Qin Official

That night, Magistrate Pei entertained the big boss who was passing through the border at his residence. Heifu was respectfully welcomed to the main seat, while Magistrate Pei, the county magistrate, and the county lieutenant sat at the east table in turn. Later, there were the chief officials of Peixian County. Each Cao Yu was called by the county magistrate to accompany them, trying to create a warm atmosphere. They also sat at the east table, while Chen Ping, Gong Ao and other diners brought by Heifu In the teacher's chair, the two sides looked across the river in silence.

As the night got darker, Pei County officials and maidservants filed in with food boxes and distributed food to the officials. Female musicians also played the piano and sheng, singing and dancing.

Heifu is no longer the poor, ignorant military boy he was many years ago. He has visited the mansions of countless high-ranking nobles and eaten at celebration banquets where the emperor toasted him. His behavior also revealed in the eyes of the county magistrates There was an aura of nobility that enveloped him all the time, even though he didn't show it deliberately.

Everyone laughed with every word Heifu said, whether they heard it or not, whether it was funny or not. The county magistrate enthusiastically introduced every dish that was served.

"Young Master, try it. This is the most famous food in Peixian County...dog meat!"

Heifu looked at the dog meat on his table. It was freshly cooked. It was brownish red in color, bright in color, fragrant and delicious. It was tough but not stiff in the mouth, rotten but not greasy, and tasted okay.

I just don’t know if the person who slaughtered the dog is called Fan Kuai...

Heifu smiled while chewing the dog meat. As early as last winter, he had asked people to open a brown sugar shop in Peixian County. Although the business was bleak, it could not compete with the "brown sugar" imitated by the nobles of the old Chu state in Huainan - because he did not fully master the technology. It becomes a bit burnt and turns black in color, so it is called brown sugar.

When Heifu took time out to send his wife and children to Nan County to be with his mother last month, Yan reported the situation of the Peixian branch in detail with a grimace on his face. But Heifu said it didn't matter. Making money was not his purpose. He wanted to stay in Pei County for a long time and catch big fish...

No, it’s a school of fish!

Throughout China's thousands of years of history, there are three most famous regional groups, one is Zhu Yuanzhang's Huaixi Township Party, the other is the Fengfei Group in the early Han Dynasty, and the third is Fulan in modern times.

This is not to say that Peixian County is a place with many outstanding people, and all of them are talented people who can be generals, but it cannot be said that they all have no skills, and they all rely on Liu Bang to make chickens and dogs ascend to heaven.

In Heifu's view, this is the "poorness reaches the time" that he and Chen Ping talked about. In order for a person to be able to achieve something, it depends not only on whether he can catch up with the current situation, but also on whether he can meet the right person.

Zhilan is born in a deep valley. It is not because there is no one there, and it smells but does not smell fragrant. There are many deep valleys with Zhilan in the world, but they may encounter non-human beings, and they will be finished together before they can gain momentum. However, the Fengfei Group went all the way to the end. This was a group victory that gathered around the individual. After achieving success and fame, it gave people the illusion of being the hometown of generals and prime ministers.

There is actually a mixed bag of good and bad among these people, and there is no need to be blindly superstitious. Heifu does not have the idea of ​​​​digging them all away with a shovel, but the treasures among them, those who are still famous two thousand years later, must have their abilities...

Relying on the operation of the branch and the constant reports from the Anlu boys over the past year, Heifu has found almost all the people he wanted to find. He now really knows Peixian County well.

So Heifu swallowed the dog meat in his mouth and praised: "It's really good. If nothing else, this dog meat is indeed better in Guandong than in Guanzhong."

The magistrate of Peixian County who was standing by had no time to talk to Hei Fu. At this time, he immediately saw the opportunity and stood up to make a toast: "My lord, dog meat tastes even better if it is paired with fine wine!"

But Hei Fu waved his hand, asked the county captain to sit down, raised his wine cup, and said to everyone present: "Nan County is Xichu, Sishui County is also Xichu. The songs, dances and words here make me feel like I'm home." , Many thanks to the county magistrate, prime minister, lieutenant and other officials for their hospitality!"

The senior provincial officials toasted to the county civil servants. This was a big deal. More than ten people at the east table quickly stood up and said in unison: "It is an honor for us to come to Pei County!"

These words made the officials in Peixian County feel that the Jiaodong County Governor was not a typical Qin official. They could also understand the Nanjun dialect he spoke. They suddenly felt a little more close to each other in addition to awe, and the atmosphere became more intimate. He was no longer as serious as before. For a while, they drank and drank together. Gong Ao was a bold man and began to take the initiative to have a drink with the Pei officials.

The Qin State is a typical example of "only state officials are allowed to set fires, and common people are not allowed to light lamps." People are strictly prohibited from drinking in groups. However, when your title level reaches a certain level, drinking becomes as common as drinking water, and gathering people to have banquets is not a problem. Especially in the land of Qi, Chu, Yan and Zhao, this ban is even looser. The price of wine in Guandong is much cheaper than that in Guanzhong and Nanjun.

The mastermind Chen Ping, who was sitting under Heifu, also gracefully walked up to the two Pei officials who were second only to the county captain, toasted to them, laughed from time to time, and had a pleasant conversation...

Chen Ping was still the same as before, following Hei Fu to a place. He liked to get off the car at the city gate and walk around alone to learn about the local customs. It was the same today. Before the banquet, Chen Ping came to tell Hei Fu, Today he met two talented local officials, one named Xiao He and the other named Cao Shen.

It was a coincidence that they were all the people Heifu asked Brown Sugar Branch to focus on.

The branch opened by Heifu in Peixian County was directly responsible to Heifu. Chen Ping did not know the inside story and only thought that his master had "big intentions." He is quite smart, and when he discovers interesting talents, he will talk to Heifu about them. This is also the responsibility of the first staff member.

"Chen Ping."

Hei Fu then called Chen Ping and introduced him to Pei County Magistrate and Cheng: "This is my disciple and a hero who has made great contributions in the campaign against the Xiongnu. His surname is Chen Mingping. His current title is Gongdafu..."

"Master!"

The three chief officials of Pei County looked at each other. This scholar, who was as young as Hei Fu, actually had the same title as Wei and Cheng. No wonder he could sit under Hei Fu.

"It's so disrespectful, so disrespectful."

Chen Ping toasted to the three officials again and was humble, but Hei Fu continued to praise seemingly casually: "Not only that, he is also the future governor of Jiaodong County."

"Hey, you have become a long history at such a young age..."

Cao Shen, the bearded Cao Shen who was fifth at the East Table, took a breath of air. The Sheriff's Chief Shi was equivalent to the clerk around the Sheriff, and was usually held by the most trusted retainer. Although he only received a salary of 200 stones, which was about the same as them, he had great power: the chief historian could also take care of the matters that the county governor was in charge of. When the local county magistrate went to visit the county governor, he had to try his best to please the chief historian, otherwise he would easily be ignored. , when the county governor is out, the chief historian can take charge of the county government affairs together with the county magistrate.

Cao Shen was only very envious of Hei Fu in the afternoon, but now it seems that he is even inferior to Chen Ping, the pretty boy.

Xiao He didn't show too much shock, he just smiled and said: "No wonder Chen Jun is so polite. It turns out that we still call him 'Shang Li'."

Hei Fu then introduced Gong Ao and others, and all the guests came to greet Pei Li one by one. Except for Gong Ao, who was also a public official, none of the guests who followed Hei Fu were above the level!

This is what it means for a person to achieve enlightenment, and for chickens and dogs to ascend to heaven.

Seeing that Hei Fu was not arrogant and introduced his retainers, Magistrate Pei naturally began to introduce his subordinates to Hei Fu out of politeness, although he did not expect the big boss to remember the names of these small characters.

"This is Xiao He, the chief official."

Xiao He stood up and saluted, behaved appropriately, neither humble nor arrogant, but Hei Fu smiled: "Xiao He? I have heard of this name."

The county magistrate was surprised and said: "Does the county captain know Xiao He?"

The Xiao family is a wealthy person in Fengyi Township, Peixian County. It has dozens of clans and is an ancient clan in the local area. Three years ago, the magistrate of Pei County first came here to take office. As a native of Wei, he was unfamiliar with the place and could not use his skills, so he recruited a large number of local powerful officials as officials, including Xiao He and Cao Shen.

Xiao He serves as the county magistrate's "Wen Wuhai", that is, his secretary. He was prudent and methodical, able to handle affairs, and good at management. He was very thorough in all matters related to the top and bottom of the village, inside and outside the village, and managed them in an orderly manner. Therefore, he was promoted to chief official, equivalent to the director of the organization department of the county party committee in later generations. , presided over the advancement and retreat of affairs, and performance evaluation. He held a high position of authority, and the county magistrate also valued him.

Xiao He was so capable and his reputation was well known in the Sishui County official circles, but it was strange for Heifu, an important member of the imperial court, to be known to the feudal officials.

Not only the county magistrate, but also Xiao He also raised his head and stared at Hei Fu.

"Of course I know."

Hei Fu pointed at Xiao He and said: "When I passed through Sishui County the day before yesterday, the county governor, the county lieutenant, the county magistrate, and the censor hosted a banquet to receive me. I joked at the table that Jiaodong is far away from Guanzhong and I am not familiar with it. The situation in Qi makes it difficult to govern, are there any officials in Sishui County that I can take away to help?"

"The Sishui County Supervisor and Censor pointed me to Peixian County. He said that there is a chief official in Peixian County named Xiao He. The year before last, the Supervisor and Censor inspected various counties. When evaluating the performance of officials, Xiao He ranked first in the county!"

The Qin Dynasty had a strict assessment system for government officials. It was presided over by the Supervisor and Censor, who was equivalent to the "Provincial Discipline Inspection Commission". Performance was evaluated every year, good performance was promoted, and poor performance was reprimanded. Xiao He, with his perfect love book, excellent His performance ranked first among hundreds of officials in Sishui County in the 29th year of Qin Shihuang...

"The Censor said that he admired Xiao He very much and thought that talents were rare. He was going to recommend Xiao He to serve in the Censor's Mansion in Xianyang, but... Xiao He refused, and he refused three times!"

This incident was 29 years old news. At that time, it caused a sensation in Peixian County and even the entire Sishui County officialdom. No one knew about it.

Everyone, including the county magistrate, felt sorry for Xiao He. They felt that he had missed a great opportunity to make a career in Xianyang. If he went to Xianyang to gild for a few years, he would be a county magistrate again...

Having said this, Xiao He still looked calm, but Chen Ping opposite him took a deep look at him and got to know this person again.

Hei Fu said again: "As the saying goes, water flows to lower places, and people go to higher places. Xiao He, I am also very curious, why don't you want to go to Xianyang and enter the Yushi Mansion?"

Xiao He finally spoke, he cupped his hands and said: "I have a difficult time..."

This forty-year-old man actually fell into the drama in one second and cried: "My lord, I have a seventy-year-old mother at home! My mother is still here, but she is old. As a son of a human being, I dare not travel far away!"

"Xiao Liju is such a filial son."

Heifu admired, but he was surprised in his heart. Xiao He might really have this concern, but filial piety was the best reason to deal with the Qin Dynasty's conquest and transfer. Although the Legalists scorned the three-year mourning, they also strongly supported the idea of ​​keeping his father alive while his father was still alive. At that time, he performed his filial piety.

"In this case, this Xiao official should just fulfill his filial piety at home. I don't dare to ask Magistrate Pei to part with me."

Xiao He breathed a sigh of relief and respectfully returned to his seat. When he raised his head, Chen Ping across from him looked at him with a half-smile, and Xiao He also smiled back.

Turning around again, I saw my friend Cao Shen's face full of regret.

If this opportunity came to him, Cao Shen, he would definitely not refuse it like this.

When the county magistrate saw that Hei Fu was politely rejected by Xiao He before he even opened his mouth, he was afraid that he would be angry, so he quickly said: "Xiao He has his own reasons. If the young master can be used by other officials in the county, he can be transferred to them at will as long as the county allows him!" "

"Is this true?" Heifu said with a smile: "Pei Ling is not afraid that I will empty out the Pei County government?"

Peicheng, who had been looking for a chance to talk to Hei Fu, continued: "What's the harm in one or two people?"

"Refreshing! Then I'll choose!"

Hei Fu raised his hand, stood up and walked down the hall, directly passed Xiao He and stopped at his lower head. He kept succumbing to Xiao He. He admired Xiao He's ability, but also regretted that he had given up the opportunity.

"This is Cao Yuyu?"

"The official is Cao Shen! I've seen Mr. Zao!"

Cao Shen was thirty-seven or eighteen years old, but he had never been in contact with such a big official. He quickly stood up and held his hands in his hands, his heart pounding!

Heifu smiled and said: "I heard from Chen Ping that Cao Yuan was also a capable official. When all the officials in the county were evaluated, you were also the first among the prison guards, second only to Xiao in the overall ranking. Since you took office, Pei County has All the thieves have disappeared and no one dares to make mistakes, and the criminal and prison cases handled are considered fair by everyone and no one is begging for justice."

After praising Cao Shen, Heifu said again: "Do you have parents who care about you as much as Xiao Liju? If not, Jiaodong County just lacks a thief Cao Youshi who can capture thieves and enforce the law. I think Cao Yuchen can go there." Give it a try!”