When Zhang Xiaowu learned about the execution of Liu Hou's family, it was already noon the next day. Although Magistrate Ma was drunk first last night, other officials of the Yangquan Mansion Yamen held on to the end at the wine table. Although these local officials were incompetent,
, but the alcohol capacity was very strong, Zhang Xiaowu and others did not relax their vigilance, so they did not continue drinking, but they could not stop them from taking turns to persuade them to drink.
Everyone slept until noon the next day and finally had a good night's rest. However, the next day the head of the Yamen Mansion came to the door with a strange look and asked. Zhang Xiaowu then learned that seventeen members of Liu Hou's family were killed last night.
The ten-year-old mother had a five-year-old son. Liu Hou was a lecherous person, but he only kept the young woman outside and did not bring her home. Therefore, his old mother, wife, and legitimate sons and servants were all killed, but he kept her outside.
The family’s concubine and concubine escaped death.
Based on this inference, the Yatou said that it was most likely the work of the ghost guards. They did not know that Liu Hou had other side rooms in the city, so they just killed Liu Hou’s mother and wife. In addition, after the ghost guards entered the city last night, in order to prevent Liu Hou from
Hou's men retaliated and took control of the defenders of Yangquancheng, so Magistrate Ma was more certain that Liu Hou was responsible.
Of course, although Magistrate Ma believed that Zhang Xiaowu had done it for the purpose of eradicating the root of the problem, he could not report the matter to the court, so he wrote a memorial saying that this was the fault of Qingfeng Village, but he still sent the Yamen to inform Zhang Xiaowu.
.
Seeing the strange look on the Yamen's face, Zhang Xiaowu couldn't laugh or cry, and said, "Do you suspect that I did it?"
The Yatou hurriedly said: "I don't dare! I don't dare!"
Xia Ming said: "We were in the post station last night and never left. The postmen in the post station can testify."
The Yatou quickly apologized and said, "I have no suspicion."
Wang Yijin said: "Your expression is clearly suspicious."
Zhang Xiaowu smiled bitterly: "What did Magistrate Ma say?"
"He said it was the traitors from Qingfeng Village who did it."
"You all take this as an excuse?"
"Don't dare..."
"to be honest!"
The Yamen head nodded and said: "Everyone said that anyone who can kill seventeen families quietly must be someone with extraordinary abilities. There is no such person in the entire Yang Quan Mansion. Except... outsiders."
Xia Ming took a step forward and questioned fiercely: "So you think in your heart that we did it? Think about it with your brain, is it necessary for us to do this?"
Wearing a mask and with a look of ferocity in his eyes, the government official was so frightened that he took a few steps back and sat on the ground, saying in horror: "Don't dare, don't dare - no, no, no, no, it's definitely not you who did it."
"Don't scare him." Zhang Xiaowu pulled Xia Ming behind him and explained: "The ghost guards can't even kill five-year-old children, and we stayed at the inn last night, where would we go out to kill people? The inn and surrounding areas
Our neighbors can testify that we did not go out. As for the ghost guards at the military camp and the city gate, they were supervising each other with the township army and had no chance at all."
The postmen also confirmed their innocence one after another, and the Yamen quickly apologized and said: "Liu Hou has offended too many people in his life, and he deserves to die and be exterminated for revenge."
Zhang Xiaowu had never done anything like this. He would not secretly send people to kill someone's family. If he wanted to kill Liu Hou, he would kill him openly and would never do it secretly.
But just because he doesn't do it doesn't mean that others don't do it, especially since Qingfeng Village has more than a dozen secret sentries in Yangquan Mansion. These people are the internal agents of Qingfeng Village and are responsible for selling stolen goods, purchasing, and inquiring about information.
Although Qingfeng Village is just a bandit village, the owner of the village is far-sighted and has made plans in advance. Once there is any noise in the city, Qingfeng Village can be prepared in time. A few days ago, Liu Hou gathered the soldiers who came forward, but Qingfeng Village was frightened.
What a big surprise. After Liu Hou assembled his army, he set off to the north. It seemed that he had no intention of attacking Qingfeng Village. However, Nei Ying said that Liu Hou did not explain who he was going to attack. He only told his subordinates that he would welcome a battle.
Fierce fighting.
Song Chong, the leader of Qingfeng Village, believed that the only thing Yang Quan Mansion could call a fierce battle was to attack Qingfeng Village. Therefore, Song Chong thought that Liu Hou wanted to attack the east and west, so he ordered to guard against the Yang Quan Mansion defenders. One day later
They got the news that Liu Hou was defeated and killed. Qingfeng Village was dumbfounded. The leader of the village personally brought people to Yang Quan Mansion to find out the truth.
Soon after Song Chong brought the Eighteen Arhats of Qingfeng Village into the city, he learned that the magistrate of Yangquan Prefecture was out of the city to meet the ghost general Zhang Xiaowu. He also heard that Liu Hou died because he attacked Qingfeng Village and was killed by Qingfeng Village instead. Song Chong and others were so angry that they screamed.
, what are they
When did he kill Liu Hou, and when did he take the blame? Fortunately, there were too many people who escaped that day. Qingfeng Village learned from the landlord who escaped back from the hospital that Liu Hou wanted to intercept and kill the ghost general because he didn't know the heights of the sky.
Zhang Xiaowu was killed by him instead.
"Good kill, good kill!" Song Chong burst into laughter, and several brothers even cried with excitement.
Many people in Qingfeng Village were forced by Liu Hou to become bandits, and Liu Hou often used the excuse of destroying Qingfeng Village to extort money from the people, which led to a deep friendship between Qingfeng Village and Liu Hou.
"Liu Hou is dead, but there must be a lot of money buried in Liu Hou's home. The leader of the village is not as good as us..."
"This moth must be killed, but don't touch the money."
"Why, village master?"
"Money is a trivial matter. The defenders of Yangquan Mansion suffered heavy losses this time. In the future, we can just attack any landlord who is rich and unkind. Now that the ghost guards are in the city, it is easy to be discovered if we carry gold and silver." Song Chong is a smart man and asks for subordinates.
No one is allowed to steal a cent or a penny from Liu Hou's home. That night, everyone in Qingfeng Village rushed into Liu Hou's home overnight and killed seventeen members of Liu Hou's family.
When everyone in the Yangquan Mansion saw that the enemy only killed people to make money, they mistakenly believed that the people who killed Liu Hou's family were ghost guards, and it was Zhang Xiaowu who ordered them to be eradicated.
Zhang Xiaowu framed the murder of Liu Hou to Qingfeng Village, and Qingfeng Village responded with retaliation and framed the murder of Liu Hou's family to him, so that although the Yamen of Yangquan Mansion seemed to listen respectfully to Zhang Xiaowu's words, it had nothing to do with the Ghost Guard at this time.
, but I determined in my heart
It was his doing. The yamen servants and yamen chiefs of Yangquan Mansion did not continue to investigate further. They were afraid that they would be killed by the ghost guards. In the name of revenge for the Jianghu knights, Magistrate Ma issued a random arrest warrant and reported it to the court.
And Lord Zhizhou.
Zhang Xiaowu knew that no matter how much he explained, it would not help, so he simply refused to explain. After resting for half a day, the ghost guard was preparing to leave Yangquancheng. At this time, Ruan Qingwen ran over excitedly and said with a big smile: "It will comfort you for a lifetime, it will comfort you for a long time."
All my life."
"Mr. Ruan, did you find money?" Wang Yijin said with a smile.
Zhang Xiaowu smiled and said: "To make Mr. Ruan lose his composure, he must have discovered something extraordinary. Let me take a guess."
Ruan Qingwen smiled and said: "Then you guess, if you guess it right, I will win a lot of prizes."
Bao Yin and Jia Si also pulled Xia Ming over and said, "We will also win prizes if we guess right?"
Ruan Qingwen stroked his beard and said, "Of course."
Zhang Xiaowu said: "Mr. Ruan was born into a wealthy family and was once an aide to Military Advisor Gu, so he would never be surprised by a little money."
Bao Yin said: "That's not necessarily the case, if you have enough money."
Jas also smiled and said, "You think everyone is like you."
Zhang Xiaowu said: "If it's not money, what's the point? The pursuit of life is nothing more than wealth and appearance. It's not money, it's not wealth. Mr. Ruan doesn't have any good things on his way - ah! I understand, Mr. Ruan is the match.
Married a woman?! Congratulations, Mr. Ruan is alone in Mucheng, I have long thought that you should take a concubine to accompany you."
Wang Yijin immediately applauded and said: "I support Mr. Ruan in taking concubines."
"I'll take you!" Ruan Qingwen couldn't laugh or cry, and then he explained that it turned out that Ruan Qingwen had found the son of an old friend, and this old friend's son was the only son of Kang Shen, Ruan Qingwen's first teacher.
Kang Shen was affected by King Ning's rebellion in his early years and was eventually exiled to Lingnan. He had long lost contact with Ruan Qingwen. After Kang Shen was exiled to Lingnan, it happened that the officials knew that Kang Shen had extraordinary knowledge and that most of the people in Lingnan were refugees and prisoners.
quite
The barbarians needed education from the Central Plains, so Kang Shen made the local edict. Kang Shen taught the people the Central Plains culture and spread civilization in Lingnan. Because of his meritorious service in teaching the people, he was exempted from the crime in the 20th year of Taiqian and became the leader of Lingnan.
common people.
Kang Shen's son, Kang Tianen, was exiled to Lingnan with his family when he was five years old. He was carefully educated by his father since he was a child, and his literary talent flourished. He passed the Xie Yuan exam at the age of eighteen and passed the Hui Yuan exam at the age of nineteen. However, his father Kang Shen died of illness when he was 20 years old.
Shen was well aware of the dangers in the imperial court, so before his death, he asked Kang Tianen not to continue taking part in the imperial examinations, but to only serve as a clerk and not as an official.
Kang Tianen had no choice but to agree to his father, and after being recommended by his old friend Kang Shen, he went to Yang Quan Mansion as a junior clerk in the Teaching Department, a clerk responsible for professor evaluation.
The Teaching Secretary, referred to as Jiaofang, is the institution responsible for administering the imperial examinations and teaching in a prefecture. The Shenghan imperial examination is divided into a three-level system, the township examination, the state examination and the national examination. The township examination refers to the examination that all candidates in a prefecture take
, the first place in the examination is called Jieyuan; the state examination is also called Huikao, and the first place in the examination is called Huiyuan; the national examination selects 90 people from across the country, and the winner is called Juren.
Then these ninety people again
During the imperial examination, three rankings were divided into heaven, earth and people. They entered the Hanlin Academy to learn how to be an official. Among them, the top thirty and the thirty on the heavenly ranking were admitted to the imperial study and were taught by the emperor himself. The first person in the national examination was called the number one scholar. So if
Some people first passed the Xie Yuan exam, then the Hui Yuan exam, and finally won the first prize, and were called Lian Zhong San Yuan. Those who won the Lian Zhong San Yuan will be recorded in the history books and widely praised by private schools and schools across the country.
Now Kang Tianen is only twenty-six years old. He married a wife early and started a family. However, because he only worked as a minor official, his family was poor and could barely survive. Kang Tianen thought that he could win three yuan in a row and be recorded in the history of the Han Dynasty. However, because of his father's death, he had to keep filial piety and promise to only
Being an official rather than an official has resulted in the current embarrassment.
Kang Tianen originally did not want to ask Ruan Qingwen for help, but now his family is too poor. His wife said that the food and rice in the family were no longer enough to survive until next month. Looking at his children who were crying from hunger, Kang Tianen had to bow to the reality. He had long recognized
He knew Ruan Qingwen, and also knew that his father's outstanding student eventually abandoned literature and joined the martial arts to follow Gu Yong. He didn't want to ask for help from Ruan Qingwen, but had to ask him for help.
Ruan Qingwen pulled Kang Tianen over and introduced him to everyone, but Zhang Xiaowu frowned, took everyone back to the house, and said with a wry smile: "Mr. Ruan, you are being reckless now."
"What does the general mean?" Ruan Qingwen was puzzled.
Zhang Xiaowu said: "We killed Liu Hou, the guard of Yangquan Mansion in Daizhou, and killed more than a hundred of his men. Although they did not dare to fight back because we were still here, if we leave, they will definitely take revenge. You
If we bring Mr. Kang here, won’t we put our mentor’s son in danger?”
Ruan Qingwen was shocked: "This... I never thought of this." When Ruan Qingwen was found by Kang Tianen, he only thought of meeting the son of his former mentor, but he did not expect the consequences, which would bring danger.
Gave it to Kang Tianen. But at this time, Ruan Qingwen also realized his recklessness and became extremely anxious.
On the contrary, Kang Tianen stepped forward and bowed, saying: "It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. General Zhang, I found Senior Brother Ruan here, and I have the intention to recommend myself." He spread his sleeves and smiled bitterly: "General, look at me, I am already poor and have nothing.
, there is no food for the young children at home. I don’t blame Brother Ruan at this time, I have no other choice but to take refuge with my family. I hope the general will not abandon him and take in a scholar."
Zhang Xiaowu looked up and down the clerk named Kang Tianen and saw that although his clothes were shabby, they were very neat. Although there were patches, the stitches on the patches were very well embroidered. It can be seen that this person likes to be neat and tidy in his life and has excellent rules in life. He is a
He is a very self-disciplined person, and his needle show is very good, which shows that his husband and wife Qin Se and Ming are very affectionate, and it also shows that this person has excellent character. Even though he is hired like this, his wife always takes good care of him. Just a glance, Zhang Xiaowu
He concluded that the young man in front of him was ambitious, self-disciplined and had a certain degree of conduct. The way he recommended himself also made Zhang Xiaowu, a martial artist, very fond of him, so he asked: "You are now a scribe of Yang Quan Mansion. Is it possible?"
You don't know how to surrender to me and face the choice of life or death at any time?"
Kang Tianen said with a smile: "General Zhang is serious. Good birds choose trees to roost. Kang is just a scholar with a name like grass and grass. He just can't bear the hunger of his wife and children at home. It's just that he can't give his wife and children wealth in his lifetime. He can't let it happen.
Let them starve to death in the wilderness.”
Zhang Xiaowu said: "What are your specialties?"
Kang Tianen thought for a while and said: "Besides studying, I have no other talents. I can only stay with my father to learn how to manage civil affairs, build water conservancy projects, and educate people and students. The ability of a certain family is really not worth mentioning. He is just willing to be a general clerk.
.”
Ruan Qingwen said: "Junior brother, you are being humble. If you take part in the imperial examination, you will definitely be the one who wins three yuan in a row, and the future prime minister is unknown."
Kang Tianen said: "My father was deeply involved in King Ning's rebellion. I am a member of the guilty minister's family, so how can I be reused? My father saw this very clearly back then and was worried that the more I became an official, the deeper I would be caught in the future.
, the attacks became more and more fierce, so I was not allowed to continue to participate in the imperial examination."
Zhang Xiaowu thought for a moment and said, "Take your family and follow us to Beijing."
Kang Tianen was overjoyed, and he bowed to the tunnel and said: "Thank you, General, for saving my life." Then he handed the farewell letter he had already written to the Yamen, and hurriedly prepared it with his wife and children, saluted, and left the Yangtze with the ghost guard army.
Quan. As Kang Tianen left Yang Quan for the capital, Yang Quan Mansion became calm again, but this calm was soon broken by the destruction of Qingfeng Village.
