Chapter 42 Arriving in Hangzhou
The prince was very concerned about He Xi's safety and specially dispatched the palace guards to protect He Xi. These are the Luan Yiwei. Today's Jinyiwei is still new, and its clothing style is not much different from that of the palace guards. Therefore, Guo Huan admitted his mistake at first sight.
However, Guo Huan was still shocked after he found out that he had made a mistake.
After all, not everyone can use palace guards as bodyguards.
He knew that He Xi had a strong background. But I never expected it to be so big.
After more than a hundred palace guards occupied key positions near the dock, and even forcibly occupied the positions guarded by some Hangzhou soldiers, He Xi came out of the cabin under the protection of two people. One is Xu Baoer. The other one is Wang Qianli of the Hundred Households in the East Palace of the Prince's faction.
Although Xu Bao'er is young, he is Xu Zheng's adopted son. He is not clear about matters in the palace and outside the palace, but he still understands them all. He even brought a maid to take care of He Xi's food and daily life. As for Wang Qianli, he was naturally responsible for protecting He Xi's safety.
He Xi himself was unwilling to disturb Zhou Zhang in such a big way, but Zhu Yuanzhang did not allow it, and neither did the prince.
Zhu Yuanzhang naturally wanted to ensure absolute control over He Xi and would not let He Xi escape his control. As for the prince, he really regarded He Xi as his younger brother. Naturally, arrangements must be made for him.
As soon as He Xi came out.
Guo Huan immediately stepped forward and saluted and said, "I'm here to pay my respects to Secretary He."
He Xi immediately stepped forward to help him and said, "Master Guo, why do you say this? He Xi is just a secretary in the district, how can he dare to be called a superior official?"
The secretarial supervisor system has also been improved a lot during this period, and the secretarial order is the third grade. And Secretary Lang is the seventh grade. He Xi's official position is Secretary Lang, which is only the seventh rank. How to be the chief officer of the Chief Envoy.
Guo Huan said: "Secretary He is here on behalf of His Majesty, isn't he a superior official?"
Guo Huan's reply was also flawless.
He Xi didn't know how to refuse for a while.
Guo Huan said: "Secretary He is tired from the journey. Please give me a favor and let me help you."
He Xi looked at Guo Huan and said, "Okay."
Guo Huan immediately called for many sedan chairs. Please He Xi get on the sedan.
He Xi said: "Give me a horse. Treating people as animals is not done by a benevolent person. Don't you think so, Mr. Guo?"
Guo Huan's face froze, then returned to normal in a moment, and said: "What Secretary He said is absolutely true. Come on, change the horse."
A group of people came to the Chief Envoy's Yamen.
The leading figures from the Zhejiang Chief Secretary's Yamen and the Zhejiang Police Chief's Yamen have arrived.
Guo Huan introduced them one by one. However, He Xi discovered that the Zhejiang Capital Command Department, the Zhejiang military, did not have a single heavyweight.
He Xi asked: "Where is the commander of the capital of Zhejiang?"
Guo Huan said: "Secretary Lang does not know that the ground in Zhejiang is not peaceful. There are often rebellions by scoundrels at the junction of Chuzhou and other three provinces. The Marquis of Yan'an is commanding the three provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Fujian and is encircling and suppressing bandits. Almost all the soldiers and horses in Zhejiang They are all in Chuzhou. And all the commanders are at the command of the Marquis of Yan'an. They are not in the city."
He Xi nodded and said, "That's it."
When Guo Huan said this, He Xi remembered it.
Just like in later generations, just after the founding of the People's Republic of China, there was a long period of war against banditry. And the same is true for Ming Dynasty. Especially in the south. This kind of war lasted for many years before gradually settling down.
Although the suppression of civil unrest in various places in the Ming Dynasty later had the nature of suppressing peasant uprisings, the frequent suppressive activities in various places during the early Ming Dynasty cannot be regarded as simply suppressing peasant uprisings. It does not necessarily mean establishing domination.
In the Yuan Dynasty, local management was quite crude, and local tyrants were rampant. Dominate one side. After entering the Ming Dynasty, many powerful locals transformed into aristocratic families. But the powerful locals in some remote places may not be so smart.
Although Ming Dynasty was established more than ten years ago. But many people are still alive in the Yuan Dynasty. After all, they spent the first half of their lives in the Yuan Dynasty. He was used to the almost indulgent generosity of the Yuan Dynasty. Many things don't seem to matter. But if the court wanted to ask questions, it would be too much control.
The more remote and isolated the place, the more so. The local bully is used to it. Then submit to the imperial government?
Even the Yuan Dynasty didn't take care of them. You Zhu Chongba came to take care of them, and you relied on the sky to be high and the road to be far, and the mountains to be high and the rivers to be long. I feel that Ming Dynasty will not mobilize troops. But what kind of person Zhu Yuanzhang is, he is naturally not merciful to these people.
Tang Shengzong, the Marquis of Yan'an, was one of the generals responsible for pacifying the local area. In addition, there were Nanxiong Hou Zhao Yong and several others who were suppressing bandits and quelling chaos in various places.
However, these generals who quelled the banditry were actually politically frustrated people.
There is no other reason than to put down these bandits. Not much credit at all. After winning the battle, the general commanding thousands of troops and horses defeated the bandits, that's what it should be. But in fact? These old thieves are all very cunning, and they are located in the mountains. The terrain is limited and they cannot use large troops. There are even many remnants of the defeated heroes among them, so their combat effectiveness may not be weak.
Ordinary generals may not be able to defeat them. If one of them is bad, the boat will capsize in the gutter.
The same was true for Tang Shengzong. Although he was a former general in Huaixi, he was a little too close to Li Shanchang back then. As soon as Li Shanchang stepped down, he was implicated. After living idle for several years and quelling civil unrest in various places, Zhu Yuanzhang discovered that these bandits were all hard-boiled and had no flesh at all. Only then did I think of the veteran Tang Shengzong.
Just enabled.
However, He Xi had seen this name in the list given to him by the prince, and the prince even personally told He Xi: "I don't know whether you can believe these people in Zhejiang, but Uncle Tang is a kind man. He did what he did back then. I made a mistake and was left idle by my father. I have regretted it all these years. He is dedicated to his job. Guo Huan just needs to be honest. If you really want him, just go and invite Uncle Tang immediately."
These are the thoughts that flashed through He Xi.
After the two sides exchanged greetings.
Guo Huan said hello and the food was served.
As soon as He Xi looked at the table, he said immediately: "Mr. Guo, is this Hangzhou style? I've never seen it before?"
There were four large plates in front of He Xi. The plate is divided into dozens of grids at the center of the circle, and each grid contains a dish. The colors are colorful and look dazzling. Although every point is very small. But together, there are probably dozens of dishes in these four large plates.
Full of color and fragrance.
There's just something strange about this plate.
Guo Huan said: "That's it. Secretary He has come from afar. As hosts, we naturally have to entertain him well, but we don't know what Secretary He's appetite is? The court stipulates that local officials can only receive four dishes and one soup. We can't I don’t dare to violate the rules. That’s why I came up with this strategy. Ask Secretary He to taste it. Whatever food you like, I will give you that food in the future.”
"Yes, yes. Yes." Wang Zhong, the Zhejiang inspector on the side, said with a smile: "This is also what we Zhejiang officials think of Secretary He. It has a name, called the Baiwei Banquet. Please accept Secretary He."
Seeing this, He Xi turned her eyes left and right and picked up the chopsticks. It seemed like he was about to take off his chopsticks. After a while, it still fell.
He Xi said: "Your Majesty, your ministers must remember the court regulations carefully. Since the court stipulates that officials can only receive four dishes and one soup, it is better not to do this kind of thing well. Remove them all and serve the dishes again."
He Xi said this.
It suddenly became cold.
He Xi knew that this banquet was actually Guo Huan's test. How does Guo Huan test He Xi? What's the purpose? He Xi originally wanted to make a fool of himself. But after thinking about it, he really didn't have the confidence to hide his feelings in front of Mr. Guo.
He Xi was on the boat, repeatedly studying Guo Huan's information. No matter how you look at it, he is a talented person. If He Xi hadn't determined that Guo Huan must be a corrupt official. He believed that Guo Huan was innocent.
Also, there must be great wisdom and courage among the great evildoers in the world.
Without great wisdom and courage, one cannot commit great evil. Guo Huan is also a genius in corruption. He embezzled more than 20 million shi in total. What is the concept? This is the annual income of the Ming Dynasty. This is equivalent to someone embezzling about 9 trillion yuan in 2021, which is China's total fiscal revenue.
In this case, simply state your intention.
See if you can alert the snake.
Guo Huan was unfazed by the humiliation and seemed not to be affected by He Xi at all. He immediately stood up and said: "It's all the fault of the lower official. The lower official thought that Secretary He, Tianhuang, must not be able to endure the hardships of the place, so he racked his brains to do this in vain. This is all the fault of the lower official. The lower official apologizes to Secretary He."
Even if He Xi was dissatisfied with Guo Huan, he had to say a few words at this moment. After all, you can't dismiss a chief envoy just because of a table of food. He Xi could only say: "Some trivial matters are nothing to worry about."
Guo Huan said: "Come, please change seats."
After a while, some famous Hangzhou dishes were served, such as Dongpo Pork, West Lake Vinegar Fish, etc.
Nothing happened again. After the reception banquet, He Xi went back to rest first.
Zhejiang Inspector Wang Zhong looked a little ugly and said to Guo Huan: "This time, the person who came is not good, and the good person will not come. But is there any oversight in the capital?"
Guo Huan closed his eyes and pondered for a while, then opened his eyes and said: "No. If there is something wrong with the capital, the one who comes should be the Jin Yiwei. Even if it is not the Jin Yiwei, he should send an old official. How can he be so young? Sheng. Doesn’t look like someone with means.”
"Our Majesty is not a merciful Lord."
Wang Zhong said a little impatiently: "Why is that? This He Xi doesn't give any face at all. He clearly comes with prejudice. Have we offended anyone?"
Guo Huan said: "In these years, we have always met each other half-heartedly. We are kind to others. How can we offend others? Don't worry, the soldiers will come to block the water and cover it up with the earth. A mere child can't turn the world upside down." When Guo Huan said this, his words Suddenly there was a hint of nervousness, and he said: "I'm just afraid. He Xi's coming here is just a cover. Someone else is here to deal with us."
Wang Zhong said: "Who?"
Guo Huan said: "Jinyiwei sent people to keep an eye on the Jinyiwei Qianhu Office in Hangzhou. I want to know clearly what they do."
Wang Zhong said: "Don't they think they are full?"
