bastard returns

In the Zhongshu Province, the Zhongshu door servant is the lowest official with a small salary. He is responsible for sorting out the files and records in the yamen every day, and he can't make any mistakes. Whenever there is any problem with the files , The first ones to question are them.

Originally counting Qi Muyun, there were fifteen door attendants in total, so the things to do should be very leisurely, but these fifteen door attendants, like Qi Muyun, were all officials who paid for money.

After all, although small officials like Zhongshu Menshi have official titles, they have no number. It can be said that there are as many as they need, so they have become a hard-hit area for selling officials and nobles. Those families who either spent money or relied on connections to stuff their children in did not mean to let the first generation under the family be a small official for the rest of their lives, but to use this as a springboard to enter the officialdom, and then promote them through various reasons. It is convenient.

Even in such a situation, the children of those big families knew that they would not be able to hold this official position for long, and they would not do things seriously. Most of them were lazy, fishing for three days and drying the net for two days, and After knowing that Qi Muyun was just a poor boy with no power and power, he was even less polite, and even left everything to him alone.

Qi Muyun was timid and introverted, and he didn't know what to argue with others. When others asked him to do it, even if he knew it was bullying him, he did it honestly, but so many people's errands were on him alone, even if Qi Muyun was careful Being cautious, it is inevitable that you will make mistakes in your busy schedule, and the rest of the people will certainly not spread their mistakes, and put all their brains on Qi Muyun. Now that Qi Muyun made too many mistakes, they naturally alarmed their leaders.

The Master Zhengshi who is in charge of all the servants has just taken office, and he claims to be upright, upright and honest, and his official position is not high, but he can't understand these useless children who rely on the power of their families to become officials in the court. Qi Muyun bumped into this muzzle. The envoy ordered Qi Muyun to be dismissed from his official position, kicked out of the Ministry of Education, and turned back into a grassroots man.

Qi Muyun was dumbfounded, he managed to become a small official, and thought it would improve his life, but he was beaten back to his original shape before the official uniform was even warmed up, and asked him what to do in the future, but in desperation, he only had to ask Zhang Wei, who joined him this time.

Zhang Wei is a son of a scholar-bureaucrat and knows how to flatter, so after he successfully framed Gao Yu, Pang Song saw that he was clever and witty, so he arranged a higher official position for him and made him the deputy envoy of Zhongshu, who happened to be the deputy of Zhengshi Even counting them as the superiors of the door servants, Qi Muyun originally thought that as long as Zhang Wei could speak for him, then the adults would give Zhang Wei some face and let him reinstate.

But who would have thought that when he found Zhang Wei's mansion, he knelt and kowtowed, almost saying all the good things, Zhang Wei went and kicked out a stern and selfless attitude, and had no intention of speaking for him at all, Qi Muyun saw There was no other way but to leave the Zhang Mansion in despair.

How did Qi Muyun know that he was able to be kicked out of the officialdom so quickly, thanks to Zhang Wei. As early as when he was in the Confucian Academy, Zhang Wei had always disliked the submissive Qi Muyun, but this time Qi Muyun was able to enter the court with him As an official, even though he was his subordinate, Zhang Wei was still very upset in his heart. Since Qi Muyun was also promoted by Pang Song, he didn't show it on the surface. If you listen to the wind in front of your ears and speak ill of Qi Muyun, otherwise Qi Muyun would not be dismissed so easily. Unfortunately, Qi Muyun would not understand even if he tried his best.

In this way, Qi Muyun knew that his dreamed future was ruined, but his mother still asked for money to see a doctor, so he wanted to find an errand in the capital, but he didn't get the errand, and was almost killed by someone.

Perhaps it was Pang Song and others who found out that he had been dismissed, worried that he would reveal what he knew to the world out of revenge, so they thought of killing people to silence him, and sent assassins to deal with him. Zhao Yin's night patrol, it is inevitable that he returned without success, but he also frightened Qi Muyun, and immediately fled with his mother. He did not dare to leave the city, fearing that the old man and the young man might not run very far after leaving the city, and they would become The souls who died under the sword could only hide in the city, and finally ran to this slum, nested among a group of homeless people, and have been hiding until now.

"I don't have any other skills, and I don't steal like the people here. Fortunately, there is a small restaurant not far away that needs a bookkeeper. I have been working there and receive twenty copper coins every day." Qi Muyun He said intermittently: "Those people before, the leader is called Hunjiang Dragon, who is a local snake here, but all the people who live here, whether they earn money every day or steal money, must be divided. Give him half, or you won't be able to live a good life... I originally hid a part, planning to buy medicine for my mother, but somehow he found out and snatched it away..." Having said that, Qi Muyun wiped it. He wiped his eyes, as if he was about to cry again.

"I... I never really wanted to harm you, and Master Gao too... I never thought of helping others and framing you..." Qi Muyun choked up and said, "I just want my mother to Live a good life and be able to cure your illnesses, so you don’t have to work as hard as before, I was also forced..."

Zhou Shi was moved by what Qi Muyun said, maybe it was because of his poor background. Zhou Shi seemed to understand Qi Muyun's difficulties, especially when he saw Qi Muyun crying, he couldn't help looking at Ning Yuan, and said, " Young Master", it looks like he wants to say something nice for the other party.

"Life in this world is much more difficult. Has anyone ever experienced a hard life?" Before he could speak, Ning Yuan said with a blank expression: "But some people, no matter how difficult their life is, they still don't know what to do." I won't hurt anyone, do you understand?"

Qi Muyun was shocked when he heard the words, and Zhou Shi was also speechless.

"You feel that you are not doing well. You feel that you want to provide a good environment for your mother. You can not use your own hands to win these things, but build all this on the pain of others..." Ning Yuan shook Shaking his head, "Any high-sounding reason is just an excuse in front of doing evil."

Qi Muyun lowered his head and didn't speak for a long time. After a while, as if he had made up his mind, he gritted his teeth and said, "I know that I have done something wrong, and now I deserve what I have become, but my mother is innocent... you Now that I have found this place, I will admit to beating and killing, but I beg you, can you find a doctor for my mother..."

"How did I ever say that I would drive you to death?" Qi Muyun was taken aback by Ning Yuan's next words, "Speaking of which, you are only an accomplice. If you want to be convicted, the murderer's leader is still at large, so it's your turn .”

"Then you mean..."

"Are you willing to sacrifice meritorious deeds?"

"You asked me...to identify them, and you want to overturn the case?" Qi Muyun smiled wryly, "What's the use of overturning the case that has passed for so long, and those people are scheming, maybe they have already thought of a reason to get rid of the crime, saying Maybe it won't turn out the case, and it will be self-defeating, and the other party will label it as a framed courtier."

"Who said I'm going to overturn the case." Ning Yuan laughed, and under Qi Muyun's puzzled eyes, he said word by word: "What I want is, Luo, Jing, Xia, Shi!"

****

The continuous disasters caused by the locust plague in the three southeastern states did not stop because of the return of Sikong Xu, the "lone star of the evil spirit". On the contrary, it seemed that as the climate of lack of water and rain became longer When it became fierce, the emperor had a big headache because of this. On the one hand, he didn't want to see Sikong Xu even more, and punished him to contemplate behind closed doors for a few more months. On the other hand, he even spoke in the court. When an edict is issued, if there are capable people among the people who can control the locust plague, they will also be rewarded heavily.

It's a pity that many days have passed. Although some people are jealous of the generous rewards offered by the emperor, the Great Zhou Dynasty has never suffered such a severe locust plague for many years, and has never dealt with it. Who can come up with any clever plan, not only the courtiers He couldn't think of an idea, and no one dared to take off the imperial edict pasted on the gate of the palace.

Zhang Wei has been thinking about locust control in the mansion for the past two days.

He has been an official for so long, but he has always been a mere deputy envoy, and he is not willing to be like this for the rest of his life. Although their Zhang family is not more prominent than some dignitaries, it is also a family of scholar-bureaucrats through and through. Pang Song's promotion returned to the imperial court, so he naturally thought that he could add more officials and enter the ranks, soaring all the way up, honoring his ancestors.

It's a pity that he may really have no talent, and there are many small officials who are attached to Pang Song. Huge people are busy with affairs, and there are almost no chances to notice him. This makes Zhang Wei very anxious, and always wants to do something that makes people look different. Come on, fight more to win Pang Song's favor, so that the other party can praise him.

This time the locust plague was severe, and the emperor issued an edict to seek a good remedy. Pang Song, as a courtier, naturally bore the brunt. For the two secret recipes, not only the emperor has a heavy reward, but he also has additional rewards.

No wonder Pang Song worked so hard. After several previous incidents, especially after Pang Qiushui was slapped at the wedding, Pang Song clearly felt that the emperor was beginning to be a little dissatisfied with him.As an outsider, he can climb so high because of nothing else, but a mouth that can shoot smoothly and a pair of eyes that can read words, and has always served the emperor properly. The emperor also thinks highly of him, so he entrusts him For the important position, if one day the emperor's favor is not there, and Sikong Xu, who is currently a backup backer, is divorced from him, it will be nothing more than a disaster for the Pang family whose foundation is not stable in Beijing, so Pang Song thinks to do it as soon as possible. To share the emperor's worries, if he can get the first prize this time, get the emperor's praise and even reuse, then the immediate crisis will not only be solved easily, maybe his power will be further improved.

Pang Song was anxious, and Zhang Wei was naturally anxious as well. He had already seen how much Pang Daren was looking for a good solution to the disaster. If he could find a good way to offer it, wouldn't he be soaring.

With such thoughts in mind, he had nothing to do other than nest in the room and rack his brains every day.

"Master." A servant opened the door and came in, saw Zhang Wei's sad expression, and whispered: "Someone came to visit, and said that he wanted to see you, Master."

"Who?" Zhang Wei raised his head.

"Look at a common man."

"Go, go, can I see anyone? I didn't see that I was busy, so send me away!" Zhang Wei was naturally not in the mood to deal with ordinary people at the moment, and waved his hand to make people retreat. Knowing what the servant said next, he froze in place, "But the man said that he has a cure for the disaster, and he wants to present it to your lord..."

"What!" At this moment, Zhang Weicai jumped up as if being poked in the butt by a fire stick, "What are you waiting for, please come in!"

The servants went to take orders, and Zhang Wei hurriedly sorted his clothes for a while, then hurried to the room and to the main hall where the guests were received, but when he just entered, he saw the promising young man drinking tea in the main hall, suddenly His face froze, his eyebrows raised, "It's actually you!"

Seeing Zhang Wei coming, the young man didn't dare to drink the tea, so he immediately got up tremblingly, bowed to him, and said in a cowardly and fearful tone: "Zhang, Mr. Zhang..."

Zhang Wei's expression was uncertain. He knew that after Qi Muyun was dismissed, he was the target of Pang Song's attempts to silence him, but this kid looked dull, but he was very clever. He actually hid himself. Pang Song also sent assassins to find him several times. Seeing that they couldn't find it, they didn't go any further. First, they all knew that this person was not only honest, but also cowardly. It doesn't matter if Qi Muyun jumped out, he can be labeled as a slander casually, so that he can't stand up until he dies.

But later, Qi Muyun really never showed up, and when Zhang Wei was about to forget about this person, he suddenly came to the door, which really scared Zhang Weiyi.

"The one who has a plan to control the locust plague is you?" Zhang Wei asked incredulously, he didn't believe that this mediocre Qi Muyun could have a way to deal with things that so many courtiers couldn't do anything about, and felt that he was bluffing.

"Master Zhang, the little one is not bluffing." Qi Muyun put on a serious posture, bowed his waist in such a manner, and said, "You also know that I am from Yunzhou, and Yunzhou is located in the far west. Perennial drought and poverty, locust plagues are also frequent, so I know some ways to deal with it, so..."

Zhang Wei thought about it carefully, Qi Muyun's hometown is indeed Yunzhou, that's right, Yunzhou is remote, and the place is also poor. Looking at the whole court, there are really few people who came from Yunzhou, so he couldn't help but believe it a little bit, and left He sat down on the main seat, and said: "But since you have a plan to deal with the disaster, why did you come to me? There are so many important ministers in Beijing. I'm afraid you can just find one. If the method is effective, you can get a lot. reward."

But Qi Muyun chuckled and scratched his head, "Isn't that... I'm only familiar with Mr. Zhang..."

Zhang Weiyi was stunned.

"We both came from the Confucian Academy, so we can be regarded as colleagues to some extent. When the young one was in the Ministry of Education, you were the deputy envoy, and you were the young one. You also took care of the young one, so the young one knows. The locust plague has naturally come to you." After a pause, Qi Muyun said again: "Although there are many important courtiers in Beijing, they probably don't think much of me, a commoner. No, it’s useless to have a good strategy, it’s better to ask Mr. Zhang, you can more or less listen to the little one.”

Qi Muyun put on a high hat and flattered Zhang Wei, and he knew Zhang Wei's character like he was in control. He knew that this person was honest and timid, so he shouldn't deceive him, and the other party obviously I didn't know that he was kicked out from the Ministry of Education in the first place because he was actually obstructing it, so he couldn't help but feel at ease, and at the same time said with an official tone: "In that case, you should say it at the same time, saying that the plan is really useful, wait for me to present it , if the superiors bestow rewards, your share will definitely be indispensable, and I can even speak to the superiors, and then let you be reinstated."

Qi Muyun showed a grateful expression, thanked him, and started talking, and he said it logically and clearly, making Zhang Wei nod frequently, amazed.

Qi Muyun's method is actually quite simple, there are three items in total.

The first item is derived from the principle of mutual generation and mutual restraint of all things. Although locusts are powerful, one thing is born to restrain another in nature. Bluebirds have always liked to eat locusts. Under suppression, the deterioration and spread of the locust plague can naturally be prevented.

If the first item is to treat the symptoms, then the second item is to cure the root cause. The occurrence of locust plagues is nothing more than a suitable climate and the rapid reproduction of locusts, which will cause disasters. The root cause of the crime is to start with the reproduction of locusts. Locusts like to lay their eggs in the soil of the field, so as long as a large amount of lime is sprinkled into the field to prevent the eggs of the locusts from hatching, or even kill them directly, it is tantamount to curbing the plague of locusts from the source.

As for the third item, it is also a final work. After the treatment of the first two items, the locust plague will definitely be brought under control, and the remaining fish that slip through the net can call on the common people to work together to eliminate the disaster, and the court will pay for it , to reward those who kill the most locusts, for example, kill ten locusts, and reward one penny. Locusts take their own responsibility and come out of their nests in full force. Under the unity of the will, there will be no shelter for locusts.

The three methods are interlocking, which made Zhang Weiyi think for a while. It is not that no courtiers have mentioned such methods before, but those who use chickens, ducks and other livestock to deal with locust plagues are obviously too pale. As for using lime to contain fetal eggs In addition, no one has ever thought of using rewards to stimulate the common people to fight locusts together. Although it will cost a lot of money, it is still a good way.

Thinking that Qi Muyun's method might work, Zhang Wei couldn't sit still. After hastily arranging Qi Muyun to wait in the mansion, he immediately went to Pang's mansion without stopping, telling Pang Song what he heard from Qi Muyun. Said, of course, when it came to his mouth, he came up with all the ideas alone.

When Pang Song heard it, it really seemed like that, and happily brought Zhang Wei into the palace to speak to the emperor.

As a result, that night, the emperor issued three imperial decrees in a row, completely following the three methods Pang Song said. A small county town in Yuezhou is also the most disaster-prone Fengcheng city as a pilot. If this method is really effective, it will be widely advertised.

After the imperial decree arrived, the local officials did not dare to be negligent, and immediately followed it one by one, and indeed saw some results. After a period of time, Fengcheng, which was originally the most troubled by locust plagues, was significantly reduced. .

After the news came back to Beijing, the emperor Longyan was very happy. He not only had a banquet in the palace, but also rewarded Pang Song and Zhang Wei with a lot of business money, and made an imperial decree that after the locust plague was completely eliminated, he would be given two Pang Song and Zhang Weiyi's faces burst into smiles when people were added to the ranks.

It was also this banquet that made Zhao Mo very surprised.

Others may not know it, but he is very clear that Ning Yuan deliberately arranged for Qi Muyun to offer advice to Zhang Wei. As for the strategy for controlling locusts, it was naturally also from Ning Yuan's hands. Zhao Mo thought it was Ning Yuan before Deliberately playing tricks on the opponent, which one now seems to be not only not a trick, but also a great credit for them.

Out of curiosity, Zhao Mo once made a special trip to ask Ning Yuan, but seeing Ning Yuan's evasive words, he was full of confidence and told him to "wait and see". No matter how curious he was, he could only hold back. caught.

At the same time, he also wondered how long Ning Yuan's "wait and see" will be, seeing that the locust plague will be completely dealt with, and Pang Song and Zhang Wei, who deserve this credit, are bound to skyrocket their official positions. Knowing that Ning Yuan has always wanted to avenge Gao Yu and overturn the case, but if things go on like this, how can the case be overturned while seeing other people's status rising?

But what made Zhao Mo even more unexpected was that he hadn't figured out why, and the "wait and see" that Ning Yuan said was really "waited" by him.

A few days after the banquet in the palace, the emperor issued a decree to spread the locust control method proposed by Pang Song in the three prefectures to completely eradicate the locust plague. As a result, just after the imperial decree was issued, the official memorials of Fengcheng officials in Yuezhou were like snowflakes one after another. The same flew to the capital, and the emperor was so shocked, he immediately sent someone to take back the imperial decree that had just been handed down, and summoned Pang Song into the palace overnight.

When the next morning came to court, word spread among the officials that there seemed to be something wrong with the control of locusts in Yuezhou. The emperor was furious, and called Pang Songda into the palace overnight, and even rewarded him Slap!