The next day, Zhang Gui, one of the leaders of the Wanping County Yamen team, said goodbye to his wife in tears and stood gloomily at the foot of the lobby steps, waiting for the county magistrate to set off together.
When passers-by came and went, they all looked sympathetically at Bantou Zhang. Yesterday, the news that Xinzhi County was going to Xichang to recover the money that had been withheld from him had already spread in the yamen, and everyone also knew that Bantou Zhang
He became a man who followed the magistrate and bravely entered the tiger's den.
The county government servants are very self-aware. They may be able to show off their power in front of the people, but they are humble servants and are nothing in front of the real powerful forces. It is not an exaggeration to say that they have a humble life, even worse than the common people.
I don’t know how long I waited, but the county magistrate suddenly appeared on the platform at the entrance of the lobby. Looking down from a high position, I saw only Zhang Gui waiting. He couldn’t help but frown and asked: "Why are you alone? You are the only one?"
Aren't you the leader? Where are your people?"
Zhang Gui knelt on the ground and replied with a grimace: "My lord, I gave all my orders yesterday, but to my surprise, they all sent someone to ask for leave this morning, and yet none of them have come."
Fang Yingwu was extremely dissatisfied and said: "As the saying goes, it takes a thousand days to raise an army, but how do you, the squad leader, usually discipline people?"
Zhang Gui was unable to answer this question. Just as he was lowering his head to confess his crime, Lou Tianhua suddenly ran over from behind in a panic and came to Fang Yingwu's side. He panted and reported: "Proprietor! All the bearers have disappeared. I asked.
When I asked the disciples, they said they had escaped!"
"What?" Fang Yingwu was furious. This was an extreme contempt for the dignity of the magistrate! "According to Ming Dynasty law, what is the punishment for desertion?"
Lou Tianhua looked embarrassed, "I'm not sure about this. Stay here and look it up..."
Fang Yingwu shouted: "No need to dig it! When I return from the West Factory, I will send someone to arrest the four bearers. The shackles will be displayed to the public for three days! Then they will all be sent to hard labor!"
Lou Tianhua responded, and then said: "The top priority now is to hire a sedan from outside. Otherwise, it will be unseemly for the proprietor to travel."
In this way, Fang Yingwu was sitting in a hired sedan, accompanied by Lou Tianhua, Fang Yingshi, Wang Ying and other entourages, as well as Zhang Gui, the yamen servant. Originally, if there were a group of yamen servants following him, there would be no need to bring so many private entourages to make a grand spectacle.
However, Fang Yingwu said that when he went to the West Factory this time, he did not say hello to Qianhu Wei Ying in advance. He felt that a husband like Zhang Gui was not bad at observing words and emotions. If he arranged a double act in advance, it would be easy to see through it. So they went their separate ways.
Acting in his true colors is exactly what he is.
If Fang Yingwu thinks about it, there are only a few consequences of going to the West Factory to ask for money. The first result, which is the best result, is that Wei Ying, for Wang Zhi's sake, will pay back the money with blood;
The second result is that Wei Ying's attitude is acceptable, but she refuses to pay back the money; the third result is that Wei Ying falls out with herself and still refuses to pay back the money.
But Fang Yingwu was confident that Wei Ying would not touch a hair of his own no matter what. He knew that Wang Zhi had an unusual relationship with him. In other words, it would not be a problem for him to escape unscathed.
If you can't ask for the money directly, you can also write a letter to Wang Zhi who has already arrived at Xuanfu for help. This will always gain something. In fact, this is enough. If you can go to Xichang to ask for the money and come back unscathed, you can finally recover it.
Even if a part of it is only a few hundred taels, it is already a very long-lasting thing.
Since he would not suffer any loss, Fang Yingwu did not communicate with Wei Ying in advance, but relied on on-the-spot performance.
The group of people arrived from the north of the city near Lingji Palace outside Xi'an Gate. The hired bearer didn't know where he was going at first, but only then did he hear that the final destination was the West Factory. He was so frightened that he didn't want any money and ran away.
Fang Yingwu had no choice but to walk the last mile. When the Xichang Admiral Wang Zhi was in the capital, his whereabouts were unpredictable and difficult to see, but the location of the Xichang Yamen was fixed and it was easy to find the place.
If it was a personal matter, Fang Yingwu would definitely not want to come to Xichang in a big way, so as not to get the reputation of colluding with Xichang, but if it was a business matter, it wouldn't matter.
After walking through the deep alley and arriving at the gate of the West Factory, Fang Yingwu reported his identity to the gatekeeper. After a while, he was invited in.
Lou Tianhua and others were left outside the door. Fang Yingwu only took the yamen servant Zhang Gui in, looking a bit like going to the meeting alone. Fang Yingwu was as calm as Mr. Guan Gong, but it was a pity that Zhang Gui was worse than Zhou Cang.
It was too far. Walking on the corridor of Xichang Yamen, Team Leader Zhang's body was trembling with a frequency that was almost visible to the naked eye.
When they arrived at the door of a side hall, Zhang Gui was left guarding outside the threshold, while Fang Yingwu and Wei Qianhu were talking inside.
It is said that Wei Ying, the Qianhu of Xichang, was originally a small person. By chance, he was appreciated by Wang Zhi, the eunuch and the governor of Xichang, and he rose to become the Qianhu who was in charge of the daily affairs of Xichang. When Wang Zhi was not in Beijing, Xichang
Wei Ying was in charge of the factory.
Wei Qianhu had seen a lot of big events, and he really looked down on the small magistrate in his eyes. However, as a confidant of Wang Zhi, he knew that Fang Yingwu had a close relationship with Wang Zhi, but the specific extent was unclear.
Not sure anymore.
So when Wei Qianhu heard that Fang Yingwu was visiting, he sent an order to let him in. However, Wei Qianhu's attitude was relatively cold, and he might have subconsciously regarded Fang Yingwu as a competitor, a rival for Wang Factory Supervisor's position.
Fang Yingwu didn't care what Wei Ying thought. On the one hand, it was because of his scholarly spirit. On the other hand, probably in his heart, he didn't regard Wei Ying as an equal at all.
In Fang Yingwu's heart, the equals are Wang Zhi, Liu Mianhua, Li Dongyang, and perhaps his own father for the treacherous one. What does a thousand households like Wei Ying mean when he is a villain?
After the guests and hosts were seated, Fang Yingwu asked: "I took over as the magistrate of Wanping County, but found that the warehouse was short of three thousand taels. After investigation, the cause was from Xichang. Does Mr. Wei know about this?"
Wei Qianhu frowned and said, "I don't know."
Fang Yingwu pressed further and asked: "I have indeed checked carefully and someone pointed out that these three thousand taels were taken away by you, Mr. Wei. How can you say that you don't know?"
Wei Qianhu laughed sinisterly when he heard this, "I wonder who said it? Why don't you ask him to come here to confront you?"
Fang Yingwu lowered his voice so that only the two of them could hear, "Young people don't tell secrets. I'm here today just to get back this money. For Wang Gong's sake, I also ask Mr. Li to repay one or two at his discretion."
."
Wei Ying slapped the case and scolded: "Master Fang, don't be so shameless! Do you really think that my West Factory is a tiger made of paper!"
This scolding was clearly heard by Zhang Gui outside. If he didn't run away, he would die! Team leader Zhang was so frightened that he almost rushed to the head of the hospital and ran away through the door, but his legs were so weak that he couldn't walk, so he could only use his hands.
Standing on the verandah pillar. (To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature, the novel is better and updated faster!
ps: I’m in a bad state of mind today, so I’ll just write this much. Forcibly writing it down will only ruin the wonderful story. Suddenly I heard a colleague mention that tomorrow is the Tomb-Sweeping Day holiday, and then I realized that I am still an office worker with a holiday.
It's a pity that in order to update, there is no holiday. I really shed tears every festive season.