Don't make trouble, let's build infrastructure!

The news of Deng Qi's arrest spread to every corner of Xiaoguo County overnight. Beer sales in the village soared.

"Oh, we don't know what kind of luck we had. First, Tong Ran came to such a good field, and then the county magistrate was arrested again." The villagers of Wujia Village naturally heard about it, and they gathered together during the slack season. sighed everywhere.

"If you ask me, Tong Tianqian should be the county magistrate of our Xiaoguo County."

"It's not just the county magistrate, Tong Tiangan is only fifteen this year, and he will definitely have great promise in the future!" A person next to him, already drunk, said loudly.

It happened that Tong Ran passed by, and when several people saw him, they all surrounded him.

"Tian Yan, you haven't had dinner yet?"

"Tian Tian, ​​it's great that we heard about the county magistrate."

"Tian Tian, ​​will you be the magistrate of our county?"

The people around Tong Ran were chattering, and the red light of the setting sun reflected on their faces.Tong Ran's interest was not too high, he should have expected that Deng Qi would be overwhelmed by the sword, but now it's too late to worry about it.

Tong Ran shook his head: "The Taoist trial is held every three years. Last year's trial was delayed for a long time because of the drought, and it just ended. If I want to become an official, I have to wait another three years." Well, it's not enough to just reach the grade, you must pass the review of the Taoist jury before you have a chance to be awarded an official position.

Not only that, every year a large number of people pass the dao trial, but that's all the official positions, the old ones are still there, and the new ones can only wait, so every year, a large number of people pass the dao trial and become reserve officials, while continuing to do what they did before While waiting for the imperial appointment.

After such a calculation, Tong Ran only felt that his road to official career was still far away.

But these Tong Ran will not tell the villagers, everyone knows that you are still young, waiting for three years is not a problem.Later, when someone invited him to drink at home, Tong Ran pushed them away one by one, and walked home by himself.

When I got home, Qiu'er had already prepared dinner.He and Qiu'er had chicken noodle soup, while Little Tiger had a whole chicken.

"Brother Tong, I heard that County Magistrate Deng has been arrested?" Qiu'er handed him chopsticks and asked casually.

The little tiger took a bite of the chicken and turned to look at him.

Tong Ran nodded and rubbed the little tiger's head: "When did Zai Zai wake up?"

"Wow." The little tiger responded and continued to eat chicken.

"Brother Tong, you have been to his gambling room, is there any problem?" Qiu'er asked.I don't have a public position, so I should be fine, but Tong Ran... Deng Qi must have hated Tong Ran's hand that day, so what if he bites back and pulls Tong Ran on his back.

The little tiger's green eyes swept across Tong Ran, and Tong Ran frowned slightly, as if he was really worried.

"I don't know." Tong Ran said.The incident happened suddenly, and he didn't figure it out. Besides, he was outside the situation, and he didn't know what Deng Qi would face when he returned, whether there was a chance to drag him into the water, or whether Deng Qi would drag him into the water.

The little tiger put down the chicken and jumped on Tong Ran.

Tong Ran circled it: "What's the matter, cub?" The little tiger seldom threw himself into his arms, most of the time he wanted to hug it by himself, and was chased away by the little tiger.

The little tiger turned his head and rubbed his hairy head against his palm.

"Zai Zai, are you comforting me?" Tong Ran raised the little tiger and asked.

"Wow wow!" As soon as he flew into the air, the little tiger stopped immediately, bit Tong Ran's hand, and while he was out of strength, landed lightly and jumped back to his seat.

Although Tong Ran was bitten, his mood improved a lot. His family will comfort him when he grows up.

Little Tiger: What was I doing just now?comfort?No, impossible!

Deng Qi was escorted to the capital overnight, and Chu Jun ordered the Dali Temple to preside over the trial.

Two days later, Dali Temple presented Deng Qi's confession.

Chu Jun summoned the Minister of Dali Temple who came to make a statement in the Nuan Pavilion of Xuanzheng Hall.

Dali Temple Minister lowered his eyebrows and stood more than two meters away from Chu Jun's desk. He stared at the marble pattern on the floor, and the sound of pages turning could be heard from time to time.

There were several pages of the confession, and the minister of Dali Temple memorized the words and sentences in it backwards and forwards, and the names were all top leaders in the prefectures and counties of Longyou Dao.Xiaoguo County and Longyou Road have been plagued by drought all year round, and the imperial court allocates a large amount of relief food every year, but it is always a drop in the bucket.

In the past, it was only said that the disaster was serious, so there was not enough money and food. The names on the words and the amount of money that Deng Qi confided thoroughly explained the reason—it was not a natural disaster, but a man-made disaster.

Chu Jun turned page by page, his face darkened a bit, and at the end of the page, Tong Ran's name was impressively listed, with Deng Qi's signature at the bottom.

Dali Siqing had been standing for more than two minutes, and his legs felt sore.This is not the most important thing, the young man behind the desk flipped the pages back and forth, but didn't ask him a word.

If the emperor does not speak, the ministers can only wait.But the king's heart is unpredictable, Dali Temple Minister had to take a look at Su Jin, who was on the side of the attendant, and saw that Eunuch Su, who knew His Majesty best, also frowned, Dali Temple Minister couldn't help but feel a little thumped in his heart.

"Is that all you asked?" Chu Jun asked.

His Majesty finally opened his mouth, and the Dali Temple Secretary hurriedly collected his mind and concentrated on playing the correct answer: "Reporting to Your Majesty, this is all that Deng Qi revealed. He is not a core role in it, and his knowledge is limited."

Chu Jun didn't speak any more, Dali Temple Minister didn't dare to speak out rashly, and there was another suffocating silence in the warm pavilion.

After pondering for a long time, Chu Jun asked again: "What's the matter with this Tong Ran?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, he is Tian Tian, ​​a newcomer from Xiaoguo County, and entered the gambling room with Deng Qi on the first day of reporting." Dali Temple Qing said.

Chu Jun asked: "You mean, this Tong Ran is also related to Tanmo's disaster relief?"

The Minister of Dali Temple wanted to nod, but hesitated: the last batch of relief money and food to Xiaoguo County and Longyou was allocated in the first ten days of last year, and this Tong Ran took up his post in Xiaoguo County only at the end of last year. , it cannot be related to him.

Having figured this out, he cupped his hands and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, Tong Ran is Tian Jian of Xiaoguo County, and it was the end of last year when he took office, so it should have nothing to do with the disaster relief funds allocated in the first ten days of last year."

Chu Jun put down his confession and said: "Since it doesn't matter, there's no need to spend a lot of trouble on a little Tianzhu."

Dali Temple Minister immediately said: "Yes, what Your Majesty said is very true."

Dali Temple Minister is a veteran official in the court. When the first emperor was alive, he was already an official in Beijing. Later, when the 14-year-old third son of the emperor ascended the throne, he gradually achieved the position of third-rank Dali Temple Minister, and he also looked at the people on the throne. He grew up from a pale young man to his unpredictable mood.

Chu Jun picked up the vermilion pen, ticked off Tong Ran's name on the confession, and said: "Dali Temple has worked hard recently, this case is of great importance, and we must not take it lightly."

"Yes, I have no fear of hard work, I only hope that this case can be found out, and the people affected by the disaster will be given justice, and I will live up to your majesty's trust." Dali Temple said.

"I am very pleased that Aiqing has such a heart." Chu Jun showed his face.

After the Minister of Dali Temple retired, Chu Jun issued two imperial edicts. First, he dismissed Deng Qi from his post and exiled him. This gave them the privilege to search officials' residences and yamen.

For a while, all the officials of Longyou Dao were in danger, except for a few who were completely clean, they were all worried about Deng Qi's confession on their names.

Dali Siqing and Ruan Zheng acted vigorously, and within a few days, several officials from Longyou Dao were arrested.Even the Beijing officials who had watched this drama with relish were panicked.

This is the first time such a big move has been made since the Holy Majesty took the throne.

On the same day when the late emperor passed away, the three princes descended from the previous empress ascended the throne, with the uncle Fu Lin as the first and assistant minister.The emperor was young, and many government affairs were handled by Fu Lin. Even after the Holy Majesty took charge, Fu Lin was still in power, but there was no sign of Fu Lin in this incident at all.

It wasn't until the twelve guilty officials from Longyou Road were escorted back to the capital that Fu Lin went to the Xuanzheng Hall alone to have an audience.

"Your Majesty, a total of [-] officials in Longyou Dao have been convicted of Deng Qi, and the people of the entire Daoist are in panic. I beg Your Majesty to focus on stabilizing the hearts of the people, and not to punish the officials excessively, resulting in a shortage of necessary manpower and causing local chaos."

Chu Jun raised the corners of his mouth and showed a not-so-sincere smile: "Uncle, sit down first."

"Your Majesty, please take it back." Fu Lin said.

Chu Jun ascended the throne at the age of 14. He was the second son of the direct line. He was not expected to be a crown prince since he was a child. When he first ascended the throne, he knew nothing about state affairs, so he asked Fu Lin for advice on everything.As the uncle and chief assistant of the state, Fu Lin monopolizes all the power.However, when Chu Jun grew up day by day, he had his own ideas, and gradually took back the rights in his hands.

Fu Lin didn't want to be a treacherous minister who coerced the emperor to make the princes, but he thought that His Majesty was too young and didn't think enough about many things, so he should listen to him.

Su Jin ordered someone to bring a stool, and personally asked Fu Lin to sit down, but Fu Lin didn't seem to notice.Regardless of the etiquette that should be maintained before the king, he directly looked at Chu Jun.

Chu Jun was not annoyed, put down his pen and said, "Uncle thinks that I shouldn't punish these people?"

"The law does not blame the public. Your Majesty can use Deng Qi to kill chickens to make an example to monkeys. Others should be fined. If the circumstances are serious, they can be relegated. Exile is too harsh." Fu Lin said.

"The law does not blame the public. Then when they embezzled the relief funds and caused tens of thousands of victims to die of hunger and cold, did you ever think that these people are all innocent?" Chu Jun said, his voice gradually raised, "If I forgive you lightly today They, they dare to intensify!"

Before Chu Jun finished speaking, he slapped a confession of the offending official on the table.As soon as he got angry, all the eunuchs serving in the palace knelt down, and Fu Lin was as motionless as a mountain. He just looked away a little and didn't look directly at the sky.

"Your Majesty." Fu Lin said again, "In addition to the dead victims, there are tens of millions of people alive. If the place loses control, there will be chaos, and more people will die in the chaos."

"Hmph." Chu Jun snorted softly, "It's just a matter of promoting without officials. Every year, there are new recruits in the Taoist trial, and some of them are waiting for official positions."

Fu Lin took a step forward and said, "Your Majesty, most of these candidates come from poor families, lack the teaching of famous teachers, and don't understand the words of sages, so they should not be entrusted with important tasks."

"Those corrupt people are all selected by your official department. Do they remember the words of the sages?" Chu Jun said.

"Your Majesty, I beg your Majesty to punish you for your ineffectiveness in handling affairs, but I believe that even if there are a few people in the officialdom who are corrupt, it is definitely better than a large number of people from poor families." Fu Lin said, "People from poor families are greedy for small gains and must not be entrusted with important tasks. "

Chu Jun clenched his fists. Fu Lin is not that kind of power traitor. Although he holds a lot of power, he always abides by the principles. There are no aristocratic families.And the deep-rooted view of family status further fueled the arrogance of that villain.

Although Chu Jun grew up in the deep palace and is the blood of the Chu and Fu families, he doesn't believe in family status.

In the past, he just insisted on his disbelief, but he was powerless to resist, but that person... he walked out of a small cottage, which shocked him too much, and made him see that his unbelief was being verified .

Chu Jun let go of his fist, and looked at Fu Lin: "Zhen, it doesn't matter if you are from a famous or poor family, as long as you have the world and the people in your heart, you are a useful person."

Fu Lin froze, Chu Jun's green eyes swept over, and he lowered his gaze in panic.

It can be said that he watched Chu Jun grow up, and the way he looked at him always had the meaning of an elder looking at a younger generation, but today's Chu Jun surprised him a bit.Thinking about it carefully, this is of course, although he is not the eldest son, he is also the blood of the Chu family and the Fu family. The blood flowing in his body is doomed that he will not be a mortal.

He is still young, and has never seen people from such poor families, so he naturally and naively thinks that they are also available. He doesn't have to argue with him now, it is better to let him do it, and he will know when he hits a wall. , standing an invisible high wall.

The catastrophe in Longyou Dao did not end there. The twelve officials who were arrested according to Deng Qi’s confession confessed others one after another. Dali Temple never stopped interrogating day and night. There are also a large number of vacancies in the magistrates and magistrates, and even the officials below.

For this matter, Chu Jun went to the Ministry of Officials to inspect in person, promoted a group of old people, and selected a large number of new people to fill the vacancies. For a while, the whole Longyou Dao had a new look.

After Deng Qi was arrested, Tong Ran was really worried for a while. Later, a large number of Longyou Taoist officials were killed. Tong Ran's place was calm, and he gradually relaxed.

"Cub." Tong Ran rolled up his sleeves and washed the hair on the little tiger's head, "A few days ago, there was news that Deng Qi was sentenced to exile. You said that I won't be held accountable for entering the gambling room, right? "

"Wow!" Tong Ran didn't pay attention, the bubbles of soap got into the little tiger's eyes, and the little tiger shook his head violently, throwing him a mouth full of foam.

Tong Ran pulled the cloth towel and wiped it vigorously, and pouted a few times.

The little tiger's green eyes opened, and there was still a bubble of soap on its head, and its gaze swept over Tong Ran—its little attendant was very courageous when he was bullying Deng Qi, but now he was scared again, if it wasn't for him With himself here, he will definitely suffer this time.

"Wow!" The little tiger patted the surface of the water, urging Tong Ran to come back and give it a bath.

"I got it, I got it." Tong Ran put down the cloth towel, added some hot water to its tub, and complained, "Why do you think you are so clean like a tiger cub."

snort.The little tiger raised his head, I am the majestic king of a country, what's wrong with love and cleanliness.

Tong Ran spent the whole morning, and finally cleaned and dried the little tiger. He was soaked, so he let Qiu'er boil some water, and washed himself.After washing up, he came out and had lunch. In the afternoon, he wanted to go to the mountains to pick some fruits.

He heard that beer can have various flavors, but he didn't know how it was brewed.A few days ago, the villagers of Jiuxiang and Yicun all sent barley. Anyway, he has been idle recently, why not give it a try.

Tong Ran picked up a bamboo basket, picked up the little tiger who refused to go out, and planned to go out, but suddenly heard the sound of gongs and drums at the village head.

Qiu'er was chopping firewood, and when he heard the sound, he also ran to the front to see: "What's the matter over there? I didn't hear that someone got married today."

Tong Ran didn't know either.Not far away, someone poked his head out in front of the Yan family's yard, presumably also attracted by the sound.

When this group of people approached, he realized that this did not seem to be a wedding team.Although the team was beating gongs and drums, there were two people in official uniforms surrounded by them.One holds a dust whisk in his hand and looks haughty; the other wears an official hat and bows to lead the way for the previous one.

Tong Ran's eyes turned around the whisk.

Taoist priests and eunuchs are the only ones who can hold whisks. Taoist priests are monks, so there will be no such big ostentation, let alone officials leading the way, so this is a father-in-law.

Is it to find him?

The Wu family village is all ordinary tenants, the only one who is a little different is his name Tian Jian.

Tong Ran guessed right, the team really meandered along the country road and stopped at the gate of his courtyard.

"Is this the residence of Tong Ranzhi Tiangan in Xiaoguo County?" The team stopped, and someone immediately came to ask.

"I am Tong Ran." Tong Ran stepped forward and said.

The people in the team seemed to be stunned for a moment, but everyone was very restrained and didn't show it.

The eunuch with a somewhat haughty expression came out of the team, shook his whisk, and cupped his hands and said: "Sure enough, a hero is born in a young age. Tong Tianqian is already at the peak of the Huang rank at a young age, and our family admires it."

"Your Excellency." Tong Ran said, the person in front of him obviously had a level of righteousness, but Tong Ran couldn't tell, obviously his cultivation had reached above the Xuan level.

The eunuch smiled politely and didn't say much.The little servant behind him handed over a bright yellow scroll, and the eunuch handed the whisk to the servant, took the scroll solemnly, and said in a loud voice: "Tong Ran, Tiangan, Xiaoguo County, accepts the order."

Tong Ran vaguely guessed that the eunuch's arrival must have something to do with the palace, but he was startled by the sudden tone, as if he was in a play.He knelt down in a trance, imitating what he had seen in TV dramas: "Tong Ran accepts the order."

The eunuch unfolded the scroll, and the golden dragon soared on the back of the scroll, as if it was about to fly out of the silk.There were many villagers around watching, and when they saw this battle, they also knelt down one after another.

The eunuch's voice was loud and sharp, sharper than ordinary men, and he said word by word: "By God's blessing, the emperor said: I heard that Tong Ran, Tiangan, Xiaoguo County, pioneered the method of digging wells to irrigate the fields and composting, which relieved the long-term drought in Longyou. It attracted the vision of heaven and earth. This is a change in farming that has not happened in a hundred years. Today, in accordance with the will of heaven and earth, I made an exception to grant Tong Ran the post of magistrate of Xiaoguo County, and gave him a hundred taels of gold as a token of encouragement. Thank you."

The post of county magistrate?

Tong Ran was taken aback, only to realize after a while that the decree had been read, and quickly kowtowed to thank him.

He raised his hand and raised his eyebrows, and took the imperial decree handed over by the eunuch after reading it.

"My lord, please stand up." The eunuch who announced the decree said.

Tong Ran got up, and immediately a small servant brought a red lacquered wooden box and opened it in front of Tong Ran. Ten gold ingots were neatly arranged in it, each of which was of high quality, a large ingot of twelve taels and one ingot.The villagers outside the courtyard couldn't help standing on their tiptoes to watch, and let out low cries.

"Congratulations, my lord, there has never been an official of the upper rank of the yellow rank who worshiped the magistrate of the seventh rank in this dynasty." The eunuch no longer had the arrogance just now, but he did not flatter him, he just said very normally.

The official who led the way by his side took the opportunity to say: "My father-in-law is right, Mr. Tong has outstanding talents, and His Majesty has a unique insight."

It was only then that Tong Ran noticed the official who led the way. He was not tall and did not look like a local. Perhaps to show respect for the eunuch who passed the decree, his back was always slightly bent.

"How about Your Majesty, is it possible for me to speak rashly?" The eunuch glanced at the official coldly, and the official broke out in a cold sweat immediately.Then, he bowed his hands to Tong Ran again: "Our family has to return to the palace to return to order, so we will leave first."

Tong Ran took out a bag of money from his bosom and stuffed it into the eunuch's hand: "It's a long journey, my father-in-law has worked hard, please be careful and invite him to drink tea."

The eunuch weighed the silver in his hands, his cold face softened, but he said: "Our family is an eunuch. Although we don't want to disappoint the adults, we don't dare to violate the palace rules." After that, the eunuch turned around and left, accompanied The officials hurriedly bowed to Tong Ran, then turned around to catch up with him, and the long team left in a mighty way just like when they came.

The villagers of Wujia Village did not dare to step forward to block the way of the official house, but they all looked around in their own courtyard.When the team walked out of Wujia Village, Yan Shishi and the youngsters were the first to rush to Tong Ran.

"Brother Tong, can you let me see that gold?" Yan Shishi asked, and the faces of the surrounding teenagers were full of joy and curiosity.

Tong Ran graciously opened the box to show them, several young people leaned over and exclaimed: "It's really gold, it's a gift from the emperor, it's shining like gold!"

The adults on the side also glanced here from time to time, but 100 taels of gold is enough to attract people, and this is a reward from His Majesty the Emperor!Take a second look, maybe you will be lucky.

Village Chief Wu rushed over after hearing the news, and gave a deep bow: "Congratulations, sir, from now on, if you are the magistrate of Xiaoguo County, our life will be more hopeful!"

"Yes, yes, with adults here, our Xiaoguo County is no longer a poor county that lacks food and clothing!" Others also echoed.

Tong Ran smiled, took out an ingot of gold from the red lacquered wooden box, handed it to Qiu'er and said, "Go and buy some more vegetables, and then go to the next village to buy a pig. I'll treat everyone to dinner tonight. share."

"Wow, long live my lord!" A little boy jumped up, and the adults beside him hurriedly covered his mouth and told him not to talk nonsense.

The others expressed their thanks one after another, Yan Shishi and several young people volunteered to carry food for Qiu'er, and they went to the county together.

That night, almost all the people from Wujia Village came, and many people from neighboring villages also came to rejoice when they heard the news.

Someone brought food, someone moved the tables and chairs at home, and Yan's daughter-in-law and Wu Fuqiang's daughter-in-law called a few young daughters-in-law who could cook to come and help Qiu'er cook the evening dishes together.

When Qiuer went to the county, he happened to meet a fish seller. There was a lack of water here, and the fish was very expensive. He only bought two and they were not big.Tong Ran was not willing to give it to the guests, so he fried it in oil and went to feed the little tiger.

The little tiger smacked his lips, the fried fish was really delicious, it deserved the pressure to give him the county magistrate, and even wrote the decree by himself.

The evening banquet lasted until very late, some villagers brought beer, Tong Ran was drunk a lot, and when she lay down, she was already top-heavy.He hugged the little tiger who was trying to break free, and lay on the bed, feeling dizzy.

It has been more than half a year since he came here. At first, he only thought about having a public job to make him live a good life, but he didn't expect that he would become the county magistrate of Qipin as if being pushed away by a gust of wind step by step.

This official position does not sound high, but it is a parental official. From then on, everyone's well-being in Xiaoguo County is his responsibility, and the burden on him is not light.

Tong Ran rubbed it casually, but he didn't know where the little tiger was rubbed, causing it to scream.

"Zai Zai..." Tong Ran said in a daze, before he could say more, he fell asleep.