Seeing that the other party was silent, Lai Heng continued: "I'm not afraid of your jokes, Lord Marquis. Although we are water bandits, we can't clearly see the situation."
"In the past, the imperial court was busy fighting against the barbarians and looked down upon our small quarrels in Dongting Lake. But it is different now. After a few years of stability, the imperial court can free its hands to wipe out us at any time. So we have been trying to find us for the past two years. A clear path.”
"But as you have seen, it's not that we don't want to, we want to live, everyone wants to live, but some people don't want us to submit."
oh?
Li Junxian was surprised and said: "Could it be that the officials in Jingxiang area... want to make the bandits self-respecting?"
Come to Hengheng default.
Fang Er puzzled: "Brother Xiao, what does it mean to support bandits and respect themselves? Could it be that officials from Jingxiang gave money to Dongting water bandits? Feed them and then support soldiers and respect themselves?"
"But that's not right. The military advisor who came just now said that the Jingxiang Navy also wants to kill the Dongting water bandits and earn military merit. That shouldn't be the case."
Xiao Rui's eyes were sharp, and murderous intent flashed across his face, "Humph, that's not surprising! The imperial court has always attached great importance to the Northern Army, with war horses and armor being the first priority. Therefore, the Navy of the Tang Dynasty was as dispensable as they could only manage water transportation and suppression. Banditry matters. Ninety-nine percent of the imperial government's finances are invested in the army. Grandma here in the Navy doesn't care about my uncle and doesn't love him, so the money he gets is not even 10%."
"The imperial court's attitude is to maintain the status quo and be self-sufficient. After all, it seems that the navy is not needed for war. Unlike the former Emperor Daye of the Sui Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty has no plan to conquer Goguryeo."
"That's why the navy envy the army generals and soldiers for their military exploits and income. Every year, in the name of suppressing bandits, they ask for military expenses from the court and falsely report their military exploits to get rewards."
"Raising bandits with self-respect means to keep all the bandits under their rule in captivity, without killing them or suppressing them, and without letting them grow out of control. On the grounds that the bandits under their rule are serious, they constantly reach out to the court for money, food, soldiers and horses, etc., and take advantage of the opportunity. Strengthen yourself.”
Fang Er made a long sound, "Oh... So that's it. Let's put it this way, these people are not only bad, they are also quite smart."
puff……
Li Junxian said with a smile: "Bad people have always been smart people. Those who are not very smart cannot be bad people."
"Why? Do bad guys still pick others?" Fang Er was puzzled.
"That's because people who are not very smart, even if they do bad things, will be discovered and punished immediately, and they will not be punished for a long time. Bad people who can do evil for a long time are all smart people."
After thinking about it, Fang Ershen nodded in agreement and said, "This is what Brother Xiao said - a cunning villain!"
puff……
Xiao Rui: I didn’t, I never said that…
Fang Er said angrily: "Brother Xiao, should we deal with this group of people?"
Li Junxian winked at Fang Er, meaning don't talk nonsense and listen to the Marquis. How can such a major military matter for the imperial court be taken carelessly? It is always inappropriate to just listen to the Dongting water bandits’ words.
Lai Heng also knew this, and quickly waved his hands and said: "Master Hou, we have no intention of filing a complaint for revenge. We just want to follow the Master and submit to the court. We had this idea when Princess Changle passed by last year. Unfortunately, both the princess and King Jiangxia had something to do. , so it can only be shelved.”
Li Junxian said in confusion: "Come here, military advisor, the Marquis has promised you that as long as you put down your weapons and return home to serve the people, no one will dare to pursue you any further. Even if the Jingxiang Navy is dissatisfied, they will not dare to deny the Marquis." face."
"Why do you insist on following the Marquis? You know, although the Marquis is a champion, he is not qualified to recruit tens of thousands of troops. This is a disaster rather than a blessing for the Marquis."
Lai Heng smiled bitterly and said: "To be honest, I don't count the ordinary brothers below, but our group of people in the village have been fighting and killing for many years, and our fishing and farming skills have long been rusty. Now at this age, apart from joining the army and fighting , there is no other survival skill."
Speaking of this, Lai Heng said sincerely to Xiao Rui: "If the Marquis does not give up, the five thousand direct watermen of Dongting Water Village will all be willing to follow the Marquis and fight in all directions to protect the family and the country until death."
Although Xiao Rui looked calm on the surface, he was actually laughing inside.
After a moment of silence, Xiao Rui finally nodded: "Well, we can't just watch a bunch of great talents being buried. You'll just have to wait for a while. After I return from my trip south this time, I will find a proper place for you to go."
"I have said before that I will never go to the battlefield again. Therefore, if you submit to the imperial court, you must obey the imperial court's deployment and appointment, instead of following me as a guardian."
Lai Heng nodded heavily and thanked him profusely, "Thank you, Lord Marquis, for your kindness!"
Now I can finally have an explanation with all the brothers.
…
Two days later, on the way south from Yueyang Tower, Fang Er asked out his confusion, "Brother Xiao, why didn't you just recruit them? Instead, let them wait for a few months? We don't seem to be too anxious about going south. If this continues for several months, there is no chance that the Jingxiang navy will attack Dongting again and kill people again."
Xiao Rui smiled and said: "Yi Ai, it seems that you really like these people? You actually take the initiative to speak for them?"
Fang Er scratched his head and said with a smile: "I feel like they are generous and quite interesting people. They are not bad people."
Xiao Rui nodded: "Whether he is a bad guy or not, we still need to send someone to check. When we met on the river bank, you competed with each other, and I fell in love with Lai Heng, a natural water general. I didn't expect that he gave me such a big blow. Surprisingly, these Dongting water bandits are a ready-made navy left by God to the Tang Dynasty. With a little polishing, they can become a sharp weapon."
"Just getting along with each other for a few days made me feel that they actually wanted to surrender, so I took some precautions and waited for them to ask me for help."
"You know, I take the initiative to seek talents, and they take the initiative to seek officials, but there are two different results."
Fang Er shook his head to express that he didn't understand.
Xiao Rui didn't explain, but Li Junxian secretly admired him and said to himself that he almost ruined the Marquis's big event. He really couldn't talk too much in the future, so he could just concentrate on being a guard.
"Give them a few months. Firstly, send people to investigate whether the Dongting water bandits have any bad deeds. Secondly, they can also touch the Jingxiang navy who raised the bandits to see if they are dead or not? We can't just listen to one side of the story. The imperial court You need to be careful when hiring people.”
"This is the third one. The Lai brothers are of great use to me. I haven't decided where to put them yet, so I'll keep them for a few months and make arrangements."
"Sigh... What a pity. Yi Ai, you are a landlubber with no water skills. Otherwise, I would have asked you to lead this group of people to form a new navy. Tsk, tsk, the combat effectiveness will definitely be good."
Fang Er didn't feel any pity at all, but quickly waved his hand and refused, "I don't want to lead troops outside, I just like to follow Brother Xiao. I will be a good guard for you in this life, practice the martial arts you taught me, and be the best in the world." I don’t want to be second, I want to try to be the third in the world.”
ah? Third in the world?
Li Junxian and Xiao Rui were stunned for a moment at the same time. They didn't expect that the simple-minded big man would have such an ambition?
Xiao Rui clapped his hands and praised: "Okay, since I don't mind being wronged by my brother, I won't hide my secrets. As long as you can learn my martial arts, I will leave them all to you. Don't say anything about the world." Thirdly, your talent is not bad, if you concentrate on practicing martial arts, you will be the best in the world in the future."
Fang Er waved his hand and refused: "Don't be first, hehe, just third. Brother Xiao, is there any way for me to find more people to fight with? I just competed in Dongting Water Village. I feel better than myself." People practice hard for half a year.”
Xiao Rui sneered: "Do you think masters are just cabbage? Where can I find so many for you at once? Dongting water bandits are accidental after all. Unless you give up your status as a military commander and join the green forest for a while, there is really no good way."
Fang Er was so disappointed.
Li Junxian, who was next to him, comforted him: "There is no need to be discouraged. There will be no peace along the way. If you encounter any bandits or bandits, I will give you training. Although there may not be any masters, if you can learn from the past One against a hundred, if you progress to one against a thousand, your martial arts will still reach a higher level."
real? Fang Er's eyes lit up, and he immediately got out of the car and stood on the roof of the car, looking around to see if there were any bandits nearby.
