In just one night, the city of Suzhou has changed, and there are fires everywhere and the sound of killing is continuous, which can surprise the people in the city. Even after noon at this time, people were still panicking, and the vast majority of the people were stuck at home, not even daring to step out of the door.

However, some people still went out with trepidation, they were all local figures in Suzhou, either gentry or wealthy merchants, with a solid family background and high status, even if Suzhou had changed hands once before, they were not affected much. So this time, when Su Mao sent people to invite these people to his home to talk about important matters, these people also had the courage to come out.

Of course, it is not enough to rely on Su Mao's face alone, but coupled with the following of several subordinate soldiers sent to him by Sun Tu, these people can only come to the door even if they are reluctant.

In fact, until now, Su Mao felt a little unbelievable that all this had been done, Sun Tu brought more than 300 people, and it only took one night to beat down the whole of Suzhou. Even if the garrison of Suzhou is empty now, there are still three or four thousand garrisons, and they are easily killed by hundreds of people and captured, and now they still obediently stay in the barracks and dare not move at all.

Rao is he Su Mao is well-informed, and he was still surprised at this time, and praised again and again in front of Xie Mo: "This is really incredible." Don't hide it from Gongzi Xie, in fact, when I was supposed to do this the day before yesterday, I was worried that my entire Su family would be trapped, and this General Sun's ability is too great......"

"If you've ever been to Jinling, you'll know that it's all too normal." Xie Mo looked quite calm, and said casually: "In Jinling that day, General Sun dared to take hundreds of his own soldiers to attack the official army camp, and as a result, thousands of officers and soldiers were defeated. And now most of the defenders in Suzhou are rabble, how can they resist the raid of the elite of the Shandong army when there is no danger to defend? ”

"That's what I said, I've also heard of the prestige of the Shandong Army, but hearing is false, seeing is real, this time I'm really convinced." Su Mao said, his confidence has also increased greatly: "This time, if General Sun can really do things according to the previous agreement, no matter what he wants to do next, my Su family will do their best to help!" ”

"Brother Su can have such thoughts, it is really my blessing in Jiangnan. However, it is not enough to rely on your own family, so today we have to call all the other rich merchants and gentry in the city, and everyone can unite as one to make achievements! ”

At this point, someone came to report that a few guests had arrived. When Su Mao heard this, he discussed a few more words with Xie Mo, and then went out to greet the guests first, and soon, he invited these friends who were somewhat friendly to his living room to sit down.

These guests were still full of questions at this time, why did the Su family get together with the officials and soldiers who occupied Suzhou City, so after they sat down, they didn't even bother to drink a few sips of tea, and someone knocked on the side to inquire about the news.

Su Mao was not in a hurry to answer, but chatted with them first, until everyone arrived, and then he said with a straight face: "Don't hide it from everyone, this time General Sun Tusun was able to lead the army to take Suzhou, and my Su family really helped a little, I opened the joint yesterday and sent them into the city." ”

"What?" When they heard this, all the people changed color. Before, they were all a little suspicious of how these officials and soldiers sneaked into Suzhou City unknowingly, and only now did they know the truth, and at the same time they were surprised, they didn't expect Su Mao's courage to be so big, this is completely against the Wu State established by Fang La.

Seeing that everyone was shocked, Su Mao smiled again, and then said: "Everyone understands people, and there are some things that don't need to be hidden, so I'll just say it." That's why I took the risk of taking this move, and I was forced by the situation. Since last year, with the increasing fighting between the Wu army and the official army, their military consumption has also been rolling upward, and the vast majority of this account has fallen on our people. Although they are still somewhat restrained now, if I guess correctly, if they go down, then the so-called Wu Imperial Court will find all kinds of reasons to attack us and other merchants. ”

This statement was immediately recognized by many people, because they were indeed all experiencing the same problem. Whether you are a businessman or a big landlord, there are always people who come to the door to fight the autumn breeze during this time, and the amount of money and food asked for is quite large, if you really give them, these people will inevitably be greatly injured, but if you don't give it, you are worried that you will be retaliated, it can be said that everyone has a headache recently.

In fact, there is no way to do this for Fang La and other monarchs and ministers, because the war with the Song Dynasty itself is an extremely expensive thing, even if they have won a lot of wealth by attacking the city before, but after this period of consumption, it has been almost used. After all, in addition to the great consumption of fighting and raising the army, Fang La's reward for dividing a cadre of courtiers is also a huge expense, plus the income of the entire court officials cannot be less, so the money is spent like flowing water, and it can't be stopped at all.

At least at present, there are few people under Fang La's hands who can manage money, and they are regarded as anti-thieves by the world, and they can't even do business, so they can only scavenge money from the people. However, for the time being, they did not dare to attack the ordinary people, for fear of provoking a civil uprising, and finally set their targets on the big landlords and big businessmen in Suzhou and Hangzhou. Maybe they are still restrained now, and they have not yet reached the point of fishing with all their might, but no one dares to guarantee that with the passage of time, their own family will not be wiped out.

Even so, these people still did not have the idea of colluding with the officials and soldiers, after all, they were trapped in Suzhou without such conditions, and Zhu Mian's greed had already scared the big guys. But now it's a good thing, Su Mao, the biggest businessman in Suzhou, actually lured the officials and soldiers in quietly, and turned the whole of Suzhou upside down overnight, which really caught everyone off guard.

After being silent for a long time, someone lost his voice and said: "Brother Su, you are too bold, after all, this place is still under the control of the Wu State, and many cities on the side are also guarded by the Wu army, once they react, wouldn't it be another vicious battle?" ”

"That's right, and it is said that Sun Tu's department is still besieged by a huge army in Changshu, how many people can he send to my Suzhou? When the huge marshal leads the army to counterattack, how can he hold it? ”

"That's why I'm inviting you to the Humble House today. Now that the situation is extremely clear, we have been regarded by the Wu army as fish on the chopping block, and if we can't drive them out, our families will be ruined. And in my opinion, at least we have a chance to keep our net worth by betting on this one! ”

"What do you mean......"

"Although there are not too many officers and soldiers occupying Suzhou now, you can also see that in fact, the Wu army is not as terrible as imagined. Therefore, as long as we fully support General Sun, provide him with money and food, or help him recruit young people in the city to defend the city together...... As long as it is done, we will all have merit, and then the court will treat us badly? Even if it is not good, he can make friends with General Sun, and when the time comes, he will be able to calm down the Jiangnan Rebellion, and there will be absolutely no problem in self-preservation. Of course, this kind of thing can't be done by relying on the strength of my Su family alone, so you need to work together. It was only at this time that Su Mao finally revealed his true purpose today.

After taking control of Suzhou, Sun Tu regretted it a little. If he had known that he could control the defenders so easily, he would not have sent someone to set fire to the granaries in the city, and it would have been better to keep them for his own use. However, he also knew that if it weren't for the granary fire that attracted some people to leave, coupled with the turmoil in the hearts of the Wu army caused by it, last night's battle might not have been so smooth.

However, in any case, recruiting troops and raising money and food has become the key to his next defense of Suzhou, and it is obviously impossible to withstand the enemy's upcoming counterattack and completely hold Suzhou by relying on only a few hundred elites. So after some thought, he hit the idea on the heads of these wealthy merchants and gentry in the city, and invited Su Mao as a lobbyist, responsible for communicating and persuading them.

After listening to his intentions, everyone present showed hesitation and embarrassment.......

The risk of this matter is too great, and it is not that Su Mao colluded with the Song army and smuggled them into the city. Once the Wu army recaptured Suzhou, these merchants really had no choice but to die. Moreover, they also knew that if they really helped Sun Tu raise military rations or something, it would definitely be a huge expense, even if they all had a lot of money, they might not be able to withstand the expenses of the army, so wouldn't it be the same as the previous predicament?

And the last point, which everyone is most concerned about, is that after a real success, can you really save your own family? Sun Tu is just a general of the first army, how much power can he have in the imperial court, can he compare to a feudal official like Zhu Mian? And they know Zhu Mian very well, this guy has suffered a lot of losses this time, once he really returns to Suzhou, it is inevitable that he will not find all kinds of reasons to attack his own family, and it will not be the same at that time?

In front of Su Mao, an old friend, everyone didn't have too many concerns, and soon you and I expressed many worries word by word. Then someone said bluntly: "Brother Su, it's not that I can't trust you, but after all, the stakes are very high, as long as you or General Sun can help us solve these problems, we are bankrupt, and we are willing to cooperate with the Shandong army." ”

This kind of problem is not something that Su Mao, a businessman, can make promises with empty teeth. Fortunately, at this moment, a voice sounded outside the hall at the right time: "What you have said is indeed very reasonable. Since my Sun Tu has asked you, naturally I can't let you pay for nothing, so I'll let someone answer these questions for you. With these words, Sun Tu had already entered the hall.