Nothing is perfect in the world. Governor Li returned to Fucheng with a touch of sadness. In the early morning, as soon as he entered the Tongzhi Hall of the government office, he was summoned by Wang Tongzhi.
"How is the matter?" Wang Tongzhi asked impatiently after meeting him. In fact, this was very rude and should not have been due to Wang Tongzhi's self-cultivation. But he was really impatient.
Li You answered truthfully: "The county magistrate Chen has secretly reported to the imperial court, and it has been forwarded by Xu Shangshu. Your and my names have also been mentioned in the letter to Xu Shangshu."
Wang Tongzhi said happily: "The big deal is settled! This matter can hardly be covered up now. Whoever seizes the opportunity will be the first to take credit. But we still need to add fuel to the fire. The bigger the matter becomes, the less likely the court will be."
If you tolerate evil and evil, in order to stabilize the situation, you will be more likely to use us to deal with the aftermath."
"Sir, what's your plan?"
"If we create a worse rice-grabbing rebellion and set a few fires at the same time, it would be best if we can shock the whole city..." Wang Tongzhi said in a conspiratorial tone.
When Li You heard this, his heart was tumbling. Why did Wang Tongzhi seem to have changed? Did he reveal his true nature at the critical moment? If so, Wang Tongzhi must not have a close friendship with him.
Li You is not a saint, he is also a selfish person. If he has to kill one person to save himself, maybe he can do it. If he kills one person to save everyone, maybe he can do it. He wants to live comfortably in this world, so he doesn't want to compromise his morality.
Be demanding of yourself.
But to deliberately create panic for no reason and without being directly threatened, and artificially add fuel to the flames to stir up trouble in the city, is a bit too much in Li You's opinion, even if it is to punish evildoers.
The banner of justice. If it's just excessive, that's it. But looking at the history books, who can do such things, who is not a traitor? How good will the end be if you associate closely with such a person? Unless you are better than him
More evil.
Li You didn't want to have any differences with Wang Tongzhi at this time. The important matter was undecided. Don't let any disputes arise within the camp first. If you can't afford it, you can always avoid it, so he said vaguely: "My lord, I have good wishes. I will take my leave."
Wang Tongzhi stopped Li You and said: "I am very wary of the villains in the house. The slightest move attracts people's attention. It can be said that I can't move. I also want to trouble Governor Li. You are new here. They just ignore you because you are involved with me. They don't care about you."
The more careful you are, the easier it will be for you to move."
Li You declined politely: "The official has arrived in Fucheng not long ago. He is not familiar with everything, so it is difficult for him to take on a heavy responsibility."
Wang Tongzhi did not let it go, "Everything depends on human effort. I have my own guidance. Why should Governor Li refuse?"
Who knows if you are using me as cannon fodder? I am an official after all, so why am I asking you to serve as a servant? Besides, this matter is extremely risky, so he is not willing to take risks personally for an old man Wang. Li You felt angry in his heart
, began to speculate with the greatest malice on Wang Laotong's knowledge. He said sarcastically: "How eager is Mr. Wang for his subordinates? You have been operating in Fucheng for less than three years and two years. Is it possible that you don't have anyone available at hand?"
Wang Tongzhi had a look of shame on his face, "There really aren't any available people. There may be only one or two people on the wall."
Li You was extremely disdainful. He was so embarrassed that he had the nerve to instigate others to engage in black tactics and leave without hesitation. In fact, Wang Tongzhi cannot be completely blamed. How could he paralyze the people in the government office if he didn't show his true cowardice and incompetence?
Seeing that Li You was about to leave, Wang Tongzhi suddenly burst into laughter and said, "Master Li, stay here. I'm trying to test you with my jokes, but I can't take them seriously."
Then he condescended to step forward and bowed to Li You, "It's all my fault. I just wanted to see Mr. Li's character on a whim. Please forgive me. I'm polite."
The superior officials all bowed and apologized to him, but Li You didn't ignore them either. He was still dubious in his heart and listened to his words and watched his actions.
Wang Tongzhi commented: "Now we know that Governor Li is a member of our generation."
In Wang Tongzhi's view, the matter in Gusucang has brought trouble to the imperial court. No matter whether the big bosses favor Magistrate Mao or not, it is impossible for the imperial court to watch Suzhou Prefecture, which accounts for one-tenth of the world's tax revenue, become chaotic. No one dares to openly
Take this responsibility and try your best to protect Magistrate Mao.
It can be determined that the Houfu Yamen will undergo earth-shaking changes in a certain period of time. After the great changes, he and Li You, as the only remaining officials in the office, must shoulder heavy responsibilities, especially in this period before the arrival of various new officials.
period of time.
Wang Tongzhi had seen so much of the world in the past few decades and knew that great changes could often change human nature. He was worried that Li You was mentally unstable at a young age, and when he thought of the possibility of working with Li You in the future, he couldn't help but test it out, but he was
Li You in turn despised him.
After talking to Wang Tongzhi, Li You returned to his room and asked Zhang San, "How did Fu Erniang arrange it?"
Zhang San replied: "She has a cousin who lives in Fucheng, and I will escort her there."
Find an opportunity to go and have a look, hoping that the fetus in her belly can be delivered safely, Li You thought and said: "This matter is kept confidential and must not be leaked to anyone, including my own family, otherwise I will not spare you!"
"
Seeing Li You's harsh words, Zhang San respectfully agreed. He took out the post and said that someone sent it yesterday. Mr. Li was not around at that time, so Zhang San accepted it on his behalf.
Li You took it and looked through it, but it was an invitation from Zhao Liangli. It turned out that official Zhao was hosting a banquet at home and invited Li You to attend.
Li You looked at the post and was speechless for a long time. He hadn't thought about how to talk to Zhao Daguan about Magistrate Mao. He originally thought that it was freezing cold and it was really not the season for partying and entertainment, so he probably wouldn't talk to his friend Zhao Daguan in the short term.
When people meet, the time is enough for him to think carefully about his words. Who would have expected that there would be such a meeting at noon today.
Can you not go? I absolutely must go. You see clearly, this is a banquet held by Zhao Daguan at his "home", so you must go. These days, people often say that close relationships are good with the whole family, which is of great significance. Although Li You
It's not that good yet. Since Li You got acquainted with Zhao Daguan, he has never entered the Zhao mansion. He has eaten, drank and played in various prostitutes' houses, restaurants, and boats. Tonight is the first time that he has been invited to enter the palace.
, Can Li You refuse? Fortunately, he came back in time, otherwise he would not be able to catch the banquet.
If there is no other way, just tell the truth. Li You finally made up his mind. With Zhao Daguan's personality, hiding it will only make things worse in the end. It is better to tell the truth directly, maybe it will be happy.
It was said that Li You got on the sedan and headed towards Zhao Mansion. It was cold and the sedan was tightly closed. After nearly half an hour on the road, the sedan suddenly stopped. Li You opened the sedan curtain and looked around, and saw that it was still on the street.
, then asked the bearer: "Why can't you stop?"
The bearer of the sedan chair replied: "Replying to the master, there is a bachelor's archway in the alley ahead. Would you like to come down and walk over?"
Li You looked up, and sure enough he saw a three-story, four-column luxurious archway standing in front of the alley, blocking the entire alley. The sedan curtain had blocked his view just now, so he didn't notice it.
He thought that the archway of the great scholar was probably the archway of the prime minister's grandfather who was a member of Zhao Daguan. It is also often said in romance novels that when passing the archway, it is the most basic etiquette for civil servants to dismount their sedan chairs and military attachés to dismount their horses - but if your official name is better than the one engraved on the archway,
Of course, there is no need to abide by it. After all, it is an official-based society.
Approaching the archway, Li You took a closer look and was shocked. The upper and lower layers of the archway beams were engraved with the three characters "Grand Master", and the upper layer was engraved with the four characters "Grand Master". There was another line of small characters below the words "Grand Scholar",
It is "given to the late Shaobao and Taibao of the Crown Prince Zhao Wenzhen, a great scholar of Wenhua Palace". The lintel and other places are densely covered with various auspicious patterns such as auspicious cranes, fish leaping over the dragon gate, and even dragon patterns.
In one word, he is a highly respected minister. In this archway, not to mention Li You himself, a nine-grade sesame, how many people in the world are more noble than a bachelor? Even if the princes and vassals came, they would probably have to show their respect.
Li You was so envious that he was truly a glorious descendant. He, the Li clan in Xishui, was still struggling to become the first scholar, and the difference between him and his family was more than just heaven and earth.
After passing the Grand Scholar's Archway, Li You got on the sedan chair and continued to move forward, but stopped after taking two steps.
The bearer was confused again: "There is an archway ahead..."
Li You, who was too young to be an official, was speechless and had to get off the sedan again. In front of him was a minister's archway, which was slightly smaller than the arch of the bachelor's degree at the entrance of the alley. After looking at it, it probably belonged to Zhao Daguan's father, but even the minister was older than the ninth-grade governor.
It was much bigger, so Li You had no choice but to walk again, and simply walked all the way to the gate of Zhao Mansion.
The gate of Zhao Mansion is not as luxurious as Li You imagined. Although it is wide and powerful, the wood is old and plain, the style is simple, and there is not much decoration. There is a wooden plaque hanging casually on the lintel: Number One Scholar.
It belongs to Zhao Daguanren and his awesome grandfather. Indeed, with such a plaque, all decorations are superfluous, and it has become an existence that scholars all over the world can only look up to.
However, the shock of the Zhao family to Li You, a pseudo-literary citizen, is not over yet... After entering the gate, Li You saw a large hall standing in the front yard, with five cumbersome and cumbersome-looking plaques hung on the porch.
The plaque has two eye-catching characters: Zhuangyuan, Jinshi, Jinshi, Jinshi, Wenkui.
This is both showing off and not showing off. This is the trend these days. After someone in the family has achieved fame, they hang a plaque in the hall to show off. The Zhao family just does it according to custom. But the Zhao family's display is too shocking... Actually
The Zhao family is already very low-key. According to custom, all Jinshi scholars must erect archways. There should be four consecutive archways outside the Zhao family's door, but only two were erected.
Li You now also knows the story of the Zhao family. Among the five plaques, the first No. 1 scholar is of course Zhao Liangli's late grandfather. The second Jinshi is Zhao Liangli's late father. The third Jinshi is Zhao Liangli's generation.
His eldest brother is still alive and serves as an official in Beijing. The fourth Jinshi is the second brother, who is also still alive and serves as an official in Huguang. The fifth one, who is very prominent in other families and is very sad to be placed here, is probably Zhao Liangli.
He is an uncle and is currently taking care of the family affairs in this house.
Li You lamented that compared with the Zhao family, the good stories about brothers and father and son being Jinshi are all nonsense. But in such a family with such a prosperous literary style, how come there is such a great official Zhao, who is too embarrassed to hang up his scholar plaque?
A dandy scum in the sex world? But even a scum like this can make all the difference in the city.
Shocked by the visit, Li You didn't even pay attention to the scenery of the Zhao family, and was led to a warm hall in a daze. After entering, he found that Zhao Liangli, the high official, was not even a host, so he could only stand at the door aggrievedly.
Inside, there was a man in his forties who had a similar face to Zhao Liangli but was thinner and sitting in the main seat.
Zhao Liangli joked to Li You softly and said, "This is my brother, the one who hangs the fourth sign in the front yard. He was forced to resign from his third-grade official just now, and he is in a depressed mood. Don't provoke him."
Li Youqi said: "Brother lost his official position, why are you still so dishonest?"
"What kind of disgrace is this? It's like a child playing house. After the tantrum, it will probably come back in two days." Zhao Liangli said nonchalantly.
Li You was shocked again...
This damn person is a scholar-bureaucrat, a ninth-grade miscellaneous official. Li, the governor of Suzhou Prefecture's Experience Department, said with envy and hatred in his heart. Oh, I almost forgot to list the casual title of general and official because of outstanding performance in the inspection.