Shen Bian, the magistrate of Qingzhou Mansion, looked at Sun Tu with a look of embarrassment, and after shimping for a while, he finally spoke: "Sun Dujian, the lower officials still ask you to hand over the thief to our government according to the previous agreement." After all, our prefect's yamen is the local yamen that is close to the people, and it is not good for your army to overstep your responsibilities. ”

It is said that this is the fourth group of people sent by the government to negotiate with Sun Tu in the military camp for three consecutive days, hoping that they can hand over the time relocation to their disposal. The previous few times people came back, and in the end, he could only be promoted by him, the government magistrate, again. However, at present, the situation is still not optimistic, and Sun Tu still refuses to hand over people.

Sure enough, after listening to his words, Sun Tu still smiled disapprovingly and said, "This official has already said before that this person is still of great use to me, and it has been decided to leave him in the camp, so this matter is difficult to obey." ”

"But......" Shen Bian wanted to say something more, after all, he was also ordered to come this time, and it would be difficult to explain to the Murong prefect if he returned without success. But Sun Tu didn't give him a chance to continue talking, and immediately waved his hand: "Since the thief was taken by our army, this official naturally has the right to decide how to deal with him." As for the so-called agreement, I only promised to help you take the person and ask him to return all the stolen treasures, but I never promised to return the people as well. The so-called transgression is even more nonsense, and I did not interrogate him, but I just intended to take him under my command. ”

Seeing the other party's bitter face, Sun Tu smiled again: "And as far as this official knows, this person has indeed stolen a lot of property in Qingzhou, but after all, it is not a big crime, let alone killing people." Even so, even if it is handed over to the government for disposal, I am afraid that he cannot be severely sentenced, and at most he will only be sent to serve in the army in other states. In this case, leaving him in our army is not much different from this punishment, so why should you pursue this form too much? ”

There was really some truth in what he said, so that Shen Bian didn't know what to say. Finally, after some entanglement and hesitation, he still mustered up his courage and said: "Sun Dujian, you are so inappropriate, you are not afraid of the ...... of my government and the imperial court."

"You are the one who does this, since this official dares to do it, he is not afraid to take responsibility." Sun Tu waved his hand, looking so lightly. Seeing this, Shen Bian felt bitter in his heart, now that the four gates of Qingzhou have entered the hands of the Xiang Army, the officials and officials of his government can't get out of the city at all, let alone send the impeachment table to Beijing, his previous threat is too weak and ridiculous, if Sun Tu really has concerns about this, he will not be able to suppress the Murong Prefect as a six-rank military attaché.

Sun Tu's patience was also exhausted at this time, and he opened his mouth to send the guest off: "Shen Tuiguan, if you have nothing else to say, please go back." This officer still has a lot of things to deal with in the camp, but I don't have time to entangle with you. By the way, there is another point that I would like to ask you to tell the Murong Prefect on your behalf, if those big families want to get back their treasures, please ask them to send the money and grain to our military camp according to the amount, otherwise ......" There is no need to say the threatening words later.

Shen Bian smiled bitterly, and finally could only get up and say goodbye. He knew that this time the government had really lost quite completely, and in the case that the money and food had entered the barracks, they had lost even the last bit of bargaining chips, not to mention themselves, even if Murong Yanchao came in person, I am afraid it would be impossible for Sun Tu to change his mind.

After seeing the Shen Tui officer being sent out of the barracks by the officers and soldiers, Huang Wenbing opened his mouth with some concern: "Metropolitan Supervisor, is it a little inappropriate for you to do this?" After all, Qian did violate the king's law at that time, and it was reasonable to hand it over to the government to deal with. Even if he had some skills that I could use, he was too eager. In addition, if this matter spreads, it will also hinder your reputation as the capital eunuch, and others will think that our army is a place to hide filth and filth......"

Sun Tu listened to him finish speaking, and then shook his head and said: "The official naturally knows the importance of it, and I think that the ability of Shi Qian is definitely worth offending the government again." As for the reputation you are worried about, it is even more worrying, and he is not a great traitor, as can be seen when I took him two days ago. He showed mercy when he had the opportunity to kill his brothers in our army, which shows that he also has his own bottom line, but he is much better than those guys who are sanctimonious but have bloody hands.

"And I've already turned against Murong Yanchao and them, this time it's just a trivial matter, can he still turn against me again because of this? In my opinion, this approach can also make them more aware of my attitude, and now Qingzhou can only be my Sun Tu, and no longer a person in the government. ”

Seeing that Huang Wenbing seemed to want to say something more, Sun Tu waved his hand again and said, "Okay, I have made up my mind about this matter, so you don't need to persuade me anymore." The top priority now is to train the army as much as possible, so that our army can have the strength to fight as soon as possible, and at the same time organize the scout camp as soon as possible. ”

Speaking of this, Huang Wenbing didn't dare to persuade again. As for people close to Luda Yang Zhi, he didn't take this matter too seriously in his heart, and naturally he didn't say anything, so this matter was completely settled.

And after confirming Sun Tu's idea, whether it was Murong Yanchao or those big families in the city, they could only give up their thoughts in the end. They had all seen Sun Tu's toughness and strength, and they didn't have the courage to risk everything to compete with the Xiang army, so they could only swallow this breath.

So in the next few days, the government did not send anyone to come, but those big families obediently let people send large sums of money and food to the barracks. In this way, the problem of promised food and salary, which has been plaguing Sun Tu, has been completely solved. Later, when Sun Tu distributed the money and grain to each soldier as agreed, the entire Xiangjun barracks burst into cheers, which shook the whole city, and also made many young and strong people in the city show envy.

You must know that many people in Qingzhou City now have difficulty even having enough to eat, and now the Xiang army can get nearly two years of money and food at once, which is really much more nourishing than the vast majority of the people, and even some people have a good result of not having to worry about food and clothing......

And when the government heard this burst of cheers, many people's faces were a little gloomy. Because a considerable part of the money and food obtained by those low-status Qiu Ba was taken from their mouths, which made them feel a pain in their flesh as long as they thought about it, and also made them dissatisfied and suspicious of the Murong Prefect.

Murong Yanchao and Jing Yiming naturally saw all these reactions, and the former's face was already so gloomy that he could drip water: "Then Sun Tu is really too deceitful, this is not giving this official any face at all." Master Jing, if we continue like this, our situation will only become more and more unbearable. And after this incident, I am afraid that those big families in the city can also see the strengths and weaknesses between me and Sun Tu, and it will be more and more difficult to control the situation in the city in the future. ”

Jing Yiming also had a bitter face: "I didn't expect this Sun Tu to act so sparingly, even if you have retreated again and again, he still chooses to press step by step...... But now, Futai, we have completely lost the upper hand, and at this time, fighting with it will only make our situation more difficult, so we can only continue to endure and wait until there is a chance to give him a fatal blow. ”

In fact, Murong Yanchao also knew that the current situation was irreparable, and after a period of complaining, he could only swallow his anger. At this moment, he really regretted that he had promised Liang Shicheng so happily to let Sun Tu come to Qingzhou. I thought that a little six-rank military attache was just that, and trying to deal with him was similar to pinching an ant to death. But who would have thought that it would become such a big scourge now.

Of course, he also thought about this resentment in his heart, if he really came to a big man like Liang Shicheng, Murong Yanchao would not dare to complain, otherwise he would die faster and more miserably.

Seeing that he frowned deeply and fell into silence, Jing Yiming hesitated for a moment and then said with a solemn expression: "Futai, there is one thing we have to guard against, that is, the military rations and salaries that are escorted by the Yamen every year from the transfer envoy...... If this is also intercepted by Sun Tu, I'm afraid it will be even more difficult for them to control him. ”

This reminder immediately made Murong Yanchao's face change: "Yes, this matter really can't be neglected." But maybe it's also a chance for me to turn around......"

It is said that the Great Song Dynasty listened to a series of problems that not only did not listen to the dispatch of the imperial court, but even threatened the imperial power, and implemented a series of policies after Taizu established the country. For example, the emphasis on literature and art and military affairs, suppressing the status and rights of military generals to the lowest point, and for example, every few years, the garrisons in various places will be disrupted to achieve the goal of not knowing soldiers...... And one of the most powerful tricks is to firmly grasp the local financial power in the hands of the imperial court, and not to hand it over to the local state officials to be the master, and set up various transit envoys for this purpose, they are completely at the disposal of the imperial court, and they still have to return to Tokyo after the errand is completed, and never take power.

Moreover, in order to better curb the growth of local forces, the imperial court even did not hesitate to add trouble and divided the money and grain in and out of the state capitals into two routes. The money, grain, and taxes collected by the local government were directly transported and handed over, and then the money, grain, and other goods needed by the local people were sent to various places regularly every year, so that the local officials could not have so many money and grain resources in their hands, and they could not afford to support their own troops.

In the past, all the financial power in Qingzhou was in the hands of Murong Yanchao, but this year, Sun Tu's sudden rise made him a little worried about the future situation. Although the people from the Yamen have become old friends with him, who can guarantee that Sun Tu's bold guy will not make some more trouble in this matter?

Suddenly, the uneasiness in Murong Yanchao's heart increased a little, and it was not easy for a while to come.