The sun is nice and sunny in mid-August.
Before Huo Zhongru entered the main hall, he had already assumed the posture of meeting a superior official, with his back slightly bowed.
After entering the palace, he looked forward with some prudence.
Then he saw a young man wearing black Hanfu sitting where the county magistrate was sitting.
The young man had a stern face, especially his eyes, which were as bright as scorching the soul.
Huo Zhongru had never seen someone's eyes look so threatening.
Behind the young man stood a number of bodyguards who were made of iron. They were also wearing regular clothes, but each of them held a long sword in their hands. Even standing there, they still had an amazing murderous aura that could only be cultivated through countless battles.
In front of the young man was a tall and majestic middle-aged man wearing official robes.
The middle-aged man bowed slightly and leaned his back slightly forward, which was also a gesture of meeting the superior. Judging from his behavior, he looked like he was waiting to be lectured by the young man.
Huo Zhongru and Huo Guang were shocked beyond measure.
The reason is that Huo Zhongru, as a county official, had just met Du Ji, the governor of Hedong, and came to Pingyang County for inspection.
At that time, due to the convenience of his position, he even asked his son Huo Guang to be in the county's welcoming queue to observe and gain insights.
Both men knew that the middle-aged man was the prefect Du Ji.
Where is the magistrate of Pingyang County?
Magistrate Li stood at the door like a follower, not even qualified to speak close to him.
Who is that young man? The two men have the same mind and have exactly the same idea.
Huo Zhongru knew the county magistrate, and looked at the magistrate cryptically with a questioning expression.
Magistrate Li seemed not to see him and did not respond at all.
"You two are Huo's father and son."
A clear and solemn voice came from the front.
Huo Zhongru said hurriedly: "Huo Zhongru from Pingyang County, I have met... met the officials."
He didn't know what to call him, but it was always right to call him "Sir".
After he finished speaking, he prepared to pay homage with great ceremony.
The young man said: "No need to show greetings, just give me a seat."
Huo Qubing has been observing them since they came in.
His attention was focused more on his half-brother Huo Guang.
If judged by the standards of future generations, Huo Zhongru is also an old scumbag.
Huo Qubing had no feelings for this father, but because of his position, he was relatively tolerant of many things and would not feel disgusted. After all, he was his biological father.
Huo Guang is still a little immature.
After he came in, his expression remained respectful, but he kept raising his eyebrows and observing secretly, with some curiosity and thoughts about what he saw in front of him.
It is important to know that Huo Qubing's pro-army troops after his death were as murderous as they were.
After Huo Guang came in, he dared to observe carefully, which showed that his courage was not weak.
Of course, this performance is far from enough.
It's hard to explain things like talent.
Huo Qubing also had some curiosity and rare interest in this half-brother.
There was already a low seat in the hall. When Huo Qubing asked for a seat, Huo Zhongru looked at the prefect and county magistrate standing next to him and carefully took his seat.
Huo Guang followed his father. After sitting down, he spread the hem of the Hanfu forward. With his legs as the center line, the hem was symmetrical and neatly placed.
Records of Huo Guang in later history books say that he had been in and out of the palace for more than 20 years, and he was cautious and never made a mistake.
He never made even the smallest mistake, so he gained the trust of Emperor Wu day by day.
There is also an interesting anecdote recorded in the history books. There is a scribe who specializes in recording the words and deeds of officials when they enter and leave the palace. After comparing them before and after, they found that Huo Guang's steps and places he walked in the court in the past 20 years were almost copied exactly.
Even the number of steps he took to walk through the corridor outside the palace study, and the position of each step, were all measured as if with a ruler.
This shows that Huo Guang's meticulousness is engraved in his bones.
Such a person is very suitable to listen to the emperor and can handle every little thing properly.
And this kind of meticulous character that can't mess with every detail is definitely an advanced stage of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Huo Guang is a king of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Huo Qubing combined some anecdotes from his memory. Watching Huo Guang straighten his clothes and demand symmetry, he had a strong sense of obsessive-compulsive disorder and it was inexplicably funny.
"I wonder what the officer has come to see me for?" Huo Zhongru asked bravely.
Huo Qubing looked at the county magistrate.
Magistrate Li was flattered and came forward, walking briskly, and handed a roll of bamboo slips to Huo Zhongru and Huo Guang respectively.
He also gave Zimeng a portion... Huo Zhongru felt a little strange.
Zimeng is Huo Guang's character.
The two opened the file and saw that it was a case file copied by the county magistrate himself.
The record is that on the way to Pingyang County, Huo Qubing encountered a group of idle men for blackmail. Now a group of them have been captured and detained in the county government.
Huo Qubing quite wanted to compare with Huo Guang and asked:
"What do you think after reading this dossier?"
Huo Zhongru said: "The lower officials are daring. These unscrupulous and idle people often do evil things, which has a great impact on the reputation of Pingyang County. Now even the officials have suffered the same fate, so they should be sentenced severely as a warning."
When it was Huo Guang's turn, he hesitated for a moment and then said:
“The file says that those people first observed at the city gate, selected the target, and followed the officials’ vehicles, which was the process of observing again.
Then he decided to take action.
All this shows that they seem to be idle, but in fact they often do this kind of thing, and their plans are quite rigorous and their methods of action are clear.
The evil deeds they have done are obviously not limited to these, and I am afraid there are others behind them... Only by finding out the people behind them and cleaning them up can we better prevent this kind of thing from happening again.
If they do this in the county, then... there must be accomplices in the city... and there may be people in the county government who are protecting them. "
This last sentence was the reason why Huo Guang hesitated before speaking.
But he still said it, obviously having his own considerations and judgments.
Huo Zhongru was shocked when he heard this, and looked at the county magistrate, who also had a look of horror on his face.
If this matter involves county officials, the county magistrate might have to take the blame.
How will I, Huo Zhongru, stay here in Pingyang County from now on... Huo Zhongru's thoughts suddenly changed and he spoke to remedy the situation: "An official must not listen to children's nonsense. He does not understand etiquette and is still young. His casual words cannot be taken seriously."
Huo Qubing said calmly: "He is right."
The county magistrate Li Chang broke out in a cold sweat, fell to the ground and saluted: "I will die..."
"You do bear the responsibility for not being strict.
But what happened yesterday has little to do with you. Get up. If it really had something to do with you, you wouldn't have done nothing since it was sent here last night. Let those people go unharmed and end up involving you. "Huo Qubing said.
The county magistrate shuddered, thinking to himself that the people who sent me here last night were just to see how I would respond. If I were not careful, my head would fall to the ground at this moment.
He stood up tremblingly.
I heard that this man killed countless people on the battlefield, which is really scary.
Huo Qubing looked at Huo Guang: "I'll leave this matter to you. I'll assign two people to you. It's limited to two days. If you do it well, you'll be rewarded."
After Huo Qubing finished speaking, two soldiers walked out from behind and followed Huo Guang.
When Huo Zhongru saw that he signaled that the two of them could leave, he hurriedly took Huo Guang to leave and left the county government hall.
County magistrate Li Chang went out to see him off in person.
After leaving the county government office, Huo Zhongru took a breath and thought that this matter was nonsense. A person with a prominent status came and told Zimeng to do it. What did it mean?
"Sir, that person is..."
Coming out of the palace, Huo Zhongru approached the county magistrate Li Chang, took out a small gold cake from his sleeve and handed it over secretly.
Li Chang's expression changed and he said, "Zhongru, please don't harm me."
He glanced at Huo Guang: "The things assigned to us will be handled properly, and all departments in the county will give their full assistance."
After bidding farewell to the county magistrate, the two men stood outside the county government office and looked at each other.
I began to blame my son:
"You almost ruined something big today. My father always taught you to be cautious in everything, and it is a great wisdom to stop talking. Just now, when you said something nonsense, did you ever consider that you would offend the county magistrate for nothing?
How will my Huo family stay in the county in the future? "
Huo Guang said firmly: "My child has certainly thought about it.
My father only cares about whether he will offend the county magistrate, but what my child cares about is the likes and dislikes of the magistrate.
He suddenly came to the county and found me and my son. Didn’t my father find it strange?
What is his identity? Does my father have any guesses? "
Huo Zhongru asked curiously: "Do you have any guesses?"
Huo Guang nodded: "I'm not sure about the specific identity of that officer, but my father noticed that there was a small mark on the end of the handle of the sword in his soldier's hand, which was red.
There is a red mark on the handle of the knife. Officials from all over the Han Dynasty all know that it is the sword of the Imperial Guards. "
Huo Zhongru subconsciously turned around and glanced behind him to follow suit. Huo Qubing had sent the two soldiers.
The serial numbers of their respective swords in the Forbidden Army were written on the handles of their scabbards, and they were indeed red.
What the father and son said didn't go too far, so there was no need to avoid too many taboos.
Huo Guang was still a young man at heart, and he showed off his ability to his father:
"That officer can use the Imperial Guard as his personal bodyguard, so you can imagine his identity."
"He specifically came to meet you and my son. Just now at the county government office, he offered a seat to me and my son alone. What does this mean?
It shows that he is at least kind to us, so the child speaks boldly. "
"Father, do you think that he looks slightly similar to you? Do we, the Huo family, have any relatives in Chang'an?
Think about it carefully. "
Huo Zhongru shook his head: "The prefect in the palace didn't dare to say anything just now. How could I, my father, dare to take a closer look? He didn't pay attention to his appearance at all."
Huo Guang said: "The official gave me a two-day deadline, and I want to try it.
You will know what happened in two days! "
…
Huo Qubing also left the county government and took Liu Qing out of Pingyang County. They spent two days in the He (Shan) East County (West) and visited the Baquan Gorge in the Taihang Mountains.
It brings together the essence of Taihang’s landscape, with dangerous terrain and waterfalls and flowing springs.
Especially the eight springs in the canyon have clear water that changes with sunrise and sunset, showing a variety of colors.
This is why Baquan Gorge got its name.
I went to Wutai Mountain again.
The couple returned to Pingyang two days later.
Huo Guang, Huo Zhongru and his son had been waiting at the county government office for a long time, looking expectant and nervous.
It was still in the county government hall last time.
The same people as last time.
The elegant birds in the hall are silent.
Huo Qubing was reading and listening to the two personal guards placed next to Huo Guang, reporting on what Huo Guang had done in the past two days.
As expected, the gang of idle men who cheated their families were related to people from the county government.
There is a county official named Li Tao in the county, and behind Li Tao is the adjutant of Pingyang County Lieutenant, that is, the deputy in charge of public security and garrison in the county.
This is an old routine of connecting black and white, which is common in ancient and modern times.
What's rare is that Huo Guang not only dug out these in two days, but also found out that the group of people who looked like idlers actually belonged to a gang called Qianjianghui. They had their accomplices not only in Pingyang, but also in surrounding counties.
The Qianjiang Society is a gang that specializes in fraud, taking advantage of opportunities to make money, bribe local officials, and seek asylum.
The changes in Pingyang County in the past two days have many reasons why the county magistrate wants to clean himself up and work hard to cooperate.
However, Huo Guang can advance things in a calm and orderly manner. Considering his age and current experience, it is already worth cultivating and looking forward to, and is expected to coincide with the historical line.
After hearing these changes, Huo Qubing smiled and came to Huo Zhongru and Huo Guang.
"My name is Huo Qubing, and my mother is Wei Shao'er." Huo Qubing said as he greeted his elders.
Huo Zhongru's hands trembled, his thoughts rose and fell. After hearing the words, he made some judgments and his body began to tremble slightly.
His surname is also Huo, and he looks similar to his father. His father's behavior...
Huo Guang, who had been speculating for the past two days, seemed to realize something. A thought suddenly occurred to him, and he suddenly fell into mad joy: He was Huo Qubing, the champion, the leader of the one hundred thousand imperial army, Lang Zhongling, who defeated the invincible Huns. General...oh my god!
(End of chapter)
