The Great Qin Empire---Qin Li

"Don't forget to come in and have a cup of hot soup when you pass by Huyang Pavilion on your way back."

Heifu bowed to the driver who had given him a ride, just like the owner of the pavilion. It's not easy for people who are still traveling in this weather.

After the driver said goodbye with a smile, Heifu turned around, but Dongmen Bao, who was walking over, punched him on the shoulder and laughed: "Heifu, I've been waiting here for a month, why did you come just now?"

Heifu felt as if his shoulder was hit by a stone, and it hurt. He took off his hat and smiled and said: "Something happened at home, so I'm a little late."

What happened in the past two months can't be finished in a short time.

At this time, the thin young man following Dongmen Bao poked his head out and stammered, "Please...please the thief, we should, should call him the head of the pavilion... otherwise..."

This was Xiao Tao who served with Heifu and the others. He didn't expect him to be here, which surprised Heifu. He invited Xiao Tao casually at that time.

"What if?" Dongmen Bao was confused and turned back to glare at Xiao Tao: "Do I and Heifu still need to address each other by our positions?"

"Just call me by my name, don't be so distant."

Heifu patted him on the shoulder, asking Dongmen Bao not to embarrass the simple Xiao Tao, and then asked how the two of them passed the application.

It turned out that although there was no suitable candidate for the head of Huyang Pavilion, the thief and the pavilion soldiers had to be quickly filled. Without them, the public security in this area would be in chaos.

So in November, Dongmen Bao went to the government to apply after getting his mother's permission. He was a public official, good at martial arts, and well-known in the county. In addition to his experience of winning the championship in the martial arts performance, he was appointed as the thief hunter in Huyang Pavilion by the county right lieutenant without much trouble.

Xiao Tao was a little more difficult. He was originally from Yunmeng Township and his family was poor, but he came to Yushui Township, dozens of miles away, to apply for the job. It was hard not to be suspicious.

Fortunately, he came later. At that time, Dongmen Bao had already become a thief hunter and had a say in the selection of pavilion soldiers. In addition, Xiao Tao's family had made a living by shooting fish and birds for generations. Although he was small and could not shoot far, he could achieve a score of nine out of ten shots within thirty steps. He was also a skilled person, so he was kept.

Hei Fu nodded. The thief hunter was his deputy as the pavilion chief, specializing in catching thieves, equivalent to the deputy director of this small police station, and the pavilion soldier was equivalent to a small policeman.

However, he looked around but didn't see the familiar figure, so he asked, "Where is Ji Ying?"

Ji Ying was the first friend he met after coming to this era. They had shared hardships and wealth together. He was the person Heifu trusted the most. Although he was a little noisy on weekdays, Heifu actually missed him a little after not seeing him for more than a month.

When Ji Ying said goodbye to him, he said that his family would let him inherit the land and farm. Could he be stopped by his family? If so, it would be a pity if one of the four people in "Gui Shi" was missing.

When talking about Ji Ying, Dongmen Bao said with disdain: "He has no skills except for his mouth, and his martial arts are not proficient enough, so he did not apply for the postman position. But it happened that the postman of this pavilion retired, and Ji Ying was a native of this village, familiar with the road traffic in the nearby villages, and his legs and feet were also good, so the county let him fill the postman position..."

After hearing this, Hei Fu couldn't help laughing: "He actually became a postman, so he has to walk all day? With Ji Ying's temperament, can he do it well?"

The so-called "postman" is to deliver official documents between villages, or to deliver letters to the front-line soldiers' homes, which is equivalent to the postman in later generations. Postmen generally live in the pavilion and are responsible for the postal work in the area under the jurisdiction of the pavilion. Historically, the letters sent home by Hei Fu and Jing from the front line were delivered back by postmen one station after another.

However, Ji Ying had no oxcart or horse to use. He had to deliver the mail on foot for ten miles in the Huyang Pavilion area, which was a tough job, not to mention this kind of weather.

"At this moment, Ji Ying is probably trudging in the snow, one foot deep and one foot shallow." Dongmen Bao said gloatingly.

At this time, the other three people in the pavilion also came up, and Dongmen Bao introduced Heifu.

"This is the pavilion father, Pu Zhang."

An old man with gray hair and wrinkles on his forehead smiled and saluted Heifu.

Huyang Pavilion is located on the main north-south road of Anlu County. It has a large security jurisdiction and is a large pavilion, so it not only has a "mailhouse" but also a "guest house". This pavilion father is the person who manages the guest house in the pavilion, responsible for opening and closing, cleaning, welcoming and seeing off, and the meals of the people in the pavilion. He is similar to the "sheren" that Heifu met when he went to serve.

Although this person was Heifu's subordinate, Heifu supported him as he was already over fifty years old. He smiled and said, "Pu Zhang is an elder, so there is no need to be polite. I am a clerk for the first time. If there is anything I don't understand, I need Pu Zhang's guidance."

This surprised Pu Zhang a little. He was an old man in Huyang Pavilion. He had been a pavilion guard for ten years and a pavilion father for another ten years. He was very familiar with every plant and tree in Huyang Pavilion and had seen off and welcomed several pavilion chiefs.

Among these pavilion chiefs, the worst one was the previous one, the one named "Zhen". Because of greed, he not only lost his position, but also became a prisoner. He also took the thief and three pavilion guards into the prison. The huge Huyang Pavilion was emptied except for the pavilion father and the postman. It was a big case that shocked the whole Anlu County...

When Pu Zhang heard that the new pavilion chief was Heifu who sent Zhen and others to prison, he felt a little uneasy. Unexpectedly, when they met today, Heifu was very friendly, and his attitude towards him was much better than that of the new thief named Dongmenbao.

Pu Zhang felt a little relieved, and smiled and introduced the other two guards behind him.

One of the two guards was called Yuliang, about 30 years old, with a pair of fish lips. This man was still wearing a single layer of clothes in the winter, and it seemed that his family was not very well off. The so-called "Yuliang" is a facility for building a weir to block water and catch fish. I heard from Pu Zhang that he was from "Pinghu Village" closest to Huyang Pavilion, and he would take leave from time to time to go home to help his wife catch fish. I don't know if it was because he often cleaned up fish and shrimps, but Yuliang always had a lingering fishy smell.

The other person actually had a surname, and it was said that he was a distant branch of the "Li" clan in the hometown. His name was Lixian, in his twenties, thin, wearing a thick double jacket, with a short beard under his chin and a tense face. This man was a bit taciturn. After bowing and calling the Pavilion Chief, he stood aside with his hands folded.

Yu Liang was much more tactful. He said some flattering words that he had long heard of the Pavilion Chief's name. He also said that he had brought fish and shrimp from home, waiting for the Pavilion Chief to take office to eat together...

Hei Fu nodded, remembering the appearance of the two people firmly in his eyes. He did not say much, but smiled and said: "Take me to the pavilion first."

Yu Liang immediately patted his head and said: "Yes, it's cold outside. It's easier to talk inside. Let me lead the way for the Pavilion Chief!" As he said that, Shuai took the lead and walked forward.

Hei Fu followed behind. When passing by "Huan Biao", he pointed to the monster statue on it that looked like a raccoon and a dog and asked: "What is the name of this beast?"

Yu Liang turned around and opened his mouth, as if he didn't recognize it; the old Pavilion Father Pu Zhang also shook his head. He had been here for 20 years and had never cared about this thing. As for Dongmen Bao and Xiao Tao, he didn't recognize them even more.

"I dare to tell the pavilion chief that this is a heavenly dog."

Li Xian, who had been silent and stern, spoke up.

"Heavenly dog?"

Hei Fu was a little surprised. This cute little beast with a raccoon head and a dog body was completely different from the heavenly dog that swallowed the moon in his imagination!

At least he didn't ask a random question, but nodded thoughtfully, then looked at Li Xian and said, "I wonder what the story is, why is it placed on the pavilion's Huanbiao?"

"I also heard it from an elder in the tribe who was a pavilion chief."

Li Xian said, "The heavenly dog looks like a raccoon with a white head, and its sound is like a durian, which can ward off evil. There is a Bailuyuan in the west of Mount Li in Guanzhong, and there is a dog yoke fort on the plain. During the time of Qin Xianggong, a heavenly dog came down. Whenever there was a thief, the heavenly dog barked and protected him, so the fort was safe... From then on, the heavenly dog was used as a beast to ward off evil and capture thieves, and was placed on the pavilion's Huanbiao..."

"So that's it!"

Hei Fu suddenly realized that it seemed that the various monsters of this era were still in the most primitive mythological state of Shanhaijing, which was very different from the image in later generations, so he smiled and said, "Li Xian is worthy of being born in a family of Luyou, and he really knows a lot."

"How dare I..." Li Xian was not pleased by Hei Fu's praise, and returned to silence.

"It seems that we have to be the 'heavenly dogs' of the ten miles in Huyang Pavilion, to protect the evil and capture the thieves, and to keep the area safe!"

Everyone responded in unison, and Heifu did not say much. After a sigh, he continued to move forward, but he was thinking in his heart.

It goes without saying that Dongmen Bao and Xiao Tao are acquaintances. After just a brief encounter, he has a rough understanding of the temperaments of the other three people in the pavilion.

Pu Zhang is mature and Yu Liang is smooth, but they are just ordinary people. Only Li Xian is usually silent and no one knows what he is thinking, but he speaks very well. It is said that he can read and write. In addition to his background as the Li family of Luyou in his hometown, why did he come to be a small pavilion soldier and be controlled by others?

Well, this person is a bit interesting...

While thinking, everyone has approached the pavilion.

Although it is called a pavilion, it is different from the pavilions of later generations. This pavilion is actually a large courtyard. There is an empty stable outside the courtyard. On the pillar of the stable, there is a man tied with hemp rope...

The man saw everyone welcoming Hei Fu into the pavilion from a distance, and he shouted loudly.

"Is the new pavilion chief here? Please, let me go! I am innocent!"

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