A knife in love

Chapter 814

Li Qiufeng thought to himself, when he was in the capital, although he had been to the Ministry of Punishment and the Ministry of Rites to listen to cases, he had seen officials such as Shang Shu, Shi Lang, and the principal handle cases.When these high officials in the capital tried cases, they seldom used their hands on others.But since arriving in Henan, whether it is the yamen of the prefect of Luoyang or the yamen of the magistrate of Xiuwu County, the master has the final say.No wonder the common people say that "the king of hell is easy to see, but the little ghost is hard to deal with".These local officials have so many imps under their command, it is even more difficult for ordinary people to demand justice.

When he thought of this, his heart suddenly moved, and he remembered that he visited the magistrate's yamen at night in Luoyang, and overheard the conversation between Luoyang prefect Han Qusi and his master Ji Dingzhong.The words of these two people are full of cleverness, which is not like the conversation between the magistrate and his servants at all.But in Xiuwu County, such a Master Zhang appeared again, who controlled the power of the magistrate's yamen, which was comparable to Ji Dingzhong's position in the Luoyang magistrate's yamen.

Li Qiufeng thought about it carefully, and the more he thought about it, the more strange he became.Moreover, he found that the appearance of this Master Zhang is quite similar to that of Ji Dingzhong Ji.Thinking about it, both of them are scheming and cunning people. As the saying goes, "a relationship is born from the heart", it is not surprising that two treacherous people look like villains.

The two talked and talked, and they arrived in front of the inn not long after.Li Qiufeng said to Yin Butou: "Thank you Yin Butou for accompanying Li on business today. Li went to the inn to pack up his things, and then went to live in the Town God's Temple. Yin Butou, please go back first."

Yin Butou said: "It's a villain's blessing to serve a great... hero. The villain will go to the county magistrate's yamen and inform the county magistrate and county magistrate about the hero's going to live in the Town God's Temple."

Li Qiufeng nodded, and then said goodbye to Yin Butou.Yin Butou turned around and took two steps, suddenly remembered something, stopped in a hurry, turned to Li Qiufeng and said: "The rent of this inn will be settled by the county government itself, so you don't have to worry about it."

After Yin Tutou left, Li Qiufeng walked into the inn.The boss was writing calculations at the counter, and when he saw Li Qiufeng coming in, he hurried forward to greet him, nodded and bowed his head, and said, "Master is back. What do you want for lunch, the villain ordered someone to prepare it for you."

Li Qiufeng smiled and said: "I have something to do, so I have to check out and leave. Please ask the boss to settle the store money."

When the boss heard that Li Qiufeng was going to leave, he was overjoyed, with a smile from the heart on his face, and said, "It's a blessing for the small shop to live in the old man. Other inns can't invite you." , you don’t care about what the store pays or not.”

Li Qiufeng shook his head, and said in his mouth: "How can we not pay for the hotel? The boss doesn't have to worry about it, it's better to settle the store's money clearly."

The boss thought to himself, as long as you leave the inn immediately, I will be considered a high incense.Otherwise, if you live in the future, the shop money is nothing, but three meals a day with good wine and good food are served, and you have to spend at least two renminbi a day? !If you live for ten days and a half a month, I will have to pay three or four taels of silver, and a month will be considered in vain.You plague god, the sooner you get out of here, the better, and it's best not to let me see you again!

Li Qiufeng saw that the boss refused to settle the shop money, so he had no choice but to shake his head and walk back to his room.He didn't bring any luggage with him originally, and Situ Qiao had already taken away the bundle that wrapped Guan Yu's head, leaving only a snatched steel knife.He still wrapped the steel knife in the sheet, looked around the room again, and was about to leave the room when he heard footsteps outside the room, and then someone said at the door: "Is Uncle Li there?"

Li Qiufeng was somewhat familiar with this person's voice, he was startled, and then said in a deep voice, "Which one is here?"

I only heard the person outside the door say: "My next Zhang Hao, I have come to see Uncle Li by the order of the master."

When Li Qiufeng heard that Zhang Hao had arrived, he felt relieved and hurriedly opened the door to let Zhang Hao in.Zhang Hao cupped his hands towards Li Qiufeng, and said in his mouth: "I have ordered Master Li to send something to Uncle Li."

After he finished speaking, he untied a sackcloth burden from his body.This bundle is about five feet long and five inches wide, and I don't know what it contains.Zhang Hao put the bundle on the table, and then said to Li Qiufeng: "The master has left Xiuwu County, but he has not gone far. If Uncle Li finds anything, you can go to that earthen house, and someone will welcome Uncle Li."

Li Qiufeng nodded, and said, "Brother Zhang will stay in Xiuwu County?"

Zhang Hao said: "I have to obey the master's orders. He just ordered me to deliver this thing to Uncle Li, and then rush back to report to him. As for whether I want to stay in Xiuwu County, it depends on the master's plan. "

Having said this, Zhang Hao took a look at Li Qiufeng, and then continued: "If Uncle Li has nothing else to do, I will take my leave."

Li Qiufeng said: "Thank you, Brother Zhang. When you go back to see Your Majesty, please send Li a greeting to him."

Zhang Hao cupped his hands and said: "I will remember, Uncle Li, take care."

Li Qiufeng sent Zhang Hao to the door, and suddenly remembered something, grabbed the bundle on the table with his right hand and followed, and said to Zhang Hao: "There is one more thing, please tell your lord, Brother Zhang. A certain person restrains the righteous people and assists the yamen to maintain law and order. Li has already agreed. Because most of these righteous people gather in the Town God's Temple in the east of the city, so Li will live in the Town God's Temple today. If you have anything to discuss with me , you can find it in the Temple of the City God.”

The two walked to the lobby of the inn while talking. The boss had been waiting there for a long time. When he saw the two coming out, he rushed forward to meet them.Li Qiufeng didn't wait for him to speak, so he put a piece of loose silver that he had already held in his hand on a table, and said: "This is shop money, boss, please keep it. But boss, you don't want to settle the settlement, so I have to give it to you casually." .If it’s too much or too little, please don’t mind the boss.”

The boss was startled, glanced at the silver on the table, waved his hands, and said in a trembling voice: "Master, sir, you don't dare! The servant in the yamen knows that the villain has taken your silver, so he can't open it." The villa's inn! You'd better keep this money, this money. As long as you say a few nice words to the villain at the servant's place, you will feel sorry for the villain."

The boss bowed again and again while talking, his face was full of horror.Li Qiufeng was annoyed and funny, and was about to say more, but Zhang Hao gave him a wink, and said, "This boss is also kind, Mr. Li should put away the money."

In desperation, Li Qiufeng had no choice but to take the money back, and said in his mouth: "Okay, I've got the money back. Thank you boss for taking care of me. I'll give you a good word from the yamen."

Feeling relieved, the boss clasped his hands and said, "Then I would like to thank you, sir. The villain is very grateful."

Li Qiufeng and Zhang Hao left the inn together.Because they were worried about attracting suspicion, the two did not separate immediately, but walked forward slowly side by side.It's just that when they were walking, the two of them had a panoramic view of the surrounding situation in the blink of an eye.Li Qiufeng saw that there was no suspicious person around, so he breathed a sigh of relief, and sighed: "Master Huang, the magistrate of Xiuwu County, can be regarded as a good official, but the people under his rule are still afraid of the yamen messengers. , is really worrying.”

Zhang Hao smiled slightly, and said in his mouth: "Uncle Li has been in the capital for a long time, I'm afraid he doesn't know the majesty of the magistrate. Which of these people is not the emperor in the locality? The magistrate of the broken family, the county magistrate of the family, these eight words are not jokes. The common people don't I know that the emperor and officials in the capital only see magistrates and government officers in their eyes. These people are the sky above them, deciding their life and death. The innkeeper just now is not afraid of you, but afraid that the government will make trouble for him These people are used to being oppressed. If you treat them better, it will make them panic and panic. It is better not to give money, and they will breathe a sigh of relief."

The more Li Qiufeng listened, the more surprised he became, and he said in his mouth: "Could it be that you have been bullied for a long time and treat them better, but they can't accept it?"

Zhang Hao nodded, and said: "Exactly. This is the sorrow of the common people. For thousands of years, they have been oppressed by the government, and they can hardly breathe. After a long time, it has become the most common thing. You If you treat them well, they will have doubts in their hearts, thinking that they have committed something, lest a greater disaster will fall from the sky, and they will be in panic all day long. I have been working in South Zhili for a long time. Jiangnan is a land of fish and rice. They are much richer. However, the rich are all officials and gentry, and the oppression of common people is even worse than that in the north. The common people oppressed too hard, some of them fled to the sea and became the accomplices of the Japanese pirates. Without the guidance of these common people who are familiar with the inside information of the Ming Dynasty, how could there be such a big disturbance with the mere Japanese pirates?"

Li Qiufeng didn't expect Zhang Hao to have such insight, he was quite surprised in his heart, and couldn't help but said: "Listening to what you say is better than studying for ten years. Brother Zhang has such insight, Li admires it very much."

Zhang Hao shook his head and said with a smile: "Uncle Li, don't make fun of me. I don't have any knowledge, but I have stayed in Nanzhili for a long time, and I have seen a lot of things, so I just said it casually." That's all."

When he said this, he glanced at Li Qiufeng, lowered his voice, and said, "Uncle Li, this is just to tell you, but please don't let the Shangguan know. Otherwise, after the Shangguan hears it, it is inevitable that he will not speak in vain. Discuss important affairs of the court. At that time, I'm afraid I won't be able to eat and walk around..."

Li Qiufeng didn't wait for him to finish, then smiled and said: "Brother Zhang, you can rest assured. Li has left the Jinyiwei, and will never re-enter the officialdom in this life. Naturally, he will not have any dealings with Brother Zhang's superiors. This time I agreed. Your Majesty's helping him with things is just to help his friends. What's more, although Li and Brother Zhang have met for the first time, they admire him very much and will never frame him."

Zhang Hao breathed a sigh of relief, chatted with Li Qiufeng for a few more words, and then left.Li Qiufeng walked along at a leisurely pace, and turned to the northeast after confirming that no one was following him.It's just that the circle was too big, and when he turned to the City God's Temple, he had already walked for more than half an hour.At this time, the gate of the Town God's Temple is wide open, and there is an endless stream of pilgrims who come to burn incense.Li Qiufeng thought to himself, it seems that Wan Congyun and others have left, otherwise these pilgrims would not dare to come to the temple to burn incense.

(End of this chapter)