Cao Thief

Chapter 135 What is a thief? [Urgently looking for monthly tickets, recommended tickets! 】

Traveling all the way to the east, there were no palace lanterns and colorful sheds outside the reception hall, and there was no loud drum music.

It was deserted, not even a single person was there!

"Has all the people in Haixi died?"

Xu Yi was furious, and cursed through gritted teeth.

According to the rules, outside each county seat, there will be an official reception hall, which is responsible for welcoming officials who are in office, or seeing off officials who have left office.

Cao Peng has also heard of such a rule.

Looking at the desolate reception hall, he couldn't help but think: In the works of later generations, there are often scenes of greetings from ten miles out of the city, and seeing off with pavilions ten miles away.Could it be that the ten-mile long pavilion originated from the reception hall?
"Second brother, we came here quietly without notifying Haixi County. It's normal for them to be greeted by no one. Why be angry about this? I want to arrive earlier, take a hot bath, and sleep well Feel...well, don't compete with yourself any more. "

Xu Yi snorted, but didn't say anything.

So the convoy came to the gate of the west city of Haixi desertedly, only to see the archery tower towering above the clouds, and the city gate was impenetrable.

Didn't it mean that Haixi County was dilapidated and suffered from repeated banditry?
Cao Peng was taken aback for a moment.

But thinking about it again, maybe it was because of repeated banditry that this fortified city was built...

"Hu Ban, call the door!"

Deng Ji gave the order in the car, Hu Ban agreed, and Pegasus came to the city.

The city gate is covered with iron sheets, with bronze foam nails embedded on it.

Hu Ban stepped forward, raised the spear in his hand, knocked on the gate of the city, and shouted loudly at the same time: "Hai Xiling is here, open the gate!"

"What are you shouting for?" After a long time, a small window was opened on the watchtower, and a hoarse voice came from inside, "There is an order from the upper peak, the city gate will not be opened after nightfall, and it will be early tomorrow morning."

Hu Ban was furious, and raised his spear to strike again, "Listen clearly, it's the order of Haixi, and the order of County Deng is here, open the city gate."

On the arrow tower, there was silence for a while.

Immediately after that, the hoarse voice sounded again, "That Magistrate Deng?"

"Don't be too wordy, the new Hercynian Magistrate Deng is here, and he is appointed by the imperial court, so don't open the door quickly."

The windows on the watchtower slammed shut.

Dianman couldn't help cursing: "These lazy dogs are so arrogant!"

Xu Yi also nodded and said: "Yes, I know that the county magistrate is here, but I still look like this. This Haixi County really needs to be rectified."

Cao Peng did not speak, but sat on the horse and observed quietly.

After a while, the sound of iron chains came from inside the city gate, and the heavy iron gate opened.

Beside the door, stood a few guards with disheveled clothes and crooked helmets. The pockets on their heads were all yellow and rusted, and they looked dilapidated.

Dianman got a little impatient waiting, urged the horse to go forward, and rushed over.

His horse was so fast that he almost knocked down the gatekeeper, and at the same time he cursed: "You two lazybones, don't open the city gate wide!"

The gatekeeper looked at Xiaoqi domineering in front of him, and was really annoyed in his heart.

One is about to talk back, and the other sees Dianman in bright armor and rides on a steed. The extraordinary spirit is by no means an ordinary official.

He quickly grabbed his companion and motioned him not to speak.

"Hurry up and open the city gate!"

At the same time, the man who looked like a doorman stepped forward and asked, "May I ask who is County Magistrate Deng?"

Deng Ji got out of the car and nodded to the uncle, "I am Deng Ji...the imperial documents have already been sent, have you received them?"

"Ah, I got it.

A few days ago, Eunuch Chen sent someone to inform him, but because he didn't know the county magistrate's itinerary, he didn't go far to greet him, and asked the county magistrate to forgive him. "

It seems that when these new officials take office, they must first send official documents from the imperial court to the prefects of the counties.

Then, the prefects of each county ordered people to notify the counties under their jurisdiction, so that the original officials could prepare in advance and prepare for the handover with the new officials.

However, Haixi County has not been governed for a long time, and the last time there was a county magistrate was last year.

Therefore, Chen Deng, the prefect of Guangling County, only needs to inform the people in the county of the situation.If there is no one in the county government office, there will be local gentry to greet them.Generally speaking, everyone will try their best to do their best to avoid unnecessary troubles.

Haixi's situation seems to be very special!

Cao Peng straddled Zhao Yebai, nodded with Deng Ji, and then waved his hand to signal the convoy to start.

Menbo asked the guards to get out of the way and lead the way.When a group of vehicles drove into the city, they saw the black lights and blazes in the street, a bleak scene.The time has not yet come to an end, and the large and small shops on both sides have been closed.There are only a few vendors still doing business... In this bleak winter night, there are hardly any pedestrians.So the vendor was also deserted and there was not a single customer.

When the new county magistrate first arrived, all the civil and military officials in the county disappeared, and all the eunuchs and prominent families of the township disappeared.

This Haixi County really has character!

Knowing that Shangguan is coming soon, but only sent a doorman to Zhang Luo...

This Mawei, it's really amazing!
The corners of Cao Peng's mouth curled up slightly, and he kept sneering in his heart.

The more this is the case, the more it shows that the problem in Haixi County is not small?

He turned to Wang Mai and said, "Brother Hutou, how do you think it compares to our Zhongyang Town?"

"Damn it, it seems like it's dying, it can't compare to the excitement of Zhongyang Town."

Xu Yi reined in and waited for Cao Peng.

"Ah Fu, the people here don't seem to welcome us."

"It's not like it seems, it's just... But it doesn't matter, since we're here, we want to see the mystery of it."

"Oh?"

Xu Yi was stunned for a moment, and seemed to understand the meaning of Cao Peng's words.

He's a bit reckless, a bit aggressive... But he's a son of a rich family after all, and he knows some intrigues and tricks.

"Ah Fu, what do you mean..."

Cao Peng put his finger to his lips and hissed.

That means: You know, I know, no need to explain!

Xu Yi suddenly understood, nodded and said no more.

Che Zhan walked through an arch connected by a cross, and saw that the street was divided into left and right two along a high wall.However, the high walls were broken and collapsed in several places.Standing outside the wall, you can see the situation inside the wall at a glance.It is a house with a central hall, wing rooms, and two courtyards.Beyond the buildings inside the wall, you can vaguely see a tall gatehouse, shadowy.

This should be the back wall of the county government office!
Turn right in one line, go east along the high wall, go north, then go west...

Go straight to the head of a black-painted gate, and above the lintel hangs a wooden sign that has been weathered and weathered.

The plaque is a little crooked, and it still has the words Haixi County Government.

The door uncle bowed and said, "Magistrate Deng, this is the county government office."

Is this the county government office?

Deng Ji and Puyang Kai got out of the carriage, stood at the doorstep, and looked up.

There were spider webs on the lintel, and the floor was dirty, and it was impossible to tell how long it hadn't been cleaned.The horse tie on the side was broken in half, and it was basically useless.And the black painted door was tightly closed, and there was silence behind the door, and there was no sound.

"Call the door!"

Deng Ji's face became more and more gloomy.

Without saying a word, Zhou Cang rushed up the steps with three steps and two steps, and punched heavily.

"Who, who!"

The door opened.

From the inside came out a short-skinned Mending, with an eagle nose and spiky eyes, and a disheveled beard.

Holding the candle in his hand, he looked Zhou Cang up and down, and opened his mouth to curse: "You black guy is so ignorant, don't you know that this yamen has always been closed? If someone dies at home, it's still the daughter-in-law. People ran away, knock, knock, knock your mother, knock!"

Zhou Cang, what kind of temperament is that?

Straightforward and violent!

I have been a yellow scarf and a bandit... because I followed Deng Ji, I changed my temper a little bit.

But he had suffered such humiliation, and suddenly became furious.Stretching out his hand, he grabbed Mending by the collar of his clothes, and with a strong arm, he picked up Mending, and bumped it against the doorpost next to the black-painted gate a dozen times, "Dog day You bastard, if you dare to speak rudely again, I will screw your head off."

Mending cried and begged for mercy, Zhou Cang gave up.

Cao Peng was on the horse, and he didn't go to stop him, but just watched with cold eyes.

His eyes drifted away, as if casually looking around.At the corner of the street in the distance, someone's figure flashed for a moment, and then there was no movement.

He smiled coldly in his heart: It seems that the water in Haixi County is muddy enough!

He got off his horse and yelled: "Uncle Zhou, don't talk to him, go in first."

"This is the county government office, you..."

"Blind thing, the new county magistrate Deng is right in front of you, why don't you open the yamen for me immediately and ask someone to come to see you?"

While talking, Zhou Cang pushed the black painted door.

Unexpectedly, he didn't use any force at all, and the door collapsed with a bang.

"This……"

"Forget it, let's go in and talk."

Deng Ji and Puyang Kai walked in side by side, Cao Pengdianman Xu Yi and others followed closely.

The forty followers immediately got off their horses and lined up outside the gate of the yamen.There are also more than a dozen accompanying house slaves bought from Xiapi, under the command of Hu Ban, unloading carts and horses, carrying luggage... In front of the deserted Haixi County Yamen, there is a lively scene, in this deserted county town Inside, it seemed extraordinarily noisy.

Zhou Cang and Xia Houlan found torches and lit them.

Using the light, Deng Ji looked around the courtyard and stopped in the front courtyard of the flower hall.

The windows of the government hall on the opposite side were closed tightly, and the paper on the windows was tattered and unseemly.In the courtyard, the hall was pitch black, and there was no one there.

Deng Ji suddenly had a feeling of irritability lingering in his heart.

He asked Zhou Cang to bring that Mending over, looking at him with a sullen face, without saying a word.

Under the illumination of the lights, Deng Ji's one arm was outstanding, and his eyes were cold.

Mending felt a sudden chill, and quickly knelt down.

"Who are you?"

Mending stammered and replied: "Little man, the name of the villain is Mai Cheng."

"Mai Cheng, what do you do?"

"Small... the villain is the forbidden son of the head of the prison."

"Why is this county government office so dilapidated?"

"Back, back to my lord, this office has not been used for many years, so that..."

"Where is the seal of the county government office?"

"My lord, the whereabouts of the Yinshou of this Yamen were unknown three years ago. The adults after that are all appointed by the state shepherd and prefect, so there is no need for a seal."

In other words, in the past three years, this county government has basically been abandoned.

"What about the servants?"

"The guard, the guard is long gone..."

"You bastard!" Deng Ji was furious, "According to what you said, you are the only one in Haixi County who is dedicated to his duty?"

"what……"

"Where are the servants? Where are the clerks? Where are the patrolmen?"

"This one……"

"This yamen has not been conscripted for two years, and there has never been a clerk. As for the patrols, there were originally. However, after the earlier soldier Cao Cao Shi Fengchao left, the patrols were disbanded. The county yamen , now I am indeed the only one left to take care of it.”

Deng Ji sneered, "He is a loyal person."

He turned his head to look at Puyang Kai, and saw that Puyang Kai didn't speak, but just nodded to him.

"Come here, put him in prison first, what is the trouble again, I will deal with it after I find out..."

"Here!"

Mai Cheng was shocked when he heard this.

"My lord, I was wronged, I was wronged..."

Zhou Cang went up and slapped his face, "If you dare to croak again, your tongue will be pulled out."

Facing the ferocious Zhou Cang, Mai Cheng swallowed and dared not speak out.

"Let's go, go to your prison, and lead the way."

"Put those thieves into custody, too."

"Here!"

Cao Peng stood at the gate of the county government office, and suddenly turned to the uncle and said, "Are you free?"

"what?"

"Go ahead and tell your master what happened here... In addition, please tell me that Haixi is the territory of the Han Dynasty."

When Meng Bo heard this, his face suddenly turned pale.

He glanced at Cao Peng, turned his head suddenly, and ran away.

Dianman looked at Uncle Men's back in astonishment, "Ah Fu, you mean..."

"There is no county magistrate, no civil and military officials, no official servants, no clerks, no patrolmen...but there are still guards?" Cao Peng laughed and said, "Third brother, if no one gives you a salary, would you like to give me a salary?" Do such things? There are no fools in Haixi County!"

"So is Mai Cheng?"

"Anyway, it's not as simple as he said."

Just imagine, a company has closed down, and even the boss has disappeared.But there are still employees who are dedicated to their duties. If they are not fools, then they have other schemes.Cao Peng could figure out the reason for this, but Deng Ji and Puyang Kai naturally had no reason why they couldn't see it.

The left side of the front yard is the servant's room where the patrolmen and Yamen lived, and it is empty.

Behind the lower room is the prison cell, which is also empty.Needless to say, the cell has not been used for a long time, but the door is still strong.

"Ah Fu, let's go to the lobby and the government office to have a look."

"it is good!"

Cao Peng took the torch from Deng Fan, and followed Deng Ji and Puyang Kai to the entrance of the lobby.

Pushing the door open, the rusty hinges creaked.When I came to the hall, I saw drawings all over the place and cobwebs all over the wall.The scarlet tablecloth covering the koan also faded.When Cao Peng walked over, several black mice jumped out suddenly, which startled Cao Peng.

"I didn't expect Haixi to be so dilapidated!"

Pu Yangkai couldn't help but let out a loud sigh.

Is it really still the Han dynasty here?

He was about to express his emotions when he suddenly heard a commotion in the front yard.

"What happened?"

Deng Ji turned around and looked outside.

At this time, Xia Houlan hurried in, "My lord, the leader of the bandits who cut the trail earlier called to see my lord, saying that I have something important to report."

"Oh?"

Deng Ji couldn't help being startled, a little confused, what did the thief have to say.

"Brother-in-law, it's really too... Let's talk in the wing room. I just checked, and there is still room to stay in that wing room."

"It has to be like this."

Deng Ji once thought about the various situations that would arise after he came to Haixi.

But he never imagined that it would be in such a state...

Talking to people in my own county government office, I don’t even have a place to talk. Instead, I have to go to the servants where the government officials live to meet others.

Thinking of this, Deng Ji couldn't help but smile wryly.

"Mr. Puyang, shall we go together?"

Pu Yangkai smiled and said, "That's exactly what I mean too."

Accompanied by the two of them, Cao Peng walked out of the yamen hall and went straight to the wing room.

As soon as they entered the room, they saw Wang Mai and Deng Fanzheng staring at a young man.The young man was dressed in black and knelt on the ground.Her hair was in a mess, and there was a black and blue scar on her forehead.Seeing Deng Ji and his party coming in, the young man seemed very excited and was about to stand up.Wang Mai was quick-eyed, stepped forward and grabbed his shoulder, and shouted in a cold voice: "Be honest, or I will make you look good!"

"I'm not a thief!"

The youth shouted loudly.

Deng Ji sneered and said, "The hair-cutting thief, what is it if it's not a thief?"

"I'm not a thief, I'm really not a thief... In Haixi County, the real thief is not me, but someone else!"

The young man shouted excitedly and struggled desperately.

Wang Mai and Deng Fan firmly held him down and scolded him repeatedly.

Deng Ji frowned, looked at the young man, and did not speak for a long time.

And Cao Peng, after entering the house, stood by and observed the young man.Seeing that the young man was so excited, he walked out of the room, asked someone to scoop up a ladle of well water, went up and raised his hand, and splashed the well water on the young man's face.The young man Ji Lingling shuddered, gasped heavily, and stopped struggling.

"You... are Feng Chao?"

"what?"

The young man turned pale in shock and looked up at Cao Peng.

He couldn't help being surprised, even Deng Ji and Puyang Kai were a little baffled.

Who is Feng Chao?
Cao Peng took a deep breath, and said in a deep voice: "Feng Chao, the soldier of Haixi County, Cao Shushi. I just heard that Mai Cheng said that you disappeared in a strange way... Hehe, look at you, although you changed your clothes, your hands are well-groomed. Neat, and wearing black shoes, this is not something that ordinary thieves can wear...Brother-in-law, I don't think he is a thief, including those thieves who were cut off...They are the county patrol, right?"

Feng Chao looked at Cao Peng in horror and was speechless for a long time.

"You are not thieves, you are bandits... bandits dressed as patrolmen!"

Deng Ji narrowed his eyes and flashed a cold light.

Cao Peng laughed and said, "You don't have to deny it, but it's very simple to prove it... I just need to pull Mai Cheng over, and he will tell the truth.

Oh, I suddenly remembered something.

Two years ago, there was a magistrate named Feng Yuan in Haixi County.This person is Xu Duren's family, and he is also the last official sent by the imperial court.It's a pity that this magistrate of Feng Yuanfeng only served as the county magistrate for two months, and then encountered bandits raiding Haixi and was killed in the rebellion... He seems to have a son who came to Haixi County with him .Since then, there has been no news of this person..."

Deng Ji clapped his hands, "That's right, there is indeed such a thing."

Cao Peng smiled and looked at the young man, "Feng Chao, Feng Bing Cao Cao Shi! Well, now we can talk about it, if you don't become a good official, why bother to be a thief?"

Feng Chao's cheeks twitched violently. He looked at the three of Deng Ji and remained silent for a long time!
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The story of Haixi County is about to begin.

Many friends said that Deng Ji was always a little uncomfortable standing at the front desk.

In fact, Cao Peng is the first in all kinds of things in Haixi County.At the same time, he will soon be knighted and gradually surfaced.

The story has just begun.

Cao Peng's real team starts from here...

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In addition, the old and the new implore the brothers, recommend tickets and monthly tickets for support.

(End of this chapter)