"Lin Jue, this is our parent in Hangzhou, Lord Kang, the prefect of the government. I was supposed to meet guests in the hall, but Lord Kang had to come here to see you in person, you say, isn't this rude? Lin Boyong smacked his lips.

"Hey! What is this called? I have admired Brother Lin Shi's literary talents for a long time, and I came here today in a private capacity, where did I get so much etiquette? You don't have to stick to the customs. I'm afraid that Brother Lin Shi will say that I am abrupt. The middle-aged man laughed.

Lin Jue smiled and stepped forward and bowed: "Lin Jue has seen Master Kang. When Lord Kang came, the humble house was full of brilliance, how could it be abrupt. ”

Kang Zizhen smiled and saluted: "Brother Lin, call me Kang Zizhen." Or how old I am when you are older, if you don't think I'm abrupt, you can call me Brother Kang. Don't ask for the name of Kang-sama. I don't call you Lord Lin either. It's more intimate that way. ”

Lin Jue smiled and nodded, and said in his heart: This Kang Zizhen is the kind of person who is common in officialdom, good at getting closer, familiar with each other, and the kind of person who talks about people when he sees people. Lin Jue has seen a lot of this kind of person, but he is not surprised.

"Lord Kang laughed, how dare you call Brother Kang? Master Kang is a Shangguan, how dare he be rude. ”

"What are these words? In terms of official positions, you and I are at the same level. You are a criminal officer, and your official position is five grades. In addition, they are officials in the capital, which are naturally more than half a level higher than our local officials. So, speaking of which, you should be from the fourth grade. I am also from the fourth grade, how can there be a distinction between superior and inferior? You say, don't you? Kang Zizhen's mouth was as if he had touched honey, and he said the Tao.

Lin Jue gave up resistance and said with a smile: "Okay, hello Brother Kang." ”

"Well, that's right. Or is it called this affectionately. Kang Zizhen stroked his beard and smiled contentedly.

Lin Jue stretched out his hand and said, "Please sit in Brother Kang's house." Come on, make tea. ”

Kang Zizhen turned his head to look around and praised loudly: "Ho, what an exquisite little courtyard, such an elegant place." No wonder Brother Lin Shi's writing is amazing, living in such a place to study, he is naturally in a safe mood and has learned in his heart. Oh? Are you studying? What do I read? ”

Kang Zizhen stretched out his hand and picked up a book that Lin Jueshi had just read from the low table, looked at the cover, frowned unconsciously, and then smiled: "It's actually a military book." I didn't expect Brother Lin to like to watch this kind of thing. Could it be that Brother Lin Shi wants to put pen to paper? I'm afraid not. ”

Lin Jue smiled: "I just took a copy and flipped through it to relieve my boredom, I didn't have the idea of writing from Rong." I'm not that either. ”

Kang Zizhen laughed and said, "Isn't it? Brother Lin Shi's intelligence is hard to match in Xi Wen. If you go to learn the art of war again, don't you have to have nothing to do for the generals in the world? Hahaha, let's leave them something to do, those rough people can't learn literature, so they can only rely on hard work to fight. ”

Lin Jue smiled and said nothing. The disdain for the martial artists revealed in Kang Zizhen's words is the true heart of the Great Zhou Dynasty scholars. Not only Kang Zizhen is like this, but also many literati that Lin Jue has come into contact with. When it comes to military attachés, they all have a look of disdain. It's as if they're all barbarians.

"Come into the house and talk, what kind of body is it to stand outside?" Lin Boyong interjected.

Kang Zizhen waved his hand and said, "Isn't it nice to be under this pear blossom tree?" I think it's pretty good. It's a private visit, and you don't have to care about etiquette. Lin Shibo, you have a lot of things, you are busy yourself, I will talk to Brother Lin Shi. ”

Lin Boyong was stunned for a moment, and said with a somewhat embarrassed smile: "Okay, then the old man will retire first." Lin Jue, a good student takes care of Kang Zhifu, and he can't be lazy. ”

Lin Jue nodded and said, "Don't worry, uncle, I know." ”

Lin Boyong arched his hand and turned to leave, Lin Jue ordered someone to make tea again, added a bamboo chair next to the low table, and invited Kang Zizhen to sit down. Kang Zizhen sat down with a smile and looked at Lin Jue with a smile.

Lin Jue smiled: "What's wrong with Brother Kang?" Do I have dirt on my face? ”

Kang Zizhen smiled, shook his head and said, "No, I feel that God is sometimes too unfair. A character like Brother Lin is simply the pride of the sky, talented and ambitious, but he is born like Song Yu Pan'an, isn't this envious of others? You are already famous all over the world at a young age, does Brother Lin know how many people in the world envy you? ”

Lin Jue felt sick to his stomach, and he had goosebumps on his body. smiled: "Brother Kang said that he laughed, I have nothing to envy." I didn't think I was that good. Brother Kang said that again, I couldn't sit still. ”

Kang Zizhen waved his hand and said: "What I said is the truth, Brother Lin Shi doesn't know your reputation in Shilin, I read your poems when I was a county magistrate in Lingnan, and I was shocked." I've always thought that it would be good to see Brother Lin Shi one day. I didn't expect to see it. It's a real delight. ”

Lin Jue smiled: "Brother Kang is too polite, there is no need to say this anymore." Brother Kang came to see me today to tell me this? ”

Kang Zizhen smiled: "Expressing my admiration is the main purpose of today. I only learned that Brother Lin Shi returned to Hangzhou from the capital, and he should have come to meet him according to etiquette. However, I came here today to apologize to Brother Lin Shi. ”

Lin Jue frowned and said, "Where does this start?" ”

Kang Zizhen stretched out his hand and took out a few pieces of silver from his arms, put them on the table and said: "This is seven taels of silver, Brother Lin Shige met the officials of my yamen on the street yesterday afternoon to urge the payment of official loans and exempt money, and paid seven taels of silver in advance. When I learned about this, I was really upset. How can this money get you out? So I came to return this silver today, and apologized to Brother Lin for the actions of these officials. ”

Lin Jue suddenly said that he was talking about the incident on the way to the palace yesterday afternoon. Presumably his identity was recognized by passers-by, and the officials reported Kang Zizhen after they returned. Kang Zizhen came to visit yesterday afternoon.

"It turned out to be for that incident, so what is there to apologize for? It's just a small thing. ”

"No, no, no, it's not a trivial matter. Hey, these people in the yamen are really hateful, and I told them not to act rudely and savagely, but they still do such excessive things. Brother Lin Shi, rest assured, I have dealt with these servants harshly, and if I don't take them as an example, there will never be that kind of situation again. It's just so hateful. Kang Zizhen said.

Lin Jue smiled and said, "So they made their own decisions and treated the people roughly? ”

Kang Zizhen straightened his waist and said, "That's not it?" Can I make them do that? I'm the prefect of Hangzhou, the parent official of the people, how could I allow them to do this? These people are acting on their own initiative, completely misinterpreting the above intentions. ”

Lin Jue nodded and said, "That's good, I thank Brother Kang for the people of Hangzhou." You can't treat the people as if they were enemies. Otherwise, it will be counterattacked. The city of Hangzhou has been in harmony between the government and the people for so many years, and nothing like this has ever happened. When the predecessor Yan was in office, he could be said to love his name like a son. When you get to Brother Kang, you can't be scolded. ”

"That's, that's, I don't want to be scolded." Kang Zizhen smiled: "But...... Brother Lin Shige came from the capital, and he was also an official of the Ordinance Department, and participated in the formulation of two new laws, so he naturally knows the current situation and should also understand the difficulties of our local officials. Under the promotion of the new law of Changping, the local officials in charge of regular liquidation and official loans must be personally supervised by the chief official. It is included in the evaluation of political performance. Think about it, how much pressure must be on us in these places? If the principal and interest of the official loan released cannot be recovered, and the money for exemption from military service cannot be collected, how can we explain it? The imperial court reformed the old and made the new, and implemented the reform of the law. If it is not implemented effectively, how can it work? So sometimes we have to do it. What do you say the people should do if they take the money, and they spend it, and they don't pay it back when it's time to pay it back? Where does the resulting deficit come from with the silver that should be handed over to the imperial court on the books? I can't smash the pot and sell iron to make up for the shortfall. I have clean sleeves and less than 100 taels of family assets, so I smashed my bones and sold them, and I can't do anything. Ay! ”

Kang Zizhen shook his head and sighed, looking helpless.

Lin Jue groaned: "Brother Kang, as far as I know, the issuance of official loans and banks is suspected of forced apportionment, not a voluntary principle. This is contrary to the purpose of the New Changping Law. I have also heard that the amount of exempt money is also unfair. There seems to be some unfair fraud in the classification of households. That's why it's difficult to collect money. I don't know how Brother Kang explains this? ”

Kang Zizhen was stunned for a moment, his face changed suddenly, and he said loudly: "Who is this listening to?" How can anyone dare to spread such a rumor? Brother Lin Shi, where did you hear this rhetoric? ”

Lin Jue said lightly: "Master Kang, where did you hear this, you don't need to delve into it. I just ask if there is such a thing? ”

"Absolutely not, Brother Lin Shi must not listen to the rumors outside. Some people just don't want to repay the official loan and refuse to pay the immunization money, so they create some rumors to deceive people. In addition, some people resist the implementation of the new law and deliberately spread rumors and slander, which cannot be tolerated. The government is also making every effort to investigate those who spread rumors and confuse the public, and will bring these people to justice. Brother Lin Shi, don't be deceived by these people's words. These people and those who have hearts are very slippery, and they must not believe what they say. Kang Zizhen cut the way categorically.

Lin Jue frowned and said, "Lord Prefect, there must be a reason for the groundlessness. It's not necessarily all rumors. At least yesterday's one is proof of that. The official loan of that family was ten taels, and the exempt money was paid five taels of silver, which was the amount that could only be levied by second-class households. I learned that that family was only a third-class household at best, and the number of official loans could not exceed five taels, and the exemption money should not exceed two taels. The difference is so huge, the facts are all there, how can it be a rumor. ”

Kang Zizhen's face was a little ugly, and he said in a deep voice: "Brother Lin Shi is meticulous. However, the implementation of the two new laws is complicated and complicated, and I don't know how many manpower and energy will be used. It's inevitable to make mistakes in your busyness. No one can guarantee that everything is proper and error-free. But if we negate all efforts just because of a few mistakes, I am afraid that we will not succeed. ”

Lin Jue nodded and said, "Of course, you can't generalize from partiality, but this also exposes some clues, doesn't it?" Not to mention anything else, this method of collecting and collecting is not rude and domineering. The implementation of the new law is already full of difficulties, and when it is implemented at the local level, should we be cautious, minimize mistakes, do a good job of explaining and publicizing them, and avoid too many misunderstandings? If the people's resentment boils over and the people's hearts are unstable, isn't it contrary to the purpose of changing the law? ”