The Bookish Scholar of the Red Mansion

Chen Heng and Liu Yanzhang were sitting together at the top, and most of the officials accompanying them in the room were convinced. Don't worry about whether they are young or not, or whether they are looking for a handsome black-faced man who is worthless. There was a No. 1 Scholar sign above his head, and even Liu Yanzhang had to be cautious when his fame hit the house.

What's more, Chen Heng not only has a sixth-grade state magistrate, but also a seventh-grade magistrate of Huating County. Because Chen Heng will only go to the government office tomorrow to submit official documents, no one present knows the details of Chen Heng's two official positions.

If he were not responsible for secret missions and specialized in special tasks, according to Dayong's official practice, Zhou Tongzhi, as the deputy of the magistrate, was responsible for the state's internal affairs and had the responsibility of supervising arrests. He could be regarded as the leader among Zuoer officials.

As the chief seal officer of the local government, the county magistrate is like a chicken head or a phoenix tail compared with the former. It's really hard to tell which one is better between the main seal and the second one.

However, in terms that are easier to understand, Zhou Tongzhi can be compared to a high-ranking official of X, who also serves as the head of public security. As for the county magistrate, depending on the size and wealth of the county, he can jump between cities and counties.

Such a person would not be too much to sit on Liu Yanzhang's right and left hands. But Liu Yanzhang let Chen Heng sit side by side with him, which is intriguing.

There has always been a particular emphasis on seating arrangements in official circles, and what kind of people should sit in what positions. In other words, where you can sit indicates what identity the person has, including his sense of propriety and knowledge.

Most of the officials who could enter the house today were important officials of the Songjiang government office. There are high and low official positions, and everything in charge is important. These people work at the grassroots level all year round and pay the most careful attention to details.

While they were guessing about Chen Heng's background and origin, they also secretly looked at the look on Xu Biao's face, the government official's recommendation officer. As soon as this person entered the room, he sat carelessly on the left side. Xing Yu, the official in charge of the palace, is usually the most majestic.

In addition, Xu Biao is a native of Songjiang, and his surname is still a big surname in Songjiang Prefecture. The former prefect relied heavily on him, and Xu Biao, who promoted officials, was somewhat unscrupulous in his actions and paid little attention to the faces of his colleagues and subordinates.

Seeing Liu Yanzhang move Chen Heng's seat next to him, Xu Biao waited for them to say something before he picked up the wine glass with a smile and said: Master Chen has come a long way to work hard. My surname is Xu Mingbiao. I would like to toast you to your colleagues.

Although Chen Heng was new here, he was not blind to the internal affairs of Songjiang Mansion. How many famous surnames there are in the government and who holds several important official positions are more or less inquired and recorded.

Seeing that this person announced his family name, Chen Heng also stood up, took the initiative to lift the cup and said with a smile: I didn't expect to meet Mr. Xuan Hu's family. I'm disrespectful.

Although Xu Biao looks tall and thick, his ancestor is Xu Guangqi, a famous minister in the late Ming Dynasty. The word Biao is not bad when used as a name. There is a sentence in the Han Dynasty Book Fayan·Junzi, The middle part of the bow is the outer part of the bow, which extends to the meaning of enlightenment and enlightenment. It is even more suitable for readers to use.

Afterwards, Chen Heng told some stories about Xu Guangqi, which made Xu Biao feel proud. The smile on Xu Tuiguan's face grew stronger, he raised a few more glasses, and repeatedly urged Chen Heng to drink.

After giving up, the officials behind him slowly stood up and kept toasting as they came up. Seeing that the atmosphere was getting lively, the boss Liu Yanzhang smiled and said: On a good day, the night is long, why do you let Chixing keep drinking. Eat the food first, eat the food first.

When Zhizhou sends a message, no one will refuse. Everyone returned to their seats and started chatting all over the place. The commotion lasted until the end of Xu Shi when they were pushing cups and changing cups, and then Xinda helped the drunk Chen Heng out.

Tonight, I will naturally sleep in the Huating County government office. As a subsidiary county of Songjiang Prefecture, the county government office is also in the city, not far from the government office. Sitting in an official sedan, we walked up three streets and four squares, and crossed a few bridges to reach the county government office.

When Liu Xianglian and Xinda sent Chen Heng home, Zhen Yinglian came over after hearing the news. She saw her drunken husband lying on the bed and asked in surprise: Why are you so drunk?

Seeing Yinglian preparing to bring water for her second brother to wash up, Xinda smiled and said, Sister-in-law, don't worry, wait a moment. Before he could finish his sentence, Chen Heng, who was lying on the bed, had already opened his eyes. He shook his head, stood up with his hands on his hands and said, You didn't even say a word to me when you got home.

Xinda scratched his head and said rather embarrassedly: I think my brother drank too much today, and I want you to rest before talking.

Chen Heng nodded, first appeasing Yinglian's worries. Then he asked her to get him a cup of tea, while he led Xinda and Xianglian to the study.

On the way, Liu Xianglian glanced around and suddenly said to Xinda beside her: How many people will hear about your master's pretending to be drunk tomorrow?

Xinda was Chen Heng's ears and eyes. He didn't like to get involved in such criticism. He thought for a moment and said, Whoever comes first tomorrow will have the most eyes and ears.

This is true, Chen Heng nodded. There was no one around at the moment, so he rubbed his face with both hands, Those who didn't come may not mean that there are fewer people. Maybe they were too late, or they wanted to sit on the mountain and watch the fight between tigers.

My lord, could it be? Liu Xianglian suddenly became interested, and said that Chen Heng rarely drank alcohol. If he was so drunk today, there must be something else going on in the house.

Chen Heng smiled and pointed forward, indicating that everyone would wait until they got to the study.

As soon as they arrived at the end of the field, Yinglian came in with a tea cup. She was also wronged. Chen Heng knew that he came in a hurry, and the servants accompanying him at home had to follow Daiyu slowly. Now he had to let Yinglian do some chores first.

When Yinglian returned to the room, Chen Heng asked Xinda and Xianglian to sit beside him and told them about the affairs in the government office. The latter two often traveled around the capital and saw many intrigues and intrigues.

As soon as he finished listening, Liu Xianglian, who was impatient, slapped the table and said angrily: I also said that Liu Zhizhou has a kind face and kind eyes, so he should be an easy person to get along with. His silent behavior clearly wants to draw you into a fight with the man named Xu. fight.

Xinda has followed Chen Heng the longest and knows the most about civil servants. Although he is a sixth-grade official, he is at the same level as the governor of the state. However, when Wen is in front of Wu and Zhizhou is at the top, the fellow Zhizhou should sit on the upper left. How can we let an official in charge of prisons pass by?

Xu Biao didn't care. If he said it was an unintentional mistake and a careless person, he would inevitably look down on others. It can be said that Xu Biao was deliberately preparing to make a show of power. According to what the second brother said, his subsequent behavior did not seem to have such a plan.

As for Xu Biao's thoughts, we still have to guess. The amiable Liu Yanzhang is really misleading. Xu Biao may not know the secret here. Liu Yanzhang should have mentioned it more or less. This kind of thing, even without saying a word. As long as you just get started and stretch out your hand to grab a word, everything will disappear.

Xinda followed Chen Heng all over the country, but he may not have learned all the methods thoroughly. When the heart is dark, there are signs that the blue is better than the blue. Liu Yanzhang made some guesses, and seeing that Chen Heng didn't look too angry, Xinda asked doubtfully: Second brother, do you think there is something hidden in this?

It's hard to say right now. Chen Heng said with a smile. Today, Liu Yanzhang saw Xu Biao occupying the main seat and took the initiative to help. Liu Yanzhang did it intentionally and wanted to focus his attention on Xu Biao. He still needed some time to observe. Horsepower can be seen from a distance, and people's hearts can be seen from time to time.

Anyway, at the wine table today, he used Xu Guangqi's incident to point out that he didn't know everything about Songjiang Mansion. Lest anyone look down upon him and be fooled as if he were a boy made of clay.

I'm telling you this to keep your eyes open. The trip to Songjiang Mansion may not be as easy or simple as we thought before. Chen Heng had vaccinated his own people and told them to spend as much time as they could in the past few days. Go out and ask around on the streets and listen to what the people have to say.

Yes, sir. Liu Xianglian immediately responded eagerly. He is now following Chen Heng, who also found work for him in the county government. Just waiting for the official documents to be handed over, it was the head of the Inspection Department of Huating County Government.

This position is similar to that of a government official. He is also in charge of public security, prison and other affairs in the county. Xinda has no specific arrangements, but now that the second brother is serving as a local official, he is no better than the one in the capital. He was also slowly adjusting his state, and responded directly with Liu Xianglian: Yes, sir.

Among the brothers, if Xinda could really call him master, Chen Heng would have nightmares. Seeing that Xinda had made up his own mind, Chen Heng did not try to persuade him to take any more measures.

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I chatted a little late with Xinda and Xianglian last night. When I woke up this morning, Chen Heng still held Yinglian in his arms. Feeling the amazing softness in his chest, Chen Heng got up from the bed with great willpower.

There are some things that, once you get started, are really fascinating. No wonder people in the opera house often say that Wenwen Township is the Tomb of Heroes. Chen Heng laughed and mocked himself a little. Just after leaving the bedroom, I heard Xinda say from outside: Sir, Master Xu is waiting for you in the outer hall.

The two smiled tacitly, and Chen Heng asked, How long have you been here?

Not long after he arrived, he was carrying something in his hand. It didn't look like something valuable.

Chen Heng nodded and said, When Yu'er comes back, just tell her about this. She will know what to do.

Sister Lin's talents are more than enough to manage a county government house.

Xinda took note of this and led the way, accompanying Chen Heng to the outer hall to meet Xu Biao. The latter was even more fun. As soon as he came up, he said that if he had free time today, he would be a local guide for Chen Heng.

Xu Biao had such kind intentions, how could Chen Heng refuse? He immediately agreed with a smile and asked Xinda to go out with the official document. The three of them came to the government office in a sedan chair, verified the appointment documents with Liu Yanzhang, and verified the official seal before leaving the government office and preparing to return home.

Mr. Chen, what other plans are there for today? Xu Biao asked with a smile.

Chen Heng answered simply and said directly: I won't use Shengtang until tomorrow. I just want to visit Songjiang City today.

Haha. Xu Biao smiled heartily, In that case, why don't you let me be a beauty and accompany Mr. Chen for a walk?

Chen Heng smiled, stretched out his hand and said, It's disrespectful, please.

please.

With Xu Biao accompanying him, what else could Chen Heng see in the city. Everywhere you go, there are first-class lively places in the city. Street shops, restaurants and other places can only vaguely see the damage suffered in the first half of the year. Although there is still some mess, most of it has been tidied up.

While walking around and looking around, a few people climbed up to a high-rise building and saw the wonderful scenery inside and outside the city. Along the way, Chen Heng noticed that everyone in the city's merchants knew Xu Biao, and everyone called Xu Biao Sir.

Chen Heng saw it and said nothing. It was all a day of wandering around, just chatting with Xu Biao about the customs and customs of Songjiang Prefecture.

After the day trip ended, the two reluctantly said goodbye. Xu Biao said that he would give a generous gift to Chen Heng tomorrow, and it was all regarded as a welcome gift to Chen Heng.

He also gives gifts so openly, and he is indeed an ‘open and honest’ person.

Chen Heng thanked the other party for his kindness and turned back to the Yamen directly.

Wait until the next day, when Xu Biao came to Huating County Government Office to look for him again. I just learned from the county government officer that the county magistrate took two servants out early in the morning, and no one knew where they were going.

What should we do?! Xu Biao stamped his feet anxiously, Why did you tell him to get away?

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There are carriages and sedan chairs in the Huating County government office. When Chen Heng traveled today, he took the same one he took into the city. Since there were only three people for company, the curtains for covering were hung directly on the hooks.

Xinda and Xianglian were sitting at the front of the car, one on the left and the other on the right. Chen Heng was also sitting close to the door. They were walking and laughing all the way, and they were wearing regular clothes. They looked like young men out for an outing.

However, their trip was not just for fun. The places they visited along the way were all the villages belonging to Huating County. The road was bumpy and made walking very uncomfortable.

Walking around like this, Chen Heng looked at every place he went and remembered what he saw. This is all due to his in-depth understanding of the place after taking office. There is no way. Huating County is a large county in Songjiang Prefecture. How big is it?

Today's Songjiang Prefecture consists of seven counties and one hall, namely Huating County, Lou County, Fengxian County, Jinshan County, Haihai County, Nanhui County, Qingpu County, and Chuansha Hall.

Among them, Lou County, Fengxian County, and Jinshan County were all separated from Huating County and established separately. Even though three counties have been separated, Huating County is still the eldest among them regardless of region and wealth level, which can be seen from this.

But such a score lowered the level of Songjiang Mansion. The imperial court divided Shangzhou and Xiazhou based on the overall situation. Fortunately, there were a few more laggards, and the ranking that was originally at the top fell to the back in a blink of an eye.

You must know that there are 190 state capitals in Dayong. If you fall like this, the promotion evaluation and the court's attention will be affected.

What's more, above Songjiang Mansion is the more famous Gusu Mansion, and below is the also very famous Yuhang Mansion. Take the tsunami in the first half of the year as an example. The disaster relief strategy set by the court was to start with relief and then with relief.

There are eight townships in Huating County. Chen Heng didn't reach the third township until afternoon. This place is called Xiuzhu Township. Although the name sounds nice, the situation in the village makes him frown.

When Chen Heng got off the carriage, he saw many people standing on the roadside arguing. He calmly stepped forward and stood outside the crowd, listening and asking. But after a while, I learned what happened from the angry passers-by.

There was a disaster in the first half of the year, and every household had insufficient food and harvest. Although the imperial court allocated food for disaster relief, the people living in the countryside did not have much opportunity to eat it.

In desperation, he borrowed grain from large households in the village to tide over the difficult season temporarily. The agreed principal and interest will be paid when due, which is written in black and white. Just wait until next year's harvest is received, and once the people return the grain, they will have lost both money and goods.

But it was only the end of autumn, and the people had just renovated the fields for next spring plowing. The servants of the big households came up and asked everyone to pay interest. The people were very surprised. Didn't they agree to pay back the grain after the spring plowing next year? Why is it the end of autumn?

There is also a saying among the big families in this village that the principal will be paid at the appointed time. But this interest is calculated on a monthly basis. Everyone wrote it clearly at the time, but the people themselves couldn't see it clearly.

After hearing the general idea, Chen Heng knew that this was a matter of big investors using interest first, principal later to confuse repayment of principal and interest. This technique is really crude and crude, but it is best used for ordinary people who are not very literate. All you need to do is make the numbers almost the same, and then use a little trick on the text to make it difficult for ordinary people to distinguish.

Then what do they mean now? Chen Heng asked the villagers, but looked coldly at the servants and farmers who were still arguing in the field.

Of course I want Uncle Shen's family's farmland. The villagers said angrily, These bunch of fatherless dogs are thinking about depriving themselves of their families all day long. They really drive people to death.

I don't care about things written in black and white. The servant standing in the field was still yelling at the old man with his hands on his hips, You signed and signed the pledge yourself, and no one forced you to do it. Now you can either pay back the interest or give the field to our family. master.

Gouwazi, I watched you grow up when you were a child, why are you like this now? The old man stomped his feet angrily, holding the hoe tightly in his hand.

I'm telling you, Gouwazi. Uncle Shen is already seventy now. If he gets angry with you, you and your master will be sued for human life. Mr. Qingtian will definitely ask you to pay for it with your life. Onlookers. , there are also those who are filled with indignation.

Hey, let me tell you. If you are angry, don't take it out on me. I'm just asking for a living. Do you think I want to embarrass you? I can testify. Even if you go to the county magistrate to sue, our magistrate will still be responsible.

Seeing that the servant was so proud, Liu Xianglian had already put one hand on the sword, gently pushed Chen Heng with the other, and whispered: My lord?

Don't worry, let's take a look.

The weather was a little cold, so Chen Heng simply folded his hands in his sleeves, like a passing guest, watching everything with peace of mind.

Thanks to the book friend It's the breeze that blows into my breathless eyes for the reward.

Please help me think about what word and brand name should be used for the story of copying the family. Ha ha ha ha