Be a small county magistrate in ancient times

Chapter 208 Eternal Night
"I heard from all directions that the emperor fined you three years' salary?"

"Yes." Meng Changqing knew that what Bafang told the other party would only be public information, so he continued: "But it's more than that."

"Why, is there any other punishment?"

Meng Changqing asked, "Does it count as a punishment for me to be the magistrate of Beishan County for ten years?"

Wei Fangyun's eyebrows wrinkled visibly, and then relaxed. He paused for a moment and then said: "You are not very old. Even if you have been in Beishan County for ten years, you will only be twenty-four or five years old. There are many people at this age." You have just stepped into the officialdom, and you are already ahead of many others.

Don't regret these ten years too much. Perhaps it is His Majesty's safest arrangement for you. After ten years, the situation in the capital may have been determined. "

"Thank you uncle for the explanation." Meng Changqing said: "I am young, I can't see many things clearly, and I am impatient. Thank you uncle for the advice." After saying that, she said to Bafang beside her: "Let the kitchen prepare lunch."

Meng Changqing invited Wei Fangyun to stay for dinner.

Wei Fangyun was not a person who was pretending to be polite, "Okay, we haven't seen each other for a long time, and I want to talk to you more. Besides, you have inconvenient legs and feet and can't go to the north wall. I have to go there in person to feel at ease."

"Thank you uncle."

"Since you call me uncle, don't be so foreign to me." Wei Fangyun walked up to Meng Changqing and knelt down, "Will this injury really affect my walking in the future?"

"It won't affect me." Meng Changqing hurriedly bent down and raised his legs for him to see more easily. At the same time, he affirmed, "Doctor Hu has good medical skills, and I'm well fed and sleeping, so there won't be any problem."

"I'm very worried about you." Wei Fangyun stood up, "After you went to the capital, I was thinking every day, what will the court do to you? How will the courtiers make things difficult for you?
In the final analysis, you and I have no real support in the government, and we can only rely on ourselves for everything.

No matter whether they are gossiping or criticizing, even if they throw a sharp knife at us, we can only rely on our own flesh and blood to catch it. "

Wei Fangyun sighed: "It's really hard, Changqing. Seeing their officials protecting each other and making great contributions, who wants to swallow the bitter pill?

I don't have to say anything, I can pretend I didn't see it, but if it happens tomorrow, how can I clean it up? "

Meng Changqing's expression gradually became serious, and Wei Fangyun looked out the window and continued: "But if I want to expose it, I really don't have the ability. It's not that I'm timid and afraid of power, it's that even if I stand outside the palace wall and break my throat, I still can't. It’s no use at all.”

"What uncle is referring to...is the suppression of bandits in Yangmen County?" Meng Changqing asked tentatively.

"You are really smart, you can guess at a glance."

“To be honest, when I left Beishan County, I placed my family in Liangzhou Prefecture because I was worried that something might happen in Yangmen County.

I kept shouting about suppressing bandits for a long time, but in reality it never worked, so I guessed that there was more to it than just the robbers. At that time, the deadline for clearing the robbers was getting closer and closer. I was worried that the robbers would riot and even spread to Beishan County, so I moved my family. "

Wei Fangyun said: "Half a month ago, I asked Mao Chunfang many times about the progress of suppressing the bandits. There were many veils in his words. At that time, I also guessed that he might have taken advantage of the Yan people and was preparing to open the gateway by cooperating internally and externally.

I secretly ordered the two battalions to remain vigilant and guard the northernmost city wall.

Unexpectedly, he was more capable than I expected. He actually colluded with a third-rank official in the court and smoothed the matter over on the surface. "

"Uncle, do you know who that person is?"

Wei Fangyun looked at Meng Changqing and shook his head and sighed: "It's useless to tell you. It's not that I haven't thought about asking you to send the news directly to the emperor. But no matter how partial the emperor is to you, he will not just accuse you without evidence. Touch the ministers he needs.

It's okay if the emperor doesn't believe it, but if he does and sends people to investigate, we will be in big trouble. "

Meng Changqing stood up and helped Wei Fangyun sit down on the chair next to him, "My uncle didn't know, so I should have guessed who that person was. It was the person who handled this matter who had the right to hold him down. But the Criminal Department Minister Feng Zhongan?”

Wei Fangyun leaned back on his chair, neither saying yes nor no.

As Wei Fangyun said, anyone with a discerning eye knows that he has a problem, but because there is no evidence, there is nothing he can do about it.

If he were a person who had no sense of responsibility and was only interested in self-interest, he might be happy to see this happen, but unfortunately, Wei Fangyun was not.

He may have an agenda that even Meng Changqing doesn't know, but his dedication to serving the country and the people goes beyond words.

"What commendation does the imperial court give to Yangmen County?" Meng Changqing asked again.

"It hasn't come down yet," Wei Fangyun said. "I'm most worried that if Mao Chunfang gets promoted and leaves, there will be a mess left. I don't know whose hands it will fall into."

"I don't think so." Meng Changqing expressed his guess, "Although the bandit suppression is over on the surface, Master Mao knows what is actually going on, and the people he colludes with above also know it.

Perhaps Mr. Mao is eager to leave, but once he leaves, who will hold this matter in check? I don't think the people above will let him go. "

Bafang had been standing outside the study for a while. He stopped when he heard the voices inside, then walked in and whispered in Meng Changqing's ear, "Master, lunch has been prepared. Where can we eat?"

"Just in the study, right?" Meng Changqing asked Wei Fangyun for his opinion.

Wei Fangyun nodded, "Here it is. Your young master in Bafang has inconvenient legs and feet. Please take me to see Mrs. Meng first, and then come for dinner."

"Yes, Madam knows you are coming, please come with me."

After they left, Xiaodai and Laicai came over with lunch baskets, packed a round table in the study, and then put the food on it.

Most meals are placed in casseroles with lids on, so they don't have to worry about getting cold for a while.

Meng Changqing waited for a long time before Wei Fangyun and Bafang came back and invited them to eat. After the meal, Bafang sent them out of the Yamen.

Bafang sent the man to the camp by the wall, watched him enter, and then turned back to the Yamen.

He hurried into the study room, intending to talk about his new discovery, but he didn't want to open the door and saw his young master holding a casserole and eating the crust inside.

"You haven't eaten enough?"

Meng Changqing put down the casserole, "I have nothing to do, I want to chew something."

"It's all burnt. Don't eat it. I'll find you some pieces of dried meat." Bafang followed the doctor's instructions and found her two pieces of non-spicy dried meat.

"Master, don't you notice something is wrong with Mr. Wei?"

"I found it." Meng Changqing said, "I am very frustrated."

"I heard you guys keep talking about Yangmen County outside, but because of this incident?"

"Yangmen County can be seen from the surface of the water. What he is afraid of is what is under the water." Meng Changqing said, "If I were to face such a dark night in the future, I wonder if I would have the courage of Uncle Wei."