Han official!

Chapter 15 Huiren's House
On February 14th, after the tomb ceremony, the weather in Chang'an was still cold. Yesterday's light snow of salt grains turned into a heavy snowfall, and the black tiles on the small double-eaved roofs turned into a sea of white.

The petty officials in Liushi braved the wind and snow, opened the gates of the neighborhood, and cleared the snow at the entrances of the neighborhoods. It was said that Chang'an Wei Zhang Tang stayed at the flag pavilion last night. Everyone in Chang'an knew Zhang Tang's reputation as a cruel official. The petty officials did not dare to slack off. They wrapped themselves tightly in their jackets and trousers and came out in the wind and snow to clear the road.

There is a market every four miles.

There are four villages within the walls of Liushi, arranged in a cross shape in the east, south, west and north of Liushi. The other three villages are clearing the snow, but the village where Ji Shaogong is located is an exception.

Several petty officials, holding up the sleeves of their jackets and trousers, stood at the gate of the village, watching with envy as a carriage covered with white cloth left.

The man holding the reins and driving the carriage was Ji Shaogong, and the man sitting in the carriage was Guo Jie, the chief of Gaojie.

The carriage passed through the gate of the village and came to the street between the wall of the village and the city wall, and continued to move forward, leaving behind deep ruts.

Four lili form Liushi. Each lili has a wall, and the city wall surrounding the four lili is called huan, also called huan wall, which is a rammed earth wall higher than the inner wall.

Guo Jie sat on a white cloth-covered carriage used by officials below 200 dan and looked carefully at the buses of the Western Han Dynasty. Overall, there was not much difference. The biggest difference was the color of the umbrella cover. Zhang Tang used a soap cloth cover, while those below 200 dan used a white cloth cover.

You can tell the rank of an official at a glance.

The essence of ritual, music and clothing is to divide people into strict hierarchies.

The carriage covered with white cloth was running quite smoothly under the control of Ji Shaogong. Being a driver in those days was a skill. Looking at Ji Shaogong driving in front, Guo Jie couldn't help but think of Xiahou Ying who drove for Liu Bang.

I don't know who drives the car better.

Xiahou Ying drove the car all year round and might have been a better driver, but in terms of martial arts and swordsmanship, Ji Shaogong, who fought his way up from the bottom to become a hero in Linjin by relying on his fighting and sword skills, was not necessarily inferior to Xiahou Ying.

The city has a city gate, hui.

The carriage covered with white cloth left a deep rut, opened the gate, left Liushi, and began to gallop along the road, heading towards the neighborhoods inside Chang'an city.

"Oh, Guo Jie is just a country bumpkin, how dare he show off his power in Chang'an?"

Inside the Gaojie Duting, many guards gathered together, drinking indignantly and venting their dissatisfaction. These powerful clansmen from Chang'an looked down on Guo Jie who was from Chen County.

Guo Jie was not satisfied with being demoted to the post of Gaojie Dutingzhang. The powerful people behind him gave a lot of money to another Chang'an Wei, Zhu Anshi. They thought that he was a guest of Weiqi Hou Dou Ying, and the post of Gaojie Dutingzhang was already in the hands of several powerful people.

Unexpectedly, after the money and silk were delivered, the chief of Gaojie dismissed a man named Guo Jie from Chen County.

The guards lost the positions of treasurer and assistant official that they had obtained, which caused great resentment among all the guards who came from powerful families.

"The clan leader has instructed us that if we don't obey Guo Jie's orders, we can force him to resign."

"Indeed! The Gaojie Duting governs over ten li and has many responsibilities. Without the help of the guards, the Gaojie Duting would be a mess."

"Haha, I've already inquired about it. Although Guo Jie is a hero, he is not a powerful person in the county. He is just a weak individual with no reliable clansmen to help him. He can only rely on us. If the guards don't obey orders, they will be blinded and eventually forced to retreat."

"The guards are causing trouble?"

At the gate of Nanyi Village, Guo Jie met a small official sent by the kitchen steward to deliver a message. He nodded gently and said, "I have learned about this. Go back and tell the kitchen steward to remember not to conflict with the guards. I have my own ways to deal with these powerful tribesmen."

It was normal for the guards to cause trouble. When Guo Jie was in charge of the department's reform, he was used to seeing the locals resisting the airborne leadership and all kinds of double-faced behavior.

Ha ha.

Do you really think I am that reckless Guo Jie?

When it comes to political tactics, the powerful people in Chang'an are nothing.

"This is a good thing." Guo Jie was not worried but happy. "I was worried that I would not have a chance to replace the guards. Now that the guards are making trouble, it's a good opportunity to eliminate all the powerful people in the capital and replace them with trustworthy people."

He had long anticipated that the Gaojie Duting would be manipulated by powerful people, so he did not take office immediately. Instead, he went to the neighborhood where Zhang Qian lived to discuss the matter of taking the position of Duting Shèfu.

Zhang Qian and Gan Fu were drinking in the house, and Wei Guang happened to be there, talking about his heroic feat of fighting the tiger that day.

"Tell me, will Mr. Guo invite you and me to be the stingy men?"

Wei Guang's face was full of anticipation: "Shou Fu is a junior official with a salary of 100 dan. If I can take on this position, who would dare to look down on me?"

Zhang Qian was also looking forward to it: "As the Duting Treasure Officer, I will have the opportunity to be transferred to the frontier fortresses near the Western Regions to serve as a fire chief. Then, it will be a great opportunity for a real man to make a name for himself in history!"

"咚咚-"

Guo Jie jumped off the carriage covered with white cloth and knocked on the wooden door of a house in the neighborhood.

Zhang Qian and Wei Guang immediately turned their heads to look at the gate, stretched their necks, and waited excitedly and anxiously for Gan's father to open the door.

"Haha."

Guo Jie walked into the courtyard and saw Zhang Qian and Wei Guang sitting around the horseshoe-shaped stove in the kitchen. He said with a smile, "It's freezing cold, and you two are drinking millet wine around the stove. What a refined mood! Why aren't you playing the zither and singing?"

Zhang Qian and Wei Guang looked at each other with ecstasy and excitement.

Guo Jie is here!

Haha.

Guo Jie, who valued trust and loyalty, did not disappoint Zhang Qian and Wei Guang!

Zhang Qian and Wei Guang stepped forward to greet Guo Jie, bowing solemnly, their faces filled with uncontrollable joy.

Seeing the two men's delight, Guo Jie knew what they were thinking. He knelt on the straw in the kitchen, drank some millet wine, and said, "You are right. I have come here to invite you to serve as the governor of Gaojie."

"Brother, righteousness!"

"Brother really lived up to our expectations!"

Zhang Qian and Wei Guang were completely relieved and toasted him frequently. A young official from a commoner family, a riding slave worse than an animal, was not worth winning over, but was treated as a brother by Guo Jie, a hero from Chang'an who could kill a tiger with his bare hands, and they were deeply moved.

Young Zhang Qian and Wei Guang both valued death more than life.

He already regarded Guo Jie as his own brother.

When they were drunk, Guo Jie told them about the current situation in Gaojie Duting and how he planned to eliminate all the powerful clansmen who remained in Gaojie Duting.

Replace them all?

Zhang Qian said cautiously, "Brother, please don't be impulsive. This matter needs to be carefully considered. Replacing the entire Gaojie Duting with our own people, from the inside out, would require at least a hundred of our clansmen. Where did you get so many close clansmen?"

Guo Jie smiled but said nothing. He turned to look at Ji Shaogong and instructed him, "I don't have over a hundred of my own people, but I do have a county of knights-errant at my disposal. Immediately drive your chariot to Chen County and carefully select over a hundred knights-errant who are most proficient in martial arts and swordsmanship."

Ji Shaogong was puzzled and asked, "Why did Lord Guo go to Chen County to find a knight-errant instead of the one from Ren's family in Chang'an?"

(End of this chapter)