Wang Churen did not escort Li Guolou to the village office, but took him directly to his home. He knew very well that he could not sit in order based on the dignity of the officialdom, and he had to bow down and salute when speaking. In this way, the people of Qilitun would be at a disadvantage. He ran to Li Guolou.
When talking to his family, he got close to Li Guolou as a friend.
Along the way, we pointed out the scenery of Qilitun, which has perfect architectural facilities, such as chastity archway, earth temple, bathhouse, theater, mill, large granary, village office, etc. The people live in tile-roofed houses, brick houses, and thatched houses account for one third.
There are also many people wearing rags on the road. Generally speaking, it looks much better than the village in Balizhuang. It is a large village with wealth and scale.
From the name of the village, you can tell that "Qilitun" is smaller than Balizhuang. However, through the efforts of generations of Qilitun villagers, they have continuously encroached on the territory of nearby villages, and Qilitun has long since become a large village.
Li Guolou just listened silently along the way. He waved his whip in return to Muramasa Jiangmasa, Baozheng Wang Zangqiang and others who came to pay homage, and said, "I am on military duty, I forgive you for not dismounting from your horse and returning the salute." To those present.
People, the official authority is inviolable.
In the flower hall of Wang's mansion, the maids poured tea and water, and the host and guest took their seats one by one. The two parties met again, introduced each other, and spoke politely in Mandarin.
Wang Churen assumed the posture of his master and said with a smile: "Jiang Cunzheng, don't be restrained. Captain Li is a good friend of mine. I have also roughly told Captain Li about the difficulties we have here. Why don't you stay with me first?"
Let me say a few more good words to you. Is it better to resolve this enemy than to end it?"
Jiang Zheng is tall and thick, and looks very strong, like a thug. He is less than forty years old, about 1.7 meters tall, with a wide face, a high forehead, a big nose, a pair of single eyelids that are swollen, and his face is red, and he looks like he is drunk.
disciples.
"Hey!" Jiang Zheng was like an obedient puppy. He didn't even look at Li Guolou. He lifted his official robe and knelt in front of Li Guolou. He looked like a hero and said loudly: "Jiang Zheng doesn't understand the rules and offends me."
I'm sorry to see you, Chief Li, but I also hope to see Haihan." After Jiang Zheng said, "Dong dong dong dong!" He kowtowed first to apologize, without any regard for official etiquette.
Li Guolou saw death at a glance. Jiang Zheng was clearly a slave of Wang Churen's family. Wang Churen alone had the final say in Qilitun. He said with a smile: "Jiang Cunzheng, please come up quickly. We don't know each other without fighting, so why bother to apologize?"
I'm apologizing. A good man in the world of martial arts is very particular about revenge and complaining. If one of your subordinates died, you can seek revenge from me."
Jiang Zheng glanced at Wang Churen and saw Wang Churen blinking desperately and waving his hands, and quickly said: "I don't dare to do this. The dead Xuan Xiaojue didn't understand the rules and shot at the officer. He committed rebellion."
It's a serious crime, please ask Chief Li to show mercy and absolve Xuan Xiaojue's family from the guilt."
"Oh, we'll talk about this later. Jiang Cun is sitting and talking. I've heard your name for so long and it's like thunder in my ears." Li Guolou glanced sideways at Jiang Zheng, wishing he could have a fight with Jiang Zheng and resolve it directly with his fists.
That saves a lot of effort.
"How dare you, how dare you, I only have the strength to do it." Jiang Zheng was a little proud. He is a well-known hero. Who dares to make trouble on the head of Tai Sui?
Wu Jinshui jumped out, stood up and clasped his fists and said: "Brother Jiang has heard of your name for a long time. I am Wu Jinshui, known as the Iron Palm Boss in the world. I only have some stupid strength. I hope you can give me some advice."
This is to combat the arrogance of the villagers in Qilitun. Since they cannot use swords or guns, they can decide the place according to the rules of the rivers and lakes, and use martial arts to determine their superiority.
The eighteen brothers of the Beihai Martial Arts School have now become legendary heroes in the mouths of storytellers. Their reputation has been widely spread in the north, such as "bodyguards fighting robbers", "alone ax gangs", "overpass competitions" and "green gang conferences".
How could Jiang Zheng not know that the hero in front of him was Wu Jinshui, the "Iron Palm Boss", and even though he had the guts to fight, he didn't dare to compete.
"Ah, I've heard about Master Wu, the boss of Iron Palm, for a long time. It's better to meet him than to be famous. He is indeed a good man. I will offer you three glasses of wine to Master Wu later. I also want to accept you as my master." Jiang Zheng bowed.
Just resolve the crisis and sit in the position of village leader. No matter where the gods come, there will be any drama. How can he capsize in the gutter?
Li Guolou glanced at him, pursed his lips, and told Wu Jinshui to back off. He didn't want to be fooled. He originally wanted to teach the bully Jiang Zheng a lesson, but he was afraid that this was going to go wrong. He wanted to back off, but regretted that he had brought two Balizhuang villagers with him.
The above cannot excuse Qili Tun. Next, it will be difficult to talk about land and water sources.
The living room was filled with the sound of people drinking tea and sipping water. Both parties, who had different intentions, were smiling happily on the surface. After thinking for a while, Li Guolou put down his teacup and said, "Jiang Cunzheng, you are a local magistrate. This and
The conflict between Balizhuang was so great that they even shot each other, and so many people died. As a local official, you did not report the knowledge, which caused the rebellion of the White Lotus cultists. How big a crime is this? Let the Qing Dynasty
Do you know how much the empire has suffered?"
With such a big hat, Li Guolou was blamed for the rebellion, and he killed people without leaving any trace. Now, after the fall, Cunzheng Jiangzheng of Qilitun will be punished to death.
Jiang Zheng wanted to argue, but he had not yet sorted out his thoughts. Wang Churen heard the crux of the problem. It was related to the rebels. Wasn't he going to confiscate the family and exterminate the clan? He was so anxious that he stood up and bowed down and said: "
Chief Li, please do it for my sake no matter what, do us Qilitun villagers a favor and stop getting involved with the rebels. If you have something to say, let my old face get away with it."
Li Guolou said: "Master Wang, are you in charge of this matter?"
"You can do it, my lord, I swear by the black gauze hat on my head!" When a king takes office, he has an official hat and official robe. He is an official and gentry who pays grain and donations.
Landlords in places like this all have official hats. It was popular in the Qing Empire to buy officials and get honorary titles. If you didn't have an official hat, you would be at a great disadvantage. Everyone was seated according to their rank. Where should those without rank sit?
"Okay!" Li Guolou slammed the table and said loudly: "Zhou Jian, Dongqing, you guys come to reason and let me hear which side is reasonable, and I will make a judgment on the spot!" After speaking, Li Guolou said
He threw off his official robe, crossed his legs in an elegant manner, and picked up the tea cup to drink tea. It was a good fight. He also had the ability to pronounce the word "official" twice, and he was very good at it.
Now the scene was lively. Muramasa Emasa's secretary came well prepared, opened the account books, evidence, evidence, and started a verbal argument with Zhou Jian and Dongqing. You said something to me, right in the living room.
There was a quarrel. One said, "Shameless!" The other said, "You can travel all over the world if you are right."
People from the two villages talked for more than an hour, and neither side finished talking about the old almanac. People who couldn't hold back their urine came in and out, and they were busy.
Li Guolou heard the reason and came. Balizhuang was definitely in the red. The account books of their village's land had long been burned by the White Lotus cultists. The loss of 500 acres of land was certain just by arguing with words. But a river was controlled by the Eighth Route Army.
In the hands of Lizhuang, the fish will be dead and the net will be broken, and Qilitun will not be able to reap any benefits.
Wang came to give the butler a few words to prepare a sumptuous banquet. The aroma of the dishes came from the West Flower Hall next to it. The butler bowed and said, "Sir, the food and wine are ready. Please take your seats."
Wang Churen said: "Captain Li, let's talk about it after dinner. Our two villages have a long history, and we won't be able to finish it until tomorrow."
Li Guolou stood up and said: "Zhou Jian, Dongqing, stop talking, drink and eat, listen to my judgment later, take a step back and the world will be brighter. Jiang Cunzheng, demolish the two towers as soon as possible,
Is this true?"
"Yes, yes, yes! What Captain Li said makes sense. Take a step back and the sky will be brighter. I will send people to demolish it now." Muramasa ran out of the living room at a trot. With a little effort, he made a good sale first.
There were three banquet tables in the West Flower Hall, and everyone sat down separately. The good wine and food of the country people were big fish and meat, and everyone drank freely. Li Guolou maintained his official authority, rarely using chopsticks, and drank three glasses of wine.
Give face to the King of Foot.
Li Guolou kept urging his old man Zhou Jian to drink a few more drinks. He first made the elder unconscious. When he saw that everyone was almost drunk, he put the wine in the wine glass and said, "I saw people from your two villages sitting together."
It's great to drink. Don't fight anymore about the five hundred acres of land. I don't think no matter how much you argue, it won't change the reality. From now on, it will belong to Qilitun. But Mr. Wang Daguan, you have to show that you can't rob it. Kidnap Mr. Zhou Daguan and let him
It’s always wrong to pay a ransom to get something. I’ll give you half the price, thirty taels per acre of land, a total of fifteen thousand taels of silver, Mr. Wang Daguan, what do you think?”
Wang Churen didn't feel bad. It was a lie. Fifteen thousand taels of silver were like cutting out the flesh of his heart. But when he saw the way Li Guolou looked at him, he understood that if he didn't agree, what would happen to this captain who dared to shoot civilians?
If you can do anything, just fabricate the accusation that he is a bandit, and you dare to kill his whole family. What's more, the problem of water source always depends on Balizhuang's face, and the consequences of not plucking away a dime will be disastrous.
Wang Churen pretended to be generous, raised his wine glass and said, "Okay, Captain Li and I are close friends of life and death, so I will give up this extraneous thing."
Li Guolou did not give Wang a chance to breathe. Official execution was a big problem, so he said: "I have to take it back now. Official Wang, please take out the money. Hahahaha!"
Wang Churen was forced into a corner by Li Guolou and reluctantly asked the housekeeper to prepare the money.
"Okay, since Mr. Wang Daguan is so cheerful, let's not mention the river thing in the future. Let's all be good neighbors. Come! Let's raise a toast to celebrate." Li Guolou couldn't even mention how beautiful it was. In just a few words, there were too many public accounts.
Ten thousand taels of silver and five thousand taels of silver were divided up. If the windfall was not distributed to his subordinates, they would be blackmailed. Who would believe that he deposited all the money in the public account?
Zhou Jian and Dongqing, you look at me and I look at you, they don't dare to say anything. Anyway, it is Zhou Papi's land, and they get the benefits and are bored.
After the silver box was brought up, Li Guolou felt much better and said: "Master Wang, I saw that there are too many people in your village, so I have to go out, otherwise there will be big trouble in the future. I am not trying to scare you, Jiangcun Zheng
If someone else does it, it will be your turn next."
"Really?" Wang Churen was half drunk and still didn't believe it. He had guns, high walls, watchtowers, and guards. Who would dare to rebel?
Li Guolou said seductively: "Master Wang, the White Lotus Sect was wiped out by me, but other sects are still preaching everywhere. People also want to live a good life and will always look for new sustenance. The power of faith is infinite, Master Zhou.
That's how it's finished. When your guards also become religious, you will be a piece of cake. If the leader of the religion says bad things about you, you will be finished. So you can't let people stay together and let the villagers go out and wander around. Now in Shandong
Land is so cheap, and poor people are welcome to reclaim the land. Wouldn't it be better for you to organize a group of villagers to go there and let your promising sons build another family business?"
"Hey, I thought about letting my youngest son go to Shandong and buy some land, but the people there are not familiar with it. Don't let the local governor play to death. I bought the land and gave me saline-alkali land. Nothing can be grown. How can I
It’s not a waste to die.”
Of course Wang Churen knew about the people's invasion of Shandong, where most of the poor people reclaimed the ownerless land, and the government also encouraged this practice. But if the rich resell the land, Shandong Governor Ding Baozhen is a ruthless person who makes decisions for the people.
When the time comes, you won't lose the rice by stealing the chicken.
Li Guolou nodded and said: "That's what Wang Daguan said, but it all depends on manpower. The people above are different from the people below. Since you have more people now, why not bring a group of people to give it a try. It's a place in Shandong."
Most of the officials are military attachés under my third uncle who became local officials. If you carry the banner of my family, people will always buy your face. Who do you think we are friends?"
Wang Chuiren smiled brightly and felt happy from the bottom of his heart. A poor man could live a good life in Shandong. His family had a big business and he could make a lot of money. He said anxiously: "Brother Li Xian, please write a letter for me when the time comes.
Let me think about it, which one is better?"
Li Guolou solemnly said: "Master Wang, let me make it clear to you. Root a group of people. Don't just think about selling the land. Otherwise, if something happens, I will turn my back on you."
Wang Churen patted his chest and said, "Brother Li Xian, don't worry. It's successful. At least five to six hundred people have immigrated. Why do I need so many people here? You are really timely. Now that I have seen the birth of children in the village, I don't have to worry about it."
I’m tired of it. Come on! Cheers, let’s have a good chat in the afternoon and have dinner before leaving.”
Li Guolou promised to leave at night, but he sent someone to take away the fifteen thousand taels of silver. People can't leave with the silver box. If someone takes advantage of the money, it would be a shame to kill him. Now it's even seven miles.
The people in the village tried to kill him, but to no avail. Li Guolou spent the whole afternoon in his study making plans for Wang Ren, and he actually completed a map of Shandong's land reclamation.
Li Guolou couldn't help but sigh that he was too talented. An upright official could not change an era. Ding Baozhen, the governor of Shandong, had a grudge against him. This time he pushed several problems to Ding Baozhen, but he wanted to see what Ding Baozhen could do to control the gangs.
, corrupt officials, country squires and big landowners?