The confidant took out the note and the clerk was shocked when he read it.
"This... this must not be possible, Army Master!" He shouted anxiously, with a hint of crying, "The frontline requires so much money, even if we ask Huai'an for ten years, we can't even get it together!"
"I don't understand what you are saying," the confidant said in a slightly mocking tone, "Huai'an has always been the place where the transportation is, and money and food from all over the country are constantly sent to you. It is called a small county, but it is actually the same as the state. The mansion is no different, and even more than what they have. Why has it fallen to this point in recent years? "
"Master Jun, I don't know if I can tell you the truth..." the clerk raised his eyes and asked.
His confidant paced slowly in front of him with his hands behind his back: "If you want to save your life, then tell the truth. I also promise that I will never tell anyone else except the Supreme Court."
"Okay, okay..."
The clerk was so frightened that he could no longer hide it. He replied honestly: "If Huai'an is a small county on the border, it would be fine. But it has received these 'honors', and the military government has also set up a branch there." Only then did everyone focus on the fat. Since the treasury was sufficient at that time and the money and food were piled up, but the army did not need it urgently, the county officials became greedy and took a lot of money from it. The county magistrate Fortunately, I didn’t get much, and most of it was used to flatter my superiors. As a person in charge of the punishment room, I couldn’t get involved in the treasury openly, so I only took advantage of it. The most hateful thing was the household room, which was the most greedy. This That’s what’s going on in the county.”
"What about those outside the county?" a confidant asked.
"I don't know much about those outside the county, but seeing that the Datong magistrate also sent people to ask for help, there are probably more people. As a result, everyone wants to take some away, not willing to be second to others... As time goes by, now we are here , the treasury was empty. Everyone suddenly felt regretful and feared that they would lose their official positions."
The confidants sneered disdainfully: "If the government is so corrupt, you will regret it for a long time. When the money and food from the court come again, forget about it and continue to devour it without changing your ways."
The clerk kept nodding his head: "You taught me a lesson, but the money will never be recovered. I hope you will show me a way out!"
"Don't worry, I'm not here to help anyone with justice." His confidant got tired of standing and turned around and sat down on the armchair. "After all, this is your private matter. My purpose is to ask you to persuade the county magistrate and Cun Gong. Let’s work together to accomplish something big.”
"What is...a big deal?"
A confidant immediately said: "Dong Sheng's demands are so harsh that they will make people angry and difficult to implement. If the officials in Huai'an want to save their heads, they must make a complete break with him - secretly seize money and food, block information, and order Dong Sheng to Sheng has no plan to deal with the enemy. Once Suidi is lost and the crime is brought to his head, you will be in peace."
"Just give the order, what should I do?" The secretary's eyes showed a fierce light again, and he expressed his allegiance to him without hesitation.
"The magistrate of any county must be cautious and unwilling to take the risk of annihilation. You should not give direct advice easily. You should spread it to your colleagues around you first, causing chaos in the county government. The magistrate will be frightened by this, and he will tell you and others Inquiry. At this time, if you explain with more embarrassment and make him determined to sink the boat, then the whole Huai'an will work together, and there will be no more wavering officials. "
"The villain acts according to the plan." The clerk held his fists tightly and answered word by word.
Cunzhao devoted himself wholeheartedly to the implementation of the strategy, paying close attention to every moment of movement in Huai'an City. He seemed to have forgotten that Dong Sheng was still in the army, and did not hinder the messenger sent by the imperial court, allowing him to arrive smoothly. Suidi met Dong Sheng and exchanged letters.
When Dong Sheng took apart the document and read it, he saw that the words on the paper were not relaxed, but full of worries about the situation, reminding him that "Cun Zhao is a treacherous and cunning person, and his retreat to Huai'an is to cut off the food road", and He was given a number of suggestions and asked to act as instructed.
Dong Sheng originally thought that Cun Zhao was nothing to worry about, but now after hearing Ye Yongjia's words, he immediately became vigilant and broke into a cold sweat. He was not one to have his own way, so he kept all the suggestions in the letter in mind, burned them, and urgently summoned Zhang Chenghuai to discuss it.
"I have paid homage to the supervisor. I don't know... what should be discussed?" Zhang Chenghuai bowed with some hesitation and looked at him again.
"Look at this," Dong Sheng patted the map hanging behind him and covered the front line of defense with his hand, "I want to retreat to Huai'an and give up this line of defense in Suidi."
Zhang Chenghuai frowned and replied coldly: "Jiang Dong, I'm sorry that I can't understand your intention. Suidi is at the throat of the enemy. You can attack when you advance and defend when you retreat. If you give up on your own initiative, not only will there be no hope of regaining Xuanhua , the counties in the interior will also be plundered, and there will no longer be peace."
"What if I order you to execute it?" Dong Sheng put down his hand and looked at him seriously.
"Then please ask the supervisory army to chop off my head first," Zhang Chenghuai said in a calm tone with firmness, "As long as Zhang is here, no one will be allowed to use border defense to make party articles. No matter you are Party Chen... …It’s still the Leaf Party.”
After Dong Sheng heard this, not only was he not angry, but he also showed a smile of relief. But in an instant, his expression turned into helpless, and he sighed heavily: "Director Zhang, your loyalty is commendable, but I have no choice but to do this. Ah. Just now, the Ministry of War sent an envoy to question me, blaming me for letting Cun Zhao go and refusing to fight to the death with him. He also said that if the Chen Party cannot be eliminated and a team that obeys the orders of the Ministry of War is not built, not a grain of rice or a penny will be paid. At this point, the money and food distributed have been stopped.”
"So, I don't have money to raise troops, and I don't want to provoke internal strife, so shrinking the border is the only way."
Zhang Chenghuai was silent. He slowly approached the map, touched the detailed lines on the map, and fell into deep thought: "I guess this person is just pretending to win people's hearts. He may not reveal his true feelings in every sentence; but the matter of party strife" I'm afraid it's true, otherwise how could he give up on Suidi so easily. '
'No matter what, the most important thing is to protect the important border towns, even if you abandon some old grudges and help the Leaf Party. Otherwise, if Cun Zhao makes trouble behind him and stabs him a few times, the sergeants will really have no intention of fighting. '
Thinking of this, he stopped with his hands, glanced at Dong Sheng, folded his hands and said: "I have concealed something until now. Please forgive me. If you cannot forgive me, please write to the court and terminate my position."
Dong Sheng smiled: "Why do you do this, Governor? You are a minister of the country that the country relies on. Even if you have a small mistake, it is good if you know the mistake and can correct it. How can I care about it? Just say it."
"I... cooperated with the Cun Si Jin and defrauded you."
