Chapter 13 Sincerity
"Hahaha, ouch!" Guan Shengyun has never seen the spectacular sight of five thousand taels of silver piled together in his life - well, he has never even seen five hundred taels - just when he laughed, there was a wave of pain in his leg bones. The pain was so severe that I couldn't help but cry out.
Master Luo gave him a fierce kick, which quickly brought him back to his senses. In order to cover up his gaffe, he slapped the unfortunate broken table again: "Hey! You thief! How dare you underestimate me like this? You can't send me away as a beggar." ?”
Several battalion officers looked at each other and thought to themselves in unison: "Hey, why does the commander say this? Could it be that - aren't we beggars?"
Feng Jixiang, who had been lying on the ground, couldn't see the expressions of these people. When he heard the laughter, he thought it was Guan Shengyun who was angry and happy. He paused and said: "Commander, calm down, Commander, calm down! Magistrate Xiao said, okay Discuss, everything is easy to discuss!”
Master Luo glanced at Guan Shengyun and said falsely: "Commander, the student feels that since Magistrate Xiao sent an envoy to deliver the letter, he must be somewhat sincere..."
Feng Jixiang said hurriedly: "Sir, you are right, you are right!"
Luo Yonghao interrupted Feng Jixiang's agreement: "However, this number is too small. Obviously, Magistrate Xiao is not sincere enough..."
Guan Shengyun borrowed the donkey from the slope and said: "Humph! Of course it's not enough, far from enough!" At the same time, he was nervously calculating quickly in his heart: How much is enough? Six thousand taels? Seven thousand taels? Could it be that... can I get eight thousand taels?
Although he had not seen so much money for a long time, Master Luo had seen big scenes before he was demoted to Shenmu County. He was afraid that Guan Shengyun would show his weakness, so he glared at him fiercely, turned his head and continued to face Feng calmly. Jixiang said eloquently: "Mr. Feng, you said that you are the official in charge of the book, but you are wearing the official uniform of a seventh-grade magistrate. You said that Yulin Mansion intends to reward the army. In addition to criticizing the whole article, this matter only Not a word was mentioned. How can you expect us to trust you, if you are not just talking nonsense in a desperate situation just to get away?"
Feng Jixiang was startled when he heard this.
I was on tenterhooks from the moment I stepped into the bandit camp, and when I entered the handsome tent (ok, a broken tent), I was even more trembling with fear. Now that I had regained consciousness, I felt that the voice sounded familiar. I couldn't help but take a peek, and I couldn't help but be shocked - Although there are few contacts in the remote and remote Shenmu County, the two places are not far away. A seventh-rank county magistrate and a ninth-rank chief registrar have only met several times over the years. The two grassroots officials can still recognize each other.
Luo Yonghao gave Feng Jixiang a toothy smile: "Master Feng, do you recognize me?"
Feng Jixiang's brain was racing: I recognized him, can you help me intercede? impossible! On the one hand, they had no friendship with each other. Shenmu County asked Yulin Mansion for money, and they made things difficult for them. On the other hand, it was a serious crime for the imperial court to order officials to become thieves, and they would definitely kill people and silence them!
"I can't recognize it, I can't recognize it! The student has always had eye problems, and the scenery in front of him is blurry, and his facial features are difficult to distinguish when looking at people..." Feng Jixiang lay on the ground and did not dare to look up again.
"Then, you should be able to hear my voice, right?"
"I can't hear or hear! The student has been invaded by cold evil recently, his pulse is hot and his veins are dry, he is deaf in both ears, and he is almost deaf!"
"Hahaha, don't be afraid, Chief Feng. I am Luo Yonghao, the former magistrate of Shenmu County."
"Wow!" Feng Jixiang finally cried out. While crying, he covered his ears with both hands and begged for mercy: "The villain can't hear, the villain can't see, the villain really can't recognize it, oh, I don't recognize Luo Yong... Oh, I don’t recognize Master Luo, Master Luo, please stop playing tricks on me..."
The more Guan Shengyun and the others watched, the more fun they found it. It was more interesting than singing an opera that they could only hope to do once every three to five years. They pointed and laughed while laughing.
Luo Yonghao was not joking. He was a scholar after all. He understood the urgency of the matter and patted Feng Jixiang heavily on the shoulder: "Master Feng, if you want to live, please speak up. Luo will protect your life! Otherwise, you will But don’t blame Luo for being powerless!”
Feng Jixiang raised his face, which was stained with mud and tears, and said blankly: "Luo... are you serious?"
Luo Yonghao said: "Luo can swear to heaven. But you have to answer truthfully."
Feng Jixiang responded hurriedly: "I also swear that I am telling the truth! If I tell the truth about Master Luo, I will be punished by God!"
Luo Yonghao glanced at Guan Shengyun, saw the latter nodded, cleared his throat, and sorted out his thoughts: "Is Magistrate Xiao really sincere?"
"Of course, of course! Otherwise, even if the villain takes the courage of a leopard, he will not dare to leave the city! These two people," Feng Jixiang pointed backwards, two of Xiao Changhua's guards who had been kneeling at the door of the tent and dared not come out, " They are Master Xiao’s people.”
…
After a stick of incense, everyone finally understood the whole story: Not long ago, a mutiny almost broke out in Yulin Mansion. Xiao Changhua and others were worried that the arrival of his group would revive the chaos that had just subsided and get out of control, so they wanted to save money and avoid disaster. .
Guan Shengyun stopped everyone's laughter with his eyes. At this moment, he didn't know what to do, and he was afraid that opening his mouth would scare away the fat sheep, so he asked Luo Yonghao in a pretentious manner: "Master, what are you doing?" What do you think?"
Luo Yonghao blinked at Guan Shengyun to express his understanding, and then twirled his beard under his chin to pretend to be wrong: "According to the student's opinion, Magistrate Xiao may indeed have good intentions, and the matter is not non-negotiable... However, the sons and daughters are prepared to do this For a long time, five thousand taels is definitely impossible to break!"
Feng Jixiang felt that his life could be saved for the time being, so he became bolder and argued in a low voice: "Commander Qi, Mr. Luo. Mr. Xiao told the villain to start with two thousand taels, and then slowly increase it. Five thousand taels is the maximum that Master Xiao can promise to the villain! In order to show his sincerity, the villain said five thousand taels as soon as he came up!"
Both Guan and Luo knew that Feng Jixiang showed his trump card when he opened his mouth, and the sincerity in his mouth was actually out of fear, so they looked at each other and smiled. Guan Shengyun pretended to be angry again and slammed the table again: "Fart! These five thousand tigers and wolves, this handsome man, have spent so much effort, who can bear to talk to you again! Send the order, step up the construction of siege equipment, attack the city tomorrow! Beat it down , everything in the city doesn’t belong to me!”
Liu Jianlin clasped his fists and said loudly: "I have the order!" He couldn't help but mutter in his heart: Siege equipment? What's there? What does it look like? How to build it? Just as he was hesitating whether to go out or go out to find someone to give the order, Luo Yonghao raised his hand to stop him: "General Liu, wait a minute."
Liu Jianlin was stunned: I am just a guard. When did I become a general? After being glared at by Luo Yonghao, he replied guiltily: "Yes." He stepped aside.
Luo Yonghao turned around and faced Feng Jixiang, spreading his hands and smiling bitterly: "Master Feng, you have also seen that Luo has tried his best. On the one hand, the important position is only in the ninth rank, so the weight is indeed a bit light. On the other hand, it is both. There is no basis for what you say. How could we know that it was not Magistrate Xiao’s plan to delay the war? I’m afraid this proposal will be difficult to come by. Forgive me, forgive me.”
Feng Jixiang was so anxious that he scratched his head and scratched his head: "This is indeed the case! How about I humble my position and go back to persuade Mr. Xiao?"
Luo Yonghao said sternly: "I am sure you want to go back. However, this matter is of great importance. If the communication is not clear enough, I am afraid that the important matter will be missed. Alas, the only way is to use the head of the king. Let the two deputy envoys take your head back and send a message along the way, Master Xiao will definitely understand what my commander-in-chief means."
"That's right! Come here!" Guan Shengyun, who was gradually getting into the mood, played the role of admiration just right.
"No!" Feng Jixiang hugged Luo Yonghao's thigh, "Master Luo! Spare your life! I must persuade Master Xiao to give you fifty thousand taels, not one hundred thousand taels..."
Luo Yonghao knew that Yulin Mansion must have money, but it would never have this much money. Feng Jixiang was so frightened that he started talking nonsense. At this time, in order to survive, he could agree to one million taels.
So he smiled slightly: "Master Feng, don't be anxious. Luo has another way. Since Magistrate Xiao has offered five thousand taels, he must have made all preparations. Otherwise, in order to prove Mr. Xiao's sincerity, he must first give away what he promised Send it over, and Luo promises that as long as he receives Mr. Xiao’s sincerity, he will never use troops tomorrow! How about that?”
Feng Jixiang grimaced: "Master Luo, even if you give these, even if your army does not attack tomorrow, what about the day after tomorrow? What about the day after tomorrow? Day after day, you are asking for more, Master Xiao will not expect this. , I definitely won’t agree to it!”
Luo Yonghao said sternly: "What Master Feng said is absolutely true. Please listen to what Luo has to say. We only need Magistrate Xiao to show his sincerity in the negotiation. Master Feng can edit a letter and send the official silver before nightfall today." With one thousand taels, fifty dan of military rations, and some pigs and sheep, our army believes in the sincerity of Magistrate Xiao. In order to show our sincerity, Luo can return to the city with your deputy envoy as a pledge. If our army breaks the contract tomorrow and attacks the city, Luo It can be left to Magistrate Xiao to deal with it. What do you think?"
Before Feng Jixiang could answer, the admiring Guan Shengyun hurriedly stopped him: "Absolutely not! Mr. Guan is Mr. Guan's right-hand man. He cannot leave me for a moment, and I cannot live without him for a day! Don't mention this matter again!" Guan Shengyun can be regarded as the right man this time. Knowing Luo Yonghao's ability, I thought, if Master Luo enters Yulin Mansion and becomes a hostage, what will happen in the future? My father, who was a well-informed and genuine general, died easily at the hands of a seventh-grade civil servant. The opponent in front of him was a fourth-grade prefect. He, an illiterate old man like him, couldn't blink. In no time at all, he was tricked to death by those dog officials who were full of twists and turns!
Liu Jianlin, who had just been stopped by Luo Yonghao, was young and energetic, cupping his fists and saying: "Commander, I am willing to go!"
Luo Yonghao recalled how these guys were salivating when they heard about the five thousand taels, and felt that he really couldn't leave. Otherwise, not only would these guys not be able to talk about anything, but they would really be talking nonsense. Got the pot. After thinking for a while, he came up with an idea: "That's fine. In that case, we will send General Liu and Quanzi Luo Shifan as hostages, and the matter will be settled. It's getting late, Chief Feng, please repair the book as soon as possible, and I would like to honor you for a while." , after receiving the sincerity from Magistrate Xiao, Luo will send you off respectfully back to the city."
Guan Shengyun said: "Very good! Jianlin, you are an orphan, and I will adopt you as my adopted son today! Mr. Feng, please listen carefully. If Mr. Luo and my adopted son are missing a hair, I will I will cook you alive and eat you! Write this down for me!"
After sending Luo Shifan and Liu Jianlin back to the city with their two entourages to deliver the message, and settling down with Feng Jixiang, everyone in the tent was still immersed in the dream of a windfall from heaven. Guan Shengyun smiled so hard that he couldn't see his eyes. He stretched out his hands and praised with big fingers: "Master, that's great! Thank you so much for today! What, um, you, how much do you think we can get?"
"I don't know either." Luo Yonghao smiled slightly, "This kind of thing is just like a general attacking a city. No one can tell how much we can gain before we defeat it. Let's talk about it. Now the initiative is in our hands. inside."
Gao Tengdou said happily: "Whatever! Anyway, let's have a good meal tonight!"
Luo Yonghao said seriously: "Commander, generals, do you know why Luo asked them to send some money and food first?"
Everyone thought in unison: "What's so surprising about this? You're hungry after one meal and one meal for many days!" You Futian said, "Douzi said, eat before we talk about anything else!"
Luo Yonghao looked serious: "Wrong! Just imagine, if we directly agree to them, whether it is five thousand taels or ten thousand taels, what will happen in the future? They will be relieved at first, and then what?"
Guan Shengyun asked curiously: "Then what? Sir, please tell me, we are all rough people, don't teach me to guess randomly."
Luo Yonghao said: "As long as we agree, they will definitely do something bad! Today they will say, 'We can't get it together for the time being, please accept these first', and tomorrow they will say, 'There is really nothing we can do, give it a few more days'... This matter will happen Keep dragging it on! Give away a little bit at a time, and take the opportunity to build relationships with the brothers and talk to them. Then, we will sit back and have nothing, and they can calmly deploy their troops! Once we discover our true and false, we will immediately die without a burial place! What do you think? How many days can I keep my subordinates hidden from them?"
What he said made all the gangsters stunned!
Guan Shengyun asked anxiously: "Then what should we do?"
Luo Yonghao smiled slightly: "It doesn't matter. Now it's us leading them by the nose! What I asked for just now was really not much, and they can't say they don't have it anyway. We are not in a hurry, it is them who are in a hurry now. We want a little today, We need some tomorrow, always keep the pressure on, and keep an eye on the outside of the city. Every time the silver rations we swindle are used to train the troops, the more we need, the stronger the team will be, and the more they pay, the more afraid they become. After a while, they will take the initiative to take out large sums of rations. Please let us leave, then we will know how much we have gained!"
There was a heartfelt praise in the tent.
Luo Yonghao's expression became solemn again, "Everyone, please don't rush to speak next time. If you can trust me, how about leaving the negotiation to Luo?" He spoke to the generals while looking at Guan Shengyun.
"Trust it, trust it!" Guan Shengyun said hurriedly, "Mr. has the final say on everything, what to do and what to say, it all depends on him! If anyone talks nonsense, Guan will kill him!" As he said that, he slapped him hard again. Broken table.
Luo Yonghao smiled with relief. He knows that from now on, he has become an indispensable person in this team: "You should know what to do, right? Prepare your troops vigorously, actively prepare for war, and let the men work harder! We said we will not fight. , but we didn’t say we won’t prepare for war, right? The more lively we do here, the more afraid they will be, and the more things they can ask for!”
The generals responded with a roar.
Wow.
The broken table was barely able to stand, but it finally fell apart after being slapped so many times by Guan Shengyun, either real or fake.
…
In the evening, a bullock cart appeared in everyone's sight. Well, that was a labor transport team from Yulin Prefecture delivering supplies to the frontier soldiers. They were dazzled by the afternoon sun and got "lost" and mistakenly entered the camp of the bandits...
The lights in the camp were brightly lit, and everyone was sweating like rain and working enthusiastically. Guan Shengyun and the battalion officers, who had eaten and drank enough, were patrolling the construction site in high spirits, with bright eyes. A deep and wide trench, a wooden fence strong enough to withstand the impact of a car crash, the outside was meticulously coated with wet mud to prevent fire, a lookout tower, horses, and sharp stakes densely planted in the ground in front of the trench... This camp Even the most picky auxiliary battalion officer in the Beijing camp would be amazed by the solid construction!
