Qingxi County, Bangyuan Cave.
After listening to the report from his subordinates, the skinny-looking Luo Sihai's black face suddenly wrinkled: "So our food reserves have been consumed by more than half, and we won't even be able to survive this year's autumn harvest?"
As a close confidant, Ma San'er, who is in charge of money and food matters, nodded awkwardly: "Yes, but there is nothing we can do about it. Then tens of thousands of people are hiding in the mountains and relying on us for help. In a month or two, we will be able to help them." It is enough to meet the consumption in the past year, so this food is... "
As the recognized leader of the mountain people in Bangyuan Cave, Luo Sihai naturally has a great reputation and influence in the local area, and he has enough face. It is not too difficult to get some food from other mountains. But when he thought about the specific number of Fang La people who had fled to seek refuge, as well as the large number of officers and soldiers still stationed in Muzhou City, and even sent many people to Qingxi County, he felt uneasy.
Bangyuan Cave is said to be a cave, but in fact it is not much different from an ordinary village, but it is larger in scale. It is dozens of miles away. Thousands of people obey the orders of his leader. In addition, there are other places such as Qinghe Cave and Changchun Village. Mingdong and other forces are on good terms with each other. Even though they are not officials recognized by the imperial court, their local power in Qingxi surpasses the county government. With just one word from Luo Sihai, he can mobilize thousands of people to cause trouble, even...
But even so, Luo Sihai did not dare to really go against the officers and soldiers. At most, he helped hide Fang La and others in the mountains and provided food and other needs regularly. But now, the food he had accumulated over the years was about to run out. This really made him feel a lot of pressure. If he really ran out of food and suffered a disaster in two years, what would happen to the brothers' families below
Ma San'er saw that he was in trouble and followed up: "Also, there are notices posted all over the county town, saying that we are asked to provide Fang La and the others' whereabouts. As long as the clues are true, there will be a big reward. There are many people in the cave. We were all a little tempted, but because of Fourth Brother, you didn’t say it clearly.”
"Hmph, none of these officials are good, and you can't trust their words. Huang... Fang La and the others also helped us do a lot of things in the past, and they have been friends with us for many years. How can you be so disrespectful to your loyalty? You Pass on the message to me, if anyone really dares to betray his brother, don’t blame me, Luo Si, for not caring about love!"
Just when Ma San'er smiled wryly and nodded in agreement, a brother came to report with a strange expression: "Fourth brother, Lu Qi, Gui Wu and the others suddenly came and said they had something important to discuss with us."
Luo Sihai's brows deepened when he heard the identity of the visitor: "Why did they come to help me in Yuandong for no reason?" These people had the same status as him, they were all leaders of a local cave in Qingxi, although they had a close friendship. , but not enough to visit him often. But now that everyone has arrived at the door of his house, he doesn't want to miss them, so he can only nod: "Then let's go and greet them and see what they have to say."
Soon, several men with different heights but the same dark skinny appearance met Luo Sihai, and then he led him to his main room. It was not a tile-roofed house like in the city, but made entirely of bamboo. The spacious lobby. In this increasingly hot weather, this house seems cooler than elsewhere.
After inviting several guests to sit down, Luo Sihai's eyes mostly fell on two men who were obviously not on their side. One of these two people is fair and fat, and the other is elegant and elegant. At first glance, it is obvious that they are not here.
They were used to working in the mountains, and judging from the respectful attitude of Lu Qi, Gui Wu and others towards them, these two people were of high status, so their origins could be easily revealed.
People in the mountains don't have so many twists and turns, and they can't hide the questions in their hearts. Luo Sihai immediately asked: "Who are these two friends?"
"I forgot to introduce you to Fourth Brother. These two are the leading figures in the south of the Yangtze River today. This one is the former Suzhou official, and the current Hangzhou magistrate Tong Mutong, and this one is even more remarkable. That’s right, Mr. Xie Mo Xie, whom we usually mention more often and admire very much.” Lu Qi gave the introduction with a smile, his tone full of respect.
But Luo Sihai became more and more uneasy, and even the perfunctory smile disappeared from his face: "I wonder what you two are doing with this unexpected visit?"
"Naturally, the two of us came here to help the many folks in Yuanyuandong. We also heard when we were in Qingxi County that you were short of food in Bangyuandong recently, and our government can help. Others dare not He said that we are still willing to give out tens of thousands of stones of grain." Tong Mu smiled and said: "In addition, I heard that there are a lot of mountain products and silk in your area that cannot be sold, and our government also intends to accept them at market prices. Brother Luo Si, are you interested in doing this business with us?"
"Haha, who wouldn't want such a good thing? Our family in Qinghedong is not as rich as Bangyuandong, so we can't bring in more mountain goods and silk. Fourth brother, what do you think? Can this business be done?" Gui Wu He smiled and added something.
Tong Mu continued to focus on Luo Sihai's face, half-smiling: "If you don't like taking money, fourth brother, you can also exchange it for food. Anyway, as long as you nod, the things will be delivered within half a month."
"When did the government become so protective of ordinary people like us? It's really scary." Luo Sihai didn't accept his words and suddenly asked: "Isn't there some hidden intention?"
"What are you thinking about? Now our Jiangnan government is very different from the past. Whether it's General Sun or this Tong Zhifu, they are all dedicated to the benefit of the people. Why, fourth brother, you won't even thank me. Mo can't believe it, right? If you really don't think I can be trusted, I can stay here as a personal witness. Now you will believe me, right?" Xie Mo also laughed.
"Who in the south of the Yangtze River dares to question Mr. Xie's conduct?" Gui Wu hurriedly agreed with a smile: "And fourth brother, you don't know, our cave has already done business with the government, we are really innocent, everyone They also received quite a lot of benefits.”
Luo Sihai's eyes swept across their faces again, and then he chuckled: "Eating people has a short mouth, and taking people has a short hand. I'm afraid you two are helping us for other reasons, right?"
"It's not a big deal. I just want the brothers from Bangyuandong to help find some people. They are a group of rebels who failed to rebel and fled into the mountains. To be honest, they are also a threat to the folks in Bangyuandong here. There are huge hidden dangers. If the government wants to make decisions for the people, it will naturally have to help suppress them." Tong Mu seemed to be relaxed and said, and finally revealed the real purpose.
After more than a month of publicity and inquiry, the whereabouts of Fang La's remnants have been almost figured out. However, the mountains and forests over there are complicated after all, and there is a group of people from Bangyuandong helping to cover up and escape. It will be difficult to capture them in one fell swoop. So Sun Tu thought of drawing these people to his side. It would be best if he could make them
They helped capture Fang La and others, and that's how we met today.
Because Tong Mu had never made any decent achievements before, and Sun Tu wanted to make him the head of the local civil servants in Jiangnan, he thought that he would be the one to convince the people in Bangyuandong. And I believe that with his ability and eloquence, he can indeed achieve this.
Now Tong Mu had indeed put enough pressure on the other party in just a few words, causing Luo Sihai to fall into silence for a short time. After a long while, he gritted his teeth and said: "Although I, Luo Sihai, have no ability, I value the word "righteousness" most. The people on the mountain are friendly to me and are kind to me. What if I refuse to cooperate with the government? "
"Well, that's a pity." Tong Mu sighed, smiled bitterly and said, "Then the deal mentioned before can only be abandoned. In addition, your charges of harboring rebels will also be proven, even if General Sun If you really want to protect it, once the court finds out, the consequences will be extremely serious.
"Also, I have already inquired about it. Most of the mountain people in the Yuandong area you help rely on the mountains to eat, hunt and collect firewood by reeling silk, and then carry the mountain goods on their backs to exchange for food, cloth and so on. If the government suddenly closes the mountains, what will happen to them? Your roads out are blocked. I wonder if this mountain can feed tens of thousands of people?"
His words were said lightly, but the threat contained in them was extremely serious. Luo Sihai was immediately shocked, and his eyes became much gloomier.
On the other side, Lu Qi, Gui and Wu were also panicked and hurriedly said: "Fourth brother, don't force yourself. The government is not something that ordinary people like us can handle. Although Fang La has a close friendship with you, but We have indeed helped him a lot in the past two years. It is really not good to harm all the villagers below because of him." Once the government really closes the mountains and blocks the roads, even they will be greatly affected, and naturally they will not Dare this come true.
Seeing that he was still hesitating, Tong Mu simply said it all: "I won't hide it from you. You, Luo Sihai, are not the only one who can make the decision in your Bangyuan Cave. That Hua Laoguai has already decided to cooperate with the government. , if you refuse, we may have to find someone else to cooperate."
This sentence finally became the straw that broke the camel's back. As the words say, Luo Sihai does have an enemy in Bangyuan Cave, Hua Laoguai. Although his power and reputation are lower, he still has many people who support him. Once the government really supports him to take the position of leader , Luo Sihai's situation is very dangerous.
There were a lot of benefits on one side and a deep threat on the other. When these two choices were presented in front of him, Luo Sihai quickly knew what choice he should make. Maybe he prides himself on being a Jianghu person and wants to be loyal to others, but after all, Luo Sihai, who is not alone and has a family, or even the leader of more than a thousand households in a cave, would never dare to be impulsive. .
After a long while, he finally lowered his head and said softly: "I will not take action, nor will I send anyone to take action. I will only give you some specific locations and let you enter the mountain easily."
"Okay. But before that, Fourth Brother, I would like to ask you to watch the mountain people under your command and don't let them go up the mountain again and get involved in this matter." Tong Mu answered happily, the matter is done!
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It's Monday again, this volume is coming to an end, and Sun Tu is about to leave Jiangnan. He has to pay for the travel expenses by counting the votes, otherwise General Sun will have to walk back. . . .