The Duhufu of Anxi and the Jiedushifu of Anxi are the same government office. The powers of the Duhufu and the Jiedushifu are roughly the same, except that the chief protector is usually led by the prince, while the Jiedushi is a person with real power.

, and also serves as deputy governor.

Today, the real power figure in the four towns of Anxi is Gu Qing. He has a long list of official titles. The empty titles such as Prince Shaobao and Guanglu Doctor are of little use, but the Jiedushi is full of military and political power.

The businessmen gathered outside the gate of the Jiedushi Mansion at this moment. The crowd did not cause trouble, but recommended a respected old man to come out to communicate with the officials of the Jiedushi Mansion.

The communication process was very friendly, the old man saluted very respectfully, and the businessmen behind were also polite and stood quietly at a distance without saying anything.

Gu Qing was not at the Jiedushi Mansion, and Pei Zhounan was invited out by Li Sima. Seeing a large group of people standing quietly outside the door, Pei Zhounan looked a little ugly.

There are so many people, so polite, that even if you want to use troops to suppress them, you are embarrassed to do so...

After bowing his hands, Pei Zhounan just said, "Everyone..."

Someone below suddenly interrupted him and said loudly: "Shang Guan, do you dare to ask where Mr. Gu is? I want to see Mr. Gu..."

Then there was a chorus of agreement, and Pei Zhounan looked increasingly embarrassed, his hands still kept cupping, and he froze for a long time without moving.

"Bandit troubles are rampant again on the trade routes in the Western Regions. I beg Lord Gu to make the decision for us and send troops to quell the banditry as soon as possible."

"That's right, please ask Mr. Gu to send troops to quell the bandits."

"The banditry is unjust and the trade routes are blocked. We, the merchants, have no way to survive. Please ask Mr. Gu to make the decision for us."

Pei Zhounan's face became increasingly ugly.

After all, the banditry this time had a direct relationship with him. If he hadn't insisted on Gu Qing withdrawing his troops, which caused the banditry to be unable to be eliminated in time, the matter would not have reached this stage.

At this moment, the merchants have blocked the door of the Jiedushi Mansion. What should we do next?

Most importantly, who bears the responsibility?

Pei Zhounan opened his mouth, and faced the dark crowd, he found that he couldn't say a word.

When the crowd was excited, Pei Zhounan turned to look at Li Sima next to him, and whispered with a livid face: "Send someone to the camp quickly to ask Lord Gu to come over."

Li Sima smiled bitterly and said: "Last night the Marquis' personal guards came to the Jiedu Envoy's Mansion to inform our officials that the Marquis wanted to leave the camp for hunting this morning, but no one knows the date of his return."

Pei Zhounan was stunned: "Hunting... hunting? Where can I hunt in this damn place?"

Li Sima enthusiastically introduced it like a tour guide: "There are still some prey in the desert? For example, hares, lizards, antelopes? If you are lucky, you may even see wolves coming from the grasslands in the north..."

Pei Zhounan said angrily: "Shut up! What's going on like this? How can the Marquis leave Anxi's safety at risk? Go out to hunt privately?"

Li Sima glanced at him carefully and said in a low voice: "Well, I heard that Yushi Pei issued a military order? The garrison is not allowed to leave the camp? Since they are not allowed to leave the camp, the Marquis may think it is okay to stay in the camp.

I mean, I decided to go out and play for a few days..."

Pei Zhounan hesitated for a moment, and his face became even more livid.

Wrong move? Wrong move.

Originally, everything went smoothly after Pei Zhounan came to Anxi. With the emperor's order, he suppressed Gu Qing in just a few days. Who knew that after just an order to withdraw the troops, Pei Zhounan found that he had bad luck everywhere? He was passively beaten everywhere.

.

That order to withdraw troops was really too hasty.

"Send someone out of the camp to chase Lord Marquis back. Go quickly!" Pei Zhounan gritted his teeth and said.

Li Sima accepted the order with a smile, turned around and went to deliver the order.

The moment he turned around, the smile on Li Sima's fat face gradually faded away. His kind and kind eyes gradually became full of ridicule and contempt.

How dare you have the guts to fight for power with the Marquis with such a small amount of money? Haha!

Or is Mr. Hou’s thigh thicker? He must be held firmly.

…………

The first day? The merchants at the gate of the Jiedushi Mansion dispersed reluctantly before Gu Qing showed up.

That night, several businessmen at Fuzhi Inn gathered together to drink. Unknowingly, they drank too much. A man who claimed to be

The well-informed businessman drunkenly told everyone that in fact, Lord Gu had sent a large army to suppress the bandits. However, during the process of suppressing the bandits, officials sent by the court wanted to fight for power with the Lord and forced Lord Gu to withdraw the army.

.

After all, the Marquis was an official of the imperial court, and received the salary of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. Naturally, he did not dare to resist the official, so he had to withdraw the army. The bandits that should be suppressed were not suppressed, and it ended in a hasty manner.

As a result, everyone has seen that the banditry has not been suppressed and is causing trouble everywhere. The unlucky ones are the merchants like us. The Marquis has been wronged, and the soldiers of the Anxi Army have also been wronged. The proud one is the official sent by the imperial court. He fought for

Won.

Everyone was shocked when they heard it. They didn't expect that there was such an exciting inside story.

Then everyone was so indignant that they almost overturned the table.

Why do you officials use our businessmen as victims in your struggle for power? Why!

So the businessmen, who were still drunk, slapped the tables and cursed loudly, and the curses could be heard from half the street.

Fuzhi Inn was originally a place where merchants from various countries stayed. After the merchants cursed each other, all the merchants in the inn knew about it. The news spread like this. That night, all the merchants in Kucha City knew about it.

.

The sight of the whole city scolding one person was really spectacular, and all the fingers were pointed at one person, the supervisory censor Pei Zhounan, the dog officer sent by the imperial court.

Behind the counter of Fuzhi Inn, Huangfu Sisi supported her chin with one hand, blinked her big eyes and looked at the businessmen in the front hall jumping around and cursing, and the corners of her mouth slightly curled up in a nice arc.

The Marquis has suffered so much injustice, is it not too much to help him spread the news? I can't help him with court affairs, but I can do a little bit with private matters.

Huangfu Sisi's eyes gradually became filled with resentment.

He eats and drinks for free and still owes me money, but I help him everywhere like a fool. I don't want anyone to bully him. I'm afraid this person is my enemy in the previous life and is destined to be bullied to death by him in this life...

…………

The businessmen cursed all night and finally subsided.

After all, the people did not dare to fight with the officials, especially businessmen, whose social status was lower than that of farmers, and they did not dare to openly offend the officials.

What else can you do besides swallowing your anger? An official as big as Lord Gu has to bow his head in front of a dog official.

The businessmen, whose anger had gradually subsided, were once again aroused by a piece of news the next morning.

Yesterday afternoon, near Kucha City, a foreign caravan that was planning to come to Kucha City to settle down encountered bandits on the way. The entire group of merchants was slaughtered, all the goods and horses were stolen, and no one was left alive.

It is said that the scene was bloody and bloody. When officers and soldiers arrived, more than 200 corpses of the caravan had been half eaten by vultures. Pieces of bloody meat and white bones were scattered everywhere on the yellow sand. The scene was very miserable.

After hearing the news, the anger that the businessmen had suppressed all night finally broke out.

A traitor has appeared in Qiuci City, and he is going to cut off everyone's livelihood!

The crowd once again gathered in front of the Jiedushi Mansion.

Different from the polite gathering yesterday, the merchants were still there today, and it was still a dark place. However, in front of the Jiedushi's house, the crowd was angry and cursed continuously.

Pei Zhounan lived in the Jiedushi Mansion. He was woken up early in the morning by the noisy noise outside. He got up in a very unhappy mood. As soon as he took a sip of the hot porridge brought by his servants, the chubby Li Sima rolled over.

.

Today, Li Sima no longer has the friendly and honest smile of the past, but has an anxious and panic look on his face.

"Censor Pei, please go out and take a look. There are businessmen making trouble outside the house!"

Pei Zhounan was startled: "What's going on? Didn't I say when they gathered yesterday that we would discuss sending troops to suppress the bandits when Lord Gu comes back..."

Li Sima said anxiously: "I don't know some unscrupulous businessman made up this nonsense last night, saying that it was Yu Shi Pei who ordered the withdrawal, which led to rampant banditry on the trade routes and the slaughter of innocent caravans. At this moment, the businessmen outside are scolding you."

Pei Zhounan was shocked, and the muscles in his cheeks twitched uncontrollably.

At this moment, Gu Qing was not in the Jiedushi Mansion. It was said that he had gone out to the camp to hunt. He did not know when he would return.

In terms of official rank, Pei Zhounan was not the highest, but in the Jiedushi Mansion, besides Gu Qing, he had the most power. At this time, when the merchants were causing trouble, Pei Zhounan could only go out to appease them.

"Let's go out and take a look." Pei Zhounan gritted his teeth and said.

Just as he stepped out of the house, there was a sudden sound of wind in front of him. An alarm bell rang in Pei Zhounan's mind. He subconsciously ducked and an egg passed by his ear and fell to the ground in a shattered mess.

"The dog officials are messing up the government! Taking the lives of businessmen like me as victims in the struggle for power is a serious crime!"

"Hundreds of lives! Just because you said to withdraw the troops, they were all killed by the bandits! Dog Officer!"

"Without the clear sky, there is a traitor in the court!"

There was an overwhelming sound of curses. Pei Zhounan had never been scolded like this in his life, and his face turned livid with anger. However, in front of countless onlookers and businessmen, Pei Zhounan couldn't order the expulsions and killings. He was so angry that he couldn't do it.

Trembling, I still haven’t figured out how to respond.

When the scolding became louder and louder, and the situation became more and more out of control, Pei Zhounan's eyelids jumped sharply, and he suddenly shouted in a deep voice: "Shut up, everyone! I am sending people to look for Mr. Gu. After finding Mr. Gu, I will

I will discuss with the Marquis about sending troops, and I will definitely give you an explanation!"

The crowd suddenly fell silent. An old man pushed aside the crowd and walked up to Pei Zhounan. He looked at him carefully with his cloudy old eyes. Then he sighed and said regretfully: "He is quite decent-looking, and he is much better than Mr. Gu."

People, why do you have to be a traitor? Do you officials care so little about human life? Sir, you said you were discussing with Mr. Gu about sending troops. Do you dare to ask when we will send troops? If the bandits on the trade routes are not eliminated, we merchants will be unable to move forward. From now on, we will be unable to move forward.

If your livelihood is cut off, please ask your superiors to show your noble hand. Even if there is an official fight, don't involve the lives of innocent people."

Pei Zhounan was full of anger, but he didn't know who to direct it at. He was trembling with anger, but still tried to maintain a calm expression. He gritted his teeth and said: "I will go to the camp immediately. Even if Lord Gu is not in the camp, I can try
Chapter completed!