"Come here, serve tea to Commander Ma." Li Guangyi ordered the servants waiting on the side.
Commander Ma tilted his upper body and bowed towards Li Guangyi, saying, "Thank you, Mr. Xunfu."
The servants retreated and went outside to prepare tea for Mr. Ma.
"General Bing Ma is so polite. You and I are officials in Datong, and this governor is new here. I will inevitably trouble General Bing Ma in the future." Li Guangyi said with a smile on his face.
Commander Ma faced Li Guangyi and clasped his fists, saying: "If the governor has anything to do, just ask him. As long as I can do it, I will do my best to not let the governor down."
Li Guangyi smiled softly when he heard this.
After serving as an official for many years, he had heard too many high-sounding words like this, and he also understood that the Datong commander-in-chief in front of him had some thoughts of his own.
He reached out to pick up the tureen on the table next to him, brought it to his mouth, blew the hot air inside, and asked, "General Ma came to visit unexpectedly. There must be something going on!"
The gossip was almost over, and he directly asked the other party the purpose of coming to him.
Before he came to Datong to take office, he had heard that Commander Ma of Datong had close contacts with the Tiger Flag. As for the purpose of coming to Datong as the governor, anyone with a discerning eye could guess it. He didn't believe that Commander Ma could not think of it.
At this time, General Ma came to visit him. Apart from official business, he couldn't think of anything else.
"The governor knows things well." Ma Zongbing said, "I recently received an official document from the Ministry of War, but the meaning of it is a bit confusing to my subordinates, so I came here to ask you, the governor."
As he spoke, he took out an official document from his sleeve and handed it over with both hands.
"Go and get it." Li Guangyi said to the servant next to him.
The servant walked over, carefully took the official document from General Ma, and handed it to Li Guangyi with both hands.
Li Guangyi, who received the official document from the Ministry of War, opened it and read it in front of his eyes.
After reading it, he closed the official document and said to General Ma: "The official document says very clearly that it is a good thing for General Ma to expand a large camp to ensure the stability of the place!"
After speaking, he asked his servant to return the official document to General Ma.
"It is indeed a good thing that the imperial court allowed Datong to add a battalion of soldiers and horses, but it did not say how to raise food and salary. Without food and salary, even if the subordinates have great abilities, they will not be able to raise a battalion of soldiers and horses." General Ma looked slightly bitter. road.
Li Guangyi frowned and said, "Didn't the above mention money and food?"
"It's true that I didn't say it. If the governor doesn't believe it, the official document from the Ministry of War is right here." General Ma raised the official document in his hand.
Li Guangyi shook his head gently and said: "I won't read it, the governor. Since General Ma said it was not written on it, it must not be written on it. I think the Ministry of War forgot about it."
Naturally, he knew that the official document of the Ministry of War did not mention the matter of raising money and food, and he also understood the purpose of the General Ma in front of him. However, as for the money and food for the new camp in Datong, it was impossible for his governor's office to provide it unless there was a request from the imperial court. The decree issued.
"For such a big matter, the Ministry of War should not make a mistake." General Ma said with a grimace.
He knew in his heart that it was not that the Ministry of War made a mistake in the official document, but that it had no intention of giving him money or food, but wanted him to expand a large battalion of soldiers and horses.
"It's hard to say. Maybe one of the junior officials accidentally made a mistake. General Ma would be better off asking the Ministry of War." Li Guangyi said.
General Ma smiled bitterly and said: "To be honest with you, the governor, I came here this time in the hope that the governor can raise money and food for a large camp for me, otherwise I will really not be able to complete the mission of the Ministry of War." Recommended reading TV/ /
"General Ma is looking for the wrong person when he comes to the governor. Even the governor's office can't come up with such a large amount of money and food. It's not that the governor doesn't want to help General Ma. It's really powerless." Li Guangyi declined General Ma politely. requirements.
Money and food for a large camp are not enough once or twice. As long as the camp is still there, money and food will be continuously supplied. He, a newly appointed governor, has nowhere to find so much money and food to fill this hole.
"Master Governor, you have to help me, otherwise I really won't be able to raise so much money and food." Ma Zongbing said imploringly.
The money and food for the frontier army were all allocated by the Ministry of Household Affairs, and local taxes were collected and paid by the various yamen. As the commander-in-chief, he could only command the troops. He had no place to look for money and food, so he could only ask Li Guangyi, the governor of Datong.
Li Guangyi shook his head and said: "The money and grain collected by the local government are all counted. Without the decree of the imperial court, I, the governor, cannot misappropriate even a grain of grain."
It was a serious crime to misappropriate official food without permission. He could not possibly care about General Ma's troubles and could not control them.
"I don't ask the governor to raise food and salary for me. I just hope that the governor can go to the court with me and ask the court to distribute food and salary for the new camp." General Ma saw that Li Guangyi did not agree to raise food and salary for him, so he just If you can take a step back, please ask Li Guangyi to present the memorial together with him.
"This!" Li Guangyi pinched the beard on his chin, looking thoughtful.
It was impossible for the imperial court not to know that the General Soldier of Datong could not afford so much food and salary, but still asked the General Soldier of Datong to expand the troops of a large battalion. This made him somewhat confused as to the attitude of the imperial court.
So he didn't dare to agree casually.
In case the imperial court intended to use this matter as an excuse to remove Ma Zongbing, the general of Datong, if he went to the court with Ma Zongbing to request for food and salary, it would be tantamount to offending the minister in charge of the matter.
General Ma glanced at Li Guangyi secretly.
If Li Guangyi is not willing to submit a memorial to the court with him, he may not be able to serve as the commander-in-chief for much longer.
At this time, Pei Hong on the other side suddenly asked: "Is the camp that the imperial court asked General Ma to expand to deal with the Tiger Flag?"
His words interrupted Li Guangyi's meditation.
Li Guangyi glanced at Pei Hong.
The Mongols from the north rarely come to invade the border. Even if they come, they only make small fuss and do not threaten the safety of the border. Therefore, the soldiers and horses in the border town are enough, but the court wants Datong to attack at this time. It is self-evident who to add a large battalion of soldiers and horses for defense.
General Ma hesitated for a moment.
Although anyone with a discerning eye knew that the imperial court did this to guard against the Tiger Flag, it was not written in the official document after all, and he could not admit it directly.
If one day Tiger Flag is recruited again, and it is reported that he has said that the imperial court will deal with Tiger Flag, the imperial court may regard him as a scapegoat in order to appease Tiger Flag.
Pei Hong waited for a while and saw that General Ma was speechless. He smiled softly and said, "Even if General Ma didn't say anything, I know what the court meant. Otherwise, I wouldn't have asked Datong to add another battalion at this time." Soldiers and horses.”
After hearing this, Mr. Ma didn't answer, but just smiled at him, which was regarded as acquiescence.
