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

  So domineering!

  A large, old-fashioned, dignified and majestic gate stands not far away.

  On either side of the entrance steps, two stone lions, each as tall as a person, crouched, their bronze bell-sized eyes staring sternly at the gate, making one dare not harbor even half a thought of disrespect.

  Above the gate hangs a sign with four large characters "Longxi County Government", the font is upright and does not slant, showing the government's just and upright way.

  The vermilion gate is wide open, and standing at the entrance can see the front yard of the yamen. After passing through the sky well, go straight in for a section of road, which is the yamen hall for trial and interrogation.

  Kuo Ye couldn't help but sigh, is this what a government office looks like in the prosperous Tang Dynasty?

  In comparison, those so-called government buildings of later generations appear to be vulgar and rustic.

  No matter how high and luxurious the government buildings of future generations are, they look vulgar and full of anger at a glance.

  But looking at the main gate of Longxi County Government, Guo Ye couldn't help but feel a little more reverence in his heart.

  Zhu Pengchun saw Guo Ye staring blankly and couldn't help but ask: "Brother Guo, Brother Guo, what's wrong with you?"

  Suddenly

  A white figure suddenly rushed out from the yamen.

  Whoosh whoosh whoosh...

  Bai Ying walked out of the gate and down the steps, charging towards Guo Ye and Zhu Pengchun.

  Zhu Pengchun saw the situation, immediately pulled Gao Ye, who was stunned and silly, to one side, and he himself lowered his head and slightly bowed to the white shadow.

  That white figure almost knocked the two to the ground, but didn't stop to apologize. On the contrary, it let out a cold snort and strode away.

  It wasn't until Guo Ye came to his senses that he went to look for the white figure again, but the person had already walked far away. He could vaguely see that the white figure was actually a thin man wearing a white robe.

  Guo Ye asked inexplicably to Zhu Pengchun beside him: "Who is this rascal? Almost knocked you down, I didn't even stop to apologize, really arrogant."

  "Hmm..."

  Zhu Pengchun stood up straight, raised his index finger to signal silence, and whispered: "Don't talk nonsense, the one just now is our county's sixth official, Gong Cao Ma, a ninth-rank official, equal in status to our County Magistrate Gu. If Gong Cao Ma hears what you said, you'll be in trouble, Brother Guo."

  Often, the six caos' assistant officials are also referred to with a surname added to their cao name, such as Gong Cao's assistant official Ma Daren, and many people will call him Ma Gongcao.

  Kuo Yeh was shocked, indeed it's a small temple with great fame, shallow water but many crocodiles.

  As soon as he arrived at the county government office, he ran into a ninth-rank official, Cao Zuo.

  The ninth-grade Gong Cao is not a regular official, at most it's just a minor clerk.

  But Guo Ye knew that, as a ninth-grade clerk, he wouldn't dare to provoke even his immediate superior, let alone the county magistrate, Lord Gū.

  Why?

  Just because Gao Dezhuo was also a ninth-grade official, but he was a military officer, while this Mr. Ma was a ninth-grade minor civil servant with a pen knife, and was a civil official.

  Throughout history, especially in prosperous times, military officials were inferior to civil officials by a margin of three degrees.

  This has also become an unwritten rule.

  But Ma Gongcao hastily ran out of the county government office, without even looking at the road, had something big happened?

  Seeing Guo Ye's puzzled expression, Zhu Pengchun whispered in his ear: "It's probably Magistrate Ma who had another argument with the other officials and is returning home in a terrible mood."

  After finishing speaking, he put on an expression of being used to seeing strange things and looked at Guo Ye.

  Is it just because of this? Quarreling can get you off work early, and officials in the Tang Dynasty have such benefits?

  Guo Ye couldn't help but laugh silently in his heart.

  Just as the two were about to step up onto the threshold of the yamen, suddenly -

  Another middle-aged man appeared.

  This time, Guo Ye was very sure that the other party was not a ninth-grade official. Because he had sharp eyes and found that the other party was also wearing a four-sided hat with a public uniform, but there was an additional waist knife.

  Is it what Zhu Pengchun said about the people in the capture room?

  Unfortunately, as soon as Zhu Pengchun spoke up beside him, Guo Ye knew he had misanalyzed the situation.

  "Ah ah ah, Brother Guo, this is our Zhuang House's Pang Ban Tou. Come, come, let me introduce you."

  Class leader?

  Guo Ye took a closer look at the middle-aged man standing at the door, and it turned out to be the leader of the soap-making workshop. He had a square face with a thick beard and bushy eyebrows, his eyes were as black as ink, and he looked like a kind-hearted person.

  Through Zhu Pengchun's introduction earlier, he now knows that the three shifts of yamen runners each have their own leaders, collectively referred to as class heads, and the head of the capture class is also called the capture head.

  The three shifts of yamen runners report back to their respective shift leaders, while the shift leaders are directly responsible to County Captain Ku Te-chao, and so on up the hierarchy, with no skipping of levels allowed.

  Perhaps the title of "Bān Tóu" sounds unfamiliar, but those who have read Water Margin know that in the Song Dynasty, it was also called "Dū Tóu".

  At that time, Wu Song was hired as the head of Yanggu County after killing a tiger on Jingyanggang. In fact, at that time, the head was just called the class head, and different dynasties had different names.

  Zhu Pengchun pulled on Guo Ye's arm, enthusiastically trying to introduce him, but was waved off by Xu Bantou, who smiled and said: "Haha, no need for introductions. Lord Gu had previously given orders that if Guo Ye from Dongliu Village came to the yamen to report, he was to be directly assigned to the watchmen's office as a yamen runner. I am Watchman Class Leader Pang Feihu, and you are Guo Ye from Dongliu Village?"

  Seeing Pang Ban's smiling face, Guo asked himself and felt relieved in his heart, it seems like a good person to get along with.

  He then clasped his fists and said: "I am indeed Guo Ye from Dongliu Village, and I have met Pang Bang."

  On the other hand, Zhu Pengchun, who was thinking actively, was savoring the words of Pang Bantou just now. As expected, the relationship between Guo Ye and Gudai is not shallow at all, and he even personally entrusted Pang Bantou to arrange this matter. It seems that I, old Zhu, have lived for thirty years and finally managed to cling to a big leg.

  Pang Feihu nodded in approval as he looked at Guo Ye's demeanor, saying: "Not bad, you're a man who gets things done. Come, follow me into the yamen."

  He turned around and was about to enter the government office, but after taking only a couple of steps, he turned around again and instructed Zhu Pengchun, who was standing beside him: "Zhu Pengchun, you've done a good job today. It's not yet time to close the city gate, so go back and keep watch for now."

  Zhu Pengchun nodded in agreement with Pang Feihu's instructions and smiled at Guo Ye before preparing to leave.

  "Brother Zhu, wait a minute, I still have some questions to ask you."

  Guo Ye stretched out his hand and signaled for Zhu Pengchun to stop.

  Zhu Pengchun turned around and smiled, saying: "Brother Guo is too polite, it's not a matter of asking for advice. If you have something to ask, I, old Zhu, will tell you everything, without holding anything back."

  Wipe, Guo Ye couldn't help but secretly rejoice, knowing that he could speak without reserve and express himself fully. He was a bit of a pedant, after all, having spent too much time in the yamen, and he could still toss off a few flowery phrases.

  Guo Ye immediately recounted how he was almost knocked over by a horse carriage at the gate of the government office, and how Zhu Pengchun and Gan Zhushou were completely indifferent to the arrogance of the horse carriage owner.

  Finally, Guo Ye asked: "Why did Zhu Dage and Gan Zhushou Dage look at me with strange eyes before? Did I say something wrong at that time? If my words offended the two brothers, please forgive me."

  After listening to Guo Ye's detailed account of the matter and his question, Pang Feihu's face had already turned ugly. Who likes their subordinates to be negative and lazy?

  Zhu Pengchun also had a bitter look on his face, and he cried out in anguish, "Brother Guo, how could you be so heartless? Didn't you just trick me in front of the class leader?"

  However, this is not their negative slackness, but indeed a reasonable cause.

  Zhu Peng quickly ran to Pan Feihu's side and whispered a few words in his ear, carefully explaining to him.

  Pang Feihu nodded as he listened, his face which had earlier turned ugly with rage gradually easing up. Finally, he waved his hand at Zhu Pengchun and said: "Off you go, do a good job, don't let our class leader lose face. At the end of the month when the silver money is distributed, our class leader will ask County Magistrate to give us some extra silver money."

  Zhu Pengchun listened and immediately nodded excitedly like a chick pecking at rice, then waved his hand at Guo Ye and shouted: "Brother Guo, I'm leaving first, that thing will be explained to you by Pang Bantou."

  After finishing speaking, he ran away quickly and was already far away.

  Pang Feihu saw Zhu Pengchun running far away, and said to Guo Ye: "Let's go, Brother Guo. You're new here, so I'll take you to the office to fill out a form first. I'll explain things to you on the way."

  Guo Ye nodded and followed closely behind Pang Feihu into the yamen.

  Into the yamen, Pang Feihu did not head straight for the sky well and walk forward, but instead went around the sky well and the public hall, walking towards a shaded path on the left, because the six houses of the county government were all located in the side courtyards.

  The front hall is for trials and interrogations, the rear hall is the residence of the county magistrate and his family, the left wing is the office of the six historians and County Lieutenant Gu Dezhao, and the right wing is where the bailiffs change shifts and rest.

  Of course, as for the county yamen's main prison, treasury, granary, mortuary and autopsy room, they were all located in houses built to the left and right of the county yamen, and were strictly guarded by County Lieutenant Gu Dezhao's fifty-strong elite troops, with a tight defense like an iron barrel.

  As they walked along the shaded path, Pang Feihu said to Guo Ye, "Brother Guo, this is your first time as a yamen runner, so you may not be aware of some things. Although we runners receive our salaries in silver from the yamen and wear official uniforms with Tang knives at our waists, looking very impressive on the streets, only we ourselves know our own hardships."

  Sighing with a helpless shake of the head.

  Guo Ye didn't understand what was going on and everything was fine, but Pang Bangtou told him to do this.

  Just as he was wondering, Pang Bang asked: "Do you know whose carriage is outside the east gate today? Who is sitting in it?"

  Kuo Yeh had just arrived in Longxi County, and it was his first time to know which direction the county government's main gate opened. Who would have known whose carriage it was or what kind of person sat inside?

  Shook his head immediately to indicate he didn't know.

  Pang Bangtu smoothed his whiskers, grasped the hilt of the sword at his waist and said in a deep voice: "Zhu Pengchun and Gan Zhushou let that carriage rush to the East Gate because... its owner's surname is... He!!!!!!"

  What's your surname?

  Guo Ye became even more perplexed in his heart.

  What's wrong with being surnamed He? Is he the king of heaven or something?

  No, Pang Bangtou's facial expression and tone of voice when he spoke seemed a bit off, could there be something fishy going on here?