Liu Xin, who had been listening on the side, stepped forward at this time and bowed his hand to Xu Ping: "Deputy envoy, can I be allowed to inquire about this matter?" After understanding the details of those people, we can make a decision. ”

Xu Ping hesitated for a moment and nodded: "Okay, you be careful not to have an accident." Bring more troops from the yamen to go with them, so as to be safe. If there is no one to restrain the people who gather to make trouble, they may do something. ”

"Understand, don't worry, I have my own opinions."

Liu Xin nodded, called the little officer over, and carefully inquired about the situation by the Bianhe River.

After asking clearly, Liu Xin ordered 50 Xiang soldiers to come over, and then instructed the generals of the Editing and Repair Office to call 10 or 20 of the public officials on duty in the Yamen of the Third Division to the Editing and Repair Office to wait for the arrangement.

Xu Ping just watched coldly, did not stop, and did not speak. Now Liu Xin has taken over Han Zong's salt and iron judge, the military case is under his control, and the names of the public officials who marched outside are also with him.

When the Xiang army and the official on duty arrived, Liu Xin asked the official to change his clothes, and then arranged for the soldiers to guard it in several empty rooms, and these people could not leave without his order.

Xu Ping knew very well what Liu Xin was going to do, he had the experience of his previous life, and he knew this routine better than anyone else. When such a mass incident occurs, the most important thing is, of course, to understand the specific situation, who organizes it, and for what purpose, and it is easy to be led into a ditch just by listening to slogans, or even being used as a knife.

If it was in a previous life, he also paid attention to listening to the voices of the masses, receiving them warmly, and understanding everyone's thoughts clearly. But there is a premise that the people in power really want to solve the problem.

Otherwise, where is the need for such trouble? Send someone directly to blend in and get a clear understanding of the general situation of the leader and the blind followers. If the troublemakers are really united, then they will either buy or attack the leader first, and the rest of the crowd will be killed and killed without a leader. If it is only instigated by a small number of people, then it is even simpler, directly deal with those who instigate, cut through the mess quickly, and the matter can be quickly calmed down.

Knowing that Xu Ping didn't plan to do that.

First of all, there are rules for being an official, and officials in this era are very taboo to use their hearts, especially sending people to spy on their privacy, it is easy to be isolated in the officialdom. Song Taizong's suspicion was extremely heavy, and he reused Zhao Zan and Zheng Changsi, who were born as three secretaries, to spy on the privacy of Zhongshu and the Privy Council, and hated the two inside and outside the court. And the two relied on Taizong's trust, and became more and more unscrupulous, and finally caused public anger, and were thrown out as scapegoats by Song Taizong, and were given death together on the road to demotion of officials.

Xu Ping didn't want to be promoted by this means, and he didn't want to be so unlucky for some reason.

Another Xu Ping's attitude towards the officials and officials of this era is very complicated, his attitude is vacillating, and he hesitates to act.

The income of public officials is meager, and even the officials of the various central yamen with relatively high incomes can barely make ends meet with their legal income, and it is quite difficult to live in the capital.

But in fact, there are several yamen with a lot of oil and water, such as the Sanban Yuan Liunequan, the Trial and Criminal Court and the Sansi Yamen, and the life of the small officials is quite nourishing, and they are even much richer than many Jinshi Gaodi who serve in the pavilion. Of course, there is no trick to this, in a simple sentence, no one is not greedy, and it may be a bit absolute to say that there is no clean one, but it is also roughly not far off.

Since Taizong blocked the road for public officials to participate in the imperial examination, most of the officials who joined the government were rushing to make money, hoping to use the small power in their hands to realize and make a fortune. There are two major sources of public officials, one is that they have been officials for generations, and the other is that the children of officials are not successful, and they are entrusted with the relationship as officials, so they have an iron rice bowl.

Over the past few decades, the class of public officials has become a big dye vat, even if you enter it with a clean body, it is extremely difficult to come out innocently. I don't want to be in the same stream, and the officials around you can't tolerate you. To put it bluntly, the petty officials, because of their perennial handling of specific affairs, will soon lose their reverence for the power in their hands, and greed and dereliction of duty are almost instinctive. In the eyes of others, the tragedy of how many people died in a tragic situation that caused the destruction of someone's family and how many people died may be just an extra piece of paper in their eyes. Tens of thousands of huge sums of money, in their case is just one more name, how can they control their hands.

At this time, the value of officials from the imperial examination was revealed, and they didn't come out of that dye vat, to put it mildly, there was no way to go along with it. It is precisely because of this that they can contain the public officials.

The rise of the status of the imperial examination was also accompanied by the decline of the status of the officials, which were originally natural enemies, and they were the two sides of the same body of the ruling institution. If the relationship between officials and officials is tense, the huge cost of internal friction will have to be passed on to the entire society to bear.

And if the contradictions within the ruler himself are out of balance, the consequences could be catastrophic. The powerful officials of the public will lose their role, and this filthy dye vat will encroach on the whole society, and the rule of the regime will become a joke. Either the public officials in power will be purged by other means, or the power to contain the officials will be found again, and there is no other way.

In other words, if the officials completely overwhelm the officials and have the power to kill and seize the officials, then the problems of the officials will soon be transmitted to the officials in power, and the entire officialdom will become a big dye vat again, and there will be no innocent officials.

Contradictions are everywhere, and contradictions are also the driving force for the development of affairs themselves, and the delusional attempt to eliminate contradictions in exchange for the illusion of long-term peace and stability, so as to achieve peace and stability once and for all, is nothing more than an unrealistic utopia.

Xu Ping doesn't remember a lot of the specific content in the textbooks of his previous life, but he keeps the theory of contradiction in mind. The key to solving the problem is to be good at grasping the main contradictions, being clear about the secondary contradictions, and taking the initiative to use the contradictions.

In this era, if the officials are the flood that will eventually break the embankment, the officials are the floodgates that regulate the amount of water; The officials are the speeding carriages that will eventually rush off the cliff, and the officials are the drivers who can stop the cars.

The two are both fighting and interdependent, and one is indispensable.

In Yongzhou, because Xu Ping established the sugar business, it has always been in a period of rapid development, and the contradiction is not obvious, and Xu Ping is not deeply touched. In the past few days of serving in the Third Division, Xu Ping has a clear understanding of the relationship between officials and officials, and it is precisely because he sees it clearly that he does not dare to start. Once out of control, the consequences are unimaginable, and if things go too far, it may completely ruin your future. Xu Ping wanted to do things, but he didn't want to put himself in.

Since Liu Xin wants to wade through this troubled water, Xu Ping will naturally not stop him, maybe this is a node to solve the problem? There is a buffer for subordinates to do things, and if something really happens, Xu Ping will do his best to protect him, and Xu Ping can't do the things that his subordinates do to abandon pawns.

Liu Xin asked some of the Xiang soldiers to change into the clothes of public officials with him, and let the others pretend to be civilians and bow to Xu Ping: "Deputy envoy, the lower official will go now." ”

"Be careful, your own safety is the most important thing, don't force it, there is a way to figure it out no matter what."

Liu Xin said: "Xia Guan understands that he will act carefully. ”

The willow branches along the Bianhe River have turned green, and the full buds have swelled to reveal a delightful goose yellow. The wind blows on the face, and the winter cold is long gone, with a fresh and gentle breath.

Liu Xin caged his hands, and with the two selected sturdy van soldiers, he naturally approached the crowd.

On the state bridge, a thirty-year-old Zhuang Khan with a meaty face was spitting: "Straight mother thief, my Hun family has just given birth to a fat son for just over two months, and the eighty-year-old mother above is sick and can't move around at home, but those killers are going to lay us off, and they don't even give us this mouthful of food, are they still human!" ”

A few people around echoed it, and the crowd was indignant.

Seeing that the person who spoke above was tall and sturdy, his official uniform was propped up and about to burst, and it was obviously ill-fitting. Liu Xin bowed his hand to the public official next to him with a smile: "Under Liu Sanshui, Brother Tai's surname?" ”

The official looked Liu Xin up and down a few times, and said coldly: "Why do you ask so much?" Just follow, you can say whatever others say, there is always your own benefit! ”

"Yes, yes, that's what Brother Tai said." Liu Xin laughed with him, "I don't know which yamen the big man who spoke on the Zhou Bridge is, he looks very powerful, and I haven't seen it before." ”

"Where do you come from so many words! If you don't want to follow, go home and coax the child! When the three divisions are laid off, the first one will lay you off first, and then it will be up to you to drink! If you want to follow, keep your mouth shut! ”

Liu Xin saw that several people around him were looking at him, obediently closed his mouth, and retreated to the side with a forced smile.

The sun had risen high, and the sky was blue, without a single cloud.

There is no wind at all in Kaifeng City today, and the warmth under the bright sun is mixed with the breath of restlessness.

Not far from the state bridge is the Daxiangguo Temple, the spring light is so bright, many people come out to hang out. There were more and more people, and the officials of the three divisions were particularly conspicuous on the state bridge, and the crowd slowly crowded around.

I don't know who shouted, "What's the use of what we're talking about here?" Let's go to the Prime Minister's Mansion to ask why we were laid off and didn't leave us a bite to eat! ”

The more people there are, the more courageous they are, and when someone gets up, everyone agrees in an uproar, and walks towards Lu Yijian's house not far away. Hundreds of people gathered together, and the lineup was huge.

Liu Xin followed behind the crowd, looking left and right, he couldn't see a public official from Kaifeng Mansion, and he was faintly uneasy in his heart. Seeing an opportunity, he called a soldier dressed as a common man to come over and asked him to go to Kaifeng Mansion to complain.

At the foot of the Son of Heaven in Kaifeng City, according to the regular patrols near Xiangguo Temple, the errand soldiers on weekdays are continuous. Today, there are so many officials of the three divisions gathered here, and it is clear that they want to make trouble, but there is no one to be seen, which is really suspicious. (To be continued.) )