Seeing hundreds of carts filled with food being pushed into the city by the soldiers in front of him and other government officials, Murong Yanchao's expression became gloomy to the extreme. When he looked at Wang Pingping, his eyes also showed a lot of emotion. There was a lot of hostility.
At this time, he still couldn't guess that there was something wrong with the other party's identity. I'm afraid it was Tong Guan, the backer behind Sun Tu, and others who secretly instigated it. He was embarrassed this time and suffered a lot of losses. And more importantly, how could he file a complaint? These two people are completely in the same league. Even if he told the public about the fact that the Xiang army in Qingzhou City is now powerful and suppresses himself as the prefect, I am afraid Wang Ping will help Sun Tu hide it, right
Although he was angry in his heart, Murong Yanchao had a good reputation after all, and his face only looked ugly for a short while before he came up to him with a smile again: "Now that Wang Tiha's errand has been handed over, you can't refuse my offer. Now that you’ve made up your mind, how about going to the city to have a few glasses of wine and rest for a few days?”
After Wang Ping was stunned for a moment, he also smiled and clasped his fists and said: "Since Magistrate Murong is so kind, how can I not appreciate the compliment? Thank you very much."
Seeing this, Sun Tu also hurriedly followed him: "I wonder if I, the official, are lucky enough to be at the banquet? I don't think Magistrate Murong will be stingy with the food and wine, right?"
"Haha, no matter how much you drink and eat, Sun Dujian, I can still afford to entertain you. And I didn't hold a banquet for you when you came to Qingzhou that day, so I'll make up for it today. Please." At this time, Murong Yanchao had completely recovered his previous energy. He made a gesture with a smile and strode away with his subordinates. At the same time, he had secretly made a decision in his heart.
Sun Tu heard that the other party was insinuating that he was a loser, but he didn't feel angry. He just smiled faintly, made a gesture of invitation to Wang Ping, and then walked in half a step behind the other party, which was enough. This person’s face. As for the officers and soldiers who were transferred to the Yamen, they followed them into the city, and people from the government and military camps came out to greet them.
After putting a certain distance away from Murong Yanchao and others in front of him, Wang Ping glanced back at Sun Tu, lowered his voice and said: "Sun Tujian is really not simple. He has only been in Qingzhou for more than a month and he has already been able to communicate with him." Murong Yanchao protested. As mentioned in Privy Tong's letter, this prefect Murong is very famous in Qingzhou, and many officials who come here have a bad end." This can be regarded as telling his identity to his face. Pointed out.
Sun Tu had already guessed his identity, and he just smiled when he heard this: "It's just some luck, it's nothing. But Wang Tiha, you really helped me a lot by coming here this time, otherwise even if I could Suppress him for a while, but as long as the army's food and salary are still in the hands of the government, he will always be counterattacked."
"Haha, easy to say. In addition, Privy Tong also asked me to pass on a message to you. If you can monopolize the power of Qingzhou, even if you get rid of Murong Yanchao, as long as you have a legitimate excuse, he can help you withstand the pressure of the court. ." Wang Ping lowered his voice again and said something in a voice that only two people could hear.
Sun Tu raised his eyebrows suddenly when he heard this. He didn't expect that Tong Guan would act more urgently than himself. But thinking about it, he had never been able to defeat Gao Qiu in court. Now that Gao Qiu has joined forces with Liang Shicheng, I'm afraid his situation is getting worse. That's it
His local forces need to respond in some way to boost the morale of his subordinates.
Of course, Sun Tu didn't believe that Tong Guan could really keep his word. When he was in Jiangzhou, he had done everything properly and helped Cai Jiu get rid of the serious troubles around him. But what's the result? If Liang Shicheng and the others had not found a reason to send him to Qingzhou, Tong Guanke had no intention of protecting himself at that time. Since this was the case before, when he really got rid of Murong Yanchao and the court blamed him, Tong Guan might not really be able to keep his promise and protect him.
Anyway, others are unreliable, and the most trustworthy thing is your own strength. Therefore, the key is to train the Qingzhou Army into an elite division as soon as possible. As for whether to get rid of Murong Yanchao, we can only wait and see.
Seeing that Sun Tu fell into silence after hearing this, Wang Ping didn't say anything more. He was just passing on a sentence, and in terms of status and importance to Tong Guan, he couldn't compare with Sun Tu, so naturally he didn't dare to ask any more questions. . It wasn't until Sun Tu regained his composure that he took out another letter from his arms and handed it over: "This is a letter written by Privy Tong, and it's also for you." To be honest, he really envied Sun Tu, a person far away. The little governor in Qingzhou could actually make Privy Tong think so highly of him that he not only sent himself to help him, but also sent him a handwritten letter.
Sun Tu was also a little surprised, but he still thanked him and put the letter into his sleeve. Of course, it's not easy to read the contents of the letter now. I can only wait until I return to the military camp later to read it.
The two then walked and chatted about other things, and soon came to a three-story restaurant, which was the largest Guiyan Tower in Qingzhou City. It was here that Murong Yanchao held the banquet today.
At this time, as soon as the people in the restaurant saw the officials arriving, they hurriedly led the people out to greet them, and then welcomed them into the building with a fawning smile. Today, the three-story restaurant has been completely booked by the government, so there are no other guests. Those government officials and some of the transfer officials can also drink and eat on the first and second floors. As for the third floor, It was used to entertain distinguished guests. Only Murong Yanchao, Fang Ping, Shen Bian and other important government officials, as well as Sun Tu and Wang Ping, could enter the table, so the place seemed particularly empty.
Although there were not many people at the table, the food and wine on the third floor were not bad. Originally, Murong Yanchao planned to entertain the visitors so that he could use his power to deal with Sun Tu. Now the matter has not been completed, but the food and drinks have been ordered and cannot be returned, and it is also cheaper for Sun Tu who came with him.
Compared with the gentle manners of these civil servants who came from the imperial examination and respected their status, Sun Tu and Wang Ping started eating and drinking as soon as they sat down. In addition to the necessary social activities with these government officials, Wang Ping mostly exchanged cups with Sun Tu, talking to each other about military matters or martial arts, and he really seemed to be a bit like no one else.
In fact, even though Wang Ping behaved so casually, as if he didn't give Murong Yanchao and the others any face, in fact this was also his cleverness. He had long seen that the fight in Qingzhou City had become a firestorm. He did not want to get involved, and he did not want Murong Yanchao to say anything wrong about Sun Tu in front of him. Should he report it truthfully? So it is better to simply make your position clear, so that it will be difficult for the other party to speak.
Of course, his performance is still
This aroused a lot of dissatisfaction from several government officials, so when the wine was half drunk, the atmosphere at the banquet became more and more deserted, and only he and Sun Tu were toasting each other from time to time.
Seeing that the banquet was about to break up, Murong Yanchao suddenly raised his glass and smiled at Sun Tu: "Sun Dujian, I would like to toast you a glass of wine. Since you came to our Qingzhou, the military appearance of this city is better than before. It is much stronger, and this achievement is something that none of the generals in the past could achieve."
Sun Tu raised his glass in response, drank the wine, and then smiled and said: "The magistrate has given me too much praise, and I am just doing what I should do. Since I am the governor of Qingzhou, I naturally want to find ways to strengthen the strength of our Xiang army."
"Well said." Murong Yanchao had already thought of a countermeasure. At this time, he filled up another glass of wine and toasted: "In that case, please ask Sun Dujian to drink another full glass of wine. I have important matters to entrust to you. "
Sun Tu was not in a hurry to drink anymore. He just looked at the other party with a half-smile but said, "Whatever the prefect ordered, just say so. I can't use it as an excuse." As expected, Murong Yanchao would not give up easily.
"Actually, it's not a big deal. Due to the lack of military prosperity in Qingzhou over the past few years, bandits have become rampant in the territory. Just over a month ago, a tragedy occurred where all the people in a village were massacred by bandits. I feel deeply ashamed in my heart. But it's fine now. With Sun Dujian, you can revive our military in Qingzhou and wipe out the bandits in the territory in no time. I hope Sun Dujian won't shirk. By the way, please ask Wang for such an important matter. Tiha, can you be a witness? What do you think?" At the end of the sentence, Murong Yanchao had already set his sights on Wang Ping.
Sun Tu frowned slightly, already somewhat aware of why he did this. This is obviously because he wants to take risks for himself and his soldiers. Although the Xiang army was already quite large, in the eyes of others, it was only newly established after all, and was probably no match for the mountain bandits and bandits who had been running rampant in the local area for many years and had occupied a favorable location.
And as long as he makes a mistake in defeating the thieves and loses troops and generals, the previous momentum will reverse again. Even if he didn't have any problems in defeating the thieves, as long as the Xiang army was transferred up and down from Qingzhou City, Murong Yanchao, who had been rooted here for many years, might have a chance to turn over.
It was just one thing to see his intentions, but Sun Tu could not refuse his request, because this was his duty as the Qingzhou Governor, and there was Wang Ping beside him. If there is a complaint or something, Wang Ping can still help conceal it, but when it comes to the stability of Qingzhou, he can no longer pretend to know nothing. Maybe when the matter gets out, he will bear a lot of responsibility.
Murong Yanchao still refused to give up, but he could no longer dodge this move and could only accept it. After Sun Tu had an idea, he smiled and said: "What Magistrate Murong said is true. Several groups of bandits and bandits in Qingzhou are indeed very harmful. In fact, even if you don't mention it, I have already eliminated them one by one." I mean. However, now that the Xiang army has just resumed training, it is not possible to go out for the war for the time being. I have to give me some more time to train."
"Oh? I wonder how long it will take Captain Sun? The situation in Qingzhou is getting worse and worse, but we can't wait too long."
"Within this year, I will destroy one or two bandit nests first!" Sun Tu's answer was resounding!