Yi Xiaodao finally entered Qucheng, and Xue Mang and Fan Jun went in with him. Wei Youming stayed outside the city and was stationed in the military camp.
Kong Cai, the head of the Kong family, was about to go down to the city to greet him, but Kong Li stepped forward to stop him: "Dad, it's still unknown whether this person is an official or a bandit, so why should dad condescend to greet him in person? In my opinion, he is probably a fake. It's better to wait until he enters the city. , just capture them and send them to Lord Fan for disposal!"
"There are military armors under the city, didn't you see? Even if he is not from the imperial court, he still has a great relationship with the imperial court! The two men in Jicheng have not yet decided the winner. If this person is from the imperial court, he will be with them. Being friends with my Kong family will be of great benefit! What do you idiot know? Get out of the way!" Kong Cai scolded angrily.
Although Kong Cai gave way, he was unwilling to do so, but he didn't say anything and followed him obediently.
Kong Cai led a group of people to see Yi Xiaodao from a long way away. He cupped his hands and said, "I heard that the Privy Councilor of the imperial court was coming in person. I apologize for the delay in meeting you from afar. I don't know whether the Privy Councilor...has his official seal?"
Yi Xiaodao took out the seal from his arms and threw it over: "Look carefully. Look carefully."
Kong Cai's eldest son Kong Ren reached out and grabbed the seal thrown by Yi Xiaodao. Behind him, his second son Kong Yi pushed the county magistrate Fan Teng to Kong Cai's side. Kong Cai asked in a low voice: "Is this a thing of the imperial court?"
Fan Teng took the seal, looked at it carefully with his eyes wide open, and nodded: "It's true, it is indeed the imperial seal. The imperial seal is made by visiting skilled craftsmen all over the world and using gold powder to engrave the word 'Zhao' on the bottom of the seal. It is almost as tiny as Invisible…"
"So simple? The world can imitate it." Kong Cai didn't believe it.
"Master Kong, if you don't know, how many people in the world know about it? Moreover, privately making seals is a serious crime. If the local government conceals it and fails to report it, and the court finds out, the county magistrate will also be punished..." Fan Teng shrank his neck.
Only then did Kong Cai believe it. He walked up to Yi Xiaodao, held the seal back with both hands and handed it over: "Your Majesty the Privy Council..."
"My surname is Yi, Yi Xiaodao." Yi Xiaodao smiled.
"Master Yi. Please come to the humble residence of the Kong family and let me show you the friendship of the landlord." Kong Cai quickly changed his tune and followed the good example.
Yi Xiaodao put his hands behind his back and said in a pretentious manner: "I have just arrived in Qucheng. It will be inconvenient to go to the Confucius Mansion. Wouldn't it be better if the Master of Confucius went with me to the county government office to talk to him?" Even if Yi Xiaodao had great courage, he would not dare to go to Luneng's sect. If something goes wrong, even if Zhao Yizhi personally conquers Confucius, he will not be able to save his life.
Kong Cai nodded repeatedly: "Master Yi is thoughtful, so let's go to the county government office. Ah, this is disturbing Master Fan." Kong Cai looked for Fan Teng behind him.
Fan Teng squeezed out: "Don't bother me, don't bother me, Master Kong and Master Yi can come and leave the place, and the leaves will shine brightly!"
It was a very standard flattery, but Yi Xiaodao sounded very uncomfortable. He didn't want people to see the flaw, so he laughed it off.
The group of people marched toward the Qucheng County Government Office. Along the way, Kong Cai was chatting and laughing, explaining to Yi Xiaodao the various monuments and sights in the city. He did not have the slightest grudge against what Yi Xiaodao said outside the city. Playing tricks on the spot is also Yi Xiaodao's specialty. The two chatted happily, and those who didn't know it thought they were old friends who hadn't seen each other for many years.
When they arrived at the county government office, everyone was divided into guests and hosts. Fan Teng sat on the seat of the county magistrate awkwardly, and both sides smiled apologetically: "I will order someone to book a banquet at the best drinking ink building in the city to welcome Mr. Yi." Dust off.”
Kong Cai smiled and said: "So..."
"This is inappropriate. The people of Donglu are displaced and in turmoil. We are still eating. Where will we put the refugees?" Yi Xiaodao deliberately interrupted Kong Cai's words.
"You..." The three brothers of the Kong family couldn't stand it anymore. They were about to have a fit when Kong Cai stopped them: "It's true what Mr. Yi said, keep everything simple, keep everything simple."
Yi Xiaodao couldn't help but secretly admire Kong Cai's magnanimity. As the head of the Kong family and the head of the Confucian sect, how could anyone dare to disobey him face to face? But now Yi Xiaodao's repeated "rude" actions were all laughed off by him, and his magnanimity was truly extraordinary.
"The Confucius family is a descendant of the saints and has been around for thousands of years. Master Confucius... forgive me for being rude. Master Confucius has been well-dressed and well-fed since he was a child, but it is really rare to have such a character." Yi Xiaodao picked up the tea and gently He took a sip and said quietly.
Confucius didn't know what Yi Xiaodao meant. Just now he was slandering Confucius outside the city, but now he was praising him in the first sentence. He really didn't know why. It didn't look like he was being sarcastic, so I had to keep smiling and conveying goodwill.
Yi Xiaodao put down his teacup and said, "I'm not going around in circles. I was entrusted by someone and heard that there was an unjust case in Qucheng, so I came to investigate."
Kong Cai was stunned for a moment. If we were talking about business, it would be somewhat inappropriate for me to be here. But at the city gate, it was obviously this guy who invited me here. What kind of medicine is being sold in this gourd? Kong Cai was also a little annoyed at this time. He had been interrupted or contradicted by him several times. Now he wanted to discuss business but invited him to come. Isn't this treating him like a monkey?
"This...this case..." Fan Teng knew that Yi Xiaodao was going to talk about Qin Tiantian's incident again, and he was really in trouble and couldn't tell.
The scene was deadlocked, and Fan Teng was left sitting in the county magistrate's seat and kept saying "this...this...", and everyone present felt a little embarrassed.
"I'll let you deal with it. Master Fan and Master Kong won't mind, right?" Yi Xiaodao sent Fan Teng a message: "There is a young man in Lincheng named Qin Tiantian. He has childhood sweethearts with a girl from the same village. I don't want that. When the girl grew up, she was taken to the Kong family and was said to be the eldest daughter of the Kong family. The boy rushed to Qucheng to see the girl, but was sent to prison for breaking into a private house. Mr. Fan, can you add anything?"
Fan Teng glanced at Kong Cai secretly and did not dare to speak, so he had to pretend not to hear.
"Is this what Master Yi is here for?" Kong Cai couldn't believe it.
Yi Xiaodao weighed the two in his mind and said firmly: "That's why I came here!"
Kong Cai was speechless. He naturally knew about Qin Liangtian's affairs. He had sent someone to find out his details for this reason. He was just an ordinary farmer. He didn't know why this court official came to hold him accountable for this matter. .
"Yes, it does happen. Qin Tianliang was caught on the spot by my Kong family for trespassing into a private house, and both the people and the stolen goods were taken away. The trespassing into the private house was not false. All the neighbors who were watching at the time saw it. Please be careful! "Kong Cai admitted frankly.
"The Kong family wants to betroth that girl to the Huquan Gang in Jicheng?" Yi Xiaodao didn't dwell on the matter.
Kong Cai was shocked, could he even know about this? Still admitting frankly: "Yes, there is nothing wrong with parents' orders to find matchmakers."
Yi Xiaodao smiled and said: "As far as I know, the Huquan Gang is supported by Donglu General Dongfang Zhong, and is his direct gang. Confucius is such a big sect, but it wants to make friends with a small Huquan Gang? Why don't you ask Confucius? Lord…clear up the confusion." This is the true purpose of Yi Xiaodao!
The three brothers of the Kong family quietly folded their sleeves into their arms and grabbed the ink pen hidden in their sleeves. The Kong family is a master of writing and ink. A pen stroked horizontally and vertically can be worth thousands of troops if used well.
Fan Jun and Xue Mang, who were beside Yi Xiaodao, also noticed something strange and quietly got ready. The hall was silent for a while, but full of gunpowder.
"You three, get out of here." Kong Cai said calmly.
The three brothers did not dare to disobey their father, so they put away their pens as usual, got up and walked out of the hall. Yi Xiaodao winked at Fan Jun and Xue Mang, and they also got up and followed.
"I don't know about the situation in Donglu. Does Master Yi know anything about it? If my guess is correct, Master Yi must be here to solve the chaos in Donglu." Kong Cai asked Yi Xiaodao.
Yi Xiaodao nodded calmly, this was no longer a secret: "I also know a thing or two about the situation in Donglu. King Donglu is dead, and now Donglu is a dispute between Yang Sixiao and Dongfang Zhong."
"Yes, Yang Sixiao is the leader of Donglu's civil servants, and Dongfang Zhong is the leader of the military generals. Now the two are fighting, and all the sects are watching. This is also related to the survival of the gangs when the dust settles. This matter It's not a big deal. Marrying with the Huquan Gang... is just a self-protection measure," Kong Cai said.
"With the power of the Confucius Sect, it is not a bad idea to have direct friendship with Dongfang Zhong. Why contact the small Huquan Gang?" Yi Xiaodao was still a little confused.
Kong Cai glanced at Fan Teng. Fan Teng was still looking at his nose and his nose, looking like he was deaf and dumb. Kong Cai hesitated for a while and said cruelly: "If you contact Dongfang Zhong directly, you will be siding with Dongfang Zhong. If he fails, even the Kongmen will find it difficult to continue to gain a foothold in Donglu in the future. And the marriage with the Huquan Gang , It’s just a signal..." Kong Cai glanced at Yi Xiaodao with a meaningful look, and his words were on point.
Yi Xiaodao suddenly realized it and had to admire the foresight of these sects. The marriage with the Huquan Gang is a show of goodwill to Dongfang Zhong, but there is no actual expression. If Dongfang Zhong wins, the status of the Huquan Gang will also rise. The Confucius Sect, which is married to it, will naturally be able to firmly establish itself in Donglu. If Dongfang Zhong loses, Kongmen will immediately cut off contact with the Huquan Gang, and the loss will only be one woman.
"If my guess is correct, Master Kong is on Yang Sixiao's side..."
"Of course I also made a bet..." Kong Cai didn't shy away from saying this.
Yi Xiaodao laughed loudly and said: "Master Confucius does not look like a scholar, but more like a businessman."
Kong Cai smiled bitterly: "It is quite difficult to maintain a gang, and it is necessary... to be more calculating."
Yi Xiaodao nodded to express his understanding, and then asked: "The girl in Lincheng belongs to Master Kong..." Yi Xiaodao hesitated to speak.
Before Kong Cai spoke, Fan Teng saw that the situation had calmed down and quickly said with a smile: "Master Yi is so confused. What is the identity of Master Kong? How could he really betroth his daughter to the Huquan Gang? That woman is nothing but It’s just some beauty that the Confucian people noticed when they went out to look for her. Hahahaha.”
Yi Xiaodao held up the tea cup and drank tea, with a cold light flashing in his eyes...
