Chapter 260

When Ye Xiaotian's carriage passed by his house, he stared at the shabby courtyard gate in the long alley for a very long time. Even when the carriage passed by, he continued to stare at it in a daze. Deputy Xiang, who sat beside him, could not help but find this rather strange. He asked, "Sir Ye, what are you looking at?"

Ye Xiaotian withdrew his gaze and shook his head at him with a smile.

Seeing the place he had lived in since he was young, seeing the courtyard gate he had pushed open and closed countless times, Ye Xiaotian felt a strong urge to walk in. That place contained far, far too many of his memories. However, people often said that one would return to one's hometown in glory. Right now, he was a prisoner. He did not want his old friends to see him like this.

As soon as they entered Beijing, Ye Xiaotian and Deputy Xiang boarded the prison carriage and put on the real pillory. Before, thanks to Ye Xiaotian, Deputy Xiang had been very leisurely the entire journey. He ate and drank, without the slightest hint of a prisoner awaiting punishment.

However, the capital was a place where the nobility and nobility were truly abundant. This was a place where dragons and tigers resided. No matter how great a hero you were, you still had to keep a low profile here.

Ye Xiaotian and Deputy Xiang were first sent to the Ministry of Justice. The Ministry of Justice would receive them and arrange a place for them to stay. Afterwards, the corresponding documents would be sent to the Office of Transmission and the Ministry of Personnel. Deputy Xiang's fate would be decided by the Ministry of Personnel, but Ye Xiaotian's case was too important, so it needed to be reported to the court by the Office of Transmission.

The two of them arrived at the Ministry of Justice. Because the Ministry of Justice only had to go through the formalities, it was handled very quickly. Vice-director Pi and the bailiffs of Ziyang Province each took out their documents and sent the two of them to the inn.

Along the way, Ye Xiaotian said to the relay station manager, "Lord Xiang, I hope you can reconsider my previous words. You saved my life, so I have to return this favor. So … if you lose your position, you might as well come to my Crouching Ox Ridge. I can guarantee that you'll be able to display your talents, and your monthly salary will far exceed what the court gives you. "

Deputy Xiang shook his head with a bitter smile. "Thank you, Sir Ye. My family doesn't have to worry about food and necessities. It's just a pity that I've lost the scholarly rank I've worked so hard for after ten years. Qianzhou is too remote. I have parents and don't want to travel too far. "

Ye Xiaotian shook his head. Everyone had their own ambitions, so he could not force them. However, although Deputy Xiang had done it unintentionally, Ye Xiaotian had saved his life, he had always remembered it. Since he was unwilling to go to Guizhou, Ye Xiaotian wanted to settle the matter in the capital and then repay him.

When the two of them arrived at the courier house, the courier officer arranged their accommodations according to their official ranks. Vice Leader Pi and the constables of Ziyang County were considered to have completed their official duties and could return home.

Ye Xiaotian was a righteous person, so he specially paid for a few banquets and invited them to eat to their heart's content before sending them on their way. As soon as Vice President Pi and Boss Qian left, Ye Xiaotian's people came knocking.

Even though Ye Xiaotian was a criminal and couldn't have anyone waiting on him, how could Li Qiuchi and the others let Ye Xiaotian go to the capital alone? They sent twelve guards to follow Vice Leader Qian and the others from afar, always maintaining a distance of three li.

Now that Deputy Xiang had completed his mission and the courier station did not forbid Ye Xiaotian from receiving guests, his subordinates naturally came looking for him. Ye Xiaotian told them, "Go ask around for me. See if the Xia family of Red Maple Lake is still in the capital."

The guards were all mountain men and weren't proficient in these matters. If it were Li Dazhuang, it would be much easier. Hearing Ye Xiaotian's words, the guards were at a loss, but they still agreed without hesitation.

Seeing this, Ye Xiaotian pointed out, "I don't know where they live. They've most likely returned to Qianzhou, but it's better to ask around. How about this, go to the Ministry of Rites and ask around. Even if other yamens don't know, the Ministry of Rites will know. When you go, don't get into conflict with anyone. If you ask around, just use money to clear the way. "

The guards were still at a loss. They were good at fighting and killing, but they had no clue about this matter. However, they knew where to ask around. The guards quickly nodded.

Ye Xiaotian looked at their muddle-headed faces and became worried. Letting these men who only knew how to fight and kill deal with those slippery officials in the Secretariat … Even if they were sold, they would still foolishly help them earn money.

Ye Xiaotian thought about it and smiled bitterly, "Forget it. You don't need to worry about this matter. Go to the Ministry of Justice's prison and find Xuanzi No.1 Supervisor Uncle Niu. Tell him that Ye Xiaotian has returned and ask him to come. "

The guards let out a sigh of relief and immediately went out. They asked around for the location of the Ministry of Justice's prison and rushed over. Like a kidnapping, they brought Old Niu to the inn.

… …

Ye Xiaotian thought that he would have to wait for the memorials related to him to be submitted to the court. The scholars would have a group discussion and come up with a preliminary opinion before handing it over to the Emperor to decide. Only then would some of the court officials know about him. He didn't know that although he quietly entered the capital without making a sound, there were already people watching him.

The Commander of the Brocade Guards, Yu Wuguo, went straight to the home of the Minister of War, Qiao Hanwen. In the back garden of Master Qiao's house, the peach trees were blooming beautifully. Five old men in loose robes were sitting in the peach blossom formation, sipping tea and chatting merrily.

Of the five old men sitting there, three were from Jiangxi and the other two were from Shandong. Jiangxi had always been outstanding in the field of culture and education, so there were many scholars who passed the imperial examinations. As a result, the majority of the officials were from Jiangxi.

A few years ago, there was a gathering of officials from Jiangxi who suddenly discovered that most of the officials at the meeting were from Jiangxi. He was very happy and casually said, "Half of the court's civil and military officials are from Jiangxi," to show off the number of talented scholars in Jiangxi.

However, as the hometown of Confucius and Mencius, Shandong also had a lot of talented scholars. Although the number couldn't compare to Jiangxi, there were many among them who became high-ranking officials. At the time, an official from Shandong said, "A small county doesn't deserve to be a Minister!"

This official was from Shandong's Wenshang County, and Wenshang County had produced four Ministers in succession, all of whom were high-ranking officials. These four Ministers didn't include all of the officials who had appeared in the past hundreds or thousands of years. Rather, they had appeared in the past twenty or thirty years.

In just twenty or thirty years, Shandong's Wenshang County had produced four Ministers in succession. Among them, two of the Ministers had been classmates in a private school when they were young. For a time, this one-on-one debate became a popular story.

Coincidentally, the people present today were the officials from these two provinces. As the old men were chatting, Yu Wuguo walked in. It seemed that he was very familiar with these old men. He didn't formally greet them like he usually did. He only clasped his hands in front of him and sat down next to the Minister of War, Qiao Hanwen, who was leaning against a stone table and admiring the flowers.

A maid came up and poured him a cup of tea. Qiao Hanwen lowered his head and stared at the tea leaves moving up and down in the water. In a deep voice, he said, "Ye Xiaotian has arrived at the capital. This lowly official received news that when he was in Ziyang County, a chieftain's family tried to kill him by planting gunpowder. However, this person was alert and escaped."

A few lords who were chatting casually cast their gazes towards him. An old man with a grizzled beard stroked his beard and said indifferently, "Dragon Pool just sent a letter to us. He mentioned this man to us and said that this man might be of great use. What do you guys think?"

This old man was called Yan Yifei. His official career was very strange because he switched from a military officer to a civil officer. He was originally a hereditary Qianhu of Dengzhou in Shandong. Later, when the Wokou pirates rampaged, he was appointed as the prefect of Dengzhou and switched from a military officer to a civil officer.

After that, he was promoted to the Deputy Inspector of Shandong and then the Deputy Imperial Censor of Xiandu. He was promoted to the Right Assistant Minister of Revenue and Left Assistant Minister of War in Nanjing. Now, he was the Right Imperial Censor of the Imperial Censor of the Imperial Censorate. He was in charge of the water transport and Huainan.

The 'Dragon Pool' he mentioned was the new Governor of Guizhou, Ye Mengxiong. Ye Mengxiong's courtesy name was Man Zhao and his nickname was Dragon Pool. These old friends only referred to him by his nickname and not by his name.

The Assistant Minister of Rites, Lin Siyan, looked around and saw that the other officials were deep in thought. He said, "When I was in Nanjing, I had some dealings with this Ye Xiaotian. Later, when I went to Hulu County to deliver the imperial edict, I met him again."

Teng Yao, the Right Minister of the Office of Transmission, smiled and asked, "How is this person?"

Lin Siyan said, "He is restless and a troublemaker!"

Yan Yifei said, "It seems that Dragon Pool thinks highly of this person. Otherwise, he would not have specially mentioned him in the letter. Do you all think that this person can be used as a confidant? "

Qiao Hanwen shook his head and said, "No! Even though this person is loyal to the imperial court, he is still a hereditary local official after all. His fundamental interests and what you and I are pursuing can be said to be poles apart. Compared to those local officials in Guizhou, this person can be supported and can be close to, but we cannot use him as a confidant! "

Lin Siyan nodded and said, "I also think so. When I was in Jinling, I tried to recruit him. At that time, this person was only an unsuccessful ambassador of the United Nations Embassy, but he had the spirit to be the head of a chicken rather than the back of a cow. Now that he is a local official, it is even more impossible for him to follow you and me and cut his own knife handle … "

Qiao Hanwen said to Yan Yifei with some displeasure, "Brother Yan, we have been planning for the southwest for many years. Now that Dragon Pool has reached Guizhou, Linhuan should also speed up the pace!"

Dragon Pool was the elegant nickname of Guizhou's Governor, Ye Mengxiong, while Linhuan was the nickname of Sichuan's Governor, Li Hualong. Yan Yifei nodded and said with a smile, "Guizhou has Mengxiong overseeing the rear, Sichuan's Hualong should be able to subdue that Yinglong!"

Thinking of Guizhou's Ye Mengxiong and Sichuan's Li Hualong, the high-ranking officials' eyes shone with excitement. Yu Wuguo smiled and said, "Then, regarding this person, Ye Xiaotian …"

Right Minister Teng Hui said, "This person is someone that Dragon Pool wants to use. Dragon Pool is in Guizhou and is far more familiar with the local people than you and I. We should not do unnecessary things. This Ye Xiaotian, as long as we ensure that he returns to Guizhou unscathed, it will be fine. Let's not bother with other matters, lest we overreach ourselves. "

Qiao Hanwen nodded and said to Yu Wuguo, "His Majesty should not have any intention of punishing him, right?"

Yu Wuguo said with a smile, "Of course not. I heard that the local officials from Shiqian and Tongren Prefectures killed each other, causing chaos in the entire Guizhou. His Majesty even laughed three times and said 'delightful'! In my opinion, His Majesty will definitely not let anything happen to this Ye Xiaotian. "

Qiao Hanwen smiled and said, "If that's the case, then perhaps we don't need to do anything and Ye Xiaotian will be able to come and return safely."