Liu Baihu's funeral took three whole days. Brother Cheng found dozens of eminent monks and chanted the salvation sutra for three days and three nights, which cost a hundred taels of silver!
Three days later, Liu Xin, led by Senior Brother Cheng, went to the Thousand Households Office in the Inner East City to do the fortune telling. After Liu Baihu died of illness three days ago, Senior Brother Cheng immediately sent someone to hand over the news of Liu Baihu's death, as well as Liu Xin's Succession table and household registration certificate. The approval from the Qianhu Office also takes three days, so the time to go today is just right.
It takes an hour to walk from Liuzhai to Qianhu House in the Inner East City, and it takes less than half an hour to take a carriage.
The time when Jinyiwei's Qianhu Office was in charge of the zodiac signs was every day at Chen hour. When Liu Xin arrived at the Thousand Household Office in Neidong City, it was the seventh quarter of Si hour. There is still a moment until Chenshi, but there is no one at the door of the Qianhu Office in the inner east city. Logically speaking, there should be many school captains coming to order at this time.
Senior Brother Cheng didn't show anything on his face. He just told Liu Xin to be careful and took Liu Xin into the Qianhu Office.
Senior Brother Cheng also has the identity of a civil servant in Jinyiwei. This civil servant is one of the low-ranking officials in Zhengyang. All petty officials are not included in the establishment. They have no salary, only money and food distributed from time to time, and they can barely satisfy their hunger. .
Of course, the civil servants in Jinyiwei are different from those in other places. After all, Jinyiwei has a lot of oil and water, so the school officials and household officials naturally cannot write documents themselves, so they recruit civil servants and give them more money and food than in other places. Some.
However, these civil servants can basically only be filled by people who are related to Jin Yiwei. For example, Senior Brother Cheng, a civil servant, is under Liu Baihu's command, and he has the dual identities of Liu family steward and civil servant.
Basically, all the civil servants in Jinyiwei are rich and their wealth does not go to outsiders.
Brother Cheng took Liu Xin straight into the inner hall of the Qianhu Institute. In the inner square, there should usually be people lining up to count the bows, but now there was no one there.
There was no one in the check-in room of the Qianhu Office in the inner east city. Liu Xin stood in the yard while Senior Brother Cheng rummaged through the rooms with different colors, but finally came back shaking his head.
"It's strange. No one is there. Even if there is a mission on weekdays, a few civil servants should be there, and there should be a few captains left behind. What happened?"
"Uncle Cheng should be able to find a way. Since this situation is unusual, there must be something wrong. We can't sit still and wait for death."
"That's right, just wait for me for a moment!" Senior Brother Cheng left the Inner East City Thousand Households Office after saying this.
Not long after, Senior Brother Cheng came back with a very ugly look on his face.
"A case broke out in the Imperial City, and several thousand offices in the inner city were transferred. However, even if there was a major case, people would have to stay here. But since there are no people here, someone probably wants to give you a blow. "
"A show of force?" Liu Xin was a little confused.
Senior Brother Cheng frowned deeply and said: "Liu Licheng of the Thousand Households of the Thousand Households in the Inner East City is a narrow-minded person. The Jinyiwei is divided into three factions, and the three factions stand in harmony. This is the way of the Jinyiwei commander Wang Zhongjie's way of serving as an official. Among them, Wang Zhongjie has grasped the situation except the Northeast All the imperial guards from other provinces outside the five provinces are the disciples and grandsons of Wang Zhongjie. He is very smart and has spread all his confidants and firmly controls the periphery. But in the five northeastern provinces, there are almost no confidants. "
"And Dai De'an, the commander of the Nanzhen Fusi who is responsible for the internal inspection of Jinyiwei, is actually from the palace. He is also a subordinate of Mi Yusong, the admiral of the East Jishi Factory. Everyone knows this. He Dai De'an It's the emperor's spy. So Nanzhen Fusi is actually Mi Yusong's subordinate."
"And Kou Gang, the commander of Fusi in Beizhen, is the spokesperson of the civil servants in the court. The so-called civil servants do not refer to a certain person, but to a group of people, headed by the Sixth Division. There were Jin Yiwei in the previous dynasty. Taking the example of Wen Chen randomly, from that time on, Wen Chen took control of the Jin Yi Guards near Gyeonggi Province regardless of his face. And why I say Wang Zhongjie is smart is because almost all the Jin Yi Guard commanders before him did not end well. The reason He just refuses to delegate power, and always chooses to compete with the civil servants in the capital. The more powerful ones will fight against the civil servants, and if they are defeated by the worse ones, they will not be able to leave any bones or hair. "
"But Dai De'an and Kou Gang are not fools. How could they allow themselves to be used as spearmen by Wang Zhongjie?" Liu Xin already understood the power struggle within Jin Yiwei at this time. The commander of the Jinyi Guards, Wang Zhongjie, wanted to sit on the mountain and watch the fight between tigers and leave the conflict to the two irreconcilable groups of eunuchs and civil servants.
Throughout the past dynasties, compared with the conflicts between Jin Yiwei and civil servants, the real blood feud between eunuchs and civil servants was called.
Although Liu Xin thought Wang Zhongjie's move was beautiful, after all, he was not the only smart person. Liu Xin never looks down on others, let alone underestimates them.
Senior Brother Cheng nodded and said: "Yes, Dai De'an and Kou Gang are also old foxes, so the fourth party force was pulled in, and Wang Zhongjie couldn't sit back and watch the fight between tigers. If he didn't end up, this benefit would be It can be lost at any time.”
Liu Xin frowned at first, then reacted and said softly: "Wudi City!"
Senior brother Cheng looked at Liu Xin with satisfaction. He felt that although this junior brother was not punctual and unruly, he was still smart. This was the first time he truly recognized Liu Xin.
"The real rise of Emperor Wu City has only been eleven years. It is a miracle that they can gain a foothold in the Chaotang and other forces. It is difficult to continue to expand their energy now. And Nanzhen Fusi is controlled by Dai De'an In his hand, it was a piece of iron that could not be shaken. Kou Gang could only lure the wolf into the house and take away the Thousand Households in Neidong City. Only by throwing this piece of fat out could he attract the big fish from Emperor Wu City to bite the hook!"
"Then what does this have to do with today's matter?" Liu Xin felt that Senior Brother Cheng had been talking for a long time but didn't get to the point.
Senior Brother Cheng said solemnly: "If you don't understand the key to this, you won't be able to understand why they are targeting you today. Inner East City Thousand Households Liu Licheng is a disciple of Emperor Wu City, but he became Inner East City Thousand Households Only three years. This time is neither long nor short. He has only initially controlled the internal affairs of Jinyiwei. Even among the four hundred households under the jurisdiction of the Inner East City Qianhu, only three of them belong to him. Among the confidants, the only one left is Liu Baihu, who is apparently one of Kou Gang's men."
"Liu Licheng wanted to quickly take control of the Thousand Households in the Inner East City before he could continue to develop the interior of Jinyiwei. Liu Baihu was seriously ill and had no heirs. His position as a Hundred Households was easy for Liu Licheng to obtain. But When you come, everything changes.”
"I understand, but even if he wants to make things difficult, Liu Licheng can't do anything about it. The pro-military system is a hereditary system. This is a law and cannot be changed!"
"If there are no heirs, the heirs of other guards can inherit three days after death. This is also the law. This was Liu Licheng's original plan. But now that you are here, Liu Licheng will probably think of another way. After all, you are a foreigner. Yes, when I first entered the imperial capital, I thought I didn’t belong to any party, so now is the best time to win over.”
"Then why are we left here today?" Liu Xin was a little confused. If he wanted to win over, why did he do what he did today?
Senior Brother Cheng smiled and said in a pretentious manner: "This is an unspoken rule of officialdom. Suppress first and then win over. I really don't understand how this tradition was formed, but I have to say that this method is very effective."
Liu Xin: "..."
"There's a big case in the Imperial City. The Thousand Household Office in the Inner East City set out last night. These scribes didn't come this morning. It's probably Liu Licheng's deliberate arrangement. When you take office today, no matter whether you have ordered Mao or not. You have entered the post. If you do not go to the imperial city today, it will be dereliction of duty. According to the law, the most severe punishment is dismissal. If Liu Licheng plays this trick, it is unlikely that you will be dismissed. After all, you have just arrived. In this way, In fact, his purpose is very clear. If you don't go today, you will definitely be uneasy about the guilt of dereliction of duty. Afterwards, he will comfort you and help you cover up the guilt. I think if you are an ordinary person, you should deal with it at this time. Liu Licheng is grateful. Even if he is not grateful, at least he is grateful in his heart."
Liu Xin suddenly realized that this was the case.
"So if you don't want to be grateful to him, then you have to go to the Imperial City now, and I will show you the way. Of course, if you want to join any side..."
"No need, there are no ifs. I don't want to be a member of any party." Liu Xin said calmly: "I'll take care of myself as I come. I'll be subordinate to others and be constrained everywhere. How can I accomplish great things!"
Senior Brother Cheng laughed and said: "You are so ambitious. In this case, I will definitely help you!"
It is quite far from the Inner East City Thousand Households to the Imperial City, where the people living in the Imperial City are ministers, relatives of the emperor, etc.
When Liu Xin arrived at the gate of the imperial city, it was already four o'clock in the morning, and it took a full hour. This was still the case when traveling by carriage.
He showed his identity, but Liu Xin did not have a waist card, so he could only let others pass the news. There is also an institution of Jin Yiwei in this imperial city, the General of the Han Dynasty.
But this group of people is just a bunch of stooges and is actually not very useful.
After another half an hour, a big Han general came out and handed a Jinyiwei waist badge to Liu Xin.
Senior Brother Cheng is not a Jin Yiwei, so he cannot enter. Liu Xin could only follow the Han general into the imperial city alone. His carriage could not enter, and the two of them could only walk.
Finally, the Han general took Liu Xin to the Jinyiweifu Yamen in the imperial city. This was originally the station of the Han general, but it has now been requisitioned by the Jinyiwei.
The commander of Jinyiwei was away on business, so the person in charge of handling the case in the imperial city at this time was Kou Gang, the commander of Fusi in Beizhen.
Kou Gang is a middle-aged man with a delicate face and a short beard. He is wearing a royal robe. He has a strong figure and holds the robe tightly. Because his image was too elegant, he was once called the White-faced Man Tu, because he once defeated hundreds of enemies on the battlefield with the Northern Barbarians, which made the Northern Barbarians frightened.
If you only rely on military merit, it is not enough to be rewarded by the emperor and become a commander of the Imperial Guard. The real key to his being able to take this position was that he married Gu Dawen, the former Zuodu censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and became Gu Dawen's entry-level son-in-law. Only then did he gain the trust of civil servants, who then helped him to this position.
With his military exploits and the help of civil servants, Kou Gang was in the limelight for a while.
Now in the Imperial City's government office, Kou Gang was closing his eyes and concentrating, sitting behind a large table. Below him were four thousand households who were chattering about something.
Among the four thousand households in the imperial capital, the two thousand households in the inner city are more important, followed by the outer city.
Since arriving in the imperial city last night, the four thousand families have not closed their eyes. This case is too strange and too complicated. None of the four people are willing to take over it. They have been arguing since last night until now, and they have not clarified the division of labor.
"Huh~" Kou Gang, who had his eyes closed to rest, suddenly took a deep breath, opened his eyes, and said in a low voice:
"It takes a thousand days to raise an army, but it only takes a moment to use it. You have served in Jinyiwei for far more than a thousand days. How come you can't even use it for a moment now?"
Kou Gang's voice was not loud, but as soon as the words came out, the whole room immediately fell silent.
Kou Gang's eyes slowly swept over, and finally fell on the face of Liu Licheng, who looked tired.
"Liu Qianhu!"
"My subordinate is here!" Liu Licheng took a step forward in fear.
"The Inner East City Qianhu Station is responsible for the investigation. Liu Qianhu should be the person with the most say in handling this kind of case. What do you think?"
When Liu Licheng was asked this question, cold sweat suddenly broke out on his face. He was alone in Beizhen Fusi. He was actually not afraid of Kou Gang or even Wang Zhongjie. But he was afraid of Shangguan Ba and Emperor Wu's city. If he cannot open up the situation in Jinyiwei, that will be the most unacceptable result for him.
Liu Licheng's eyes flashed and he replied: "Master Kou, my subordinates have arranged for several hundred households to cordon off the scene of the crime and conduct a detailed search. We should have some clues by now. Why don't we call them in to understand the situation at the scene? Only then can we make some basic judgments.”
"Look for them!"
"Yes!" Liu Licheng immediately turned around and went out to call someone.
Not long after, three hundred families came hand in hand. Their bodies were all wet. The moisture overnight had turned into dew in the morning, soaking their clothes. They had not stopped since yesterday afternoon. It was really a matter of great importance. , have to be careful.
"I've seen Master Tongzhi, and I've seen four Masters of Thousand Households!" the three Hundred Households said in unison.
"Master Kou wants to know, did you find anything at the crime scene? Is there anything unusual?" Liu Licheng asked.
Just as one of the three hundred households was about to answer, Meng Dingwen from the Qianhu House in the Inner West City asked in a deep voice: "Why are there only three hundred households? Liu Qianhu, do you only have three hundred households under your command?"
Hearing this, Liu Licheng seemed to have just discovered that there were only three people in a hundred households, so he quickly explained: "My subordinate Liu Baihu was seriously ill and unfortunately died of the illness three days ago, so he did not come."
"Died of illness? Since it was three days ago, these three days are enough for his nephew to succeed him. If there is no nephew, you should make arrangements. Why is such an important case today missing a hundred households? How can you drive your subordinates well? People!" Meng Dingwen said somewhat aggressively.
Liu Licheng did not look panicked, and just continued to explain: "Liu Baihu has a nephew to succeed him, but I heard that Liu Baihu's nephew came from other places and didn't know our rules. Meng Qianhu shouldn't criticize the newcomer harshly. !”
"I'm not criticizing the newcomer, but I think you are incompetent as an official. In any case, it is your responsibility to effectively replace Baihu Officials. Don't use this excuse to excuse your oversight!"
Liu Licheng's face slowly fell. This Meng Dingwen was Kou Gang's confidant. Now he came out to confront him. He must have been prompted by Kou Gang. He couldn't help but feel a little angry.
Just when Liu Licheng was thinking quickly about how to fight back against Meng Dingwen, he saw a school captain coming in from outside. After saluting, he said to Liu Licheng:
"Liu Qianhu, the newly appointed Baihu Liu Xin is here to report!"
"Huh?" Liu Licheng suddenly wondered, how did Liu Xin find this place? This was the only thought in his mind at the moment.
Meng Dingwen turned around and glanced at Kou Gang without any trace. Kou Gang had a smile on his face, as if he didn't feel Meng Dingwen's gaze and ignored it.
"Let him in." Liu Licheng said to the captain.
When Liu Xin first came to the government office, he heard Liu Licheng summoning the four hundred households under his command, so he hurried over. With his sharp ears and eyesight as a warrior, he could hear the quarrels in the room from a distance. Liu Xin He couldn't help but sneer in his heart, as expected, Senior Brother Cheng was right, Liu Licheng was going to give him a killing blow.
But it seems that Liu Licheng has no ability. Under the current circumstances, if the other party continues to be aggressive, Liu Xin will probably be thrown out as a sacrifice by Liu Licheng.
But luckily we arrived in time.
Liu Xin quickly entered the hall and saw the only person sitting in the hall. He knew that it was Kou Gang, so he saluted respectfully:
"Liu Xin, a member of the 100-household household in Neidong City, has met Mr. Tongzhi!"
Then he saluted to the space between the others and said:
"I have met several Qianhu adults!"
After saluting, Liu Xin raised his head and stood there with his head held high. Although he was not wearing the robe of a royal guard, he was full of energy and upright, which made Kou Gang's eyes brighten.
Such a handsome face is relatively rare in Jinyiwei, and he himself is one of them, but now the hero is old and his appearance is gone.
But this couldn't stop Kou Gang's first impression of Liu Xin from being very good.
