Bai Yulou was silent, Qin Xiao stood up slowly, cupped his hands and said: "If you really don't want to come out, I will not force you to do anything, so I will bother you tonight. If your husband is unjustly imprisoned, it won't take long for the officials sent by the court to handle the case."

When they arrive, I will implore them to re-examine the case of Ten Questions and vindicate Mr. Yingcaotang." He bowed deeply, said no more, turned around and left.

Just as he walked to the cell door, he suddenly heard Bai Yulou say: "If you want to fight against the Liaodong Army, do you think that you can just use people like Yingcaotang?"

Qin Xiao stopped and turned around.

"Although there are hundreds of well-educated people in Yingcaotang, even if these people all support Long Ruijun, they can't change the overall situation at all." Bai Yulou said lightly: "With the support of people like Yingcaotang alone, Long Ruijun can compete with Liaodong

Army, then you really overestimate Yingcaotang and underestimate the Liaodong Army."

Qin Xiao immediately took two steps forward and said, "Please give me some advice, sir!"

Bai Yulou pondered for a moment and finally said: "General Qin naturally knows that those who win the hearts of the people win the world."

"Know."

"Everyone knows this sentence, but very few actually do it." Bai Yulou smiled lightly: "Everyone knows the truth, but some people are short-sighted and don't care about this sentence at all for their immediate self-interest. And more people

I simply don’t know that if we can do this, it is easy to say that winning the hearts of the people, but it is as difficult as climbing to the sky to actually do it.”

Qin Xiao sat down on the ground again and asked: "Sir is a great scholar, so he naturally knows how to do it."

"Nothing in this world is perfect. Many things just depend on choices." Bai Yulou said calmly: "The so-called people's hearts, who are these people? Whose hearts are we trying to win over?"

Qin Xiao looked serious.

"In the eyes of the imperial court, everyone in the world is a subject." Bai Yulou said: "But the people of the world are also divided into three, six, and nine levels. In the eyes of the emperor, the Liaodong Army is a subject, and the wealthy families of the four northeastern counties are also subjects, and the fields are cultivated.

Farmers, hunters hunting in the mountains, and businessmen running businesses, these are all people. You want to compete with the Liaodong Army and come to the prison to see me in order to win Yingcaotang’s help. This also proves that Qin

The general knows very well that if he wants to gain a foothold in the Northeast, he must get support and help from other forces." After a pause, he said: "There are millions of people in the four northeastern counties, and the two armies are fighting. First of all, it is natural to find out who is who.

If you can't even figure out who your enemy is, who is your friend, the battle will definitely be a complete failure."

Qin Xiao immediately said: "What you said is very wise."

"Distinguishing friends from enemies is difficult to say and easy to say." Bai Yulou smiled lightly and said slowly: "Who do you think your enemies are, general?"

Qin Xiao solemnly said: "Of course it's the Liaodong Army."

"What about outside the Liaodong Army?"

Qin Xiao was slightly startled, but Bai Yulou had already smiled and said: "Who are Long Ruijun's friends? To be more precise, who does General Qin think can be Long Ruijun's friends?"

"Long Ruijun came out of seclusion not long ago and has not yet established a firm foothold in the Northeast. I just hope that the more friends the better."

"You are wrong." Bai Yulou shook his head and said: "I just said that some things are a matter of trade-offs, and it is impossible to get them all. It is absolutely impossible for you to win the hearts and minds of the Northeast people at this time." Hesitate.

, Cai Dao: "The Liaodong Army is racing to enclose the land. The generals in the army control a large area of ​​fertile land in the Northeast. In addition to them, the wealthy gentry in the Northeast also control a large amount of cultivated land. A very small number of people occupy a large area of ​​fertile farmland in the Northeast. The peasants are just pawns."

You can only become a tenant farmer and rely on their charity to survive on scraps. If you want to win the hearts of the wealthy gentry, you must protect their interests. Naturally, you will become their accomplice in oppressing and bullying the people, and it is impossible to get

True people's hearts. If you want to win the hearts of the poor people, you will naturally want them to have enough food and clothing. This will definitely hurt the interests of the wealthy gentry, and the price you pay is to make them more determined to fight with the people.

The Liaodong Army stood together and became the enemy of Long Rui Army. Without the support of the wealthy gentry, Long Rui Army would not have adequate financial and material protection. If it wanted to obtain the financial and material resources of these people, it would have to pay the price of the hatred of the people.

The cost, so how to choose, is a crucial issue, and this is what I call a trade-off."

Qin Xiao felt admiration in his heart, thinking to himself that Bai Yulou's ability would be revealed through this exit, and he could see things thoroughly.

"That's why I just said that the world belongs to those who win the hearts and minds of the people. This sentence is easier said than done." Bai Yulou looked at Qin Xiaodao: "When it comes to making this kind of decision, many people are very worried when they know they can't win the hearts of the people.

It is difficult to achieve great things, but in the end he will choose to win over wealthy gentry and protect the interests of these people, and end up losing the support of the people."

"Is there no way to win their hearts at the same time?"

Bai Yulou said with a smile: "Two different groups of people naturally have fundamental conflicts of interest. If you want to protect one party, you will inevitably hurt the other party. This is the problem. Unless you have great wisdom, it will be difficult to solve such a problem.

.”

"Sir, is there anything you can do?"

"If you are the Liaodong Army, you have been entrenched in the Northeast for hundreds of years, you have deep roots in the Northeast, and you already have a fundamental force in the Northeast. If you want to win over the people and get support from both groups, you may be able to come up with some ideas." Bai Yulou shook his head and said.

: "But Long Ruijun has just left the border and is considered an outsider in the eyes of the Northeastern gentry and common people. Even if he has the power and wants to take root here, there is no way to achieve the best of both worlds."

Qin Xiao frowned and looked solemn.

"Now is the time when General Qin needs to make a decision." Bai Yulou calmly said slowly: "Guangning City is already in your hands. Next, General Qin will naturally control the entire western Liaoning. With Liaoxi County in hand, General Qin is

Whether you want to win over the power of the wealthy gentry in western Liaoning to fight against the Liaodong Army, or whether you want to win the support of the poor people in western Liaoning, you have to make a choice." His eyes became sharp, and he stared at Qin Xiao and asked: "Then

Dare I ask, what decision will General Qin make?"

Qin Xiao was silent for a long time.

He knew very well that without the support of the people in western Liaoning, Long Ruijun would be rootless in western Liaoning. It would be even more difficult to get the local people to accept Long Ruijun's existence and stand on it.

But without the support of local wealthy families, it would be a huge loss, and the road ahead would be extremely difficult.

"This is a difficult choice." Bai Yulou sighed: "General Qin can go back and think about it slowly."

Qin Xiao finally raised his head and said with a smile: "Sir, this problem is actually not difficult for me. I come from a poor background and will always stand on the side of the people at all times. What I think is that as long as there is a way,

It is possible to win more friends and isolate my enemies as much as possible. If there is no other way, I naturally hope to gain the support of the people."

Bai Yulou stared at Qin Xiao for a while, and finally said: "If the general decides to protect the interests of the people, does he know what to do? How can he make them return to his heart?"

"This is exactly what I want to ask you, sir." Qin Xiao stood up and said respectfully.

Seeing Qin Xiao's humble attitude, Bai Yulou nodded slightly and said, "General, you don't have to be so polite. The general chooses the people, and Bai admires him in his heart. However, everyone can say that you love the people like a son, but not everyone can do it, but how to do it. General, if

If I really want the people of western Liaoning to wholeheartedly support Long Ruijun, I do have a way, and it took me many years to think it through, but I'm afraid the general won't do it."

Qin Xiao immediately said: "Sir, please give me some advice!"

Bai Yulou said nothing, turned around, climbed onto the bed, rummaged under the dirty quilt, and after a while, found a booklet, and then carefully handed it to Qin Xiaodao: "This is what I wrote in prison. If the general

If you are willing to establish a foothold in western Liaoning, you can take it back and have a look. If the general has the courage to do it, we will discuss it in detail, otherwise just pretend that I didn’t say anything tonight."

Qin Xiao took it with both hands, Bai Yulou didn't say much, got on the bed and continued to lie on his side with his back to Qin Xiao.

Qin Xiao gently opened a few pages and found that they were densely written with words. Although the handwriting was small, it was neat and orderly, and the calligraphy was very good. He knew that he would not be able to read it all in a while, so he could only take it back and read it carefully.

After reading the book, he bowed again and said: "Sir, take a rest early and come back to ask for advice!" Without further disturbance, he left the prison.

Returning to the prefecture, the eldest son Yuwen Chengchao was waiting. When he saw Qin Xiao, he immediately said: "General, what you guessed before was correct. Gongsun Shang did not commit suicide, but was poisoned."

"Oh?" Qin Xiao perked up: "Did the eldest son find evidence?"

Yuwen Chengchao smiled and said: "There is a local gang in Guangning City, Xingluotang. The gang leader is called Cui Mancheng, who is known as Cui Jiuye. He is quite powerful in the city. Someone came to the door tonight and instigated Xingluotang with a lot of money.

Someone pretended to be one of ours and caused trouble in the city to arouse public resentment. However, Cui Mancheng did not agree and instead sent the man over. According to Cui Mancheng, this man personally admitted that he poisoned Gongsun Shang."

"Who is this person?"

"This person's name is Fang Wei. He has no official status. On the surface, he is just a staff member of the county governor's office. However, his real identity is that he is the eyes and ears of Gongsun Shang sent by the Liaodong Army." Yuwen Cheng said: "Gongsun Shang's words and deeds

This person will report to the Liaodong Army. In peacetime decisions, Gongsun Shang will also discuss with this person. In other words, this person's authority in western Liaoning is no less than Gongsun Shang. After this incident failed, the Liaodong Army wanted to let Gongsun Shang general

The responsibility for robbing the silver was all taken, and the Liaodong Army was not involved, so Fang Wei directly poisoned Gongsun Shang to make it look like Gongsun Shang committed suicide out of fear."

"Did he sign the confession?" Qin Xiao asked.

Yuwen Chengchao shook his head and said: "Fang Wei himself did not admit it, claiming that it was Xingluotang who slandered him. Although there is no direct evidence that he poisoned Gongsun Shang, there is complete evidence of his bribery of Xingluotang to cause trouble in the city. Now it has been

Fang Wei is being detained, and I am preparing to personally interrogate him. No matter what method we use, as long as he admits to poisoning Gongsun Shang, we will have another clue for the Liaodong Army."

"Where is Cui Mancheng? Why was he so proactive?" Qin Xiao asked in a low voice: "Is there something fishy here?"

--------------------------------------------------

ps: I run out every day during the Chinese New Year, and there are banquets everywhere. I often sit at the second table because I am senior, so I have to go. I don’t have time to code, and I just have a few days off to recharge. Updates have begun to resume. In the last two days, once
Chapter completed!