Chapter 158

When Tian Miaowen tidied up the Crouching Bull Ridge and went to visit Yu Junting, Ye Xiaotian had already arrived at the Ziyang district of the Xing 'an province. The Ziyang district was located upstream of the Han river and north of the Daba mountains. The Qinling mountains blocked the north and the Ba mountains blocked the south, forming a special climate where there was no cold in winter or heat in summer.

There was a hotel in the Ziyang district. In the afternoon, several hundred soldiers suddenly arrived in the district. From their armor and weapons, it was clear that they were the elites of the court. However, the deputy, Xiang Hongchen, did not pay any attention to them. Soldiers did not need a station to receive them, but who would have thought these soldiers would come to the hotel.

When the several hundred armored soldiers arrived at the hotel, the deputy was busy cooking in the kitchen. That's right, the deputy was cooking. Although it was said that gentlemen stayed away from the kitchen, and old masters with some status never had the habit of cooking, the deputy was an exception.

Speaking of which, the deputy was an eighth-rank official, a proper official of the court. Xiang Hongchen was a scholar, a proper official of the court. However, just like how Tang Xianzu liked to write and sing plays, Xiang Hongchen's hobby was cooking.

Xiang Hongchen's love for food was influenced by his family's customs, because the deputy's grandfather was a gourmet. Old Master Xiang loved food his entire life. He never got tired of eating fine dishes and never got tired of eating fine dishes. He had always been proud of his taste in food.

Old Master Xiang was a northerner. He had once been the registrar of the Jiangpu district and passed away. Before he passed away, he held his son's hand and earnestly warned him, "Son, you have to remember. Buns must be steamed, dumplings must be cooked, soy milk must be sweet, and tofu pudding must be salty. If you don't do this, it's all heresy! Don't yield to the locals! "

With such a good family tradition, it was understandable that the deputy was infatuated with food. Xiang Hongchen hummed a tune in the kitchen, enjoying himself by frying and frying. A courier suddenly ran over and said, "Deputy sir, there are many generals at the entrance. Our small hotel can only serve around a hundred people at most. We can't handle so many people."

Xiang Hongchen had just put a large carp from the Yellow River into a pot of oil, and it sizzled. Hearing the courier's report, Xiang Hongchen glared at him and said, "Generals? Our inn has always minded our own business with those bastards. Why did they come to our inn? "

The courier grinned and said, "Old Post Magistrate, the general leading the troops is a thousand-man commander. This lowly one doesn't dare to ask."

Even if he's a general, he can't control our hotel. Even if he's a commander, he can't control our relay station, what's there to be afraid of! "Xiang Hongchen snorted angrily and said," Help me look after the fish! "After saying that, he strode out.

Pi Pengju's vice chief, Pi Pengju, was waiting impatiently at the door. He couldn't help but scold, "This little station official is putting on airs. It's been so long and he still hasn't come out.

Pi Pengju said to Ye Ye Pengju, "Pengju" Pengju, "Ye, Pengju,"

Just as Ye Xiaotian was about to speak, Xiang Hongchen walked out of the inn. In a loud voice, he asked, "Where did this general come from? What are you doing in my inn?"

Vice Qian Zong Pi turned his head and became even angrier. "Ha! The relay station chief here is really arrogant, sending out a chef to receive Lord Ye and this general? "

Xiang Hong Chen wore a coarse robe made of linen with an apron stained with oil on his waist. He wore a small hat on his head and a handkerchief on his shoulder. He carried a claw in his hand and looked just like a cook.

Hearing Vice Leader Pi's words, Deputy Xiang was not happy. His face darkened and he said: "This official is the deputy of this area. Who are you? From the looks of it, he's just a Chief Qian. What right does he have to call himself a general? "

This place had already left Guizhou. This kind of place was the world of civil officials, and the status of civil officials was generally higher than that of military generals. Even if a fifth-ranked prefectural magistrate met a first-ranked commander-in-chief, he would still be arrogant and overbearing. Nine times out of ten, the commander-in-chief would still have to be polite to him, because even if he could afford to offend one of them, he could not afford to offend the entire group of civil officials.

The fine tradition of civil officials was to fight in groups, and all of them were experts at shooting their mouths. The biggest problem was that no matter how good an ordinary person's tongue was, it was just spitting saliva and was useless. But the mouth and pen of a civil official was more powerful than a magnificent army and could really kill people.

Although Vice Leader Pi had been in Guizhou for a long time, he was a general of the Imperial Command Department and was directly under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War. And the Minister of War had always been a civil official. It was no problem to brag behind someone's back, but when he really saw the other party, Vice Leader Pi would be the first to soften.

Vice Leader Pi laughed and said: "Aiya, are you the relay station chief of this area? My apologies, the relay station is managed by the Imperial Court. Why is the relay station chief personally cooking? Could it be that you can't even afford a chef? "

Deputy Xiang liked to cook, but he knew in his heart that this kind of skill was not presentable. Especially for someone like him, who had an official position and was an official, it would only cause others to laugh at him. He rolled his eyes and said: "None of your business. You have nothing better to do. Speak, what are you bastards doing at our Ziyang Relay Station? We don't accept you as soldiers here. "

Vice Leader Pi said proudly: "Isn't the relay station responsible for receiving visiting officials?"

Deputy Minister Xiang looked at Deputy Qian Zong with slight surprise and suddenly realized, "You're a new official? Haha … "

Deputy Xiang looked up to the sky and laughed, saying, "That's right, the inn is a place responsible for receiving and receiving officials. However, different ranks mean different treatments. Sir is only a Vice Leader. If you want to stay in the relay station, you can, but there is only one hall and one bedroom. It can't accommodate so many family warriors like you. "

Vice Leader Pi said with a smile: "What if I'm escorting a criminal official to the capital? Does the Imperial Court have a rule that a criminal official can live in a relay station alone and that the escorts have other accommodations? "

Of course not. A criminal official might really be guilty. What if he absconds to avoid punishment? There was no reason for the relay station's courier to bear the responsibility of watching over you. Besides, the courier was not professional and might really let the criminal official escape.

Deputy Xiang was slightly surprised and asked cautiously and strangely: "You are a criminal official?"

It was not strange for a criminal official to frequently pass through the border. The problem was that there had never been so many people escorting a criminal. Did you think you were someone important like Zhang Taiyue or Feng Bao? You actually needed hundreds of Steel Cavalry soldiers to escort you.

The person before him was only a Vice Leader, yet he needed so many people to escort him. Military law could not punish him and he had to be escorted to the capital to be judged by the Imperial Court. Just how powerful was his background or how much trouble had he caused? Deputy Xiang did not dare to be careless.

Vice Leader Pi spat a few times and said: "I'm just a little Vice Leader. How can I have the right to be tried by the Imperial Court? The criminal official is this …"

Vice Leader Pi took two steps back and bowed slightly. He introduced him to Deputy Xiang: "This is Tongren and Crouching Bull Chief Magistrate Ye!"

Only then did Deputy Xiang notice Ye Xiaotian. Ye Xiaotian rode on a horse and was dressed in embroidered clothes. His bones were refined and his eyes were handsome. No matter how one looked at him, he looked like a noble young master who was taking his servants on a sightseeing tour. Such a person, dressed in such a manner, was actually a criminal official!

However, Deputy Xiang immediately remembered Vice Leader Pi's introduction: "Chief Magistrate Crouching Bull!" Deputy Xiang suddenly understood. Chief magistrate was a type of official system among the local officials. There were no such system in the land of the lower officials. Since it was a local official, it was a hereditary position. It was not strange for someone to become an official at such a young age.

Deputy Xiang did not expect that the second generation official in front of him was actually a real official. Otherwise, he would definitely be shocked. However, Ye Xiaotian went from being a prison guard to becoming a Chieftain in just a few years. Although it was a legend, it was nothing compared to Liu Bang's heaven-defying luck of going from a mere Station Commander to the founding emperor of a country in just seven years.

Deputy Xiang doubtfully asked Vice Leader Pi for the official document. There was no doubt that it was true. He could not help but feel helpless. The Imperial Court only limited the treatment and the number of attendants that passing officials could enjoy when staying at the inn to prevent them from taking advantage of the Imperial Court. However, it did not stipulate that an official who had not been convicted could only be accompanied by a few escorts. Like Ye Xiaotian's special situation, the person who originally formulated this rule would not have thought of it even if they broke their heads.

Deputy Xiang could only helplessly explain the situation to Vice Leader Pi. Zi Yang District was too small. Although there was a inn set up, its capacity was very limited. At the very most, including the masters and servants, it could only accommodate about a hundred people. Vice Leader Pi's entourage had more than three hundred people and more than three hundred horses. The small inn in Zi Yang District could not accommodate them.

Vice Leader Pi grasped the logic and arrogantly said: "Deputy Xiang, your difficulties, this general … Aiya, I am only a small Vice Leader, I am not qualified to be called a general. This lowly official understands. But this lowly official is also following orders. Look at these three hundred people, the people eat and the horses are fed. How much is the expenditure? I eat and live with you. That is borne by the Imperial Court. If I go out on my own to rent accommodation and eat, who am I going to report this expenditure? "

Deputy Xiang also knew that his attitude just now had offended him. He could only lower his voice and explain: "Vice Leader Pi, of course this is reasonable. Providing food and drink to me is also something that should be done. But if you want to stay, are you going to sleep in the courtyard? Even if I give up my own residence, it won't be enough for so many people … "

As Deputy Xiang spoke, another group of people hurried over in a grand manner. This group was Zhan Hu's group that had stuck to Ye Xiaotian like plaster the entire time.

Zhan Hu of the Zhan family, Mu Dong of the Zhang family, and Guo Jianwu of the Cao family. Zhan Hu was the younger brother of the current patriarch of the Zhan family, Zhan Long. Mu Dong was Zhang Yutong's brother-in-law, while Guo Jianwu was Cao Ruixi's brother-in-law. These three younger brothers had followed Ye Xiaotian the entire time, verbally attacking him whenever they had the chance, but they had never done anything substantial. Deputy Leader Pi had already gradually let go of his guard against them.

In deputy leader Pi's eyes, they just wanted to attack Ye Xiaotian the entire time until they reached the capital and personally witness his punishment. Of course, in the process of constant harassment, he would not have the energy to think and control the situation of the Crouching Ox Ridge.

However, was that really what Zhan Hu was planning? In the distance, they could already see the large group of people at the entrance of the inn. Mu Dong could not help but say to Zhan Hu, "Brother Hu, we've already followed them for so long. Do we really have to follow them all the way to the capital?"

Guo Jianwu also said impatiently, "Didn't you say you were going to send him on his way? Just when are we going to do it? "

Zhan Hu sneered and glared at Ye Xiaotian in the distance. He said sinisterly, "We don't need to do anything! I didn't follow him to fight him. I just want to personally watch him die! Don't be in such a hurry. Violetsun will be his burial ground! "