() Qin Mu arrived at the lobby of the governor's office and saw a team of about 200 Ming soldiers parked outside the gate. Unlike the ragged Ming soldiers he usually saw, this team of Ming soldiers was covered in dust, but their armor was extremely fine and bright.
Compared with Qin Mu's Ganzhou soldiers, this group of people is like the soldiers relied on before the war in later generations, while Qin Mu's Ganzhou soldiers are like the field army crawling in the mud all day long.
In front of this group of Ming troops, there were a dozen Dongchang guards wearing brown clothes and small belts, led by a eunuch with thin cheeks, medium build, and deep eye sockets.
Lu Qi, yes, the eunuch in front is Lu Qi. Qin Mu is very familiar with this guy. He still remembers that his deep eye sockets always emitted a cold light like a poisonous snake. Seeing him again at this moment, Qin Mu couldn't help but look at his ten fingers.
Lü Qi outside probably saw Qin Mu's action, he fell to his knees, crawled over and cried, "Master Qin, Master Qin, please spare my life. Back in Jinling, Master Qin and I had no grudges or hatred, and I didn't mean to embarrass Master Qin. It was all Eunuch Han's fault."
"Hmm?" Qin Mu could hardly hold back his laughter. He took two steps forward, looked down at him and teased him, "Eunuch Lu, as the saying goes, the ten fingers are connected to the heart. At that time, Eunuch Lu ordered people to put a baton on me. I was in so much pain that I almost died. Until now, whenever I see a baton, I will be terrified. I will have a headache about what to use to beat my son in the future. Eunuch Lu, uh, by the way, just now Eunuch Lu said that it was not your idea to put a baton on me, but it was all Eunuch Han's idea, right?" Qin Mu said this, turned his head and smiled at the Dongshi Fanzi outside, "Tell me, was it Eunuch Lu's idea to put a baton on me at that time, or was it Eunuch Han's idea?"
The dozen or so Dongchang guards looked at each other in bewilderment, not daring to say a word. Lu Qi, who was lying on the ground, was pale and sweating profusely.
At this time, the general who led the troops came up and saluted Qin Mu, smiling and said, "Please, Lord Qin. I, Xu Yongshun, was entrusted by the eunuch Han, the garrison eunuch of Nanjing, to send two people to Lord Qin. Eunuch Han said that after Lord Qin sees them, he will understand Eunuch Han's intentions."
Xu Yongshun looked to be about twenty years old, with a tall stature and the elegant and noble temperament of a noble disciple. Qin Mu looked at him twice and said without comment: "The war in Huguang has not yet ended. General Xu must have experienced many hardships along the way. Thank you for your trouble. Please come in."
Xu Yongshun smiled and said, "Don't worry, Sir Qin should first see who Eunuch Han has sent you." At this point, Xu Yongshun glanced at Lu Qi and laughed, "Sir Qin claims to be straightforward and clear about gratitude and resentment. Sir Qin has already seen the first person that Eunuch Han sent to him. There is another one that Sir Qin will never expect."
Xu Yongshun made a slight signal, and two young eunuchs hurried to open the curtain of the carriage between the two rows of soldiers. Qin Mu looked up and saw a woman in her twenties sitting in the carriage. She was wearing a light purple gauze dress with peonies carved on the front and lotus embroidered on her chest.
Three thousand strands of silky black hair were tied into a beautiful bun, a pair of peonies holding pearls and seven crystal treasures were dotted on both sides, gold lace and burnt blue and white jade silk flowers fell in the middle, and the pink skirt swayed with beautiful brilliance.
The elegant jade face has clear facial features, the watery eyes are clear and bright, and the stunning face is slightly made up. From a distance, she looks like a fairy who has fallen into the world, not affected by worldly affairs.
Xu Yongshun smiled again and said, "Lord Qin has lived in Jinling for generations, but he has devoted himself to studying military tactics for many years, so he probably doesn't recognize this girl. To be honest with you, Lord Qin, Eunuch Han and I put a lot of thought into getting this girl to you. Lord Qin, please don't let them down. Haha, this girl's surname is Dong, and her name is Xiaowan. I'm sure you must have heard of her."
Dong Xiaowan? Qin Mu couldn't help but look into the car again and was stunned for a moment.
Of the two people who plotted against Qin Mu, Hou Fangyu was made into a rotten egg by Qin Mu, and he could not even stay in Nanjing, and Li Xiangjun was also taken away by him; Mao Xiang also assisted Hou Fangyu in plotting against Qin Mu, and now Han Zanzhou used some unknown means to get Dong Xiaowan to give to Qin Mu;
Regardless of whether Han Zanzhou was inspired by Qin Mu's words "repay kindness with kindness and repay hatred with hatred", this gift was indeed given with great thought.
Dong Xiaowan in the car did not avoid Qin Mu's gaze, but also looked at Qin Mu. Her eyes were sad with a hint of indifference, and there was no expression on her beautiful face. Qin Mu could feel from her eyes that he was no different from the grass and trees on the roadside.
"General Xu and Eunuch Han are so thoughtful. This is not the place to talk. Please come in, General Xu." Qin Mu turned sideways to invite them.
"Lord Qin is too polite. Please go first." Xu Yongshun had a bright smile on his face. He looked like a person who was not particular about details. His attitude towards Qin Mu was neither humble nor arrogant.
Qin Mu asked someone to prepare some side dishes in the yamen, and drank with Xu Yongshun. After some polite greetings, Qin Mu finally figured out Xu Yongshun's identity.
The fourth son of Xu Da, the King of Zhongshan, was named Xu Zengshou. He secretly assisted Zhu Di during the Jingnan Rebellion and was killed by Emperor Jianwen. His descendants inherited the title of Duke of Dingguo. Among Zhu Yuanzhang's meritorious officials, only Xu Da's family had two dukes. Xu Zengshou's ninth-generation grandson Xu Yunzhen inherited the title of Duke of Dingguo in the third year of Chongzhen, becoming the ninth generation Duke of Dingguo.
Xu Yongshun was the third son of Xu Yunzhen. Although he could not inherit the title of Duke according to seniority, with such a family background, Xu Yongshun was definitely not an ordinary person.
"The roads in this world are difficult to travel these days. It is really a great honor for me to come all the way to Changsha in person, young master."
Outside the octagonal pavilion, autumn chrysanthemums are in full bloom, outside the high walls, white clouds are floating leisurely, and gusts of autumn wind bring a refreshing feeling. If you only look at these, it is easy to forget that this is a chaotic world of war.
Xu Yongshun drove the waitress away, grabbed the wine pot, and said with a smile while pouring wine: "Master Qin, you are being too polite. What young master? Master Qin, please don't belittle me. The title of the family will never come to me. I really admire Eunuch Han. Eunuch Han can be said to have a keen eye for talent. It's only been a few months. Wow, wow, wow, wow, it's incredible. If it weren't for Master Qin, not to mention Jiangxi, I'm afraid that half of Jiangnan would be in danger. Master Qin is a man of both civil and military skills. I am a warrior. I was convinced, so I volunteered to come to Changsha to see Master Qin. To be honest, I am tired of Nanjing, the land of gold and powder. I came here to seek a job under Master Qin. Master Qin, don't worry, although I come from a noble family, I am definitely not a weakling who only knows how to eat, drink, gamble, and have practiced martial arts since I was young. I have not stopped for more than ten years. I have been in the front line and cut off the heads of several rebels. I still have confidence in this. Master Qin, I will follow you. Even if you drive me away, I will not leave."
Isn't it always after three rounds of wine and five dishes before getting down to business
Qin Mu was really confused by Xu Yongshun's behavior. This guy spoke all at once as soon as he sat at the table, and even started to act shamelessly in the end. He didn't look like someone who came from a noble family at all.
But is he really as reckless as he appears
Qin Mu smiled faintly and replied: "Young Master, you think highly of me, so I shouldn't refuse. But I'm afraid that my small temple can't accommodate a big Buddha like you."
"Looking at the world, Sun Chuanting just suffered a terrible defeat, Guanzhong is in danger, Zuo Liangyu and his ilk, hey, let's not talk about them, anyway, I don't think highly of them, only here with Lord Qin, tsk tsk, two thousand Tiger Guards, swept across Jiangxi and Huguang, Zhang Xianzhong's army of hundreds of thousands was beaten to a pulp by Lord Qin, in a miserable state, I don't need to say much about my admiration for Lord Qin, even if I am a soldier guarding the tent for Lord Qin, I am willing, anyway, I will follow Lord Qin."
The wealthy families in this world are not just living a life of luxury and debauchery as they appear to be. They may see the general trend of the world more clearly than anyone else.
Qin Mu finally understood. Xu Yongshun sent jewelry and beautiful women, and pretended to be a shameless and reckless boy. With Han Zanzhou involved, this matter would not be simple.
In addition to Duke Dingguo and Han Zanzhou, it is possible that the entire interest group centered on them came to invest and bet here.
If you think about it carefully, this is not surprising. Looking at the Ming Dynasty, all forces were in decline. Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng were of humble origins. They both had a strong hatred of the rich and were very hostile to these powerful people. It was inevitable that these powerful people would neither be willing nor willing to establish contact with Li and Zhang.
Now Qin Mu has risen at an astonishing speed, defeated Zhang Xianzhong, and controlled Huguang and Gannan. He is like a dazzling comet that is hard for others to ignore. Looking at Qin Mu's background and what he did in Gannan, he is undoubtedly the most ideal investment target for the powerful.
The secret support of the powerful people will certainly bring great help to Qin Mu, but there is no free lunch in this world. If a powerful person like Duke Dingguo invests here, he must get a certain share.
Qin Mu's mind was racing. He was actually like a nouveau riche. His roots were not deep enough, his leaves were not lush enough, and his control over his power group was not solid enough. For example, the army of 100,000 had just been assembled, and all the soldiers were not very loyal to him. If the powerful intervened at this time, it would be hard to say whether this army would still be his in the future.
However, it is unwise to push away the powerful and influential forces and let them run to other camps. It is difficult to grasp the balance in this regard.
Qin Mu was at a loss for words and could only smile and say, "My young master, you have worked hard on the journey. However, Changsha has just been recovered, so we can only make do with what we have. I hope you will forgive me for my poor hospitality. Come on, let's drink first. We can talk after we have filled our stomachs."
"Brother Qin, you are being too polite again, aren't you? Come, let me drink first to show my respect." Xu Yongshun raised his glass and drank it first. He didn't mention what he had just said anymore and kept praising the wine and the food. He looked like an ignorant teenager, but he had unknowingly changed "Master Qin" to "Brother Qin" and called him so warmly.
ps: Please support me with monthly tickets. Dong Xiaowan's appearance was a spur of the moment idea. I never thought of including her before. You can scold me if you want. It would be better if you use monthly tickets to hit me.
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