The thieves around looked at Jiang Tuo and the two closely, and some shouted excitedly, waving their clumsy weapons at Jiang Tuo.
Jiang Tuo didn't take it seriously and couldn't help but smack his lips. It could be seen that these people were really poor, with no clothes to cover their bodies and no food to eat.
Under the guidance, Jiang Tuo walked through the crowd and walked dozens of meters before arriving at an open space. The little old man pointed to the seat and said in a hoarse voice: "Please sit down."
"OK!"
Jiang Tuo sat down on his seat, looked around, and couldn't help but say: "Forget it, you don't even have food, why don't you even have drinks? Is this the etiquette of welcoming distinguished guests?"
The corners of the little old man's mouth twitched.
This is a serious negotiation, not a banquet. What kind of drinks do you want?
Besides, their village is so poor that they can’t even afford food, so how can they get drinks?
"Haha, luckily I brought drinks. Can you get two porcelain bowls?"
Hearing this, the little old man asked his men to bring porcelain bowls. Jiang Tuo asked Lu Qing to open the jug, fill the wine for the two of them, and said without saying anything, "Come on, come on, we are all friends, drink this." cup."
The little old man really couldn't understand. This young man was not very old. He looked handsome and fair. He should be a kid from a rich family. How could he look more natural than himself when he arrived at the den of thieves?
It's as if he is the leader of the bandits.
"May I ask this sir, where are you from?"
"Qingshui County." Jiang Tuo drank a bowl of wine and asked, "You are the king of this mountain, why are you so poor?"
"We were originally villagers at the foot of the mountain. Later, Dong Zhuo's war broke out and some people were killed. Later, the taxes became heavier and heavier, so we had no choice but to hide in the mountain and become bandits."
"Haha, that's it!"
Jiang Tuo became very enthusiastic, pulled him to drink a bowl of wine, and asked: "I saw some women with sallow faces. They must be seriously ill. Shouldn't you give them a doctor?"
"We would like to see it, but we can't stand it." The little old man said simply.
Jiang Tuo slapped the table and said loudly: "Oh, what a coincidence. There are accompanying doctors in our army. How about we let these doctors treat them?"
The little old man looked at Jiang Tuo in surprise. How could the man in front of him be so kind?
"No need to doubt, I don't need to lie to you."
"Besides, I, Jiang Tuo, am the magistrate of Qingshui County! Although I am only in charge of one county, I have all the supplies in the county, including grain, iron tools, cattle, salt, and I can even provide you with farmland!"
"I think you are a good person. If you want to trade, just come to our Qingshui County and no one will make things difficult for you!"
"How about it?"
Jiang Tuo asked proudly.
The little old man looked at Jiang Tuo in surprise. Isn't the young man in front of him too bold?
In a time of war, the most important things are grain, grass and salt, but this man is actually willing to trade with them?
"Sir, are you telling the truth?"
"certainly!"
Jiang Tuo spoke proudly, pointed at the soldiers at the foot of the mountain and said, "Do you think the soldiers I lead are mighty and majestic?"
The little old man just saw the uniform and high-spirited soldiers, and couldn't help but nodded solemnly: "Mighty and majestic."
Jiang Tuo grinned and reminded: "You know, we have ten thousand soldiers like this in Qingshui County! All of them are fully armored and have fought a hundred battles."
"Ten thousand?"
The little old man was obviously frightened and opened his mouth wide.
"Yes, I can't finish the food in Qingshui County. There is no place to store the accumulated food. It is even used to pave roads. And the people's clothes will be thrown away as long as they have patches. As for the refined iron, they are not used at all. It’s not over, the furniture is all made of iron!”
Lu Qing lowered his head, pretending to be serious, for fear that he would laugh out loud.
I've seen people bragging, but I've never seen anyone bragging like this.
The little old man's eyes were even more frightened. He couldn't even imagine what Jiang Tuo said.
When did Qingshui County become so wealthy?
As if he knew what the little old man was thinking, Jiang Tuo patiently explained: "We in Qingshui County are surrounded by mountains. We have no worries about military disasters. We are rich in products and have a lot of arable land. The people live a very comfortable life."
"You don't know that the land in Qingshui County is the legendary black soil. You just need to scatter the seeds on it and don't need to worry about it at all. It will be harvested in autumn."
"And the oxen, like dumplings, make a litter every two days. There's no way we can use them up. We can't use them up."
Jiang Tuo boasted. In his description, Qingshui County was simply a paradise on earth.
Don’t worry about food, don’t worry about clothing, provide for the elderly and educate the young.
I wouldn’t even dare to dream!
The little old man's jaw dropped in shock. He stared at Jiang Tuo blankly, with envious saliva dripping from the corners of his mouth.
"Why are you hiding in the mountains? Isn't the land under the mountains not fertile enough?"
The little old man's face turned gloomy, and then he said angrily: "With the continuous wars these years, taxes are getting higher year by year. We really can't afford to pay the taxes, so the government officials will take away our children. We really have no choice. He had no choice but to flee to the mountains and become a bandit."
"But this mountain is barren, wild animals are infested, and we are short of food and clothing. We can't survive for a long time..."
Listening to the little old man's grievances, Jiang Tuo became very angry. He slapped the table and cursed: "These people in the government are so bad. I was forced to become a bandit back then!"
"Were you also a bandit back then?"
Jiang Tuo nodded and immediately talked about the glorious history of that year.
The little old man was once again stunned. The handsome young man in front of him was actually a rebel leader?
"So, don't worry. When I return to Qingshui County, I will give you salt, clothes, herbs, and food. I will definitely improve your lives."
The little old man looked at him blankly and asked, "Why are you doing this, sir?"
Jiang Tuo slapped his chest and said loudly: "I have always been kind, and I hate corrupt officials the most. We are all Han people and share the same origin. In these troubled times, we should hold together to keep each other warm and support each other!"
"Thank you, sir!"
The little old man stood up immediately and wanted to thank him.
But Jiang Tuo supported him and said dissatisfied: "Why do you worship me? Don't you regard me as a friend?"
The little old man shook his head hastily: "No, no. Sir, you don't know that there are not only corrupt officials here, but also the exiled Qiang people, who often rob us!"
"They are so brave. They are just abandoned people, but they dare to bully me, the Han people!"
The little old man nodded hurriedly. In his explanation, the Qiang people were very hateful. They often huddled together and spoke half-baked Chinese to force the mountain bandits to pay for food and grass.
If they don't pay, then rob them.
"How can I bear this?!"
Jiang Tuo takes action!
The little old man hurriedly grabbed Jiang Tuo and advised: "Sir, calm down, calm down!"
"This anger can't be quelled!"
Jiang Tuo snorted coldly and angrily said: "Just tell me their direction, I will lead my men to destroy them now, and then come back to drink with you!"
The little old man was stunned for a while, and then he hurriedly said: "If your Majesty can really eliminate this serious trouble for us, all the young and old in my village will be willing to be driven by Your Majesty and go through fire and water without hesitation!"
"That's not necessary, I'm here for fairness!"
Jiang Tuo said seriously: "Put your heart in your stomach. Since we are brothers, your business is my business. From now on, you can go down the mountain to settle in the village or go to Qingshui County to settle. I will guarantee your safety." The elderly, children, and women are all supported!”
After that, Jiang Tuo chatted for a while, asked about the specific location of the Qiang tribe, and planned to lead his army there.
"I'll see you off, sir."
At the same time, the soldiers at the foot of the mountain were impatient to wait, and some impatient soldiers even clamored to break down the mountain gate and snatch Jiang Tuo out.
If they weren't worried about Jiang Tuo's safety, they would have taken action.
While the soldiers were waiting, they saw the little old man with a humble smile on his face, sending Jiang Tuo off respectfully, and chatting with Jiang Tuo from time to time. It seemed that the two of them had a very happy conversation.
"What's going on?"
"It seems... Your Excellency has a hand in this group of thieves?"
"Impossible, you were shouting about beating and killing just now?"
After arriving at the mountain gate, the two said goodbye to each other. Jiang Tuo returned to the army, and many soldiers gathered around him. Jiang Tuo said with a contented smile: "Okay, I have reached an agreement with them, and we can pass here. "
Seeing this, all the soldiers asked what had just happened.
Jiang Tuo turned on the bragging mode. According to his description, he was so heroic and fearless. With his sharp tongue, he made these bandits kneel down and beg for mercy.
Lu Qing curled his lips, if your ability to make friends is 100%, then your ability to brag can reach 1000%. It would be a shame not to engage in MLM.
They deceived these soldiers again.
After the soldiers dispersed, Lu Qing frowned and asked, "Sir, you don't really want to pacify the Qiang people, do you?"
"What else?"
Jiang Tuo said seriously: "Since we have promised them, we must do it."
"There are quite a few Qiang people in Longyou, and they are very united. If you destroy a small tribe, I'm afraid the Qiang people in Longyou will oppose you together. And these bandits are very few in number, so it's not worth it to win them over."
"What do you know? Since we plan to station troops in the Chencang area, we must win over the common people, refugees, and bandits nearby. If we don't treat them sincerely, then how can they treat us sincerely?"
"I can deliver food. I can attack enemies. But if we lose this reputation, we won't be able to gain a foothold here."
"The Qiang people are fierce..."
"What are you afraid of? One will kill one, two will kill a pair!"
Afterwards, Jiang Tuo led the army to march according to the direction indicated by the little old man. Whenever he passed villages and mountain strongholds along the way, Jiang Tuo would smile and chat with their leader about homely matters.
The composition of Longyou is very complex, which is now the area of Gansu and Ningxia. Han people are the most numerous, followed by Qiang and Hu people. They have different beliefs and are hostile to each other and fight with each other.
And the people here have a very low sense of belonging to the imperial court.
At this time, Jiang Tuo put on the barbecue, pulled a Han leader, and said with a smile: "You don't have to be afraid. The rich Liu family has fifty thousand acres of land and forced you all to become tenant farmers. I will help you kill him. This is too much." Good thing?"
"Come, come, eat meat, eat meat. After eating this piece of meat, everyone will be friends!"
"What do you want us to do?" A few honest people looked at the armored soldiers not far away and asked in fear.
"Don't do anything. I am going on this expedition just for morality! Why is it that the Liu family is so rich that we people have to eat chaffy vegetables? I, Jiang Tuo, don't believe in this truth. I just want to fight against the local tyrants and divide the land. !”
"Fair, fair, damn fair!"
