Over the next seven or eight days, the originally deserted Xiangjun military camp completely changed its appearance. It truly became a bustling city. The number of former officers and soldiers who came in and out of the military camp every day and wanted to return to the Xiangjun army has reached more than a thousand.
This is of course because Sun Tu's previous actions gave everyone confidence, but more importantly, the content of the notice posted in front of the camp gate has been spread to everyone in and outside the city. Sun Dujian has already made a guarantee. As long as he returns to the Xiang army at this time, he will not only get considerable military pay, but he can even ask the government for the pay and silver accumulated in previous years. This is too tempting for ordinary people. .
You must know that all industries in Qingzhou are not prospering now. Except for a few big businessmen or people in the government who rely on various means to grab a lot of profits, ordinary people are living a tight life. The most they can do is to prevent their families from starving to death.
Among them, the situation of those soldiers who were forced to leave the military camp to rely on themselves was even worse. They had no property of their own, and their craftsmanship was inferior to others. The only thing they had was a handful of strength. In addition, there were many people. So in the past few years, I have had to work part-time jobs to make ends meet, and it seems that many people are desperate.
Now, Sun Tu suddenly released a list of articles that could solve everyone's survival problems. Even though this matter still seems a bit unrealistic, many people still ran back to the military camp with the mentality of giving it a try.
As for the statement mentioned in the list about what could be done to seek justice for the sergeants, everyone selectively put it aside at this time. They were all bullied by those wealthy families or people in the government. With officials protecting each other, how could Sun Dujian do justice to himself and others? As long as he can really fulfill the previous promise and let everyone have enough food in the military camp and no longer have to worry about their livelihood, these people will be satisfied enough.
So in these days, the people in the military camp were very busy. They had to meet many returning Xiang Army soldiers every day, and they also had to carefully check their true identities to prevent anyone from taking this opportunity to identify themselves. Fortunately, Qi Desheng and several others who were relatively familiar with military affairs helped to check, otherwise it would have been difficult to identify.
The re-registered books were sent to Sun Tu one by one. Seeing that more and more people were able to join his command, Sun Tu's face became more happy, but Huang Wenbing was still frowning. It wasn't until those people below handed over their things and retreated that he said with some worry: "Captain, although the number of troops in the Xiang army is gradually increasing, after all, it only exists on the books. If you can't come up with the money, If you satisfy them, I'm afraid they will leave faster than they come."
"Of course I know this, so it's time to implement the next plan." Sun Tu chuckled, looking unconcerned.
Huang Wenbing's expression became more solemn: "Captain, are you really going to ask for food and money from the government office? Are Murong Yanchao and the others really willing to spit out the money and food they got?"
"It's not up to them. Over the years, they have eaten up quotas and gained enough benefits from drinking soldiers' blood. Now it's time for them to repay everything." Although Sun Tu was still smiling, there was a sharp light in his eyes. However, this is the strategy he has set long ago, and naturally he will not change it.
"But... I'm just worried that if you use force, things will get out of hand.
It would be difficult to explain to the court by then. "Huang Wenbing was really afraid that Sun Tu would be blamed by the court and end up in a tragedy.
But Sun Tu sneered: "Then just don't let people in the court know about this. When the rice has become cooking, the wood has become cooking, they have no choice but to endure some things. Wasn't Murong Yanchao the one before? Is this how you do it? I’m just Xiao Gui and Cao Sui.”
As soon as these words came out, even though Huang Wenbing had long regarded himself as Sun Tu's confidant and knew that he had great ambitions, his face turned pale with fright and he opened his mouth to say something, but he didn't know where to start. Can this be the same? The Song Dynasty had always treated civil servants well, and would not kill them no matter how big of a mistake they made, because Emperor Taizu had the ancestral precept of not killing scholar-bureaucrats.
However, the attitude towards military attachés is completely opposite. They often get offended easily. Once a certain bottom line is crossed, the end will be miserable. Didn't even generals like Di Qing, who had made great contributions to the state, end up with a gloomy end? If Sun Tu really has the courage to touch the red line of the imperial court, is he really not afraid of endless trouble? Or is it that his ambition is so great that he can completely ignore the imperial court and even want to conquer Qingzhou...
Thinking of this, Huang Wenbing glanced at Sun Tu with some anxiety, but found that he had already looked through the books again, and muttered: "According to the rules of the army, these more than a thousand people should receive five thousand guans every month." Money, plus more than five hundred shi of food. It’s time to go see Murong Yanchao and settle the accounts with him."
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When Sun Tu brought people to the government office again, the people at the gate of the government office did not dare to stop him at all. They even looked down in fear. Apparently, the previous conflict in the military camp had made them fearful. . This allowed him to easily cross the hall and arrive at the public house where Murong Yanchao was. The latter had also received the report and looked at him warily: "Sun Tu, what are you doing here again?"
"Prefect Murong, don't panic. I'm just here to settle some accounts with you." Sun Tu replied as he entered the room and sat down casually.
"What kind of score can I settle with you? I am busy with official duties right now, and I don't have time to chat with you." Murong Yanchao still replied stiffly, but his heart became more and more uneasy.
Sun Tu sneered: "Prefect Murong is really busy, and even such things have been forgotten. As far as I know, the money and food supply of our Xiang army over the years has been the responsibility of the prefect's Yamen, and My subordinates said that they have not seen the rations and pay for the soldiers for two years now. Since the Yamen did not mention it, I have no choice but to make a trip in person."
"What do you mean by this? Do you want to use this to blackmail me? I can tell you the whole story now, because our Qingzhou has been in arrears in collecting taxes in the past few years, and the government cannot collect too much in various taxes, so I I will be in arrears on the military rations, but this is also out of helplessness. I hope you can understand. Moreover, our Qingzhou is located in the Central Plains and is not at the border. It is useless to raise so many military horses, so my intention is to only keep One or two hundred people will be enough to defend the city, and the others can just disperse with them." Murong Yanchao said casually: "Of course, if you are dissatisfied with this, you can report it to the court, or ask the transport envoy on this road for help. , and see what their attitude will be."
He really didn't believe that Sun Tu would ask the court about relevant matters.
Due to the efficiency of the Song court and Taifu Liang's arrangements, such memorials would only fall into disrepair. This kind of evasion technique has always been the only method used by civilian officials to deal with military attachés. Of course, at this time, Murong Yanchao was still full of resentment. If it had been in the past, why would he have used such cheap tricks to deal with it? No one dared to ask about food and salary.
Sun Tu narrowed his eyes and looked Murong Yanchao up and down. He looked at Murong Yanchao until he became panicked. He couldn't help but asked, "What are you looking at?" Then he sighed and said, "I just didn't expect Murong Yanchao." You can tell lies with such open eyes, I can’t believe that you are the prefect of Qingzhou.”
Without waiting for the other party to get angry, he hummed again: "Even though I have only been in Qingzhou for half a month, I have already heard about the reality of bandits in our territory. Why is this? It's because the government harms the people and is unable to suppress the bandits. And You're lucky enough to be able to tell such nonsense about all the peace in our Qingzhou territory. Is it true that everyone in the world is deaf and blind?"
"you… "
"Since I have taken over Qingzhou's military affairs, I have the responsibility to protect the environment and the people, and the key is to allow the officers and soldiers to practice again. The top priority is to ensure that food and pay are in place. Since this matter has always been the responsibility of the government, I The official will hold you accountable this time!"
"Humph, I have made it very clear. Now the government has no extra food to supply you, let alone any money..." This was his last resort, and it was impossible for Murong Yan to fulfill Sun Tu's wish.
"Whether you have money or food is not up to you. Right now, I have sent people to check the government warehouse. Also, I heard that Magistrate Murong also has several properties in Qingzhou City, and even two There must be a lot of grain and money in the grain shop. If there really isn't much money and grain in the warehouse, then I can only ask you to put the overall situation first and donate generously." Sun Tu said, sneering and looking at the already furious man. The discolored Murong Yanchao.
"You... how dare you send troops to rob the government granary? I will report to the court immediately..." Murong Yanchao was really angry and anxious. He stood up and shouted loudly. This was his final bottom line and could never be taken away by Sun Tu again.
But Sun Tu didn't show a trace of fear. He just shook his head and said, "I just took back something that belonged to our Xiang army. It's not a fault at all. Oh, by the way, there seems to be a memorial here from Magistrate Murong. What I sent is that your messenger suddenly encountered trouble after leaving the city, and he happened to be discovered by my people. He could not bring him back, so he only brought back this memorial." Sun Tu said, taking out a letter from his sleeve. Put the object in front of the other party.
As soon as Murong Yanchao saw the familiar music table, his face suddenly turned pale, and his hand pointing at Sun Tu trembled: "You... How dare you..." This time he was really scared, the other party actually He intercepted the memorial that he sent to the capital a few days ago. Does that mean that Sun Tu has no worries at all? If he continues to force himself to become his enemy, will it happen... He doesn't dare to think about what will happen next.
Sun Tu stood up calmly: "Prefect Murong, now my people are just standing guard in front of the government granary, waiting for my order to act. If you continue to refuse to hand over the things, what will happen? It's really hard to say. Don't say that I didn't predict what I said!" After leaving these threatening words, Sun Tu turned and left without waiting for Murong Yanchao to respond.