"What are you talking about? My Xi Feng clan's motorcade was actually robbed in the south?" Xi Feng Chang asked with an expression of shock, anger and disbelief on his face, while the subordinate in front of him nodded nervously. " Exactly... that's it. Master, that group of horse thieves claim to be Nanshan Bandits, saying that they only took action when times were tough. If Master wants to get those goods back, he has to exchange them with five hundred taels of gold!"
Even Sun Tu frowned when he heard these words. Five hundred taels of gold was not a small amount even for Xi Fengchang. Performance!
Sure enough, after hearing this, Xi Fengchang became even more angry. He slammed the table and yelled: "These horse thieves are really brave. Do they really think that I, Xi Feng, are easy to bully?" This is not just a person. The face issue is more related to reality. If he is really robbed by a bandit this time and has to spend money to redeem it, then there will only be more and more similar troubles in the future. You must know that he is so delicate that he can use the eighth The son's identity was valued by his father because he could earn a lot of money for the Xifeng family.
The men in front of him were even more panicked when they saw him angry, but he still had to say something: "Master, they said that these five hundred taels of gold are not only for redemption of goods, but also for redemption of people. The dozens of guys we escorted They have all been detained, and..." As he said that, he glanced at Sun Tu again: "General Sun's businessman friend is also among them."
Only then did Sun Tu's expression really change: "Are you saying that the goods that were robbed this time were the batch of green salt that Brother Huangfu went out of the city to arrange a few days ago?" Just a few days ago, he saw that Sun Tu had settled down in Shunjun City. After getting down, Huangfu Duan focused on his own batch of green salt. After learning that the green salt had been shipped one after another from elsewhere, he rushed to check it out. Unexpectedly, he was captured by horse thieves along with the goods. .
"Not only the green salt, but also cloth, grain and other items were all taken away by the horse thieves. If these goods are added together, there should be more than a thousand taels of gold. They are all the goods used by our Shunjun City to survive the winter. Xiang Reserve." Xi Fengchang gritted his teeth and said, "What Nanshan bandit has actually eaten the heart of a bear and dared to be an open enemy of my Xi Feng clan!"
Sun Tu calmed down slightly from the shock just now, and thought about something with a solemn expression. He always felt that there was something fishy about this matter. In the territory of the Xifeng clan, would there really be any thieves who dared to act so unscrupulously
However, Xi Fengchang could no longer hold back and immediately stood up and said: "I, Xi Feng, will never tolerate such a thing happening. I will go to see my father right now and ask him to send troops to destroy this gang of horse thieves. I want to see what happens next." Who dares to rob my Xifeng clan’s belongings?” With that said, he hurried out. At this time, Sun Tu's greeting came from behind: "Master, wait a moment."
"Huh? Are you worried that something will happen to Huangfu Duan because of this? Don't worry, no matter how brave those guys are, they don't dare to really hurt my Xi Feng clan, otherwise they will be prepared to pay for it with the lives of their whole family!" Xi Feng Chang said Looking at the murderous look at this time, it was obvious that he was extremely angry.
But Sun Tu took a step forward and said seriously: "I just want to ask the young master, has the same thing happened in the past?"
"Of course not. This is the first time that my Xi Feng clan's goods have been robbed!"
"That's strange
"Well, why did this happen to Brother Huangfu when he was here..." Sun Tu's expression became more and more solemn, and he nodded as if he was pointing something out. Xi Fengchang was just temporarily blinded by anger, and he was quite shrewd. After such a reminder, he also had a strange feeling: "You mean someone is causing trouble? Are those horse thieves so bold because they were instigated by others? "
"Although I don't dare to say so, I'm afraid it's almost the same. Otherwise, why would there be such a bold group of horse thieves for no reason?"
"Xi Feudal!" Xi Fengchang determined the identity of the man behind the scenes almost instantly, and spoke his brother's name from between his teeth. There is really no need to think too much about this. Now in Shunjun City, the only one who has the courage and ability to target him like this is his half-brother, the sixth brother!
Sun Tu seemed very calm: "So if this is really the case, I'm afraid it may not be possible to solve the problem if the young master goes to seek help from the clan leader. We must come up with another appropriate method besides this."
"It's impossible for my father to defend the feudal society on such a big matter!" Xi Fengchang said with some disapproval. After all, more than half of the goods were prepared for Shunjun City. If something went wrong, the consequences would be huge.
Sun Tu shook his head and smiled: "It's hard to say what happened now, but I thought that since he dares to let people do this, he must be sure that you and I will not be able to take advantage of the patriarch's power. Or maybe this is what the patriarch hopes to see. Maybe he will also test the school master's performance in handling such unexpected things."
Although there was some truth in his words, Xi Fengchang still only half-believed him. Without any further delay, he hurriedly left the other courtyard and ran to Xi Feng Yechang's official office for help. This time, Sun Tu did not follow him, but asked other people. A steward here in the hospital started chatting.
"Uncle Cheng has been with Young Master for some time, right?" Sun Tu had seen before that the fifty-year-old Dangxiang man in front of him was trusted and respected by Xi Fengchang, so he was quite respectful to him on weekdays. At this moment When something happened, the first thing I thought of was asking him for some inside information.
Xi Fengcheng stooped slightly and replied in a low voice: "Yes, I have followed the young master at the order of my late mistress since he was born. Calculating carefully, it has been almost twenty years."
As soon as these words came out, Sun Tu looked even more solemn: "Then Uncle Cheng must know the relationship between the young master and his brothers very well, right? Do you think they would really act like brothers fighting against each other for the sake of the power in the clan? Come?"
The smile on Uncle Cheng's face quickly disappeared, but he did not give an answer: "I am just a slave serving my master. Such things are not something I can comment on and speculate at will."
After Sun Tu glanced at him for a few times, he quickly smiled because he had already got the answer to the question. If there was no such thing, Cheng Bo would immediately shake his head and deny it. Now that he refuses to answer, it actually means that it is true.
Sun Tu did not dwell too much on this matter, and then asked: "There is one thing you must know, Uncle Cheng, and that is how many people can the young master really mobilize now?"
"There are only two hundred personal guards. Those are the soldiers and horses that the clan leader entrusted to the young master when he turned sixteen." Uncle Cheng answered quite happily this time.
The matter is no secret in Shunjun City.
"What about the Sixth Young Master? If he wants to take action, how many troops can he mobilize?"
"Five hundred to one thousand..." Cheng Bo pondered for a moment and then replied: "Young Master, after all, he has not yet held any important position, so he has never had his own team. But the Sixth Young Master is different. Even if he is not involved in military affairs, he Because he got the position two years ago, some people joined him. There are at least two cavalry in the city who will obey his orders... "
"Is it a comparison of three to five times the strength? And there may be a group of horse thieves who have been bribed by him. Conservatively speaking, the number is fourteen to five hundred people." Sun Tu breathed out slowly: "Things It’s not easy to handle!”
"So I think the best choice for you is to pay for the redemption of people and goods. This is the safest way." Uncle Cheng said, with a helpless smile on his lips. Because he knew Xi Fengchang's character very well. After suffering such a big loss this time, how could he bow his head and admit defeat
Sun Tu stood there with a half-smile but not a smile. He also guessed that this man would not be able to bear this bad breath. Once he came back after hitting a wall with his father, he would clamor to send people to rescue people and seize goods. And since I want to be Xi Fengchang's confidant, this is the best opportunity to gain his attention and trust. After all, Xi Fengchang is in a weak stage now, and it is always better to provide help in times of need than to add icing on the cake. Moreover, Sun Tu also saw that he was probably the one he was really going to deal with in all that Fine Feudalism did this time!
What happened next was exactly as Sun Tu had predicted before. More than half an hour later, Xi Fengchang came back full of resentment. He failed to get support from his father. As for the reason, it is very simple, that is, as early as early this morning, Xi Feng Ye Chang had left Shunjun City and went to inspect the border pass.
Xifeng Yechang was the head of the border generals sent by the Xixia court to guard this area, so he always visited some border fortresses every once in a while. Obviously, Xifeng Jian boldly made this move because he knew about his father's movements early on. And once Xi Feng Ye Chang is no longer in the city, as Xi Feng Chang, it is impossible to mobilize the city's defenders. In this case, the only ones he can use are the two hundred or so guards under his command.
"Xifeng Feng has taken everything into account... I will never bow to him. No matter how few troops there are, I will still decide to go out of the city to rescue people and seize goods. Sun Qianli, do you dare to go with me?" Chang asked with a gloomy look.
"Master, please be patient. There is something fishy about this matter. We must not fall into their trap easily, otherwise..." Sun Tu was about to say something else, but was interrupted by Xifengchang's impatient wave of his hand: "Sun Qianli, I want to give you a chance because of your martial arts and courage. I didn't expect you to be so timid and fearful. It seems that I really misjudged you!" In anger, his true nature was exposed, and the party item The noble children are not as kind and wise as they appeared before.
Sun Tu was not flustered by this, he just smiled and said: "Master, please listen to what I have to say. I did not say give up saving people and goods, but I said we should use some strategies to deal with them!"
"Huh?" Xi Fengchang finally came back to his senses, "What do you mean?"