Zhu Nao

Early the next morning, Zhu Nao came to the lobby of the government office leisurely, and there were already several rows of people standing in the lobby.Holding a roster that was due yesterday in his hand, he asked, "Are you all here?"

Officials look at me and I look at you without making a sound.

"Shouldn't they all be there?" Zhu Nao handed the roster to Jing Zhe, "Go and count."

Cheng Jingzhe then took the roster and went down to court, and checked against the official names and personal names in turn.

"Liu Tang?"

No one answered in the hall, Jing Zhe was about to draw a fork with a pen, only to hear a small official whisper softly: "He was killed by the soldiers..."

That day, Xiang soldiers rebelled, robbed a lot of property from the state capital, and killed many officials.Cheng Jingzhe stopped holding the pen, and slowly crossed out Liu Tang's name.

Not long after, the roll call was completed.There should have been more than 250 officials at all levels in the state capital, but only a hundred or so were present.Among the remaining people who did not come, some were killed by Xiang soldiers in the chaos, and some were frightened, resolutely resigned, and refused to come to the state capital again.

After counting the number of people, Zhu Nao glanced at everyone in the hall.Everyone was also looking at him, with different eyes, some people's eyes were questioning, more people's eyes were curiosity and exploration, and even a few people's eyes were shining with anticipation.

After one night, they were no longer as desperate and suspicious as they were yesterday.As Dou Ziyi said, now there is only a mess left in the state capital. Even if Zhu Nao wants to rob, there is really nothing for him to rob.If he has any plans, then he has to clean up this mess first before he can start his plans.But now, what officials need most is someone who can preside over the overall situation!Regardless of whether he is a real state shepherd or a fake state shepherd, it would be better for them to follow whoever can save the situation than another Song Rentou who is fooling around.

Zhu Nao cleared his throat, and said slowly, "Since everyone has arrived, the Benzhou pastor will say a few words. Although I am the first Langzhou prefect, I have heard a little bit about the corruption of the official atmosphere in this state."

The faces of everyone in the hall changed instantly.

It is said that there are three fires for a new official to take office, Zhu Nao wouldn't want to do this too, would he? !It should be noted that Zhu Nao is not as simple as "somewhat heard" about the corruption of Langzhou's officialdom. He himself is one of the participants in this corruption! ——He has been doing business in Langzhou for many years, and he has to deal with officials at all levels.Many people present had received money from him, and some even asked him for bribes.

Zhu Nao glanced over, and several officials immediately lowered their heads guiltily as soon as they made eye contact with him.

Feng Shui turns around, who would have thought that the merchant who bribed him at the beginning turned into his own chief.If he wants to punish him, he has no choice but to escape!

The officials were frightened, but Zhu Nao had no intention of liquidating.

He went on to say: "What is the atmosphere of the government and how do you behave? In fact, I don't need to say more, you should know it in your heart. However, it is not all your fault that caused this situation. The so-called emulation from the top to the bottom, when the chief misbehaves, the subordinates will follow suit. .Furthermore, the law is not strict, and those who do evil are not punished, and those who do good are not rewarded. After a long time, people will naturally turn to evil."

Everyone was taken aback, and their mood gradually became complicated.As Zhu Nao said, when some of them first entered the officialdom, they may have a heart of integrity and kindness.It's just that everyone around them is corrupt, and they are not subject to any punishment. If they don't follow the corruption, they will seem to have suffered a big loss, and it will be difficult for them to blend in with the people around them.

Zhu Nao said: "These things are already in the past. Now that I am a new official, if you didn't make mistakes under my rule, you will not be held accountable for the past. But you have to remember that from today onwards, I will rectify the officials. You must be honest and honest, and strictly abide by the law. Who dares to commit corruption and pervert the law again..."

After he finished speaking, he narrowed his eyes, and Jing Zhe beside him pulled out the saber from his waist tacitly.With a bang, the cold light of the precious sword suddenly appeared, which made all the officials in the hall tremble.Jing Zhe coldly glanced at everyone, whoever dared to look at him, he would shake the knife in his hand, frightening them until their knees went limp, their heads were extremely low, and they dared not raise their eyes again.

Jing Zhe retracted the knife and sheathed it, subconsciously glanced at Zhu Nao.In order to make the action of drawing the sword more intimidating, he specially practiced it for two days, and he didn't know if he did it well.

Jun Nao met his eyes and raised an eyebrow at him in satisfaction.Jing Zhe's eyes lit up, she suppressed the smile on the corner of her mouth, and continued to maintain a ruthless image.

The officials are like a light on their backs, obedient.

Although Zhu Nao knew that many of these officials were corrupt, as he said, it was not all the officials' fault that caused such a situation.Furthermore, now is the time for employing people, and it is better to use the old than the familiar. If he really wants to strictly investigate, there will be only a few people left in the entire state capital. Where can he find so many people to replace them?The most important thing now is to resume the operation of the state capital, and the opening of the Internet is also in accordance with the situation.In the future, if someone dares to violate the law and discipline, it will not be too late to punish them severely.

After talking about punishment, we should also talk about rewards, so that people have the motivation to do things.Zhu Nao said: "Honzhou pastors have clear rewards and punishments. I will conduct inspections every season, and I will reward those who can fulfill their duties with money. In addition, I will vigorously promote those who are capable."

After explaining the words of kindness and strength, Zhu Nao asked the lower-level officials to leave the hall, and first went to clean up the dilapidated state capital. The broken bricks and tiles should be swept away, and the doors and windows should be repaired first. At least make the state capital look like it.

The lower-level officials left with a feeling of sympathy, and they couldn't wait to whisper to each other not long after they walked.

"I heard that the few words Zhu Nao said just now are really interesting. Could it be that he really wants to manage the state capital well?"

One person disagreed: "Come on. I have dealt with the businessman for so many years, and the businessman's words must not be believed. He said that he should treat us well and give us promotions and rewards, but this time the state capital suffered such a catastrophe. This year's He can't even pay the salary, where can he get the money to reward us?"

Another person said: "What kind of reward do you still want at this time? The state government has made it like this, so if he doesn't punish people, just laugh secretly. Besides, even if he can't reward you, can't he still punish you? Didn't you see that he brought With so many warriors around, do you dare not do what he says?"

The first person to speak said: "Don't think too badly. Zhu Nao is a man who knows how to do business. Do you think how much business he has done in the past few years? Maybe he can do well as a state shepherd. We Let's do it well, the state government has been rectified, and we will benefit too. If we fail, we will not be able to survive if we recruit bandits again."

"Yeah... I hope he is a wise master."

After the lower-level officials left one after another, the only ones left in the lobby of the government office were the civil servants and staff in charge.

Zhu Nao said, "Where are the state's rosters and various field books?"

The rest of the people didn't speak, only Dou Ziyi took a step forward, took out a few booklets from his pocket, and presented them to Zhu Nao: "The governor of the state, the soldiers rebelled that day, broke into the state capital, and smashed the cabinet where the official documents were stored. The official documents have been messed up. I have been sorting out these few days, and I just finished sorting out last year's roster and field books, etc., and it will take some time to sort out the previous year's."

Zhu Nao took the few booklets presented by him, and asked, "It's been so many days and I haven't finished sorting it out, so are you the only one doing it?"

The rest of the people immediately lowered their heads in shame.Some time ago, the state capital was too messy, and there were a lot of things that needed to be cleaned up. No one knew where to start, so they simply did nothing.Only Dou Ziyi knew the importance of those official documents, so he started packing them early.

Zhu Nao flipped through the booklet that Dou Ziyi sent up, and glanced at him appreciatively.Dou Ziyi sorted it out in great detail. Almost all of the household census, arable land census, tax account books, state capital expenses, etc. of the prefecture are here.

It should be known that governing a state capital is quite similar to managing a store.For example, in managing a store, the income is the sale of goods. After deducting the cost of goods, transportation costs, staff wages, storefront rent and other expenses, if there is still a surplus, the store can continue to operate; and managing the state capital also has a large amount of money.Income is the tax paid by the common people. After deducting the expenses for the court, the remaining money must be paid to officials at all levels, and must also make the common people stable and prosperous, so that the government can operate.Otherwise, it will close sooner or later like a shop.

Zhu Nao began to browse through these account books, and the atmosphere in the hall suddenly became tense, and the officials dared not speak out.

The past six months have been the most chaotic and messy period in Langzhou.The number of people registered in the register decreased sharply, and they died or went into exile or fell into grass; the tax revenue was appallingly low, and most people were poor and could not pay the rent tax at all; the expenditure of the government treasury was like running water.It cost a lot of money to recruit the bandits, and it was a lot of money to organize the bandits into a Xiang army and pay them food. Song Zhou Mu also spent a lot of money buying rare birds and birds.The number of silver deposits in the warehouse is so sad that those who hear it cry tears when they see it.

And there is only so little money left, and I don't know if it is there.

Zhu Nao said: "Is the money and food still in the treasury? Was it taken away by Zhao Tulang and the others?"

Dou Ziyi said: "The bandits emptied all the grain, but the money is still there. The money and jewels are stored behind a secret door, and they didn't find it that day."

Zhu Nao nodded: "Yeah." He has already planned to be poor and empty, no matter how much is left, what is left is a good thing.

Seeing that he was not angry, the officials were secretly relieved.This Xinzhou shepherd is much more magnanimous than they thought.

After counting the heads and reading the roster and account books, Zhu Nao had a good understanding of the current situation of the state capital.Next, he will start to rectify the personnel affairs - although he still uses the original people in the government, how to use them will naturally not be the same as before.

He leaned back on the chair, resting his chin on one hand, and said slowly: "The chaos in Langzhou now is caused by bandits. I want to know, who came up with the plan when we decided to recruit bandits?"

As soon as these words came out, several people's faces changed suddenly.Just now I was thinking about Zhuzhou Mu's magnanimity, so I'm going to settle accounts with them!

Although the Bandit Zhao'an was Qian Qing's mastermind, many people supported him.Later, during the implementation of the plan, many people participated in making suggestions.If this is really to be settled, there are not a few people who are implicated.

Zhu Nao saw that the crowd changed color, knowing that they were timid, and said: "Don't be nervous, it's not to punish you. You give advice to the officer, use it or not, it's up to the officer to decide, and the officer should be responsible for the consequences. It's just such a big one." Things cannot be settled in a few words. You should have discussed it? I am not familiar with you, and I want to take this opportunity to get to know you. You should repeat everything you said that day. "

Everyone looked at each other.

Zhu Nao smiled and said, "Just tell the truth, if I say I won't punish you, I won't punish you. But if someone is lying and I find out..."

With a sound of "ping", the scimitar in Cheng Jingzhe's hand came out again, making all the officials tremble again in fright.People hurriedly recalled the conversations of the day word by word.

Everyone is present today, even if someone wants to conceal and tamper with what he said that day to shirk responsibility, others will point it out.In addition, Cheng Jingzhe and other warriors were standing aside with knives, so they had no choice but to say whatever they wanted.

People reenacted the situation of that day, one by one reprimanded the bandits as hateful, and discussed the strategies to control the bandits.However, no one has been able to come up with a good solution.When it was Qian Qing's turn, he had to bite the bullet and speak out how to recruit security, his voice was as soft as a mosquito's chirping, his head was extremely low, not daring to look at Zhu Nao's expression.

At the beginning, several people opposed the policy of recruiting security.When it was their turn, they hurriedly repeated loudly what they had said to refute Qian Qing that day, more confidently and passionately than before. After all, now that they knew the ending, they were more confident that what they said was right.After hearing this, Zhu Nao sized them up a few more times, occasionally nodding in agreement, but didn't comment much.

When it was Qian Qing's turn again, he had to bite the bullet and say what he called "killing three birds with one stone".Zhu Nao couldn't help laughing when he heard the three benefits of recruiting bandits.This smile made Qian Qing's face flush with laughter, wishing he could dig a crack in the ground and get in.

When Dou Ziyi stood up against Qian Qing, Zhu Nao sized him up with great interest.However, Dou Ziyi hasn't clarified the reasons for her objection, so the reenactment of the scene of that day will stop here.

"Huh?" Zhu Naoqi asked, "That's all? Didn't Dou Ziyi finish talking?"

An official hurriedly said: "Zhu Zhoumu, when we talked about this, Song Zhoumu had already made up his mind to recruit for security, so he asked Master Qian to draft a call for security."

Everyone recalled the situation that day, and thought of all the chaos in Sichuan in the past few months, and their hearts were heavy.Who would have imagined that such a big mistake would be caused by a piece of paper calling for security?

Suddenly, a deep male voice sounded, breaking the silence in the hall.

"There will be great chaos in Shu."

As soon as this remark came out, all the officials were at a loss, and followed the prestige to look at the person who said it, and it turned out to be Dou Ziyi again.The officials were wondering where his nonsensical words came from, when suddenly someone exclaimed, "I remembered! Dou Ziyi did say such words that day!"

People were stunned for a moment, and then someone remembered: "Yes, I heard that too. Dou Ziyi did say that there would be chaos in Sichuan that day."

Zhu Nao asked everyone to repeat what he said that day. Although Dou Ziyi's sentence was no longer the subject of discussion, since he said it, it can indeed be repeated.

All the officials suddenly had different expressions.Dou Ziyi is not a high-ranking person in the state capital, but a low-level official who organizes and transcribes documents. I don't know how he got into the staff meeting that day.I don't know why he would say that.What I don't even know is how his words really became a prophecy?

"There will be great chaos in Sichuan'?" Zhu Nao asked with great interest: "Dou Ziyi, did you say such a thing that day?"

Dou Ziyi hurriedly made a bow, and said: "Zhou Mu, the official said that day. Song Zhou Mu decided to recruit the bandits in order to save trouble, and handed over the recruiting to Master Qian. I knew that there would be great chaos in Sichuan. .”

There were a few snorts from around, and even Qian Qing, who had kept her head down, curled her lips in disdain.

From Qian Qing's point of view, although there was something wrong with him, he didn't think it was all his fault.The situation in central Sichuan was already chaotic enough, and his carelessness made the situation worsen faster, but wouldn't it be chaotic in central Sichuan without him?In addition, Zhao'an had no way to do it, and it wasn't that he wanted to please the bandits.It's just that in the process of recruiting, officials at all levels did not handle some things properly, and the people lacked patience and trust in the government. Everyone was at fault, and this finally led to this situation.It can only be said that he was really unlucky.But this Dou Ziyi said that he was in chaos just after hearing a word of advice, which is simply unreasonable!Is there a better way than recruiting security?

Zhu Nao said: "Tell me in detail, why did you think there would be chaos in Sichuan?"

Dou Ziyi said calmly: "When I say it now, it seems like an afterthought. But I really thought so at the beginning. Although Mr. Qian knows financial management, he doesn't understand people's hearts. It's good for Tulangzhai, Changming Whether it is the village or not, those bandits might have turned into bandits because of the difficulty of making a living, but now it is different from the past. They are numerous and powerful, and their lives are rich. If they are tempted by each other, they are likely to agree. And once they recruit high-ranking officials with a lot of money, it is bound to make people with ulterior motives follow suit, and regard this as the crystallization of promotion and wealth. This is inevitable, not accidental! Even though there were not many imitators at the beginning, But the government is powerless to suppress it, so it will inevitably be recruited in the end. As time goes on, more and more imitators will surely follow, which will cause chaos among the people—this is one of them.”

Qian Qing was slightly taken aback.No wonder he felt that the results of the period of time after the recruitment were very good, but a few people with ulterior motives took the opportunity to make trouble, trying to defraud the government of the recruitment fund.But later, at some point, there were more and more troublemakers, and the situation took a turn for the worse. He still hasn't figured out what happened.Listening to Dou Ziyi's analysis, is it actually the root of the disaster that has been planted since the beginning of the recruitment?

Zhu Nao said, "Is there another one?"

Dou Ziyi said: "Yes. The worst thing is that Songzhou Mu not only decided to recruit, but also asked Master Qian to write a call for peace. Master Qian is a man... a man..." He thought for a moment, swallowed the word "stingy", and continued. "Mr. Qian has always been cautious. He regards Zhao'an as a business negotiation. He is afraid that if the price is too high, he will suffer a loss, so he first set the conditions very low, and only waited for the bandits to increase it. However, how can Zhao'an and business negotiations be done?" The same? Those bandits may still have a sliver of fear and jealousy towards the government, but the conditions for recruiting security are changed day and night, and they naturally understand that the government is incompetent, and the only way to go is to recruit security, and they are willing to compromise again and again. Even if the government doesn’t accept it, it has to accept it.”

Zhu Nao looked at him a little more appreciatively.If the previous analysis can be an afterthought, but this one can be seen that this Dou Ziyi is indeed a sensible person.At the beginning, Yu Changming showed him the first call for security, and when he saw the recruitment conditions, he knew in his heart that the government had made a big mistake in this move.The government may want to recruit bandits with less money, but doing so can only have the opposite effect.If the bandits don't accept it, the government will inevitably have to increase the price. With this price increase, the government will completely lose its integrity and prestige, and let the bandits understand the incompetence of the government.It would be better if the government gave a superior recruiting condition from the beginning, which would definitely be much less than letting the bandits sit on the ground and start asking for a higher price.

"There is another three." Dou Ziyi said, "After recruiting the bandits in Tulangzhai, if they can be scattered and resettled so that they can be supervised, maybe the state government still has a chance of life. However, because of the second point, Zhao Tu The wolf understands that the government has no bottom line to recruit security. Zhao Tulang is an ambitious person. If he wants to accept recruitment, he will never give up his own power easily even if he promises a lot of money. So in the end he The conditions for recruiting safety must require that all the bandits remain under his control. In this way, the government is tantamount to attracting wolves into the house. The government has no power to manage the slaughter wolf village in the mountains, so could it be that they can manage it when they enter the state capital?"

Qian Qing's face was already pale.As Dou Ziyi said, he originally hoped to use the name of Zhao'an to disintegrate the influence of Dashanzhai.However, Zhao Tulang refused to accept life and death, saying that the bounty and fiefdom can still be negotiated, but if the state government tries to disintegrate his cottage, there is no room for negotiation on the matter of recruiting security.At the beginning Zhao Tulang also said some soft words to the government, for example, as long as his cottage is organized into an army, he will try his best to defend the state capital and stop doing evil.Although Qian Qing didn't believe it all, he had no choice but to hope that the bandits would really change their minds.In order to promote the recruitment as soon as possible, he agreed to Zhao Tulang's various conditions, swallowed their cottage whole, and incorporated it into the Xiangbing.In the end, he swallowed his own evil, and the entire state capital was looted.

After hearing what Guo Ziyi said, the rest of the officials also had strange expressions on their faces.

Many people thought that Dou Ziyi was just lucky, but after he finished speaking, they had to change their minds.Don't say it's an afterthought, let them analyze it after the fact, and they can't analyze these afterthoughts.What's more, Dou Ziyi had indeed expected that the gaffe would be serious beforehand.

After Dou Ziyi finished speaking, Zhu Nao's expression was mixed: "You have already thought of these things before?"

Dou Ziyi said calmly, "Yes."

Zhu Nao tapped his fingers on the table, and his tone suddenly became a little cold: "Then why didn't you explain right and wrong to Song Zhou Mu? Just watched Zhou Mu make mistakes again and again? In my opinion, although Qian Qing proposed the strategy of recruiting security, , but your guilt is much heavier than his!"

Everyone in the hall was shocked again.Today Jun Nao is magnanimous and forgives them all kinds of mistakes.But who would have thought that the first person to be questioned would be Dou Ziyi?

Dou Ziyi was silent for a moment, and said with a wry smile: "Yes. I won't say it, because I know that even if I say it, Song Zhoumu will never listen."

Zhu Nao said, "Why are you so sure?"

Dou Ziyi said: "Songzhou Mu only served in Langzhou for three years, and he will return to Beijing as soon as he takes office. He has never cared about the people's livelihood in Langzhou. The only basis for his actions is that he will listen to whoever causes him less trouble. He It's not necessarily that he doesn't know that the strategy of recruiting security will cause endless troubles, but this strategy is the most convenient for him, and there will be no future troubles, when his term of office is up, he should go."

As soon as this remark came out, several officials in the hall couldn't help but nodded.No one who works in the state capital does not understand Song Rentou's character.When many people reported to Song Rentou on errands, they were criticized and expelled by Song Rentou because the matter was a little troublesome.Over time, everyone learns to fool around.

Zhu Nao looked at Dou Ziyi with his chin in his hands.Dou Ziyi has no expression on his face, and his tone is always calm.To put it nicely, he is stable, but to put it bluntly, he is not very old, and he is already a bit insensitive.

Zhu Nao said lightly: "You are quite good at reading people."

Dou Ziyi bowed her head and remained silent.He is really good at reading people, and sometimes he reads too thoroughly, which saves a lot of trouble, but also reduces a lot of fun in life.Especially in today's world, where one's eyes are full of absurd things and one's ears are full of absurd words, the more one understands one's life, the more absurd it becomes.

But Zhu Nao said: "Since you are so good at judging people, tell me, what kind of person am I?"

Dou Ziyi froze for a moment, then raised her head in surprise.Everyone around was also stunned.What kind of strategy is this? !

Dou Ziyi was dumbfounded for a long time, and replied with complicated emotions: "Zhuzhou Mu... I don't know."

Before that, he didn't know Junao.Just two days of contact...he really couldn't understand.

Zhu Nao chuckled, and said earnestly: "Look, you don't know, right? You can't be too self-righteous, you think you know everything, but if you don't try, what do you know?"

Dou Ziyi: "..."

Before Dou Ziyi could recover from his strings of knowing and not knowing, Zhu Nao waved his hand and made up his mind: "Dou Ziyi, if you know what you don't say, you are guilty and you should be punished. You will be fined for half a year!"

Turning to Qian Qing again: "Master Qian, what were you in charge of before you became the master?"

Qian Qing was taken aback: "Ah, ah? I, I used to be in charge of tax affairs..."

"Oh, no wonder." Zhu Nao nodded and said, "I heard that what you said just now kills three birds with one stone, and only one tax-related one is reasonable, and the other two are nonsense."

Qian Qing: "..." No, no such exaggeration as nonsense.

Zhu Nao said: "Forgive me for making a big mistake, but you have no bad intentions, so I won't punish you. It's just that the position of master book is not suitable for you. You should go back and manage taxes."

Qian Qing: "..." Official positions have been demoted, is this also called no punishment?

"You," Zhu Nao pointed at Dou Ziyi, "From tomorrow onwards, you will be the chief bookkeeper."

Dou Ziyi: "..." He has not recovered from the feeling of being fined, and suddenly got promoted? !

Based on what everyone said when they replayed the scene just now, Zhu Nao asked a few questions to better understand everyone's temperament.Someone seemed to have some opinions on the law, so Junao transferred him to manage the law.After making simple adjustments to personnel, he waved his hands and said, "Let's do this today. Hurry up and sort out all the official documents that need to be sorted out, and submit them all to me within three days. Alright, let's go."

After finishing speaking, she got up and went down to the hall, and left with Cheng Jingzhe.

All the officials were stunned by his resolute actions, and they didn't recover for a long time after he left.

Dou Ziyi has experienced punishment first and reward later, but she is the one with the most ups and downs in the hall.He was promoted from a low-level official to the master book who can be called the right-hand man of the state pastor in one fell swoop, which can be described as several levels of official promotion.However, his mood is also the fastest to calm down among the crowd.

Zhu Nao punished him with his half-year salary, not so much as a punishment, but as an announcement to the state government—he is a completely different person from Song Zhoumu, and people can speak freely to him, and they will not speak out against him. convicted.

Dou Ziyi looked at Zhu Nao's leaving back, and gradually, a smile appeared on his face that had been numb for a long time.This absurd world has suddenly become somewhat hopeful.