Chapter 157 Xu Zhizhou meets Murong Fu for the first time!Suzhou Prefecture, government office. "Tsk tsk, this Kang Min is so slutty, it makes me so angry." The prefect Xu Zhicheng was holding a copy of the Jiangnan Daily in his hand and reading it with great interest. Although he is over 50 years old, reading the powerful writing style makes him feel as if he is actually there, and his penis becomes hard. If he had not been a disciple of Cheng Yi, a student of Luo School, and had not had some Taoist ideas that made it difficult to indulge in lust in broad daylight, he would have probably asked his concubine to squat under the table so that he could read the newspaper while enjoying the bliss of life. This can be done at night, but not during the day. In the past two days, "Jiangnan Daily" has become very popular in Suzhou, and with the spread of merchants, it has spread to Wuxi, Xuzhou and other places, and is constantly fermenting outward. Kang Min, this vicious and lascivious woman, has dominated the hot searches in Liangzhe. It is estimated that in the past six months, Kang Min has been the hot search in Song Dynasty. From officials like Xu Zhicheng to landlords, gentry, peddlers, and porters, whether they are high-ranking officials or the common people, they all talked about Kang Min's story with relish. The main reason is that the story is too bloody, and Gou Du’s writing is so good that it feels like he has written half of the "Jin Ping Mei".
As Kang Min became famous, the reputation of the Beggars' Sect fell to the bottom, but in Xu Zhicheng's view, this was actually nothing. They are just a bunch of beggars, lazy and troublesome people who bring unrest to society. It is not surprising that they do anything. In addition, Murong Fu's image is portrayed as very tall, just like Wu Song in "Water Margin", who punishes adulterers and makes people happy. "Ergou, this Murong Fu seems to be a famous gentleman in Suzhou?" Xu Zhicheng asked, putting down the newspaper in his hand. The Song Dynasty did not suppress mergers and acquisitions, and the Gusu Murong family was already a famous landlord in Suzhou, paying a lot of taxes every year. Xu Zhicheng naturally had some impression of this. "Yes, sir." The servant Ergou said, "This Murong Fu is known as the Southern Murong in the martial arts world. His martial arts skills are incredible. I heard from the storyteller that Murong Fu has invisible sword energy and his flying sword can kill enemies thousands of miles away." Xu Zhicheng looked smart and said with a sense of superiority: "These rumors are mostly false and exaggerated, and they can only deceive people like you who have never been to school. The so-called martial arts are nothing more than hand-to-hand combat. If you practice well, it is not difficult to keep three or five strong men away. But the invisible sword energy is really nonsense!" "When they encounter fully armed soldiers, they can only flee. I think Murong Fu only knows some boxing skills." Xu Zhicheng's understanding reflects the entire scholar-official class's understanding of the martial arts world in the Song Dynasty. The main reason is that there is no video transmission in this era, and martial arts masters are truly one in a million, and ordinary people can never see them. Civil officials sometimes saw warriors performing martial arts demonstrations, which were usually sumo wrestling, stone lifting, archery and other skills. There are only a few martial artists who can master internal skills, and even fewer who can release their true energy. Warriors themselves are a very small group. Most of the civil servants have never seen and do not believe in peerless masters like the Four Supremes. In addition, rumors in the martial arts world are sometimes exaggerated, so the civil officials think that the invisible sword energy is just a rumor spread by the people, and the things like flying over eaves and walls, and splitting the air with palms are just a trick. Li Xian was such a great martial arts master, but the civil officials were unaware of his extraordinary martial arts skills, nor were they afraid of him, so they impeached Li Xian miserably. And from Huang Shang's later performance, it can be seen that even a civil servant with peerless martial arts skills did not know what this meant. Huang Shang compiled the Taoist Canon, and his martial arts skills became the best in the world. He killed several masters of the Ming Cult without knowing what it meant, but he himself didn't know what level his martial arts skills were at. He didn't know the rules of martial arts at all, and eventually his entire family was killed by the Ming Cult.
As for the rumors outside, Murong Fu had invisible sword energy and could take people's heads from thousands of miles away. In Xu Zhicheng's opinion, these were just rumors and not credible. "Master is right." Ergou naturally had to put on an expression that showed the master was wise and powerful. "If you have time, you can make an appointment with Murong Fu to talk and ask him about the appearance of the young widow Kang Min. Is she really as beautiful as a fairy?" Xu Zhicheng said with a smile. At this time, someone came to report: "Master, Master! It's bad! Murong Fu has gathered a group of people to rebel and has surrounded the government office!" "what?!" Xu Zhicheng was shocked. He faintly heard shouting and killing sounds from outside, and his face suddenly turned pale. It is said that “Speak of Cao Cao and Cao Cao will appear”, so how come “Speak of Murong and Murong will also appear”? And they came here to rebel? Is there still the king's law? Is there still law? After hesitating for a moment, Xu Zhicheng's face became gloomy, but he finally decided to go out and take a look. Xu Zhicheng was an official of the New Party. He worked very hard in implementing the Qingmiao Law and was highly regarded by Wang Anshi. He could have been promoted to a higher position. Who knew that Wang Anshi would be dismissed from his post and Cai Que would take over? He was not Cai Que's man, so he could only continue to wander around in the local area. However, as long as he carries out the reforms well, he has a chance of getting Tsai Ing-wen's approval. After all, Cai Que also needs capable officials to achieve political achievements for him. Unfortunately, Cai Que did not enjoy his freedom for many years. Emperor Shenzong passed away and the young emperor Zhao Xu succeeded to the throne. However, Zhao Xu did not hold real power, and the power fell into the hands of Empress Dowager Gao, who re-employed the old party and abolished a series of reforms. Xu Zhicheng temporarily stabilized his position by changing with the times and stopping the results of the reform, but he also kept a low profile in recent years. He did not seek advancement, but only wanted to save enough money for his retirement and retire peacefully. Although he was not a thorn in the eyes of the old party, the old party did not like him either. It was because he was really cautious and did not make any major mistakes. Moreover, he was old and had a lot of experience that he could continue to serve as the governor of Suzhou. But once rebellion occurs under his rule, his problem will become serious, and it will be unknown whether he can land safely. Therefore, Xu Zhicheng's bureaucratic instinct kicked in, and the first thing he thought of was to cover up the truth! This is also the instinct of bureaucrats in all dynasties. Sometimes the imperial court only learns about the rebellion after the rebels have occupied several states. This is because local officials are afraid of losing their official hats and want to make a big deal out of a small matter. It would be better to nip the civil unrest in the bud than to be punished by the higher authorities. Another point is that local officials also consider public opinion, and local public opinion often rejects foreign troops coming to quell rebellions. The military discipline of the Song Dynasty's bandit troops can be described as "bandits passing by like combs, soldiers passing by like rakes". They were even worse than the Taihu Lake bandits. The local people and gentry were very resistant to the entry of foreign troops. If someone really causes trouble, officials, gentry and common people will join forces to find a way to quell the situation. At this moment, Xu Zhicheng, surrounded by a group of yamen runners, came to the gate of the yamen, but saw a huge crowd of more than a thousand people gathered outside, all of whom looked like fierce bandits. Xu Zhicheng's eyes went dark, his legs went limp, and he almost fainted. The yamen runners of Suzhou Prefecture were also trembling with fear, their faces were pale. They are few in number and have little armed force. How can they fight against these bandits numbering thousands? "Carry out justice on behalf of heaven and punish the treacherous eunuchs!" "Carry out justice on behalf of heaven and punish the treacherous eunuchs!"
"That eunuch is too bullying. We, the heroes of Taihu Lake, are following Master Murong in rebellion!" "Rebellion, rebellion, rebellion!" Outside the government office, Murong Fu led thousands of Taihu bandits. These bandits surrounded Suzhou Prefecture, shouting slogans like they were doing business. The citizens of Suzhou were frightened at first, but then they saw that these people had done nothing wrong and were just making trouble around the government office. Their instinct to watch the fun was aroused, and they all came to watch. "Which one is Mr. Murong?" Xu Zhicheng asked, pretending to be calm. "I am Murong Fu, Xu Zhizhou. I have long heard of your great name. After meeting you today, I find that you are truly a healthy and strong man!" Murong Fu bowed and said with a smile. When Xu Zhicheng saw that Murong Fu was dressed like a scholar, and had a handsome face and an excellent image, he immediately became certain. He was afraid of encountering unreasonable bandits, but since Murong Fu seemed to be a well-educated and well-mannered man, there must be room for negotiation on this matter. "Mr. Murong, why did you gather so many people to cause trouble?" Xu Zhicheng asked, "If you have any difficulties, you may tell me. I have always been fair and just in enforcing the law." "We need to go inside and discuss this matter." Murong Fu stepped forward and said to the bandits, "Stay here and don't move. I'll go talk to Xu Zhizhou! Don't harass the people. We are acting on behalf of the heavens!" "Don't worry, Master." Bao Bu Tong said, "I will keep an eye on them." Putting it down, Murong Fu walked into the yamen. Xu Zhicheng hesitated for a moment, wondering whether he should play the "capture the leader first" tactic, but when he saw the thousands of bandits outside, he thought of the military qualities shown by the Liangzhe Road Army when they were repairing his house, and immediately gave up this ridiculous idea. The soldiers in the southeast are weak and cannot be relied upon. We should talk to Master Murong. They are gentry with land and fields, and they are numerous and powerful. The trouble they are causing must be a huge injustice! (End of this chapter)
