Chapter 1: The Wedding Night (New Book...)

  Two yamen runners were also quite distinctive in appearance.

  One person is tall and thin, like a bamboo pole; another person is short and stout, with a brain full of fat, and his cheeks are piled up with extra flesh, just like Zhu Bajie, the Marshal of Heaven, reincarnated as a mortal.

  Guo Ye carefully sized up the two of them, and couldn't help but find it amusing. Damn, Jin Yong's foresight was really impressive - 80% of the fat and thin twin Taoists in "The Deer and the Cauldron" must have been modeled after these two guys.

  After teasing the two, Guo Ye saw that they were still looking at him with a surrounding and contemptuous gaze. He felt suffocated in his heart and hurriedly took out the letter written by County Magistrate Wu Mao from his bosom and waved it, saying: "You two, don't misunderstand. We are colleagues, you see, this is a personal letter from our Linxi County Government's County Magistrate Gu, I'm here to report for duty today."

  As soon as they heard the county magistrate's five words, the fat and thin yamen runners instantly retracted their inexplicable gaze from just now, then looked at each other.

  "Ha ha, so you're the new brother who just reported to the yamen, introduced by Lord Gu himself, no less!"

  Then he said to the thin guard: "Bamboo pole, I'll take this brother to report to the city gate, you keep an eye on it first."

  The thin official had nothing to say, nodded to himself and then closed his eyes, leaning against the city gate wall, basking in the warm sunshine.

  Guo Ye listened to the fat policeman's nickname for the thin policeman and couldn't help but secretly rejoice, indeed also called Bamboo Pole.

  Looking at the bamboo pole, the yamen runner didn't like to talk and had a lazy demeanor. Guo Ye couldn't help but sigh, "Since ancient times, there have been many eccentric people with unique personalities. It seems that this thin bamboo pole is also an oddball."

  Guo Ye was originally unfamiliar with the city of Longxi, and didn't even know which direction the county government office faced. Now that the fat bailiff had volunteered to take him to report to the office, why not let him?

  He then thanked the fat yamen and followed him into the east gate.

  The county town is just a county town, after all, it's not comparable to those rural places like Dongliu Township or Daze Village.

  As soon as I entered the city, my eyes were opened, and it can be said that a glimpse of a leopard's spots reveals its whole body. Only after seeing the prosperity of Longxi County did I understand what the prosperous Tang Dynasty under Emperor Gaozong's rule was like.

  Merchants from all directions, peddlers and vendors calling out their wares, shopkeepers hawking their goods, and waiters at teahouses and wine shops welcoming customers, formed a bustling scene of the market streets of the Tang Dynasty.

  Just a small county town in Shu is so lively, it can be imagined that slightly larger cities must be bustling to what extent?

  All the way, Guo Yéru was like a horse looking at flowers, watching the ancient and elegant street scenery, which made him reluctant to leave.

  However, on the way to the government office, the fat yamen didn't idle around either. He kept asking about Guo Ye's background in a roundabout way. You see, being able to get County Magistrate Gu's handwritten letter to come to the government office to take care of business was an extraordinary amulet.

  If Guo Ye is really a confidant or distant relative of Gu Daren, isn't it also a backing mountain that can't be relied on?

  What kind of evil idea is this fat official coming up with? How could Guo Ye not know about it?

  Since we've already borrowed Gu Dezhao's momentum, why not borrow it one more time?

  He then explained to the fat official that his father-in-law and Master Tani had a close relationship, and Master Tani thought he was capable of being trained, so he let him come to the government office for training.

  Sure, here is the translation:

  As expected, as soon as these words came out, the fat yamen's eyes nearly popped out of his head, as if he had obtained some earth-shaking secret, and a few more shades of slyness appeared on his face.

  In this case, Guo Ye also naturally heard some information he wanted to know.

  For example, the names of the two gatekeepers, Fat and Thin, are still guarding the east gate. The thin gatekeeper is called Gan Zhushou, a name that suits him well, as he looks like a thin bamboo pole.

  And he himself was called Zhu Pengchun, which was indeed fitting, growing up like this with the surname Zhu.

  Then, Fat Officer Zhu Pengchun seemed to be in a good mood and introduced some situations inside the yamen to Guo Ye.

  For example, what is the surname and name of the county magistrate, who is the teacher, who is the county lieutenant, and who are the heads of the six departments (or six sections) under the county government.

  The six departments (six offices) are divided into Gong Cao, Cang Cao, Hu Cao, Bing Cao, Fa Cao and Shi Cao. Each department has its own duties, and the person in charge of each department is called a deputy officer, who is at the same level as the county Wei and belongs to the ninth-grade civil servant.

  Such as Gong Cao, the division is in charge of personnel matters in the county government office, and the official hat is in charge of the whole county. It's a bit like the Minister of Organization in later generations. The head of Gong Cao is called Gong Zuo Da Ren.

  Such as the military affairs of the county government, which is in charge of the county's military armed forces, including the three classes of yamen runners and the strong class, somewhat like the Minister of Armed Forces in later generations, and the official title is called Bing Zuo Da Ren.

  In Guo Ye's eyes, Zhu Pengchun was a living dictionary of county government affairs, and there wasn't any gossip news that he didn't know.

  Especially when Zhu Pengchun mentioned the specific situation of the county government officials, Guo Ye's interest became more intense. This was what he cared about most; the County Magistrate and the County Lieutenant were too far away from him.

  Only official business is currently closely related to him.

  Zhu Pengchun had been talking non-stop on the road, getting thirsty and tongue-tied. Now that he was talking about Guo Ye's most interesting topic, he suddenly choked up, constantly licking his lips and swallowing saliva, as if extremely thirsty.

  "Brother Guo, we still have a short distance to go before reaching the county yamen. Let me, Zhu Pengchun, get to the yamen and take a sip of cool tea to quench my thirst, then I'll tell you more."

  Kuo Ye was stunned, damn it, at a critical moment you're thirsty, rely on it.

  Thirst is fake, but bribery is real, isn't it?

  Looking at Zhu Pengchun's demeanor, it seems somewhat like that.

  As a newcomer, I relied on the prestige of County Master to make Zhu Pengchun try his best to please me. If I don't get some useful information out of him, I'll be clueless once I enter the yamen and might offend some superior officer, which would be disastrous.

  Then, Guo Ye put his right hand into the left sleeve and rummaged around, but all he found were small pieces of silver, not a single copper coin.

  He took out some silver and bought information from Zhu Pengchun. Guo Ye was indeed reluctant to part with it, but could he afford not to when it came to saving his child?

  Then, Guo Ye slightly frowned and gritted his teeth, took out half a tael of loose silver from his sleeve and directly stuffed it into Zhu Pengchun's hand, saying in a low voice: "This little money is for Brother Zhu, later you will brew a few catties of good wine to quench your thirst."

  Damn it! Zhu Pengchun weighed the silver fragments in his hand and was suddenly stunned. Good heavens, the silver fragments actually weighed half a tael.

  It's indeed someone introduced by County Magistrate, and his move is extraordinary, two words, generous.

  Half a tael of silver is enough to equal half a month's worth of Zhu Pengchun's salary, which can feed his family of three or four people for a couple of months. It's strange if he doesn't have a change of heart.

  Although he held the silver tightly in his hand, he smiled and declined against Guo Ye, saying: "How can this be, how can this be, too polite, Brother Guo is too polite."

  Damn it!

  At the moment when Guo Ye took out the silver, he was really heartbroken. Listening to Zhu Pengchun's hypocritical excuses, he couldn't help but curse, "Be polite? Then return the silver to me, damn it!"

  Before he could even speak, Zhu Pengchun, that dead fatty, had already bent down and carefully stuffed the half liang of silver into his black leather boots.

  After hiding the silver ingots, Zhu Pengchun was no longer thirsty or tired. He enthusiastically told Guo Ye: "As for the situation of our yamen's runners, you're asking the right person, Brother Guo. I, Zhu Pengchun, have been holding this rice bowl as a public servant in the county yamen for so many years, and it's like the back of my hand."

  Then, Zhu Pengchun slowed down his pace and slowly told Guo Ye about the current situation of the yamen in Longxi County.

  The three shifts of officials in Longxi County have a total of 40 people, and the so-called "three shifts" are not alternating shifts, but rather each shift has its own duties.

  For example, Zhu Pengchun and Gan Zhushou belong to the three-class yamen runners, mainly working as gatekeepers, collecting taxes, going to the countryside to collect grain and taxes, following the yamen's orders to collect taxes from shops along the street, or demolishing some unseemly and illegal buildings, etc., commonly known as the "Zao Ban", totaling ten people.

  According to Guo Ye's understanding, the yamen runners of this dynasty were somewhat like the urban management and tax police of later generations.

  Besides Zao Ban, there are also Zhang Ban and Bu Ban.

  Standing guard, as the name suggests, is standing. The main job is to shout "Hail to the magistrate" while beating the gavel when the county magistrate ascends the hall. Sometimes when the county magistrate goes out for inspection, the standing guard also has to take charge of opening the way and protecting him.

  Similar to bailiffs in later courts.

  The number of people in the morning shift and the afternoon shift are equal, both are ten.

  The most powerful among the three shifts of yamen runners is the Catching Shift.

  Bao Ban, as its name suggests, is a rapid capture team, mainly responsible for public security patrols, pursuit and arrest.

  In modern terms, the Tang Dynasty's "catching fast" officials were both security police and criminal police.

  The nature of the work of the hunting team determined that they enjoyed better benefits than the other two teams, such as the hunting team having only twenty people, but being equipped with three fast horses, five Tang knives, and five bows and arrows. Just for these equipment, the other two teams didn't even dare to think about it.

  Take another look at Zhu Pengchun's equipment, apart from a set of official uniform and an iron ruler inserted at his waist, there is not even a single hair.

  It's just that the treatment is different!

  As Zhu Pengchun spoke of the capture, his words were laced with a hint of bitterness, and he occasionally spat on the ground. Guo Ye could see it even with his toes that although these three bailiffs were doing their respective jobs, they were also openly and secretly vying with each other, and things were not quite peaceful.

  Finally, Zhu Pengchun once again introduced the only armed force in the county, the Zhuang class, which was controlled by County Wei Gu Dezhao.

  This so-called strong class is mainly composed of young and strong men recruited by the county government office, as well as some old soldiers who have retired from the army. There are about 50 people in total. Their main work is to suppress and prevent violence in Longxi County, as well as small-scale suppression of bandits.

  Compared with the three classes of yamen runners, especially the capture class, their equipment and armor are more sophisticated, with bows, knives, armor, and shields all complete.

  Moreover, their attire was distinctly different from that of the yamen runners, with red tassels on their helmets, wearing black satin or leather armor, somewhat resembling the equipment of a Tang Dynasty soldier.

  It can be said that the fifty-strong squad is the garrison of Longxi County, or it can be said that the fifty-strong squad is the armed special police of Longxi County. Anyway, these fifty people are the most important military force in the seven-mile-eight-town area of Longxi County.

  So, County Lieutenant Gu Dezhao deeply understood that political power grew out of the barrel of a gun and personally controlled this team of fifty strong men, never delegating to others.

  Of course, in addition to the three classes of yamen runners and the strongmen, there are also miscellaneous runners, also known as white runners, such as prison guards, coroners, gatekeepers at the county yamen entrance, grooms in stables, postal workers at post stations, etc.

  The number of these miscellaneous attendants can be increased to over a hundred, and the number is sufficient, but the overall treatment is fundamentally incomparable with that of the three shifts of yamen runners and strongmen. At most, one month's salary is only a few hundred copper coins, and no food is provided.

  Although there were many of these miscellaneous duties, they had no combat effectiveness. Therefore, County Wei Gu Dezhao did not have the heart to manage them properly, so the miscellaneous duties in the government office were the most despised.

  Guo Ye listened while leading the donkey and following along, his heart surging with emotion. Oh mother, my dear child.

  It turns out that a small county government office actually has so many doors and paths. If you don't ask, you won't know; after asking around, it's really an eye-opener.

  Now thinking about it, those half two broken silver flowers weren't wronged at all.

  At this time, Zhu Pengchun in front stopped his footsteps and said: "Ha, arrived, Brother Guo, look, this is the gate of our Longxi County Government."

  After finishing speaking, he pointed ahead.

  With a mind full of thoughts, Guo Ye suddenly looked up and gazed forward, damn it, really, truly...