[R18] Will drink wine – “About Wine” Chapter 162 [English]

Chapter 157 Zhongxiong

The next day, Lu Yizhi left Cizhou. Shen Zechuan asked Fei Sheng to accompany him with the Jin Yiwei, and ordered Fei Sheng to send Lu Yizhi to Qidong.The business matters that had not been settled yesterday were still being discussed. The windows of the study room were open, and everyone sat down in their respective seats again.

“This is a new document from last night. Please review it with colleagues.” Zhou Gui put the paper on the table. “Originally, we separated the well-documented people and the homeless people, and increased the severity of the punishment. However, when I had a detailed discussion with Yuan Zhuo this morning, he suggested that the two should be combined into one, rather than divided.”

“Post the notice, the registration matter will be solved easily.” Yao Wenyu coughed a few times, “It would be inappropriate to divide and rule again. It will cause dissatisfaction among the people who have newly registered books. It will also be difficult for the yamen to distinguish the old from the new when executing.”

Shen Zechuan looked at it, nodded and said: “If someone fishes in troubled waters by then, it will be a hidden danger. Now that the matter has been finalized, the only problem left is to measure the fields before the end of the year. The current general field register in Cizhou was measured during the Yongyi period, so it is too old.”

“Cizhou has been reclaiming wasteland for three consecutive years, and the actual number of acres has increased a lot. The measurement should have been re-measured as early as last year. But at that time, there was a shortage of manpower and was forced by Lei Changming, so it was postponed until now.” Zhou Gui counted the time, “This matter must be completed before the end of the year, otherwise if the snow is thick, errors will inevitably occur.”

Nowadays, there are many government officials in Cizhou, but there are very few capable subordinates.Most of the staff are preoccupied with official duties and are not responsible for copying documents, let alone letting them go to the fields to measure the fields.The Yamen is short of people, and Shen Zechuan is also short of people.

“After the separation, we will screen them on the spot. Whether they are locals in Cizhou or people from Dancheng, as long as they are literate, they will be recorded in the file first and kept for future reference.” Shen Zechuan said this and looked around his staff, “If someone committed something in the past, heWe won’t be able to find out if we don’t tell you, so we must screen carefully.This is a business, and it is inevitable that someone will be trying to do something about it, but I know that all of you, gentlemen, are of high character and know how to distinguish between treacherous and virtuous people, and will not stir up trouble here.”

He said it so clearly, who wouldn’t understand it? The staff who were sitting and smoking all stood up, some of them looked embarrassed and did not dare to laugh anymore.

* * *

The staff are all guests of Zhou Gui and can enter and leave the house. Most of them are called “sir” and are raised by Zhou Gui.There are only two ways for them to earn spare money, one is calligraphy, painting and calligraphy, the other is going to the banquet hosted by the local squire and elders and getting a bounty from the master’s family.But now that refugees are pouring into Cizhou, and they are responsible for registration and trial of subordinate officials, there will definitely be people who want to go through the back door and handle things secretly.

Gao Zhongxiong is the unlucky egg among them.

Gao Zhongxiong’s experience was very rough. He chose to study at Taixue from Yuzhou and claimed to be a fellow student of Qi Huilian.Because of his talent and learning, he was once considered a leader among Qudu students, and he also wrote articles to compete with Yao Wenyu.A year ago, Xi Hongxuan instigated a turmoil in Taixue. Gao Zhongxiong was the student who knelt at the front and angrily called Pan Rugui and Ji Lei “national traitors”. For this reason, he was detained by the Jinyi Guards and sent to prison, ending his future.In anger, he turned around and joined Han Jin’s tent and became Han Jin’s staff – it was his suggestion that Han Jin was given to the Forbidden Army and Han Jin was imprisoned in Cizhou Prison. He is still digging at the wall waiting for Han Cheng to save him.

Gao Zhongxiong did not dare to return to the capital after Han Jin was captured. He was afraid that Han Cheng would pursue him, so he relied on his uncle in Dancheng to stay in Dancheng and became Pan Yi’s staff.At first, Pan Yi intended to reuse He, but many of He’s suggestions were only on paper, so Pan Yi gradually ignored He. He was bullied by the servants in Pan’s house, so he had no choice but to live in his uncle’s house.Unexpectedly, the house leaked and it rained all night, and my uncle drank too much and fell to death.Gao Zhongxiong couldn’t carry it on his shoulders or lift it with his hands. His aunt at home thought he was useless and found an excuse to send him back to Yuzhou.

Gao Zhongxiong felt that he was shameless when he returned home to meet his villagers and elders, so he wanted to rent a few acres of thin farmland by selling calligraphy and painting, and learn to live in seclusion in the market, living in poverty and enjoying his life. Unexpectedly, he saved enough money and bought a field. Before he went to the land a few times, the field was usurped by the bullies from Fei’s Village.Gao Zhongxiong went to the Yamen to complain, but that night he was blocked in an alley and beaten up, and even his house was robbed.he was penniless and living on the streets. He wanted to go back to Yuzhou but had no money, so he had no choice but to escape from Dan City with the refugees and wanted to try his luck in Cizhou.

“Dad Xu,” Gao Zhongxiong stood cautiously outside the door. Seeing people coming out, he hurriedly shouted, “Is there any news about the Yamen incident?”

I think he is a popular figure in Qandu, but now he has to be half a head shorter when talking to others. He wants to please the other person, but he is unwilling to go too far for the sake of face. Standing where he is, he looks completely different.

The yamen servant surnamed Xu waved a water and fire stick and drove Gao Zhongxiong aside. When he turned around and couldn’t see the yamen, he scolded in a low voice: “What are you doing here?”

Gao Zhongxiong was so punished that he couldn’t raise his head. He pinched his sleeves and when he raised his head again, he forced a smile and said: “I just passed by the wine shop in front. I gave you some, Lao Sheng, to quench your thirst. You drink.” He offered the wine with both hands. Seeing that the other person’s expression softened slightly, he said, “I have been in Cizhou for a few days. What I mentioned to you last time -”

“That thing, that thing?” Xu Yamen drank, wiped his mouth and refused to admit it, “What’s the matter?”

“I just want to get a job in the Yamen.” Gao Zhongxiong didn’t raise his hand to wipe the spittle from his face. “I’m asking you, my boss, to help me and pass a message to all the gentlemen. Just say that I used to be a student of Qudu, and I was trained by the Procuratorate…”

“This matter is easy to handle!” Xu Yamen came closer, “You are ready to pay three taels of silver, and I will buy a few packs of tobacco for you gentlemen, and you can get through it!”

Gao Zhongxiong was stunned for a moment, with a mixture of sadness and joy on his face, and he said, “I’m already old and have no money.”

Xu Yamen immediately changed his face, and the old man said: “What can we do without money? Are all gentlemen vegetarians? They are also serious about gold and silver! If I hadn’t pitied you and was willing to deal with it for you, how would the money be enough? How would it not be enough!”

Gao Zhongxiong quickly grabbed Xu Yamen’s arm and said, “I have given seven taels of silver to each other, and there must be some news…”

“You want to go through the back door, but you don’t want to give up the money,” Yamen Xu threw the wine gourd into Gao Zhongxiong’s arms, stretched his neck and “poofed” at him, and said contemptuously, “You still have to take off your belt to pee!”

Gao Zhongxiong had all his money defrauded by Yamen Xu, and now he lives among the homeless all day long, looking as dirty as a beggar.Looking at Xu Yamen’s face at this moment, he remembered the humiliation he had suffered in Dancheng. For a moment, he was so angry that he rushed forward regardless, slapped Xu Yamen across the face, and shouted: “If the thing is not done, you have to pay me back!”

Xu Yamen didn’t expect that Gao Zhongxiong would dare to hit someone. He pointed at the tip of Gao Zhongxiong’s nose and said, “Oh, you! You’re a bastard and you still hit someone!”

The two men started fighting. Xu Yamen hit Gao Zhongxiong on the waist with a fire stick, kicked him to the ground, and hit him on his head and face.Gao Zhongxiong, a scholar, had been hungry for several days. His waist hurt. He didn’t know which bone was hit. He rolled on the ground and held his head to dodge. He was crying and out of breath. He also shouted: “Are you a human being? You cheated me of money, are you still a human being?!”

People gathered around him, but Xu Yamen didn’t dare to make a big fuss for fear of being investigated by the Yamen, so he threw the water and fire stick, rode on Gao Zhongxiong, pinched his face, and stuffed the sweat towel into his mouth, trying to block his mouth.Gao Zhongxiong cried and struggled, and Xu Yamen slapped him hard several times until his ears were ringing, his eyes were dizzy, and his mouth was bleeding.

“We’re working on a case!” Yamen Xu shouted, “This bitch is a thief from Dan City. He fell into my hands last time, and he dares to seek revenge today!”

Gao Zhongxiong made a sound in his throat as Yamen Xu dragged him by the collar into the Yamen.He scraped his cheek against the ground and was scratched with blood by the gravel. He stretched out his hand to ask for help from the person in front of him.

The yamen servant Xu touched Gao Zhongxiong’s chest, waist and abdomen with several kicks. They were the yamen servants below. They were always in the field and had a good way of arresting people. It was no problem to deal with Gao Zhongxiong, a weak scholar.he Today, as long as Gao Zhongxiong is dragged in, gagged and charged with theft, he can be put in jail. Then he can say hello to the jailer he is familiar with, and Gao Zhongxiong will suffer. Whether he can survive through August depends on Xu Yamen’s mood!

There was a commotion here, and Zhou Gui was accompanying Shen Zechuan back from the fields on the outskirts of the city. The carriage was blocked halfway, and he thought it was the refugees causing trouble again.

Shen Zechuan didn’t say anything. Zhou Gui quickly got off his carriage, held up his robe to push people away, and asked, “What’s going on? Why is there such a commotion in front of the Yamen!”

Xu Yamen immediately said: “Report to your lord, we caught a thief! He refused to submit and even beat him!”

Zhou Gui had been worried about the security issues in the city these days. He frowned and said, “Then you can’t handle the case like this. What’s wrong with beating people in the street? That’s not right!” He glanced at Gao Zhongxiong. He originally wanted to reprimand Gao Zhongxiong and lecture Gao Zhongxiong on etiquette and morality, but he thought that Shen Zechuan’s carriage was still blocking him behind. He couldn’t bear the delay, so he said, “Bring the person in quickly, wipe it clean, and have a good interrogation.”

When Gao Zhongxiong heard this, he struggled hard and vomited the sweat in his mouth.

Yao Wenyu was talking to Shen Zechuan about the review of subordinate officials in the past few days. The car was stuck in traffic for a long time and there was no movement.Qiao Tianya came back and lifted the corner curtain and said to Shen Zechuan: “Master, there is still a fuss. Let’s take a detour.”

Shen Zechuan raised the curtain with a folding fan and asked, “What’s going on?”

“He said he was a thief, so he asked the yamen to take it out on the street.” Qiao Tianya stepped aside slightly, “I see that there are no calluses on his hands. He looks like a student.”

Yao Wenyu didn’t like staying in noisy places very much now, so she followed them and looked over.There was a crowd of people ahead and nothing could be seen.

“Let’s take a detour,” Shen Zechuan loosened the curtain, “go directly to the Zhou Mansion. There are still people waiting in the study. We need to talk about mutual trading before Youshi.”

Qiao Tianya ordered the coachman to turn the horse’s head. As he was turning the car, he suddenly heard a heartbreaking cry from the front: “You are forcing me to death, you are going to force me to death! What kind of yamen is this? God, I must have made Gao Zhongxiong fall like this!”

Yao Wenyu suddenly lifted the curtain and said to Qiao Tianya: “Stop it, that person is Gao Zhongxiong, who was taught by Cen Yu.” After saying that, he looked at Shen Zechuan and said, “The student who led three thousand Taixue students to reprimand Pan Rugui on a rainy night was exactly him. I know that this person can be used!”