There is a family named Zhang in the south of Xiangyang City. They have a son and a daughter. The eldest daughter married well, but the son Zhang Xian is idle and is a famous rogue. He steals all the time and steals all the neighbors.
He knows how many times he was caught and beaten, but he refused to change despite repeated admonitions. His parents could not stand such a son, and they died of depression a few years ago.
Without the control of his parents, Zhang Xian became even more unscrupulous. He simply sold his ancestral home and hung out with a bunch of bad friends all day long.
That afternoon, Zhang Xian sneaked into his sister's house. His sister was also angry at her parents for being killed, so she hated this brother very much and cut off all contact with him.
But Zhang Xian owed a lot of gambling debt, and was forced by his creditor. He had no choice but to take advantage of his sister's opportunity to visit her parents' graves and steal something.
Zhang Xian was very familiar with his sister's house. He knew that his sister had hidden all the money and he couldn't find it, but he could steal valuable things from his brother-in-law's study.
Zhang Xian pried open the back window of the study and climbed in.
Zhang Xian's brother-in-law was the chief registrar of Xiangyang County, named Chen Zhu. Zhang Xian was arrested many times and sent to the county government for stealing, but he was protected by his brother-in-law and was beaten and released.
It's a pity that Zhang Xian is hopeless. Not only is he ungrateful, he even stole it from his brother-in-law today.
After entering the study, Zhang Xian began to rummage through the cabinets and stuffed a few pieces of low-end jade and worthless lacquerware into cloth bags. Although they couldn't be sold for much money, they were still better than nothing.
No money was found, and when he was disappointed, Zhang Xian suddenly discovered that there was a mezzanine in the cabinet. He quickly opened the mezzanine, and there were more than a dozen gold ingots inside, as well as an exquisite flat box. The golden light dazzled him.
Zhang Xian was so excited that he put the gold and a brocade box into a cloth bag and restored the cabinet to its original state. He also discarded several low-grade jades and lacquerware and put them back in their original places. He fled in panic with three hundred taels of gold on his back.
Early the next morning, Zhang Xian came to the Imperial Guard Office, and General Guan Pei of the Imperial Guard personally received him.
"I heard that there is a heavy reward of 500 yuan for reporting a spy?" Zhang Xian's little eyes were shining with greed.
Guan Pei nodded, "If the information is accurate and helps us catch the spy, we will indeed reward you with a heavy reward of five hundred coins!"
Zhang Xian handed a brocade box to Guan Pei, "I found this in my brother-in-law's study. I think it's worth five hundred coins!"
Guan Pei opened the brocade box and found a piece of jute paper inside. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be an appointment letter from An Lushan, appointing Chen Zhu as the governor of Xiangzhou. There was An Lushan's seal underneath.
"Master Chen of Xiangyang?" Guan Pei was surprised.
"Exactly!"
Zhang Xian pretended to be filled with righteous indignation and said: "He is my brother-in-law. I found him in his study yesterday. I decided to kill him out of justice. Of course, I also want a heavy reward."
It's bullshit to kill one's relatives for the sake of justice, but it's true to betray your brother-in-law for money.
But this matter is not a trivial matter. Guan Pei thought about it and ordered his surroundings: "Prepare a banquet and entertain Mr. Zhang well!"
Zhang Xian was so happy that he followed the soldiers to eat at the banquet.
He must first stabilize Zhang Xian and find out his background. Once this person fails to keep his mouth shut, all previous efforts will be wasted.
Zhang Xian had a good reputation and soon found out that he was a scoundrel who made his parents angry and betrayed his sister and brother-in-law. The soldiers immediately searched Zhang Xian's temporary shack and found three hundred taels of gold. This should be the case.
Stole it from Chen Zhu's house.
Guan Pei immediately ordered Zhang Xian to be detained, and he immediately went to find the observation envoy Li Dai.
Chen Zhu didn't know that his study room had been visited by his brother-in-law.
He received a message and the observer asked him to come over. Chen Zhu didn't know what happened and hurried to the observer's house.
The Observation Envoy's Office is also called the Three Envoys' Office, which includes the Observation Envoy, the Du's Transfer Envoy and the Du Tuan Training Envoy, all of which are held concurrently by Li Dai. Li Dai also serves as the governor of Xiangzhou at the same time.
Li Dai was originally going to inspect other states, but when An Lushan's army moved south, he canceled the inspection plan and took charge of Xiangyang himself.
Li Dai had already received a report from Guan Pei that Chen Zhu, the chief clerk, had actually been bribed by An Lushan, which made him extremely angry. Li Dai originally valued Chen Zhu very much. He was from a commoner and was smart and capable. Li Dai was going to promote him to be the county magistrate, but he didn't expect it.
Li Dai was really disappointed.
At this time, someone reported at the door, "Your Majesty, Master Chen is here."
"Let him in!"
Li Dai watched with gloomy eyes as Chen Zhu walked in. Next to him stood General Guan Pei of the Internal Guard. There was a plate covered with a piece of cloth on the table next to him.
Chen Zhu walked in quickly, bowed and saluted: "See you, Mr. Li!"
Li Dai sighed, "Did something major happen to Mr. Chen's family? He needs money urgently."
Chen Zhu was stunned, "There is nothing unusual in the humble family!"
"Since there is nothing abnormal, why do you want to collect so much gold?"
Li Dai pulled away the cloth on the table and revealed the plate underneath. There were fifteen gold ingots stacked neatly on the plate, totaling three hundred taels, and there was a brocade box next to it.
Chen Zhu suddenly felt like five thunderbolts struck his head. He knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly, "I know my sin for my humble position! I know my sin for my humble position!"
Li Dai said sadly: "I value your ability so much, and I was going to promote you to Xiangyang County Magistrate, but you actually surrendered to Anlu Mountain. I am so disappointed."
Chen Zhu was stunned for a moment, then suddenly burst into tears, "I came from a humble background and had no backstage background. I have been unable to get promoted. That's why I became obsessed with it. I was persuaded by my brother to accept An Lushan's fake appointment. I plead guilty to my humble position and begged to let my wife go."
Women, they don’t know anything.”
Li Dai felt sad and said to the soldiers: "Take him down first."
Several soldiers came forward and pushed Chen Zhu down. Li Dai sighed and said to Guan Pei: "Can I ask for a favor on his behalf? Since he is a first-time offender, he should be given a lighter sentence!"
Guan Pei smiled and said, "Do you think so highly of him?"
Li Dai said slowly: "He was born in Ming Jingke, and his family was originally poor. The Cai family, a famous family in Xiangyang, wanted to recruit him as their son-in-law, but he was already married and he did not want to divorce his wife, so he rejected the Cai family. As a result, his career was ruined.
, worked as chief bookkeeper in Xiangyang for eight years.
After I came to Xiangyang, I found that he was very capable. He had neatly organized all kinds of documents and materials in Xiangzhou over the past 20 years, which was absolutely correct. I planned to reuse him, but because I was busy with other things, I couldn't take care of him for the time being.
As a result, An Lushan took advantage of him and won him over, which is really heartbreaking."
Guan Pei pondered for a moment and said: "If he is willing to make atonement, cooperate with us, and make great achievements, maybe the general will give him a chance."
Li Dai nodded, "I'll talk to him and then hand him over to you!"
Chen Zhu was brought to the inner guard office. Guan Pei asked him to sit down and said slowly: "Although the Observer intercedes for you, we also have a system. You must make great contributions and put in much more effort than others.
Only then can you wash away your own stains."
Chen Zhu nodded silently, feeling extremely regretful. He was confused for a moment and was pulled onto the pirate ship by his brother. He also knew that it was easy to jump off the pirate ship, but it was really difficult to wash away the stain of being on the pirate ship. He couldn't help but sigh.
Take a breath.
Guan Pei saw how frustrated he was, and smiled slightly: "Although our general always kills with an iron fist, he is not unreasonable, let alone ruthless. It depends on your performance! If you can really
If you change your past and make great achievements, then we will record in turn that we sent you to join the An Lushan camp, disguised as a spy, and provided wrong intelligence, so the nature is completely different."
Chen Zhu saw a glimmer of hope and his eyes lit up, "Is it really possible?"
Guan Pei nodded, "Of course, but there are three prerequisites. First, you have not made a big mistake. Second, the general can see your sincerity. Third, you must make a great contribution."
Chen Zhu was a little worried and said: "I told them before that the general led 20,000 people to go on an expedition. Will there be serious consequences?"
Guan Pei smiled and said: "That is not a secret. Everyone knows that the expedition was launched with great fanfare. It is actually false news. The general secretly led the army to the expedition a few days ago."
"Ah! Then the other party has been fooled."
Guan Pei nodded, "The first thing I want you to do now is to tell the other party the real information. Of course, this is outdated information. Then the observation envoy will make an exception and promote you to Xiangyang County Magistrate, so that the other party will value you more."
"But the other party wants me to write a letter of allegiance, what should I do?"
"Did you write it?"
Chen Zhu shook his head, "I don't dare to write, I'm still hesitating."
"You can write it and show it to us first. After we approve it, you can copy it to them. Then the meaning will be different. Do you understand?"
Chen Zhu was moved, "I understand my humble position!"
Chen Zhu was released as if nothing had happened. That night, the informer Zhang Xian was secretly executed by Guan Pei to ensure that Chen Zhu would not be exposed.