Qin Official

In late June of the 23rd year of Emperor Qin's reign, Anlu County, which had just had two major cases, received an interesting personnel transfer.

Zheng Shou, the right lieutenant of Anlu County, was transferred to Yidao County as a county lieutenant. Although it seemed that he was being transferred at the same level, in fact, it was a derogation.

Anlu is a large county with over 10,000 households, but Yidao is an "ethnic minority autonomous county" with no more than 1,000 households. Moreover, only in April did a terrible incident occur, in which the county captain was killed by the local Ba barbarians. Although the rebellion had been put down, everyone could see that the barbarians were difficult to control, and going there to serve as an official was like being exiled...

This criticism is expected, because the Legalists in power are different from the Huang Lao who likes to be quiet and inactive. They are characterized by "aggressive politics". In addition, they are influenced by the impatience of King Qin's politics. From top to bottom, there is a kind of There is a culture of eagerness for quick success, and those who can see political achievements in the short term are likely to be promoted. For example, within a hundred days of taking office in Nan County, Governor Ye issued several political orders to kill thieves, Jianhao chiefs, and upright officials. This was praised by the King of Qin and allowed him to do it.

However, Zheng Shou had been an official in Anlu for more than a year and had done almost nothing. Until the Yunman case occurred, the right lieutenant Zheng Shou knew very little about his crimes, which was in sharp contrast to the ability of Heifu and others. , probably considered "mediocre" by the county captain.

After Zheng received the appointment, he asked his servants to pack their bags at home, but his heart was filled with bitterness.

He was a Korean from Yingchuan County, and he had only joined the Qin State a few years ago. Influenced by his thinking over the past thirty years, he was too friendly to the local leaders after he came to Anlu to serve. In the first year, he was directly Yun Man's puppet and let him have his way.

This year, as those Qin soldiers who had served as garrison soldiers returned to their hometowns, some of the power was regained from Yun Man by appointing them as Wei Shi, Youyou, Pavilion Chief, and Tun Chief.

But with the investigation of the Yun family and Li family's case of interfering with the princes, Zheng Shou discovered that the local people he recruited as officials were not grateful to him at all, especially Wei Shilin, who had already started investigating The Yun family had exposed dirt, but they didn’t say a word about him...

Only then did he understand that these Heifu's old men still regarded Heifu as their benefactor and regarded him as a passerby.

The official duties had been handed over long ago. Zheng Shang delayed for a few days and reluctantly set off after eating the farewell banquet given by the county magistrate and county magistrate. He only took the car he came with, a cart of luggage, and a few The maids and servants resigned.

When he came to the city gate, he was surprised to find that the place was crowded with people, mostly officials from the Wei Department headed by Li Xian, and Nu, Le and other Cao officials were also waiting here.

Zheng Shou thought these people were here to see him off, and was surprised and happy for a moment. However, those people were all looking forward to the west. It was not until Zheng Shou's carriage and horses approached that they suddenly realized it and quickly turned around to salute.

"We are waiting here to see Mr. Zheng off."

Li Xian was still smart and lied. He took out his money bag and said with a smile: "This is our gift. I hope Zheng Jun will have a successful career in the future..."

Only then did everyone react, and they all took out their money bags and improvised some money. Some were three to four hundred dollars more, while some were only one hundred dollars less. Zheng Shou felt a little uncomfortable, always feeling that this was like charity.

Among these people, almost all of Heifu's old subordinates were holding the greeting Hui, that is, brooms, as a sign of sweeping the couch to welcome them.

How can Zheng Shou not understand? These people were not here to see him off, but to welcome Anlu's new Zuowei.

When someone leaves, someone comes. In addition to Zheng Shou being transferred away, Cao Shiheifu, a left-wing soldier serving in the county, was transferred to Anlu County as a Zuo Wei...

As luck would have it, the day Zheng Shou left happened to be the day Heifu arrived at his post. Upon inquiry, Li Xian and others said that Heifu had already arrived in Beijiao Township and would arrive in the county seat soon.

"Zheng Jun, don't wait any longer?" Li Xian asked.

"No, I've left all the handover matters to you. The appointment requires me to take office before July. It's already late June, so there can be no further delay."

Zheng Shou didn't want to stay any longer, so he asked the coachman to speed up and leave Anlu. He didn't take the main road to the county town, but took another southwest road to avoid the embarrassment of meeting the black husband on the way.

Looking back at the old subordinates who were cheering for him, comparing his shabby situation with no one to show him off, and the warm welcome that Heifu was about to receive, Zheng Shou felt sad in his heart. He could only think to himself: "If you have a backer, you won't." Same!"

Obviously, in addition to being derogatory, he was transferred to make room for Heifu. County Lieutenant Li You was determined to let Heifu dominate Anlu's military power.

The vacancy of Anlu's right lieutenant will not be filled up for several months. Before that, Anlu's soldiers and thieves will all depend on Heifu...

Thinking of this, Zheng Shou felt a little better.

"After the fall of the Yun family, Heifu's old subordinates had military honors and titles, and seemed to have real power in the county's official office. They were also quite influential in the townships and pavilions. Hey! Yun half of the county has just died, and here comes the Hei half of the county! It's not a bad thing to say that I'm being transferred away to avoid his influence and to avoid becoming his puppet!"

…

Half an hour after Zheng Shou left, Hei Fu arrived as expected, because Qin's laws stipulated that officials were strictly prohibited from bringing their old troops to their posts, and they were not even allowed to have aides before they became county chiefs. So Heifu, still carrying only his will and destiny, left Jiangling in a car with his charioteer Sang Mu.

But when he arrived in Beijiao Township, Anlu County, there were more people following him. The wandering Dongmen Leopard here was his die-hard loyalist. He couldn't help but wait at the county boundary with a group of village soldiers, and he used an excuse to go to the county town. At the office, I took a few people with me to escort me all the way.

Dongmen Bao asked his village soldiers to cheer in front of and behind the carriage, and said plausibly: "When a new official takes office, when he is about to let everyone in the county see his majesty, how can he weaken his momentum?"

"Of course." He added with a cracked mouth: "After all the events in the past two years, who in the county knows the majesty and reputation of the pavilion chief?"

While he was talking, he personally held the bridle of the horse for Hei Fu, like a pawn on the horse. Hei Fu scolded him: "Ah Bao, you are a well-ranked villager after all. You lead the horse for me, and you are not afraid of being laughed at?"

"In this Beijiao Township, whoever dares to make fun of is a public servant!"

Dongmen Bao's temperament was still the same. He raised his eyebrows and glanced at the villagers pointing at him on the roadside. Everyone immediately fell silent and left as if nothing happened. It can be seen that Dongmen Leopard has been wandering around for half a year and has reached the level of fear in the countryside.

A month ago, Heifu was ordered to arrest Yun Man. He arrived in a hurry and left in a hurry. He only met Dongmen Bao face to face, so Dongmen Bao held back a lot of words and boasted about himself on the way.

"When I first arrived in Beijiao Township, the local tycoons tried to bully me, so I followed the instructions given by the pavilion chief. I first suppressed thieves, caught idlers, and killed a few people in accordance with the law to establish my authority. Then the tycoons knew I’m not easy to get along with, so don’t dare to neglect me.”

During the conversation, Hei Fu also learned good news, that is, Dongmen Leopard's wife was pregnant again. I wonder if she could give birth to a son for him in addition to the pair of twin girls with tiger heads and tiger heads...

Willows, rice fields, and ponds full of lotus were gradually left behind. When he arrived at the edge of the county town, Heifu received a warmer welcome than the northern suburbs!

A disciple of the school was pushed to the front of the crowd. He was surprised. The last time Hei Fu came back, he didn't even have time to see his younger brother. Hearing that Hei Fu was going to return to Anlu to serve as an official, he was the happiest person. He smiled and said, "Brother Zhong, I've been waiting for you!"

At this time, everyone in the rear also bowed and saluted, and one person even squeezed out from the crowd, held his hands in his hands, and bowed down: "I'm waiting to welcome the county captain to take office!"

Hei Fu was delighted when he saw this. He was none other than his old acquaintance Chen Baijiang and Chen Bu.

Speaking of which, the two Baijiangs when Heifu was on duty back then, Baijiang Bin was killed along with Yunman because he was closely involved in the Yunman case, while Baijiang Chen has been through many changes in the past few years, from Baijiang to Baijiang. He was transferred to Wei Shi from another county. After a round of detours, he was transferred to Anlu.

Heifu got out of the car, helped Chen Baijiang up, and greeted Le, Nu, Li Xian and others. He smiled at the same time and said, "You guys are mistaken. I am not an outsider. Why should I welcome you with wisdom?"

"Yonghui" is a kind of etiquette for welcoming officials to take office in this era. The original intention is that when guests come to the home, the host will clean the house in advance to show respect and welcome to the guests. Although he held a broom in his hand, he did not sweep the floor. He was just pretending. Yong Hui walked in front and led the officials into the county, as if he was sweeping the door himself.

But Hei Fu feels like a master. Coming to Anlu this time is like a wanderer returning home.

After a while of greetings, everyone was like stars holding the moon, shouting in front of and behind him to guard him as he entered the city and went to the official temple. Along the way, many familiar faces saw Hei Fu, and they all bowed from a distance, with envious and admiring eyes. Facing the villagers, Hei Fu was not arrogant, and greeted them one by one.

He first went to visit the county magistrate and the county magistrate, and then arrived at the county lieutenant's office. Li Xian had arranged for everyone to tidy up the place, and the foyer was wide open, waiting for the new owner.

After entering the house, I saw that everything was as before, including the jujube tree in the courtyard, which was standing tall and graceful and was about to end its flowering period.

In the past two years, Heifu had been in and out of here countless times. He recalled that when he first came here, he was still a small group of soldiers. It was General Chen Bai who led him, and he sat down and bowed tremblingly. Now, he is staying here as the "owner", and Chen Baijiang has become his subordinate, flattering and flattering him all the way. Comparing the two, Heifu couldn't help but feel a lot of emotion.

When they learned that Heifu was going to be transferred to the position of Zuo Lieutenant in Anlu County, many people in the county were puzzled, and some even laughed at him secretly.

Because the position of Zuo Bing Cao Shi was more than two hundred stones. Although he was an assistant, he was also a county official. His position was low but powerful, and he was often accompanied by the county captain.

The rank of the County Zuo Lieutenant is 400 shi, which seems to be a promotion, but if the soldier Cao Shi is ordered by the county to inspect the county, the county lieutenant will have to apologize to him!

For example, Heifu remembers that when he read "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" in his previous life, he mentioned that after the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Liu Bei was awarded the title of Lieutenant of Anxi County for his meritorious service. It happened that the governor of the postal department came to the county, and Liu Bei went out to greet him. The governor saluted, and the governor sat on the horse, Weiwei responded with his whip finger, which led to the story of Zhang Fei angrily whipping the governor...

The Qin and Han systems were similar. Although the Qin State did not have a postal governor, its rank was the same as that of the military governor. They were all county officials with one hundred shi or two hundred shi. They were low-ranking and powerful, and it was normal to look at the county captain's fingers. Therefore, in the eyes of many people in Jiangling City, they would rather serve as a county official with a hundred stones as a scholar than a county official with a rank of three or four hundred stones.

However, county lieutenants also have things that Bingcao Shi does not have, such as the warm welcome of the old villagers and their own independent official office.

"There is also real military power! And the opportunity to train soldiers from my hometown!"

The city defense battle that took place in Yidao made Heifu understand that on the battlefield, the soldiers he single-handedly led were the most reliable, and in this era where the concept of the rural party was extremely important, the most trustworthy ones were the ones who could be relied upon at critical moments. Those who can share weal and woe with you and never leave you are the children of your hometown.

After arriving at the main hall, Li Xian and other captains followed the protocol and presented the gilt copper wooden tiger charm symbolizing the military power of Anlu County.

Unlike the tiger talisman that was given to him temporarily by the county guard or lieutenant and had to be returned immediately afterwards, he could keep it as long as he stayed on any given day!

Holding this tiger talisman, surrounded by his old subordinates behind him, Heifu finally had the feeling of holding "power" in the palm of his hand for the first time since coming to this era!

Although this power is very small, the orders cannot go beyond a hundred miles, and the number of soldiers that can be trained is only a thousand, and they must act according to the laws of Qin. But for Heifu, it was like a helpless person in the chaotic world had grasped a sharp blade.

From then on, not only could he be a knife for others, he could also have a knife in his own hand!

This long-lost sense of security is extremely wonderful. Heifu is like a shark that has tasted blood and is unwilling to let go after holding it.

A smile appeared at the corner of his mouth: "No wonder they all say that a real man cannot lose his power for a day!"