A thousand-year-old family that began with the Battle of Makino

Chapter 243 Caiyang County, the situation is undercurrent

Bai Guan and his party first crossed the Yellow River ferry controlled by the Bai Kingdom, then entered Henan County, and then entered the boundaries of Nanyang County via Yingchuan County.

"County Lord, should we go directly to Caiyang?"

A guard asked Bai Guan.

"No, let's go to Wan County first. How can I, a lower official, not pay a visit to the superior official? How can I carry out my work?"

After saying that, they took the lead and headed towards Wan County.

It enters from Kunyang, Nanyang County, passes through Ye County, Duyang, Bowang, and finally enters Wan County, the county seat of Nanyang County.

As soon as he entered the city, Bai Guan stopped and asked Su Shen: "Sir, should we visit Governor He first or Governor Wang?"

Su Shen said with a smile: "Of course it's Taishou Wang. Taishou Wang is a relative and an outsider. He Cishi is a Confucian official and a member of our own family. My son will visit He Cishi first. If Wang Taishou is small-minded, he will definitely be unhappy and it will not be good for him. Young Master.

And if he visits Prefect Wang first, as one of his own, Governor He will never hold grudge against the young master for this. Moreover, Governor Wang is the master of Nanyang County, and Governor He is a temporary official sent by the emperor, who is equivalent to a distinguished guest of Nanyang County. How can we not visit the master but first visit the distinguished guest? "

Bai Guan heard Su Shen's explanation and said happily: "Fortunately, Mr. Su reminded me. Let's go to the prefect's mansion."

Bai Guan handed the assassin to the concierge, and not long after, a wealthy man in his fifties with a big belly came out, "Haha, I've heard for a long time that my nephew is coming to Nanyang to take office, and today he finally arrived!"

"Uncle Bai Guan has passed away."

Bai Guan saluted.

"Quick, come into the house and talk!"

Wang Liang grabbed Bai Guan's arm and enthusiastically led him into the house.

"Who is this? The prefect personally condescended to greet him?"

"I don't know, it seems like it has a lot of background!"

The people waiting in line to be summoned by the prefect suddenly started a heated discussion.

After chatting with Wang Liang for a long time, he left and visited the governor He Wu.

"Sir, this Caiyang County is not a good place to go."

"Oh? Why did the governor say this? I hope you can teach me!"

"Cai Yang was fine in the past few years, but the past few years have not been so good. Three years ago, a group of strongmen broke out, robbed homes, killed officials and rebelled. The county sent troops to strangle them many times, but they were not completely eliminated.

Your predecessor was killed by a strongman when Cai Yang was in office. As a result, no official in this place dared to hold office for two years. They either shied away or found connections to transfer. "

"Then who is in charge of the county now?"

"He is the county magistrate of the county. His name is Liu Qin. He is a local powerful man. It is said that he is from the lineage of the Changsha King, but it has been a long time ago."

On the way to Caiyang, Bai Guan savored the information provided by He Wu.

Su Shen on the side also touched his chin and said: "It seems that Liu Qin is not an ordinary person. He can obtain the qualification to preside over the county's government affairs in such a harsh environment, and he can still maintain it for two years. I'm afraid something is wrong!"

Bai Guan knew what Su Shen was going to say, "These are all guesses. The specific situation needs to be understood locally." Then he walked away.

Several people went south along Yushui, passed Jiyang, Yuyang, Xinye, arrived at Deng County, and then headed east from Deng County into the boundary of Caiyang.

After running around for days, several people were very tired, especially as they went south, the rain increased and the roads became harder to walk. Seeing a post station ahead, several people quickly went in to take shelter from the rain.

"Oh, the rain in the south is in Doha. It has been raining continuously for several days. It is really annoying. I feel sticky on my body. I must be sick!"

Along the way, Su Shen showed off his chatty traits, making Bai Guan unbearable.

"Look at you, you are so reasonable, what could be wrong with you?" Bai Guan rolled his eyes at Su Shen.

At first, I thought Su Shen was a cold person who just liked to drink. But now that we got closer, I realized how annoying he was.

"Hey, Master, you can't say that..."

"Where do you guys come from? Do you have any talismans? Do you want to stay in a hotel or eat?" the post official asked.

Bai Guan and others handed their credentials and talismans to the post officials for verification and registration, and said: "We are scholars from the north who are traveling to the south. Please heat up a pot of warm wine. We want to go to the cold." "

"Guys, please wait a moment."

After sitting on the seat for a while, the post official placed a jug of wine on the tables, and then handed back the identification documents such as the talismans of several people.

"Please wait a moment, I want to ask if this place has entered Caiyang territory?"

"Exactly, this place is already under the jurisdiction of Cai Yang. Twenty miles east from here is Cai Yang County."

"Thank you."

"polite!"

"Oh, it's finally here." Su Shen picked up the wine glass and breathed a sigh of relief.

Bai Guan ignored him and saw a middle-aged traveling businessman sitting nearby, eating food alone, so he picked up the wine flask, took two wine glasses, and walked over with a smile.

Just when Su Shen was about to pour the wine, he touched it. Where was the wine bottle? Seeing Bai Guan's movements, he had no choice but to order another pot of warm wine. "Brother, are you going to Caiyang to do business?"

Seeing Bai Guan holding the wine bottle, You Shang was startled, then smiled and asked Bai Guan to sit down, "Exactly."

Bai Guan sat down with a smile, poured him a glass of wine and said, "My surname is Bai. I am a scholar from the north. I want to travel a bit. I wonder if I can ask my brother how Cai Yang is doing?"

The traveling merchant took a sip of wine, then said with a smile: "I can't talk about asking for advice, but I can have a conversation with my brother."

Then he took another sip of wine, but he didn't drink more because he still had to go on the road.

"I heard that a group of strongmen appeared in Caiyang, specializing in robbing homes and houses. Aren't you worried, brother?" Bai Guan asked.

You Shang laughed and said, "Brother, you must have heard what people in other counties said!"

Seeing Bai Guan nod, You Shang smiled and said: "Brother, I don't know. There is indeed a group of strong men, but they are not ordinary strong men, but vigilantes."

"Vigilante?"

"Exactly, I am from Caiyang. Caiyang is mountainous and has few fields, so its grain output is very little. It relies mostly on imports from other counties, and I am in the grain business.

Closer to home, this group of vigilantes started to rise three years ago. At first, they were just a group of petty thieves who only stole things from the wealthy households around them. Until a county magistrate named Shi An took office two years ago.

He not only levied additional taxes and forced labor on the people privately, but also frequently beat people. Only three months after taking office, the people of Caiyang County were in dire straits. The prisons in Caiyang County were full, and more than ten people were killed.

Caiyang originally had scarce fields and people's lives were difficult. How many people died because of such a county magistrate. Fortunately, the Liu family, a large family in the county, provided relief and did not cause refugees to attack the city.

Later, for some unknown reason, that group of thieves got funding from someone. They first killed several rural tycoons who were helping the tyrants, and then took advantage of Shi An to send troops to destroy them, and sneaked into the county to kill him.

The county sent troops to exterminate them many times, but they escaped every time. But fortunately, they abide by the rules and only kill unjust people, unjust and powerful people, and merchants who come and go, as long as they pay tolls, will not bully them. "

Bai Guan listened to the merchant's description and made a decision in his mind.

Caiyang County, the county government office.

"The county government is an important place. No idlers are allowed to enter." A government official stopped Bai Guan and others.

Just as Bai Guan was about to reveal his identity, a small official on the side saluted Bai Guan and said, "My subordinate Zhang Qin has met the county magistrate."

Bai Guan said amusedly: "How do you know that I am the county magistrate?"

Zhang Qin said with a smile: "My subordinates went to the county to report the situation in the county a few days ago. I was fortunate enough to see you at the gate of the prefect. I also learned that a new magistrate was coming to the county. Now that I see you, after thinking about it, I Then you’ll know.”

"You do have some discernment! You must be the magistrate of Caiyang County!"

"It's my subordinate."

"In the past two years, all the affairs of the county have been on your shoulders. Thank you for your hard work!"

"The county magistrate is joking, this is the responsibility of my subordinates."

At night, several leaders in Caiyang County gathered together to discuss the new county magistrate.

"Isn't this another corrupt official like the previous ones?" Cao Zhonghu, a thief under his sect, said worriedly.

"Humph, I think it's probably true. Look at that face. He was born into a wealthy family. Now the world is in the hands of the Eunuch Party. If he hadn't been attached to the Eunuch Party, how could he have become the county magistrate of eight hundred stones at such a young age? "Tingyi Zhang Wei snorted coldly.

"No way, I think he is very easy to get along with, and he doesn't feel domineering. You can't say that he is attached to the eunuchs. With the situation here now, which eunuch would send one of his own people to die?"

"Brother Liu, tell me, I think you had a very pleasant conversation with him today, so you should know something about him!" The person who spoke was Cao Ba, the county lieutenant, who was a son of the Cao family in the county. He was arranged by the prefect and wanted to Overwhelm Liu Qin, seize power, and rectify the chaos in Caiyang County.

"I think this person is not a simple person. Did you know that before this person came, the prefect personally greeted him, which shows that he has an extraordinary origin." Liu Qin said slowly.

"Really?" Cao Ba asked doubtfully.

Seeing Liu Qin nodding, Cao Ba was thoughtful.

"Then what should we do?" Gongcao Shi Liu An said.

"Just wait and see what happens. Let's see what this person wants to do first?" Liu Qin decided.

Except for Cao Ba, everyone said they wanted to listen to Liu Qin.

When the meeting ended, Liu An asked Liu Qin: "Aren't you afraid that Cao Ba will tell this person what happened?"

"What are you afraid of? Nowadays, all affairs in the county are in our hands. Even Cao Ba, how many troops can he command? If we are really annoyed by then, the county magistrate? It's not like he has never killed him. Even if he has the background and How about it? The sky is high and the emperor is far away, can you still fly over and kill us all?"

Liu Qin changed his flattery in front of Bai Guan and said with a murderous look on his face.

In the next few days, Bai Guan and others stayed at the county government office, and did not deal with the accumulated government affairs. They just kept sending guards to the county government to order food. They said they were not used to the county government's food, so behind the county government office, Except for the waiter who delivers the food, no one comes or goes.

One night, the county lieutenant Cao Ba visited Bai Guan late at night and told Bai Guan his background and purpose of coming here, as well as his dilemma. There were currently 500 county soldiers, and he could only command 50 of them.

Bai Guan comforted Cao Ba and said that he knew and he already had a way to break the situation.

Liu Qin and others also learned about Cao Ba's night visit to the county government, and were nervous about Bai Guan's actions.

But after a month, Bai Guan did nothing but eat and drink.

(End of this chapter)