo."

Du Junao had only the thought of begging for mercy. He opened his mouth to plead, wanting to say that he would be Guo Jie's dog in the future.

"Snapped!"

"what!"

A prison guard glared and swung the iron bar, hitting Du Junao in the mouth, knocking out several teeth and causing his mouth to bleed.

Du Junao screamed miserably, but still wanted to speak, begging to be a guest under Guo Jie.

A thief catcher came over with a hemp rope in his hand, which was used to tie the mouths of donkeys, mules and other animals. The hemp rope tightly tightened around Du Junao's mouth.

Du Junao sobbed, unable to utter a word. He could only look in despair at Guo Jie, who was surrounded by the thieves and prison officials, with tears streaming down his face.

He doesn't want to die.

During the meal period (9:45-10:30), ox carts are lined up in a long queue and drive from the Qingming Gate on the east wall of Chang'an City into the gate of the side road and then into Xiangshi Street along the east side road.

Guo Jie was riding a Hexi horse in the front, followed by a small official in black clothes. He sat arrogantly on the mud screen of the ox cart and pointed at the big fat pigs to the thief catcher who had been waiting by the rammed earth wall of the neighborhood.

The thief catchers left behind in Xiangshi Street were overjoyed, knowing that according to Guo Jie's previous habit, he would definitely leave some meat and vegetables for the thief catchers guarding the neighborhood.

The remaining thieves and detectives on Xiangshi Street hurriedly bowed to Guo Jie.

Guo Jie nodded slightly.

One oxcart after another passed by the other side streets of the Eight Streets and Nine Alleys. The thief constable looked at the thief constable from Xiangshi Street who was driving the oxcart with envy on his face, and secretly said that he must follow Guo Jie to confiscate the property of the powerful next time.

The Quemen Gate of the Chang'an official temple is also known as the Han Quemen Gate.

Zhao Yu and Zhang Tang, along with many bandits and detectives, went to Shangguanli to capture Zhao Tuo, a guest of Prime Minister Dou Ying.

Zhao Tuo of the host was a famous hero in Chang'an, and the Zhao family of the host was also a powerful family with extensive land and a large population.

The five mausoleum towns where the Five Mausoleum Youngsters lived all competed for the first place in Shangji and were promoted to the position of Right Internal History.

The host Zhao Tuo was a powerful man who lent grain to the Yangling magistrate.

The reason why Zhao Yu and Zhang Tang arrested Zhao Tuo was not because he lent a large amount of millet to Yangling Ling.

Yesterday, two thief catchers were patrolling the neighborhood of Chang'an and saw Zhao Tuo climbing over a courtyard wall.

The height of the courtyard wall is more than five feet.

That is, a rammed earth wall with a height of one meter.

If the person who climbed over the wall was replaced by Guo Jie.

Most of the thief catchers turned a blind eye, pretended not to see it, and simply turned around and walked in another direction.

Even though Zhao Tuo was a powerful man with a fortune of over one million, he did not eat a single grain of corn from the host Zhao family. He immediately shouted twice and ran over to catch the thief.

But he saw Zhao Tuo with a look of contempt on his face, and he fled directly into the house of Yangling Ling.

"Chang'an Order?"

When the Yangling magistrate heard the report from the housekeeper, he sneered and walked out of the guest room with many powerful people and officials, and came to the door where several persimmon trees were planted.

"I have arrested Zhao Tuo and taken him to the Yangling County Prison."

The Yangling Magistrate said impatiently, "Zhao Tuo lives in Yangling, and Fu Ji is in Emperor Jing's mausoleum. It's not your turn to arrest him!"

The Yangling magistrate and Zhao Yu were both county chiefs, but Yangling magistrate Zhao Yu lectured him in the tone of a superior magistrate disciplining a junior magistrate, with a hint of contempt on his face.

Zhao Yu's face darkened.

"Even if your last name is Wang, you can't protect Zhao Tuo!"

Zhang Tang, wearing an iron crown and black clothes, walked straight to the Yangling magistrate, his eyes sharp, "Zhao Tuo has violated Han laws in Chang'an. Today, he must be brought to the Chang'an official temple for interrogation!"

"Ah."

The Yangling Magistrate sneered and said, "Others may be afraid of you two cruel officials, but I am not. My housekeeper will tie up Zhao Tuo and send him to the official temple in Yangling. I want to see who dares to stop us." "Besides."

The Yangling Magistrate's expression grew even more disdainful. "I know that idiot Maoling Magistrate had to offer several of the Right Internal Affairs Secretary's county magistrates in exchange for the support of a powerful family and the millet he lent him to compete for first place in the plan. You and the Maoling Magistrate don't even have a chance. The Right Internal Affairs Secretary position is already in my pocket. Zhao Tuo has already promised to lend me 20,000 dan of millet, which is exactly 20,000 dan more than you have. It will only serve to promote me to the Right Internal Affairs position."

"Mr. Zhao!"

At this time, Guo Jie rode up on a Hexi horse, followed by a series of ox carts. He was overjoyed and said, "Reporting to the two officials, this trip to Gushuli has lived up to everyone's expectations. A total of 25,000 dan of millet has been confiscated."

The market price of 25,000 dan of millet is 250 gold.

Guo Jie was fined a total of 300 gold coins, which he distributed to each of his brothers, 10 gold coins. Wei Guang, Yi Zong, Mang Tong, Chong Huangrou, and An Guo Shao Ji each took 10 gold coins, for a total of 50 gold coins.

Twenty-five thousand shi of corn are enough.

Five thousand shi more millet than that of Yangling Magistrate.

Near the gate of Shangguanli, the Yangling magistrate had just announced in public that there were 20,000 extra dan of millet when he was publicly slapped in the face by Guo Jie.

Yangling Ling, who was very concerned about his reputation, was embarrassed and looked very unhappy.

"Haha."

Zhao Yu's expression changed from ugly to laughing.

"Color! Color! Color!"

Zhao Yu's face flushed and he said "Cai" three times in a row.

Still cheering loudly.

Many nobles and powerful people lived in Shangguanli, all of them had a mocking look on their faces, looking at Yangling Ling at the gate of the house as if they were looking at a dwarf clown.

The Yangling magistrate noticed the passing carriages and the aristocratic officials looking amused, and his expression became even uglier.

He is a petty and mean-spirited person.

Unlike the Maoling Magistrate, he looked down on his subordinate Guo Jie and only targeted the senior officials Zhao Yu and Zhang Tang.

Anyone who offends the Yangling Order.

He won't let anyone go.

The Yangling Magistrate glared at Guo Jie with a sinister look and shouted, "Who are you, the village official or the Tian Dian? Come and arrest the criminal who drove the imperial carriage into the neighborhood."

Guo Jie had not yet been interrogated, so even if he had violated Han law, he was just a suspect.

The magistrate of Yangling sentenced a prisoner to death.

Guo Jie was convicted before he was even interrogated.

It's totally groundless.

"Prince."

The clerk stretched out the sleeve of his black robe, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said awkwardly: "The people coming here in the imperial carriage are too big for a clerk to offend, and I dare not offend a marquis either."

Houzi?

The Yangling magistrate was confused as he looked towards the convoy of ox carts and saw a conspicuous dark gown with a crimson edge among the white robes of several mounted officials.

The person wearing a deep red robe.

Her face is even more beautiful than Xijun's.

You can tell who that person is at a glance.

"Insect Emperor Rou?"

Yangling Ling's gaze shifted, and he instantly regarded Guo Jie as Chong Huangrou's guest.

The confiscation of the property of the powerful brought trouble to the Yangling Magistrate.

The mastermind turned out to be Chonghuang Rou.

Guo Jie saw that everyone's attention was attracted by Chong Huangrou, and smiled in his heart. The fourth layer of vest, which was also the most useful vest, began to play a big role.

Chong Huangrou's jade-like face is very recognizable.

As long as you stand next to Chong Huang Rou, everyone's attention will be attracted to Chong Huang Rou.

No one would ever pay attention to Guo Jie again.

"You are a marquis and will inherit the title of Marquis Qucheng in the future."

The Yangling Magistrate gritted his teeth and said, "How could I be so close to such a cruel official and help him fight for the position of Right Internal Affairs Secretary?"

Chong Huangrou was too lazy to pay attention to him. With the status and position of a marquis, he didn't need to pay attention to Yangling Ling.

"go back!"

Yangling Ling lost face and shook his sleeves vigorously. He could only leave with a gloomy face, feeling resentful that Chong Huangrou had disgraced him.

He was also unable to stop Zhao Yu from capturing Zhao Tuo.

"Guo Jie."

Zhao Yu was in high spirits. He pointed at the carriage covered with silk and said, "Come here. You drive the carriage. I'll leave the task of capturing Zhao Tuo to Zhang Tang."

Guo Jie respectfully handed over the wooden tablets recording the confiscation of various properties, and sat on the screen with a happy face, helping the future head of the Han Dynasty Discipline Inspection Commission to drive the carriage, acting as the trusted driver of the head of the Discipline Inspection Commission in the world.

"Do you dare to offend the Yangling Order?"

Zhao Yu carefully examined the wooden slip and asked, his expression unremarkable: "The Yangling Magistrate's surname is Wang. If you offend him, it will not be a good thing for you."

Guo Jie knew that this was the head of the Han Dynasty Discipline Inspection Commission testing him.

The surprise came too suddenly.

Guo Jie used to be a leader in charge of a region, and he knew better than anyone what the test of leadership meant.

This is a precursor to promotion and reuse.

Guo Jie said solemnly, "I am willing to serve the Duke of Zhao."

Zhao Yu was surprised. He didn't expect Guo Da to respond so quickly. He asked in confusion, "Do you know the origin of Yangling Ling?"

The Yangling Ling was not an ordinary mausoleum official. He was considered a half-relative, and a relative of the Wang family who was even closer to the emperor.

Empress Dowager Wang Zhi and Emperor Jingdi were both married for the second time. She was married twice in succession. The second time she married Emperor Jingdi, who was the crown prince at the time.

Wang Zhaojun's mother, Zang'er, also married twice.

Zang'er first married Wang Zhong of Huaili, and later married Tian Shi of Changling.

The magistrate of Yangling was a distant cousin of Wang Zhongshao.

According to seniority, Xiucheng Jun Jinsu has to call Yangling Ling "father".

But the relationship is a little distant.

However, Yangling is the tomb of Emperor Jing.

The magistrate of Yangling was surnamed Wang, but he was able to serve as the chief official of the mausoleum of Wang Zhi's second husband, Emperor Jing.

The Yangling magistrate held a high status among the Wang family, the foreign relatives.

Zhao Yu knew that Guo Jie was from Chen County, not Chang'an, and he should not be clear about the relationship behind the Yangling Magistrate.

So I agreed quickly.

Agree immediately.

Guo Jie glanced at Wei Guang and thought to himself that thanks to having a brother who had many friends, he knew all the news about Disheguili in Chang'an clearly.

He smiled and said, "The Wang of Yangling Ling is from the Wang family of Huaili, right? In terms of seniority, Xiucheng Jun should call him Uncle Ji."

Zhao Yu was stunned at first.

"Haha."

The moody Zhao Yu clapped his hands and laughed: "Good, I was not wrong about you."

(End of this chapter)