Li Kang led his troops to a place less than half a mile away from the county town and stopped. This distance had already reached the shooting range of a heavy bow. As long as Su Qi'an was willing, Li Kang would definitely shoot a round of arrows into a sieve.
But this idea can only be thought about. Li Kang was so reckless in taking the danger and marching out with his troops. It was no joke. If he didn't handle it well, a war would probably break out.
Li Kang's troops arrived at the city, and there was a solemn atmosphere in the air. The closed city gate slowly opened under Su Qi'an's order.
Su Qi'an led the guard company and rode out from the city gate. He stood less than three feet away in front of Li Kang. His troops were not many and looked very small compared with the tens of thousands of troops behind Li Kang.
But the people behind him were not afraid at all. As long as Su Qi'an gave the order, even if there were many people in front of them, and there were mountains of swords and seas of fire, they would not frown.
Looking at Li Kang with a serious expression, Su Qian said with a smile, "Lord Zhou Mu, what do you mean by this? Do you want to attack the county and start a war with me?"
"Suhou, don't you know what Benzhou means by coming here? Five hundred soldiers under Benzhou were kidnapped by so-called bandits in your territory. Do you think Benzhou believes it?"
"You and I are both smart people. I won't go around in circles with you. Tell me how you plan to explain this matter to Honshu."
Li Kang stated his words very straightforwardly, without giving Su Qi'an any face.
Li Kang could usually turn a blind eye to Su Qi'an's actions, but this time, it was a slap in the face. As a state pastor, he had to regain his place.
He dared to expose this matter directly, and he had the support in his hands, namely the soldiers behind him.
If Su Qi'an dares to take action, there will be more than this amount of troops coming next time.
"Haha, Zhou Mu's quick words are also in line with my wishes. It's just Zhou Mu's ability to knock people down, which really opened my eyes."
"Lord Zhou Mu, you are right. Your five hundred men were indeed killed by me. This is just a lesson to you, Zhou Mu."
"Since I took over Qingcheng County, I think I haven't done anything that violates the laws of Great Liang, but what have you done this year, Lord Zhou Mu, don't you know?"
"Cut off all connections between Qingcheng County and the outside world. From time to time, we send some garbage to sneak into Qingcheng County to cause destruction. Now we send grain collectors to forcefully purchase more grain than ever before."
"I would like to ask Mr. Zhou Mu whether this Jiaozhou belongs to the Great Liang royal family or whether it belongs to you alone."
Su Qi'an's voice was cold, but his words were deafening. Li Kang was okay, his face was livid, but the expressions of everyone behind him changed.
Su Qi'an is the number one person in Jiaozhou who dares to speak like this in front of Li Kang.
Even though they knew that the person in charge of Jiaozhou was Li Kang, they would never make such a mistake in front of everyone.
Su Qian's doing this is tantamount to putting the default rules on the table and turning the table over.
"Suhou is indeed very eloquent, Benzhou admires it. From what Suhou said, do you want Benzhou to give you an explanation?"
Li Kang stared at Su Qi'an, his words filled with threats.
The already tense situation between the two sides immediately deteriorated.
"Haha, I can't tell you what to say. It's just that if Mr. Zhou Mu wants to be as sneaky as before, next time I can't guarantee whether the person sent back will be a living person or a corpse."
"You!" Li Kang snorted coldly.
Apparently he was offended by Su Qi'an's words. Before Li Kang could speak, Su Qi'an said again.
"Lord Zhou Mu, I have told you what I should say and what I should not say. I have important matters to attend to, and I have no time to continue spending time with Zhou Mu. If Zhou Mu is not convinced, you can take action. I will definitely Please accompany me."
After saying this, Su Qi'an turned his horse's head and left without even looking at Li Kang.
Without caring whether Li Kang would suddenly take action, he returned to the county town with his guards.
Li Kang was riding on the horse, his face constantly changing, and the palms holding the horse rope were tightening and loosening, loosening and tightening. The great elders and three elders behind him did not speak much.
When they met today, they realized how powerful this Dongshan Marquis was. From the conversation with Li Kang just now, there was no sign that he was at a disadvantage in the slightest. On the contrary, he was quite strong.
He was not afraid of Li Kang at all, and his last words before leaving fully demonstrated that he had the ability to fight Li Kang.
At this time, staying silent is the best policy.
Compared to the silence of the two elders, the state envoy further behind raised his head and glanced at Li Kang's back, then turned his eyes and landed on the back of Su Qi'an as he entered the county seat.
He shook his head and quietly turned away with his confidants. In this confrontation and conversation, the State Envoy had probably guessed who would win and who would lose. It would be meaningless to continue waiting.
Not long after the state envoy left with his people, Li Kang, who had been silent for a long time, spoke.
"Send the order from this state to return the entire army to the city."
After saying that, Li Kang left directly, leaving behind the two elders who breathed a sigh of relief.
Li Kang's withdrawal declared the defeat of this confrontation, but they felt much relieved.
Fortunately, this battle has not started yet. If he does, he may not be Su Qi'an's opponent.
When they came this time, they were not fully prepared. They did not have heavy weapons in their hands. It was no problem to suppress the bandits. But if they really wanted to fight, facing the tall and solid city wall, it would be difficult to take it down in a short time.
Qingcheng County, which had been managed by Su Qi'an for a year, especially the county seat, was not impregnable, but it was definitely not something that they could easily win.
Withdrawing troops is the best way.
The reason why Li Kang came to the county town was not to fight Su Qi'an, but mostly to prove who was the real boss in Jiaozhou.
Anyone else would have succumbed to Li Kang's threat long ago, but today they encountered a tough opponent like Su Qian.
This time, Li Kang was completely at a disadvantage. Although today ended in peace, today's conversation basically angered Li Kang.
The failure to fight today was due to lack of preparation, but Li Kang, who returned to the city, was afraid that there would be big disturbances next.
The two elders looked at each other, and they both saw in each other's eyes the beginning of a war.
In order to minimize their losses in the subsequent war, the two elders have planned to go back this time and have a good talk with the two elders who remain neutral.
As Li Kang led his troops to withdraw, the people on the city wall suddenly burst into cheers.
I have been suppressed by Li Kang for a year, and I have endured it for so long. I finally breathed a sigh of relief today.
Su Qi'an, who returned to the city, told the soldiers on the wall to stay alert and be prepared for a war to break out at any time, then turned and left.
Some thoughtful soldiers recalled what Su Qi'an had just said, with a little excitement in their eyes.
From what Su Qi'an revealed, they could sense that there would be a war between the two sides soon.
After leaving the city wall, Su Qi'an went to the county mansion and went directly to a room behind the county mansion.
Ever since Su Qi'an entered the room, Su Yong, Song Biao, and Er Meng were guarding the door. The three of them were like bodyguards.
He glanced around, guarding against anyone entering the room behind him, as if there was some important person in this room.
At this time, there were whispers in the room. Su Qi'an was sitting on a chair. The person standing in front of him was none other than Su Fengling, who had disappeared for a long time.
Ever since Su Fengling took her Long Guard to hunt down the mysterious man in black, Su Qi'an hadn't seen her for at least half a year.
Su Qi'an had already said that he would not interfere with Su Fengling's whereabouts as long as they were allowed to act in his territory.
Su Qi'an gave Su Fengling full respect for her freedom. Similarly, Su Qi'an basically gave her tacit permission to some of Su Qi'an's actions in Jiaozhou.
During this interview with Su Fengling, Su Qi'an had important matters to discuss.
Seeing Su Qi'an appear, Su Fengling said, "You want to bypass Li Kang and use one county to seize the three places in the Jiaozhou imperial examination. I can support it, but if you do this, it will completely anger Li Kang."
Kang, I'm afraid you won't be able to stand the test by then. You should know the quota for the imperial examination in Jiaozhou. For Li Kang, it's his opposite. If you take his quota, it won't be that easy. "
"Your Highness is right. Once I steal his spot, I'm afraid he will send troops to attack me, but this is what Su wants to see."
"Your Highness must be aware of what happened outside the city today. I angered Li Kang and caused him to suffer a great loss. With Li Kang's temperament, he must be harboring some conspiracy. Instead of doing this, it is better to take the initiative."
"I just want to make him angry, add fuel to the fire, and make things worse. Sooner or later, there will be a battle between me and Li Kang. I've been waiting for this battle for two years, and it's time to get to know Li Kang."
Su Qi'an said it very calmly, but even so, it still made Su Fengling worried.
This battle was different from any previous one. Su Qi'an's opponent was Li Kang, the controller of Jiaozhou.
If a fight really breaks out, the entire Jiaozhou will be affected. Su Qi'an has been struggling in Qingcheng County for a year for this battle, even though Qingcheng County is different from the past.
But compared with Li Kang, I am still a little worried.
"How confident are you in this battle?" Su Fengling asked.
"About fifty-fifty."
Su Fengling was not satisfied with Su Qi'an's general answer. She turned around and looked at Su Qi'an who looked calm. She was silent for a while and then said.
"I won't stop you in this battle, but you have to promise to stay alive."
Su Fengling's seriousness made Su Qi'an nod heavily. He knew that this battle involved too much, and no matter what the outcome was, he did not want to involve Su Fengling.
The reason why I said those words was just a report, not to trouble Su Fengling. If things went wrong, Su Fengling could escape under the cover of Long Guard immediately.
But Su Qi'an did not say the deeper meaning. The matter has not yet reached that point, and it is not yet known who will win and who will lose.
At the same time, Li Kang returned to the prefecture city soon, and before he could prepare his next plan, he continued to target Su Qi'an.
A piece of news that Su Qi'an took the initiative to fight back against him spread to the city.
