In ancient times, the area around Guangwu Mountain was the center of Chinese civilization, and there were many relics. www.biquge.info Although those long-standing legends have long been buried under the rolling yellow sand brought by the Yellow River, the memory of long-term civilization still leaves its mark here.

The Three Emperors Temple is dedicated to the three emperors of "heaven, earth and man", and I don't know which dynasty it was built in, it was built and destroyed, destroyed and repaired, and it has experienced countless tosses. Most of the current palaces and pavilions are more than the years when Zhenzong Yingtianshu was rebuilt, and it was the most magnificent building in Heyin County when the Taoist palace was repaired in the country. Although after Zhenzong's funeral, the incense here has gradually become cold like most Taoist temples in the country, but it is still the best place to stay in Heyin County.

Yao Zeguang and Zhong Hui accompanied Xu Ping all the way to the Three Emperors Temple, and seven or eight Taoist priests greeted them outside the door early.

Xu Ping asked Lu Fang to take the incense candles, burn them in the main hall, salute, take a silver ingot to make incense money, and give it to the Taoist priests in the temple. This temple can only collect a few copper coins from the surrounding villagers, and they have not seen such a big amount of money for many years, and the Taoist priests got the silver, and immediately smiled, and Xu Ping and his party entered the door as the god of wealth.

If you have money to open the way, everything will go well, the Taoist priests let the apse out for Xu Ping and his party to live, and they squeezed into the small pavilion next to the front hall, and thanked them vigorously.

At this time, the sun is setting in the west, and the glow shines on the two tall ginkgo trees in the backyard, and the dense branches and leaves shine golden in the sun, adding a bit of solemnity to the temple.

When he arrived under the tree, Xu Ping said to Yao Zeguang: "It's not early, let's go back to the county office." Remember, I will find the guide I want tomorrow morning, and I will go to Biankou and the banks of the Yellow River early in the morning to check. ”

Yao Zeguang and Zhong bowed back and agreed, said goodbye and left.

Xu Ping sat down on the stone bench under the ginkgo tree, feeling the coolness under his buttocks, looking at the lush ginkgo branches and leaves above his head, thinking about the things he encountered in Heyin County.

The county is full of quirkiness, and it is very different from ordinary places. In the peaceful years, no matter how poor the place is, it is impossible to make the government poor. But today, it seems that this county government is really shabby, not to mention the food, and even the yamen has no reliable manpower, and those servants even look malnourished.

In a small county like this, there may only be a few public officials in the establishment, and the rest are all errand servants performed by the people. The errand has no salary, except for a public uniform, and usually eats and drinks by himself, which is the most economical thing. Because the people who serve this kind of service are limited to high-class households, even if the government does not pay money, it is impossible to see this kind of scene.

Shaking his head, the more Xu Ping thought about it, the more confused he became.

After a while, Lu Fang hurriedly came in from the front hall and crossed his hand in front of Xu Ping: "Junhou, there is news." ”

Xu Ping's spirits perked up: "Oh, tell me quickly!" ”

"Yao Zeguang, the county commander here, is the shade to supplement the office. brought him as an official, but it was unexpected. ”

"Who would give him this opportunity but his father and brothers? What a surprise! ”

"The marquis of the county, Yao Zeguang was born in the capital, his parents died when he was a child, where is there an elder to give him grace."

Hearing this, Xu Ping became interested: "It's not a family member, so who is he benefiting?" ”

Lu Fang sighed: "Although he is a street idler, he has been shrewd since he was a child, and he is used to doing all kinds of business. Later, by chance, he entered Zhang Qi and Zhang Taiwei's mansion and became a dry man. During the Tianxi period, Taiwei Zhang gained power, and the servants in the family were also favored as officials, and he also got an official position. During the Qianxing period, there was a shortage, starting from the main book, all the way to the county order. ”

It turned out that Zhang Qi was an official, and it was not surprising that Zhang Qi gained power in the later period of Zhenzong, especially when he was trusted by Empress Dowager Liu, and I don't know how many people have been favored from him. At the peak of his life, all the groom leaders in the family also gained official status one by one, and it was one person who attained the Tao, and the chicken and dog ascended to heaven.

In the second year of the Ming Dao, Empress Dowager Liu returned to heaven, and Zhang Qi was also demoted out of the capital, Yao Zeguang's backer fell, and since then he has been cautious in office, and he has not dared to make any mistakes.

Xu Ping understood this, didn't he mention his background at the banquet just now, but he was afraid that he also knew that Xu Ping and Zhang Qi didn't deal with each other very much. But if you don't dare to make trouble, how can you send someone to hunt down and escape?

After thinking about it for a long time, he couldn't come up with a clue, Xu Ping asked Lu Fang: "What about Zhong Hui's origin?" ”

"Zhong Hui is ordinary, with his uncle's favor as an official, he has been rolling in the selection of people all his life, with no dazzling political achievements or outstanding mistakes, he is a mediocre person."

Xu Ping patted the stone table in front of him: "What's going on with the three dukes in Octagonal Town?" Yao Zeguang and Zhong Hui are not the people who did such things, are they really impostors? It's bold! ”

Lu Fang shook his head: "I'm afraid it's not pretending, this Heyin County is different from other places." ”

"What's the difference? When they were on an errand boy, they were all people from the county yamen and listened to the orders of the chief officer. If those three people were public servants, how could Yao Zeguang and Zhong Hui not know! ”

"According to the subordinates, there are two kinds of public servants in Heyin County, one is an errand in the yamen, we have all seen it today. There is also a kind of people who are not under the control of the yamen, but come out of the big families in the township, and do not enter the yamen to be on duty, but work for the big families in the township, and it is normal for the yamen to not know about their affairs. ”

Hearing this, Xu Ping couldn't help laughing: "Where is this kind of thing in the world!" Could it be that in Heyin County, there are still two yamen! It is also common for the servants of large families to run rampant in the countryside, how did they become public people! ”

"This matter has nothing to do with the current officials in the yamen, it has been passed down for many years. There are only two big families in Heyin County, and they have all met today. One family is that Jiang Dayou, who has a wide range of fields, and is the only household in this county, and the three dukes we caught are nine times out of ten from his family. Because there was only one upper household, he could not go to the front of the government to serve as an errand after serving in Lizheng, and the errand service fell on the heads of other households. Do you think there is only one family in this county, and what can be done without his nod? The former county magistrate only wanted convenience, so he let him keep a few public servants at home, and he only waited for dispatch in Jiang's house. The condition is to ensure that there is nothing wrong in the county, but if something happens, the Jiang family will calm it down, and it will not be in the county. ”

Xu Ping said coldly: "So, did Yao Zeguang accept this old rule after he arrived?" ”

"Yes, this Yao Ze is like a ghost, he just pretends not to know about this matter, and sits in the county government by himself. If someone from the Jiang family makes trouble, he will never admit that those people are public, but if he doesn't make trouble, he will enjoy the benefits. ”

Xu Ping nodded, already understanding in his heart that it seemed that the local tyrants were in charge in this Heyin County, and the yamen was just a fictitious thing. There is no oil and water in this ghost place, and Yao Zeguang's situation is not good, so he pretended to be deaf and dumb to survive this term. (To be continued.) )