The fact that Guo Bei stopped to give a lecture to his men before charging into the ferry showed that he was not a reckless man with no courage or strategy.
The people under his command had also followed him in killing many people, but these people were the so-called remnants of the Marquis of Huaiyin. From the perspective of the imperial court, they had no psychological pressure at all to kill these people.
But now, if they were to enter the ferry and kill people, the nature of the matter would be completely different. Soldiers killing bandits is one thing, and soldiers killing officials is another.
If there is a problem at any point in the process, if it is not handled properly, they will be charged with killing officials and treason.
No one withdrew this time, which surprised Guo Bei. He suddenly felt that the three words "Jinyiwei" were sublimated at this moment.
No matter what the purpose of these people following him is, at least everyone can put their energy into one thing, and that is enough.
The ferry was still very busy at this moment, with countless porters loading and unloading goods, while a group of people dressed as servants sat by, chatting and laughing while drinking tea.
Hu Ershui was the leader of this group of yamen runners. He was able to get this job thanks to his sister who married the local chief clerk as a concubine.
With this relationship, his life was getting better and better. Guarding such a busy ferry, just accepting the tributes from his subordinates every day was enough to make him rich and well-fed.
In just three years, he not only bought himself a house and got married, but also occupied a lot of land. His life became more and more promising.
Now he no longer needs to do anything at the ferry himself. He just needs to sit here and drink tea every day, and the people below will take care of things.
For Hu Ershui, this was truly a god-like day. This was what being an emperor was like.
As soon as his mood improved, Hu Ershui said, "Don't leave after you get off work. Let's go to the city and have a good meal."
When the people below heard this, they naturally praised Hu Ershui for his righteousness!
Hu Ershui smiled proudly in his heart. Although he had not read many books, he still understood some principles.
If you want the people below you to obey you, you must make clear distinctions between rewards and punishments, and you cannot keep all the benefits to yourself. If there are any good things, you must also let the people below you share in the benefits.
For example, this time, people from the Qiao family came and said they wanted to make things difficult for those people from the capital, and Hu Ershui accepted their money and agreed.
But this kind of thing cannot be accomplished by him alone, so everyone below him has to participate.
Since they have contributed, they should be given a share. Hu Ershui felt that if he continued to do so, he might be able to get a higher position in the future.
But at this moment, one of his brothers hurried over and said, "Hu Tou, those people from the capital are here again!"
Hearing this, Hu Ershui squinted his eyes and looked into the distance. Sure enough, he saw a group of people wearing flying fish uniforms walking towards him with a menacing look.
Hu Ershui took another sip of tea slowly, then spat the tea stems aside and said, "Bah, these bastards are really capable of making trouble! Damn, the clothes they are wearing are really impressive. I wish they could take them off and let the brothers wear them."
Someone immediately came up to him and said, "Boss, it's not that difficult. If you really want to do this, I can help you. This is a ferry. If the adults fall into the water, it's not a big deal for us to change their clothes."
Hu Ershui smiled with satisfaction at first, then glared at the person who spoke and said, "What are you talking about? Next time, say this behind someone's back. Okay, cheer up, these guys are not easy to serve."
Hu Ershui rubbed his face as he spoke, then immediately put on a flattering smile and stepped forward, saying, "Hey, aren't these the gentlemen from the capital? What's wrong? Is the matter settled?"
In addition to being clear about rewards and punishments and not treating his subordinates unfairly, Hu Ershui also understood another truth, which is that you should not hit someone who smiles at you.
He did accept money from the Qiao family, but it was definitely not worth it for him to fight to the death with officials from the capital just for that little bit of money.
So when he faced Guo Bei and others, he always smiled. Anyway, you are angry and I will stay by your side with a smile. It is impossible for you to pull the boat away.
Guo Bei was also fed up with Hu Ershui before. He came from the military, and even though he had been in the underworld for a while, he was still a straightforward man. He didn't have so many twists and turns in his mind, and he lacked experience in dealing with local petty officials.
Before, Guo Bei was really annoyed by Hu Ershui's talkative look and had no temper at all.
At that time, Guo Bei felt that it was really difficult to deal with this kind of person who could not be beaten or scolded, who always smiled at you and wanted to invite you to dinner.
But now his mentality is different. After realizing that the other party is deliberately making things difficult for him, Guo Bei has already developed the intention to kill.
Looking at Hu Ershui in front of him, Guo Bei also grinned and said, "Hu Tou, I want to pull the boat away today. Please row a path."
"Oh my, look at what you're saying. How dare I call you a idiot in front of you? You're all important figures from the capital. Logically, we, small local officials, have no right to speak ill of you. But rules are rules. Now that the ship has docked here, we have to go through the relevant procedures. I'm actually in a difficult position."
Hu Ershui slapped his thigh hard and said, "It's all the fault of that bastard Zhang Laosan. This useless guy ran away without finishing his work, delaying the adults' work for nothing. When he comes back, I will definitely teach him a lesson."
"But then again, there's nothing we can do about it. Who could have imagined that his seemingly healthy third uncle would be gone just like that? It's because his third uncle's family doesn't have any male heirs, so he has to take over."
As Hu Ershui spoke, he began to complain, saying how difficult their life was and that if they broke the rules, they would be in big trouble.
They also said that even if you cross this ferry, you still can't pass the next ferry without their stamp.
This is just the same old talk, Guo Bei is tired of hearing it, and he didn't come here to listen to it.
So while Hu Ershui was still chattering, Guo Bei had already unsheathed the long sword in his hand.
With a clang, a sharp long knife was placed on Hu Ershui's neck. Guo Bei's eyes were icy cold as he said, "I'm not here to listen to any nonsense today. Release the boat and stamp the seal. If you dare to seize our boat again, I'll kill your whole family!"
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