I saw that the henchman took out the note, and the bookstore read it, and his body was shocked.

"This ...... This must not be done, military master! He shouted anxiously, with a little crying, "The front line needs so much silver, and we can't make it up for ten years in Huai'an!" ”

"I don't understand that," said the henchman in a slightly mocking tone, "Huai'an has always been the place where the baggage is, and the money and grain from all over the country are constantly sent to you, called Xiaoxian, but in fact it is no different from the state capital, and even more than they have. How did it get to this point in recent years? ”

"Master Jun, I don't know if I can ......tell the truth," the secretary raised his eyes and asked.

The henchman put his hands behind his back and paced slowly in front of him: "If you want to save your life, you must explain honestly." I also promise that I will never tell anyone except for forbiddenness. ”

"Good, good ......"

The secretary office was so frightened that he couldn't hide it anymore, and replied honestly: "If Huai'an is a small county on the border, it's fine; But it was only after getting these 'honors' that the military government also set up a residence here, so it became the fat meat that everyone was targeting. Since the treasury was abundant and the money and food were piled up, but the army did not urgently need it, the county officials became greedy and took a lot of silver from it. The county magistrate is okay, he doesn't take much, and most of it is used to flatter the boss; I, a person in charge of the torture room, can't touch the treasury in a bright way, so I only stain it; The most hateful is the house, which is the most greedy. That's what happened in the county. ”

"What about those outside the county?" The henchman asked.

"I don't know much about those outside the county, but seeing that the prefect of Datong also sent people to ask for it, it is estimated that there are more people. As a result, everyone wants to take a little bit and is not willing to be left behind...... Over time, the treasury is empty. Only then did everyone suddenly regret it, and they were afraid that they would lose their official position because of this. ”

The henchman sneered disdainfully: "The rule of officials is so corrupt, regret will inevitably not last long." When the money and food of the imperial court come again, I will forget about these things, and I will still devour the tiger and not change my faction. ”

The scrivener nodded continuously: "What you taught is that the money can't be recovered, and I hope you will raise your noble hand and point you to a way out!" ”

"Don't worry, I'm not here to support any justice," the henchman stood tired, turned around and sat on the circle chair, "After all, it's just your private matter." My purpose is to ask you to persuade the county magistrate to work together with the public to do a great thing. ”

"What do you mean...... Event? ”

The henchman immediately said: "Dong Sheng's requirements are so harsh that it is enough to make the heavens angry and resentful, and it is difficult to carry them out. If Huai'an's officials want to save their heads, they must make a complete break with him - secretly withholding money and food, blocking news, and leaving Dong Sheng helpless. Once Suidi is lost, and the crime is asked about him, you will be all right. ”

"Just give the order, what should the villain do?" The scrivener's eyes flashed again, and he did not hesitate to express his allegiance to him.

"The head of any county is bound to be cautious and refuses to take the risk of extermination. You should not give direct advice easily, and spread it to your colleagues first, causing chaos in the county government; Affected by this, the magistrate must have been frightened in his heart, and asked you and the others about it. At this time, if you explain it again and make him make up his mind to break the boat, then the whole Huai'an will work together, and there will be no more wavering officials. ”

"The villain does what he does." The clerk clenched his fists tightly and replied word by word.

Cun Zhao devoted himself to the implementation of the plan, watching every moment of the wind and grass in Huai'an City, as if he had forgotten Dong Sheng, who was still in the army, and did not hinder the messenger sent by the imperial court, allowing him to arrive in Suidi smoothly, meet Dong Sheng, and hand over letters.

When Dong Sheng opened the document and read it, he saw that the words on the paper were not easy, but full of worries about the situation, reminding him that "he is cunning and cunning, and this retreat into Huai'an is to cut off the grain channel", and gave him a number of suggestions to act according to his instructions.

Dong Sheng originally felt that there was nothing to worry about, but now after listening to Ye Yongjia's words, he became vigilant and broke out in a cold sweat. He is not a person who insists on going his own way, so he kept all the suggestions in the letter in mind, then burned them and urgently summoned Zhang Chenghuai to discuss.

"The lower officer has bowed to the prison army. Ignorance...... What should be discussed? Zhang Chenghuai hesitated slightly, and looked at him a few more times.

"Look at this," Dong Sheng patted the map hanging behind him, and covered the front line of defense with his hand, "I want to retire Huai'an and give up this line of defense in Suidi." ”

Zhang Chenghuai's eyebrows gradually wrinkled, and he replied coldly: "Dong Jianjun, I can't understand your intentions. Suidi is at the throat of the enemy, can attack, retreat can defend, if you take the initiative to give up, not only Xuanhua has no hope of recovery, but also the inland counties will be looted, and there will be no peace. ”

"What if I command you to do it?" Dong Sheng put down his hand and looked at him with a serious gaze.

"Then please ask the prison army to cut off my head first," Zhang Chenghuai's flat tone was resolute and ruthless, "As long as Zhang is here, no one will be allowed to use the border defense as an article for party disputes." It doesn't matter if you are Chen Dang...... Or the Ye Party. ”

When Dong Sheng heard this, not only was he not angry, but he also showed a smile of relief, but in an instant, he turned into a helpless expression, and sighed heavily: "Zhang Dudu, your loyalty is commendable, but this official also has to do it as a last resort." Just now, the military department sent a messenger to question, blaming me for letting Cunzhao go and refusing to fight him to the death. He also said that if he could not get rid of the Chen Party and build a contingent that obeyed the orders of the military department, he would not distribute a grain of rice or a penny to this point, and the money and grain allocated had now stopped. ”

"So, I don't have the money to raise soldiers, and I don't want to provoke infighting, so shrinking the border is the only way."

Zhang Chenghuai was silent, he slowly approached the map, stroked the delicate lines on the map, and fell into deep thought: "I expect that this person is pretending to be a gesture and buying people's hearts, and he may not reveal his true feelings in every word; But I'm afraid that the matter of party strife is true, otherwise how could he give up Suidi easily. ’

In any case, defending the border town is the most important, even if it is to abandon some old grievances and help the Ye Party. Otherwise, if Cun Zhao made waves behind him and stabbed a few times, the sergeants would really have no intention of fighting. ’

Thinking of this, his hand stopped, glanced at Dong Sheng, and said, "There is something hidden so far, please forgive me." If you are unforgivable, you will write to the court and remove me from my office. ”

Dong Sheng smiled: "Why should the governor be like this? You are a minister of the society on which the country depends, even if you have a small mistake, it is good to know that you can correct your mistakes, how can this official be careful? Just speak out. ”

"I ...... I cooperated with the depository and deceived you. ”