Chapter 22 Luoyang County Captain

Shangshu Youcheng Sima Fang held his breath.Originally, it was a good thing to come to the election department to serve as Cao, and it would be a good prospect to work hard for two years, and then to be a sheriff or an official in Jingzhao; It is well known that Liang Hu, the Minister of Xuanbu, is an idler.Liang Hu, courtesy name Menghuang, was born in a low-born family, but he gained a great reputation for learning art from the master of calligraphy, and even his handsome seal characters were no less than that of his teacher.However, his appointment as Minister of the Ministry is simply a vegetarian meal. Every morning, he spreads the official documents on the table and says: "You can figure it out!" .

At the beginning, Sima Fang, as his deputy, had to bite the bullet and run errands, but later found that these errands could not be handled.Xuanbu Cao is in charge of the appointment, dismissal and promotion of officials below 2,000 shi and Xiaolian. The errands appointed by this official have always been full of kindness and hatred. Today, the Sangong ordered to enlist someone, and tomorrow the eunuch entrusted a favor to reward someone. People, the empress dowager still appoints someone to hold a certain position from time to time, there are a lot of people, but the official position is limited, and Gu Dong can't take care of the west.

Sima Fang, a small Shangshu Youcheng, couldn't afford to offend at any point. After thinking about it, he couldn't make a decision, so he went to ask Liang Hu for instructions, but he still said, "You can just figure it out!" This job is really impossible.Sima Fang wanted to quit, but he had nowhere to go, so he wrote a letter to impeach Liang Hu, but he didn't move!Although this Liang Hu occupied the latrine and did not shit, he was well received by people for his good handwriting, even the emperor appreciated it, and ministers below the public minister also asked for writing and plaques, because of this reason he was very popular.Unable to handle errands, unable to resign, unable to sue, Sima Fang could not advance or retreat, and he could only hold his breath.

Not long ago, a big case came out in Peiguo, Peixiang Shiqian reported the crimes in the county, and somehow he offended Wang Fu, Shiqian ruined his family and life instead, afterward Wang Fu asked his adopted son Wang Ji to be Peixiang.Sima Fang couldn't afford to be provoked and had to follow suit. Unexpectedly, within a month of taking office, Wang Ji would have solved four major cases, killing more than a hundred people, both guilty and innocent, and even shredded corpses on the street, imprisoned nine clans, and hung their heads over city gates. , cruel to the extreme.There was an uproar between the government and the public, causing Sima Fang to be scolded along with Wang Fu and Liang Hu, which made him unable to suppress the anger even more.

This morning was very dry and hot, and Sima Fang was in a very bad mood. Looking at the official documents before the case and the silk letters entrusted by eunuchs, nobles, and ministers, he couldn't sit still. He patted his head vigorously to try to calm down his mind, and then forced himself to read the official documents and these letters. After getting the official documents, the first file was about the new Taiwei Duan Jiong seeking promotion for his old subordinates.Since Duan Jiong was promoted by Wang Fu as Taiwei, it was the third time to speak out favors for his old subordinates. He was already notorious for wantonly hunting and killing Tai students, and he didn't know how to restrain himself, so he kept recommending his cronies.Sima Fang deliberately refuted it, after careful consideration Duan Jiong seduced Wang Fu, he could never be offended; but if he followed his wish, he would inevitably be scolded again.What to do?Sima Fang thought about it for a long time and didn't know what to do, so he had to put this official document aside to be determined.

The second thing he picked up was Wang Fu's letter of appointment for officials in Bohai County.After Liu Kui, the king of Bohai, was executed, Bohai changed the country into a county, and officials had to be re-appointed.Before the court's public discussion came down, Wang Fu first sent a large list of names, all of whom were donated money by cronies and old friends, and even drawn up who would be the county magistrate and who would be the meritorious official.But the emperor clearly said that he wanted to pick clean and honest officials to take on the responsibility, and maybe he would ask questions in person in the future.How should this be done?Sima Fang was at a loss, and threw the official document aside again.

Take a look at the third business - even trickier!It was a favor entrusted by Dahonglu Cao Song for his son Cao Cao to be an official.It's fine if it's someone else, but the Cao family father and son must not make any promises casually! A few months ago, Cao Cao had just been promoted as Xiaolian, and a big lawsuit arose before he went to Beijing.Huan Shao, a gentleman, jumped out of Peiguo and accused him of killing the housekeeper of Huan's mansion in order to win a kabuki.Just in time for that cruel official Wang Ji to take office, the case was filed without asking any questions.He originally had a murderous temper, but after more than two months of pushing and questioning, the result was that the report was groundless and the case was closed.

In fact, if you think about it, you will understand that Cao Song and Wang Fu originally wore a pair of trousers. Wang Ji must have filed a case hastily without knowing Cao Cao's identity, which led to a farce of flooding the Dragon King Temple.Later, I found out the details, so there was no need to fight this lawsuit again, and only a kid named Xiahou was found to take the blame.But after such a commotion, the court and the public know about the strife and murder, how can Cao Cao be arranged for a decent position?Not only did Cao Song not know how to restrain himself, he even opened his mouth to let his son be the Luoyang order!This thick-skinned man was almost up to the city wall, and his son stabbed Lou Zi and made him the county magistrate of the first county that day.To give or not to give?They started the lawsuit by themselves, and now they are the ones who are shy to ask for an official. They have taken up all the reasons in the world.It's a lot of beautiful words, but I still don't know what kind of guy this Cao Cao is!

Sima Fang really couldn't stand it anymore, he felt dizzy, looking at the piles of official documents on the table, he felt that all the documents were densely written with the word "grievance", so dazzling!After being busy for a long time without even finishing a single official business, he was so anxious that he was sweating profusely and dizzy. He rubbed his eyes and let out a sigh of relief. He looked up at Liang Hu who was sitting not far away—this Da Shangshu is sitting there practicing his calligraphy, as if nothing happened! "Master Liang...Master Liang..."

Liang Hu was probably so engrossed in the writing that he didn't hear Sima Fang's call at all. "Master Shangshu!" Sima Fang couldn't bear it anymore, he raised his voice, "Here are some official documents, please have a look." "Oh?" Liang Hu didn't even raise his head, "What official document? Didn't I tell you to handle it! I'm busy here! This is the handwriting that Zhang Rang of Huangmen begged me to write, and there are still a lot of it behind! Yuan The Duke asked me to write a volume of "Shangshu Hong Fan" for collection, and the Empress Dowager Yongle also asked me to write a copy for her nephew Dong Zhong, as well as Yang Gong and Ma Gong. They have been waiting for more than half a month. Although Zhang Huan was resigned from office, his spirit of elegance remained undiminished, and he sent a letter asking me to copy a song "The Row of the Tiger"..."

"My lord!" Sima Fang couldn't listen any longer, "Please put aside the matter of calligraphy for now, you must make up your own mind on these errands!" "What's the matter? You can figure it out!" Liang Hu was quite impatient. "I figured it out! I figured it out! I can do it!" Sima Fang was so mad, he shouted hysterically, and pushed all the official documents and letterheads full of cases to the ground.Han officials pay attention to dignity, and it is impolite to make loud noises, let alone such actions.When he made such a fuss, all the subordinates and clerks in the room were startled, and looked at this usually gentle and elegant boss in surprise. "What are you looking at?" Liang Hu put down his pen and said sharply, "You all go out, I have something to talk to Master Sima alone." When all the subordinates in the room retreated, Sima Fang realized his gaffe, clasped his head and explained in a low voice: "This subordinate is really Meng Lang! Actually... my lord... I really... really... There's nothing I can do, I can't handle these errands." "Then what should we do?" Liang Hu yawned, still expressionless. "Master Shang Shu, please give me an instruction, what should I do?" "I don't know...I just know I have to write these words well." Sima Fang saw that he still had the attitude of a dead pig not afraid of being scalded by boiling water, he was bored in his heart, and said coldly: "My lord! Since you don't know how to deal with it, why don't you think of a way and do something serious? " "This is serious business!" Liang Hu's voice was quiet but decisive, which frightened Sima Fang, "Brother Sima, do you think I can handle these official duties?" "How do you say that..." Sima Fang lowered his head. "To tell you the truth, even if Duke Zhou is alive and Guan Zhong is resurrected, these errands can't be done!" Liang Hu shook his head helplessly. , I can't figure it out at all!" "Then let's..." "That's why I told you to do whatever you want!" Liang Hu shook his hands. "But can this deal make a difference?" "Don't worry! You are a little Shangshu Youcheng of four hundred shi, who can get along with you? They don't touch your crock with a golden bowl! Even if they have grievances, they have to take it out on me. You have to shoot me!" At this point, Liang Hu touched his forehead, sighed, and his cynical expression disappeared in an instant, "So I have to leave the business to you, so that I can have time to write for these big shots , Try to make them happy. In this way, if someone shoots ulterior motives in the east, we will go to the west to find someone to protect us, and when the west side capsizes, we will go to the east to hide. Some people are disappointed in the personnel arrangement, and someone must be happy! Let's deal with them back and forth, no matter what. If you don't step into the air, it will be done!" Sima Fang woke up like a dream after listening to these words from the heart. He suddenly realized that Liang Hu was as wise as a fool, and he was actually much smarter than he imagined. "Brother Sima! You have been working for such a long time, why haven't you understood this point? You have a good character, you are brave in doing things, and you don't talk too much easily. It's really hard for you these days... In fact, you don't need to think too much , just do it according to your mood, if there is trouble, I will take care of it, let's just go one mile and one distance, after two years, I will guarantee you to be Jing Zhaoyin, and leave this ghost who is called heaven and earth as soon as possible place!" "This..." Sima Fang bent down to pick up the official documents all over the floor with a face of shame, "I didn't expect you to have so many difficulties, and my subordinates misunderstood you." "I'm out of luck, brother! To tell you the truth, sometimes I want to tear up and burn these words...but I can't! If I can't write good words, a person like me who has no roots and no background will soon I was demoted from the capital! In this world, what can I do?" Liang Hu wiped his face, looking extremely tired. "You're right..." Sima Fang was also silent. "My brother! Don't waste your time! We are all animals on the cart, as long as we are in the officialdom, we can't rest for a moment!" "No..." Sima Fang laughed at his metaphor, "Then... let's give Duan Jiong some face and promote the person he recommended. Is that okay?" "Row!" "The officials of Bohai County are to be elected. Can Wang Fu's people not be used?" "become!" "As for Cao Cao," Sima Fang didn't dare to be more bold, and paused before saying, "It would be too conspicuous to let him be the Luoyang magistrate, but it seems unreasonable to send the county magistrate to separate father and son. After all, Cao Song's favor is entrusted to the adults." "What about my brother's opinion?" "Let Cao Cao be the northern Luoyang lieutenant first!" "No problem...you just figure it out!" Liang Hu picked up the pen again and continued to write his words.