Devil’s Advent

"Hey, our Yingdu has not been peaceful all these years. Have you heard that on the old Yudao Street a few days ago, the heads of more than a hundred guards of the royal palace were chopped off. The blood on the ground, Yingdu The servants of the government office brought a water dragon to clean it, but the smell has not dissipated until now."

In a teahouse on Yingdu Front Street, two merchants were drinking tea.

"Tch, what does it mean that the smell hasn't dissipated? It's not like the fishy pig's offal or human blood. How much smell can it have?"

"Oh, brother, I've been flustered in my heart."

"It's weird, you do your business, don't mention anything else, now you just go from here to Fengxin City, take people and goods up, go around, go back to Yingdu Further distribution is a matter of small profits and high profits, and there is absolutely no reason to lose money.

So, what are you panicking about? "

"You know, I just bought a house in Yingdu, but looking at this place, I wish there would be trouble every year. It really makes people feel uneasy."

"This is also strange. Last year, Lord Pingxi led troops into the city once. It seemed that many families were destroyed and many people were arrested, but they were all young men;

Today, the new prefect entered the city, and it was the prince who slapped him in the face, and those who died were people from the palace. There were so many people who were poisoned to death at the banquet a few days ago, one counted as one, and they were all grand masters.

The little master and the big master are in trouble, what's bothering you?

This business has not reached that level, the property has not been saved to that level, and the skin on his body has not changed, so he is thinking that he will not be able to live a peaceful life after becoming a master?

I said you as for you. "

"You said so, but it is true."

"What do you mean? That's the reason. Now that the Yan people have occupied the land, why don't they clean up? Don't look at this Yingdu who bleeds a little this year and will bleed a little next year. To put it bluntly, this is also because You escaped a knife back then, but you escaped the first day of the junior high school, you can’t escape the fifteenth, the blood that should be drained must be drained, and the debt that should be paid must also be paid.”

"Uh...Brother Li, you have to press down on that payment again. I'm tight right now."

"Straight mother thief, why are you so ungrateful!"

...

The banquet was poisoned, the prince was assassinated, the confinement on the stone mountain, the palace guards were beheaded in the street;

One thing after another has great political impact, but it seems to have little impact on this big city that has just recovered from the war.

At least,

On the street, it is still bustling.

Although there are still a lot of refugees outside the city, there is a city wall separating them. Inside the city, it is really a "prosperous scene".

Zheng Fan returned to Yingdu, but he didn't lead his bodyguards into Yingdu to fight with open flames, but he entered the city in low clothes with Sword Master Chen Daxia and He Chunlai.

He came in without much fanfare, in order to save face for the new prefect.

Now that Zheng Fan's status is different, if he announced in advance that he was going to enter the city, he would have to greet him again, which would undoubtedly dilute Xu Pangpang's hard-earned blood.

Yingdu is next. After all, it is Xu Wenzu's home field. The Hou Mansion is now powerless and it is impossible to intervene too much in Yingdu's affairs for the time being. At most, it will bury a few more nails.

I came back quietly, invisibly, just to make a place for Xu Pangpang,

Do you see it,

Even the world-famous Pingxi Hou Ye has to bow his head in front of our prefect!

Friendship, in fact, comes out bit by bit.

The four found a shop in the city and had lunch. Master Zheng returned to the restaurant where he lived. Later, he sent someone to hang up his flag to inform the people in the city who were watching here. The eyes, Zheng Fan, are back.

Not long after I came back, the bath water had just been prepared, and Zheng Houye hadn't had time to take off his clothes yet, so the news was announced, saying that the new prefect Xu Wenzu would welcome you.

I gave Xu Pangpang face, and Xu Pangpang immediately returned it. Although Zheng Fan didn't care about it, I have to say that Xu Wenzu can do this, which really makes people feel very comfortable.

For tea and pastries,

As soon as Xu Wenzu came in, he half-unbuttoned his official robes carelessly. In the design of official uniforms in most countries in this world, perhaps more emphasis was placed on aesthetics than comfort.

To be precise, clothes that are too fancy are definitely uncomfortable to wear.

Still no heat,

Perhaps it was to reflect the good relationship, so the two of them jumped in tacit understanding.

"Brother Zheng, I checked the account recently."

"Oh? What did you find?"

During the battle against Chu, Yingdu played the role of a material transshipment place, and a large amount of money, grain and civilian husbands passed through here every day.

Zheng Fan had helped Tian Wujing take care of military affairs for a period of time. In fact, the loss of money and food in the military was often a messy account, and it was hard to figure it out. In this, the factor of corruption was ruled out first.

Even if everyone has clean water, hundreds of thousands of troops are on the front line eating and drinking, all kinds of ordnance, war horses, medicinal materials, etc., are simply unclear.

Most of the time, a certain department shouted that they were missing something, and Zheng Fan would give a 40% discount note and send it to him.

Perhaps the soldiers and horses below also know that you will get a discount, so when you report, you will often report too much. Anyway, after every 40% discount is delivered, there is no reply saying that it is not enough, which makes Zheng Fan think for a while whether to call again discount?

As for Yingdu, with so much food, so much wastage, so many civilians, so many bureaucrats who have handled it, and the account books are clear, it is really a ghost.

But in the account books, some things can still be seen.

for example,

Earlier, Xueguan had enough money and food.

The full amount here refers to the receipts from the household department, which are more than others, plus the handling of the Sun family in Yingdu, and then they are sent to him in real terms. The transportation of money and food can be compared to two or three times that of soldiers and horses of the same scale.

It is almost equivalent to a dry meal of porridge in other people's homes, and the general will maintain the strength to hold a knife. Xueguan can open meat every now and then.

However, Zheng Fan was not worried that Xu Wenzu would use this incident to attack him. First, he, the number one leader of the Liuye Party, could not justify not eating more at the household department.

In this world, the most stupid leader is the kind who shouts that you are my person and treats everyone equally as if avoiding suspicion;

Obviously, Little Six is ​​not.

As for the Sun family, I am now a Marquis, and I should be able to eat more and get more. In addition, when Xu Wenzu was in Nanwang City, he did a lot of things to himself, such as the distribution of military supplies, the distribution of prisoners of war, When assigning the barbarians, Xu Wenzu was extremely partial to himself.

"Brother Zheng, I understand the principle that when the water is clear, there will be no fish. But the problem is that there is clearly a thick layer of oil floating on the account."

"Too thick?"

"It's nothing like that."

"How thick is it?"

Xu Wenzu hesitated for a moment, stretched out his hand to pinch his stomach, and said:

"Brother, my two layers of fat are thick."

"How many layers of fat do you have?"

"Counting the chest, five floors."

"That's okay." Zheng Fan raised his head in doubt, "It seems that it's not very serious."

"But brother, think about it, you are fighting on the front line, and they still have the energy to save some money in their pockets later, what is this called? Can you bear it?"

"I can't bear it." Zheng Fan said with a smile, "But it's not easy to get angry with this account book."

In the case of political struggles, people can be condemned for corruption, but it is best not to punish people for corruption.

This thing, an indiscriminate attack, can easily mess things up.

Xu Wenzu smiled,

road;

"How can I, I intend to sort out the account books and present them to His Majesty."

After all, Xu Wenzu is an old man in the officialdom. Of course, Zheng Fan does not need to remind him of this matter. It is actually the most effective way to sort out the account books and show Yanhuang to see. How did the bureaucrats and dignitaries attached to the gang "do their best" for Dayan.

Coupled with the current situation of Dayan's fiscal deficit and food shortage, it is enough to enhance the negative perception effect even more.

After all, the prefect is a herdsman on behalf of the emperor. As long as he has the support of the emperor, Xu Wenzu will be able to toss about in Yingdu more freely.

This is actually Xu Wenzu's own governance strategy.

"Well, that's a good idea."

Zheng Fan picked up the tea and took a sip. If it was just to talk about this matter, he should be able to return to Yingdu quietly by the way.

But Xu Wenzu immediately lowered his voice again,

Slowly said:

"One more thing, it has something to do with you, Brother Zheng."

"Brother, please tell me."

"The accounts have been flattened, but who am I, brother, the records of the imperial court, the records of the localities, the records of the entrances to the city, the records of the exits from the city, the records of the Wangjiang Ferry, no matter how powerful the accounts are, how can I put things into balance? It really changed out of thin air, didn't it?

I think back then, when we fought the war against Jin, the two Marquis of the North and the South, hundreds of thousands of soldiers from the North and the Jingnan Army, but my brother and I alone supported the logistics. After that, I cooperated with the First Prince for another year, and also Nothing went wrong. "

Xu Wenzu is indeed something to be proud of, because he does have the ability to be Xiao He.

In fact, if it wasn't for the attack on Chu, he would have to deal with possible military adventures from the three sides of the Qian Kingdom without him. Maybe Xu Wenzu was the most suitable candidate to sit in Yingdu at that time.

only,

This sounds a bit wrong,

Lord Zheng Hou put down his teacup,

The biggest rat, shouldn't it be me?

how,

Xu Pangpang really wants to liquidate himself?

Does he have a fever?

"Brother."

"Um."

"Gongwangbu, it's your subordinate."

Gong Wang?

Zheng Fan immediately realized that Xu Wenzu must have discovered the matter between himself and the Sun family, but he skipped it. What he found was Gongwang's part.

Gong Wang and Gongsun Zhi were placed in the westernmost part of the territory, so, is there something wrong with Gong Wang?

"Brother, we are our own family. Although the imperial court intends to separate families from Yan and Jin, brother, I also know that you have a big heart, after all, you have long used barbarians.

but,

Not my race,

Mao Mingcai probably knew that Yingdu's hands and feet were somewhat dirty, but at that time, as long as the frontline supplies could be transported up, he turned a blind eye to the overall situation for the sake of the overall situation.

But he probably didn't know that someone was feeding Jin Ying alone under his nose. "

Xu Wenzu patted his belly,

road:

"You said that the gang in Yingdu should be greedy and eat, it doesn't hurt, who doesn't have a wife, children and concubines to support?

But if you want to say that they don't know how to reach out to the army, even if it is the Jin camp, what will happen if things are revealed, hehe, brother, I don't believe it.

They knew it, but they did it anyway, taking such a big risk, you said, what are they planning?

Gongwang this person,

Can you believe it? "

"His son is still with me."

"Heh, in this world, there are many filial sons who send their father to bliss early, and the father who treats his son like nothing and can throw it away will certainly not..."

Zheng Fan looked at Xu Wenzu suddenly,

Xu Wenzu was taken aback,

Immediately realized,

Immediately twitched his mouth a few times,

This was scolded by Lian Yanhuang together, which is a big taboo.

"Brother Zheng, this is the purpose of my visit, brother."

Zheng Fan nodded,

road:

"I'll take care of this."

"Okay." Xu Wenzu scratched his head, "What do you think about the palace's matter?"

"The palace is a flag, not to mention pulling out the flag, it is up to His Majesty to make a decision, but if you want to keep your hands and feet from being bound, brother, at least you have to put him down.

Situ Yu is still young and can't make any waves. The queen mother is just an ordinary woman, but there is a group of people around the palace.

Anyway, the slap has already been slapped, so let's do it again. "

"Well, that's the reason, brother Zheng, what do you think should be done?"

"I heard that the guards of the palace were ordered to be killed by a city inspector named Ran Min?"

"Yes, that person is quite clever. Don't say it, I saw some shadows of you, my old brother, in him."

"He seems to have a good reputation among his subordinates."

"Yes, he is a person who can do things and wants to stand out."

Zheng Fan nodded,

road:

"Okay, then let's give him another chance to stand out."

...

Ran Min's home is on Xifang 2nd Street in the middle of the city. He bought a small house here. In fact, he could live in the yamen of Xuncheng, but there are many people in the yamen. In the words of later generations, it is equivalent to a staff dormitory. Naturally it can't be too good.

He would come back to this house after he quit his job on weekdays.

open the door,

Ran Min saw a little lady setting the table and chopsticks,

"Master, you're back, I'll bring out the dishes."

"Um."

Ran Min sat down at the dining table.

This little lady was surnamed Liu, she was originally a refugee, she sold her body to bury her father, and he paid for her to bury her father, so she naturally followed him and regarded her as his concubine.

She is ingenious and handy, and the female red cooks well, and the dishes are also cooked very well.

"Grandpa, try this dish."

"Um."

Ran Min took the chopsticks and started eating.

Lady Liu was sitting next to him, smiling, watching him eat.

She really likes him. This man can bring her a great sense of security. In her eyes, he is the last person her father designated for her, and she can entrust her to her for life.

The food is over,

Lady Liu said, "My lord, I'm going to fetch water to wash your feet."

"good."

"Grandpa, wait."

Mrs. Liu went to the kitchen stove to fetch hot water.

At this time,

The sound of footsteps came from the yard, which was relatively subtle, but Ran Min was also a martial arts practitioner after all, so he naturally heard it.

He immediately drew his knife and pushed it away, and came to the yard.

As the captain of the City Patrol Division, it can be said that he has offended many people in the past two years. Naturally, there are quite a few enemies. In addition, he has just personally visited the door to destroy the prestige of the palace a while ago, and has degraded their dignity. Therefore, this time Ran Min was extremely cautious.

yard,

A man in black appeared,

The man in black held a sword in his hand.

"Who are you, can you name me?"

The man in black pointed to the west side,

immediately,

I thought that the place was on the east side,

pointing in another direction,

Seriously:

"I'm from the prefect's mansion."

"Master Taishou? Master Taishou sent you to find Ran, why?"

"The prefect asked me to stab you with a sword."

"The eunuch wants to kill Ran?" Ran Min couldn't believe it, is he going to kill the donkey? It shouldn't be!

"No, I don't stab you to death, stab you, then you put that whistle, call someone, and let them chase me, I will lead them to the palace.

This is called, misfortune diverted from the east. "

"Is that the case?"

Ran Min suddenly realized, and then said: "How can Ran Min trust Your Excellency?"

The visitor shook his breath, and immediately, a breath close to that of a fourth-rank swordsman was revealed.

The man in black said:

"I want to kill you, no need to talk nonsense."

Ran Min showed a wry smile,

road:

"Ran knows, and Ran also understands, please show your sword."

"After I stabbed you, I waited for your men to chase you out in the alley of the front street."

"Okay, Ran has remembered."

"It will hurt a little."

"Ran is a person who has been on the battlefield. As long as he can do something for the prefect, even if he sacrifices his life, Ran will not hesitate, let alone such a small pain?"

"This is too false."

"..." Ran Min.

"The feeling of talking is far worse than him."

"Who are you talking about?"

"Look at the sword."

A little cold light comes first,

stabbing Ran Min in the chest,

Then he drew it out, and then drew a sword on Ran Min's right arm.

The wound on the chest was well measured and did not touch the internal organs. After all, there is no point injury here, which is a bit unprofessional; the wound on the arm did not touch the tendons, but enough holes were torn open to pretend to be bleeding .

Ran Min staggered back two steps.

The man in black nodded, as if he was very satisfied with his masterpiece, and then said:

"I'll be waiting in the front alley, you call your people to come."

finished speaking,

The man in black jumped over the courtyard wall.

………

"Whoosh!!!!"

The piercing whistle sounded,

for a while,

The two teams of city inspectors who were patrolling in the nearby streets rushed over immediately. They all knew that the outer house of their captain was here. meals.

"boom!"

The courtyard door was kicked open from the outside,

The city patrol officers rushed in,

"The assassin just ran, went to the front street, ah ah ah ah !!!"

The captain's voice came from inside,

The patrolling soldiers saw,

At this time, my captain was sitting on the threshold, covered in blood and seriously injured;

arms,

Still holding Miss Liu who has died,

Weeping!