Outside Jiangzhou City, there is a military camp of rural soldiers. When more than 300 rural soldiers looked at the bags of grain piled up like a hill in front of them and the willow boxes that opened their lids to reveal the golden copper coins inside, almost everyone couldn't believe that all this was real. .
Until Sun Tu shouted to them: "I promised you a long time ago that I will send you all the money and food that I have owed you before, and I will fulfill this promise today."
After being stunned for a moment, the team finally burst into cheers. Many people shed tears of joy and shouted: "The team is mighty... The team is wise..." They were already short of words and didn't know what to say. What words could I use to express my gratitude to Sun Tu
That was three months' worth of food. Finally, I and my family no longer had to struggle for survival for the time being. Many people no longer had to go to the fields or shops in the city to do the hardest work for the lowest pay. They are always looked down upon by others, which is really the best outcome they could dream of.
But Sun Tu then pressed his hand down hard, signaling everyone to calm down, and then continued: "I can pay you the money and food that I owe you. Not only that, I can also promise you that starting from today , every penny of your food and salary will no longer be deducted, let alone owed. However, all of this must be exchanged for your performance. The imperial court does not spend so much money to support you just to show off. But I hope that you fellow soldiers can play a role in protecting your home and country. And according to the laws and regulations of our army, anyone who is disabled or under the age of fourteen or over sixty is not allowed to join the army. He must be The strong men in the family take over, but look at yourselves, I’m afraid there are at least half of the people here who don’t follow this rule, right?”
The country soldiers who were originally full of joy immediately showed a look of fear: "Regiment training, you guys are forced to do this out of helplessness..." Their words were interrupted again by Sun Tu with a wave of his hand: "Of course you have your own difficulties, but I have my own responsibilities when I come here with the emperor's orders, and I will never leave unqualified people in the military camp just because of this. But don't worry, I will still pay you the money and food I owed you before. In addition, as long as you have young men in your family, they can also join the army on your behalf."
His words did not arouse many people's response. The elderly or disabled people all looked embarrassed, obviously unable to accept this request.
Nowadays, the Song Dynasty promotes civility and suppresses military affairs, and the status of military lieutenants is quite low. Not only are there the risk of being deducted from food and salary, but they are also looked down upon in the city. If there is no other way out, who would be willing to become a local soldier?
Sun Tu also saw the concerns in their hearts, and then said: "I know that this little money and food alone are not enough to support the family, so I can also assure you that as long as you can join the army of our hometown, For qualified soldiers, not only will there be no shortage of money and food, but you will also be given the land you deserve, so you will no longer have to worry about anything."
These words scratched the itch of these soldiers. In fact, no matter whether they are in low status or need to practice on weekdays, it is not a problem for these honest and humble people of the Song Dynasty. The most important thing is to obtain protection because of it. It is one thing for the military to have adequate food and salary distribution
, it is even more important to obtain land from the government, that is their foundation.
But these soldiers still had doubts. After hesitating for a while, they saw a man who had the courage to ask: "Sun Tuanlian, are you telling the truth? As long as we can stay in the army, we can get another share of the land?"
"That's natural. Once I have made my word, there is no possibility of breaking my promise!" Sun Tu's answer was sonorous and powerful: "Ten days ago, I promised you that I would pay you the money and food the government owes you as soon as possible. If you dare to say this today, I will naturally help you achieve what you want."
After saying that, he paused again: "Okay, I won't say anything more. After you receive the money and food, you can go back and think about it carefully. But I still want to say it up front. Starting from tomorrow, I will train everyone, but those who do not meet my requirements will be cleared out of the rural soldiers. It is better to be absent than to be indiscriminate!" As he said this, he motioned to the side of the dozen or so strong ones among the rural soldiers who he had selected earlier. Take down the bags of food and distribute them to each soldier according to the previous regulations.
When hundreds of kilograms of rations and ten copper coins were distributed to every soldier who came forward in line, many people were once again moved to tears and thanked Sun Tu for his virtue of reinvention. I felt uncomfortable all the way. These things originally belonged to them, but in the end, I just did what a boss should do, and they made them so grateful. In fact, when I think about it, the people today are really too kind.
Luda and Yang Zhi, who accompanied and watched all this, also expressed a lot of emotion: "Sanlang, it seems that the requirements for being a soldier are really not high. As officials, you and I should do more for them."
"Yes, in comparison, the princes in the DPRK should feel ashamed. In the Song Dynasty, there are many good men and women who are willing to serve their country, but they are useless because they are blocked by the world. And you and I are here What we need to do is to give these people a chance to show their talents!”
While they were talking, two people suddenly came outside the camp gate. After seeing the lively scene in the camp, they were stunned for a moment, and then they walked in hesitantly and rushed to Sun, who had already turned his head to look at them. Tu saluted and said: "Huang Wenbing, a common man, has met Sun Tuanlian."
"Huh?" Sun Tu felt that the name seemed familiar, but he couldn't remember when he had interacted with the middle-aged man in front of him, with a medium build, a slightly greenish complexion, and a pair of triangular eyes, so he felt lukewarm. He asked politely: "I wonder what you have done in my camp?" At the same time, I had already made a decision in my heart. As long as these country soldiers show some respect, I have to let people guard the camp gate, but I can't let outsiders do whatever they want. Then he barged in directly.
"This..." Huang Wenbing seemed to be in a dilemma and did not give an answer immediately.
Sun Tu was not afraid that he would do something unfavorable to him, so he pointed to the Chinese army barracks next to him and said, "Please come inside before we talk." This immediately won the other party's approval, and he nodded. Then he followed Sun Tu's footsteps and entered the barracks. Only Lu Da and Yang Zhi were still watching outside to prevent any mistakes when distributing money and food.
After the two of them entered and took their seats, Huang Wenbing smiled, gave a thumbs up and said, "Sun Tuanlian is indeed a grand duke."
Selfless, he actually distributed all the money and food to all the soldiers, which is really admirable. "
"Haha, Mr. Huang is exaggerating. I just did what I should do." Sun Tu waved his hand indifferently, and then looked at him: "As a warrior, I don't like to talk in circles. Your Excellency, come Just tell me what the purpose of this is."
"Yes, actually, I am here to apologize to you, Sun Tuanlian. Just a few days ago, Tuanlian sent someone to the Han family to mention the use of money to buy back the fields that the village soldiers had sold to my family. At that time, I was there On the other side, everything is handled by the family manager, and he refused the group training without thinking properly. He is really unworthy of a man." After saying that, Huang Wenbing stood up solemnly and apologized to Sun Tu again and again.
Sun Tu sat there without saying anything, just watching the other party's movements, and after a while he asked: "So the reason Huang Yuanwai came here today is..."
"Of course it's to return these fields to Zhao intact." Huang Wenbing immediately took out a few field deeds from his sleeves and carefully held them with both hands: "Actually, I paid for these fields to help people out of trouble, but I don't dare to The general took the Nakata soil as his own. Please ask Sun Tuanlian not to blame him."
Sun Tu's eyes swept over the land deeds. The number of acres written on them was indeed quite large. It was as much as forty-six or seven acres. According to the current land price, it was worth it. After two or three hundred coins, he suddenly laughed and said: "Then I will ask someone to get the original documents and hand over the money for buying the land to you?"
"No, I don't dare." Huang Wenbing waved his hands quickly and said: "As I said just now, the original purpose of buying the land was to relieve people's difficulties. Now naturally I don't dare to charge a penny from Sun Tuanlian. Just think that this is for my Jiangzhou Township. Let's do our best, and I hope Sun Tuanlian can make it happen." As he said that, he had already bowed his hands and bowed. If Sun Tu refused to agree, he would not dare to straighten up.
The smile on Sun Tu's face became even brighter: "I didn't expect that there would be a righteous man like Mr. Huang in Jiangzhou City who puts the overall situation first. I really feel grateful. Well, since you insist on doing this , I have accepted these land deeds since I thought you were a beautiful woman."
Hearing this, Huang Wenbing breathed a sigh of relief, and his face became much more relaxed. Then he said humbly: "I don't deserve Tuan Lian's praise. I'm just doing what a businessman should do. From now on, Sun Tuan Lian But I will do my best to cooperate if I am ordered to do so."
"That's easy to say. Things are busy in the camp today, so I won't talk to you any more. I'll invite Mr. Huang to the camp for a talk someday." Sun Tu said and stood up to see off the guests. The other party understood what was going on and quickly stood up. Without even daring to say anything, they walked out of the barracks together.
It wasn't until Huang Wenbing left that Ruda and the others found out from Sun Tu's mouth why he was here. They all couldn't help but be stunned: "Why is this man willing to return the land deed without repayment? Does he have any hidden agenda?"
"No, this person has nothing to ask for. He is just a smart man who understands current affairs." Sun Tu smiled, and then raised his eyebrows. He finally remembered why the name Huang Wenbing was familiar. This was not the person who almost killed Huang Wenbing in the Water Margin story. Was it the Jiangzhou villain that Song Jiang killed