Over time, it became known to everyone in Sutai County that young county magistrates have always liked to wear long robes and rarely go out without official robes. They do not look like those young and promising officials with decent manners, but they look like those who have not yet taken the official robe. A scholar with a good reputation is very knowledgeable about etiquette in dealing with others. In the rest of this year alone, I visited many people's homes. Regardless of whether they were poor people, they only knew how to wield swords and guns. They shouted around and said that they were looking for a big gang to make a name for themselves. However, on weekdays, they were just doing nothing, and their skills were nothing more than an amateur. Everyone can see that the young people in the county are weak and weak, and they are still the poor old men who only know how to carry the sky on their backs, work hard for five wealthy merchants, and have difficulty maintaining food and clothing at the end of the year. They all visit one by one, and never After settling into a household, Xun Yuantuo actually visited most of the houses within a period of time. Except for those people with eccentric temperaments who had never entered the house, the rest of the houses were all chatting happily, and there were often people walking around outside the government office. It did make the gatekeepers very curious, and they all speculated about what kind of ecstasy medicine the magistrate, who was obviously very knowledgeable, was selling in the gourd, or simply split the gourd at his waist in half and used the gourd.
When it was time to return to the government office, I counted the time and found that it was probably after noon. There were already two guards on duty in front of the government office. Seeing that Xun Yuantuo was here, he immediately put away his laziness and clasped his fists respectfully. After all, it is clear at a glance whether the official rank is high or low, and the official above him is more powerful than anyone else. Everyone knows about this principle.
Xun Yuantuo spoke very well, waving his hands and laughing, "We have been acquaintances for a long time, why are we so polite? If we pay attention to that method, in this Sutai County, wouldn't we have to offend everyone around us, and it will be even more difficult in the future?" When things are done, there is no need to be so rigid about etiquette when there is no one around, just do as you like." After a few words of greeting, he waddled into the main hall, with a smile on his face, without the slightest hint of adulteration or embarrassment. As if he were acting on occasion, he went to the main hall on his own, picked up the chess board, and studied the chess records quietly.
Everyone in the government knew that Xun Yuan was good at playing chess, and even if he delayed his meal, he would definitely solve the end game before him. Then he remembered that he was hungry, so he was willing to give himself some difficult games, which often took an hour or two to finish. To solve the game, the chief bookkeeper initially discussed playing two games with the new magistrate, but later he realized that this young magistrate was very good at chess, and when playing chess with him, he often deliberately pushed himself to the limit. After forcing him to make a wonderful move, he regained his interest a little bit, took over the chess game that had been a sure underdog, and reversed the defeat within ten moves.
The chief bookkeeper was addicted to chess when he was young. He borrowed and copied the chess records of famous masters. He was not a rare person, but he had never seen such a domineering move. Every time Xun Yuantuo made a move, the chief bookkeeper who had passed his age would frown. After watching for a long time, it was easy to pick out a chess move from all the players. Even so, it was inevitable to throw away the helmet and armor, and ran away in defeat. After only five or six games of the game, he ran away in despair. No matter how hard Xun Yuantuo tried to persuade him, he never wanted to play against this young man again. He said that if he didn't know how to endure it for a few more times, he would feel sick in his heart when he saw the chessboard in the future, so he would still choose such a stinky chess basket. Bullying and bullying come freely.
But Xun Yuantuo just picked up the chessboard and put it down today, but he heard footsteps approaching in the back hall. When he raised his head to look, he found that the chief clerk had sat down on his own, facing Xun Yuantuo, with a solemn expression.
Mr. Xun raised his eyebrows and asked in a teasing tone, "A game?"
The middle-aged head clerk's mouth twitched twice without any trace, and he moved his body back a few inches, "I think it's not a good time for me to play chess today. It would be better to discuss this matter another day."
"At that time, I also felt that with my chess skills, I could equal everyone, and my chances of winning might not be lower than my chances of losing. But after meeting my master, I realized that I was not even close to the masters. I clearly had the chess pieces in my hands. Looking at the six paths and dozens of paths, there is no link at all. The most annoying thing is that my husband never made the first move with an ordinary path, but steadily occupied the Tianyuan, which was tantamount to giving up the piece. It just so happened that he was so aggressive and restrained at every turn. In the end, he couldn’t hold on any longer and surrendered.”
"Since I started playing chess, I have never made a single move. Even against the masters who spent a lot of money to invite chess players from my family, they have come and gone, and it is difficult to see a decline. In consecutive games, I have been beaten by others based on this." To be defeated and flee in an almost humiliating way is because the fire in my heart almost burned Wu Nei."
The chief clerk was silent for a moment, and then came out with his thoughts, "Mr. What will happen to these unreasonable people when the situation changes one day? I'm afraid they will be in even more trouble than the previous magistrates. I wonder if the magistrate can resolve this chess game."
Xun Yuantuo's expression was stagnant, and he frowned and looked at the person in front of him. He said this without hesitation. The chief clerk had been an official for many years. He shouldn't be so straightforward. Normally, he would have to go through some circles and ask tactfully, but What he said did make sense, so he opened his eyebrows and answered calmly.
"Sutai County is not that big of a county, and there are actually not many officials who worry about it. However, there are no less than a dozen county magistrates who come and go, and all of them are helpless about this place. In the final analysis, it is the remote, poor mountains and rivers, and it is difficult to come and go. He knew the law and did not recognize the court officials. On the contrary, he had been exploited by these five merchants for many years, and he had a mentality of resignation. At least he could survive at the worst; although the five merchants were quite mean in their work, they I have to mention that the people here have indeed been controlled very firmly, and I am afraid that no one has dared to have other ideas for many years."
"For example, I am the most powerful family in this place. It is easy for the court to remember that this place is still owned by Shang Qi. They sent several officials to come, but they had to pinch their noses and were overpowered by others. At least it is true on the surface. Who can People can not have any resentment in their hearts."
The chief clerk nodded, Xun Yuantuo's words were indeed to the point. It has only been a few decades since the government office was built here. It was too remote. When the country was founded, this place was not included in the territory of the Qi Dynasty. As a result, there were more and more bad people in this place, leading to the current situation. Back then, Once a senior official learned that the official had been humiliated, he almost got angry and asked the emperor to mobilize troops to clean up the place. However, he was persuaded by his close friends and the matter was shelved. As a result, many magistrates who came here were filled with sorrow in their hearts. After suffering for several months, he wrote a letter to be transferred away. Even if he was demoted to another rank, he would not stay here.
"When I first came here, I actually had three strategies. First, I relied on the common people's efforts. Whether it was to visit and teach, or to give a few words, I would plant a tree seed in people's hearts and know that these five people are not some magical tigers. , and then gave birth to the idea of striving hard, and then a small fire was stirred up. In the end, these five merchants would no longer have a place to live. They would have to leave their hometowns in a few years, and they would never dare to return to Sutai County. Based on what I think, it should be the best policy to defeat the enemy without fighting and win the hearts of the people."
The head clerk's eyes flashed, and he was obviously making some speculation on his own. He knew that this plan was feasible, so he hurriedly asked, "Since we already have a good plan, and the timing is good this time, why don't you want to stir up trouble?"
Mr. Xun lowered his eyebrows, "It takes ten years for trees and grass to grow, but it takes a hundred years for people's hearts to change. Even if I learn a few words from my husband and use both kindness and power to win the hearts of the people, it will at least change the minds of the entire county." It would take another two or three years to catch up. I was in a poor country for a year, and I was always worried about the affairs in the capital and my husband. It would not take too much time to catch up, so I had to talk about the second strategy, but the method was quite despicable. We can only settle for Zhongpingce."
"In the past, the county magistrates who were here either accepted the situation or gritted their teeth and refused to allow these five merchants any benefits. Sutai County is remote, and with the skills and manpower of these five merchants, they wanted to go out and find some business routes. , Po Datian can barely have enough food and clothing, and there is nowhere to make money from the government easily and conveniently. In the past, when the government was not yet available, it was easy to say, but if these people were to target the government, it would be profitable, and they wanted to talk about it again , like being bitten in the calf by a vicious dog that has been hungry for a few days in an alley. No matter whether it is beaten on the head or blinded, it is still difficult to open the mouth. The five families are advancing and retreating at the same time. The meager foundation of this place is really hard to shake.”
"So, why not let these five mangy dogs bite each other, and when they are exhausted from fighting, they can support one family at will, and collect all the merchants and people from the five groups for the government's use," Xun Yuantuo laughed and put away the chessboard in front of him. , wiped it clean carefully, "It has always been like this, not because of scarcity but because of inequality. At first glance, I, the county magistrate, seem to be a really good person. He knows how to advance and retreat but also knows how to hand over benefits. In fact, he is just diverting troubles to the east, diverting these five people. The target of the family's attack has shifted from the people in the government office to the other four families. After all, no one has ever imagined that an honest man who has always been obedient can hide his sword behind a smile. If it is said that it is easy to break the trick, you only need to calm down and you can figure it out. If one of the five families is missing, even if they are completely annexed, it will be a good thing for the government. Why bother fighting for small profits and losing the overall situation."
"But if the five merchants could figure this out, they would have set their sights outside Sutai County, instead of just muddle along like they are now. Taking a step back, these five merchants are like loaches in a basket of lotus ponds. If one person takes action, it will be difficult for the other four families not to accept the move. That is a dead end, but the pity is that they have no ability to solve the situation. Although it is Zhongpingce, it is the most symptomatic, with no more than two or three Yue, maybe I can get rid of this situation and return to Beijing safely."
Xun Yuantuo smiled happily, but the clerk sitting across from him was almost breaking into a cold sweat.
At first glance, there is nothing clever about this plan, but it happens to be because of this, that young people are already very proficient in estimating people's hearts, which is the most chilling thing.
The chief clerk inadvertently raised his head and asked, "May I ask Master Xun, what is the next best strategy?"
The young master stood up and was about to leave, but after hearing this, he glanced at the master register.
"It's even simpler. Since you don't want to learn what the law is and what official authority is, and the knife is held to the throat, anyone can memorize the laws of Shangqi very well. He holds the knife in one hand and holds the wine in the other. But he doesn't want to use the knife, so he persuades the wine to drink. , but when you have to go under the knife, you have to learn from that great officer, right?"
He has a handsome face, but speaks the most cruel words.
