Yao Xiong was shocked.
"Brother, are you an official?"
Taozi put away the documents, "Don't tell others yet, just keep guarding."
Yao Xiong nodded, but his face was extremely excited, his eyes were shining with an inexplicable light, and he actually laughed stupidly while standing at the door.
After giggling for a moment, he felt that it was inappropriate to look like this, so he quickly put on a solemn look.
Liu Taozi returned to the courtyard and handed the document to Liu Zhang.
"How is this possible?!"
Mrs. Liu Zhang was very surprised at this moment. She looked at the document in her hand repeatedly, "Why did you suddenly be promoted to an official position?"
"Did he do it?"
"It's impossible that your grandpa won't care about anything about you. He, his situation is a bit special. Whether he sends people to help you, secretly promotes you, or maliciously suppresses you, it will only harm you. The only way is to treat you as if you don't
He exists and ignores you. Only when this person is gone can you two be safe."
Taozi continued: "He has always been like this."
Liu Zhang smiled bitterly and shook his head, "It's not that your grandpa hates you. He also has his own reasons. Forget it, let's not mention your grandpa for now."
She looked at the letter in her hand again, "The county official has no foundation in the court. He can help you get promoted, but he can't help you get promoted from a clerk to an official. The two are completely different things."
"Although a lot of things have happened in the government and the public recently, those big shots won't care about a little wanderer like you."
"And you don't have any backers in the court."
"You have offended a lot of people, but most of them are incapable of intervening in the promotion of officials and can influence the forces involved in the promotion. The person involved in the Black Dragon case wants to deal with Mr. Gao County, and the person involved in the He family wants to deal with Lu Yao.
The object of hatred in the knight case was King Gaoyang, and the person in Gao Xun’s case was also the Duke of Gao County. The person instigated by King Gaoyang was Lu Yao.”
Listening to her mother talking about these secrets that many people in the county government didn't know about word by word, Liu Taozi finally had some surprise in her eyes.
Liu Zhang analyzed them one by one and suddenly asked: "Taozi, does the current magistrate Lu often bully you?"
"There was some discord before, but in the past few days, it has disappeared."
"That's him. He wants to control the county, but he can't do anything to you. Since he can't remove you, expel you, or harm you, he can only send you away."
"Lu Yao's surname is Bu Liugu. His family is extremely powerful. His eldest brother, Lu Xuan, was in charge of the Ministry of Civil Affairs during his lifetime. He has a wide network of contacts in the Ministry of Civil Affairs. It is possible to promote officials to officials."
Liu Taozi nodded, "That's it."
Liu Zhang hesitated for a moment, "This is not a bad thing for you. Lu Yao will definitely not be able to escape from the next great turmoil. Cheng'an is too close to Yecheng, but Liyang is not bad. It is very peaceful."
A servant not far away suddenly came over and looked at the sky. Mrs. Liu Zhang realized something and stood up quickly.
"Tao Zi. I have to go."
She held Taozi's hand again, "Don't be impatient when doing things. Killing can stop evil, but it won't cure the root cause. Don't worry about me. I have to go on a far journey this time, and I wanted to take you with me."
"Oh, that's all. My son has grown up and has his own ambitions. As a mother, how can I stop him?"
"Taozi, you have to be more careful and eat on time. It's getting colder, so wear more clothes."
She looked at the carriage. Xiao Wu and his servants hurriedly took down many packages from the carriage.
"I made you some clothes and shoes."
Mrs. Liu Zhang spoke very fast. She talked a lot. After putting the things away, she reluctantly hugged Tao Zi once. She turned her head unnaturally to prevent Tao Zi from seeing the tears in her eyes, "Then
Then I left."
She walked into the carriage again, and Xiao Wu saluted Tao Zi again:
"Brother, don't worry about my mother, I will take good care of her!"
The servant drove the carriage and staggered out of the courtyard again. Yao Xiong watched the carriage go away in shock. As soon as he turned around, he saw Taozi standing in front of him. Yao Xiong was also startled.
"Brother Taozi, why don't you make any sound when you walk?"
"Let's go to the county government office."
Two old mulberry trees stand side by side in the county government courtyard. Their trunks are thick and strong, like watchers over the vicissitudes of life. Over the years, people have come and gone, and the years have carved many wrinkles on their skin, but they have always stood here.
, has witnessed countless declines and rises.
Under their gaze, the clerks were busy working, and people were coming in and out of the door.
Two casual officials were holding big shears and were chatting and laughing as they helped trim off the branches from the old tree. When the wind blew, the mulberry trees made a rustling sound, and the surrounding area became more peaceful with the soft sound.
The two men quickly rushed to the county government office in two pairs. They jumped off their horses and broke the original tranquility.
"Liu Youjiu!!"
Everyone saluted.
Liu Taozi asked Yao Xiong to lead the two horses back to Youyou Mansion, while he hurried towards the residence of the Prime Minister in Beiyuan County.
Lu Qubing was currently arguing with Master Qian.
Master Qian still had a cloth tied on his head at the moment. His injury was quite serious, but he couldn't care about recuperating. After all, he was the only one under the county magistrate who could do anything.
"You can use 10% of the food supply. It's not that I don't care about the situation in various places, but I just have to think more about the local situation."
"The current harvest is not much, and food prices have reached unprecedented levels. The entire Hebei Province is short of food. It's not just these neighboring counties."
Lu Qubing said seriously.
Master Qian shook his head, "Don't think that I don't know that there are not many dead people left at the gate of the city. The number of people admitted by the county has already exceeded 5,000, right? I just don't want to say more. This time
Borrowing food from neighboring counties is actually a way to deal with the refugees. With food in various places, the refugees can be resettled, and the pressure on us here will be reduced."
"I'm not stingy, nor am I willing to lend food to neighboring counties. But, how much of the loaned food will fall into the hands of the victims, and how much will be used to resettle the refugees?"
"I'm afraid it will be used to make up for the tribute grains? To protect their official positions. If there is any leftover, I don't know whose granary it is."
Master Qian smiled bitterly, "We can't ask the neighboring county to tell us how to use it, right? Can we still send people to keep an eye on them?"
The two were pulling each other, and Liu Taozi walked in quickly.
Lu Qubing was overjoyed when he saw Taozi. He immediately raised his head and his momentum became stronger, "Brother Taozi, you came just in time. Come on, sit down!"
Master Qian quickly stood up and bowed slightly to Liu Taozi, "Thank you so much, You You. The doctor Chu you sent is really amazing. I'm much better now."
Liu Taozi nodded and sat aside.
Lu Qubing quickly explained to him, "Linzhang, Wu'an, Linshui and other three counties have borrowed grain from us. This year, the harvests in various places are very bad. It seems that they can't even hand over the tribute grain. County officials
I can’t even get my salary, and the famine is very serious.”
"The county magistrate wants to lend 30% of the grain to the three counties, but I feel that if the grain is lent out, it will not be used in the proper way."
Master Qian was very helpless, "Gong Lu, if there was no signal from Qingdu Yin, how could they dare to borrow money? The county magistrate wants to pretend to be a good person? This is a last resort, why don't you understand?"
Lu Qubing was very stubborn, "Then let Yin, the capital of the Qing Dynasty, issue an order to levy An's grain for the counties!"
Master Qian wanted to say something harsh, but looking at Liu Taozi beside him, he reluctantly shut his mouth.
When Lu Qubing saw that Master Qian was no longer arguing with him, he looked at Taozi and said, "Brother Taozi, you came here in such a hurry, could something have happened?"
Liu Taozi took out the canonization book from her arms and handed it to Lu Qubing.
Seeing the familiar document, Lu Qubing took it blankly, looked at it for a few times, and then he was overjoyed, "Okay!! Could this be the work of the county official?!"
He quickly looked at Master Qian aside and said, "Haha, from now on, Taozi is no longer a clerk, but an official! You can never be dismissed again!!"
Master Qian was a little embarrassed, but there was no surprise in his eyes and he laughed calmly.
Liu Taozi looked at him, "Is this the work of the county magistrate?"
Master Qian was stunned for a moment, then a look of shock flashed in his eyes. He hesitated for a moment, and then laughed sarcastically, "I wanted to remove Duke You Yu, but it made everyone angry. Duke Lu's order couldn't even get out of the door, so...
I was thinking of finding a way to send Youyou somewhere else."
"I didn't expect it to be so fast."
"It seems Mr. Lu has done a lot of hard work."
Master Qian smiled and said nothing, but he thought to himself: Who can say otherwise? In order to send away you, the god of plague, the county magistrate spent a lot of money, even finding the colleagues and friends of his deceased brother.
I care about each other more than I care about my own children.
However, it's finally over.
Tao Zi is from Cheng'an and cannot be an official in Cheng'an. As long as he becomes an official, he has to leave his hometown and go elsewhere. This is the temple's order, and he cannot refuse.
At first, there were too many people running away from office, so the emperor placed a big stick on each county government. If any officials wanted to run away or refused to be appointed, they would be killed directly.
"Congratulations to Liu County Cheng!"
When Master Qian left, he was still smiling and congratulating.
Lu Qubing looked at Master Qian's leaving book, and suddenly he was no longer as happy as before. He looked at the documents in his hand again.
"It turns out I'm trying to drive you away."
"It's hard for them to come up with such a way."
Liu Taozi said nothing, and the two of them sat like this for a long time.
"Rongzu, after I leave, Cheng'an's affairs will be left to you."
Lu Qubing's face immediately became solemn, "Don't worry, once you leave, the traitors in this city will probably appear one after another. I will personally cut off their heads and hang them on the city gate!"
Liu Taozi was stunned and slowly looked at him, and Lu Qubing also looked at him.
"It's rare for Cheng'an to have the current situation. I will never let anyone ruin this peace."
Lu Qubing's eyes were extremely determined, revealing murderous intent.
This is indeed a rare thing. The corners of Liu Taozi's mouth raised slightly, "Okay."
Just a moment later, the news of Liu Taozi's promotion spread throughout the county government.
Everyone was talking a lot, and the county government office was very lively.
In Youyou Mansion, many of Liu Taozi's minions gathered together to discuss this matter.
Yao Xiong was extremely happy at the moment, his mouth almost never closed, and he kept making weird laughter.
Kou Liu lowered his head, looking a little sad.
Tian Zili stroked his short beard and analyzed the current situation.
"Of course this is a good thing."
"Although it is only one step from traveling to the county magistrate, this step is the most difficult to take. If you want to be an official, you only need the nod of the county magistrate, but if you want to be an official, it is extremely difficult."
"First of all, you need to be selected by Zhongzheng. If you are not from a high-ranking family and do not have an official father or ancestor, then it is all in vain. Otherwise, if you are promoted by Zhongzheng, you have to participate in the exam. There are four grades: upper, middle, upper, middle, lower, and above.
Only then can you become an official."
"Even if you want to enter the Imperial College, you must have a prominent background, otherwise you will not be able to enter."
"Now that my brother is directly appointed by the temple, this is really a great thing. From now on, my brother will be listed in the imperial register, will own official land, and will eat the emperor's salary, which is a crime. Unless His Majesty orders it, there will be no
People dare to deal with it in private."
"It's just that Cheng'an is my brother's hometown. I have to pay attention to Cheng'an when I go to work this time."
Tian Zili looked at Liu Taozi and said, "Brother, we have to leave some men in Cheng'an to keep an eye on the situation here for my brother."
"The temple gives me five days to go and take up my post. You all should prepare first."
Liu Taozi stood up, and everyone quickly stood up and said yes.
Kou Liu wore official uniform and walked quickly on the road. When he arrived at his alley, the few people he met also came forward to greet him enthusiastically.
Not long ago, these people looked at Kou Liu very warily, thinking that he was a thief and refused to get close to him.
At this moment, his reputation among his neighbors was completely different.
He smiled and nodded in return to several neighbors, then opened the door and walked into his courtyard. At this moment, there was not much joy on his face.
The courtyard is still dilapidated, and the old woman is carefully hanging up the washed clothes. The old woman cannot see anything, but has excellent hearing. When she hears the noise, she asks, "A Liu, is that you?"
"mom."
Kou Liu quickly walked to his mother's side and helped her hang up the clothes, "Didn't I tell you? Just let me do these things when I come back. What if I fall?"
"It's okay. Even though I can't see, it doesn't mean I can't do these things."
After the two hung up their clothes, the old mother took out the food, and they sat in the front yard and ate in silence.
The old woman frowned and said, "Aliu, did something happen at the county government office?"
"Oh no."
"It turns out that when you came home, you always praised me for your travels, and you were full of praise. Why didn't you mention it today?"
"I"
Kou Liu lowered his head, glanced at his mother again, and said with a smile: "It's okay. It's just that our Youyou has to be transferred away."
"Oh? Transferred?"
"Yes, I'm going to Liyang to be an official!"
The old woman laughed and said, "What a great thing. I think this temple is unprincipled. It seems that it is not without good people. It also knows how to promote good people!"
Kou Liu remained silent.
"Then why aren't you happy at all?"
"Ah, I, Youyou are leaving, and I feel really reluctant to leave."
"Can't bear to part with you? If you become an official, you can take your close ones with you to the post. He can decide this official position. Will he leave you alone?"
"He wants to take the rest of the people with him, and he may be leaving me behind."
"Lie to me again!!"
The old woman slammed the bowl in her hand on the table, and said angrily: "You are so stupid, are you afraid that I, an old woman, will die here, so you don't dare to leave with Youyou? Are you using this lie to frame me?
!”
"Mom, this is not."
"What's not?"
"You used to be a thief, and I shed tears every day. I feel sorry for your grandpa. Now, you have finally taken the right path, followed Liu Youjiu, and done a lot of things."
"When I go out occasionally, I hear people praising you and saying that your prodigal son has turned back. How gratified I feel!"
"If you can't follow you any longer because of me, then I might as well die here. How can I drag you down?"
Listening to his mother's words, Kou Liu couldn't bear it any longer. He cried helplessly, "Mother, how could I leave you alone?"
The old woman stretched out her hand and touched her son's face, "This is not abandonment. My son is going to do good things and accomplish great things. Even if I die now, I can rest in peace. What's more, it's just the pain of separation?"
"Don't worry about me. There are neighbors taking care of me. When you were away for several months, I had nothing to do. Just do your job well and follow Mr. Liu to do great things! Do more good deeds! Collect good deeds for me!
"
"only!!"
When Kou Liu left home and returned to the county government again, Liu Taozi was not here.
He was currently in the room of his eldest grandson Kasyapa, who was quite reluctant and sorry for Liu Taozi.
"It's a pity. You shouldn't be a county magistrate. You should go to Jinyang and become a general. That's also the ninth rank. Guan Jinwei is also fine."
"I'm Han Chinese, so I'm afraid I won't be able to go."
Changsun laughed. He motioned Taozi to come closer to him, and then whispered: "The military households over there are not all Xianbei, they are Han people, Huns, and all kinds of Qihu who can't name them. Anyway, everyone is
Some people give themselves a Xianbei name, and suddenly they become Xianbei soldiers."
"They gathered together and cursed many ministers in the temple all day long, saying that they were cowardly Han officials. When they checked their ancestors, they found that none of the ancestors of these soldiers were Xianbei. Instead, they were officials who had changed their surnames from Xianbei."
"Let me tell you one more thing secretly. My ancestor's surname was Gongsun. He was from a wealthy family in western Liaoning. Later, he made great contributions to Emperor Wei Zhaocheng and was given the surname Tuoba. Then he changed his surname to Yuan. Now he changed it to Changsun. Instead, he is that Lu Yao.
, his ancestor is a real Xianbei, his name is Bu Liugugan, he is the leader of the tribe!"
Kasyapa, the eldest grandson, said, but couldn't help but laugh out loud at his words.
When he saw that Liu Taozi did not laugh with him, he stopped after laughing for a while, and said seriously: "However, I still want to congratulate you. From now on, we will be colleagues. This is your home anyway, and you will still always be there."
When you come back, don’t forget to come see me.”
"If anything happens, you can also send someone to inform you."
"Thank you so much, Lieutenant Zhangsun."
Everyone gathered at the gate of the county government office, and all the officials stood beside them reluctantly. Except for the county magistrate, almost everyone was here.
Liu Taozi held the green lion and looked at them calmly, while Tian Zili said goodbye to them one by one.
Lu Qubing sighed, walked out again, and looked to his left and right, "Everyone, please go back. There are still many things to do in the county government office. It's not like Liu Xiancheng won't come in the future, I'll just see him off."
No one dared to refute, and the recorder saluted Liu Taozi, "Congratulations to Mr. Liu!"
The rest of the people saluted one after another, "Best farewell to Mr. Liu!"
Liu Taozi was not in a hurry to get on the horse, and just held the horse and walked all the way towards the city gate, with Lu Qubing following him.
Four people, including Tian Zili, Kou Liu, Yao Xiong, and Chu Jiande, followed behind him.
"Liu, you go pick up your mother first."
Liu Taozi suddenly spoke.
Kou Liu was shocked, "Brother, Li Yang is far away"
"Instead of asking you to be taken to Liyang, she should be sent to Zhangcun instead. There will be people taking care of her there, which is much safer than in the city. Zili has already prepared a house for you in Zhangcun."
Kou Liu looked at Tian Zili beside him and quickly bowed and thanked him.
Tian Zili's face looked a little unnatural, "We Han people believe in filial piety. This is just because of filial piety."
Lu Qubing sent them to the city gate. As soon as Liu Taozi got on the horse, he saw a group of people walking towards the city. The officials at the city gate were frightened.
The leader was Wang Heipi, and there were many people standing around him, including carpenters, farmers, and merchants.
They hurriedly bowed to Liu Taozi.
"Gong Liu is a great kindness, I will never forget it in this life. I only hope that Gong Liu will have a safe journey and God will protect him."
Liu Taozi raised her riding whip high,
"Set off!!!"
Chapter completed!