Listening to the restrained messenger in front of him, Wen Jie directly opened the letter sent over, frowned after reading just two lines, and asked: "You said that the number of officials and people who suppressed bandits was reduced by seventy, is there a lie?" ”

The messenger knelt on the ground at this time, nodded his head, and said that he had followed Captain Zhang out of the city to suppress bandits, and this time he also brought a letter from Captain Zhang.

Seeing this, Li Li, who was on the side, began to inquire about the content of the letter, but the county shou Wen did not hide it, and told the story of Xiao Jiu, the leader of the Hare Mountain bandits, who ambushed the officers and soldiers of the county government.

After listening to Wen Jie's account of the contents of the letter, Li Luoyao got up directly and said: "Impossible, as far as I know, although Xiao Jiu is a mountain bandit, he has a good nature, and he will definitely not do such a thing to poison the people." ”

Seeing that Li Luoyao was emotional, Li immediately scolded him, but at this time, Wen Jie said: "Miss Li might as well tell the lower officials about this Hare Mountain Xiao Jiu." ”

When Li Luoyao heard this, he told what he had seen and heard in Hare Mountain before, before Wen Jie only heard that Li Luoyao had been rescued by a group of mountain bandits, and he didn't know the specific details, and he was quite surprised to hear Li Luoyao tell what happened.

Maybe his subordinates will have reservations when they report to themselves, but Li Luoyao, as the daughter of a second-class member of the dynasty, will be sought after like a pearl wherever she goes, and there is no need to tarnish her reputation for a little mountain bandit.

After Li Luoyao finished speaking, Wen Jie looked at his teacher Li Li, and Li Li also bowed slightly, indicating that what his daughter said was true, looking at the answer given by his teacher, Wen Jie had already become very interested in Xiao Jiu, who had never met before.

In Li Luoyao's mouth, this Xiao Jiu seems to have become an omnipotent good man, and the previous "burning knife" was actually brewed by Xiao Jiu, which made Wen Jie even more surprised by this mysterious Xiao Jiu.

When I first tasted the shochu, I couldn't believe that this clear water-like thing was wine, but after tasting it once, I unconsciously fell in love with the violent taste, and now there are several jars open on the banquet.

Subsequently, Wen Jie assured Li Luoyao that he would thoroughly investigate the banditry in Lingshui County, and if Xiao Jiuzhen was as she said, he would order a pardon for Zhao'an, so that such a loyal person could serve the imperial court.

Of course, Wen Jie's all this was not only to listen to Li Luoyao's words, but also to sell face to his teacher.

Now that the factional struggle in the capital is fierce, and the current emperor is weak and sickly, when the new emperor ascends the throne, he will definitely use a group of old ministers who have temporarily retired to reorganize the dynasty.

Especially his teacher is still in the line of the crown prince, if everything goes smoothly in the process of ascending the throne, Li Li's official position will inevitably go to another level.

Even if his teacher has no intention of deceiving him in the court, the successor who is elected to represent them in the Qingzhou lineage must be nodded and agreed by Li Li himself.

So it doesn't matter whether this Xiao Jiu is good or evil, since he saved Li Li's only daughter, he will push the boat and send this favor.

After sending Li Li's family away, the slightly drunk Wen Jie got up and went to the study, and after retreating left and right, he opened the secret letter from Zhang County Lieutenant.

Different from the letter from the county government, this letter from the county lieutenant Zhang is three pages long, and the content of the front is basically consistent with what was written in the county order, most of which is Xiao Jiu's robbery of rich landlords in Lingshui County.

But after that, the process of going out of the city to suppress bandits was written down in great detail, from setting up an ambush on Pinglin Road, to luring the enemy deep and burning the valley, Wen Jie, who saw it, was also a little amazed in his heart.

On the last page of the letter, the county magistrates Liu Hong and Song Yuqiao's previous investigation of Lijia Town, including the cost, the market and the final profit, when Wen Jie saw the words "a thousand taels of silver, supply exceeds demand", etc., he can no longer maintain that calm and calm.

According to the contents of the letter, if this matter is true, then this money and food will be enough to directly pull up a battalion of troops.

At this time, Wen Ji no longer had any fun thoughts, and began to re-examine Xiao Jiu, the leader of the Hare Mountain bandits.

has a ravine in his chest, kills the rich and helps the poor, has such a means to make money, and still has the name of a mountain bandit, which makes Wen Jie's understanding of this Xiao Jiu, who has never met before, more and more difficult to see through.

After thinking about it for a long time in the study, Wen Jie decided to send someone to explore the reality of this Xiao Jiu first, to see this Xiao Jiu's attitude towards the imperial court, if he has no reverence for the imperial court, he doesn't mind erasing him from the territory of Lingshui County.

The most important thing now is not to consider whether to destroy this little Xiao Jiu, but the method of brewing wine in his hands.

Judging from Xiao Jiu's previous behavior, this Xiao Jiu's personality is not like a soft persimmon, his focus now is money, if this Xiao Jiu is obedient, he doesn't mind pulling him.

Of course, if this Xiao Jiu doesn't know how to lift, then he will also choose to directly encircle and suppress like Liu Hong, the commander of Lingshui County, to see if he can pry open the mouths of this group of mountain bandits.

That night, Wen Jie called a confidant general in the defenders of the county town, and after a careful explanation, he asked him to go to Lingshui County with a secret letter written by himself in the starry night.

Outside the City Lord's Mansion, Wen Jie looked at the backs of his subordinates riding away on horseback, touched his chin, and thought thoughtfully.

……

Hare Mountain, in the cottage meeting hall, Xiao Jiu looked at the rugged man in armor in front of him, his face expressionless.

The atmosphere in the hall was slightly depressing, but it was the big man who was the first to speak to break the silence.

"Lord Xiao Zhai, Zhou Tong, a partial general in Xiayang County, was entrusted by Lord Wen of the county to send a handwritten letter on this trip. I hope you will consider it. ”

After saying that, he took out a letter from his bosom and opened it, as if he knew that Xiao Jiu didn't understand the Great Xia script, and read it directly, showing a delicate mind that was different from his rough appearance.

When Zhou Tong finished reading the letter, the mountain bandits gathered in the hall all changed color slightly, only Xiao Jiu still looked at Zhou Tong with a cold face, as if he was considering the pros and cons.

The content of this letter is probably to ask Xiao Jiu to accept Zhao'an and hand over the method of brewing soju, and Xiao Jiu will not be allowed to touch the profits obtained thereafter, and the benefit that Xiao Jiu can get here is to take off the clothes of this mountain bandit and become a soldier with the regular establishment of Great Xia.

Zhou Tong looked at Xiao Jiu, who was sitting on the main seat without saying a word, and stood aside silently waiting for a reply, and at the same time, he was also a little surprised by Xiao Jiu's indescribable calmness, because he had never seen such a calm mountain bandit.

About five or six minutes passed, and the silent Xiao Jiu slowly spoke: "I can accept Zhao'an, but there are some conditions. ”

As soon as these words came out, not only Zhou Tong was surprised, but even everyone on Hare Mountain was a little incredulous.

Since ancient times, the soldiers and bandits have not stood apart, and the whole cottage has just improved, even if they, the bandits, accept Zhao'an, and there is no war now, can the court really tolerate them?

Do you really want to give up these visible benefits and let the court pick the fruits in vain?