Bastard's Counterattack [Rebirth]

The six-carrying sedan chairs with two domes and vermilion curtains were trotted forward by twelve officials, all of them sweaty at the temples and panting like cows, they all knelt down to salute, and shouted unevenly: "The grass people bow to the two imperial envoys. "

Rong Qi and the two raised their hands at the same time, helping everyone up.

Zhu Di waited with impeccable etiquette, and said respectfully: "The sedan chair is here. Two imperial envoys, please get on the sedan chair."

Rong Youtang and Qi Zhiyang looked at each other for a moment, neither of them had any intention of sitting in the sedan chair.

Rong Youtang immediately smiled and said: "I've been waiting for a few days by boat, it's been too long, now I want to take a walk, to appreciate the local customs and customs of your place, it's not in vain to travel thousands of miles."

"Master Zhu doesn't mind?" Qi Zhiyang asked calmly.

"The general is a villain!" Zhu Di waved his hands again and again, and said in embarrassment: "I am following the orders of your lord, and at most I can't be regarded as a villain. How dare I call him 'big'?"

Rong Youtang smiled and said: "To be entrusted with an important task by the governor of a province must be a talent, Master Zhu is too modest."

Since he has been in the cloth shop for many years, when young master Rong observes people, he often looks at the clothes from the appearance: the silk robe with ink-colored copper spots printed and dyed in crimson red, the collar of the raised inner shirt is soft and pressed, and the black trousers and shoes are exposed when walking. There is only a little dust on the top of the shoe.

A complete set of clothes is estimated to be around two taels, which is quite satisfactory, in line with his status as the head of the governor's office.

Zhu Di was quite surprised by the harmonious relationship between the two imperial envoys. He originally thought that it was inevitable that civil servants and generals would have discord when working together.

"Don't dare to be ashamed, dare not be ashamed! The villain is just conveying orders for Master You." Zhu Di was very humble, and did not leave any verbal excuses.He earnestly reminded: "This place is about ten miles away from the Governor's Yamen. The two imperial envoys have been exhausted by boats and cars. Are you too tired to walk?"

"It's okay, we just need to relax our muscles and bones." Rong Youtang's tone was gentle, but his attitude was tough.

Qi Zhiyang didn't care, and said: "It's only ten miles, not a fraction of the daily drills in the army."

"But you two are imperial envoys..." Zhu Di was perplexed and hesitated to speak.

Rong Youtang understood and relieved: "Master Zhu, don't worry, I will explain about Master You."

The words have come to this point, and if you try to dissuade them, you will freeze.

"Yes." Zhu Di accepted it as soon as he saw it, and had no choice but to order the official who pressed the sedan chair to retreat. He was about to lead someone towards the main street, but found that the other party didn't need anyone to lead him at all!

"Master Rong, please go this way." Qi Zhiyang held Shang Fang sword in his hand, had already seen the way, and strode into the alley where the thieves rushed out just now.

"General Lao Qi is leading the way." Rong Youtang said solemnly, and happily followed into the alley, surrounded by all the guards.

"Hey?"

Judy was dumbfounded, raised his hand that was about to lead the way, and blurted out: "My lords, wait a moment!"

Qi Zhiyang said without turning his head: "Master Zhu, this is a shortcut, don't you know?"

"I--"

If you know, you know, but... you imperial envoys!Instead of sitting in a sedan chair, riding a horse, and not being surrounded by officials who cleared the way, they actually took a shortcut in an alley?

Judy grinned, speechless!After a while, he had no choice but to order the officials to send the spacious six-carried sedan chair and the thieves back to the Governor's Yamen, and hurriedly led five or six officials into the alley to chase after him.

The alley was narrow, Rong Youtang and Qi Zhiyang walked side by side, protected by the guards.

"Brother Qi has a good memory!" Rong Youtang praised: "You have only been to Hejian once, and you remember the way."

Qi Zhiyang said modestly: "Practice makes perfect, it's nothing. The soldiers of the forward battalion must memorize the terrain, otherwise they will miss important things."

"This place is only ten miles away from the Governor's Yamen, but in broad daylight, there are gangs of robbers with knives running around to commit crimes?" Rong Youtang shook his head incomprehensibly.

"Although the ferry crossings all over the world are chaotic, after all, there are mixed religions from all over the world." Qi Zhiyang pointed out solemnly: "However, it is really rare to see such chaos in the river."

"It's simply lawless!" Rong Youtang lowered his voice and scolded, "If we were just foreigners visiting relatives and friends or doing business, wouldn't we have been in great trouble just now?"

"If you have a chance, go to the prison to know the local ability to solve crimes." Qi Zhiyang just finished speaking, followed by the sound of chasing footsteps.

"Master Zhu is here." Rong Youtang smiled.

"My lord, my lords, the bluestone road is slippery, please be careful!" Zhu Di hurriedly chased after him.He was a staff member hired by You Guanying at first, and later he was promoted to the chief secretary because of his ability to handle affairs, and he was in charge of [-] to [-] staff members in the Governor's Office.

Due to the obstruction of the front and rear guards, Rong Youtang kept walking, and said loudly: "Thank you for reminding, Mr. Zhu should also be careful."

Zhu Di wanted to go behind the imperial envoys several times, but the tall and strong guards stood side by side, blocking the way forward tightly. He wanted to speak but couldn't speak, so he could only follow anxiously.

As he walked, Rong Youtang's heart gradually sank:

The alleys are zigzag and criss-cross, with random directions and different widths.This is an urban area, and obviously the government failed to properly organize the houses when they were built.Doors are closed all the way, and it is time for dinner. Although there is smoke from the kitchen and the fragrance of the food, it lacks the lively movement of children playing and chasing and adults shouting in the alleys.

Lonely and deserted, revealing a strong meaning of alert.

After walking for a while, a woman's crying and cursing came from a single courtyard ahead:

"...What kind of blessing did I enjoy marrying you? There are old and young, and they are so tired that they can't straighten their backs every day. They sell pancakes all year round. The wind and the sun make their clothes fade. They dress like beggars. To save money, can I just pull two feet of cloth and make myself a change of clothes?"

"Are you two feet?" The man in charge said angrily: "At least seven or eight feet! How many bodies do you have to wear clothes? What's wrong with doing something else with this money? Even giving the children tooth-beating sacrifices Well, prodigal girls."

After a while of banging, the woman yelled: "Bah! Cao dog, you are really incompetent. It's like digging your eyes out for your wife to make two new clothes. I will pass on the old Cao's family and be a cow and a horse. What happened to me? Cai Niang and Sister Qin next door are much better off than me, they make money and clothes casually—"

The man in charge yelled: "You don't know about the black money they made through wicked activities? You will be struck by lightning if you earn such ignorant money."

"Could it be that our innocent and law-abiding God gave golden pies? So many people go up and down the mountain and enjoy the blessings safely, but your elm head is not enlightened! Humph, live well first, enjoy and enjoy, even if you are struck by lightning, you will die You have to rest in peace." The woman was quite confident.

Rong Youtang's heart was heavy, he could only sigh:

This is the root cause of the prevalence of bandits and water bandits in Hejian: the government is unable to control them, and some people are motivated by interests, take risks, and even yearn for them.

Zhu Di complained incessantly, and urged the officer to hurry up to dissuade him. He said awkwardly: "You two adults are laughing, and the couple are arguing and grinning, it's not worth mentioning."

"Oh." Qi Zhiyang was noncommittal.

Rong Youtang and his party took a leisurely pace, turning around in the alley, carefully examining the real living conditions of the people in Hejian, and it took half an hour to reach the main street.

At the beginning of the lights, the main street is the most prosperous place in the city, with many shops, the aroma of tea, wine and food, people coming and going, and it is very lively.

"My lords are from the capital city. I must have seen the streets and markets that are a thousand or eight times richer than the province." Finally, Zhu Di was able to accompany the imperial envoy, skillfully flattering and greeting.

Rong Youtang said calmly: "Dacheng is beautiful everywhere, and each has its own merits. Mr. Zhu must have been to the capital, right?"

"I have had the honor to follow Mr. You to Beijing to report on my work several times." Zhu Di replied with a smile.

Qi Zhiyang asked in surprise, "Debriefing? Where did you end up?"

Zhu Di's eyes froze for a moment, and then he said calmly: "Because Master You doesn't have a mansion in the capital, so he can only stay in an inn."

"The governor of a dignified province, came to Beijing to report on his duties and actually lived in an inn?" Rong Youtang was emotional, and asked: "Why didn't Mr. You find the same year or colleagues? I heard that he has many close friends in the capital."

"This..." Zhu Di's smiling face did not change, and he explained eagerly: "Your Excellency has been an official for many years, and he has several friends in the capital, but he is always worried about causing trouble to his friends' homes, so he chooses to stay in a hotel."

"Oh~" Qi Zhiyang looked suddenly enlightened.

"Oh, it's so inconvenient to live in an inn." Rong Youtang sighed, and asked again: "Master Zhu must also go when Mr. You goes out to visit friends and reminisce about the old days, right? It's strange, we haven't met each other once, I don't know if you all go Where did it go?"

"The capital is prosperous and prosperous. I don't know the way of life in the next life. It's a pity that I don't have the chance to meet adults." Zhu Di smiled sourly, and couldn't stand the friendly and easy-going chat of the new champion.

"We will always meet each other by fate. For example, now, don't you and I know each other? This is the first time we visit Baodi, and we are also unfamiliar with life. I hope Master Zhu reminds us more when we encounter problems, so that we can get acquainted in vain." Rong You Tang said meaningfully.

Zhu Di tried his best to maintain a warm smile, and said vaguely: "Where are the two adults, you are an imperial envoy, and the villain is just an errand runner." He pointed eagerly, and introduced: "The governor's office is on the right side of the front street. change."

"Ok."

For a while, no one answered the conversation.

Rong Youtang gave Zhu Di a smile, and saw that the other party was walking forward without looking sideways, and finally stopped trying his best to try, so he stopped with satisfaction.

Right now

In the banquet hall in the backyard of the governor's office

With a "pop", You Guanying ate the teacup heavily, and asked angrily:

"not yet?"

"Your Excellency, please calm down. The imperial envoys insisted on walking, but Mr. Zhu's persuasion failed."

You Guanying snorted and said with a sneer, "Do you understand people's sentiments? It's a bit interesting, and you can put on a show."

At this time, the butler quickly stepped over the threshold and reported: "My lord, the imperial envoy has already walked to the intersection. I heard that they got lost in the alley for a while."

You Guanying snorted again, brushed off the sleeves of his robe slowly, and ordered: "Bring them here directly."

"Yes."

You Guanying squinted at the four beautiful women dressed as servants, and ordered:

"I'll take care of you later and give me a good face."

"Yes."

A while later, Rong Youtang and his entourage arrived at the Hejian governor's office, and stopped to look around:

It is square and upright, half new and half old, with a row of red lanterns illuminating the blue tiles and white walls; the two majestic stone lions at the door are very well carved, vividly engraving the lion's roaring and attacking look.

"My lords, please." Judy became more respectful.After several trials, he thought that Qi Zhiyang fit the general he had imagined, but Rong Youtang was very elusive—is Xiao Zhuangyuan Lang a nerd and a fool with no experience in the world?Or is it shrewd and tactful?

"General Qi, please." Rong Youtang stretched out his hand to invite.Although they are both imperial envoys, but his seniority rank is lower, so Qi Zhiyang is regarded as his senior everywhere.

"Please." Qi Zhiyang intentionally controlled his pace and kept pace with the opponent. After crossing the threshold, he glanced at Zhu Di and said with emotion: "I followed General Guo to come here when we suppressed the bandits, and it has been more than half a year."

Zhu Di lowered his eyebrows and calmed his eyes, and answered the words cautiously: "His Royal Highness King Qing led all the generals to rescue Hejian from the threat of banditry. Thousands of people are very grateful and deeply grateful."

"His Royal Highness is strategizing, Qi and others obeyed orders, fortunately they did not disgrace the emperor's kindness." As soon as Qi Zhiyang mentioned King Qing, he naturally bowed his head in the direction of the capital respectfully.

Rong Youtang was new to Hejian.As he walked, he glanced at the governor's yamen, which is known as a poor and large province: the official yamen in various places has a similar system, nothing more than a front hall, an atrium, and a backyard, with wide corridors leading straight to the end.The overall house is tall and open, the paint on the door and window pillars is slightly mottled and old, and the blue brick walls exude a unique cold atmosphere.At night, the front hall was quiet, and a row of side rooms in the atrium were brightly lit, and the staff were lighting up lights to process various documents.

When we reached the backyard, the scene suddenly changed: the backyard is where the governor and his family lived.

Facing it is a large garden, with whirling vines and trees, permeated with fragrance of flowers, tingling of running water, dotted with many red lanterns scattered high and low, mistly illuminating the rockery corridor and surrounding pavilions.

With the status of governor, it is not out of the ordinary.Rong Youtang evaluated objectively.

Walking along the corridor for half an hour, there is a banquet hall in front of it, revealing the light and the smell of wine. As soon as Rong Qi and the two stood still, they heard a burst of hearty and loud laughter: "Hahaha, the imperial envoy came from a long way, You Mou It's been a long wait!"

I saw the young man pulling up the curtain, and You Guanying, who was dressed in ordinary clothes, carried his hands on his shoulders, strutting forward, standing still, laughing until his eyes were swollen and his eyes narrowed.

Although our rank is not as good as his, we are imperial envoys here by the emperor's order. As a rule, he should respect the emperor first.

"Thanks to your lord's sincere invitation, I am here to disturb you."

"Sorry for keeping you waiting, we got lost accidentally."

The two of Rong Qi also stood still, with smiles all over their faces, the distance between them was one zhang.

You laugh, I laugh too, except for the inner court guards led by the emperor who were expressionless, the rest of the servants, maids and staff all laughed together.

stalemate for a moment

You Guanying, as if waking up from a dream, changed his hands from his hands to hiss, walked down the steps quickly, and asked: "How many people are serving in front of Wansui, do you know if Your Majesty has an edict to convey?"

The chief of the guards headed by said solemnly: "Your Majesty has an oral order."

You Guanying was in awe, and immediately turned towards the direction of the capital, pulled up his robe and knelt down on both knees, and the others also knelt. He respectfully said: "My humble minister, You Guanying, I respectfully invite Shengan."

The chief of the imperial guards had a solemn face, and said clearly word by word: "Sheng Gong'an. The edict: I heard about the Guanzhou case, and I am worried. I specially ordered the imperial envoys Qi Zhiyang and Rong Youtang to conduct a thorough investigation within a time limit. You Guanying, the governor of Erhejian, must Full assistance. Thank you."

"My minister obeys the order." You Guanying kowtowed.He was slightly fat, and when he got up, Zhu Di, the master secretary, gave him a hand.

Rong Youtang took this opportunity and quietly asked Qi Zhiyang to remove the blue cloth that wrapped Shang Fang's sword. After covering it until now, a sword with five-clawed dragons carved on the scabbard and bright yellow sword tassels embellished with pearls finally appeared. The maid was silently amazed.

You Guanying saw it as soon as he turned around, squinted his eyes for a few times, but didn't say anything, just smiled and said: "Everyone is exhausted, it's been a hard journey, the thin wine is ready, please take a seat."

"Thank you Master You for your trouble." Rong Youtang turned to smile modestly as a sixth-rank civil servant.

"My lord, please." Qi Zhiyang was neither humble nor overbearing.

The three of them humbly exchanged greetings at the door for a while, then stepped into the banquet hall one by one, and took a few more polite words before taking their seats.

The banquet hall is located in the flower hall. Except for the thick and strong brick walls in the four corners, the three sides are only built with half-person-high walls, and the upper part is decorated with hollow wooden windows and hung with light red curtains, which is cool and breathable; there is a large round table in the middle , Surrounded by a circle of chairs, most of the table dishes are placed, and the strong aroma of wine is tangy.

You Guanying sounded like a bell, stood up, raised his glass and said: "You are the most useful people in front of the emperor. Today, you have traveled thousands of miles to visit the humble house, and it is full of splendor! On behalf of the people of Hejian, I respect you. I wish you a happy working together. .”

Rong Youtang and his entourage then got up, and everyone drank, two young guards were light drinkers and coughed profusely.

When you come to a local area to do business and enter the governor's yamen, how can you not drink when you get wind?

But, why choose such a strong wine?The wine glass is not small.

Rong Youtang couldn't help frowning while raising his neck to drink: Do you want to get us drunk?

In a blink of an eye, You Guanying had already toasted two glasses with great enthusiasm, and poured the wine by himself.

When the other party wanted to toast, Rong Youtang quietly gave Qi Zhiyang a look, raised his glass and said loudly: "Thank you for your kind hospitality, I am afraid, I want to investigate the case, and I will ask you to take the time to give me some advice. I would like to toast to my lord first, and chat with you." Thank you." After finishing speaking, he drank it in one gulp.

"Hey, where is it? We are all here to share your majesty's worries." You Guanying smiled, squinted at the handsome champion man, and happily drank it all.He was about to speak, but was interrupted by a toast from Qi Zhiyang: "It's not easy to govern Hejian. Master You, as a governor, has worked hard for more than 20 years. Qi admires it. Let's toast you."

You Guanying had no choice but to accompany him for another cup.

During the boat ride, the two imperial envoys got along well with the inner court guards: they were all squeezed out of the crowd, and they took turns changing patterns, often offering tea and cakes, greeting each other, and treating each other as brothers.

Therefore, when Rong Youtang rubbed his stomach, and looked at the head of the guard for help with a bitter face, the other party understood, made a righteous rescue, took over Qi Zhiyang's class with a toast, and respectfully respected You Guanying.

The captain of the guard took the lead in toasting, and of course the rest of the imperial guards would not sit upright. They ranked each other according to their seniority, got up in turn, and respected the host one by one!

During this period, You Guanying repeatedly wanted to invite everyone to drink together, but was always pushed away by Rong Qi and his team with various reasons.

Judy sat at the last table with her buttocks barely touching the chair. She was busy pouring and persuading the guests to drink—but her saliva dried up, and the imperial envoy couldn't drink two more glasses!

So, in the first round of toasts at the banquet, You Guanying drank until his nose smelled of alcohol.

Just when Rong Youtang was about to speak again, Zhu Di's heart was suspended for a moment, and he finally understood: General Qi is a common general, but Lord Rong is a rare civil servant.

He is obviously the number one scholar and a noble in the Imperial Academy. I heard that he is only 17 years old. How come he is as slippery as an old Jianghu when he enters the table?

Smiling cunning little fox!

Fortunately, after a round of drinking, the butler arrived in time, and under Judy's eager attention, he directed the four maids to work together to bring up the finale dish: fragrant roast lamb with sizzling oil and browned skin.

You Guanying also secretly breathed a sigh of relief, he failed to reject the first round of salutations from the distinguished guests in the capital, and drank so much that he quickly put down his glass, and took advantage of the situation to order: "Old Qiu, quickly order someone to serve the wine, the roast lamb is very hot, be careful put."

"Yes."

Steward Qiu responded, and together with Zhu Di, directed the four timid maids to slowly place the freshly baked roast lamb in the middle.

The maids wear a bun in a uniform, with a braid behind their heads and only a red string tied on their heads; the off-white cardigan and the blue-colored long skirt wrapped around the chest are exquisite and graceful.

In fact, the round table is big enough, and there are places for serving dishes and removing dishes, but Rong Youtang and Qi Zhiyang, as distinguished guests among the distinguished guests, naturally have more spacious seats, with room for left and right—after the four maids served the dishes, two imperial envoys stood up afterward. By his side, persuading wine and food.

"My lord, the servant girl will pour you some wine."

"My lord, please use it."

The voices of these two women were melodious and clear, delicate and beautiful, and they pursed their lips and smiled slightly.

Rong Youtang nodded slightly, his face was like a crown of jade, and he was extremely handsome.

The two women surrounding Qi Zhiyang were obviously more charming and mature, smiling like flowers.

Qi Zhiyang only ate vegetables and didn't drink, and he didn't care about the beauty's coquettish persuasion to drink, so he firmly refused.

Well, Master You really did his best, he prepared beauties with different styles for General Qi and me.Rong Youtang secretly sighed, and while refusing, he still maintained his elegant demeanor as a scholar, and talked about serious matters: "Master You, I don't know how the current situation in Guanzhou is? Your subordinates and General Qi are worried all the way."

"The report said that more than ten traders involved in the incident were arrested. I wonder if they are being held in Guanzhou Prison or here?" Qi Zhiyang asked straight to the point.

You Guanying shrank her neck, turned her face and said, "Hey, it's not too late to talk about business after eating the reception banquet. How can you serve the court when you're hungry?"

"Your Majesty's words are reasonable." Rong Youtang smiled, then changed his voice and said: "However, Your Majesty has a deadline of one month to solve the case and return to Beijing. We really dare not delay. If you fail to return within the time limit, Your Excellency will likely be implicated, then Absolutely impossible!"

Qi Zhiyang cooperated tacitly, he tilted Shangfang Sword in front of him, shook Huang Jiansui casually, and sighed: "It's a pity that we only arrived this evening, and we don't have a boat to go to Guanzhou. We wanted to help you solve the case as soon as possible."

"Really?" You Guanying's smiling face couldn't hold back, so he could only answer: "Don't worry, everyone, after the incident, my official has quickly brought people down to suppress it. The situation has already been brought under control, so there is no need to worry."

Suppression?

Rong Youtang's expression remained unchanged, and he asked with concern: "Then, did more than a dozen traders come up?"

"That's right." You Guanying blushed from drinking, leaned back in the chair, squeezed out her double chin, played with the wine glass, and said with bleary eyes: "However, they were extremely vicious and attacked the officials with sticks and daggers. In the chaos, both sides suffered casualties. "

The two of Rong Qi looked at each other, and thought helplessly: After all, we couldn't make it in time, we were too late.

really

You Guanying put down his wine glass, barely sat up straight, and told with great pain: "The incident happened suddenly that day. I was anxious to stabilize the situation. When I received the state government's request for help, I rushed to help with people and rushed to the court. Alas, I didn't know until I went down to the scene: During the chaotic brawl, mobs, officials, and innocent civilians killed 43 people, and all the criminals fled if they could run away, and all those caught were seriously injured, and died of their injuries after a few days of suffering."

——It’s no wonder that your report was vague, it turns out that the casualties were so heavy!Moreover, you still want to whitewash it with vague words!

"The lower official is a little confused. May I ask my lord: How many traders were involved in the incident captured? Is their death counted among the 43 people?" Rong Youtang asked seriously, his eyes sparkling.

"Well..." You Guanying lowered his eyes, seemingly thinking seriously, but actually waiting.

Qi Zhiyang had already put down his chopsticks, his face sinking like water.

Rong Youtang frowned suddenly, and gradually felt his mouth dry, his blood surging, his lower abdomen tensed, and a strange feeling fluttered around.