Pan Xiguang picked up the bowl, took a sip of tea, and asked Liao Wenguang: "I heard that there is a bumper harvest in Datong this year. Is that true?"
Liao Wenguang was stunned for a moment.
Unexpectedly, news about Datong's good harvest reached Taiyuan Prefecture.
Then I thought about it, now that there are poor or no harvests everywhere in the north, only Datong has a bumper grain harvest, which is naturally special. And Datong belongs to Shanxi Chengxuan Political Envoy Department, so it is not surprising that Taiyuan Prefecture heard some news.
"What? No?" Seeing that Liao Wenguang didn't answer, Pan Xiguang asked again.
Liao Wenguang came to his senses and said hurriedly: "The harvest in Datong seems to be very good this year, but I went to Datong for official business and did not dare to delay on the road, so I am not very clear about the details."
"It seems that the rumors are probably true." Pan Xiguang stroked the beard on his chin and said, "I didn't expect that when Datong fell into the hands of the bandits, not only was there no harvest, but the harvest was good. It seems that Thief Liu has some experts around him!"
Liao Wenguang lowered his head and did not answer the question.
Everything he had experienced and seen in Datong flashed through his mind over and over again. Thinking of the green jade and wheat trees and the bustling prefectures and counties in the area, they did not look like they had been destroyed by thieves at all. .
"You have been to Datong twice. Have you ever seen any unusual people around Liu Thief?" Pan Xiguang asked.
When asked about himself, Liao Wenguang thought for a while and said: "When I met Liu Thief, I didn't see any unusual person. Instead, I met a scholar named Zhao. And I saw Liu Thief twice. This person is with Thief Liu."
"That's right, this person has read books, and his abilities are naturally extraordinary. It's a pity that he is so talented, but he works for thieves." Pan Xiguang looked regretful.
The important people around Liu Heng are no longer a secret.
Zhao Yutu was the only scholar with a reputation around Liu Heng. Even though he was just a boy, in the eyes of people in the Ming Dynasty, he was the most important person around Liu Heng.
Further down are the generals Chen Xunping, Wang Yuncheng, Zhang Sancha, and Tan Zaiwang who were conquering the city in Xuanda. As for people like Li Shuheng who rarely appeared in the Ming Dynasty, not many people in the court knew about them. In many cases, they only knew their names. Didn't pay too much attention to it.
Liao Wenguang nodded in agreement and said: "What Futai said is absolutely true. The official also feels that the reason why Datong can return to normal so quickly should be attributed to this person."
"Can you contact this person alone?" Pan Xiguang asked suddenly.
Liao Wenguang was stunned for a moment, and then said: "Does Futai mean to win over this person?"
"It is a pity that such a talented person became a thief. If we can win this person over to serve the court, it will not only be beneficial to get rid of Liu thief, but also be beneficial to the court." Pan Xiguang said.
Scholars are naturally optimistic about scholars.
A weakling like Liu Heng, even if the situation is great, will only think that there are experts around him to guide him, and will not be looked down upon by these officials who came from the imperial examination.
"This is a way." Liao Wenguang suddenly realized that wooing the Zhao thief around Liu thief would be very beneficial to the court. Maybe the court did not need to recruit Liu thief.
Pan Xiguang said: "It's up to you to handle this matter. Find a way to contact this person and win him over no matter what method you use. You must not let this person's talent be buried in the hands of thieves."
"Here," Liao Wenguang said with a wry smile, "I'm afraid I won't be able to handle such an important matter, so please ask Futai to invite someone else."
Pan Xiguang's face sank and he said: "In the entire Taiyuan Prefecture, you are the only one who has been to Datong twice and met this person. Who else do you think is more suitable than you to win over this person? Okay, it's up to you to do this. "
Without giving Liao Wenguang a chance to object, he directly placed the errands on Liao Wenguang.
Liao Wenguang looked bitter.
The first level of officialdom was overwhelming, so he knew he was reluctant and couldn't refuse, so he had no choice but to accept the job.
I thought that after returning home, I must go to a temple outside the city to burn incense and pray for myself.
This year is really unlucky. First, he took on the hot job of recruiting Liu Thief, and then he had to win over one of Liu Thief's thieves.
No matter which one of them is a fatal matter, if you don't do it well, you will lose your life.
"Okay, you go back and think about how to win over that person named Zhao. As long as you can get things done, I will personally recommend you to the court." Pan Xiguang drew a big pie.
Liao Wenguang stood up, bowed to Pan Xiguang, and said, "I'm sorry to leave."
Pan Xiguang nodded.
Liao Wenguang retreated from the room, and a servant came over to guide him away from the governor's office.
"Go and prepare pen and ink for me. I want to send a letter to the capital." Pan Xiguang said to the servant waiting in the room.
The servants in the house ran out to prepare.
Proclaimed Yanqing Prefecture.
As the last prefecture and county captured by the Tiger Character Banner, jade and wheat were also planted here this year, but because not many ditches were dug, the harvest was not as good as other places.
Even so, it was a better harvest than the previous two years.
Moreover, the people of Yanqing Prefecture were allotted their own fields and no longer had to pay high rents or heavy taxes to the court.
So don't say that the harvest here in Yanqing Prefecture has gotten better. Even if it is the same as in previous years, people who have their own fields don't have to worry about starving to death.
"The Liu thief won the hearts of the people when he divided the land in Datong. What he did was no ordinary bandit. Could it be that Counselor Liao really didn't notice it at all? Or was he pretending not to know?" Sun Chuanting said, staring at Liao Wenguang's face.
Liao Wenguang's face darkened and he said, "Brother Boya, what do you mean by this? Could it be that I colluded with Thief Liu and deliberately concealed something?"
"Isn't it?" Sun Chuanting asked back.
Liao Wenguang said with a hint of anger: "Everything I saw and heard in Datong was reported to Futai. There was never a word to arrange or cover it up. However, Brother Boya said that I had colluded with the Liu thieves. I will definitely report it to the court." Play to you."
In anger, he began to call himself his official in front of Sun Chuanting.
"I will also report to the imperial court and explain to the imperial court the harm done to the Ming Dynasty by what Liu Thief did in Datong." Sun Chuanting said bluntly.
Seeing with his own eyes what Liu Thief did in Datong, he was extremely frightened. He knew that Liu Thief was far more harmful than slave thieves, so he wanted to let the princes in the court see Liu Thief's face clearly.
"snort!"
Liao Wenguang snorted.
After a dispute, the two broke up unhappy.
Headquarters.
Liu Heng returned to the office room and asked Zhao Wu to make a cup of hot tea for him.
"General, are we really not going to Yanmen Pass to meet that Futai?" Zhao Yutu, who followed Liu Heng back to the custody room, asked as soon as he entered the room.
Liu Heng sat back behind his desk, pulled out an account book from the side of the table, and said, "Do you really want to go to Yanmen Pass?"
"If I can be recruited, I don't mind taking a risk." Zhao Yutu said.
At this time, Zhao Wu came over with a steaming tea vat in his hand and carefully placed it on the table.
