Chapter 259 Someone Set the Fire!

In a restaurant in the city of Chuzhou, the prefect of Chuzhou, fellow magistrates of Chuzhou, and several grain merchants were drinking and chatting happily.

There was singing and dancing at the banquet, and the sound of strings, strings and bamboos, chuckles and echoes arose one after another.

The prefect had just negotiated with several grain lords about borrowing grain, and he thought that as long as he kept it secret for a few more months, the theft of the official warehouse would be perfectly solved once the autumn harvest arrived.

By then, let alone keeping the official title on his head, it is not impossible to move up another half level.

It really is true to the old saying: Misfortune lies where blessing lies, and blessing lies where misfortune lies.

Thinking of this, the magistrate couldn't help but curl his eyes, sipped a glass of wine, put his arm around his colleague's shoulders and smiled: "Old Qi, I didn't expect that the imperial envoy's words were really useful. No one really came down to check the official warehouse, hahaha."

"As long as we wait until the autumn harvest, everything will be fine!"

Qi Tongzhi also had a crooked look on his face. He was in charge of the official warehouse, so he thought he would be a loser. Unexpectedly, nothing happened at all, but I felt relaxed.

He echoed: "Yes, yes. I heard that the imperial envoy has direct access to Tianting. After the remains of old beggar Jiang Ge, the cabinet has been appointed by old Li Ge. Maybe we will get a blessing in disguise this time, and we can also use it to This shareholder style, let’s take another step forward!”

The two looked at each other and laughed. As the wine glasses clinked, they seemed to have seen the infinite scenery when the other party entered the capital.

Having served as officials in various places for more than 20 years, if they were promoted as a result, it would be a good thing for both of them!

With drunken eyes, the two of them looked out the window at the same time. Among the dots of light, there was a place where the fire was extremely strong.

The prefect stood up, pointed to the light with interest, and asked: "Why does it look like there is fire in that place? Is it a fire?"

Following the direction of the prefect's finger, Qi Tongzhi squinted his eyes and took a closer look, nodded and said, "It looks like there was a fire. It hasn't rained in the past few days, and the sky is dry, which is normal. But someone went over to put out the fire. It will take a while to put out such a big fire.”

"Isn't that place an official warehouse?"

Because he was half drunk, the prefect could not see clearly, so he had to ask aloud.

"No!" Qi Tongzhi affirmed. He is in charge of the official warehouse. How can he not know how big the official warehouse is? It seems that it is not even half the size of the official warehouse. Where is the official warehouse?

He reassured: "How can Guancang be so small? It looks like it's just a private house in the same direction as Guancang. How many times have these people told me that the weather is dry and things are dry, so be careful with the candles, but they just don't listen!"

"Tricky people!"

The two said in unison. They were drinking and talking about business, wouldn't this fire cause trouble for them? Afterwards, repairs, construction, comfort, and I don’t know how many things happened!

At this time, there were footsteps outside, and a government servant ignored the boy's obstruction and forced the door open to break in. Seeing that the prefect and tongzhi were both there, the Yamen servant breathed a sigh of relief and walked over quickly.

"Fuzzy!"

The prefect looked serious and scolded in a low voice.

But the yamen servant just pretended not to hear and pulled the two of them aside. Facing the angry eyes of the two men, he lowered his voice to his ear and said: "Two adults, there is a fire in the official warehouse!"

"What? Say it again!" The prefect's face instantly turned extremely pale, and he yelled while holding on to the wall.

At this time, he just hoped that he heard wrong, but the Yamen servant immediately broke the illusion with a grimace, "Sir, Guancang! It's the Guancang that caught fire!"

The prefect heard clearly this time. Guancang, Guancang! His hands and feet suddenly became weak, but fortunately Qi Tongzhi had quick eyes and quick hands to hold him up, preventing him from falling to the ground.

"Everyone, everyone, drink slowly. There is some official business to be handled in the Yamen. I'll leave first." Seeing this, Qi Tongzhi, although extremely panicked, still waved to several grain merchants and found an excuse to support the prefect. Go outside.

Several grain merchants looked at each other, not sure what happened, but they were still very polite and stood up to say goodbye.

"You two adults, walk slowly."

"Sir, walk slowly."

"Business matters are important, I understand, I understand."

…

In the carriage, the prefect was sweating coldly. The incident happened so suddenly that he couldn't react.

On the contrary, Qi Tongzhi was relatively calm. But his hands kept rubbing each other, which proved that he was not as calm as he appeared on the surface.

After thinking for a while, he suppressed his emotions and asked: "Are the three warehouses burned down, or..."

"One, the back warehouse is burned down, the other two are fine!" the yamen officer replied hurriedly, his voice trembling a little.

That's right, he was a small government servant, let alone riding in a carriage with the prefect of a state, even if he wanted to see him, he had no way to meet him. Today is a good day, not only the magistrate, but also fellow magistrates are here, so how can I not be nervous.

Hearing that only one back warehouse was on fire, the prefect and Qi Tongzhi breathed a sigh of relief at the same time. Fortunately, if all three warehouses were on fire, they wouldn't have to go to the official warehouse. They could just go home and prepare a suicide note and coffin.

It's a big deal, but it's not irreversible yet.

After breathing out a sigh of relief, the prefect's inner emotions also relaxed a little, and his IQ occupied a high ground again.

He stopped the carriage, patted the Yamen servant on the shoulder, gave him his token, and ordered: "Go and mobilize as many troops as you can, and call the general magistrate over by the way!"

The yamen servant nodded, and just got up and walked out of the carriage, but was pulled back. The prefect stared at him with a gloomy look and said coldly: "Remember, there was no fire in the official warehouse tonight, someone set it on fire! Keep your mouth shut!"

Although he didn't know why the prefect said this, the Yamen servant still nodded solemnly, "Sir, I understand. It's not a fire, someone set it on fire! The troops are mobilized to catch the gangsters!"

"Okay! Hahaha." The prefect laughed, looking at this sensible yamen runner with satisfaction. He liked such clever people.

He said with satisfaction: "Boy, you, after you finish this, you can follow me. What future does the official warehouse have?"

The yamen runner was overjoyed, his mouth almost grinned to his ears, and he hurriedly replied: "Yes, sir, I will do it now, I will run to it, so as not to delay your business!"

After the yamen runner left, the prefect turned to look at Qi Tongzhi, "Old Qi, you know what I mean, right?"

"Don't worry, we have worked together for so many years..." Qi Tongzhi smiled and nodded, and his clasped hands slowly loosened at this time.

A fire is not the same as an arson. If he insists on arson, his head is doomed to be in danger. If he stirs up the people's hearts, not to mention his own head, even the three clans will be in danger.

But if someone sets a fire, it will be different. Although there are mistakes, they are not unforgivable. It is indeed difficult to keep the official hat, but the head can still be saved.

Maybe if the operation is done properly, it may only be demoted by half a level or one level. In short, the result is much better than the fire.

Reassured, he finally smiled a little and said lightly: "I will make my subordinates shut up."

"It's just that it's hard to explain to the imperial envoy..."