After sitting down, Wu Zongrui personally made tea for Mr. Zeng.

"My lord makes tea by yourself, I don't dare to do it."

"Sir, please don't say that. Once you are a teacher, you will always be a father. Rui Chang is what he is today, and it is inseparable from your teacher's teachings."

Mr. Zeng waved his hands repeatedly.

"There is a difference between the top and the bottom. What adults are talking about is the past."

Mr. Zeng's attitude made Wu Zongrui quite strange and surprised. Scholars are deeply influenced by Confucianism and have special respect for their teachers. No matter what high position they hold, they will never forget their mentor, even if it lasts hundreds of years.

After that, students will still be respectful to their teachers no matter where they are.

When something goes wrong, there must be a monster. It seems that Mr. Zeng came to visit because of other matters.

"Sir, please don't be polite. Although Rui Chang has become an official, he is still the same as before. If Sir, he feels that Rui Chang's status has changed and his way of dealing with others has also changed, then Rui Chang will be ashamed of himself."

Mr. Zeng looked at Wu Zongrui and nodded slightly.

"I'm not polite when I say that. In the past year or so, I visited many places in the north. I couldn't believe what I saw. When I came to South Zhili, I heard that you were appointed as the magistrate of Chuzhou, so I came here.

Come to express congratulations."

"Sir, have you gone to the north? Since last year, the situation in the north has been turbulent. I think you will not encounter any danger."

"I did meet a few, but most of them have passed. It's not a big deal."

A thought flashed through Wu Zongrui's mind.

"My husband has been traveling in the north for a year. It must have been very hard. If there are no other arrangements, I will stay in Chuzhou. Whatever you are willing to do, Ruichang will definitely support you."

Mr. Zeng was stunned for a moment, then a smile appeared on his face.

"Rui Chang, you are still so smart and you hit the nail on the head. I don't even know what to say."

"Sir, that's a compliment. This is what Rui Chang should do."

"Okay, since you said it, I won't be polite. I wonder who Rui Chang has around him to help him."

"No one yet."

Mr. Zeng looked at Wu Zongrui, slightly surprised.

From the governor to the county magistrate, there are people around him who have assistants. Specifically, the people around the governor are called staff, and the people around the magistrate, the magistrate, and the county magistrate are called masters. As the magistrate of Chuzhou, Wu Zongrui needs to have people around him.

Master Qiangu, Master Zizhuo, Master Zhengbi, Master Registration, Master Shuqi, etc. These masters helped with specific tasks. Of course, Wu Zongrui's remuneration was paid by himself.

If the local conditions are good and the government has money, the chief officer will have more senior officers and they will be well-equipped. If the local government cannot afford so much money, the number of senior officers will be smaller. In some places, the chief officer may even have only

A master is responsible for handling all specific matters.

The so-called chief officer used his own money to remunerate the master. It is just a way of saying that the master said that he served the chief officer personally. In fact, the money that the master received as a reward was still paid by the government. The difference is that if the chief officer did not

The tacitly stated expenditures of the staffing masters belong to the chief officer personally.

Wu Zongrui used to be an official in Yingtian Prefecture, and was only responsible for hearing cases and auditing accounts. It was relatively simple and he did not need anyone to assist him. Now that he is the magistrate of Chuzhou, he must have someone to help with specific tasks.

The officials of the state government, especially the clerks, are not completely trusted by the chief officials. When they make any decision, they almost always seek the opinions of the staff and the master, because the staff and the master are their own people, while the officials are the people of the court.

.

"Rui Chang, you have no one to help you. There are so many things to do in the government office. How can you be so busy here?"

"Well, I just took office today and haven't thought about it so much yet."

"I see, if Rui Chang doesn't mind, I'll help you for a while. If you think I'm okay, just pay me. If you think I'm a hindrance and don't pay me, I'll leave naturally."

"Well, how dare Rui Chang dare Mr. Lawton to do these things? Just now I was thinking about recommending Mr. to study in the state."

"I don't want to teach anymore. If I go to the state to study, I might as well go back to the Wu family's social studies school."

"Sir, Mr. Rui stayed by his side to help. Mr. Rui asked for it. I'm afraid he has wronged him."

Mr. Zeng shook his head slightly and his expression became more serious.

"Rui Chang, since I am doing things by your side, some things must be made clear so that the future relationship between you and me can be harmonious. Otherwise, you will always have knots in your heart and I will not feel comfortable either."

"Well, sir, it seems that you have nothing to explain."

Mr. Zeng sighed, stood up, walked to the door, and closed the door gently.

"Rui Chang, Wen Ru has done quite well by your side. Do you still remember Master Jue Yuan from Hanming Temple?"

Wu Zongrui's body trembled slightly. Of course he would not forget Master Jue Yuan. Only three days after he left Hanming Temple, Master Jue Yuan passed away, leaving behind a brocade bag and a letter, entrusting him to take good care of Liao Wenru.

There must be a mystery here, including Liao Wenru's identity, but Master Jue Yuan has passed away and Wu Zongrui cannot solve it.

"Rui Chang, you must know Mr. Xiong Tingbi."

Wu Zongrui couldn't help but stood up.

Xiong Tingbi, a Jinshi in the 26th year of Wanli, was the first official in the Ming Dynasty to see Hou Jin's ambitions. He once wrote to the emperor and the court, believing that although the Mongols were powerful, they had no ambitions and only wanted to plunder money.

, don’t worry too much, the Jianzhou Jurchens are different, they aim to seize land and encroach on the land of the Ming Dynasty step by step, their ambitions are huge.

During the period when Xiong Tingbi was running Liaodong, he proposed many practical defensive measures and basically stabilized the situation in Liaodong.

In the fifth year of the Apocalypse, Xiong Tingbi was executed by the court. His head was passed down to Nine Sides, and his body was abandoned in the wilderness. The Xiong family's property was confiscated, and the whole family was implicated. The eldest son Xiong Zhaolian was forced to commit suicide, and his daughter Xiong Hu died of vomiting blood. On the surface, the reason for his execution was

It seems that it was due to the fall of Liaodong, but the real reason stemmed from party strife within the imperial court.

This incident caused huge shock in the government and the opposition.

In the second year of Chongzhen, the imperial court rehabilitated Xiong Tingbi, and his bones were transported back to his hometown for burial.

"Why did you mention Master Xiong?"

"During the Wanli period, I followed Master Xiong."

Wu Zongrui's eyes widened and he looked at Mr. Zeng without speaking.

"My real name is Zeng Yongzhong."

"In the 41st year of Wanli, when Mr. Xiong was serving as the Superintendent and Censor of Nanzhili School and concurrently serving as academic administrator, I assisted him. Student member Rui Yongjin reported that Mei Zhenzuo and others, who were also students, had raped the daughter-in-law of an official family. During the trial of the case

During the process, Lord Xiong used the rod punishment, which led to the death of Rui Yongjin. The newly appointed censor Jing Qiaoyang was very dissatisfied with this and impeached Lord Xiong. This incident caused an uproar in the court. In the end, Lord Xiong and Lord Jing

Both resigned."

"Later I realized that from that time on, Mr. Xiong had been involved in party disputes in the imperial court."

"When Mr. Xiong took office as the academic administrator of Nanzhili, he was very strict in the management and requirements of students. This was originally a good thing. However, Mr. Xiong had a rather bad temper. Besides being strict, he would also pity some students, which led to

Some unfair things happen, which will have a great impact on Mr. Xiong’s reputation.”

"Rui Yongjin was killed by a stick, and his family was also implicated. I had opinions on this matter, so after Lord Xiong resigned, I found Rui Yongjin's home and took away his newborn son."

"Later, Mr. Xiong came back to run Liaodong. I also thought about continuing to assist, but after thinking about it, I felt that it was not possible. At that time, I felt that according to Mr. Xiong's character, it would be difficult to gain a foothold in the complicated situation in Liaodong.

It brings disaster upon itself.”

"Sure enough, Master Xiong was later beheaded and his murder was reported to all sides, and his family was also implicated."

"Last year, the imperial court vindicated Mr. Xiong, and his body was transported back to his hometown for burial."

...

After Zeng Yongzhong finished speaking, Wu Zongrui immediately spoke.

"When Mr. Xiong left Anyuan County, he probably got the news of Master Xiong's redress and escorted his coffin home. Liao Wenru is Rui Yongjin's youngest son, but we don't know what the relationship between Mr. Xiong and Master Jueyuan is."

Zeng Yongzhong looked at Wu Zongrui with an expression of appreciation on his face.

"Rui Chang, you are really smart. You immediately thought of the reason why I left sociology, and also thought of Liao Wenru's identity. Master Jueyuan and I are from the same hometown, and have been close friends since childhood. He had no intention of taking the imperial examination and became a monk in his early years.

I took Wenru away with the intention of taking him back to my hometown. I accidentally received a letter from Master Jueyuan, so I sent Wenru to Hanming Temple. I also went to the social science school of the Wu family and made a living.

things."

"After Master Xiong came back, Master Jue Yuan and I were very worried and decided to conceal Liao Wenru's identity. Later, Master Xiong was unjustly killed, and we felt there was no need to restore Liao Wenru's identity."

"When I arrived in Xuzhou this time, Rui Yongjin's family had long been missing. I searched for him in Xuzhou for half a month, but I didn't get any news."

Wu Zongrui stood up and saluted Zeng Yongzhong.

"Thank you sir for informing me of these past matters. I think we should continue to conceal Wenru's identity. If someone from the Rui family can be found in the future, it won't be too late. Besides, Mr. Xiong has passed away, so there is no need to continue to pursue these matters.

.”

Wu Zongrui bowed his head and saluted, and Zeng Yongzhong also stood up.

"Rui Chang, it was me who asked you to go to Hanming Temple in the first place. I know that the Wu family plotted against you and I also know the reason why. I asked you to go to Hanming Temple because I wanted Master Jueyuan to take care of you.

, to prevent you from being enforced by the Wu family, what I didn’t expect is that you had an extraordinary adventure in Hanming Temple, which is your blessing."

"Then what you did shocked me. I thought of Master Xiong many times. If Master Xiong had half your magnanimity and wisdom, he would not have died tragically and his family would not be implicated."
Chapter completed!