Han official!

Chapter 164 Well Master
"Nai Gong is going to tear Di Shan's head off this time."

On the way to Xingze Township, teenagers like Su Jia hated the Huns the most and were always full of passion, unlike adults over 30 who gradually became mature and steady.

"You dared to trespass into the Gaolan Mountain beacon tower without permission and nearly injured Lady Wei. You truly deserve to be killed."

Su Jia was at the age when he liked BMW and Lijian, and he didn't feel angry at missing out on good horses like Baibi and Chiba.

When he learned that Di Shan's cousin led people to kill Wei Junru.

Su Jia was furious and wanted to chop off Di Shan's head with his halberd.

When Guo Jie heard him keep calling him "Naigong", he was helpless: "You just learned archery from Wei Guang for a while, how come you also picked up Wei Guang's tone of voice? Don't call him "Naigong" all the time when you are so young."

Su Jia's face flushed. "Disciple, please be careful. I've been with Master Wei for so long that I accidentally learned the phrase 'Nai Gong' that Master Wei often says. Disciple will pay attention to the tone of his speech in the future."

"You must not underestimate this inspection." Guo Jie looked at Huo Zhongru, the only one wearing two layers of armor, and shook his head. His two sons were braver than the other, but their father was very cautious.

But I can understand it.

Guo Jie looked towards Xingze in the distance, his expression becoming more cautious.

This inspection tour of Xingze Township was full of risks, as he faced the siege of local tyrants at any time.

The inspection location was not the seat of the Xingze Township government. They rode on horseback on the official road, wearing a layer of red fish scale armor, a white robe, an iron helmet on their heads, and a red pheasant tail feather.

Guo Jie's iron helmet had a pheasant's tail inserted into it. The pheasant is the most ferocious bird of prey. Every time it grabs its prey, it crushes it with its claws. Military officers' crowns or iron helmets would have pheasant's tail inserted into them.

The crowd did not look like civil officials on patrol, but more like a group of military officials from the frontier commandery's office.

This time, the place of inspection was the stables, which was the horse farm under the jurisdiction of the livestock officer Di Guangwu.

The clerks and servants in the stables raise horses all year round and have superb riding skills. If they encounter a group of bandits who want to steal horses, they can become elite cavalrymen by riding on their horses.

In addition, the location of the Juyuan Horse Farm is right next to the Xingze Township government office. The five people from the government office can go to the horse farm at any time and defeat the bandits who attack the horse farm.

Guo Jie rode his white-nosed horse on the road. Unless he was delivering urgent military information, he usually would not gallop at full speed, but maintained a steady pace.

Xingze Township is not in Chang'an, the capital county. Fortunately, Guo Jie is no longer a county clerk in the past. He is already an official of the Right Internal Affairs Department. The twenty-seven counties of the Right Internal Affairs Department are all within his inspection scope.

They rode for a long time until noon, when they finally came across a village pavilion.

The headman checked Guo Jie's seal and verified the identity of the accountant. He quickly killed a dog and entertained the accountant who was inspecting the village.

Dogs are one of the six domestic animals and a rare delicacy, but the pavilion chief was still trembling with fear and secretly annoyed that the only sheep in the pavilion was eaten by Di Guangwu, the livestock officer who was transporting horse feed.

Otherwise, the headman would have a sheep to entertain the accountant from Chang'an.

The equivalent agencies of the pavilion include post, post, and transmission, each with its own focus and responsibilities.

In addition to delivering official documents, the duties of the township pavilion mainly focused on maintaining public security and arresting bandits roaming the village.

The job of a pavilion chief is the most difficult.

No one knows when a group of bandits will suddenly appear.

Guo Jie was the chief accountant of the patrol. If he felt that the village pavilion was not well-mannered and did not provide mutton for the guests, he would be displeased with the pavilion chief and give him a reprimand as punishment.

The headman has no hope of promotion in his life.

Guo Jie and his companions sat around the big cauldron, ate the dog meat and corn rice in big mouthfuls, and praised the taste.

Just a nice word.

The pavilion chief relaxed his tension, stretched out his sleeves and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Guo Jie was once just a pavilion chief, and seeing the fearful look of the village pavilion chief, he could understand it very well.

The inspection team suddenly wanted to have a meal at the township police station.

Of course, the director was particularly nervous.

After having their meal at the village pavilion, they rode their Hexi horses again and headed to the stables and horse farms under the jurisdiction of the livestock officer Di Guangwu to look for the one hundred white horses hidden by the Huns.

"In the Chang'an area, the only place where one could quietly hide a hundred white horses is the stable garden."

Huo Zhongru, wearing a suit of red fish-scale armor with a leather armor on the outside, followed Guo Jie and told him his inference that he had traveled all over Jing County.

"Hundreds of white horses were transported here from the border trade. They were probably mixed in with the horses purchased by the livestock officials so as not to alarm the post offices along the way."

"The Han Dynasty attached great importance to horse management. Each county appointed a livestock official, mainly to raise stable horses. These stable horses were raised in counties throughout the interior and east of the Great Wall. Although they were not as good as the horses in the horse farms in the border counties, they could make up for the shortage of horses. Wars not only required war horses, but also draft horses for transporting food and fodder."

Although Huo Zhongru was only a minor official in the county government temple, he was brought to the main residence of Pingyang Marquis of Pingyang County. He was very capable and could talk about a horse administration in a clear and organized manner.

Relying on his knowledge of county and government offices, he found the most likely place where the one hundred white horses were hidden.

Otherwise, Guo Jie, along with Yan Yi, Chong Huangrou and others, would have gone to the seat of Xingze Township.

Missed the opportunity to find a hundred white horses.

"I guess other powerful people are involved in this matter. Even if the 100 white horses are mixed in with the horses bought by the livestock officials, they are still very conspicuous and will attract the attention of the post office. If they are divided into several and brought back to Xingze Township, no one will notice."

Huo Zhongru was very clear about the situation in the village. The powerful people in Xingze Village were from the same hometown as Di Shan, and they would definitely be happy to see Doctor Di Shan serve as the ritual officer.

Di Shan served as a ritual officer, and it was very likely that he would be promoted to the position of Grand Secretary, one of the Nine Ministers.

The powerful people in Xingze Township could rise to prominence with the help of their relatives and friends. With Di Shan's recommendation, they could become the chief officials of counties and prefectures, or even the Zhongdu officials of the Nine Ministers.

Huo Zhongru's meaning was very clear.

Remind Guo Jie not to forget to guard against the powerful people in Xingze Township.

If the police investigated Bai Ma's case, they would stir up a hornet's nest and cause the powerful to attack them.

"I have long known this. This inspection plan will not only ruin Di Shan's chances of becoming the ceremonial officer, but will also ruin the powerful people's plans to rise to prominence. The powerful people will not let go of any official who interferes with their trade with the Xiongnu."

Guo Jie saw a large number of horse hoof prints on the ground ahead, and knew that they had arrived at the stables and horse farms in Xingze Township.

On the flat land near Xingze, there appeared a very high wooden fence, about ten feet high, or about two and a half meters, taller than Guo Jie and others who were riding on horses.

The wooden fence is the garden of the stable.

The outside of the stable yard is usually surrounded by rammed earth walls or wooden fences.

Rammed earth walls are called walls, and wooden fences are called gardens.

It is mainly used to prevent horses from getting lost, and is also used to defend against thieves and wild beasts.

There are watchtowers at the four corners of the wooden fence, which are used to observe the surrounding situation and have soldiers on duty.

Guo Jie and his companions, wearing armor and carrying swords, quickly attracted the attention of the soldiers in the watchtower, aroused their vigilance, and alerted the officials in the stables.

A minor official named Li, with dozens of servants, wearing armor and holding spears, blocked the entrance of the wooden fence.

When they saw that Guo Jie was a stranger, they instantly became nervous, fearing that this group of people were bandits who came to rob horses.

"Which government office are you from? Do you have a seal?"

"Without the seal, I cannot let you in. This is a stable and horse ranch, not a post station, and we cannot provide accommodation for passing officials."

The minor official surnamed Li was afraid that these people were bandits disguised as officials.

In the past, there have been cases where a group of thieves disguised themselves as officials, tricked the gate of a stable into opening, and stole the horses.

Losing a horse is a great sin.

In the end, all the petty officials, including the livestock managers in the stables and gardens, were beheaded, and all the laborers were sentenced to one city day of grinding millstones and exiled to the border counties.

"I'm Guo Jie, the chief accountant." Guo Jie took off the seal from his waist and threw it with all his might. "I've come to inspect the horses in the stables and yards to see if there's enough horse feed and water chestnuts, and if the number of horses matches the number recorded in the account book."

Involving horse politics.

The identities of Chonghuang Rou and Yan Yi are no longer useful.

Pu and Cao Tingzhang were both imprisoned in Dongshi Prison, and no one knew that they had been arrested.

Di Shan would not know that Guo Jie was investigating the transaction of the white horse.

There is an information gap.

"Accountant?"

These three words frightened the minor official named Li, who hurriedly took the seal and examined it carefully, confirming that it was the seal of the Right Secretary of the Interior.

"Open the door quickly."

The clerk named Li hurried forward a few steps and saluted quickly: "My name is Li, and I am the well master of the stables and horse farm. I have offended the clerk Guo. I beg for your forgiveness."

Sheriff?

Guo Jie looked dazed. It had been a long time since he heard such a familiar name.

He reacted quickly.

The clerk named Li was referring to the well chief, not the police chief.

The well chief was a permanent official position in the stables and horse farms, specifically responsible for managing the wells and water sources.

Horse breeding is highly dependent on water sources, and wells are the most important source of water.

The well chief is an official responsible for digging, maintaining and allocating water to wells, equivalent to a water official.

In addition, not only the wells, but also the rivers, swamps, and springs near the stables and horse farms are all under the jurisdiction of the well master.

All the water in the stables and horse farms was under the jurisdiction of the well chief, a very important official position.

Guo Jie learned the identity of Li Jingchang, who was one of the core officials of the stables and should have been involved in the transaction of the white horse. He looked at Li Jingchang a few times.

Li Jingchang looked young, in his twenties, but he was not as frivolous as young people. He was very cautious in his actions. He wore a slightly whitish soap shirt that had been washed many times and was a frugal person.

"Go and inform the animal husbandry officer and the doctor."

The arrangements made by Li Jingchang confirmed Guo Jie's opinion of him. When he learned that the accountant was coming to inspect the situation, he immediately sent someone to find the livestock officer Di Guangwu and the doctor Di Shan.

"Official Guo, please come in immediately. I will prepare wine and a banquet immediately. Let's eat first. We can discuss the inspection after dinner."

The more stringent the management system is.

The more afraid you are of patrol plans.

He was afraid of being in trouble with the accountants and affecting his future promotion.

Li Jingchang did not dare to delay. He sent someone to find Di Guangwu and Di Shan, and at the same time sent someone to the kitchen to tell Cook Ding to cook quickly.

You also need to take out the top-quality mutton and add some vegetables such as gourd, water pepper, and leek to cook a delicious meal.

"September is the season when water chestnuts are at their most delicious."

Li Jingchang said cheerfully, "Since this is your first visit to the stables and horse ranch, you should try the famous water chestnuts from Xingze Township. The stables are built right next to Xingze, so I've found a few of the best swimmers to pick some water chestnuts for you."

His clothes were rather old, but he was quite fat. He could get a lot of offal every month by killing sick horses in the stables.

The Chuanma Minglu keeps detailed records of the slaughter of sick horses, and the amount of meat produced is recorded in the book.

The internal organs and sewage will not be recorded.

The livestock officer Di Guangwu, Li Jingchang and other stable officials can often bring in meat, but they still don't want the meat worth a three-zhu coin.

Li Jingchang put on a smiling face and while entertaining Guo Jie, he intentionally or unintentionally avoided the direction of the stable.

It seemed that he didn't want Guo Jie to get close to the stable.

Guo Jie glanced at Huo Zhongru and Yan Yi behind him, gave them a look, and indicated that they could begin.

"A mediocre dog!"

Huo Zhongru suddenly flew into a rage: "Are you blind? Didn't you see Mr. Yan? I heard that Di Shan from Xingze Township is a Confucian scholar. Mr. Yan was passing by Xingze and stopped to debate with Di Shan."

"The people of Xingze Township actually ignored Mr. Yan. Ha, it would be better if they didn't come if they were so disrespectful."

Mr. Yan?

Yan Yi!

Li Jingchang's heart trembled, and he hurriedly stopped and looked at the people behind Guo Jie.

His gaze finally fell on a man wearing a linen jacket, hemp shoes, and wearing a two-foot sword and a jade ring.

This man is quite a gentleman.

"Don't hesitate to ask."

Li Jingchang felt bitter. If this person was really Yan Hui's tenth-generation grandson Yan Yi, and if Di Shan knew that he had neglected Yan Yi, he would directly smash his head with the bamboo slips.

"Are you Yan Yi, Yan Jun?"

"Mr. Yan?"

Di Shan and Di Guangwu were worried that the matter of the white horse would be exposed, so they hurried to the stables. When they heard Li Jingchang call Yan Yi, they were shocked and quickened their pace again.

Di Shan, wearing a Liang crown and a dark robe, bowed solemnly and said, "I didn't know it was Mr. Yan who was visiting. I was unable to greet you in person. Please forgive me, Mr. Yan. Please come and take a seat in the guest room."

Just as Guo Jie had expected, Di Shan was overjoyed when he saw Yan Yi, and his eyes only focused on this tenth-generation grandson of Yan Hui.

He completely forgot about Guo Jie.

He also completely forgot about stopping Guo Jie's plan.

Di Guangwu kept winking at his brother Di Shan, his eyes almost popping out, but Di Shan didn't leave him at all.

Di Shan was already immersed in the joy of Yan Hui's tenth-generation grandson coming to visit him.

"You are the livestock officer of the stables."

Guo Jie stopped Di Guangwu, who was about to pull Di Shan's dark robe, and said in a deep voice, "Go and fetch the daily records for the stables. I have to go to another village and need to check the number of horses in the stables as soon as possible."

Di Shan is a doctor.

His status is far higher than Guo Jie.

Only Zhongdu official Di Shan could stop the Han official Guo Jie's patrol plan.

But Di Shan's mind was completely attracted by Yan Yi.

All the things that had been discussed became empty talk because Di Shan stopped Guo Jie's inspection plan.

Di Guangwu had no choice but to do as Guo Jie instructed.

"only!"

(End of this chapter)