The Great Qin Empire---Qin Li

On the tenth day of the twelfth lunar month, the La Festival had passed, and the weather was getting colder. Even Anlu County, which had never snowed in previous years, had a heavy snowfall...

It snowed all night, and by the next morning, the entire Anlu was covered in white: the trees in the mountains were covered with snowballs, like jade branches and leaves; the roofs of the houses were covered with snow, and the people hid in the house shivering and didn't want to go out; the empty fields became a snow field, and a few wild rabbits left plum-like footprints on them; Yunmeng Lake also had a thin layer of frost, and the north wind whistled over the lake, and there was a cold scene everywhere.

Although the weather was bad, there were still some pedestrians and vehicles on the road. On the road thirty miles south of Anlu County, a two-horse carriage was moving slowly. The horses' hooves were wrapped with non-slip straw. The driver exhaled white air while driving the carriage. The carriage behind him was full of firewood. On the thick haystack, there was a person lying...

But the person was wrapped in thick winter clothes, wearing a straw hat, carrying a bag and a sword, but the straw hat could not cover the bright red cap on his forehead, and the straw hat could not cover the red clothes on his body.

Judging from his attire, he must be a pavilion chief. It was Heifu who had just passed the assessment a few days ago and was appointed as the pavilion chief of Huyang!

Heifu came here today to take up his post. Counting it, he had postponed taking office for several days.

It turned out that on the first day of the twelfth lunar month, in front of the chief clerk, Heifu answered twenty legal questions in one breath without changing his face, shocking the entire chief clerk's office. The chief clerk was amazed and immediately reported the matter to the county magistrate, the county right lieutenant, and the left lieutenant.

In this way, the left lieutenant who had always said that Heifu was a rough man who did not know the laws and regulations and could not be an official had no excuse and had to hold his nose and watch the county magistrate and the right lieutenant approve the appointment. After all, he was not the chief official.

Although the appointment had been issued, Heifu was involved in a lawsuit again. It was he who sued the head of Xiyangli!

Heifu reported to the county magistrate that the head of Xiyangli incited the people in the village to make trouble and tried to break into his house to take away the treadle. The head of the village in the past few years had also been turned up for revenge against Heifu's family.

It was such a coincidence that the person assigned to handle the case was still the prison official Xi. When Xi saw Heifu, he was stunned at first, and then his expression was "Why you again?"

Fortunately, there were no twists and turns in this case, because Heifu had too many witnesses, from Yan Zheng, the old official in the plaque, who was his teacher, to the prison gate of Xiyangli, all stood on Heifu's side and confirmed what they saw that day.

As for the Xiyangli residents who were summoned, perhaps because they felt guilty about what happened that day, or because they were afraid of Heifu, the new head of the pavilion, they all said that they were instigated by the head of the village to gather and make trouble. Some people testified that "the head of Xiyangli was partial to his relatives when distributing oxen and farm tools. Those who had grievances with him often did not get oxen and could only pull the plow themselves..."

The head of the village was indeed not clean, and now that everyone was pushing the wall down, he could not wash away the guilt.

Finally, with solid evidence, Xi cited the "Daqin Cadre Code of Conduct" ("The Way of Being an Official"), in which "Officials Have Five Mistakes", and believed that the head of Xiyangli had committed mistakes such as "being arrogant to the people, not being at ease with his job, being good at taking things, and doing things improperly", and at the lightest, it was a crime of dereliction of duty.

But considering that it did not cause serious consequences, and his title was a high-ranking one, it could slightly offset the crime, and in the end he was only sentenced to "redemption of tattooing", and at the same time removed the position of head, abolished his meritorious title, and confiscated the rewarded land...

The head of the village completely lost his status. He spent most of his family wealth and paid more than 30,000 yuan to avoid the punishment of tattooing. All the farm slaves were taken away by the government. In the future, he might have to work in the fields with the lowly villagers he looked down on.

This matter is not over yet. Shang Yang said that those who rule ten miles are weak, while those who rule five miles are strong. Although the grassroots village officials are small, they cannot be absent for a day. Xiyangli still needs to elect another village chief.

Generally speaking, the village chief is recommended by the local villagers or directly appointed by the township officials. He is often the person with the highest title, the greatest reputation, and the strongest financial resources.

Finally, the old man with the highest title in the village, the village supervisor, got his wish and became the new village chief. In this way, the position of village supervisor was vacant again...

What was unexpected was that when selecting a new village supervisor, the villagers actually came to ask Zhong to be the village supervisor!

...

Although Zhong looked cowardly, he was loyal, fair, and trustworthy. That day, his roar at the doorstep of his house made the villagers respect him more.

Coupled with the fear of Heifu Pavilion Chief, some villagers made moves to please Heifu's family, so Zhong was pushed to this position.

"I don't want to be a village guard..."

But Zhong himself was not happy, shaking his head like a rattle. He was a person who didn't like to be in the limelight, and he really didn't want to get into trouble for a few dollars.

Third brother Jing thought, why not be an official? How impressive! But Heifu supported Zhong and thought it was better not to wade into this muddy water.

Heifu said to Zhong and Jing: "Even if the villagers elect the village guards and Wu Lao, my brother doesn't have to take up the post, because the Qin law is too harsh on these positions. If you are not careful, you will be punished."

For example, a thief broke into Jia's house and injured Jia. Jia shouted that there was a thief, but his four neighbors, the village head, and Wu Lao were all out and didn't hear the shouting. When the four neighbors were out, they could be exempted from punishment. Even if the village head and Wu Lao were not there, they could not be exempted from responsibility. The village guard who let the thief in was also punished.

In the Qin State, being an official not only means enjoying the benefits of salary, but also taking on responsibilities and risks. Remember, remember.

Heifu was helpless to be the head of the pavilion. As a time traveler, he knew the general trend of the times. He was like a salmon swimming upstream. He knew where to swim to be safe. If he couldn't go forward, he would retreat to the end.

And Heifu didn't say something directly: "Want to please our family? Ask for forgiveness? Sorry, I don't have as good a temper as my uncle, I don't appreciate it!"

Besides, what's so good about being the old man in the communication room!

So, Zhong refused the recommendation of the people in the village and continued to focus on the more than 200 acres of land at home and the education of Jing.

At the same time, Heifu's sister-in-law was also left in the county's woodworking workshop to participate in the manufacture of "treading pestle".

It turned out that after the county engineer and the warehouse steward presented this item, the Anlu County Magistrate attached great importance to it and immediately ordered a batch of them to be made and put into use in the county warehouse. The official workshop could not casually manufacture the official "order book", that is, the utensils outside the plan, unless approved by the local county magistrate.

However, the reward that should have been issued was delayed. Because the county magistrate was not sure how much credit this was, he sent this matter together with a replica of the treadle to Jiangling City, the capital of Nanjun, and asked Nanjun County Magistrate Teng to decide...

From Anlu to Jiangling, across the Yunmeng Lake, the mountains and rivers traveled 500 miles, and it took more than half a month to go back and forth. There was no certainty for the time being, and Heifu was too lazy to pay attention to it. Because of the Qin State's cheating household registration system, the utensils were presented by Yu, and this matter had little to do with him. Fortunately, no matter what the result was, the benefits were all from his family, so it was not a loss.

And Heifu himself visited Yan Zheng's house again to thank him for his help. On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, after hastily celebrating the La Festival and settling down at home, he went out to take up his post.

However, Heifu did not go directly to Huyang Pavilion, but first went to Liyi, Yushui Township, and met with the "Youjiao" who was responsible for arresting thieves in the township.

Although the pavilion chief was a subordinate of the county lieutenant, and had no direct superior-subordinate relationship with the Youjiao of the "township police station chief", the two had many overlapping duties and would inevitably deal with each other in the future, so it was better to say hello first.

The way of being an official is not only about ability, but also about human relations and etiquette.

Then, Heifu was trapped in Yushui Township by the sudden snowfall, and could not set off until the snow stopped this morning.

He was lucky, and a carriage to the county town agreed to take him along.

Unlike the end of September when he went to the county town to serve, and had to rely on his legs to go back and forth, Hei Fu now has an official status, with a red cap on his head and a red robe on his body. If he meets a passing carriage, he can just raise his hand to stop it, and then politely ask if he can take a ride. The owner of the carriage will agree.

So Hei Fu just lay in the carriage, swaying comfortably, all the way to the northern part of Yushui Township...

...

"Sir, the pavilion chief, we have arrived at Huyang Pavilion."

The carriage slowly stopped by the roadside. The driver blew his breath to warm his frozen hands, and turned back to wake up the sleepy Hei Fu.

Hei Fu stood up and looked, but saw a wooden pillar about ten feet high next to the straight road. On the top of the pillar sat a strange-shaped monster statue, which looked like a raccoon and a dog. Hei Fu couldn't name it. Looking down, there is a wooden board nailed in the middle of the pillar, on which are engraved four small seal characters of "Huyang Pavilion Department".

Heifu knows that this is Huanbiao, which can also be called Huabiao. According to legend, Huanbiao was set up at the main roads during the reign of Emperor Yao for people to write advice and criticize the current situation. Later, it gradually became the symbol of the pavilion.

Beyond Huanbiao, there is a dirt step leading to several earthen houses covered with black tiles, which is the pavilion...

"This is my pavilion..."

Heifu has seen many pavilions along the way in the past few months, and he is no longer surprised. However, the one in front of him makes him feel both familiar and strange, with mixed feelings in his heart.

His story began with a conflict with the head of Huyang Pavilion, and he came here to take up the post by mistake. It was really not easy to become the head of the pavilion.

At this time, two people walked out of the door of the pavilion that had been open. They seemed to have been waiting at the door. When they saw the carriage stop from a distance, they came out and shouted, "But Hei Fu?"

The voice was so loud that the snow on the pine and cypress trees on the roadside shook. Hei Fu was immediately happy when he saw it.

The visitor was also wearing a red suit, with a sword on his waist, two thick flying sideburns on his cheeks, and a scary leopard birthmark on his forehead.

Who else could it be except his good friend Dongmen Bao who he had met before?

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