Hearing Yan Liqiang say this, Lei Sitong, Wang Jianbei and the other two looked at each other. Lei Sitong sighed and said, "So Liqiang, you have already guessed it!"
Yan Liqiang smiled softly, "The man in the Imperial Capital is deliberately planning to send troops to interfere in the affairs of Gulang Grassland, to shed the blood of our Han people, and to seek stability and peace for the Shatu people. I am a thorn in his side. Now he wants to kill rabbits by robbing straw, so naturally he won't let me off easily. I just don't know what news the governor and the county magistrate have received?"
"Li Qiang, you hold the title of Qiyun Governor. Logically speaking, Gulang Grassland is under your jurisdiction. The court is preparing to send troops to Gulang Grassland this time. In name, it naturally has a lot to do with you!" Lei Sitong pondered for a moment, "I received news that the newly appointed Anxi General Wei Wuji has not yet arrived in the northwest, but he wants you, Li Qiang, to be in charge of the transportation of food and grass for the army outside the Great Wall!"
According to the military and official system of the Han Empire, although Yan Liqiang was free under the title of Qiyun Governor on weekdays and ordinary officials had no control over him, once there was a war, if the court appointed a general to lead the war, the local governor would be under the control of the general.
"Who is this Wei Wuji?" Yan Liqiang frowned and thought for a while, then found that there was no such person in his mind at all.
"Wei Wuji was originally the military governor of Yunzhou. Later, he was appreciated by Lin Qingtian and was promoted step by step until he became the assistant minister of the Ministry of War. This time, the Black Jie invaded the Gulang grassland, and Wei Wuji was appointed as the General of Anxi, responsible for the expedition!"
"So it's Lin Qingtian's confidant. This person has bad intentions!" Yan Liqiang understood all of a sudden and shook his head. "But you also know, Governor, I am just a nominal governor. The court only gave me a craftsman battalion. The soldiers in that craftsman battalion are just one flag, which is not as many as the servants of my Yan family. I basically have no soldiers. I'm afraid it's not appropriate for the court to give me such a big task!"
Lei Sitong said in a muffled voice, "That's the truth, but things in this world are often unreasonable. Otherwise, what's the point of using fists? At that time, you, Li Qiang, had already accepted the appointment of Qiyun Governor. At this time, Wei Wuji was appointed by the court as the General of Anxi, responsible for the war in Gulang Grassland. If you refused Wei Wuji's appointment, Wei Wuji could punish you by military law..."
"How many troops will Wei Wuji bring with him to the northwest this time? The court won't let him come alone naked, right?"
Wang Jianbei shook his head. "As the general of Anxi, Wei Wuji certainly cannot come to the northwest alone to deal with the Black Jie tribe. This time he comes to the northwest with an army of 200,000. At the same time, each state in the northwest must gather 20,000 troops for him to dispatch. So when Wei Wuji comes to the northwest, the army he controls will exceed 300,000!"
"That is to say, if I don't obey, even if Wei Wuji chops off my head, he can still accuse me of being a coward who allowed the Black Jie people to invade the territory of the Han Empire and disobeyed military orders, thus ruining my reputation?"
"Probably so!" Wang Jianbei nodded.
"Well, where's the money?" Yan Liqiang stretched out his hand. "Since the court wants me to be responsible for the transportation of food and grass for the army outside the Great Wall, I have to pay for it. The food and grass for so many people is not a small amount. I wonder how much silver the court has allocated to me?"
"The court didn't give you a single ounce of silver. If there was any, it would be given to the Northwest Transportation Office. Wei Wuji treated you as the governor of Qiyun and only gave you orders, leaving you to figure it out on your own!" Lei Sitong said as he pulled out a roll from his sleeve and handed it to Yan Liqiang, "Liqiang, take a look at this..."
It was an official document, but not an ordinary one. Yan Liqiang took it and opened it. Inside was a dense list of supplies, including weapons, swords, guns, armor, baggage, food, horses, arrows, cloth, equipment, etc. Behind each category, the quantities were astonishingly large. Without several million taels of silver, it would be impossible to prepare all the supplies on the list. Even with so much silver, it would not be an easy task to prepare so many things.
"What's this?"
"This is what Wei Wuji prepared for you to collect and prepare. It was just sent to the Northwest Transportation Office three days ago. I have some connections in the Northwest Transportation Office, so I got a copy!"
Yan Liqiang was so angry that he laughed, "So, that guy surnamed Wei has me in his arms this time. Even if I have made a little money in the past two years and my family has mountains of gold and silver, it is not enough to feed and drink these 300,000 soldiers. If I don't take this job, he will find a chance to chop off my head. If I take this job, even if my family loses everything, it will still be difficult to meet the needs of the army, and he can always find an excuse to chop off my head!"
"That's it!"
This is a real killing game. For someone like Lin Qingtian, the enormous power he can manipulate allows him to stand on the moral high ground at any time. Once he finds an opportunity to take action, you will not even have the possibility of resistance. If you refuse, you will die, and your property will be confiscated and your family will be exterminated. If you don't refuse, the final result will also be death. It is too easy for a general to kill a logistics officer.
Yan Liqiang frowned and pondered for a moment before looking at Lei Sitong, "Then I wonder what the governor has to teach me?"
"Wei Wuji will bring his army to the northwest at least in April next year. If you want to escape this disaster, Li Qiang, you'd better not give Wei Wuji a chance to meet you and give you orders!"
"you mean… "
Lei Sitong smiled wisely, "I guess the military order Wei Wuji gave you is on the way now, but you haven't received Wei Wuji's official appointment yet, so you are still free. Sometimes, if you know you can't win, going up is to die, just like on the battlefield, retreat is not a shameful thing, so you'd better find an excuse to temporarily hide, so that Wei Wuji can't see you and can't give you orders. There will be room for maneuver in the future, and you can also preserve your current foundation. This is ignorance is not a crime. Otherwise, once Wei Wuji comes to the northwest, or the general's military order is delivered to you, it will be too late!"
"Thank you for telling me!" Yan Liqiang clasped his fists towards Lei Sitong.
"This is for your own good, and for my own good. Given our relationship, if Wei Wuji really wants to do something to you, I will be caught in the middle, and that will be the most uncomfortable! However, it is inevitable that you will lose some money this time, so at least you should act in a way that leaves others speechless..."
"I know what to do!" Yan Liqiang's eyes flashed with a gleam, and he nodded...
…
(End of this chapter)