If it weren't for the fact that he already knew the identity of the other party, I am afraid that it would be difficult for someone to match the middle-aged official who greeted him in front of him with a friendly smile and the legendary greedy and murderous Zhu Mian, who caused the chaos in Jiangnan, because his appearance and temperament are too incompatible with this identity.

Zhu Mian, who is being demoted, is short and fat, his face is full of fat, and he has a natural enthusiastic smile, which is completely like the Maitreya Buddha enshrined in a temple. Who would have thought that not long ago, he had just killed a court official, and he had also charged the other party with colluding with thieves and plotting against him.

Hehe laughed, Zhu Mian had already twisted his fat body and came to Sun Tu, just as Sun Tu bent down to salute, his hands had quickly reached out, and he stopped this action: "Sun Tu doesn't have to be so polite, you can come to my Jiangnan to quell the rebellion is the best support for us, don't do these false courtesies." Come on, let's go talk first, and then have a light meal here later, even if it's for you to catch the wind and wash the dust. As he spoke, he pulled Sun Tu very familiarly and walked towards the hall in front of him.

Sun Tu also showed a happy smile on his face at this time: "Zhu Shuai is so polite, he really flattered the lower officials." "This is not bad, the other party is a feudal official, and the Jiangnan Road Jie Du envoy of the imperial court, this identity is much higher than that of a four-grade ruler.

"Hey, it's too much for Sun Chan to say this, the level of official position is only for outsiders, and what people in the military like us value most is their personal ability and meritorious service. Over the years, Sun Chan has repeatedly made meritorious contributions to the thieves in Shandong, but we have all heard of it, to be honest, there are few officials in this Manchu Dynasty who can admire us, but you are one of them. Saying happy words, Zhu Mian had invited Sun Tu to the inside of the hall and let him sit on his side, which really gave Sun Tu face.

Sun Tu didn't struggle too much, sat down according to his arrangement, and said with a touched face: "Zhu Shuai is really a corporal of Lixian, which makes the subordinates a little embarrassed." Those things in Shandong were nothing at all before, presumably if Zhu Shuai was there to control the overall situation, he would be able to do better than me, and put down all the local thieves and bandits a few years earlier. ”

These few words immediately caused Zhu Mian to laugh heartily: "Sun Zhanzhi's words are too polite, but it's a pity that this official can't get out of Jiangnan, otherwise he can really go to Shandong to have a look." He accepted the compliment with a real smile.

Tong Mu, who entered the hall with the two of them, saw that they were praising each other, and the conversation with him was really a little trance, didn't Sun Tu say that he wanted to get rid of Zhu Mian before, why is it completely like a different person now? But soon, he also showed a signature smile, accompanied the last seat, watched the two continue to talk nonsense there, and at the same time had to look up to Sun Tu in his heart, this has been in the officialdom for many years, but he is much more stable than at the beginning, at least he has mastered the methods of officialdom and wrongdoing.

During the polite greetings between the two of them, the subordinate had already brought up a few bowls of drinks that nourished the qi and nourished the body, and Zhu Mian took a sip while holding it up, and also introduced: "Sun Zhanzhi, you are from the north, you should not know how humid the climate here in the south is inconvenient, so this official specially obtained such a drink prescription from a famous local doctor, you must drink a few more bowls." ”

"Oh? I have to taste this, if it really has such an effect, I also ask Zhu Shuai to inform the lower officials of the recipe, and I can also ask someone to prepare some for the soldiers below to drink. Sun Tu picked up the tea bowl with interest and took a few sips, then nodded again and again.

"That's a good idea, we'll ask someone to copy a copy for you and take it away later." However, there are several medicinal herbs in this drink, which are quite precious, and if you want tens of thousands of soldiers to drink them on a large scale, it will cost a lot of money. After Zhu Mian agreed, he took the opportunity to get to the point: "I don't know how many soldiers and horses you brought to my Jiangnan this time?" ”

"It's a shame to say that there are only 22,000 people, after all, the Shandong thieves have just been purged, and the lower officials don't dare to empty all the horses. However, Zhu Shuai, please rest assured, the soldiers and horses under my command are all elite in the army, even if they are placed in the south of the Yangtze River, they are rarely opposed. ”

"If it's as he said, then we'll rest assured. Don't you know that the anti-thief forces in Jiangnan are getting bigger and bigger, not only Suzhou has not been able to hold it, but even several cities near Jinling are always in danger of being attacked and fallen by the thief army. Especially in the past half a month, it has made me sad. Zhu Mian smiled happily: "By the way, I don't know when Sun Chan's subordinates will really be able to fight?" It was only at this time that he revealed his true purpose, said so many flattering and flattering words, and finally hoped that Sun Tu could lead troops to quell the rebellion as soon as possible.

When Sun Tu heard this, he put the half-drunk drink on the coffee table, and then frowned slightly and said: "I led the army from Shandong to travel all the way, and the soldiers may not adapt to the water and soil and are not familiar with the geography of the south, so if you really want to fight, you have to live for more than ten days." But the most important thing is not this, but the supply of grain and grass. ”

"What do you mean by that?" Zhu Mian asked with a smile.

"In order to come to Jiangnan as soon as possible, my subordinates don't have too much grain and grass with them, and the imperial court promised me early on that as long as I lead the army to come, I will allocate more than half a year's grain and grass for the whole army at one time, but I don't know if Zhu Shuai has prepared the relevant grain and grass?" Sun Tu said, looking at the other party attentively, but found that the smile on Zhu Mian's face suddenly stiffened.

But soon, he recovered and said with a smile: "There is still such a thing? Why didn't the official receive the relevant documents from the imperial court? This is not a trivial matter, we have to ask clearly. ”

"Huh? Could it be that Zhu Shuai can't even meet this little request from the lower officials? The smile on Sun Tu's face quickly faded, and he asked with a slight frown.

"You don't know anything about Sun Zhan, because Jiangnan suddenly became the emperor a few months ago, which caused the official family to be angry, and the imperial court then transferred many soldiers and horses to help the thieves, and now there are no less than six or seven official troops stationed in my Jinling, and the number is more than 150,000. Almost all of these people and horses have to ask us for money and food, even if Jiangnan is rich, it is now stretched. Now you are asking us for more than 20,000 people for half a year's grain and grass, and we really can't do anything. But don't worry, as long as we have a bite to eat, we will never starve the soldiers below, it's better to do this, I'll transfer you half a month's grain and grass first, and after you go to war, the logistics supply will inevitably be replenished, what do you think? ”

Zhu Mian first expressed his own difficulties with a look of embarrassment, and the so-called landlord's family had no surplus grain. Then he took the initiative to put forward his own countermeasures, which made people really unable to find fault for a while. Of course, this would have been if Sun Tu didn't know what he was doing in Jiangnan and the chaos in Jinling now.

Looking at the other party's expression of benevolence and righteousness, and he had done his best to raise food, Sun Tu's frown deepened: "Is there only half a moon of grain and grass, then it is not easy for the lower officials to explain to the brothers below." ”

"Sun Chan, you and I are both on errands for the imperial court, and the people below are the same, I hope you can be more considerate. After all, Jinling is not a place to store grain and produce grain, if Suzhou and Hangzhou are not lost, the grain and grass will naturally be enough, but now, ......" He sighed again, and then looked directly at Sun Tu.

With Zhu Mian's bewildering fat face, it really gives people the feeling that a kind person has done everything he can. Sun Tu hesitated, and he could only nod his head: "Since Zhu Shuai is also embarrassed, it is not good for the lower officials to ask too much." However, once the grain and grass of the imperial court are delivered, I ask Zhu Shuai to deliver them to me in full. Also, this half a month's grain and grass can only stabilize the morale of the army, and if I really want them to attack the enemy, I have to allocate another month's grain. ”

"Of course, you can rest assured." Zhu Mian agreed. Then, he led Sun Tu to the hall next to him to eat and drink.

Although I don't know what the purpose is, Zhu Mian only called some officials around him to accompany Sun Tu to drink, but the dishes and wine at this banquet are rare and exquisite, just a dish that is said to be famous in the local area, is only the most tender piece of meat under the carp is boiled, a dish is afraid that it will not cost dozens or hundreds of fish to make. In fact, just from such extravagant and wasteful wine and food, we can see how poor and extravagant Zhu Mian is on weekdays, and his so-called shortage of money and food is just an empty word.

However, today's Sun Tu is very easy to speak, he didn't break his lie at all, and patted his chest during the banquet and promised that he would do his best to wipe out Fang La's gang, and if he didn't win a complete victory, he wouldn't leave Jiangnan. These words naturally won the unanimous praise of everyone from Zhu Mian down, and this reception banquet was naturally ended happily by both the guests and the hosts.

It wasn't until he sent Sun Tu, who was slightly smoky, away, that Zhu Mian, who was still smiling like a good gentleman, turned gloomy: "This Sun Tu is really not a fuel-efficient lamp." ”

"Zhu Shuai, he is still good at talking, even if we only give half a month of food and grass, I don't see any complaints from him......," a confidant said softly.

"Hmph, you know what, that's the scariest part. This person is much more difficult to deal with than the other rude and straightforward generals, and after a contact today, I can't even figure out his thoughts. Hey, at a young age, he can rule any way, and change his name all over the world, Sun Qianli is really not easy to deal with. Zhu Mian frowned and made a low evaluation, but several henchmen around him showed surprise.