In the Bozhou Prefecture Yatong Judgment Hall, Liu ordered people to serve tea and let Du Zhongxiao and Zhao Luan sit down separately.

Rubbing his forehead, Liu Ji said: "Prime Minister Han returned to Beijing, and Taiwei Xia took office as a new official, so I have to be busy in the next few months." ”

Zhao Pan said: "In the first battle in the northwest, the country and the dynasty lost one after another, and finally had to negotiate peace, and the government and the opposition were angry. Xia Taiwei is the commander of the northwest, he has not been allowed to enter the political hall for a few months, and he has been impeached for privy counsel. We are officials under him, but we are afraid—"

After speaking, he shook his head again and again. He didn't like Xia Zhu in the first place, but he became his top boss, and the same mood can be imagined.

Xia Zhu's ability and qualifications should have been the most capable candidate to succeed Lu Yijian. It was precisely because of this that he was sent to the northwest to preside over the war against the party. If the war is fought beautifully, Hui Dynasty will be the prime minister of iron, and he can complete the replacement of the old and new government of the dynasty. It's a pity that Xia Zhu is in the northwest, first, he doesn't care, and he wants to enter the dynasty as a minister. The second was a series of defeats, and in the end, it was Han Qi and Fan Zhongyan who stabilized the situation.

The northwest began to negotiate peace, and Xia Zhu's return to the dynasty was initially intended to be the prime minister, but was opposed by the ministers, and later changed to a privy envoy. In the past few months as a privy envoy, the officials of the DPRK and China still did not give up, and in the end they could only be released and went to Bozhou to replace Han Yi as the governor. Xia Zhu was released, Lu Yijian was old, there was a fault line in the government, and a large number of officials were promoted recently, and the new policy of Qingli slowly entered a climax.

Du Zhongxiao did not speak. He is just a small county, whether Xia Zhu is good or bad, it has nothing to do with him. According to the historical knowledge of his previous life, Fan Zhongyan and his party cannot be offended, otherwise the more difficult it will be to follow his own path in the future, and the impact will be far-reaching. But the Qingli New Deal ultimately failed, and you can't get too close to them, otherwise you will be retaliated against in a few years. The best thing is not to offend both and go your own way steadfastly.

Liu Jidao: "There was a dispute between the DPRK and the Chinese party, and a lot of discussions involved Xia Taiwei. I came to you two to remind you that no matter what you think in your hearts, you must not slack off in your official duties. Xia Taiwei is in the prime of spring and autumn, and he will not ignore general affairs like Han Xianggong, and he must be cautious in his words and deeds in the future. Work diligently and diligently, and do not point fingers at the political affairs of the DPRK and China, so as not to cause unpleasantness. ”

Du Zhongxiao and Zhao Luan promised to do so.

At this time, in the city of Bozhou, in addition to Zhizhou, Liu Jicai called over for special instructions on the three of them. For other officials, Xia Zhu was down, excluded from the imperial court, and his status was very different from that of local officials, and no one dared to make irresponsible remarks in front of him. The Beijing officials are different, and they are nominally sent to the local government by the imperial court, and they can discuss the government affairs.

After instructing the two of them a few words, Liu Ji said again: "Taiwei Xia is the first to come, and there must be no sloppiness in the state politics this year. We are subordinate officials, and we have to share the worries of our superiors. Du Zhi County, you have been very prosperous in Yongcheng in the past half a year, and you will have a surplus of money when you harvest the autumn grain. If the grain tax of other counties cannot be paid temporarily, Yongcheng will temporarily pay it for the time being. When Captain Xia first came to take office, he was afraid that there would be no harmony with the transfer envoy for a while, so we should not give people a handle. ”

Du Zhongxiao was going to shirk it, why did he let himself pay for the money and grain in other counties, after thinking about it, he still gave it up. The state is very clear about Yongcheng's financial situation, and it is impossible to fool around, so it is better to agree. Moreover, what Liu Ji said was the truth, and now there are not a few officials in the DPRK and China, including the Huainan Road Transfer Envoy, chasing Xia Zhu. made Xia Zhu lose face, afraid that he would turn his head and take revenge. Xia Zhu has no shortage of ability and reads a lot, but he is by no means a magnanimous gentleman.

Sighing, Liu Ji said again: "Duzhi County is in Yongcheng, and there are a lot of shelves to make money and farmland, but there are few real gains. The next few months will be the time to collect money and food, and we must not take it lightly. If there is an accident, the hard work of the past year can be in vain. ”

Du Zhongxiao said yes. What Liu Ji said is the truth, and we can't toss anymore in the next few months, and we must ensure the harvest of results.

After talking about official business, several people chatted about the situation in the court, which was a little dull. Now there is a lot of activity in the imperial court, but there is not much change in the local area, but supervision has been strengthened, and the power of the transfer envoy has been unprecedentedly increased. Fan Zhongyan's sentence "How can a family cry like crying all the way" was said at this time, and the selection of magistrates was much stricter than before. But it has little impact on several officials in Bozhou, they are all young and middle-aged, and they are blameless in their work, but they lack referrals to enter the dynasty and be promoted. The excitement is just the excitement of others, they are just bystanders.

Du Zhongxiao said: "The general judgment and the signing judgment have been done here for a year or two, and it will not be long before they will be promoted, so there is no need to worry too much." I'm still young, and I'm doing things in a down-to-earth way, and I'm not in a hurry. ”

"It's good that you know what to expect. Remember, as long as you are bored in the past few years, you must not point fingers at will. ”

After Liu Ji finished speaking, he glanced at Zhao Luan and shook his head slightly. Du Zhongxiao is still young, but it's good to know that he is young, and he won't get burned. Xia Zhu is appointed as a privy envoy, how long will he stay in Bozhou? Such officials rarely do their full term. The difficulty they are facing now is that Xia Zhu was attacked and exiled by the courtiers, and he must be unhappy in the local area, who knows what kind of ruling style it will be. If you want to keep your mind on the whole person, a few months is enough. Xia Zhu's connections are much thicker than Fan Zhongyan and others, and now there are many important ministers in the court who were recommended by him, not comparable to others.

Today, everyone said goodbye to Han Yi, they were all tired, and after chatting for a while, they went back to rest.

Back in the guest room, Du Zhongxiao was stunned for a while. Xia Zhu has an impression of the character in his previous life, if he remembers correctly, the Qingli New Deal failed because of him, and he is a complete villain. As an official, I am most afraid of encountering these historical villains, generally speaking, the ability to be a villain will not be bad, and there is no good result in opposing them. It is not possible to cling to them, history has proven the failure of their course, and getting together on your own is not like boarding a ship that is doomed to sink.

Why did you change to such a Zhizhou, Du Zhongxiao sat down at the table, a little depressed. It is better to change to an ordinary person, finish a term of magistrate by yourself, and accumulate experience in governance. Now I know that Bozhou, a place in the Central Plains, is not easy to treat, and most of the chief officials of the surrounding states are important ministers of the imperial court, which is not a normal relationship between the governor and the subordinate officials at all.

On the second day, as soon as Du Zhongxiao got up, a public official asked him to go to the back office to see Xia Zhu, which really made Du Zhongxiao stunned for a while. He has no relationship with this former privy envoy, and he is an ordinary magistrate, so what did he do when he summoned him early in the morning.

After changing into official clothes, Du Zhongxiao arrived at the front office, and after the ceremony, Xia Zhu ordered to sit down.

Looking at Du Zhongxiao, Xia Zhu said: "A few days ago, I got Mei Shengyu's book, and I knew that you had an old relationship with him, and the book praised you very much. I heard that you went to Yongcheng to camp in the fields and practice the law of protecting the army, and the results were remarkable, and the thieves could not afford it, but is there such a thing? ”

Du Zhongxiao arched his hand: "Back to Xianggong, the lower officials did use the Baowu Law to set up camps in Yongcheng. In the case of Ma Meng last year, many gangs of thieves were arrested, and the grass was cut to the roots, and there were really no thieves in the local area. Officials in this state work together, not alone. ”

Xia Zhu nodded and did not speak. He was not interested in cracking a big case, and this time he went to Bozhou and wanted to enforce the law in the local area. After being handsome in the northwest for several years, Xia Zhu was unconvinced in his heart as a result of being disliked by everyone. The Baowu Law was something he wanted to implement in the northwest, and now he is going to the mainland to practice his hands. Looking for Du Zhongxiao because of Mei Yaochen's recommendation. Xia Zhu appreciated Mei Yaochen very much, and when Mei Yaochen wanted to go to the northwest to serve, it was Xia Zhu who was entrusted to him. In the end, Mei Yaochen did not go to the northwest, but he has always taken Xia Zhu as his benefactor.