The Happy Life of Small Officials in Northern Song Dynasty

Update time: 22--7

In the inner hall of the yamen of Yingtian Mansion, Tang Jie, the lord of the government, was leading a group of officials to chat with Teng Wang Zhao Zongdan, and the top-quality Longjing after the rain was washed in the light blue tea cup, exuding a faint fragrance.

"Today I'm honored by the lord, otherwise Master Tang would bring out this autumn tea for me to taste." Tongzhi Master Hao joked narrowly as he blew on the tea.

Tang Jie nodded his nose and said: "Don't talk so nasty, you Master Hao doesn't like the bland taste of autumn tea, but now you are talking about it. I remember that last autumn, I asked a servant to give you a pack of autumn tea Tieguanyin. The taste of Tieguanyin is strong enough, but you, Mr. Hao, still said, "This tea has faded out, don't let the tea dregs that Mr. Tang drank have been dried and used to fool people.", You can still say What are you?"

Everyone burst out laughing, pointing at Hao Tongzhi for scolding him, Hao Tongzhi blushed and said, "Your official doesn't understand. Those who don't know are not guilty. What do you think, my lord?"

Zhao Zongdan said with a smile: "Yes, I don't know what the crime is. I am afraid that only Mr. Tang has studied the particularity of autumn tea. As the saying goes, autumn tea is 'autumn white dew'. After two seasons of picking in spring and summer, autumn tea The taste of the tea in it is fading, and the aroma is faint, so it is no wonder that you said "fading out of the bird", but you took this light word; in terms of efficacy, in the frosty sky, the autumn wind gradually rises, this tea has the effect of reducing internal fire. , The miraculous effect of replenishing internal energy, Mr. Tang is a master of the art, drinking tea is on point."

After Teng Wang's explanation, everyone suddenly realized that there are so many benefits, and then they flattered and praised Teng Wang as a Bai Xiaosheng who knows everything, and Tang Jie as an elegant hermit with a profound tea ceremony; Both Wang and Tang Jie benefited a lot, they smiled and said nothing.

In the midst of the bustle, there were footsteps outside the hall, and a yamen servant shouted loudly outside the curtain: "Report to your lord, the villain has something to report."

Tang Jie put down his cup, and said solemnly with a sullen face, "Tell me."

The yamen servant said: "The car of the third envoy was stopped by the people on the road at the north entrance of the government office, and it was blocked at the entrance of the street."

A smile flashed across Tang Jie's eyes, and he said, "How many people are there?"

"About six or seven hundred, the front and back streets are all blocked, and now the third envoy's car can't go forward or back."

"Is there a conflict?"

"That's not true, they just confronted each other. Those people said that they were pleading for orders on behalf of the people of Yingtian Mansion, but they didn't know where they got the news. They said that the third envoy came to issue an imperial edict to Lord Mansion to transfer Lord Mansion to another place. Use it for other purposes."

"Don't talk too much! You are talking nonsense about these gossips, and you issued an imperial decree to this government. Why doesn't this government know? There must be other things to ask the third envoy to ask for orders; go down and report again, and tell your bastards, don't Chew your tongue indiscriminately, or you will be served with a whip."

The yamen servant hurriedly said: "Follow the mansion's order, and the villain dares to ask, this is the ground of our Yingtian mansion, the third envoy is stopped, I am afraid there will be mistakes, do you want our brothers to come forward to solve the problem?"

Tang Jie shouted: "Are you full? The people stop the third envoy's car and ask for orders. Shall we join in the fun when we get on the wheel? The third envoy is accompanied by two personal guards, each of whom is very skilled in martial arts. If If there is any conflict, can it not stop these hundreds of unarmed people? Tell everyone not to interfere indiscriminately, and just perform their duties."

The yamen servant promised, and the sound of footsteps went away, as if he was going to deliver an order.

There was silence in the inner hall, and more than a dozen subordinate officials stared at Tang Jie with their mouths open, their expressions full of astonishment.

Tang Jie raised the teacup and smiled and said, "Everyone, continue to use tea, why are you staring blankly? The prince said two things about the benefits of this autumn tea, and there are still a few more benefits that I want to teach you."

How could everyone care about drinking tea, Guo Zhirong, the criminal officer, coughed, and said softly: "My lord, please forgive me for talking too much. Lord Yan's car was blocked by the people on the road. Your lord really intends to ignore this matter?"

Seeing that someone was picking the head, all the subordinate officials echoed and said: "Yes, the third envoy is an important minister of the central government. When he came to the boundary of Yingtian Mansion, he was stopped by the people in his car. What's the matter? What if he returned to the capital to talk about Yingtian law and order? Worryingly, the unruly people gathered a crowd to make trouble, I'm afraid the emperor will punish him."

"The person who reported the letter just now said that the third envoy is here to deliver the imperial edict. If this is true, the trouble will be even greater. Intercepting the imperial envoy who is delivering the imperial edict is disrespectful to the emperor."

"..."

Everyone was discussing, Tang Jie turned his face sideways to listen to the audience's comments, the smile on his face gradually faded, and his complexion gradually became gloomy.

An official was still waiting to chatter, Tang Jie slapped the table and shouted sharply: "Whoever you want to go, just go, I don't know what to say! The reason why the government summoned you here early in the morning is to protect you Wait, I didn't expect you to be unable to understand the affairs; the people who stopped the third envoy driving the car were petitioners from the Tianfu, so could it be that you are going to kill the people with knives? The third envoy himself is not in a hurry, why are you so anxious? It's really a mob riot, how could he not send someone to inform the government to rescue him? You went to the official post yesterday to ask him to see him. From noon to you, was there a person summoned by the adults? It is obvious that the third envoy My lord doesn't even bother to contact me and other local officials, but now they are helping him think one by one, a bunch of things that are struggling to climb out."

All the officials looked at each other in blank dismay, what did they say? Why did the Lord Fuzun use such words as eating inside and climbing outside? Originally, the three envoys came to Yingtian, and everyone went to greet them according to the etiquette. If something happens, can you, Tang Jie, get away with it?In the end, it's not your bad luck. It's really unreasonable to be regarded as the liver and lungs of a donkey with good intentions.

Everyone was dissatisfied, but they didn't dare to contradict openly, they could only stare at each other silently, no one would be so stupid as to confront the magistrate.

Zhao Zongdan looked at the situation and said with a laugh: "Master Tang, my lords, why did you make a fuss, so you can drink tea well."

Tang Jie thought angrily: You fucking don't fart for a long time, and you came up with the idea, but now you don't say anything, I insist on pulling you to talk.

"My lord, what do you say, I will listen to you." Tang Jie said to Zhao Zongdan, clasping his hands.

Zhao Zongdan understands that Tang Jie is trying to pull himself to express his opinion, so don't be angry, he originally wanted to say a few words, this matter was originally his idea, and what he wants is the current effect; It is both a big loss and a big danger. Tang Jie is a flexible mind and has many tricks. He is his right-hand man. After he leaves, many things will not go smoothly. He and Tang Jie will work hard to manage Yingtian. It's like an iron bucket, his leaving is tantamount to wasting all previous efforts.

Furthermore, Tang Jie knows most of his secrets and is his core helper. If he is transferred to another place as an official, there will be no guarantee that something will go wrong over time; To control him, this person will either stay or die, but he is definitely not going to be an official in another place, so no matter what, he must carry this imperial decree back today.

Everyone didn't know the twists and turns in King Teng's heart. Seeing that Tang Jie wanted King Teng to express his opinion, they all turned to look at King Teng; everyone had the same idea, if King Teng said go, then he would naturally go; if King Teng said no If there is a leak, both King Teng and Tang Jie are on top, so these little officials have an excuse to shirk.

"My lords, Master Tang did the right thing." King Teng said.

"The third envoy came to Yingtian Mansion for business, and he didn't inform us in advance. You waited all afternoon and he didn't see him. He didn't even send the king's name card to the official post. This king can't be said to be the third envoy. My lord, hehe, I speculate from my heart, the intention of the third envoy this time must be to not want to disturb the officials of Yingtian Mansion like me, or this errand is extremely secret and important, or the third envoy should not He has intentions, anyway Lord Yan has his reasons."

After listening to King Teng's words, everyone felt that there was some truth in it. It was not once or twice that the third envoy came to Yingtian. In the past, there was no time when he didn't get along with everyone, saying that brothers and sisters never refused to have a banquet. This time, it is true that he is so low-key. Strange.

Zhao Zongdan continued with a smile: "It's really strange for people to block the street to petition, but as Lord Tang said, Lord Yan didn't send people to come and only asked Ying Tianfu to help disperse them. It would be inappropriate for me to go rashly. It would be wrong for Mr. Yan to think that we are going to use this as an opportunity to find out about his secret errand. According to this king, you should rest assured here. Mr. Tang has good intentions. I am afraid that you will go to see Mr. Third Secretary alone It caused unnecessary suspicion, that's why I called you to drink tea early in the morning, so please don't misunderstand me."

After hearing these words, everyone suddenly came to their senses, and hurriedly apologized to Tang Jie, scolded themselves for their lack of vision, and misinterpreted Mr. Tang; after all the master's painstaking efforts to protect him, he regarded himself as a donkey's liver and lungs, which was really bitten by a dog Lu Dongbin.

Tang Jie went down the donkey, blaming himself for not making it clear to everyone in advance, and thanking the prince for pointing it out. A group of people turned this page while talking and laughing. After a while, the hall was full of laughter and laughter. The cup of autumn tea juice that was knocked over just now was still dripping down the table. There was no sign that there was any quarrel or unhappiness here just now.