Anping Street, Su Province.

Most of the people who came to mourn yesterday were relatives and friends from Su Fu, and there were only about 20 people in total.

This morning, Lord Thorn Shi personally came to mourn Master Su. After the news spread, the Meizhou city and county orders, the main book, the officials, and the rich gentry of all came to Sufu from all directions to offer condolences. Whether strange or familiar, before coming to the main hall of Sufu, you must first make a bitter cry, and then kowtow to the spiritual seat three times, and say a word of "condolences" to the family.

Su Jin knelt there and kept returning the salute, so sore, that her waist couldn't stand up.

The long line of condolences went all the way to the gate of the Su Mansion.

In the side hall, Li Bozhou accompanied Lord Assassin Shi to speak.

The little maid rushed in in a hurry and said, "Uncle, a large number of guests suddenly poured in outside, and the housekeeper asked you to go out and have a look!" He couldn't be called alone. ”

When Li Bozhou heard this, he looked at Lord Thorn Shi with hatred and reprimanded: "It's all a good thing done by Brother Ji Yuan1."

Shen Ye took a sip of tea and said with a calm expression: "Uncle Su used to be an official of the imperial court, and the future should not be as cold as yesterday." ”

Li Bozhou snorted: "These greeting people, how can there be a trace of mourning in their hearts!" In vain disturbed the peace of his father-in-law. Brother Ji Yuan went out to show his face, said a few words, and asked those people to go back early. There isn't that much tea in Sufu.1

Shen Ye heard this, stood up neatly, and responded: "Okay." I'll go. ”

Then he strode out of the side hall.

Li Bozhou hurriedly followed.

The two of them came to the eaves of the main hall and glanced back and forth at the guests in the courtyard.

Is there a row of people who are playing tricks and tricks? p> Shen Ye was expressionless, and said in a deep voice: "You can just offer three sticks of incense to Uncle Su, please don't stay in Su Mansion." Uncle Su was poor and honest before his death, and his family had no money, so he couldn't afford so much tea. ”

When they heard this, they replied in unison, "Yes." ”

Anyway, I have already met with Lord Assassin Shi, and it is worth the trip.

Shen Ye turned around and asked in a low voice, "Wen Yan, is this arrangement appropriate?" ”

Li Bozhou could only say something, but he could only respond: "It's appropriate." Then he called the housekeeper and instructed: "Trouble the housekeeper to entertain me, and I will accompany Lord Shen to talk." ”

The butler answered yes and went to entertain the guests.

The two returned to the side hall and sat opposite each other.

The little maid came forward to refill the tea.

Li Bozhou picked up the teacup, took a sip of hot tea, then put down the teacup, looked at the person opposite, and asked, "What has Brother Ji Yuan been doing recently?" The younger brother was busy with the funeral in Su Mansion for the past two days, and he didn't have time to discuss many things with Brother Ji Yuan. ”

Shen Ye looked a little tired, leaning on the back of the chair, his arms on the armrests, his slender fingers knocked on the wooden chair surface one by one, and the crisp sound was particularly eye-catching in the quiet side hall.

Ban Xiangfang said loudly: "I have sent people to post recruitment notices on the official roads of the seven counties of the five states, and I think that in a few days, the conscripts will gather in the prefectures and counties. Si Bingzuo has been idle for so many years, and he should be busy. ”

Li Bozhou nodded and praised: "Brother Ji Yuan's work is fast and accurate. It's just that in this way, the soldiers recruited are all in the prefectures and counties, so should they be under the control of the soldiers? ”

Shen Ye heard this and explained: "I have already issued the paperwork. More than half of the soldiers recruited by the state and county governments were sent to Meizhou City, and the remaining half were trained by the state and county governments on their own. When the time of war, we will be redeployed. ”

"Even so, tens of thousands of people have poured into Meizhou City, how to settle them?" Li Bozhou pondered.

Shen Ye took a sip of tea and said to him, "Wen Yan doesn't need to worry. I expect a maximum of 10,000 troops to be recruited this time, and there will not be an influx of tens of thousands. Isn't there a large wasteland outside the city? He set up camp there, and after training every day, he picked up a hoe and went to open up the wasteland, killing two birds with one stone. ”

Li Bozhou didn't believe it, "There are 72 counties in five states, with a population of about 1 million. How can there be only 10,000 soldiers? The last time I formed a village army, it took only four or five days to recruit a hundred people. ”

Shen Ye looked at him and said in a deep voice: "The soldiers are expensive, not too many." ”

Besides, if you recruit more than 100,000 soldiers at once, how can you have so much silver for military salary.

Li Bozhou reacted when he heard this, and sighed: "It turns out that the number of people is limited. In order to curry favor with the newly appointed Lord Thorn Shi, presumably the state capitals and county officials did not dare to hide their secrets, and they must have sent batches of strong men1

"I hope so." Shen Ye responded, "Tubo will go south at any time, and Nanzhao in the south may go north at any time." Jiannan Dao was sandwiched in the middle, and he was in a dilemma. I just hope that it's not too late to train now. ”

Li Bozhou sighed when he heard this, "The vast majority of the troops of Jiannan Province are stationed in the areas of Maozhou and Hanzhou, and they dare not go south easily if they want to come to Tibet." However, there is not a single army in the jurisdiction of Brother Ji Yuan, only the original guards of the prefectures and counties, which add up to less than 10,000 people. If Nanzhao suddenly advances northward, what will we use to defend against the enemy? ”

Shen Ye saw that he looked worried, and said with relief: "Wen Yan, don't worry. Nanzhao was in the midst of civil strife at this time, and officials were fighting each other, where did they have the energy to send troops to the north. ”

When Li Bozhou heard this, he responded: "Then we just take this opportunity to expand our armaments." When they had the heart to go north, they found that we were strong and strong, and I was afraid that they would not act rashly. ”

Shen Ye nodded, "The state and county governments will also actively recruit troops. The four prefectures south of Jiannan Province are the richest places, and the government has high taxes, so there is no need to worry about the lack of military salaries. ”

"Last time, Brother Ji Yuan told his younger brother that he invited a few partners to come to Meizhou to help. Don't know when to arrive? Li Bozhou remembered this and asked him out loud.

Shen Ye glanced at the white silk flying outside the door, and replied to him: "The day the soldiers arrive, it is when they appear." ”

These words were vague, and Li Bozhou looked at Lord Thorn Shi in confusion, "Could it be that he is already in Meizhou City?" Brother Ji Yuan didn't recommend it, but the younger brother had admired it for a long time. ”

"You are a learned talent, what do you admire a few martial artists 1 Shen Ye teased.

Li Bozhou immediately replied: "Brother Ji Yuan's words are wrong! Now it's a martial artist, and in the future, maybe it's a general. The younger brother is now a showman, and he will still be a showman in the future. Naturally, it is necessary to seize the time to get acquainted with the general. ”

When Shen Ye heard this, he asked him suspiciously: "How can Wen Yan be a talent in the future?" Didn't you tell me before that you were going to take the scientific expedition? ”

Li Bozhou's heart was weak, and he said with an awe-inspiring face: "Brother Ji Yuan also knows that the trend of fraud in scientific research is prevalent now, and how many truly talented scholars have failed to make the list. Anyway, how much ink is in the little brother's chest, Brother Ji Yuan knows it clearly. Little brother won't wade into this troubled water—"

Shen Ye glanced at him with a cold look in his eyes, and snorted: "Wen Yan is just too lazy to take the exam, but he blames the fraud in the scientific examination." ”

"Ji Yuan knows it, and he can find out how much he hurts his little brother's face." Li Bozhou replied in a sneer.