The Happy Life of Small Officials in Northern Song Dynasty

After a stick of incense, the official messenger who delivered the letter had been tied up like a zongzi and dragged to the frontier checkpoint of the gangsters. The tolerance is not very bright on weekdays, otherwise Zhu Shiyong would never have sent him to be the death ghost. Be a little more careful, and never dare to go down Bagong Mountain.

The little leader of the checkpoint on the mountain side beat and kicked no matter what Sanqi 21 went up, and then grabbed the policeman's bun and asked, "Where did you come from? Where are you going? What are you doing?"

The official was also stubborn, and said with a stiff neck: "You can kill or cut as you like, I, Chen Laogen, will not tell you that I am going to Suzhou to deliver a letter."

The gangsters laughed and fell down. This guy is a fool, and he doesn't know how he got into the ranks of officials.

The little boss held back his smile and said, "Then you will definitely not tell us where the letter you sent is?"

The official said proudly: "I am an official and you are gangsters, so I will not tell you that I hid the letter under the horse's tail."

All the minions were in awe, and raised their thumbs one after another: "What a man with backbone, you are the most backbone person in the world, and we won't make things difficult for you, as long as you don't run away, stay well, and you will be fine." I will not give you, a proud hero, a hard time."

The officer turned his eyes to the sky, and said proudly: "Run away? That's not my way of doing things, and you haven't got my letters and official documents. I ran away and made you suspicious. Why don't you let me go when you can't find anything?" let's go."

Everyone laughed loudly and said, "Yes, yes, we didn't know that you hid the letter under the horse's tail, and we were completely blinded."

……

The sealed kraft paper briefcase was sent to the hall of the cottage, where Shen Yaozu, the head of the cottage, the 'killer scholar' sat on a big tiger-skin chair and read the letter carefully, lost in thought.

All the minions didn't know what was written in the letter, and they didn't dare to interrupt the head of the family. The head of the family looked polite, but no one dared to say a word in front of him.

This person was not ranked first in his studies in his early years, but he did learn how to ride a horse. After he failed, he wandered around the city of Bozhou, going in and out of fireworks and wine shops, but he was happy and happy. When Lian was fighting fiercely, that little Fenglian was favored by Bozhou Tongzhi, and since then he has never had a hand in him.

One day, Shen Yaozu had a tryst with Xiao Fenglian, and was bumped into by that fellow confidant, and ordered him to beat him out with a stick, even if one of his legs was broken. Stripping naked and throwing them naked on the street has become a joke from far and near.

After recovering from his injury, Shen Yaozu stayed at home for three months without going out. Everyone thought that he would never recover from a setback. When he saw people faceless, he did something earth-shattering. This Shen Yaozu took advantage of the drunken servants in Master Tongzhi's mansion to climb over the wall and enter, beheading eighteen members of Tongzhi's family, even two seven or eight-year-old children were not spared, the method was vicious Cruel and outrageous.

After the incident, Shen Yaozu went to Bagong Mountain and turned into a bandit. Before half a year later, he planned to kill the original big leader, took the top position, and also won the nickname of 'killer scholar'

He has a lot of means, and he is proficient in reading, calligraphy, sword riding and riding. He is not like ordinary mountain kings who can only be brave and ruthless. The growth of his family finally developed to a scale of nearly a thousand people, and he repelled the encirclement and suppression by officers and soldiers several times. His reputation spread far and wide, and his prestige in the cottage became more and more entrenched.

Shen Yaozu pondered for a while, then asked: "Where is the second head?"

A minion came forward and said: "Reporting to the head of the family, the second head of the family led people to hunt wild boars in the back mountain. The second head of the family said that the wild boars are easy to find after snow, and they are easy to catch when they hide in the cave. How many of them did they hunt?" Killed and drank at night."

Shen Yaozu said with a smile: "He has intentions, he is afraid that he has been busy recently and wants to loosen his muscles and bones, so go ask him to come back and say that I have something important to discuss."

Minoru promised to turn around and look for it. Half an hour later, there was a commotion outside the hall. A short-bodied man with a dog fur hat on his head walked into the hall with white breath from the door.

Shen Yaozu left his seat and said with a chuckle: "Second child is so elegant, how did you get it?"

The man laughed loudly, and with a wave of his hand, seven or eight minions carried two big boars into the hall. The boars' tusks were curled up and their bodies were stained with blood, obviously after a fierce struggle.

Shen Yaozu tsk-tsk praised: "Second leader is very skillful, this boar is at least three hundred catties a piece, it's not easy to catch this guy, it's amazing!"

The man cupped his hands and said: "Even if it is difficult to catch, I will catch it. Didn't my brother say that I have some signs of cold symptoms recently? These two big pig kidneys will be boiled and drunk with wine, and I will let my brother's cold symptoms go away."

Shen Yaozu laughed loudly and said: "Brother has a heart, brother is sincerely grateful, you and I are destined, we can respect and care for each other, maybe we were brothers in the previous life."

A little Luo Xiao jokingly said: "The young one told me that the eldest master and the second master must have been husband and wife in their previous lives."

All the minions laughed, Shen Yaozu laughed and cursed: "Little bastard, am I entertaining you guys?"

The second head of the family also laughed and said: "If that's the case, I will be the husband, and the first head of the family must be the wife."

Everyone laughed again, and the second master waved his hand and said: "Take the wild boar down, shave it, wash it, stew it, and fill it with a few large pots for drinking at night. Remember that the two pieces of kidney must be boiled separately and sent to the first master. eat."

The minions agreed in unison, and carried the boar out with a yell.

The two masters took their seats, and the second master cupped his hands and said, "Did the elder brother ask the younger brother to come back?"

Shen Yaozu stretched out his hand and handed the official document to him, saying: "A tolerance was caught at the foot of the mountain, and this was found on him, take a look."

Erdang unfolded the official document and read it carefully, frowning and muttering silently.

Shen Yaozu said: "Brother, you have been in Luzhou Prefecture for a while, according to your opinion, is this document an official document of Luzhou Prefecture?"

The second leader cupped his hands and said: "A few months ago, I was in Luzhou and followed Brother Hei Qi to hang out in the chamber of commerce. The chamber of commerce has a close relationship with the magistrate of Luzhou, and I have seen the official documents of the government several times. I dare not say the handwriting. , but this seal is indeed the seal of the prefect of Luzhou."

Shen Yaozu said: "But at this time, what is the reason for the Luzhou government to transport grain to Bozhou? And one shipment is 50 shi, but the person who delivered the official documents was caught by us again. Do you think there is something tricky about it? "

Er Dangjia said: "Brother suspects that this is a trapping strategy by the officers and soldiers. They couldn't enter the mountain, so they tried to lure us out of the mountain to suppress it?"

Shen Yaozu said: "It's very possible, we have to guard against the cunning of officials."

The second master pondered for a moment and said: "If this is true, wouldn't we have lost the opportunity to get the 50 shi of grain in vain? So much grain is a big piece of fat; even twice as many people and horses in our cottage can feed us." It’s a pity to give up after several years without worrying about food and drink.”

Shen Yaozu shook his head and said: "We can't take risks easily, we have managed to save up this little property, and when the wind is booming, we must not act rashly, even if we want to eat this piece of fat, we must be fully prepared, and we must find out the news It has to be accurate."

The second leader nodded and said: "What my brother said is true, but the official document said that the grain carts set off this morning, and only a hundred horsemen were escorted, and they were horsemen from the Guards Department. They were the forbidden troops of the capital. Why did they send the forbidden troops here?" Escort, this is very puzzling."

Shen Yaozu suddenly said: "Foreman escort, maybe it's military rations, I don't know, but they have so much food, I'm afraid they have at least a thousand carts, their actions are bound to be slow, we still have two or three days to investigate the situation and figure it out. It’s not too late to do it, if there is no trap, you and I will vomit blood with regret after letting go of this batch of food.”

The second master said: "What my brother said is that there is a shortage of food in the village, and there is an endless stream of people who come to seek refuge. Now it seems that the food shortage in the government everywhere. We have got this 50 shi of food. It is really an extra wing, and we are no longer afraid of them. The blockade around the mountain has trapped us to death in the mountain; isn't that what we are most worried about?"

Shen Yaozu stood up and paced back and forth, and suddenly said: "Don't you still have friends in Luzhou? You can go quietly to inquire about the news of the soldiers stationed in Luzhou. If a trap is set up, the officers and soldiers must have set up an ambush. Besides, I will go to interrogate the messenger Let's see if we can find any clues."

The second master got up and said: "Little brother, I will go down the mountain in disguise and go to Luzhou in person. I will hurry back to report the news tomorrow morning; my brother can send out scouts to investigate, and I also want to see what is there in the garrison in Shouzhou city in the west." Change, do nothing wrong."

Shen Yaozu smiled and said: "Brother, don't worry, you have to work hard like this, you must be careful, you have too many acquaintances in Luzhou City, so don't show your trace."

The second leader smiled and said: "Just because they can catch me? That old thief Tang from the Chamber of Commerce wanted to silence us, so I escaped, and I thought that my nickname of 'Drilling Mountain Leopard' Qiu Dabao was a vain name? "

The two laughed loudly and split up.

(Tucao: Fan. The wall is also harmonious, the mighty Greater China.)