Qin Official

"Brother Zhong, you came to learn the laws yourself. Why did you bring me here?"

Jing was holding a bamboo basket with four dried meat sticks in it, with a look of reluctance on his face.

He had got a new sword and wanted to show it off in front of his companions, but Brother Zhong came to Banli to ask Yan Zheng, an old official, to learn the rules and regulations, but he insisted on following him.

"You will come if you are asked, why is there so much nonsense?"

Hei Fu stared at him in shock. He was frightened, but of course he had his reasons. Then he raised his hands to the farmer on the roadside and asked, "May I ask, where is Mr. Yan's family?"

This "Hei Fu" learned to read and write from Mr. Lu Ying in Xiyangli. His eldest brother came to Banli to find Yan Zheng, so Hei Fu did not know where he lived.

Fortunately, this Yan Zheng was very famous in the plaque, and everyone knew about it. He was the first person to ask and he showed them the way.

"Go straight ahead and pass the bamboo forest. The house with high walls and tiled eaves and the red paint on the door is Yan Zhang's house."

The plaque is a utensil made of bamboo strips, with a round bottom and a shallow border. It can be used to raise silkworms, hold grain, etc. Banli got its name because there were so many bamboos nearby that every household could weave a plaque.

Brother Heifu followed the instructions and walked forward, only to see a plaque hanging in front of each house. Then they passed through several acres of bamboo forest. Although it was late winter and the bamboo leaves had turned a lot yellow, the bamboo poles were still green and straight, with branches Connected, dense and dense.

He said with surprise and pity: "If it is around the beginning of autumn, I will definitely be able to dig up winter bamboo shoots, and then go down to the river to catch a fish and cook it together... Oops, Brother Zhong, you hit me again."

Heifu knocked on his head: "Don't think about eating all day long. If you listen to me today and don't talk nonsense, I will give you fifty dollars and let you eat whatever you want."

"Are you serious?" He was as surprised as a child who was promised candy, showing joy.

While they were talking, they had arrived in front of a large house. The ten-foot-high wall was stained with white dust and covered with brand-new tiles. The door was stained with dazzling red paint and could accommodate three people walking in side by side.

In terms of appearance, it can't be said that the Heifu family can't compare. Even the Rizheng and Tiandian families among them are much inferior. At a glance, you can tell that they are either rich or noble.

Heifu secretly thought that fortunately, in addition to four pieces of dried meat, he also paid a hundred dollars. Even so, this little bit of repair still seemed shabby, and Yan Zheng might not take it to heart.

He straightened his clothes and started knocking on the door.

After a while, the door finally slowly opened a crack. A servant in soap clothes looked through the narrow crack in the door. When he saw two common people, he asked angrily.

"Who are you? Who are you looking for? What are you doing?"

Hei Fu bowed and said: "In the setting sun, Hei Fu, a public servant, wants to ask Lord Yan about the laws and regulations. I hope you can report them on your behalf."

"I'm here to ask about the law again..."

The man looked at Brother Heifu up and down. He had seen similar mud-legged people too many times. Most of them were family members who had violated certain laws and were sued, so they came to Yan Jun for help.

After all, Hei Fu is no longer in the coarse brown clothes he wore two months ago. He is wearing new clothes bought last month, and the people behind him are relatively clean, but in the eyes of this person, they seem to have some stain on them.

"Just wait, I'll ask the master."

The red painted door slammed shut.

He said with some annoyance: "This guy has an unlucky look on his face, as if we owe him money. And he hasn't been out for a long time. The plaque is clearly next to the setting sun, but he doesn't even have the name of Brother Zhong." have no idea?"

"My little reputation can be spread among people in the market, but it cannot get into the eyes of officials."

Heifu could see clearly that his deeds could be boasted in front of the ordinary people Wu Guizhou. An old official like Yan Zheng, whose title was not higher, had served as an official in the township and county. It is something that people who have seen the world look down upon.

What's more, he had something to ask for today, and the other person was an elder, so it was appropriate for him to lower his profile.

He was surprised but complained again and again, saying that it would have been better if Lu Ying's father-in-law had not gone to the county seat in the sunset. He actually knew his family, so why should he be so humble?

After waiting for a while, my feet were numb from the shock, and I was walking around impatiently, before the door finally opened again. It was the same guy who looked at them coldly and said, "Come in with me."

Hei Fu made a gesture of silence in surprise, and the two of them followed the servants into the house.

After entering Yan's house, Heifu immediately discovered that this house was not as magnificent as it looked from the outside, but rather ordinary: to the west of the entrance were stables and chickens; to the east was a vegetable plot along the wall, with soil The ridge is divided into several sections, where onions and leeks are planted; on the front is a hall, probably used for receiving guests.

However, Zhu Ren did not lead the two into the main hall, but took them around and along the corridor to a smaller room. This is probably a study room, because through the window, you can see that there are bookshelves on three walls inside, and they are all filled with volumes of slips.

Although Yan Zheng is no longer in office, he copied a lot of legal orders when he was in office. Although he is not as good as Judge Xi, he is still the best in Yunmengxiang. This is why Hei Fu came to visit him.

The Heifu brothers were just about to go in, but were pulled back by the eunuch. He opened his eyes wide, pointed at the threshold of the house, shook his head, and asked the brothers to stand outside...

Obviously, they were not treated as guests and were not qualified to enter the room. They were even afraid, afraid that the breath of these two people would displease the owner, and that their muddy shoes would stain the clean floor...

Jing was already shaking with anger, but Hei Fu asked him to calm down.

The door curtain was opened, and Yan Zheng, whom Hei Fu was looking for, was sitting in the study. He was quite old, in his sixties or seventies, with a white beard. He was wearing a thick winter coat and sheepskin fur, which made him look a little taller. Bloated.

There is a bronze lamp stand behind him, and in front of him is a short lacquer table. Bamboo slips are spread out on the lacquer table. Yan Zheng squints his eyes, the hand holding the pen is shaking slightly, and he writes very slowly...

He let people in, bowed to the ground, and said:

"Lord, the gentleman in the sunset has arrived."

Yan Zheng asked without raising his eyes, "Master, do you think you recognize me?"

Hei Fu stood outside the house and bowed to him: "I have never met Yan Jun, but my brother was lucky enough to learn reading and writing from Yan Jun in the countryside when he was young."

"What do you call your brother?" Yan Zheng still didn't look up.

"Sincerely."

"Sincerely?" Yan Zheng finally stopped writing, lowered his head and thought for a long time, then said again: "I'm old, I don't remember."

The atmosphere was a bit awkward, but that was more than ten years ago, and Yan Zheng was still just a rural elder and had not yet become an official in the county. The three elders are the masters of education, and the children of noble families are taught in large classrooms. It is normal to forget a few people.

Hei Fu simply handed Shu Xiu to Zhu Ren and directly stated his intention.

"I came here today because I have heard for a long time that Zhang Yan is familiar with the laws and regulations, and the laws and regulations newly issued to counties every year are also copied. Therefore, I want to borrow the "Stealing Laws", "Catching Laws" and other chapters to observe the excerpts, and also want to ask Yan Zhang to give me some advice... "

Yan Zheng finally raised his head, looked at Hei Fu in surprise, and asked: "Young man, why do you want to learn these laws? Are you going to be an official?"

"Exactly."

Yan Zheng is knowledgeable. Heifu smiled and said: "Because of my meritorious service in catching robbers, I was worshiped as a public servant in the army. I was also lucky enough to be favored by the county's right lieutenant. He recruited me to be the chief of the pavilion. I will participate next month." Assessment. However, I know very little about the laws and regulations, so I came to ask the abbot Yan for help. I also hope that the abbot Yan would look out for the folks in the village and give them some advice..."

"Ting chief?"

Yan Zheng narrowed his eyes for a long time and finally opened them. The chief of the pavilion said it was not serious, but he was just fighting against the food officials. Although it is small, it is not small at all. It is in charge of an area ten miles away, directly under the county, and it also has military equipment.

Therefore, Yan Zheng, as an old official with no power and reputation after retirement, could ignore the local Li Zheng and Tian Dian, but he did not dare to be too negligent to a future pavilion chief.

On the other hand, if he can point out a pavilion chief, it will also be beneficial to his reputation.

Yan Zheng looked at Hei Fu carefully again and found that he was so young: "How old are you this year?"

"I'll be 18 in a few days."

"It's amazing to be recruited as the head of the pavilion at the age of 18. It's amazing. When I was eighteen, I was just an official studying law in a school."

Yan Zheng was really surprised now. A soldier with no background actually became the head of the pavilion at the age of 18. Given time, what kind of future will he have in ten or twenty years?

He put down the pen in his hand and suddenly praised Heifu full of praises. Then he glared fiercely at the flattering man who came over to report the number of repairs to him and scolded:

"Ignorant slave, who taught you how to treat guests? Why don't you quickly welcome these two young fellows in, sit down and serve hot soup!"