Surrounded by the cheers of the common people and officials who came out of the city after hearing the news, Lin Henian and Sun Tu finally led these hundreds of officers and soldiers to the gate of Jiangzhou City. At this time, the prefect Cai Dezhang and the official Yuan Wang A group of important officials from the state and city were also waiting there with smiles on their faces.
However, when they saw that the people at the front of the queue were soldiers lying on carts one after another, having expired for a long time, these officials were still a little stunned. Fortunately, these people were all quite dignified, and their faces were still expressions at this time. Come forward with a constant smile. Sun Tu and Lin Henian also knew the rules and quickly stepped forward to salute. They led a group of soldiers who went out to kneel on the ground to salute Cai Jiu and said loudly: "This time, I am fortunate to live up to my humble position and finally save Jiang who brought trouble to me." The gang of water bandits who have been in the state waters for many days have been completely wiped out!"
As soon as they finished speaking, someone pushed out the hundreds of prisoners who had been tied up tightly and looked downcast, and showed them to everyone. After seeing these men who looked fierce and looked like prisoners of the water bandits, everyone's last doubts were completely dissipated, cheers started again, and Cai Jiu and Yuan Wang also stepped forward at the same time, and together they were half-kneeling. Sun Tu and two others from the ground helped him up and said: "I really worked hard for you this time. This great victory is all your fault. I will definitely report it to the court and ask for credit and reward for you!"
"As a military attache in Jiangzhou, I have the responsibility to protect the territory and the people, and it is my duty to suppress bandits. I can only lament that more than two hundred soldiers were killed and injured due to the cunning of the thieves. I really feel guilty. Next The officer did not dare to have any other ideas. I only asked the prefect to provide compensation for the soldiers who were killed and disabled in battle, so as to calm the morale of the army." As Sun Tu stood up, he expressed his thoughts loudly.
As soon as these words came out, they immediately won the gratitude and cheers of all the soldiers. Perhaps it was their duty to protect the territory and kill the enemy, but having a general like Sun Tu who thought about them made everyone feel more at ease. Not only the local soldiers, but also the Xiangjun soldiers who were estranged from him looked at Sun Tu with respect in their eyes.
Naturally, Cai Jiu could not refuse this matter at this time, and immediately agreed without any hesitation: "Of course, they were all killed and wounded because of me in Jiangzhou. I will ask the treasury to allocate money and food for the sake of living." Arrange them. Supervisor Lin, you should be the first to break the thief, do you have anything to say?" Taking this opportunity, he wanted to win over Lin Henian, who had always followed Yuan Wang's lead.
"What Sun Tuanlian said is what the general thought." Lin Henian had something on his mind at this time, so he could only respond reluctantly, but gave all the limelight to Sun Tu, who actually led the army to win this victory.
Seeing this, Yuan Wang finally couldn't sit back and watch, so he stepped forward and said, "I won't stay here anymore to talk. Let's take the soldiers into the city to rest. I have already ordered a celebration banquet in the city, but I have to reward all the meritorious officials well."
"What Yuan Tuiguan said is true. Everyone, please follow me into the city to celebrate. The people in the city are waiting to see the heroes who have returned from destroying the thieves." Cai Jiu also nodded happily, and then he and Yuan Wang led the way. Leading this victorious army into Jiangzhou City.
When they actually stepped into the city gate, cheers rang out again: "The Great Song Dynasty will win! The Great Song Dynasty is mighty!" The loud voice soared into the sky, truly bringing joy to the whole city. After all, these days because of the fierce Jiao
Their existence caused the people of Jiangzhou to suffer too much. Many people were killed by them, and half of the trade routes were cut off. Everyone's life was not easy.
But now, with the victory of the government and army in suppressing the bandits, everyone felt relieved. From now on, they no longer have to worry about any accidents on the waterway, and everyone can freely travel by boat on the Xunyang River.
Of course, there was also the victim whose family had been killed by the ferocious dragon, who was waiting by the roadside. When he saw the prisoners tied together and walking past dejectedly, he cried loudly and smashed the stones and tiles in his hands. The ground was thrown at them, and they were crying and cursing endlessly. Only halfway through the journey, these prisoners were already smashed with blood on their faces and were in a miserable state. It was not until they were worried that they would be beaten to death by the angry people on the road that some soldiers were ordered to step forward to intervene and prevent the people from retaliating directly.
When the team returned to the Yamen, the place was very different from before. It was already decorated with lights and colorful decorations outside, and it looked festive. Tables of banquets had been set up in the courtyard after entering the Yamen. Hundreds of tables were directly seated. The Qianya, which originally occupied a large area, was completely occupied.
After some humility, Sun Tulin, Cai Jiu, Yuan Wang and other important officials from the prefecture and city sat down at the main table. Then the others sat down below according to their respective identities, and then there was a steady stream of various drinks and dishes. The Jedi sent the generals up, which were carefully prepared by several famous local restaurants in Jiangzhou.
After a while, the originally solemn and solemn Yamen was occupied by the fragrance of wine, coriander and vegetables, and the laughter and laughter. Regardless of whether it was literature or objects, regardless of their position, everyone was smiling and toasting each other and saying happy words, especially Sun Tu and the others. Several important generals, as well as officials and gentry whom they knew and did not know, came forward to toast, and the celebration banquet reached its climax at the very beginning.
This kind of scene where he could open his belly, drink wine and eat meat was naturally what Ruda liked the most. Sitting in front of the banquet, he almost drank until the glass was dry. In just a short time, he had two or three kilograms of good wine, two chickens, The three hooves were wiped out by him, which also made him become excited. At the moment, he didn't care about etiquette. He directly picked up a bowl full of wine and staggered to Sun Tu: " Sanlang, this is my respect to you as an elder brother. When you told the Sa family that being an official could serve the people and save more people, I still had my doubts. But after today’s battle, I completely believe you. Come on, do it!" As he said that, he raised his head and drank half a kilogram of wine in one breath, making many people around him cheer.
Sun Tugang had to deal with a lot of officials and gentry who came to get close to him. He wanted to talk to Taishou Cai alone about business, but Luda came to interrupt him, so he could only raise a glass to deal with it, and then gave the more mature Yang Zhi a wink. , and after taking the person away, Cai Jiu, who was slightly dissatisfied with Lu Da's move, whispered: "Forgive me, Grand Administrator, I am a rough man, so I am a little rude. In addition, I have something important to report. It concerns the safety of our Jiangzhou."
Cai Jiu originally had a disapproving expression on his face, but when he heard this, he immediately became serious: "Please follow me to the back to talk." He was indeed not used to such noisy scenes of asking for work, so he just took the opportunity to hide in peace. .
The two of them quietly left the table and went to the back office while others were busy toasting and talking. This time, he did not go directly to Cai Taishou's official hall, but continued back until he came to
In front of a quieter small study room, the chaotic sounds of people drinking and drinking in the front became much quieter.
There were actually servants waiting in front of the study. As soon as he saw Cai Jiu arriving, he quickly opened the door for them, handed them towels to wipe their hands, and served them sour plum soup to sober them up. It can be said that he served them thoughtfully. Seeing Sun Tu looking at all this with some amazement, Cai Jiu smiled nonchalantly and said, "Don't be surprised Qianli. To be honest, I don't like drinking, but in officialdom it is inevitable to socialize, so every time I come back, Cai Jiu... Lian is waiting on you, this is something he has long been used to doing."
Only then did Sun Tu smile understandingly, and quickly thanked this servant who was obviously a close confidant of Cai Jiu, and then said with a solemn expression: "Prefect, what happened this time is indeed the same as what I judged before. Therefore, the repeated failures are precisely because someone in the government colluded with them and leaked the movements of the government and troops early, so that the fierce dragon group could make early preparations and even lay traps."
Cai Jiu didn't show too much surprise, because Sun Tu had come to see him secretly before sending troops and told some of his inferences. It was precisely because of the permission of his prefect Cai that Sun Tu dared to make the decision to ask Yang Zhi to bring the remaining two hundred rural soldiers to the Xunyang River to wait for an opportunity. Otherwise, he would be guilty of a big crime if he really wanted to do so. If investigated, the court will punish him severely even if he has such a great victory.
After all, the Song Dynasty has always been on guard against military generals, fearing that they would do something bad after taking control of the military. This has reached the point of overcorrection and madness.
However, Governor Cai's expression still became serious at this time: "So you have found relevant clues? Who actually colluded with those water bandits?"
"This... I still don't know who the official is, but I already have the witness. He is a big businessman from Jiangzhou named Cheng Jichang." Sun Tu actually already had the answer in his heart, but he couldn't say it clearly at this time.
When Cai Dezhang heard the name Cheng Jichang, his expression suddenly changed. His reaction was even greater than when he learned from Sun Tu that there were officials who might be colluding with the water bandits. He said anxiously: "Is this true? Are you serious? Are you sure that's Cheng Jichang?" His voice was trembling slightly, and his eyes couldn't hide the excitement.
"According to Lin Dujian, there is no doubt that it is this person. Why, has the eunuch already guessed which official is behind this person?" Sun Tu asked, looking at the other person carefully.
But Cai Jiu was quite deep in the city and quickly suppressed his excitement. He just said: "This matter is of great importance. I have to ask Na Cheng Jichang before making a decision. It's only a thousand miles away. This time you have indeed made a great contribution to Jiangzhou and to me. If it comes to fruition, I will not treat you badly!"
"I don't dare to take credit, this is my duty..." Just when Sun Tu said his humble words and planned to add fuel to the flames, Cai Lian's voice suddenly came from outside the door: "I have seen Zhou Tui. , my master..."
But before he could finish his blocking words, Yuan Wang's voice had already overshadowed him: "Prefect, I have something to report, please open the door and see you."
Unexpectedly, Yuan Wang had noticed what they were doing, and he actually ran over at this critical moment...