Chapter 421

Bai Hong and Yang Yicheng drank tea for a whole afternoon. No one knew what they talked about, but before Bai Hong left, he asked Yang Yicheng to give him another painting. This time, it was written with the words "Great Virtue Carries Great Things". He also gave Yang Yicheng 200 taels of silver, which showed that he was very satisfied with what he learned in the afternoon.

In the next few days, Bai Hong made some preparations and met some people. When the documents and his identity were approved, he happily set off for Gourd County.

On this day, Secretary Bai finally arrived in Gourd County. Hua Qingfeng held a banquet to welcome him. When Ye Xiaotian saw Registrar Bai, he only felt that he looked a little familiar, but he couldn't recall who he was. It was only when Bai Hong found an opportunity to mention him that Ye Xiaotian came to a realization.

Ye Xiaotian would never have thought that the ruthless official he had messed with in the Ministry of Appointments would be sent to Gourd County to be an official. With the conflict between the two of them, how could this new official be close to him? Who knew, this new official would be another enemy of his.

Thinking of this, Ye Xiaotian was very depressed. He didn't want to be like this, but fate played tricks on him. As soon as he arrived in Gourd County, he had a conflict with County Magistrate Meng. After that, he didn't have a good relationship with Xu Boyi and Register Wang. Zhao Wenyuan was a bit better, but he was a deputy station magistrate. He also had a good relationship with Luo Xiaoye, but the Inspection Department didn't get involved in local government affairs. Now that Secretary Bai was here, he was still alone in the county government.

Bai Hong felt uneasy when he saw Ye Xiaotian's unkind look. He thought that Ye Xiaotian still had a prejudice against him, but it was not suitable to talk about it at the banquet. But he had a plan in mind.

Bai Hong came with his family, pretending that he was going to take root in Gourd County and benefit the local people. It would take time to arrange a place for him to stay and settle down his family. Therefore, the County Magistrate Hua was very considerate and gave him three days to officially take up his post at the government office.

As a result, the next day, Bai Hong ignored the arrangement of his family, but ordered his servant to bring two bags of gifts up the mountain and openly visited Magistrate Ye. What was more ridiculous was that he had just arrived in Gourd County and hadn't gone to the Cross Street to buy gifts, but the gifts were prepared when he was in Nanjing.

The visiting card had been sent to the Ye Mansion the night before, so early in the morning, Ye Xiaotian had sent someone to inform the registration office and then waited at home. With his current status, he didn't need to ask the County Magistrate Ye for leave if he didn't come to the office for a day or a half.

With his current position, he didn't need to ask for leave from the County magistrate Ye. Not to mention that there were already people paying attention to the new registrar, just the location of the Ye Mansion … As long as someone went up the mountain, everyone would see him. Immediately, someone came to County Magistrate Hua and told him the news.

Hua Qingfeng didn't show it, but he was extremely displeased. Yesterday, he led a group of colleagues to welcome Bai Hong, which was to express his goodwill to Bai Hong, hoping that the new registrar could stand on his side. But he couldn't wait to visit Ye Xiaotian. What did he mean? Did he want to show his loyalty to Magistrate Ye?

Hua Qingfeng was not only unhappy, but also had a serious sense of crisis. By doing this, Bai Hong had obviously chosen Ye Xiaotian to be his political ally. Ye Xiaotian was more powerful than him. If he had the support of Registrar Bai, it would be even more difficult for him to do anything alone. At that time, it was likely to repeat the story of County Magistrate Meng and County Magistrate Xu.

As for Ye Xiaotian didn't show the attitude of overthrowing him, the official seal, Hua Qingfeng didn't think so. It was hard to guarantee that it wasn't a trap set by Ye Xiaotian. Moreover, even if Ye Xiaotian didn't have ambition now, it didn't mean that he wouldn't have in the future. How old was Ye Xiaotian? How could he not have ambition?

What's more, apart from the interests, they still had a personal grudge to settle. Even if Ye Xiaotian was really harmless to him, he would never let Ye Xiaotian go. Knowing this news, Hua Qingfeng was more eager to deal with Ye Xiaotian.

"Xu Boyi and Wang Ning have collapsed. The new Registrar Bai is obviously a person who sees the wind and sets the helm. Ye Xiaotian is no longer useful. I have to find a way to get rid of him as soon as possible. Otherwise, when he can't get rid of him, it will be me who suffers!"

Hua Mingfeng gently knocked on the table and secretly made up his mind. Then he took a sip of tea, picked up a copy of the court bulletin and browsed it. He wanted to see what recent news was in the capital. Although it was said to be recent, in fact, this court bulletin was old news from two or three months ago.

This "court bulletin" could be said to be an ancient newspaper. It first appeared in the Han Dynasty. At that time, the Western Han Dynasty implemented a prefectural system. Each prefecture had an official residence in Chang 'an and sent people to regularly record the emperor's edicts, imperial edicts, memorials from his ministers, and other official documents as well as important matters of the court. They were then sent back to the various prefectures.

The dynasties kept changing, but this system was still maintained. The nature and content of the system also changed. In the Ming Dynasty, because of the adoption of movable type printing, coupled with the existence of merchants who specialized in copying court bulletins, it became even easier for local officials to see the court bulletins.

However, Guizhou was remote and the roads were difficult to traverse. Officials from other places might be able to see court bulletins from a month ago, but when it came to Magistrate Hua, the latest court bulletins he saw were from two or three months ago.

Hua Qingfeng first skimmed through a few pieces of gossip out of habit. Just as he was about to look at the boring but obviously more valuable official news, a courier suddenly came in under the guidance of a manservant and delivered a few official documents.

Hua Qingfeng checked and signed the documents one by one. He sent the courier out and immediately picked up the official letter regarding the appointment of the Tax Ambassador. Hua Qingfeng was also somewhat curious about who Ye Xiaotian had nominated as the tax ambassador. At this time, he opened the official letter and looked at it carefully. He couldn't help but be slightly stunned.

"Li Yuncong? How could it be Li Yuncong? Isn't this Li Yuncong Register Wang's confidant? "

Hua Qingfeng was somewhat suspicious, but he immediately understood. His expression immediately changed. Who was Li Yuncong's first follower? The one who followed before was Xu Boyi. After Xu Boyi fell, he followed Register Wang. Could it be that this Li Yuncong was a spy that Ye Xiaotian had arranged beside a group of enemies?

If Ye Xiaotian hadn't recommended Li Yuncong at this time, Hua Mingfeng still planned to recruit Li Yuncong for his own use. Thinking of this, Hua Qingfeng couldn't help but be secretly afraid. Amidst the fear, he suddenly felt a bit happy. "Ye Xiaotian recommending Li Yuncong means that he believes that there is no opponent in Hulu County who can compete with him. Like this, I have the heart to scheme against the unsuspecting, then the chance of victory … "

Thinking of this, Hua Qingfeng was delighted. He called the official in charge of his office and handed him the appointment letter from the Ministry of Appointments in Nanjing. He smiled and ordered, "Go and inform each office. At the same time, tell Li Yuncong to report to the Tax Department tomorrow!"

The news that Li Yuncong was appointed as the Tax Ambassador quickly spread throughout the yamen. Only then did everyone know that the candidate nominated by Magistrate Ye turned out to be Li Yuncong. Which official in the yamen wasn't a smart person? Just thinking about the role Li Yuncong played in the past two years, everyone understood his true identity. They were even more in awe of Magistrate Ye's long-term vision and deep shrewdness.

The news quickly spread to the backyard. Su Ya, who was holding a newly made baby's clothes and feeling sad, let out a soft cry and the clothes slipped and fell. She had always thought that Li Yuncong was a spy that she bribed. She never thought that Li Yuncong was a double spy.

Thinking of the time when she used this person as a capital to find Ye Xiaotian to discuss the conditions of cooperation in the middle of the night, Su Ya was ashamed and annoyed. Her white cheeks suddenly floated a touch of red. It turned out that she had been fooled by him all the time.

Su Ya scolded with shame and hatred, "This cunning little thief …"

…

"Achoo!"

Ye Xiaotian, who was chatting happily with Secretary Bai, suddenly sneezed. Bai Hong immediately asked with concern, "Oh, the weather is turning cold recently. Lord Ye, you must pay attention to your health. Everything in Hulu County is related to you. Don't catch a cold."

Ye Xiaotian was a little uncomfortable by his nauseating flattery. He rubbed his nose and said to Secretary Bai, "Ahem, it doesn't matter. Thank you, Secretary Bai. Ah, please continue, Registrar Bai. "

Bai Hong smiled and said, "Good! Speaking of which, I and Yang Yicheng have been friends for many years. Before I came to take up my post in Gourd County, my friends heard that I had been reinstated, and they all came to congratulate me. During the banquet, I casually mentioned where I was going to take up my post, and Yang Yicheng laughed and said that Gourd County had Lord Ye, who was his closest friend. Only then did I know, hahaha … "

Official Registrar Bai had prepared lavish gifts for the Ye Family. After seeing Ye Xiaotian, he first bitterly reflected on his actions. He said that only a month after he was dismissed, the county magistrate of Jiangpu County was beaten to death by the angry households because he didn't understand the people's feelings when collecting the grain transportation fees.

Because the situation was different in each province, when implementing the "rules" made by the Ministry of Revenue, each county could apportion the amount collected to the grain households according to the local situation. In some special cases, it could be reduced according to the discretion. In other words, the number given by the Ministry of Revenue was only a rough average, and local officials had the right to adjust it up and down within a certain floating ratio.

But this Jiangpu County magistrate ignored the fact that the local area had just suffered a disaster in the summer and strictly collected according to the number given by his superiors. In fact, he took the same path as Secretary Bai. By strictly carrying out the orders of his superiors, he won the favor of his superiors and laid the foundation for his promotion.

Bai Hong said with emotion. If it wasn't for Magistrate Ye who woke him up with a scorpion sting and saved him from the disaster, he would have been beaten to death at the tax collection site. So not only did he not hate Magistrate Ye, but he was also grateful to Lord Ye.

Ye Xiaotian didn't know if such a thing really happened in Jiangpu County because of the tyranny of the people, but he couldn't see that Bai Hong was pretending. Moreover, as a secretary, Bai Hong was only half a rank lower than him. In terms of rank, he was higher than him. There was no reason for him to be so servile, so he just listened.

As the host, Ye Xiaotian politely asked about the situation of Secretary Bai. Unexpectedly, Secretary Bai and Yang Yicheng were good friends. When Ye Xiaotian lived in Jinling Station, in order to keep up with the situation in the capital, he made friends with Yang Yicheng and they became good friends. They were still in contact today. In this way, Magistrate Ye and Secretary Bai became friends after many twists and turns. It could be said that they got to know each other through fighting.