Back to the end of Ming Dynasty to be a warlord

Chapter 20 Tathagata Birthday Blessing (1)

Wang Xiao arrived in Huai'an a few days ago.

That day Wang Xiao crossed the river overnight, arrived in Guazhou the next day, and entered the Grand Canal.

As soon as he entered the canal, Wang Xiao felt at ease, as if he had arrived at home.

Wang Xiao himself couldn't tell how many years the Wang family had been running the canal, but it must have been in 80 years.

Along this canal, on the waterway from Hangzhou to Huai'an, there was no unfamiliar place for the Wang family.Even the Jiang bandits in the Yangtze River are related to the Wang family.Not to mention the canal, there is no yamen that the Wang family has not managed.

There are too many places on the canal that can provide convenience for the Wang family. In Guazhou, there are already trackers waiting for his boat.

Traveling northward all the way, stretch the sail when there is wind, and pull the fiber when there is no wind.

They didn't even stop at night, and arrived in Huai'an three days ago.

The Wang family has business in Huai'an, a shop and a house.

Settling down in the royal garden-style courtyard, Wang Xiao contacted Shi Kefa's housekeeper again.

The butler of the Shi family has long been opened up by Wang Xiao, and the people around Shi Kefa have also been bought by him. Even his master has already started to help the Wang family. Except for Shi Kefa himself, it can be said that Wang Xiao has as much convenience as he wants. .

Although Shi Kefa doesn't like oil and salt, Shi Kefa is a filial son.

Early this morning, Wang Xiao got up before dawn, checked the carriage, asked the family to clean it up for the last time, removed the white cloth from the carriage, and covered it with a straw mat. It looked like the simplest carriage, like a rural village. A farmer, the kind of cart with a donkey.

But only Wang Xiao knew what was in the car, and he had high hopes.

The sky finally dawned, the sky was beautiful today, there was not even a cloud in the sky, and the sky was helping him.

Wang Xiao asked someone to put on a horse that didn't look very good, but was very obedient and powerful.

Only then did he respectfully invite a guest who had been with him from Hangzhou to Huai'an.

The guests were in the car, Wang Xiao walked by himself, and a family member was leading the horse and driving the cart, and the group walked to the governor's office in a very low-key manner.

The governor's yamen occupies a vast area, and there are three parallel archways in front of it. On the east side is written "total Shangguo", on the west side is written "autocratic Central Plains", and in the middle is written "Heavy ministers and managers".

Passing through the archway, there are two huge stone lions in front of the Governor's Mansion of Water Transport.These two stone lions were paid tribute by the Persians in the Yuan Dynasty. There are two pairs in total. The Governor's Mansion of Water Transport in Huai'an left a pair, and the other pair was sent to Beijing, which is the two in front of Tiananmen Square in later generations.

On the gate of the Governor's Mansion of Water Transport, there is a plaque with the words "Governor's Water Transport Department".

When the yamen servant at the gate saw Wang Xiao, he not only did not stop him, but also bowed and bowed, smiling that Mr. Wang got up early.Then he even led the way for him, and detoured to the back of the yamen, which was to go through the back door.

If you want to go through the gate, you have to go through the screen wall first, and then you have to go through the second gate, the lobby, the second hall, the Grand View Hall, etc., which is too ostentatious.Wang Xiao didn't dare to be so presumptuous at this time. If he went out of the governor's office in the future, it would be the same as entering his own door.

Therefore, Wang Xiao stopped after making a detour to the small door on the left back, and he wanted to go through the back door.Ask the gatekeeper to report, he dare not be careless, he hopes to go in, he must go in, but he hopes to be allowed by Shi Kefa.

But when the yamen servant came out, he told Wang Xiao that the governor was having a banquet and there were no outsiders.

Wang Xiao knew that Shi Kefa was entertaining guests, and even knew who Shi Kefa was hosting.

Wang Xiao knew that there was no official there, only a few friends.

Wang Xiao also knew that even the prefect of Huai'an and the county magistrate of Shanyang, who were officials in the same city, didn't know that Shi Kefa was celebrating his mother's birthday.

"That can't be helped, Brother Lao will take care of you!"

Wang Xiao sighed, then greeted the servant, and walked straight in.

The yamen servant didn't stop him, but he was also worried. He had collected enough money from the Wang family for this matter, so he would have no worries about food and drink for the rest of his life, but after today was over, the job would probably come to an end.

Enter this door, go through a common corridor, and lead directly to a courtyard in the middle of the government office. There are official halls in the east and west of the courtyard, and several other rooms, one of which is called Bailu Hall, where Shi Kefa lived for his mother. life.

Shi Kefa only prepared a few light dishes and did not intend to be extravagant.

It's not that Shi Kefa is poor. Although he is not as corrupt as his predecessor Zhu Dadian, he is not poor.Because the historian is not an ordinary family, the historian is a hereditary Jinyiwei family, and the historian also has a lot of fertile land.It's just that Shi Kefa doesn't want to be extravagant and wasteful. Now that the world is in such chaos, it's really not suitable for him to make a fuss at this time as an imperial order.

But Shi Kefa is really a filial son, and he was famous in the village as a filial son before he became an official.Moreover, after embarking on an official career, he treated his teacher Zuo Guangdou like a father, and he never changed in his life.This is a person who demands himself with traditional Chinese literati sentiment.

Because he wants his mother to be happy, he wants to celebrate his birthday; because he wants to be loyal to the court, he doesn't waste money.

The door of Bailutang was not closed, Wang Xiao parked the carriage in the middle of the yard, and Shi Kefa discovered it when he was close to the entrance of Bailutang.

He couldn't help being sullen, he didn't expect that his governor's office could be entered whenever he wanted, it was no different from a vegetable market.

Shi Kefa didn't want to get angry, today is his mother's birthday, and he invited some relatives and friends in Jiangnan.

He didn't even invite an outsider, and he didn't even inform his colleagues, but in the end, this Wang family boy broke in, so how could he not be angry.

"Left and right, call me out!"

Shi Kefa walked out from the banquet, his face was calm and slightly darkened, and he gave orders to the soldiers guarding him in a deep voice.

At this time, Wang Xiao suddenly took two steps forward and knelt on the ground with a plop: "Master Shi, you can't drive me away today!"

Shi Kefa laughed back angrily: "Can't drive you away? Why can't I drive you away?"

The Wang family is very powerful, and Shi Kefa has known this for a long time. Since he impeached the three grain governors, many people have written to him to plead for mercy, including his Jinshi of the same year, and his former colleagues. Friends, his relatives, and even his boss, Hubu Shangshu.

However, Shi Kefa and the official Du Liangdao could be impeached. How could he compromise with a mere merchant? He made up his mind that after his mother's birthday, he would personally lead troops to Hangzhou to arrest the Wang family and others. Return to the case, and return the world to a bright future!
"You can't drive me away. Because I'm here today to pay respects to the old lady's birthday. And I asked for what the old lady had wished for for many years."

Wang Xiao lowered her head and said earnestly, in fact, her body was already drenched, and everything went as expected.

This is Wang Xiao's last attempt to force his way into the governor's office. If he doesn't succeed, his life may be over.Even if Shi Kefa doesn't clean up himself, if he knows that he has offended Shi Kefa at this time, his father probably won't let him go.

Shi Kefa hummed: "My mother's birthday is today, I don't have the same knowledge as you, so leave quickly, don't let me see you again."

Wang Xiao refused to leave because she couldn't.

"Lord Shi, listen to me. The villain really came to pay respects to the old lady's birthday. It's just a small gift. This carriage is given to the old lady, so that the old lady can go to Linggu Temple to fulfill her wish."

(End of this chapter)