On July 11th, the boat of Wei Lin, the governor of Yingtian, entered Suzhou Prefecture along the canal. He stayed at Xushuguan that night and planned to enter Suzhou City the next day.
In the early morning of the next day, July 12th, the shore outside Fengqiao was already full of people, preparing to welcome the governor to move to Suzhou City.
This is probably one of the most comprehensive occasions for officials in Suzhou City to appear. Officials of the seventh rank and above of the government office, as well as the magistrates and county magistrates of the two county governments were all present.
Magistrate Zhu of Suzhou Prefecture was putting on airs most of the time, and was not too condescending in front of the leader Wang and Lao. At this time, he had to stand on the shore respectfully and humbly as the leader.
In addition to the government offices and county offices, military attachés above the fifth rank of Suzhou Wei Zheng were also present. After all, the governor was also in charge of military affairs, unlike ordinary local officials.
Even people from Su Songchang Town's Bingbeidao Yamen, who had never had any dealings with Lin Tailai and whose presence in Suzhou City was not high, also showed up.
Some people may also ask why Xing Tong, the censor of Jiangnan Province, is not here? Because he has left Suzhou long ago.
This is a tacit political understanding of "the king does not see the king". If the governor comes to Suzhou, the censor will go to the surrounding areas of Nanjing.
Two people with the title of imperial envoy cannot gather in one place, otherwise the place will be at a loss.
In addition to officials, there are also common representatives of local gentry and local elders.
All in all, four types of people, including officials, gentry, scholars, and civilians, formed a delegation to welcome the governor. Other merchants, music households, and the like were not worthy of appearing in the delegation.
Of course, there are fewer "shi" representatives today than usual, and the water content is also relatively high.
Because August is the Southern Zhili Provincial Examination, and some capable scholars will go to Nanjing to rush for the examination and try their luck at this time, not in Suzhou.
Therefore, some people were able to mix themselves into the scholar group.
The second master of the Shen family, who had rarely appeared in public in the past two or three years, walked around the venue for a few times before talking to Wang Yusheng, who also came from a wealthy family.
One is the son of the current chief minister, and the other is the great-grandson of Zeng Ge Lao. They are similar in age and have a common language.
It's definitely not because neither of them currently has any fame, they just got in.
Afterwards, Lin Daguan also appeared on the shore outside Maple Bridge, easily crossed the blockade and entered the venue.
Then after scanning around, he automatically came to Shen Yongjia.
Second Master Shen asked in surprise: "Why did someone like you come in?"
This is a delegation to welcome the governor, not a group of hicks to welcome the county magistrate. There is no place for the low-level wild country sages.
Although it was an unintentional remark by Mr. Zaifu, it still made Lin Daguan a little unhappy.
So he ignored Second Master Shen, and instead turned to Wang Yusheng and asked, "How come someone like you got in?"
This question was exactly the same as what Second Master Shen had just said, and even the tone was exactly the same, which was quite provocative.
Wang Yusheng immediately choked back: "Even people like you can come in, why can't I come in?"
Lin Daguan proudly replied: "The governor has mounted his horse to manage the army and dismounted his horse to manage the people. He has both civil and military powers.
As for me, Lin Tailai, as the only martial arts student in Jinke in Suzhou City, it is natural for me to appear here as a representative of the martial arts examination."
Wang Yu said: "."
Damn it! I have never been so disgusting since I was a child!
However, Lin Tailai didn't finish what he said, and continued to say harshly:
"It's really not as good as King Yu's voice. He doesn't even have any fame. Just because he was born into a good family, he can appear here openly as a representative of the scholars."
Wang Yusheng's face was livid but before he said anything, Second Master Shen suddenly said angrily: "Who are you talking about!"
Lin Tailai immediately pointed at Wang Yusheng and replied without hesitation: "Of course I am talking about him! But why do you look so ugly, Second Master of the Shen family?"
Mr. Shen jumped up and wanted to hit someone, but Lin Tailai easily dodged it as he didn't dare to fight back.
Feeling that if he continued talking, the boat of friendship would capsize, Lin Daguan stopped talking.
These three people, who were incompatible with the other "gentry", stood awkwardly together.
In the morning, the governor's boat finally appeared in front of everyone on the shore.
All etiquette was followed. The ship docked first, and the governor came out of the cabin and stood on the bow deck.
Lin Tailai quickly raised his eyes to look at the ship, his expression extremely focused.
When Wang Yusheng saw this, he couldn't help but sarcastically said: "Have you never seen such a big official before? Take your time, take a look as many times as you can, and open your eyes!"
Lin Tailai replied without looking back: "It's just like you, an ignorant rookie, who would stare at the governor! How can a knowledgeable person be as ignorant as you!"
For some reason, Mr. Shen next to him felt that he was being criticized again. He snorted and asked, "Then tell me, what does it mean to be knowledgeable?"
Official Lin replied casually: "Those who really know what they are doing carefully observe the people who accompany the governor!
What can you tell by just looking at the governor himself? Only by looking at the people accompanying the governor can you tell the truth."
Unconsciously, Mr. Shen looked towards the bow of the ship again, and then discovered that the person accompanying the governor who was closest to him this time was a middle-aged man in white, with oily hair and a pink face.
"Who is this?" Mr. Shen said subconsciously.
However, Wang Yusheng called out softly: "It turns out to be Xi Siwei, one of the great ministers of the Xi family in Xishan!"
The Wang family is the Wang family in the East Dongting Mountain, and the Xi family is the Xi family in the West Dongting Mountain. They are both giant families in the Dongting business gang. There are marriages between the two families, so it is not surprising that Wang Yusheng knows Xi Siwei.
But it was obvious that Wang Yusheng was also surprised that Xi Siwei appeared next to the governor.
When Lin Tailai heard Wang Yu's exclamation, he was very surprised. It turned out that this person was the Xi Dachaofeng mentioned by those at Hudong Hall!
He never understood where the real confidence of Xi Dachaofeng lay.
Even if the Dongting Merchant Gang is powerful, and even if the Xi family is extremely rich and has a lot of money, it still makes little sense just relying on these.
But today when I saw Xi Dachaofeng standing next to the governor, I understood.
Lin Tailai looked deeply at Wang Yusheng again, and said inexplicably: "Congratulations, it seems you are an uninformed person."
Wang Yusheng thought about it again and again, but still couldn't figure out what this sentence meant.
Second Master Shen understood the situation. Thinking of Fan Yunlin's "warning" before, he guessed the situation.
This court official named Xi may be the person who Fan Yunlin did not reveal, who wants to deal with Lin Tailai and seize the Lin family's inheritance.
I shamelessly sneaked in here today, it was not in vain.
While thinking about it, he said to Lin Tai: "That's the governor."
Lin Tailai also heard what was going on behind the scenes and asked, "Even you know about it? Are you afraid?"
Second Master Shen said half-truthfully: "How could I be afraid of what a mere governor could do to me? What I'm afraid of is that you will harm me.
If you feel like you are going to collapse, don't take advantage of others, take the initiative to deliver it to your door.
Let me kill you with my own hands, then all the credit will be mine, and it will be best for you."
Lin Tailai: "."
Sure enough, everyone will make progress, and Mr. Shen is no exception.
Indeed, as Lin Tailai said, the kind of people who appear next to a big shot when they appear are often the most symbolic.
Just like when Yuan Zhixian took office, he was accompanied by Li Jixuan, a famous scholar from Zhenzhou. Through this, we can immediately judge Yuan Zhixian's style of conduct.
When the governor made his appearance today, he was accompanied by a business gang boss. This was very rare, and it immediately attracted everyone's attention.
However, everyone didn't say anything on the surface, pretending not to notice anything, and the welcome ceremony went on as it should.
According to the rules, after the governor came ashore, officials from the government office and the two county offices took turns to visit the governor based on the government office.
After the government office, Deng He, the magistrate of Wu County, and Guo Tong, the prime minister of Guanliang County, came forward.
At this time, Governor Wei suddenly said to Magistrate Deng: "Although we were not in Suzhou in the past few months, we also heard about a strange incident in your county."
This kind of out-of-the-blue, surprise questioning from bosses is the most annoying thing for subordinates.
Fortunately, Deng Zhixian had been trained by Lin Tailai to have strong tolerance, and he endured the physical discomfort and replied: "Which one is Dazhong Cheng referring to?"
Governor Wei then said: "This court heard that eight cases involving the same defendant were dismissed at the same time. It is simply a wonder in the world."
To be very objective, there is nothing wrong with this sentence. Anyone who hears this kind of thing will find it strange, but it really happened.
But if the governor asked about it as soon as he landed, it must be more than just a casual question.
Regardless of the disrespect, Deng Zhixian raised his head in astonishment. Could it be that Dazhong Cheng still wanted to reopen the old case?
After the rest of the people heard this, they couldn't help but started talking in low voices, and many even glanced at Lin Tailai furtively.
The so-called "eight cases with the same defendant" must refer to the eight complaints filed against Lin Tailai by Magistrate Deng when he first took office.
To be continued...